Macronissos Tombs description and photos - Cyprus: Ayia Napa (Topic)

Macronissos Tombs description and photos - Cyprus: Ayia Napa. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Macronissos Tombs.

Photo and description

Not less famous rock tombs of the same name are located not far from Makronisos - the most famous beach in Ayia Napa resort. This place gained fame and became popular thanks to the monastery of the Holy Virgin Mary, built in the 16th century. And, according to one version, it was chosen for burials because it was there, about 500 years before the creation of the first tomb, the icon of the Mother of God was discovered.

The Makronisos cave complex was created in the Greco-Roman period and consists of 19 small tombs, carved directly into the rock, and a sanctuary built of rough stones. Quarries are located next to them. Almost all caves have the same location: steps lead from the entrance to them, and practically each of them is a rectangular room, along the walls of which there are three or four stone benches. The entrance, as a rule, is covered with a slab carved from limestone.

Back in the middle of the 19th century, “black archeologists” became interested in tombs, who simply plundered many graves. But large-scale official excavations in this place began only at the end of the last century, namely in 1989. Archaeologists have established that the bodies of the dead were placed in sarcophagi, which were made of clay, and only then placed in crypts. According to the Greek tradition, ceremonial funeral fires were made nearby

Despite the fact that excavations are still underway on the territory of Makronisos, the entrance to the tombs is completely free. And they themselves are under the protection of the International Archaeological Society.

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Topic: Macronissos Tombs description and photos - Cyprus: Ayia Napa.