The Department of Antiquities of the Deputy Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Cyprus announces the completion of the excavation by the North Carolina State University at Makounta–Voules/Mersinoudia in Pafos District.

From 15 June to 17 July 2025, the team under the direction of Dr Kathryn Grossman conducted excavations at the prehistoric cemetery at the site of Makounta–Voules–Mersinoudia in Pafos District, northeast of Polis Chrysochous, in collaboration with Dr Tate Paulette (North Carolina State University), Dr Lisa Graham (College of Southern Nevada) and Dr Andrew McCarthy (College of Southern Nevada). The project was supported by funding from the United States National Science Foundation, the North Carolina State University and the American Society for Overseas Research.

During the 2025 excavation season, the team excavated part of a prehistoric cemetery that was previously identified by Dr Darius Maliszewski’s survey project. The tombs are located on a ridge that sits next to the Chalcolithic village, part of which had been excavated by the team in previous excavation seasons. On this ridge, some cuts in the bedrock were visible from the surface before excavation began. The team excavated 10 rock-cut tombs, some of which had clearly been disturbed in modern times and some of which had partially eroded down the side of the cliff face.

There seem to be three types of tombs in the cemetery: 1) circular shafts of approximately 1m diameter cut into the bedrock with a slight bell outward at the base, 2) circular shafts of approximately 2m diameter cut into the bedrock with a slight outward widening at the base and in some cases a small side chamber (possibly taphonomic, rather than anthropogenic) and 3) one rectangular rock-cut pit. All the graves were disturbed and very few grave goods were found, only in two of them. One grave yielded dozens of beads made of shell, picrolite, faience and quartz, while the other contained a partial human skeleton, two copper spirals and fragments of copper wire. Based on tomb morphology and artefact types, most of these tombs can be dated to the Chalcolithic period.

Unlike the settlement area at Makounta, where the ground surface is covered in artefacts, the area of the cemetery yielded almost no surface finds. Exceptions include one large grinding stone and some ceramic fragments found near one of the tombs.

The newly excavated cemetery at Makounta adds new data to the complicated picture of Chalcolithic mortuary practices in Cyprus. It also suggests both similarities and differences with the well-known cemeteries at Souskiou and therefore offers new evidence for social organisation in Cypriot prehistory.