| A few miles east of Girne in North
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| | too apt to break. But we farmed, we lived
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| Cyprus, on the seashore, lies the
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| | a settled life, and we made pots. We
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| Neolithic site of Vrysi. Archaeologists
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| | could store food safely. We had no
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| have examined a small part of the site,
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| | starving time.
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| and left some of the house walls exposed.
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| | "We lived here by the sea, but the spring
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| The sea has undercut the promontory on
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| | where we draw water is some ways away.
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| which the village stood, and the whole
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| | Without pots, we would need to carry
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| area will fall into the sea before long.
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| | water little by little in skin bags. Have
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| Visitors may look at the site and walk
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| | you ever tasted water from a skin bag
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| around its edges, but may not enter it,
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| | after a day in the hot sun? Ah, then you
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| lest they disturb this fragile place. If
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| | can appreciate a pottery water jug.
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| you have seen the artifacts from the site
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| | "You can see how important pottery was to
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| at the museum in Girne Castle, you can
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| | us by this fact: the archaeologists who
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| imagine them in use, here where they were
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| | excavated here found sixty-two thousand
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| found. Your guide is a woman who lived
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| | sherds of pottery and only one thousand
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| here and raised her family some seven
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| | other artifacts of all kinds.
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| thousand years ago, when the village was
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| | "We made pottery ourselves, each family
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| already very old.
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| | having its own designs. You can see the
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| "Welcome to our village, strangers.
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| | grace and boldness of those designs in
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| Please look, but do not touch. My people
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| | the museum. Our pottery was white and we
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| have lived here for over a thousand
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| | painted it in dark red or in brown. We
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| years, and our honored dead are buried
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| | had no pottery wheel, but shaped each
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| beneath these stones.
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| | piece by hand and fired it in small
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| "Imagine this place ringing with the
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| | ovens.
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| laughter of children, busy with the
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| | "The designs on our pots came with our
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| sounds we made grinding grain, flaking
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| | ancestors when they left Mersin in Turkey
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| stone tools, chopping wood. We were a
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| | to make a brave voyage across the sea to
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| happy people, able to raise or find
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| | North Cyprus. At first they were afraid,
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| plenty of food, and able to store it
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| | those pioneers. Their houses were half
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| against the dry years and the bad crops.
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| | underground, and they built a ditch as a
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| "Though we lived by the sea, we did not
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| | defense against attack on this precious
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| fish much. We had our goats and sheep and
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| | property. But, little by little, we
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| pigs, and the men hunted in the great
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| | learned we had nothing to fear.
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| forests. The trees provided us with
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| | "Our ancestors here at Vrysi lived in
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| carobs, figs, lemons, and olives. We
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| | flimsy houses when they first arrived.
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| raised wheat and barley, lentils, even
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| | But ours, as you can see, were sturdily
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| grapes for wine. We could keep pet dogs
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| | built. We had paved walkways between our
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| and cats, because we always had enough to
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| | homes so we did not have too much mud
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| eat.
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| | tracked in.
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| "We used stone sickles, axes, knives,
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| | "We liked rectangular houses, but
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| spindle weights, and chisels. We carved
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| | sometimes the lay of the land forced an
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| fishhooks and needles from bone.
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| | irregular shape. We rounded the corners,
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| "You can see just six of our North Cyprus
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| | so they were easy to keep clean, and we
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| houses. We had about twenty houses in my
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| | had lovely walls plastered with clay. We
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| day. They were grouped in clusters since
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| | covered our floors with woven mats.
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| several extended families lived in our
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| | Wooden pillars supported our high
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| village. We stayed here all year long,
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| | thatched roofs.
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| generation upon generation. Before our
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| | "We built stone benches along the walls
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| ancestors learned to farm, only small
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| | of our houses and had storage bins made
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| groups of people could stay together all
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| | of stone slabs. A large hearth was the
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| year. In those olden days, the people
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| | center of each house. At night, our
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| would come together for festivals and to
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| | one-room homes were cozy with the
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| arrange marriages, then scatter to
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| | firelight and with the glow of oil
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| harvest whatever the wild world provided.
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| | burning in stone lamps. We made small
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| Late winter and spring were always
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| | stone figurines which were honored in our
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| starving times, when grandparents died
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| | homes, but that is a religious matter,
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| and too often the little children died as
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| | which we do not discuss with strangers.
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| well.
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| | "My people lived here for over a hundred
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| "In those days before farming, it was
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| | generations, until an earthquake made the
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| difficult to preserve food for the
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| | place unsafe and we moved away. For five
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| winter. Our ancestors dug pits in the
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| | thousand years since then, the sea has
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| ground and lined them with hides, but
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| | undercut our promontory. In the
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| mice and other vermin always found their
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| | not-too-distant future, the sea will
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| way into the cache. Of course people have
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| | swallow the whole village. Then all that
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| known that some kinds of mud harden in
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| | will remain to recall our lives will be
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| fire ever since the first child tried to
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| | the pottery sherds and bone needles and
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| bake a mud pie. Pottery was simply no use
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| | stone spindle whorls in the museum at
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| to our wandering ancestors-too heavy and
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| | Girne, North Cyprus.
|
