NICOSIA, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Evidence of continuous human activity dating back about 4,000 years has been discovered in the mountainous western Paphos district of Cyprus, the Department of Antiquities said on Friday.
According to a report by the department, archaeologists from the University of Graz in Austria identified the evidence during a field survey conducted in October last year in the wider area around the village of Amargheti, located about 25 km northeast of the coastal city of Paphos.
The survey uncovered archaeological material from several historical periods, including pottery and a stone game board dating to the Middle Bronze Age, as well as fragments of amphorae and clay roof tiles.
The Middle Bronze Age, roughly from 1950 to 1650 BCE, was marked by copper mining and use, which contributed to Cyprus' rise as an important political and economic center in the eastern Mediterranean.
Further findings from south of the village indicated occupation during the Archaic period, alongside Roman-era and medieval ceramics, mainly along the Xeropotamos seasonal mountain stream.
Earlier research in the area had also revealed evidence of continuous human activity from the Bronze Age to modern times, the report said.
The earliest known human settlement on the island, however, dates back to the Neolithic site of Choirokoitia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site occupied between the 7th and 4th millennia BCE.
