So today starts the last week of work for me on Cyprus. It has been a busy last few days. I’ve done a couple of days of pottery washing of the sherds Brandon and Tom have been recovering from their work on Vigla. All Hellenistic, no Roman, so some different pottery to look at. Out on Vigla a fairly large hole has been dug since the expected bottom of wall and bedrock failed to materialize where expected. The trench is at least 9 feet deep at the south end and has uncovered a large mud brick wall and very little pottery.
Tomorrow I am driving to Polis to store stuff there for next year and also give Nancy a ride to the airport. This will give us a chance to talk about future work at Polis and make some plans 
for the next few years – both about work and about publication plans. On Wednesday (and maybe Thursday) I am going to go back to Kourion to see if I can find the pottery Michael asked me to look over. On Friday, I am hoping to go up to Athienou and visit Nick, so it is a busy week of driving around the island. Saturday morning early is when I am flying back to the States, so the days are rapidly counting down on my 2018 Cyprus work.
Last night we went out to dinner at the Maqam Al Sultan, a Lebanese restaurant on the waterfront. We go there every year, and every year the food is fantastic – at least in my view, there are a few too many vegetable dishes for Brandon. I even broke down and made a reservation for the group, which I usually do not do, but since there were seven of us, I figured it was best to be organized about the dinner. We were seven because Dallas, a former PKAP staff member was in town and joined us for the meal. For dinner we ordered the Grand Meze which is a lot of food, but a lot of very good food. The meal included:
- Tabbouleh -Parsley salad with tomato, crushed wheat, onion, fresh mint, lemon juice and olive oil dressing
- Fattoush – Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, radish, pomegranate seeds and toasted pieces of Lebanese bread, served with Al-Sultan sauce dressing
- Hummus – Chickpea puree with sesame paste (Tahini) and lemon juice
- Falafel – deep-fried balls made from ground chickpeas and broad beans, mixed with fine herbs and spices, served with tahini sauce
- Warak Inab B’zeit – Grape leaves filled with rice, tomato, parsley, mint and onion,
cooked in olive oil with lemon juice - Moutabal Baba Ghanouj – Grilled aubergine puree mixed with sesame paste (Tahini) and lemon juice
- Shankleesh – Strained yogurt, oregano and dry spices, topped with fresh tomato, onion and olive oil
- Muhammara – Grilled sweet red pepper, crushed walnuts, olive oil, paprika and Lebanese herbs
- Batata Harra – Mildly spiced cubes of potatoes, sauteed in olive oil with garlic, coriander and sweet red pepper
- Falafel Kibbeh Makliyeh – deep-fried traditional Lebanese lamb meat balls filled
with sauteed minced lamb and beef, onion and pine nuts - Sambousek Lahme – deep-fried Lebanese pastries filled with minced lamb and beef and onion
- Sambousek Jibne – deep-fried Lebanese pastries filled with anari, halloumi and feta cheese
- Kafta Meshwi – skewers of charcoal-grilled seasoned minced lamb and beef mixed with onion and parsley
- Fatayer Spinach – deep-fried Lebanese pastries filled with spinach, onion, lemon juice, olive oil, tomato and sumac
- Shish Taouk – charcoal-grilled boneless chicken thighs, marinated in Al-Sultan sauce
- and Chicken Wings
RSM
Ancient History Ramblings 