Kourion

Kourion (Greek: Κούριον) or Latin: Curium, an ancient Greek city on the southwestern coast of Cyprus, the surrounding Kouris River Valley being occupied from at least the Ceramic Neolithic period (4500-3800 BCE) to the present. The acropolis of Kourion, located 1.3 km southwest of Episkopi and 13 km west of Limassol, is located atop a limestone promontory approximately 43-51m in height along the shore of Episkopi Bay. The Kourion arhcaeological area lies within the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area, which forms part of the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The site is maintained and administrated by Cyprus Department of Antiquities.

Kourion was a city of considerable importance within Cyprus, being well attested to by ancient authors including: Ptolemy (v. 14. § 2), Stephanus of Byzantium, Hierocles, and Pliny the Elder. The most significant excavated remains on the acropolis of Kourion are dated to the Hellenistic to Early Byzantine periods.

History of Kourion

The earliest occupation within the Kouris River Valley is the Ceramic Neolithic (4500-3800 BC) hilltop village at Sotira-Teppes, located 9 km northwest of Kourion. Another Ceramic Neolithic hilltop settlement has been excavated at Kandou-Koupovounos, a hilltop on the east bank of the Kouris River. In the Chalcolithic period (3800-2300 BCE) settlement shifted to the site of Erimi-Pamboules, located within the village of Erimi. Erimi-Pamboules was occupied from the conclusion of the Ceramic Neolithic through the Chalcolithic period (3400-2800 BCE).