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Tamassos Sacred Valley

Tamassos Sacred Valley

Tamassos was an inland city-kingdom that thrived from the Late Bronze Age to the Roman period, from around 1200 BC to the 10th century AD. The city appears in an Assyrian inscription from about 673 BC as Tamesi, a city-state that paid tribute to the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Homer may have mentioned it in the Odyssey as Temese, described as the main copper market on the island. culturespot-cy The archaeological site is next to the modern village of Politiko. Much of the ancient city center has not been excavated because it lies under the village and the nearby Monastery of Saint Herakleidios. Archaeologists have uncovered two large royal tombs from the 6th century BC, the foundations of a temple to Aphrodite, parts of city walls, and signs of extensive copper-processing workshops. Historical Background The region was inhabited since the Chalcolithic Age, and villages in the area were densely populated from the Early Bronze Age. Small farming settlements existed long before Tamassos became a unified city. The discovery and use of copper deposits transformed the farmland into an industrial center. The population grew significantly after the copper mines were exploited. Tombs and copper-processing workshops from the Late Bronze Age show this growth. Tamassos controlled major mines near its capital, like Mavrovouni and Kokkinopezoula, which made it a center of copper production. Classical…

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Khirokitia UNESCO Chalcolithic Village

Khirokitia UNESCO Chalcolithic Village

Khirokitia (also spelled Choirokoitia) represents the peak of Cyprus's Aceramic Neolithic period, when communities built permanent settlements without any knowledge of pottery production. The site covers approximately 3 hectares at its maximum extent and consists of circular stone and mudbrick houses clustered together on a hillside. These structures were protected by massive stone walls that enclosed the settlement on multiple sides. nashaplaneta.net The archaeological remains document a sophisticated farming society that thrived for over 1,500 years. Residents cultivated wheat and barley, raised domesticated sheep, goats, and pigs, and supplemented their diet through hunting and gathering wild foods. The settlement's name likely derives from the Greek words for pig (χοίρος) and cradle (κοιτίς), suggesting an area where pigs were raised, though several alternative etymologies exist in local tradition. Historical Background Porphyrios Dikaios, director of the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus, discovered Khirokitia in 1934 during archaeological surveys for the newly established Cyprus Museum. He identified surface scatters of prehistoric material on the terraced slopes of the Maroni River valley. Between 1936 and 1946, Dikaios conducted six excavation campaigns at the site despite interruptions from World War II between 1939 and 1945. His initial findings, published in The Journal of Hellenic Studies in 1934, first dated the settlement to around 4000 BC. However, radiocarbon dating later revealed a much earlier foundation date…

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Deneia Necropolis Cyprus Bronze Age Site

Deneia Necropolis Cyprus Bronze Age Site

Just southeast of the modern village of Deneia in the Nicosia district lies one of Cyprus's most significant Bronze Age burial grounds. This ancient necropolis contains over 1,250 tombs that document nearly a thousand years of funerary practice, from approximately 2500 BCE through 1650 BCE, making it among the most extensively used cemeteries in prehistoric Cyprus. cyprusisland.net The Deneia necropolis represents an extraordinary concentration of chamber tombs carved into natural rock during the Early and Middle Bronze Age periods. Unlike many smaller cemeteries scattered across Cyprus that served individual villages, Deneia appears to have functioned as a regional burial ground that drew communities from a wider area. The tombs follow the standard Bronze Age design, with a dromos or entrance passage leading down to one or more roughly circular burial chambers. These chambers typically held multiple interments as families reopened tombs over generations to add new dead. Grave goods found at the site include red-polished pottery, copper tools and weapons, jewelry made from gold and precious stones, and clay figurines. Historical Background The people who used this cemetery lived during a critical transformation in Cypriot history. Around 2500 BCE, newcomers from Anatolia introduced new pottery styles and burial customs to Cyprus. These immigrants are identified by archaeologists as the Philia Culture, and they brought with them the knowledge to exploit…

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