UNCA to Host Lecture on Cyprus and the Beginning of the
Late Bronze Age

Archeologist Ellen Hershel will present a lecture on "Cyprus Discovers the World: The Beginning of the Late Bronze Age at Maroni" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, at UNC Asheville's Owen Conference Center. A period of discussion will follow the lecture, which is free and open to the public.

The Early and Middle Bronze Age periods in Cyprus have remained an unknown quantity until recently. Most Aegean sites of these periods have shown a lingering of old traditions yet Cyprus is shown to have been on the edge of technological improvement. Imports and exports became plentiful, a Cypriotic writing system developed and the sanctuary of Aphrodite was established. Maroni displays evidence of tombs, architecture and an underwater deposit proving Maroni was founded to establish a new way of life on the island of Cyprus. It encompassed complex social organization and extensive trading contracts.

The talk is co-sponsored by the American Institute of Archeology and UNCA's Classics Department.

For more information, call Dorothy Dvorsky Rohner, UNCA assistant classics professor, at 828/251-6295.

Media Contacts:

• Dr. Dorothy Dvorsky Rohner, UNCA Assistant Classics Professor, 828/251-6295
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526