Department of Antiquities (Cyprus)

The Department of Antiquities (Τμήμα Αρχαιοτήτων) is a government department of the Republic of Cyprus with responsibility for archaeological research and cultural heritage management.

History
The Department of Antiquities was established in 1935 by the British colonial government. It took over the responsibilities of the Committee of the Cyprus Museum that was established in 1882.

It has conducted excavations at Khoirokoitia, Kition, Amathus, Kourion, Paphos, Salamis, Enkomi and carried multiple rescue excavations all around the island. The Department of Antiquities operates various archaeological sites such as Idalion, Kourion, Paphos Archaeological Park and museums like the Cyprus Museum, archaeological district museums of Paphos, Limassol, Kition and smaller local museums like the Hadjigeorgakis Kornesios Mansion.

In 1955 the Director Peter Megaw established the Archaeological Survey Branch, known also as Cyprus Survey, and appointed Hector Catling as the head, Kyriacos Nicolaou as an Assistant and a number of technicians. The Branch was downgraded after the 1974 war and dissolved in 1979. In 1979 a position for traditional architecture and folk art was created.

Until 1960 the conservation works focused only on monuments dating to antiquity, the Byzantine and Medieval period. Since then there have been restoration of Ottoman, British Colonial and Traditional monuments.

From 1935 until the 1st of July 2023 the Department operated under the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works, until its transfer in the newly created Deputy Ministry of Culture.

Repatriation of Artifacts
The Department of Antiquities has been successful in repatriating stolen Cypriot artifacts from abroad. In 2023, 80 artifacts were returned from the United States, including items covering a wide range of Cypriot history. Additionally, 36 artifacts were repatriated from Australia, involving collaborations with the Australian government and academic institutions.

Digitisation Initiatives
The Department has launched a comprehensive digitisation programme named "Digitising the Museums of Cyprus," funded by the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism and Norway Grants. The initiative aims to digitise 96,000 artifacts from various museums across Cyprus to enhance the management and accessibility of Cyprus's cultural heritage.

Choirokoitia Archaeological Site
Choirokoitia, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is one of the most significant Neolithic sites in the eastern Mediterranean. Excavations have revealed circular mudbrick houses, complex architectural systems, and evidence of early agricultural practices.

Palaepaphos Urban Landscape Project
In 2019, discoveries at the citadel of Ancient Paphos (Kouklia-Palaepaphos) have revealed that the plateau of Hadjiabdoulla functioned as the administrative-economic center of the royal dynasty of Ancient Paphos during the 5th and 4th centuries BC. These findings include a small sherd with an inscription in the Cypriot syllabary, indicating the existence of an economic archive.

Legislation
The first Antiquities Law of 1905, which was amended by in 1927 and then replaced in 1935, with the formal establishment of the Department. The 1927 law allowed partage, giving one third of the excavated material to the archaeologist, a third to the owner of the excavated land (which was usually bought by the archaeologist), and a third to the Cyprus Museum. The law allowed for the export of antiquities, two thirds of the excavated material of the Swedish Cyprus Expedition were used as one of the foundational collections of the Medelhavsmuseet.

Antiquities Laws

 * Antiquities Law of 1905
 * Antiquities (Amendment) Law, 1927
 * Antiquities (Amendment) Law, 1928
 * Antiquities Law of 1935
 * Antiquities (Amendment) Law, 1945

Publications
The Department publishes since 1915 the Report of the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus (RDAC) as well as the Annual Report of the Director of the Department of Antiquities Cyprus (ARDAC). The ARDAC for the years 2006-2009 can be accessed online. Additionally, it publishes its own excavations.

Organisation
The department is headed by the Director of the Department of Antiquities, next in line is the position of the Director of the Cyprus Museum and following that, the Curator of Monuments.

Directors of the Department of Antiquities

 * John Robert Hilton (1934-1935)
 * Peter Megaw (1935-1960)
 * Porphyrios Dikaios (1960-1963)
 * Vassos Karageorghis (1963-1989)
 * Athanasios Papageorgiou (1989-1991)
 * Demos Christou (1991-1997)
 * Sophocles Hadjisavvas (1997-2004)
 * Pavlos Flourentzos (2004-2009)
 * Maria Hadjicosti (2009-2013)
 * Marina Solomidou-Ieronymidou (2013-2023)
 * Giorgos Georgiou (15/02/2023-current)

Curators of the Cyprus Museum, now Curators of Museums

 * Menelaos Markides (1912-1931)
 * Porphyrios Dikaios (1931-1960)
 * Vassos Karageorghis (1960-1963)
 * Kyriakos Nicolaou (1964-1979)
 * Pavlos Flourentzos (1993-2004)
 * Despo Pilides (until 2021)
 * Eftychia Zachariou

Assistant Curators of the Cyprus Museum

 * Porphyrios Dikaios (1929-1931)
 * Vassos Karageorghis (1952-1960)
 * Andreas Dikigoropoulos (-1960)
 * Kyriakos Nicolaou (1961-1964)

Curators of Monuments

 * George H. Everett Jeffery (1903-1935)
 * Athanasios Papageorgiou (1962-1989)
 * Sophocles Hadjisavvas (1990-1997)
 * Maria Hadjicosti
 * Giorgos Filotheou
 * Giorgos Georgiou (-15/02/2023)

Inspectors of Antiquities

 * Joan du Plat Taylor (1932-)
 * Rupert Gunnis (1932-1935)

Archaeological Survey Officers

 * Hector Catling (1955-1959)
 * Kyriakos Nicolaou (1959-1979)
 * Michalis Louloupis (-1974)