| These
two charts of Cyprus form part of a collection of British Admiralty
charts in the American
Center of Oriental Research (ACOR) library that includes
many charts of the eastern Mediterranean. A large collection of Admiralty
charts is also found in the library of the American Academy in Rome.
Surprisingly, the two collections have very little overlap. The charts
exhibited are numbered 0776 and 0796 and depict most of the northern
coast of Cyprus. Historically, the northern coast of Cyprus was only
vaguely delineated in the early charts of the island because shipping
moved along the southern coast where the major ports of the island
were located. The
first scientific hydrographic survey of Cyprus was carried out by
Captain Thomas Graves for the British Admiralty in 1849, and his
chart of Cyprus was published in 1851. All subsequent charts of
Cyprus are based on Graves’s survey, with corrections. When
Cyprus came under British control in 1878, an official circumnavigation
of the island was made, and it was decided that Graves’s charts,
made thirty years earlier, required little amendment. The present
charts are still based on Graves’s measurements. They are
two of the three charts that delineate the north coast of Cyprus
in great detail.
Bibliography
Navari, L., editor. Maps of Cyprus from the collections of the
Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation, Nicosia, 2003. |