Larnaca Archaeological Museum, the district's story

The Larnaca Archaeological Museum is the key to understanding the district. If you plan to visit Choirokoitia or Kition, I’d come here first, and since entry is free there’s no excuse.

A renovated museum

Managed by the Department of Antiquities, it stands on Kalograion Square in central Larnaca. According to the tourist board, it was renovated in 2022 and holds a large collection of finds from across the district, from the city-kingdom of Kition to the Neolithic settlements of Choirokoitia and Tenta, at Kalavasos.

The two wings

The two new wings are arranged by theme. Wing I follows a chronological path from 8000 BC to the 12th century BC, with plenty of pieces and new finds from recent excavations. Wing II is devoted to the Iron Age and has four rooms. The first tells of the dynamism of ancient Kition, the second the sanctuaries of the Mesaoria, with life-size statues, the third material from the tombs of Kition and the fourth the famous sarcophagi.

There are pieces from the Neolithic, the Copper Age and the Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods. Faience, ivory and alabaster show Cyprus’s trade links with other peoples, and the museum displays objects of Egyptian, Mycenaean, Phoenician, Assyrian and Persian origin found in the area, which may have come from the great civilisations nearby. Another image shows a gallery with display cases of pottery and large jars.

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The Bronze Age in context

The history published by the tourist board helps make sense of the collection. In the Bronze Age, no part of Cyprus had more people than the Larnaca area, which lived off the copper trade and had one of the island’s first ports. Its tombs, says the board, show exchanges with Egypt from 2000 BC. So it’s no surprise to find objects from so far away in the cases. If prehistory is your thing, the museum is the best preparation for the Neolithic settlements of Larnaca district.

Opening hours and price

Hours are 9:00 to 16:30, Tuesday to Sunday, and there’s no charge. It’s closed on public holidays. It’s fully accessible. You can prepare or round off your visit online, with the virtual tour the city offers of several of its museums.

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Pairing it with other places

The ruins of Kition are about 500 m away as the crow flies and the Pierides Museum another 500, so all three fit into a morning. Mind one detail, though. Kition is closed at weekends and this museum on Mondays, so Tuesday to Friday suits both. The island’s other museums are in museums in Cyprus, and I’d set aside around ninety minutes here.

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