Completion of the 2025 fieldwork season of the Italian Erimi Archaeological Project at Erimi-Laonin tou Porakou

The Department of Antiquities of the Deputy Ministry of Culture announces the completion of the 2025 fieldwork season of the Italian Erimi Archaeological Project, where a team of archaeologists, specialists and students from Italy and Cyprus under the scientific direction of Prof. Luca Bombardieri investigated the Middle Bronze Age settlement and funerary areas at Erimi-Laonin tou Porakou between 28 July and 22 August 2025. Research is primarily facilitated by the University of Siena with the ongoing support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Italy and the Department of Antiquities.

Excavations in the settlement focused on three areas at the top of the hill, as well as on a sector of the southern funerary cluster. The overall plan of an extended central building was exposed in Area A΄, on the hilltop, to the south of the already exposed textile workshop complex. Constructed with massive perimeter walls and covering an overall area of c. 220 m², the central building is accessible from an east–west alleyway. Regarding its layout and spatial organisation, a narrow rectangular corridor/vestibule (Unit 1) is characterised by a double access: one from the alleyway and one leading into a large rectangular courtyard (Unit 4). Both passages are equipped with monolithic thresholds, though not aligned, suggesting a distinctive dog-leg entrance route. To the east and west of the central courtyard, a series of six mirroring roofed units have been identified, though not yet excavated. In addition, a large storage area (Unit 8) extends southwards with direct access from the open court. A significant assemblage of pithoi and ceramic containers was recovered from this functional area, while further ceramic vessels were found along the perimeter walls of the open court.

In the northernmost sector of the hilltop, a domestic unit (Unit XIX) was fully excavated, forming part of an extended residential quarter already exposed during the 2023–2024 seasons. Moreover, a section of the circuit wall was identified in the same area (Area T7). Notably, a large monolithic stepped threshold and a ramp were found in association with the preserved section of the circuit wall in this area, suggesting the presence of a northern gate providing access to the settlement and presumably linked to a pathway leading towards the Kouris River.

Additionally, excavations were undertaken in the extramural southern cemetery (Area E). Chamber tomb T901 and Chamber A of the multi-chamber tomb T682 were investigated, following evidence of earlier clandestine looting in the area. These contexts revealed a complex multiple burial program and associated funerary deposits consistent with the later occupational phase of the community during the final stages of the Middle Bronze Age.

(ΕΚ/NZ/AS)

You may also like

• Extension for the submission of proposals for the 27th Cyprus Contemporary Dance Festival 2026
• Completion of the excavation season of the Pyla-Koutsopetria Archaeological Project (PKAP) at Pyla-Vigla
• Conservation works will be carried out on the shelters of the “House of Eustolios” at the Archaeological Site of Kourion
• Participation of Costas Argyrou Museum in the international art and cultural event “Larnaca Biennale 2025”
• The National Struggle Museum will be closed to the public on Friday, 17/10/2025