GREEKS - THE NEW IMPRESSIVE MONUMENT AT ANAVARGOS

 Filenews 1 November 2020 - by Dora Christodoulou 

Archaeologists describe the archaeological discovery,  as the "twin brother" of the Tombs of the Kings. It is of the same era and style as the world famous World Heritage Site in Kato Paphos, with many even considering it just as impressive. But while the Tombs of the Kings are one of the most important archaeological monuments of Cyprus and beyond, the monument is unknown even to many Pafites.

The reason for the Greeks, a burial system in the district of Anavargos in the Municipality of Paphos, which only in the last three years began to acquire the importance attributed to it by archaeologists and other scientists, thanks in this case to what good has brought us and left us the institution of the European Capital of Culture. Apart from the benefit of the "acquaintance" of a large part of the local community with its existence, this impressive monument of the city is still left in oblivion today, without special visibility by those responsible, without any attempt to exploit it by the Municipality or institutions of Paphos and without any attempt to capitalize on the revelation of "Paphos 2017" for another unique space in the city.

According to the officials of the Department of Antiquities, the Hellenics are, in essence, like the monumental complex of the Tombs of the Kings or the corresponding sites in Agios Georgios Pegias, an ancient necropolis. It is an archaeological site of great importance according to archaeologists, but unknown to foreign visitors and to many Cypriots, even Pafites.

It is characteristic of the "oblivion" that surrounds them that for the Greeks there are still no extensive studies recorded in the Department of Antiquities, although the latter's officials deal with the monument. In recent years a wide-ranging programme has been under way with work to clean up, support and promote the monument.

The Greeks are located on the south side of the District of Anvargos, on the northern edge of the Municipality of Paphos. According to archaeological officials and scholars, they are part of an important cemetery of Hellenistic and Roman times with several specimens of carved tombs from which many have been collected. What is left are three consecutive and interrelated monumental memorial sets, with special architectural features. Ancient monuments of the 1st Table were declared by the Department of Antiquities.

Scientists who have occasionally dealt with the area argue that the largest and most important of the three tombs competes in the details of its architectural construction with the magnificence and imposingness of the Tombs of the Kings in Kato Paphos.

The Hellenics are a large and single buried complex, completely carved into the hard limestone rock flanked by a square outdoor courtyard, about three meters deep from the surface of the ground.

On the south and east side of the courtyard are formed two uniform columns 1.45 meters wide, each supported by eight square monolithic pessus in a straight arrangement. In the vertical carved walls of the two gallery, various uneven rectangular openings-roads leading to large funeral chambers, rectangular or square shaped with flat roofs, were invented at equal distances.

The largest burial chamber is located in the middle of the wall of the south entrance and is accessible from a large entrance with elaborate, engraved linear decoration.

The set of architectural data of the tomb is chronologically integrated at the end of Hellenistic and early Roman times and is reminiscent of the general architectural form of the tombs of the Kings in Kato Paphos. All the burial chambers appear to have been used for many successive burials mainly in the Roman era accompanied by rich burials which were reaped by the unknown graves.

The Greeks were also used in Christian times as "ascitaria", according to studies by the Kykkos Monastery Foundation, as well as by the research of archaeologists. Several ascetics used the spaces for their ascetic, as was the case in other similar spaces.

Of the few written texts that exist today regarding the relatively unknown monument on the northern boundaries of Paphos, it is an unknown author, and is posted on a website of the Cultural Foundation of the Bank of Cyprus. It states the text:

"The southern border of the village of Anavargos is joined by an in-house cemetery of Hellenistic and Roman times with several specimens of carved tombs, most of which were collected in the distant past. Three of the collected tombs under the name Hellenics, right at the foot of the village, which exhibit special architectural features and which constitute three consecutive and interrelated monumental tombs, were declared ancient monuments of the 1st painting by the Department of Antiquities and protected with a metal fence, because for many years in the past they were used as ovine and caprine mantres.

The largest and most important of the three tombs competes in the details of its architectural construction with the magnificence and imposingness of the monumental tombs of the Kings in Kato Paphos. It is a large and single buried complex, completely carved into the hard limestone rock, flanked by a square, outdoor courtyard, about three meters deep from the surface of the ground. On the south and east side of the courtyard are formed two uniform columns, an average width of 1.45 meters, each supported by eight square, monolithic pessus in a straight arrangement.

In the vertical carved walls of these two temples were invented at equal distances various uneven, rectangular openings - roads - leading to large funeral chambers, rectangular or square shaped, with flat roofs. The largest burial chamber is located in the middle of the wall of the south entrance and is accessible from a large entrance with elaborate, engraved linear decoration.

The set of architectural data of the tomb is chronologically integrated at the end of Hellenistic and early Roman times and is reminiscent of the general architectural form of the tombs of the Kings in Kato Paphos. All the burial chambers seem to have been used for many successive burials mainly in the Roman era, which were undoubtedly accompanied by rich burials, which were reaped by the previously unknown graves. Some examples of murals with clear cross shapes testify that the tomb was used in later periods as a chapel by Christians."