This ancient cemetery dates back to the 7th and 8th centuries BC and consists of a scattering of 150 graves spread out over the wide field.
The arrangement of the burial chambers closely matches descriptions of Mycenaean tombs in Homer’s Iliad. Kings and nobles were buried here with their favoured worldly possessions, food, drink, and even their sacrificed slaves.
The tombs are prominently signposted, south of the Salamis turn-off, along the road to the Church of Apostolos Varnavas.
Further south on the site, marked by a lone eucalyptus tree, are the Cellarka tombs. These smaller rock-cut tombs were used for less important members of the royal community. The tombs have steep steps leading to the underground chambers where stone urns were placed pending the decomposition of their contents. Thereafter the bones were removed and the chambers reused.
Most tombs have been looted over the years, though at least three have yielded treasure and antiquities that are now in Nicosia’s Cyprus Museum.
