The mining industry of Cyprus dates back to c. 4000 BCE, primarily focused on copper extraction. Cyprus derives its name from Kúpros, the Greek term for the island, meaning cuprous, a direct reference to copper.
READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure
Copper metal forms through deposits from hot sulfur solutions in volcanic regions, such as at edges of conflicting tectonic plates. The solutions concentrate copper up to 1000x more than the usual amount found in rocks, forming valuable copper ores.
Important centers include Ambelikou and areas near a major copper deposit at Skouriotissa. Agia Varvara is a central copper region while the site of Hala Sultan Tekke looks out over the balmy waters in the direction of Byblos and the Levant.
Cyprus is inhabited from c. 9500 BCE by the ubiquitous hunter gatherer groups. The earliest humans to inhabit Cyprus live in a rock shelter, Aetokremnos, on a steep cliff site c. 40 m (131 ft) above the Mediterranean Sea.
The island has a long history of copper production, with the metal used for tools such as knives or pots, weapons with sharp blades like daggers, or jewelry. A major Bronze Age production center is Enkomi or the shores of an east coast cove.
Natural caves and rock formations have great spiritual value for early people, leading into the depths of the Underworld itself. Caves are found at sea level and into the interior. Prehistoric humans use natural caverns as shelters, burial caves and offering sites.
Archaeological excavations at the Neolithic site Agia Varvara Asprokremmos, 26 km (16 mi) south of Nicosia, show the early inhabitants of the island use the red and yellow ochres which often cover copper ore deposits.
Ochre or ocher is a main pigment of wall paintings, with the earliest examples dating to the Late Aceramic Neolithic, or c. 7000 BCE. It's also used in ancient medicine, ritual, burials, dyes, glazes and body art.
Early bronze on Cyprus dates to c. 2500 BCE, made with arsenic instead of tin as an alloy, as tin has to be imported. Tin-copper alloys (true bronze = 88% copper + 12% tin) show up c. 1900 BCE. Arsenic makes harder bronze but long term exposure has debilitating effects.
Realgar is also used in leather manufacturing to remove hair from hides. Metalsmiths are unaware of the toxic nature of arsenic at the time. In the 1st century CE, Dioscorides, a Greek physician in the court of Emperor Nero, is the first to recognize arsenic as a poison.
Cypriot copper production is augmented by other resources such as iron pyrite, gold and petroleum. Along with bygone mining landscapes, remnants of the extent and intensity of the Cypriot copper industry are enormous slag heaps.
An estimated four million tons of copper slag in forty different locations are found at the periphery of the Troodos Mountains, where rich copper deposits form. The Troodos is the largest mountain range in Cyprus.
READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure
The mountains emerge from the sea with the collision of the African and European tectonic plates, ultimately shaping the island of Cyprus. Chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) is a predominant copper ore. Other copper minerals include chalcosite, bornite and covellite.
Copper gives rocks intense blue or green colors including the breathtaking greens of malachite and rich blues of lapis lazuli. Lobster, shrimp and octopus have blue or greenish copper-based blood, compared to red iron-based blood of mammals.
Running through the center of the island, the range's highest peak is Mount Olympus. It's not the heavenly Olympus of mythology. Olympus the Home of the Gods is on the border of Macedonia and Thessaly, the largest mountain in Greece.
The northern slopes of the Troodos Mountains have copper-bearing ores within the pillow lavas of the Troodos Ophiolite. The rock formations belong to an ophiolite sequence along the north boundary of Arabian and African tectonic plates.
An ophiolite is part of the Earth's oceanic crust and the upper mantle beneath. Through seismic and tectonic action it's thrust up through the surface and shifts to crush down on continental crustal rocks.
Here they mark the bounds of the ancient Tethys Ocean. The Tethys Ocean, also called the Tethys Sea or the Neo-Tethys, is a prehistoric water body existing from c. 252 mya, through much of the Mesozoic Era or Age of Reptiles, and early-mid Cenozoic.
Predecessor to the modern Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and Eurasian inland marine basins Black Sea and Caspian Sea, the Tethys is inhabited by marine dinosaurs and prehistoric fauna and flora. It's not unusual to find sea fossils atop a European mountain.
An excavation site at the south of the island reveals a complete floor exposed for the first time in 10,000 years. Neolithic construction work shows time and care put into the building as it's dug into the existing bedrock. Neolithic round houses are also found.
Made of sun-dried mud brick, the houses are whitewashed with slaked lime solution. The bricks are a mix of sand, clay, water. Chopped straw or dried grasses might be added to the bricks. Inner walls are also whitewashed to maximize interior light.
During the Chalcolithic period, the Cypriots pioneer production of metal artefacts using native copper. Dating back to c. 3500 BC, the early artefacts are scarce but distinctive. Objects found include chisels, pins and fine ornaments like spiral beads.
READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure
The Cypriot chalcolithic artefacts showcase the ingenuity of an early yet sophisticated technology. During this era, picrolite, a type of serpentine, emerges as a desirable stone. It's used to craft pendants and figurines of symbolic significance.
The picrolite source is near the top of the Troodos mountains, carried down to the coast by two rivers, the Kouris and the Karyotis. A significant amount of the picrolite used to make Chalcolithic Age objects comes from the riverbeds.
Recent findings at the Souskiou Laona settlement show a portion of picrolite comes directly from the source. This is an important discovery as it demonstrates the proactive mindset of prehistoric people who venture into the Troodos for precious rocks and minerals.
While burial practices at other known Chalcolithic sites comprise single inhumations in pit graves, cemeteries at Souskiou are made of deep rock-cut tombs. They contain multiple burials and numerous grave goods, especially picrolite pendants and figurines.
Excavations at the settlement reveal a specialized center for procurement of picrolite and manufacture of goods during the early phase of habitation. Picrolite production declines during the final phase of the settlement.
The demand for copper, and a sheltered location, make Cypriot village Hala Sultan Tekke one of the most important centers of the Late Bronze Age. According to radar surveys the city is up to 50 ha (123 acres) in the Late Bronze Age (c. 1600-1100 BCE).
In the NW foothills of the Troodos is the richest mining district in Cyprus. Sites include Ambelikou and others. In the 1940s three galleries are opened to exploit the copper deposit. in all three are found ancient pottery and stone tools.
Early Cypriots are renowned for metalworking skills. During the Bronze Age, surface copper deposits are plentiful. As these diminish, mine owners turn to subterranean extraction copper mining techniques.
Aletri is near the village of Ambelikou in the NW foothills of the Troodos, strategically located close to Skouriotissa, one of the largest and most significant copper ore bodies on the island.
Pottery dating to c. 2000 BCE is found at Aletri, after an ancient shaft is exposed during modem mining operations. Aletri provides the oldest direct evidence of copper mining in Cyprus. A crucible, a casting mold, and other artifacts indicate on-site smelting and casting.
There's evidence of a complex history of construction and reconstruction at Ambelikou, culminating in a dramatic event and subsequent site abandonment. Many well-preserved artifacts are found including forty-eight jugs of uniform size and shape.
Excavations at Ambelikou uncover a building of 10 units or more. These are dedicated to stages of copper production from mining to ingots. A hearth, mold fragments, blowpipe nozzle, pieces of furnace lining, ore and slag indicate active production.
Just to the north lies a remarkably well-preserved pottery workshop, which shows extensive fire damage while work is in progress. Excavations reveal a specialized spatial layout of functions such as clay preparation, vessel shaping and kiln firing.
Cyprus and Spain are the primary suppliers of copper for the Roman Empire. However, following the Empire's decline, copper mining lies dormant until the 19th century.
The copper mines in Cyprus have a remarkable history spanning millennia. In the 8th century AD, the copper industry abruptly halts, and the mines are abandoned for over a thousand years.
In the Victorian era investors from the US and Europe reignite interest in copper deposits of Cyprus, drawing inspiration from ancient texts. A resurgence in the mining industry creates increased sulfur demand by extraction of pyrite and chalcopyrite, as well as copper.