Choirokoitia Neolithic Settlement

Choirokoitia lies on the southern coast of the island, about 6km from the sea and just 35km from Larnaca city. It is an archaeological site of the Neolithic age, and in 1998 it was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO — among the most ancient sites anywhere.

How it was found

The site was discovered in 1934 by Porphyrios Dikaios, the director of Antiquities in Cyprus, who excavated from 1934 through to 1946. Further excavation followed in the 1970s but stopped with the Turkish invasion in 1974; work resumed in 1977.

What makes Choirokoitia important is not only its preservation but the evidence of how the settlement was set up and how it worked — a well-organised, functioning society enclosed by communal defences. Around 20 similar settlements are known on the island; this is the best preserved of them.

What you actually see

Five cylindrical structures have been reconstructed using exactly the same methods, techniques and materials as the originals. Inside them are replicas of the objects found in the buildings they copy, so the arrangement shows how the settlement worked during the Neolithic period.

The village itself

Choirokoitia is also an agrotourism destination — timber architecture, cobbled streets, traditional basket weaving, and a restored olive oil mill you can visit to see the old methods and tools. The local church is the Byzantine Panagia tou Kambou, Our Lady of the Fields, with Gothic and medieval elements and frescoes dating to the 16th century; there are more churches in the village besides, among them Agia Paraskevi, Agios Georgios, Agios Iacovos and Agios Kyriakos.

The settlement was abandoned around 6000 BC for reasons nobody knows — which is as good a reason as any to walk it.