Amathus
Amathus was one of several kingdoms that occupied the land of Cyprus in the Iron Age (11th–4th century BCE). Especially prosperous in Late Antiquity, when it was the see of one of the island’s bishops, the site was abandoned at the end of the 7th century CE, but the memory of the site has never been lost. The sanctuary of Aphrodite known as Kypria was renowned in Antiquity: its remains dominate the site from the top of the acropolis to this day.
The site was first explored in the 19th century by travellers and scholars, leading to the discovery of inscriptions and various artefacts, including the great vase of Amathus, part of the Cypriot collections at the Musée du Louvre. The site has been studied since 1975 by a French archaeological mission, working alongside and in conjunction with the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus.
Introduction to the site
On the southern coast of the island, some ten kilometres to the east of the major industrial port of Limassol, the ancient city of Amathus covers a surface area of some 40 hectares, enclosed by a rampart from the archaic period, with necropolises extending several hundred metres around the site. The urban area lies between the hill on which the acropolis stands to the west, at a height of approximately 80 metres above sea level, with very uneven terrain, and the lower town to the south east. Founded in the early 1st millennium BCE, the town was occupied for some seventeen centuries, before being abandoned at the end of Late Antiquity (end of the 7th century CE), in favour of the neighbouring port of Limassol.
Amathus, Cypriot kingdom
Chief city of a local kingdom until the early Hellenistic period, Amathus is described in rare Greek sources as an indigenous settlement (populated by people called Eteocypriots, “true Cypriots"), companions of the hero and local king Kinyras, who is said to have resisted and survived the Hellenisation of the island in the late 2nd millennium BCE. This is not backed up by the archaeological evidence, which reveals the existence of a cosmopolitan civilisation, extremely open, in a similar way to the rest of the island.
Discoveries made by the French mission
On the acropolis, the excavations carried out by the French mission (French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs & École française d’Athènes) revealed a major sanctuary also known through literary sources and dedicated to the Great Goddess of the island, represented in the archaic period as the Egyptian Hathor, who was identified with Aphrodite from the end of the classical period. A temple was built in the sanctuary in the imperial period, and a small basilica during the Late Antique period.
Archaeologists also revealed several rooms in a palace-type building, probably the seat of the kings of Amathus, several sections of rampart, including a vast imperial district abutting the North gate, and an imposing underwater military harbour dated to the early Hellenistic period.
A survey of the area in the early 1990s revealed two of the oldest known Neolithic sites in Cyprus, Parekklisha-Shillourokambos and Agios Tychonas-Klimonas (also excavated by the French teams).
A Geographic Information System on Amathus
Since 2014 the mission has been working on a Geographic Information System for the ancient city of Amathus: a digital map of the site is linked to databases that bring together historical and archaeological information. An effective analysis tool, it is constantly being developed and extended. A version accessible to the public will be published online on the website of the École française d’Athènes, via an application specifically designed for this purpose.
