Agios Georgios Hill is an archaeological site in Nicosia, Cyprus. The site is rich and complex, spanning almost the entire history of Nicosia from the Chalcolithic through the Byzantine and Lusignan periods. The surveyed archaeological area is about 650 m2, the whole area measuring 49500 m2. The hill is adjacent to the Ministry of Interior (Cyprus) and the Ministry of Finance. A small chapel of St George the Healer (Άγιος Γεώργιος Θεραπευτής) stands on the eastern edge of the excavated area.
Excavation in the north part of the archaeological site started fortuitously in 1996 as a rescue operation after the old building of the Pancyprian Public Servants' Trade Union was demolished to make way for the construction of the House of Representatives. [1] The trade union acronym (PA.SY.D.Y) is often used in the listing of the site. Campaigns of excavation have continued on a regular basis since the discovery. The technique used over much of the site was the Wheeler–Kenyon method of Mortimer Wheeler, with each excavated square measuring 4×4 m. [2]
A rich series of finds have been found at Agios Georgios, most notably from Hellenistic times [3] A hoard of silver coins of the 5th century BCE, the oldest discovered in Cyprus at the time of find in 2006, contributes to the history of Nicosia and indirectly confirms the location of Ledra, one of the independent city-kingdoms that is traditionally located in Nicosia. [4]
The succession of three medieval churches have been excavated and reported by Despina Pilides. [5] Remains of carved mouldings in the Gothic style, and vaulted chambers of finely cut ashlar, show the church was rebuilt in the circa 14th century. Tassos Papacostas has suggested this may be the church of Saint George of Mangana. [6]
Sherry Fox, Ioanna Moutafi, Eleanna Prevedorou and Despina Pilides analysed trauma patterns in 82 individuals from four sites in early Christian Cyprus. Three rural sites near the south coast, i.e. Kalavasos-Kopetra, Alassa-Ayia Mavri, and Maroni-Petrera and the hill of Agios Georgios furnished the dataset. Their results showed of the 24 adults recovered from Agios Georgios, 16 (67%) showed some kind of pathological lesion, while the remaining 8 (33%) present evidence of single trauma. On the other hand, among the 21 adults from the coastal sites, 9 (43%) show some sort of pathological lesion and only 4 (19%) display evidence of single or multiple trauma. The authors posited that the higher proportions in the case of the inland site could be explained by demographic differences between the two groups of samples. [7]
Despite the manifest importance of the site in the centre of Nicosia, International Council on Monuments and Sites has listed Agios Georgios hill as endangered. [8]
Nicosia is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities.
Nicosia District is one of the six districts of Cyprus. Its main town is the island country's capital city, Nicosia. The de-facto TRNC-controlled northern part of the district is the Lefkoşa District of the unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
Aglandjia is a suburb and municipality of Nicosia, Cyprus. The municipality has a population of 20,783 (2011) and is contiguous with the Nicosia Municipality.
The Cyprus Museum is the oldest and largest archaeological museum in Cyprus, located on Museum Street in central Nicosia.
Agios Sozomenos is a deserted village in the Nicosia District of Cyprus, close to the Green Line and near Potamia. It is located at the confluence of the Alikos river with the Gialias, the second-longest river of Cyprus.
Kition was an Ancient Greek city-kingdom on the southern coast of Cyprus, one of the Ten city-kingdoms of Cyprus. According to the text on the plaque closest to the excavation pit of the Kathari site, it was established in the 13th century BC by Greek (Achaean) settlers, after the Trojan War.
Rupert Forbes Gunnis was an English collector and historian of British sculpture. He is best known for his Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660–1851, which "revolutionized the study of British sculpture, providing the foundation for all later studies on the subject".
The Mnemata Site is an archaeological excavation site at the Mnemata locality of Larnaca, Cyprus. A tomb was discovered in 1979—during the construction of a refugee settlement.
Ayios Andreas or Tophane is a Neighbourhood, Quarter, Mahalla or Parish of Nicosia, Cyprus. In September 1945, the Ottoman name of Tophane was changed to Ayios Andreas, but there is no parish church of that name.
The Department of Antiquities is a government department of the Republic of Cyprus with responsibility for archaeological research and cultural heritage management.
The archaeology of Cyprus involves the analysis of human activity derived from Cypriot artefacts and architecture from the Neolithic through to the British period. The earliest archaeological discoveries in Cyprus are attributed to European amateur collectors or “treasure hunters” during the early 19th century. By the mid 19th century, systematic fieldwork and excavations were conducted on various sites involving studying the remains of Cypriot cemeteries and tombs, maritime artefacts, architecture, pottery as well as a range of other individual artefacts. Subsequent findings and analysis detail the social and physical landscapes of ancient Cyprus as well as their evolving culture, religious beliefs and technology throughout antiquity.
Porphyrios Dikaios FSA was a Cypriot archaeologist.
Max Ohnefalsch-Richter was a German archaeologist and antiquities seller. He was born in Saxony in 1850 and arrived in British occupied Cyprus in 1878 to work as a journalist, in the following year he worked for the British Colonial government and the British Museum in carrying out excavations on behalf of Sir Charles Newton as well as private individuals. The discovered material was later sold to various European museums as well as in public auctions. In 1910, he was caught smuggling antiquities outside of Cyprus and was banned from carrying out further excavations. He carried out a number of excavations in Cyprus, at the sites of Idalion, Politiko and Tamassos. Together with John Myres he published a catalogue of the Cyprus Museum in 1899. He was the editor of two journals, The Owl. Science, Literature and Art (1888-1889) and The Journal of Cypriote Studies, with only one issue in 1889.
Menelaos Markides was a Cypriot archaeologist and the first curator of the Cyprus Museum (1912-1931).
Athanasios Papageorgiou was a Cypriot archaeologist and director of the Department of Antiquities between 1989-1991.
Adamantia Vasilogamvrou is a Greek archaeologist. She studied at the universities of Athens and the Sorbonne and worked as an archaeologist for the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports for 35 years. She is Honorary Ephor of Antiquities in the Ephorate of Laconia and director of the archaeological excavations and surveys at the site of Agios Vasileios, a Mycenaean palace discovered near Sparta in 2009. Her work at Ayios Vasileios has been featured in the Greek media and the palace's discovery was chosen as one of the 10 most important archaeological discoveries worldwide by the 2013 Shanghai Archaeology Forum.
Ino Nicolaou was a Cypriot archaeologist, epigraphist and numismatist that worked for the Department of Antiquities. Her contributions to all her fields spanned six decades.
Eustathios Konstantinides was a Cypriot amateur archaeologist, philologist, school teacher and politician.
Theophilus Amin Halil Mogabgab or Moghabghab M.B.E. OStJ was a Cypriot government official, topographer, designer and scholar of Lebanese Christian descent.
The martyrs of Kantara are thirteen Orthodox monks from the Kantara monastery in Cyprus, persecuted and executed in May 1231 at the request of Pope Gregory IX and under the direction of his emissary, Andrew. After an inquisition trial for refusing the use of unleavened bread for the Eucharist, they were imprisoned, tortured, and then burned alive. One of them died in prison before the execution.