A Fortress in Flux: Pyla-Vigla and the Dawn of the Hellenistic Era

Abstract:

    For over twenty years, the Pyla-Koutsopetria Archaeological Project (PKAP) has been uncovering secrets hidden along the coast of southern Cyprus. Next to an ancient, long-vanished harbor and sitting on a major crossroads between the Iron Age city state capitals of Kition and Salamis, a rocky hill called Vigla once commanded a view of everything passing by. Thousands of years ago, someone decided it was the perfect place to build a fortress. The timeline of its construction and use is incredibly tight; it was built following the death of the legendary conqueror Alexander the Great and abandoned less than forty years later, around 294 BC. The reason for its establishment: Cyprus was to become a battlefield. After Alexander died, his massive empire was torn apart as his former generals, including Ptolemy and Antigonus, fought viciously for control, and Cyprus was caught right in the middle. PKAP’s work at Vigla has not just found walls but unearthed a stunning arsenal of ancient weaponry—arrowheads, spear points, daggers, and sling bullets—along with clear evidence that weapons were being made right on the spot. This was not a peaceful watchtower; it was a military hotspot, likely a flashpoint in the bloody power struggles that followed Alexander's death. This presentation connects the dots between the dirt, the artifacts, and the dramatic history of a small fort that found itself on the front lines of a world-changing conflict.

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Location: Englewood Public Library, Hampden Room, 1000 Englewood Parkway, Englewood, CO 80110. The Hampden Room is located on the second floor of the Englewood Civic Center Building (Google Map Link). The Civic Center Building can be reached via S. Broadway, W. Hampden Ave and S. Santa Fe Drive. There is free parking accessible from S. Inca Street (enter the building on the 1st floor) and S. Jason Street (enter the building on the 2nd floor and take stairs/elevator to 1st floor). Public transit is also available at the nearby Englewood Light Rail Station and Bus Transfer Loop (Parking and Public Transit Link). For public transit information, please visit RTD's Trip Planner Web Page.

Speaker:

     Dr. Brandon Olson is currently a professor at MSU Denver where he is a classical archaeologist and ancient historian.  Brandon has worked extensively in Cyprus, Turkey, and Israel.  He specializes in the Hellenistic and Roman worlds as well as Geographic Information Systems, 3D modeling in archeology.  He holds a PhD in archeology and MAs in history, archeology and anthropology.  He has many published articles that would take pages and pages to list