Palaepaphos-Teratsoudhia Tomb 288 (c. 1650 BC–c. 1200 BC)

Abstract

This paper presents a new tomb complex of the Late Bronze Age at Palaepaphos-Teratsoudhia in south-west Cyprus. Although looted, Tomb 288 yielded a representative repertoire of funerary gifts, including seals and scarabs, ranging chronologically from the very beginning of the Late Bronze Age to Late Cypriote IIC, roughly from 1650 to 1200 BC. Tomb 288 has characteristics which are typical of Late Bronze Age tomb architecture in Cyprus and well known in the Paphos region, as well as aspects which have not previously been observed in any necropolis of the period, such as the large central “pillars” which support the roof in Chambers A and B. The tomb’s finds comprise representative examples of the ceramic production of Palaepaphos for a period of some 400 years and illustrate the wealth of this region during the whole of the Late Bronze Age. The tomb is a significant addition, in particular, to our knowledge of the earliest phase of the city’s existence, a period which is not adequately known since the focus of recent research has primarily been on the latest phase of the Late Bronze Age and the early part of the Iron Age.