Tamassos
Tamassos
Tamassos – located 21 km. (30 minute drive) southwest of Nicosia, this archaeological site goes back to the 8th century BC in an area which was already inhabited from the Late Bronze Age, and until the first half of the 7th century it had developed into an important city-kingdom of Cyprus. From its foundation until the Roman period the town prospered greatly due to the exploitation of the mines in its environs. In the second half of the 4th century the king of Tamssos, Pasikypros, sold the city to the king of Kition, Poumiathon, and Tamassos therefore came under the ownership of the Phoenicians. The domination of the Phoenicians did not last very long since Tamassos along with her mines had been conceded to the kingdom of Salamis until the final abolition of the kingdoms by the Ptolemy kings in 312-311 B.C. Apart from the fact that in the first half of the 1st century A.D. Tamassos became one of the Christian bishoprics of Cyprus, the city did not play an important role during the Hellenistic and Roman periods.
Excavations conducted here revealed not only tombs from the Bronze and Archaic Ages, but six intact limestone sculptures (two sphinxes and four lions), which probably protected the entrance to these tombs. Hours: 8:30 am – 4:00 pm (Monday – Friday)(closed on weekends) (Winter); 9:30 am – 5:00 pm (Monday – Friday)(closed on weekends) (Summer). €2.50