The autumn excavation season at Kition-Bamboula (pesent-day Larnaca) in Cyprus has concluded with archaeologists uncovering new evidence that adds depth to the understanding of this multilayered site.
Throughout October, the French Archaeological Mission concentrated its efforts in the northwest sector, an area long dominated by a large pit created during the late Classical period in the 4th century BC. With the Department of Antiquities announcing the completion of the 2025 campaign, researchers can now better assess how extensive earthworks from that era reshaped earlier settlement layers.
The large Classical period pit has been the focus of investigation for several years, and its contents proved especially significant. Among the artifacts recovered were more than one hundred Phoenician inscribed sherds corresponding to roughly seventy-five separate texts. These inscriptions remain under study and highlight the site’s ties to broader Mediterranean networks. With the clearing of the pit completed in 2024, the current season shifted toward revealing deeper and older phases of habitation that had been concealed beneath centuries of later activity.
Surprisingly extensive evidence of Classical era at Larnaca’s Kition-Bamboula
Further excavation to the south brought to light a second deep cut into the terrain. This feature, identified as Space 976, was used for the extraction of architectural stone and appears to run parallel to an earlier extraction area known as Space 975. Both cuts were found to disrupt remains from earlier building phases.
Space 976 had removed or damaged parts of earlier constructions, such as the continuation of Space 964, where only the stone foundations were preserved, as well as significant portions of Space 962, which belongs to an earlier occupation phase. Even with this disturbance, the lower layers of Space 962 continued beyond the depth of the extraction cut. To the south, a later wall remained standing with a superstructure made of mudbrick and cobbles, recorded as Space 970.
Floors of classical period and evidence of ritual activity
Between the two extraction cuts, archaeologists identified several surviving floor surfaces from the Classical period. Many of these floors showed signs of repair and repeated use. One area, known as Floor 966, was particularly well preserved and appears to have been rebuilt multiple times. It likely extended toward Wall 962 on its western side.
Beneath the northern portion of this floor, a small deposit was uncovered containing two vessels and a pebble. The presence of a cooking pot suggests that this feature may represent a foundation ritual similar to deposits of other Classical sites in Cyprus, including examples from Amathus. Although the central part of the trench did not reach levels earlier than the Classical period, older remains appeared in other areas of the excavation.
Archaic period remains present rare glimpse of early life
The most striking discoveries of the season lay north of Space 975, where exceptionally well-preserved remains from the Cypro-Archaic period, specifically the 8th to 7th centuries BC, were found. A room whose southern boundary had been removed by later activity was revealed, while its eastern and northern sides remained intact. These limits were defined by stone walls that once supported mudbrick superstructures, a level of preservation rarely seen for architecture of this age.
A section of this construction, known as Wall 978, still carried traces of white plaster on its western face, a notable survival. The collapse of the mudbrick superstructure sealed the contents of the room in place, allowing objects to remain exactly where they had last been positioned. The assemblage found inside included imported Phoenician commercial amphorae, local Plain White amphorae, a Plain White lekythos, and a bichrome barrel-shaped oinochoe. The arrangement of the vessels appeared intentional. Three were aligned along the northern wall and three along the eastern wall. Two of the Phoenician amphorae were found overturned with both their upper and lower parts missing.
These discoveries represent the earliest phase of occupation identified in this part of Kition-Bamboula and contribute valuable information about early settlement practices, trade connections, and daily life in Cyprus, with ties extending to neighboring regions such as Greece.
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