Kition Bamboula – Phoenician Harbour of Larnaca
Kition · Bamboula · Larnaka Bamboula · Citium
Mycenaean to Ptolemaic (13th c. BCE – 312 BCE)·Mycenaean / Phoenician / Cypriot Cypro-Classical·🇨🇾 Larnaca District, Larnaca Bay, Bamboula hill, Cyprus
The original uploader was StephP at English Wikipedia. · CC BY-SA 2.5
About
About Kition Bamboula – Phoenician Harbour of Larnaca
Tyrian Kition (13th c. BCE Mycenaean port reused by Phoenicians from 11th c. BCE) at Bamboula hill: Temple of Astarte (Kition Kathari), copper workshops, and Late Bronze Age cyclopean wall replaced by Phoenician ashlar harbour mole –1 to –4 m excavated by Vassos Karageorghis and Marguerite Yon 1976–2012. Inner basin silted 4th c. BCE when Ptolemy I fills harbour to build fort; Classical shipshed ramp for two triremes found under silt. French archival core: copper slag beach and murex purple heaps show Kitic copper trade linking Tamassos mines to Ugarit and Ashkelon.
Why it mattersExemplar Phoenician takeover stratigraphy over Mycenaean copper port; only Cypriot trireme ramp linking Phoenician mercenary fleets to Persian and Ptolemaic navies.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Location of Kition's outer lagoon harbour vs Larnaca Salt Lake correspondence
- 02Width of shipshed for two triremes — Phoenician vs Greek design
Theories
- 01Copper slag beach analysis links Tamassos mine output to Kition mole through Late Bronze–Classical continuity
- 02Astarte temple offering stands identical to Tyre — direct cult transfer proof
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 1300 BCE Mycenaean; 1100 BCE Phoenician takeover
- Period
- Mycenaean to Ptolemaic (13th c. BCE – 312 BCE)
- Culture
- Mycenaean / Phoenician / Cypriot Cypro-Classical
- Purpose
- Copper export harbour and sanctuary of Astarte – Hittite-period emporion
- Abandoned
- 312 BCE Ptolemy destroys Kition fleet, fills basin
- Rediscovered
- 1963 Karageorghis Bamboula hill excavations
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c. 1300 BCE
Mycenaean Kition Kathari wall and copper port
c. 1100 BCE
Tyrian Phoenicians occupy and build Astarte harbour quarter
500–400 BCE
Classical Bamboula mole and trireme ramp active
312 BCE
Ptolemy I dismantles naval harbour, fills basin
1976–2012
French Mission Yon maps Bamboula quay and workshop zone
On the ground
Structures & features
34.9205° N · 33.6379° E · -2 m · 3 mapped features
Bamboula harbour mole
harbour180 m mole at –2 to –4 m under Larnaca wharf
34.9205° N · 33.6379° EAstarte temenos Kathari
templePhoenician Astarte temple 35×28 m above mole
34.9230° N · 33.6360° EClassical shipshed ramp
slipwayDouble trireme ramp at –3 m in silt
34.9210° N · 33.6390° E
Gallery