The databases for Paphos have been initiated using dBase III system for needs of pottery analysis of finds from Paphos, Kition (EFA excavations), Tell Athrib, Marina el-Alamein and other sites undertaken by Warsaw Polytechnical University in cooperation with Freie Universität Berlin. Various methods of analysis were used including wavelength dispersion method of X-Ray fluorescent analysis (WLD XRF) of 90 samples. Reviewing J.W. Hayes’ book on pottery from House of Dionysos (Paphos III, Nicosia 1991) a database was created of wares and forms of pottery as well as references and illustrations in the book. Large part of wares and forms encountered in the House of Dionysos appears also among finds from Polish excavations, though there are also numerous later ceramic finds, particularly from Villa of Theseus and House of Aion. Research on those Late Roman wares were concentrated on Late Roman D, called Cypriot Red Slip Ware (LR CRSW). Simultaneously studies of earlier table ware, Cypriot Sigillata (CS) were made in an attempt to relate those two wares. New facilities of MS Access system within Office software package have prompted to adapt this system to archaeological documentation. The idea of comprehensive digitalisation of stratigraphic and structural data together with all movable finds has been the next step in building a database system. An important role has been played here by Warsaw Geodetic Company (WPG), which has sponsored the project and Wrocław Polytechnical University, as an education partner of Bentley company, which have invited Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology of the Polish Academy of Sciences to participate in the education programme of Microstation software. WPG, apart from help in using CAD system with a database has sponsored professional geodetic work by dispatching at its own expense one of their employees to Paphos to create sound spatial framework. Members of the mission working on particular classes of finds were supposed to use a common database system. At the same time an attempt was made to introduce modern principles of stratigraphy both in the field and in documentation. That project proved to be overambitious and the database too complicated for some members of the team, to accept them.
The next phase was started by Ministry of Science providing means to create database systems for three research projects, the most important on Egyptian temples, with a separate base for the temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, but also for excavations at Paphos. The provider chosen was Sensilabs company, which previously already cooperated with team studying temple of Hatshepsut.
The database system “Pafos” is the result of that cooperation. It has appeared that an automated conversion of data entered in Access database into new, dedicated system is difficult. Differences between fully defined fields of the Access system, accessible only for users both of MS programme of specified version and at least part of data entered beforehand and the extremely elastic at record level fully integrated with internet Paphos database are so large, that importing of data would require at first complete restructuring of Access database. I was therefore decided that copying records one by one would be simpler.
Dr Henryk Meyza
