Larnaca...Archaeological Museum and Larnaca Castle

On a scorching July morning we made our way to Larnaca. Our first stop was the newly renovated Archaeological Museum. This museum was established in 1969 to house antiquities found in the city and district of Larnaca. Larnaca stands on the site of ancient Kition. The town was founded in the 13th Century BC. 

First of all, we browsed the exhibits taken from Choirokitia, which is one of the oldest settlements found on the island from the Neolithic Period. Of particular interest were stone figurines, stone vessels and bodily adornment. During this time, the burial practices were that the person was buried below the floors of the houses. An exhibit shows the skull covered by a grinding stone as they believed the dead could come back to life.

The Late Bronze Age exhibits were also particularly interesting and vessels on display become more ornamental. Objects of bodily adornment are a frequent find in tombs at this time, including necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Clay bathtubs have been found at various Late Bronze Age sites in Cyprus and are known in the Aegean and the Southern Levant. As well as bathtubs, they could have been used during purification rituals. 

 At this time, there was a great demand for Cypriot copper by the powerful states of the Eastern Mediterranean. By the 13 Century BC, Cyprus played a central role in the international trade networks of the period. In the Maroni River Valley where the river met the sea, an important settlement flourished during this time. 

Also in the Late Bronze Age, textile production became more specialized with large textile workshops developing and excavated at Kition and on display at the museum is an ancient loom. Further down on display were female figurines which were possibly inspired from Syro-Palestinian examples linked with the worship of the goddess Astarte. The bull was also significant at this time, symbolizing power and fertility.

The next phase in the museum were exhibits from Ancient Kition. Kition, like Palaipafos and Idalion were not abandoned at the transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Iron Age. Kition underwent a gradual urban development that included the creation and improvement of public spaces such as sanctuaries and streets. Kition managed to annex the neighbouring city-state of Idalion following a military operation as well as the copper-producing city of Tamassos on the northern slopes of Troodos. As it was in the Late Bronze Age, Kition remained a harbour city in the Iron Age. 

The city kingdoms, including Kition were abolished as a result of the annexation of the island by the successors of Alexander the Great. Cyprus was included in the states of the Ptolemies of Egypt as a unified region with Paphos as its capital. Kition however as well as Salamis, maintained their status as important urban centres. Around 1050 BC an earthquake devastated Cyprus and Kition was reduced to rubble. Its inhabitants relocated to Salamis.

Our next stop was the castle. Originally built toward the end of the 14th Century, during the reign of the Lusignan king of Cyprus James I (1382-1398), it gained importance after the capture of Ammochostos by the Genoese in 1374. During the Venetian period it was strengthened, only to be demolished to avoid it being captured by the Ottomans. Following the Ottoman conquest, it was rebuilt in 1625 and used as a prison. By the middle of the 18th Century the castle fell into decline. During British rule, it was used as a police station and a prison until 1948 when it was converted into a District Museum, where you can see helmets and swords of the 15th and 16th Centuries, pictures of Medieval fortifications on the island and the coat of arms of prominent families of that time, such as Cornaro and Visconti. Also on display are Medieval and Ottoman tombstones.

Sources: Cyprus Department of Antiquities