Small sections of tire ancient city were inhabited through the twelfth century CE .
Marble and granite architectural fragments and an inscribed
statue base from tire gymnasium were used in some late medieval and Venetian buildings in Famagusta demonstrating
that the ruins of the city were accessible in the thirteenth
through sixteenth centuries. The first published description
of Salamis was in 1862 by Melchior de Vogue, William
Waddington, and Edmond Duthoit. Luigi Palma di Cesnola
and later his brother, Alexander, were tire first non-Cypriots
to "excavate" at Salamis (1866-1878). In 1888 D. G. Hogarth published his observations of his visit. Formal excavations of the western and northern cemeteries and a Roman
house with floor mosaics were carried out by Max Ohnefalsch-Richter in 1880-1882 for tire British Museum under
the direction of Charles Newton. H. H. Kitchener and G.
Hake excavated more tombs in the western cemetery in 18 82
for the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and
Albert Museum). The Cyprus Exploration Fund organized
by the British Museum, the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford),
and the FitzWilliam Museum (Cambridge) and led by J. A.
R. Munro and H. A. Tubbs in 1890 and 1891 opened up
many trenches within the city itself. Another British team
consisting of A. S. Murray, A. H. Smith, and P. Christian
excavated more tombs in 1896 in the western cemetery for
the British Museum.
In 1913 J. L. Myres and G. E. Jeffrey worked at the
"prison/tomb of St. Catiierine/Haghia Haikaterini" in the
western cemetery. Jeffrey in 1923-1925 and Joan duPlat
Taylor in 1933 carried out small-scale excavations of primarily Late Roman structures. In 1952 the Department of
Antiquities began regular large-scale excavations within the
city which continued until 1974. The systematic excavation
of the western cemeteries by tire Cypriot Department of Antiquities began in
1957 first under the direction of Porphyrios Dikaios and then from 1962 to 1967 by Vassos Karageorghis.
A French expedition from the Institut F. Courby,
Universite de Lyon, dug in die southern section of the city
from 1964 to 1974, focusing on tire Temple of Zeus and the
Late Roman Christian basilica called Campanopetra. In
1973 N. C. Flemming undertook a preliminary underwater
survey of the harbor facilities of Salamis.
Major Remains
The earliest remains of the city date to
the late eleventh century BCE : French tomb no. 1, a cult place
(through the sixth century BCE) , and the southern rampart.
Iron age elite burials were located in various extramural
cemeteries: "Royal tombs" (c. 800-500 BCE), Cellarka (c.
700-400 BCE) , and Koufoumeron (c. 550-500 BCE). There
were extramural sanctuaries dating to the sixth century BC E
to the west around Apostolos Varnavas (site A; Great Goddess/Aphrodite) and to the south at Toumba (site G). Tumulus/tomb 77 represents the funerary pyre and cenotaph
of King Nikokreon(P), the last king of Salamis, and his family, about 311 BCE . The Temple of Zeus Olympios (Zeus
Salaminios?) was first constructed in late second century BC E
and a ramp was added at the end of first century CE. It was
destroyed by earthquakes in 332 and/or 342 CE. T O die north
of the temple there was an elongated porticoed forum or
"Agora" (site C), probably constructed before 22 BC E and
then reconstructed in the first or second century CE.
At the north end of the forum a large rectangular cistern
or loutron widi a vaulted roof was built during reign of Septimius Serverus (fl. 193-211). It was fed by an aqueduct
from the spring at Kythrea. An elevated arched section is
preserved southeast of Ayios Sergios. The gymnasium (site
B) probably existed in the second and first centuries BCE .
There were major building phases and repairs to it at the
beginning of the first century CE and again during the reigns
of Trajan (fl. 97-117) and Hadrian (fl. 117-138). After damage by die fourth-century earthquakes, it was restored as
public baths by Justinian (fl. 527-565) then abandoned. Adjacent to the gymnasium there was a xystos or staditim with
eight rows of seats on the north. A propylaeum entrance or
vestibule (c. 100-150 CE?) on the western end opened on a
north-south colonnaded street leading from the gymnasium
to die theater. The theater was built at end of first century
BCE . It was reconstructed after earthquake of 76/77 CE with
additional repairs and reconstruction under Hadrian. Furtiier modifications followed in the third century CE . Following its destruction by the fourth-century earthquakes the
stage was rebuilt in a crude fashion about 375-425. Abandonment occurred in the sixth century CE . The amphitheater
built in die late first century CE completed the city's entertainment complex.
Ayios Epiphanios (site H) was die earliest and largest
Christian basilica on the island. It was built in 375-400 and
later partially reconstructed. This "cathedral" of Epiphanios, the first archbishop of Salamis (fl. 368-403), was enclosed within a limited defensive circuit around the core of
the city. The wall was built in die early seventh century in
response to Arab raids. After the basilica was destroyed in
447/48 by the Arabs, a church was built immediately to the
soudieast to replace it in around 698. This church was rebuilt in the ninth century and continued in use through at
least 1344.
Three important edifices were built around 470-500. The
"Campanopetra" Christian basilica and monastery (? site
E) is one of the largest and most refined known on the island.
After 647 the baptistery was turned into a chapel. Immediately to the west across a street was an official residency.
Nearby was a large elite residence, "L'huilerie" (see above).
Following its destruction during Arab raids squatters inhabited it in the mid- to late seventh century. Afterward the
complex was divided into at least three independent structures, one of which was an olive oil pressing establishment.
They were occupied through the twelfth century.
Aerial View of Ancient Salamis
