by kind permission of the ETANA team, search the ABZU database:
 |
Home
Periods
Sites
People
papers
projects
Resources
for Study
RESOURCES BY COUNTRY
TECHNIQUES
site map
by kind permission of the ETANA team, search the ABZU database:
|
The Forerunners of Famagusta: Enkomi -Salamis
by Dr Vassos Karageorghis
Former Director of the Cyprus Department of Antiquities
The area around today's Famagusta was since antiquity favourable to growth and prosperity. There was a fertile plain, west of the bay of Salamis, the bay itself provided a natural harbour, and its geographical position was ideally located to provide an outlet for trade and cultural relations with the Near East.
As early as the 17th century BC a small community of farmers established a settlement behind the rocky plateau west of the modern village of Enkomi, not far from the coast on the north bank of the Pedieos river. This modest rural settlement was destined to become a large, prosperous and cosmopolitan town during the second half of the 2nd millennium BC when Cyprus developed a brisk trade with both the Aegean and the Syro-Palestinian littoral.
Copper ore was transported from the copper mines to Enkomi, where it was smelted in metallurgical workshops and then shipped for export to both east and west. The town had a harbour, probably an inner one which communicated with the sea through a navigable channel.
The copper trade enriched the merchants of Enkomi as is evidenced by the rich tomb gifts which accompanied the burials: exquisite Mycenaean vases decorated with chariots, bulls, birds and other motifs, exotic goods such as faience and alabaster vases, scarabs, ostrich eggs, jewellery of gold and silver. Many of those brought to light are exhibited in the museums of Cyprus but most, unfortunately, found their way to museums in Europe at the end of the 19th century.
The town underwent profound changes towards the very end of the 13th century BC. Public buildings of a monumental character were erected of large hewn stone blocks, streets were constructed crossing at right angels and the town was fortified with a formidable "cyclopean" wall; metallurgy received a fresh impetus and new artistic styles were introduced. All these changes are attributed to the arrival of newcomers to the island who are usually identified with the Achaeans of the Aegean.
The beginning of the 11th century BC witnessed further changes in this region. Following a major catastrophe which may have been due to either internal strife or a natural phenomenon the town rapidly declined and its population moved eastwards to establish a new centre on the coast around a natural harbour. This movement coincided with the arrival of the final influx of Aegean colonists who completed the Hellenization of the area, a process which had already begun one hundred years earlier. This even left a deep impression on the island's traditions and is reflected in myths concerning the foundation of certain Cypriot towns by Greek heroes after the end of the Trojan war. Thus the founder of the new town by the sea is said to have been Teucer, son of Telamon, king of the island of Salamis near Attica, who named it Salamis after his fatherland.
Salamis must have been prosperous already in the 11th century BC. A tomb excavated in 1965 by the French Mission of the University of Lyon brought to light an extraordinary wealth of tomb-gifts which also attest trade relations with the Near East.
This 11th century BC town was confined to a rather small area around the harbour but soon expanded westwards to occupy the area which today is covered by forest. The cemetery of Salamis covers a large area from the western limits of the forest to the Monastery of St. Barnabas to the west, to the outskirts of the village of Ayios Serghios to the north, and to the outskirts of Enkomi village to the south. It contains tombs dating from the 9th century BC down to the Early Christian period. The earlier tombs are within the forest area, near the boundary of the early town.
It is most unfortunate that the Turkish invasion has not permitted the continuation of excavations which began at Salamis in 1952 and were in progress until 1974. As a result very few architectural remains have been uncovered which illustrate the history of the town of the Archaic and Classical periods.
This gap in our knowledge, however, has been partly filled by evidence from the necropolis: the excavation of the monumental "royal tombs" of Salamis opened a new chapter in the history of the town. The tomb chambers had all been looted long before the excavation, probably in the 19th century, but a considerable amount of material was recovered in the spacious passages (dromoi) in front of the built facades. Horses along with their chariots were sacrificed in honour of the dead, an indication of the high rank of the deceased. It is not certain that all of the half dozen tombs called "royal" were used for the burial of members of the royal family of Salamis. Some may have been for the burial of nobles, but the term "royal" distinguishes them from the rock-cut tombs which were used for the burial of ordinary citizens.
One tomb of the "royal" necropolis was particularly rich and has already become famous in the history of Cypriot and even of Mediterranean archaeology. This is Tomb 79, which contained in its dromos two chariots and horses with all their metal gear and trappings, elaborately decorated with pictorial motifs taken from the repertoire of 8th-7th century BC Near Eastern art. There were also an ivory bed, an ivory throne of exceptional workmanship and a large bronze cauldron with griffin and siren attachments at the rim.
Cyprus was under the control of the Assyrians at this time but the city states of the island enjoyed a relative independence as long as they paid their tribute to the Assyrian king. This allowed the kings of the various cities to accumulate wealth and powers and vie with the Assyrian king in pomp and luxury. Certain burial customs observed in the "royal tombs" of Salamis relate directly to Homeric rites, such as the sacrifice of horses in honour of the dead and the offering of jars of olive oil. Some scholars have interpreted this phenomenon as the result of influence of the Homeric Epics in Cyprus.
Though Salamis maintained direct links with the Near East during the 8th and 7th centuries BC, the ancestral bonds with the Aegean did not weaken. One royal tomb contained a large amount of Greek Geometric pottery and this has been explained as the dowry of a Greek princess who married into the royal family of Salamis. Greek pottery was also found in tombs of ordinary citizens. At this time the Greeks were embarking on an eastward expansion by founding colonies in Asia Minor and Syria; Salamis must have served as an intermediate station; it has even been suggested that Cypriots helped the Greeks in their venture.
The history of Salamis during the early Archaic and Classical periods is reflected in the narrations of the Greek historian Herodotou and the speeches of the Greek orator Isokrates. The city was then the capital of the island and led the other Cypriot cities in their efforts to liberate themselves from Persian rule. Under King Evagoras (411-374 BC) Greek culture and art flourished in the city and it would be interesting one day when the spade of the archaeologist uncovers public buildings of this period. A monument which illustrates the end of the Classical period in Salamis is the tumulus which covered the cenotaph of Nicocreon, the last king of Salamis, who perished in 311 BC. On its monumental platform were found several clay heads, some of which are portraits, perhaps of members of the royal family who were honoured after their tragic death on the pyre.
The public buildings uncovered so far at the city site of Salamis date to the post-Classical period. The temple of Zeus Salaminios whose cult was established, according to tradition, by Teucer himself, must have existed since the foundation of the city; the extant remains date to the late Hellenistic period. The "cultural centre" of Salamis during the Roman period was situated at the northernmost part of the city, where a gymnasium, theatre, amphitheatre, stadium and public baths have been revealed. Although Salamis ceased to be the capital of Cyprus from the Hellenistic period onwards when it was replaced by Paphos, its wealth and importance did not diminish. The city was particularly favoured by the Roman emperors Trajan and Hadrian who restored and established its public buildings. During excavations several marble statues were discovered which adorned spacious stoas of the gymnasium and the stage building of the theatre, together with decrees in honour of the benefactors of the city.
Earthquakes in 332 and 342 AD destroyed Salamis together with other ancient Cypriot towns. Emperor Constantios helped the Salaminians reconstruct their city by relieving them from paying taxes for a short period and thus the new city, rebuilt on a smaller scale, was named Constantia. Several monumental buildings of this early Christian city of Constantia have been uncovered by excavations including a house which may have been used by a local bishop and the spacious basilica of St. Epiphanios. Part of the city wall has also been revealed. Public building outside the walled city were also reconstructed e.g. the gymnasium, which was now used as baths, and the theatre where mimic performances used to take place. Outside the city site a monumental basilica was erected dedicated to Barnabas, a citizen of Salamis who together with St. Paul preached Christianity throughout the island.
The ancient splendour of Salamis, however, could not be revived. The Arab invasions brought new calamities to the already impoverished city whose end was approaching. But the resilience of this eastern part of Cyprus did not permit oblivion or decline: another city was established a few miles to the south which was destined to live anew some of the glories of its predecessor during the mediaeval period; this was Famagusta.
The region of Enkomi-Salamis is no doubt one of the most important archaeological areas in Cyprus. An English archaeologist, called Salamis the most important archaeological site of the East Mediterranean. Before the Turkish invasion there was much archaeological activity there; one French Mission was excavating at Enkomi, another at Salamis and the Department of Antiquities was busy almost throughout the year with repairs and restorations of monuments and was engaged in excavations at Salamis.
The Turkish occupation put an end to all activity and made both sites inaccessible for archaeologists who had laboured for many years to unearth the monuments and to study their history. The Turkish invasion did not only bring disaster to the population of Cyprus but also "imprisoned" monuments and left them to the mercy of the weather.
Important archaeological collections were kept in Famagusta town. In the District Archaeological Museum there were marble statues from the gymnasium and the theatre of Salamis, Mycenaean pottery and jewellery from Enkomi and other objects representative of the rich archaeological heritage of the whole district. When an UNESCO representative visited the Museum a few years after the invasion he noticed that the show-cases which had contained small valuable objects were empty.
The richest archaeological collection in Cyprus was that of Mr Chr. Hadjiprodromou.
It included masterpieces of Cypriot art from the Chalcolithic to the Mediaeval
period. Most of the objects in the collection were unique. Soon after the
invasion some of them were detected at an auction in London and were reclaimed
by their lawful owner. Others were bought on the black market in France. Photographs
of other objects were circulated in Europe and America for prospective buyers.
No doubt the collection was thoroughly plundered. Fortunately every object
had been described and photographed before 1974 so the archaeological world
has some information at least.
Dikaios, Porphyrios. 1963. A 'Royal' Tomb at Salamis, Cyprus. AA. p. 126-210.
Hadjioannou, K. 1973. Two Stories of Sisyphos the Coan Cited by Ioannis Malalas
about Teukros and the Building of Salamis in Cyprus. Acts of the International
Archaeological Symposium 'The Mycenaeans in the Eastern Mediterranean,' Nicosia,
27th March - 2nd April 1972.Department of Antiquities, Nicosia. p. 254-259.
Karageorghis, Vassos. 1999. Excavating at Salamis in Cyprus 1952-1974. Appendices by Anna Marangou and Marguerite Yon. Athens: The A. G. Leventis Foundation.
Karageorghis, V. 1976. A 'Homeric' Burial Discovered in a Royal Tomb of the
7th Century B. C. Excavations at Salamis in Cyprus. Bacon, Edward, ed.
The Great Archaeologists (Reprint from ILN 240:June 2 1962, pp. 894-896).
Secker & Warburg, London; Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis, New York. p.
378-379.
Karageorghis, Vassos. 1974. Excavations in the Necropolis of Salamis III.
Salamis, Vol. 5.Department of Antiquities, Nicosia. Review: Jean Pouilloux,
in RA (1977), 346-349
Karageorghis, V. 1970. Salamis auf Zypern. AntW 1. p. 3-15.
Karageorghis, Vassos.
1969. Salamis. Recent Discoveries in Cyprus. New Aspects of Archaeology.Thames
and Hudson, London; McGraw Hill, New York.
Karageorghis, V. 1968. Qadmoniot 1:3. p. 106-109.
Karageorghis, Vassos. 1968. Die Elfenbein-Throne von Salamis, Zypern. ArchHom
II:P, Anhang II.Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, Göttingen.
Karageorghis, Vassos. 1968. Die Elfenbein-Throne von Salamis, Zypern. ArchHom
II:P.Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, Göttingen.
Karageorghis, Vassos. 1967. Homerica from Salamis (Cyprus). Brice, William
C., ed., Europa. Studien zur Geschichte und Epigraphik der Frühen Aegaeis.
Festschrift für Ernst Grumach.Walter de Gruyter and Co., Berlin. p. 167-171.
Karageorghis, Vassos. 1967. New Archaeological Discoveries at Salamis. Anatolica
1. p. 83-86.
Karageorghis, Vassos. 1967. Note on a Footstool from Salamis. Kadmos 6.
p. 98-99.
Karageorghis, V. 1966. Recent Discoveries at Salamis (Cyprus). AA 81. p.
210-255.
Karageorghis, V. 1964. The Necropolis at Salamis: Recent Excavations of the
Ancient Capital of Cyprus. Part 1. ILN (Archaeological Section 2196; 29
Aug.). p. 294-296.
Karageorghis, V. 1964. The Necropolis at Salamis: Recent Excavations of the
Ancient Capital of Cyprus. Part 2. ILN (Archaeological Section 2197; 5
Sept.). p. 332-334.
Karageorghis, V. 1962. A 'Homeric' Burial Discovered in a Royal Tomb of the 7th Century B.C.: Excavations at Salamis in Cyprus (Archaeological Section No. 2093). ILN 240 (2 June). p. 894-896.
Mitford, Terence B., and Ino K. Nikolaou. 1974. The Greek and Latin Inscriptions from Salamis. Salamis, Vol. 6.Department of Antiquities, Nicosia. Review: Paul Roesch, in RA (1977), 349-350
Wainwright, G.A. 1963. A Teucrian at Salamis in Cyprus. JHS 83. p. 146-151.
Yon, Marguerite. 1997. Teucer, Evagoras, Epiphanios: Research at Salamis in Cyprus. Praktika tu Diethnus Arheoloyiku Sinedriu I Kipros ke to Egeo stin Arheotita apo tin Proïstoriki periodo os ton 7o eona m.C. Lefkosia 8-10 Dekemvriou 1995/Proceedings of the International Archaeological Conference Cyprus and the Aegean in Antiquity from the Prehistoric Period to the 7th Century A.D. Nicosia 8-10 December 1995. Lefkosia: Tmima Arheotiton, Kipru/Department of Antiquities, Cyprus. p. 275-288.
information drawn from
NESTOR,
20.10.01
| Please
send any comments or suggestions for the project or website to
Co-ordinator@ancientcyprus.ac.uk |
 |
The Ancient Cyprus Web Project is affiliated to the Council for British Research in the Levant |
Technical note: this site is best viewed using Internet Explorer. Visitors
using other browsers, for example Netscape, may experience some difficulties
on certain pages of this site. We are working to address these difficulties.
|
|
|||
