Kition, Larnaca
French Archaeological Mission of Kition (dir. Sabine Fourrier)
Engraving of the old town of Larnaca by F. Cassas, 1785. The viewpoint is difficult to specify: Mount Stavrovouni, at the back, is curiously close; the large building could be the church of the Franciscan Convent of Terra Santa (rebuilt in the 19th century); the pond in the foreground could correspond to the remains of the port basin of Bamboula (but the artificial hill that bordered it is missing).
The ancient city of Kition, founded in the last centuries of the Late Bronze Age (13th century BC), is now covered by the modern city of Larnaca. This storymap invites the visitor on a five-step journey through urban history, leading to places where different strata of the site's past can be seen. It also offers online documentary resources to extend and enrich the visit.
I - A great city at the end of the 2nd millennium
Founded in the 13th century B.C., the town of Kition underwent a remarkable development in the following century, which is reflected in several monumental constructions, including a temple and a rampart with a sandstone base and mud brick elevation. The wall, whose course can still be followed on an impressive distance, has profoundly marked the topography of the modern city. The material discovered in the tombs reveals a rich society, open to the Aegean and Levantine worlds.
Bibliography : Vassos Karageorghis , " Chronique des fouilles et découvertes archéologiques à Chypre en 1969 ", Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique Année 1970 94-1 pp. 191-300.
II - A Cypro-Phoenician Kingdom
Inhabited without interruption despite the disruptions that marked the end of the 2nd millennium, the town of Kition experienced a new development, due in particular to the settlement of Phoenicians, who, as of the 8th century BC, led to the transformation of Kition’s material culture. Phoenician became the dominant language. The sanctuaries of Kathari, Bamboula and Kamilarga have yielded an abundant material that testifies to the vitality and originality of local craftsmanship. The kings were buried in beautifully constructed tombs and they shared with the other rulers of the island a repertoire of images borrowed from Egypt (in particular the figure of the goddess Hathor).
III - A powerful maritime kingdom
The Classical period (5th-4th centuries BC) marks the apogee of the kingdom. The Phoenician kings increase their territory (with the conquest of Idalion) and are in possession of a powerful fleet. The French excavations have excavated the building where the warships were pulled out to dry and, in collaboration with a team of geomorphologists, they have restituted the contours of the harbor basin, which is now filled in. The extension of the necropolises and the development of the sanctuaries (several of which are installed on the shores of the salt lake) bear witness to this prosperous period of the city.
Documentation : Database of the Kition-Pervolia necropolis excavations
Bibliography : Anna Cannavo' , Sabine Fourrier , Alexandre Rabot , Fouilles dans les nécropoles de Kition (2012-2014) , Lyon, MOM Éditions , 2018
Marguerite Yon, " Les hangars du port chypro-phénicien de Kition. Campagnes 1996-1998 ", Syria. Archéologie, Art et histoire Année 2000 77 pp. 95-116
IV - From Antiquity to the first scientific excavations
The following periods, just as rich, left few visible traces in today's city. Larnaca became, in modern times, a stopover in the Levant, visited by travellers, merchants and pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land. One of these travellers, Richard Pococke, copied Phoenician inscriptions so faithfully that they could be deciphered despite the loss of the stones. Many finds and explorations took place before the passage under British administration, which witnessed the destruction of a large part of the site of Bamboula as well as the first scientific excavations. Among the latter, let’s mention the work of Myres in the necropolis of Tourapi and especially the excavations of the Swedish Cyprus Expedition at Bamboula.
Documentation : Swedish Cyprus Expedition - 90th anniversary!
Richard Pococke , Plans of Citium and Salamis in Cyprus , London, 1743-1745
Bibliography : Sabine Fourrier , Thomas Kiely , " Excavations at Kition-Bamboula 1879. Finds in the British Museum ", Cahiers du Centre d’Études Chypriotes Année 2012 42 pp. 273-304
Marguerite Yon , Larnaca et Kition aux XVIIIe et XIXe siècles , Cahiers du Centre d’Études Chypriotes Année 2011 41 pp. 21-52
V - Today
Excavations continue today in the city of Larnaca, carried out by the Department of Antiquities (planned excavations on the Terra Umbra site, rescue excavations at various points in the city) and the French mission (excavations at Bamboula and on the city wall). In addition, the enhancement of the city's rich past continues: the renovation of the museum will make the most recent discoveries available to the public, in particular the exceptional sarcophagi unearthed by the Department of Antiquities in a tomb discovered in the Sotiros city-quarter; the masterplan launched at Bamboula will eventually lead to the opening of the site to the public.
Bibliography : Sabine Fourrier , "Fouilles à Kition-Bamboula ( 2016 , 2017 , 2018 )", Chroniques des fouilles, BCH
Giorgos Georgiou , " Three stone sarcophagi from a Cypro-Classical tomb at Kition ", Cahiers du Centre d’Études Chypriotes Année 2009 39 pp. 113-139
