Cyprus’ Department of Antiquities and Cyprus House in Athens recently presented the first volume of the final publication on excavations at the Tombs of the Kings in Paphos.
The book, “Tombs of the Kings – The Ptolemaic Necropolis of Pafos, Volume I. Excavation Seasons 1977-1981,” was written by the site’s excavator, Sophocles Hadjisavvas, a former director of the Department of Antiquities.
Department of Antiquities excavations in the North Necropolis of Paphos between 1977 and 1990 uncovered a significant part of the largest Hellenistic cemetery in Cyprus. Among its main monuments are nine monumental underground burial complexes with peristyle courtyards, a rare example of Ptolemaic-era funerary architecture that blends Egyptian and Greek traditions.
The first volume covers the site’s general history, a detailed description of the visitable peristyle tombs and an account of the department’s systematic excavations. It gives particular attention to Tomb 8, a complex built around a central rock core and four open courtyards. Tomb 8 has been attributed, on strong evidence, to the burial of Ptolemy of Cyprus (80-58 B.C.), the last Ptolemaic ruler of the island.
Hadjisavvas also excavated the Phoenician necropolis at Kition and the site of Alassa. He has published 11 monographs.