Hidden for Millennia: The Stunning Lost Sanctuary of Apollo Unearthed in Cyprus Reveals Mysterious New Artifacts
Other discoveries at the site included new statues, including huge limestone feet, as well as votive objects like marbled beads and glazed ceramic Egyptian amulets that weren’t documented by Ohnefalsch-Richter. Archaeologists also noted inscriptions on two statue bases, one in local Cypriot syllabic characters and the other in Greek letters. The latter also included a reference to the Ptolemies, the rulers of Egypt, who controlled Cyprus during the Hellenistic period.
According to the statement from the Department of Antiquities, finds like these suggest that the site played an important cultural role in ancient times and beyond. Indeed, the Sanctuary of Apollo contains a wealth of artifacts, and archaeologists are eager to continue their excavation of the site.
“In addition to these new findings, which promise to shed new light on the worship of the deity through the votive statues, the possibility is once again given to investigate the architecture of the sanctuary, which had been insufficiently documented by Ohnefalsch-Richter,” the statement noted.
It continued: “Further investigation of the surviving remains thus promises to offer important and extensive knowledge that will help to reconstruct the ritual behaviors of the past and will allow us to see them in their original spatial environment.”
Now, 140 years after Ohnefalsch-Richter’s discovery, the Sanctuary of Apollo in Cyprus will finally be fully excavated — and carefully documented for future generations to study and enjoy.
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