Pafos Live 21 June 2023
Important findings were brought to light again this year by the archaeological research of the University of Cyprus in Palaipafos of Kouklia.
The scientific team of the University of Cyprus, led by Professor Maria Iacovou, continues since 2012 the investigation of an extremely rare monument using modern technologies in archaeology. This year, Italian experts from the Polytechnic University of Milan were invited to capture in three-dimensional form what was hidden in the tomb, which locals for years thought was a natural hill.
The natural low elevation of Laona, on which the tomb was erected, is visible from the sanctuary of Paphia Aphrodite from which it is almost a kilometer away. At the beginning of the 5th century BC the royal dynasty of Pafos developed an ambitious building programme on the plateau of Hadjiaptoullas, which must have functioned as the acropolis of the Cypro-Classical period, on which it erected a palatial edifice and a monumental complex of economic activities.
At the same time, he built in Laona an imposing fortress facility, which so far has been revealed along the entire length of the eastern side of the hill. Later, this fortress complex was "buried" under 13,700 cubic meters of sediment with which the tomb was erected.
That is why a significant part of the fortress is preserved at a height of 6 meters, which makes it one of the most important monuments of the era of the Cypriot kingdoms.
