The Roman City of Salamis

An hour or so by car from Kyrenia, through the central plains of Cyprus and on to the island's eastern shores, stands the remains of the ancient Roman city of Salamis. The capital of Cyprus from as far back as 1100 BC, Salamis survived occupations by the Assyrians, Egyptians, Persians, and Romans but eventually succumbed to the forces of nature. The site covers an area significantly greater than a square mile, extending along the Mediterranean cost and a fair way inland. Although substantial archaeological exploration has been carried out, much of the region still awaits excavation and is densely forested, or buried beneath sand. The discovery of important relics and coins, dating from 411 to 374 BC, was the first evidence of the city's significant historical importance, and led to initial digs at the site.

A major earthquake is believed to have destroyed the original Salamis in 76 AD, following which, the gymnasium (with its colonnaded Palaestra) was built by Trajan and Hadrian as part of a total reconstruction of the city. This is the most monumental part of the site, with its massive columns visible today. These differ in size, because after a second great earthquake of 331 AD, Christians set up new columns which they took from the site of the Roman amphitheatre. The amphitheatre itself, with its 50 rows of seats and an overall capacity of over 15,000 is the second most spectacular sight and is still in use today! All around the buildings that have been excavated are many niches, which originally contained statues. Those that can be seen today, however, are now headless. When Christianity was adopted as the country's state religion, all the nude statues were considered an abhorrence and were thrown away or broken up. In fact, virtually all indications of Roman pagan religion, such as mosaic pictures, were defaced or destroyed at the time.

The Romans had an obsession about bathing and in the buildings around the great hall, you can find the 'sudatorium' (hot baths), the 'caldarium' (steam baths) and the 'frigidarium' (cold baths). Before the Christian era (pre 400 AD), Salamis must have appeared a highly colourful city, with all the marble columns covered in coloured stucco. Brightly coloured statues would have lined the streets and squares, and numerous vivid mosaics were to be found, of which only a few have so far been excavated intact. It was during the Christian period that walls with rectangular towers at regular intervals were built, but all that can be seen of these today are mounds of sand.

The late Roman period, between about 400 AD and 1100 AD, is referred to as the Byzantine epoch, and was when the first great Christian churches, or 'basilicas', were constructed. About 674 AD, an Arab invasion brought about once again the destruction of the entire city of Salamis and the inhabitants fled south to build the settlement which expanded into the town of Famagusta. There must have also been some change in the climate, as Salamis was overwhelmed with sand, above which were visible only the tops of columns. Coins of the later Middle Ages and Lusignan period have been found around the area, so some people almost certainly still inhabited the ruins; possibly up to as late as 1300 AD.

For around the following 600 years, the site was looted and treated as little more than a source of building materials. During the Venetian occupation of Famagusta, and afterwards, many columns and relics were removed from the site and in fact, the continual looting was not truly halted until the 20th century, when organised excavations were started by what is now the Northern Cyprus Department of Antiquities. Virtually all the ancient ruins in Europe, and certainly the Mediterranean region, were treated as sources of materials for the builders of medieval times. It was not until the late 19th century that various governments formed departments of antiquities to start keeping a watchful eye on ruins. Despite all this, the site of Salamis is still regarded as almost certainly the most spectacular in the island, as the ruins are so extensive and in such an excellent state of preservation. For more than 1000 years, the Roman city of Salamis lay buried in sands which saved the site from wanton destruction in the Middle Ages.

Although much of the city remains buried and as yet undiscovered under the shifting sands, the site is breath-taking as a result of its sheer scale. The amphitheatre is particularly impressive and remains in use today as an incredible outdoor venue for theatre and music concerts. The waters of the Mediterranean are gloriously warm and crystal clear, making the area wonderful territory for snorkeling or diving, but care is necessary, as currents can be quite strong. Organised dive trips can be arranged in the Kyrenia region. Visitors should also bear in mind that, quite understandably, the removal or disturbance of any items from the site is strictly illegal.