Khirokitia, an idiosyncratic Neolithic settlement in Cyprus, its putative foreign relations, and integrity in archaeological research

Abstract

This study enquires into a groundstone artefact from the Cypriot Neolithic site of Khirokitia, claimed by James Mellaart to have been found in the northern Levant. In doing so, it pursues the broader issue of integrity in archaeological research. The method followed here is to scrutinise the archaeological record available to Mellaart in the 1960s and 1970s, when the claim was made, followed by an examination of recent archaeological research conducted over the past half-century. Since there is no citation or physical evidence of the claimed item, or evidence that other Cypriot Neolithic materials were transferred to the mainland, it is argued that the piece never existed. The case is integrated into a register of suspect claims made by Mellaart over sixty years and concludes that the harm done in fabricating ancient societies’ material culture – a pastime sometimes taken too lightly – is a serious matter which deserves more attention from the academic community.