Choirokoitia - Neolithic Settlement -video too
Trip Start
Mar 03, 2010
1
41
143
Trip End
Feb 06, 2011
Loading Map
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
Larnaca, Cyprus
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Visiting the Neolithic Village of Choirokoitia
(My little video is worth watching)!
I cannot describe my happiness when Gabriel tells me that our next stop is the
Ancient Neolithic settlement of Choirokoitia. I have always wanted to come here
but each time something happened and the trip was cancelled.
Well I am on my way here now and this excites me. I remember the 2 last visits I had
to the village of Choirokoitia was with my Dad and Mum on our way back from the mountains
where we stopped for lunch, some 15 years back. Of course my dear Dad has passed away now.
The other time was when almost 8 years back we had a quick stop at the village again with
a choir from Greece. I cannot remember visiting the reconstructed settlement before, only
the ruins up the hill, which I am sure we won't have time to visit today…..for me though
this visit here counts a lot.
We come to the settlement and Gabriel pays for our entrance fees. Yes, I am sure I have never
been here again and I can’t wait to get in.
We are about 32 km from Larnaca on the Nicosia-Limassol (or) Lefkosia-Lemesol road.
The name Choirokoitia can be also found as Khirokitia and the settlement dates back to 7.000 BC.
Home to primitive farmers cultivating those years wheat and barley.
The houses look like beehive-shaped and are made of mud and stone. They have been reconstructed
to show how these early farmers lived. They were circular houses with flat roofs and the dimensions are
variable reaching a maximum of 9m. in exterior diameter and an interior diameter of 5 m. The house
consists of a group of these structures around an open space, where installations or grinding corn
were found. Openings in the wall in place of windows, as well as a door, allowed air and light into the
buildings. Internal subdivisions or arrangements were made according to the predetermined use of
each unit, such as a loft supported by massive piers and low partition walls.
Basins and hearths defined working or rest areas. The floor of habitation units was also used for the
inhumation of the dead. The deceased were buried in pits inside the units which continued to be used
in such a way that dead remained with the living and that death caused no disruption to the cohesion
of the community.
The reconstruction was modelled on an ethno-archaeological approach based upon both the
interpretation resulting from the archaeological evidence and on Cypriot traditional architectural building
methods. Earth was mixed with water or water and straw for the construction of the walls
(unbaked mud brick, mortar for the joint-filling, plaster), the roof and floors.
The museum is open from Monday to Friday from 7.30 am to 5 pm.
On Saturday and Sunday though it opens from 9 am to 5pm.
The fee to get inside is just 1.70 euros.
