The Swedes first started to excavate Ancient Kition during the 1920s, but most of the ancient city remains buried under modern Larnaca. The most visible ruins are on Leontiou Machaira near the archaeological museum and an area of main interest is Area II, where a wooden catwalk provides a view of ongoing excavations. Other visible structures include a large shrine that was redirected to the fertility goddess Astarte by the Phoenicians and four small earlier temples. The site is considered to be rather unusual as well as important as few Roman or Hellenistic artefacts have been found here. It also makes it politically delicate, as Greek Cypriots tend to be less enthusiastic about ruins of Asiatic cultural origins.
Return to previous page
