The Mayor of Paralimni - Deryneia, Mr. Giorgos Nikolettos, recently held a meeting with the Officer of the Department of Antiquities, Dr. Anna Satraki. The subject of the meeting was the highlighting of the important Neolithic Settlement "Nissia" which is located in the coastal area of Protaras.
During the meeting, ways and schedule of cleaning and highlighting the archaeological site were discussed as well as ways of creating accessibility so that it can be visited by schools and local and foreign visitors.
Also present during the meeting were the Deputy Mayor of Paralimni, Mr. Kleanthis Koutsoftas, the person responsible for Culture and Tourism of the Municipality, Mr. Marinos Pavlikkas, as well as the Surveyor, Mr. Panagiotis Zacharias, who voluntarily proceeded with a design for the construction of a sample Neolithic residence which will be erected near the archaeological site.
It should be noted that the Neolithic Settlement "Nissia" of Protaras is very important as it belongs to the Neolithic II period or Neolithic Ceramic period and dates back to around 5200-4800 BC. It is the largest settlement of the Neolithic period that has been excavated and researched to date in the province of Famagusta. The most representative settlements of this period in Cyprus are Sotiras in the province of Limassol, Vrysi of Agios Epiktitos in the province of Kyrenia, Filia (Drakos) in the region of Morphou and Kanto-Koufovounou in the province of Limassol.
The archaeological site of the settlement of Nissi covers an area of 3250 sq.m., of which 2750 sq.m. have been excavated by the Department of Antiquities. During the excavations, forty dwellings have been uncovered, a protective wall in the shape of a horseshoe that had two gates with the central one on the south side, as well as a significant number of mobile finds, such as vessels, tools, etc. The houses that have been found have a quadrilateral shape, with rounded corners.
All the houses are built at a level from 7 to 10 meters above sea level.
