The Department of Antiquities, Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, announces the opening of the Archaeological Site of Idalion which will take place on Tuesday, October 3, 2017 at 18:30 at the Local Archaeological Museum of Ancient Idalion. The ceremony will be inaugurated by H.E. the President of the Republic of Cyprus Mr Nicos Anastasiades.
The Archaeological Site of Idalion consists of the excavated part of the administrative centre (palace) of the ancient city-kingdom, that functioned during the Cypro-archaic and Cypro-classical period (c. 750-310 BC). It was a monumental edifice and its remains are impressively well preserved. An unusually large olive press installation, storage rooms with large pithoi, the rooms of the guard and monumental wings possibly used by the administrative elite were excavated. A total of almost 800 inscriptions (mainly Phoenician but also Greek, in the Arcadocypriot dialect) were also recovered within the palace. This is the largest corpus of inscriptions dating to the era of the city-kingdoms ever found in Cyprus and they provide ample documentation pertaining to the political and economic management of Idalion’s catchment area.
With the opening of the Archaeological Site of Idalion one of the most important monuments dating to the era of the city-kingdoms will be revealed to the public. Together with the nearby Local Archaeological Museum of Ancient Idalion, it will be a major landmark in the island’s cultural routes.
