Archaeologists discovered a 4000-year-old temple on the island of Cyprus. The finding was made by the Italian Erimi Archaeological Mission, led by Professor Luca Bombardieri from the University of Siena, in collaboration with the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus. The temple, which features an enigmatic central monolith decorated with a circular motif of small cups, […]
Cyprus
Posted inAntiquity
The Terracotta Army of Agia Eirini, the Largest Find of Late Iron Age Sculptures
In the heart of the Kyrenia district, in the picturesque Morphou Bay, lies the small village of Agia Eirini (Saint Irene), known in Turkish as Akdeniz. This place, under the de facto control of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, is home to one of the most fascinating archaeological discoveries in the Mediterranean: the so-called […]
Posted inBronze Age Archaeology
The Mystery of the Origin of the Copper for the First Oxhide Ingots, which Spread throughout the Mediterranean between the 16th and 11th Centuries BCE, has been Solved
Though they have long been considered a “trademark” of Cyprus from the 15th century BCE onward, the origin of this distinctive shape had remained unknown until now. Thanks to the expanded lead isotope database of copper minerals from Eurasia, researchers have been able to determine the origin of the oldest chemically analyzed oxhide copper ingots. […]
Posted inAntiquity
The Cypriots that Carried Copper Ingots on their Shoulders in the Bronze Age
Oxhide ingots are metal slabs, primarily made of copper, although sometimes also made of tin, produced during the Late Bronze Age on the island of Cyprus and later distributed across the Mediterranean. They were used, at least since 1500 BC, as a means of transporting copper and for bulk sales across the Mediterranean via maritime […]
Posted inBronze Age Archaeology
Rare Minoan Bronze Mirror from 3300 Years Ago Found at Hala Sultan Tekke Site in Cyprus
Researchers have found a Minoan bronze mirror in an intact Late Bronze Age tomb at the archaeological site of Hala Sultan Tekke on the southeast coast of Cyprus. This mirror, dated to around 1300 BCE, is a unique piece in the funerary context of this Cypriot port city. The ancient city of Hala Sultan Tekke […]
Posted inClassical Archaeology
Intact Roman Shipwreck Found Sunk off the Coast of Cyprus
The Department of Antiquities of the Republic of Cyprus announced yesterday the discovery of a shipwreck off the coast of the town of Protaras, southeast of the island, by members of the Maritime Archaeological Research Laboratory of the University of Cyprus. A team of archaeologists and university volunteers is already working on the documentation and […]
