Must-seeUNESCO
Choirokoitia Neolithic Settlement
One of the three UNESCO World Heritage sites in Cyprus
The story
Choirokoitia is a Neolithic village on a hillside above the Maroni river, in Larnaca district, about 6 kilometers from the south coast. According to UNESCO, people lived here from the seventh millennium BC, in the Aceramic Neolithic. They did not yet know clay pottery and carved their vessels from hard stone. The houses were round, of stone and mud brick, with flat roofs, and the dead were buried in pits under the floors. The river curves around the village on the north and east, and walls protected it on the west. The site was discovered in 1934 by Porphyrios Dikaios of the Department of Antiquities, and in 1998 it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
If asked which archaeological site in Cyprus is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the answer is Choirokoitia (since 1998); Kourion, Salamis and Bellapais Abbey are not on this list. Cyprus has three UNESCO sites in all: Paphos (1980), the painted churches of Troodos (1985) and Choirokoitia (1998).
Visiting
According to the Department of Antiquities: open daily, from September 16 to April 15 8:30–17:00, from April 16 to September 15 8:30–19:30 (last ticket at 19:00); ticket €2.50. Because of the hillside, the excavations are not wheelchair accessible, but the area of restored houses by the entrance is.
On the way
Photos
Sources
- Department of Antiquities of Cyprus — Choirokoitia (Khirokitia)
- Τμήμα Αρχαιοτήτων Κύπρου — Χοιροκοιτία
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre — Choirokoitia (848)
- UNESCO open data: World Heritage List, sites in Cyprus (Choirokoitia 1998, Paphos 1980, Painted Churches in the Troodos Region 1985)
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