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Kition

Aerial shot of Kition after excavation Aerial shot of Kition after excavation

unsure which site or levels

Photo by Jefferson Williams in March 2023 from inside Larnaca Museum - original provenance unknown


Names
Transliterated Name Source Name
Kition Ancient Greek Κιτιον
Citium Latin
k-t Egyptian
k-t or k-t-y Phoenician
Introduction
Introduction

Kition (aka Citium) was a Ancient Greek city-kingdom on the southern coast of Cyprus (in present-day Larnaca). According to the text on the plaque closest to the excavation pit of the Kathari site (as of 2013), it was established in the 13th century BC by Greek (Achaean) settlers, after the Trojan War.

Citium (aka Kition) from The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites



Aerial Views and Plans
Aerial Views and Plans

Aerial Views

  • Aerial shot of Kition after
    Aerial shot of Kition after excavation

    unsure which site or levels

    Photo by Jefferson Williams in March 2023 from inside Larnaca Museum - original provenance unknown
    excavation
  • Kition in Google Earth
    Kition in Google Earth

    click on image to explore this site on a new tab in Google Earth

Plans

Normal Size

  • Plan of Kition Area II
    Plan of Kition Area II

    Photo by Jefferson Williams in March 2023 from the site of Kition Area II - original provenance unknown
  • Plan of Kition Area II
    Plan of Kition Area II Floors I to IV

    Photo by Jefferson Williams in March 2023 from inside Larnaca Museum - original provenance unknown
    Floors I to IV

Magnified

  • Plan of Kition Area II
    Plan of Kition Area II

    Photo by Jefferson Williams in March 2023 from the site of Kition Area II - original provenance unknown
  • Plan of Kition Area II
    Plan of Kition Area II Floors I to IV

    Photo by Jefferson Williams in March 2023 from inside Larnaca Museum - original provenance unknown
    Floors I to IV

Textual Chronology
Sibyl Quake - 76 – 81 CE – probably between June 78 CE and June 79 CE

Discussion

Discussion

Textual Seismic Effects
Sibyl Quake - 76 – 81 CE – probably between June 78 CE and June 79 CE

Effect                                   Location Image(s) Description
  • City Destroyed (collapsed walls)
  • Tsunami ?
 Kition, Cyprus
  • "Three cities in Cyprus were destroyed all together in an earthquake." - Chronicon by Eusebius

  • "an earthquake destroyed three cities of Cyprus" - Orosius

  • "In Cyprus, three cities collapsed in an earthquake" - George Syncellus

  • "There was an earthquake in Cyprus. For three days there were collapses (Chronicon by Eusebius)" - Elias of Nisibis

  • "... An earthquake affected 3 cities in Cyprus. Among them was Salamis. Eusebius" - Sethus Calvisius

  • "an earthquake will destroy at once Salamis and Paphos when the dark water overwhelms Cyprus, which is washed by many waves." - Sibylline Oracles

  • Since several sources refer to the destruction of three cities on Cyprus, Ambraseys (2009) speculated that the third city was likely Kition (Citium)

Textual Intensity Estimates
Sibyl Quake - 76 – 81 CE – probably between June 78 CE and June 79 CE

Effect                                   Location Image(s) Description Intensity
  • City Destroyed (collapsed walls)
  • Tsunami ?
 Kition, Cyprus
  • "Three cities in Cyprus were destroyed all together in an earthquake." - Chronicon by Eusebius

  • "an earthquake destroyed three cities of Cyprus" - Orosius

  • "In Cyprus, three cities collapsed in an earthquake" - George Syncellus

  • "There was an earthquake in Cyprus. For three days there were collapses (Chronicon by Eusebius)" - Elias of Nisibis

  • "... An earthquake affected 3 cities in Cyprus. Among them was Salamis. Eusebius" - Sethus Calvisius

  • "an earthquake will destroy at once Salamis and Paphos when the dark water overwhelms Cyprus, which is washed by many waves." - Sibylline Oracles

  • Since several sources refer to the destruction of three cities on Cyprus, Ambraseys (2009) speculated that the third city was likely Kition (Citium)
  • VIII+
  • IX+?
This evidence requires a minimum Intensity of VIII (8) when using the Earthquake Archeological Effects chart of Rodríguez-Pascua et al (2013: 221-224). Intensity may have been higher (IX+) as suggested by the tsunami but, it is not entirely clear whether the Syballine Oracles refered to a tsunami or a storm.

Notes and Further Reading
References

Excavation Reports

Karageorghis, V. and C. T. Archaiotētōn (1974). Excavations at Kition: The pre-Phoenician levels, Republic of Cyprus.

Karageorghis, V. and M. Demas (1985). Excavations at Kition: The pre-Phoenician levels. V, Republic of Cyprus. Part 2

Karageorghis, V. and C. T. Archaiotētōn (1974). Excavations at Kition: The Phoenician and later levels, Republic of Cyprus.

Karageorghis, V., et al. (2003). Excavations at Kition: The Phoenician and later levels. VI, Department of antiquities, Cyprus. Part 2

Hadjisavvas, S. 2012. The Phoenician Period Necropolis of Kition I (ISBN 978-9963-36-458-9)

Hadjisavvas, S. 2014. The Phoenician Period Necropolis of Kition II (ISBN 978-9963-36-460-2)

Websites

LA MISSION ARCHÉOLOGIQUE FRANÇAISE DE KITION ET SALAMINE - contains open access publications of the ongoing (as of 2023) excavations

Cyprus Department of Antiquities - archaeological sites

Cyprus Department of Antiquities - Kition

Cyprus Department of Antiquities - Chronological Table

Cyprus Department of Antiquities - Library

Cyprus Department of Antiquities - Publications

Citium (aka Kition) from The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites

Excavations in the Kition-Bamboula harbor (Cyprus) - 2021 - 2022 by Dr Sabine Fourrier - blog post

Kition at mapcarta

Kition Archaeologic Site at CyprusIsland.net

Bibliography from The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites

Luigi Palma di Cesnola, Cyprus, its Ancient Cities, Tombs and Temples (1877)

A. Sakellarios, Τὰ Κυπριακά I (1890)

John L. Myres, “Excavations in Cyprus 1894: Larnaca,”JHS 17 (1897), 152-73I

id., “Excavations in Cyprus 1913: The Bamboula Hill at Larnaca,”BSA 41 (1940-45) 85-69PI

I. K. Peristianes, Γεϝικὴ Ἱστορία τῆς νήσου Κύπρου (1910)

V. Karageorghis, “Fouilles de Kition 1959: Etudes sur les origines de la ville,”BCH 84 (1960), 504-88MPI

id., “Chronique des fouilles et découvertes archéologiques à Chypre,”BCH 84 (1960), 283-86I; 90 (1966), 362-65PI; 91 (1967) 315-24I; 92 (1968) 302-11PI; 93 (1969) 517-27PI; 94 (1970) 251-58PI; 95 (1971) 377-90PI; 96 (1972) 1058-64PI; 97 (1973) 648-53I

id., “New Light on the History of Ancient Kition,” Mélanges K. Michalowski (1966) 495-504I

K. Nicolaou, Κίτιον Ἑλληνίς * Kypriakai Spoudai 15 (1961) 19-39MI

id., “Archaeological News from Cyprus 1966,” AJA 71 (1967) 401; 72 (1968) 374-75; 74 (1970) 73, 393-94; 76 (1972) 313-14; 77 (1973) 53-54,427.

Wikipedia pages

Kition

  • from Wikipedia - click link to open new tab


Larnaca

  • from Wikipedia - click link to open new tab