Excavation in Paphos, Cyprus, has uncovered new evidence of a rare late Hellenistic building phase, alongside traces of metalworking and newly identified structures in the ancient Agora.
Excavation focused on two parts of ancient Paphos
The work took place in two areas of ancient Paphos, Maloutena and the Agora, the city’s main public space in antiquity.
In Maloutena, archaeologists continued work in the western part of the city, west of Fanari Hill, at the junction of two ancient streets. Work in this area began in 2022, and the 2025 season focused on three sections of the excavation.
In one newly expanded section, the team reached a level of stone paving that matched paving uncovered last year in a nearby street and water channel. Archaeologists also found a notable number of crucibles, heat-resistant containers used for melting metal.
Craftspeople had made them from the lower parts of large storage jars known as amphorae. The finds suggest that some form of metalworking or small-scale industrial activity once took place there.
In another part of the trench, the team continued excavation along an ancient street and canal. There, researchers reached stone slabs or the natural rock below, confirming the results of the previous season.
A stamped jar handle helped date the discovery
One of the most important finds came from an area south of the newly studied remains, where archaeologists examined the trench originally cut to build one of the ancient walls.
There, they found several objects, including a stamped handle from a transport jar. The stamp carried the name of a Rhodian official, Aristombrotidas, and points to a date of around 117 BC.
That find matters because it helps date the surrounding structure and strengthens the team’s view that the excavation has revealed unusually well-preserved architecture from the late Hellenistic period, the final centuries before Roman rule. According to the mission, Paphos has not yielded this kind of preserved architectural evidence before.
New structures also emerged in the Agora
At the Agora, research centered on the northern part of the Eastern Portico, a colonnaded area along the edge of the ancient public square.
Archaeologists could not finish digging across the whole area or reach the natural rock below. However, in the southeast corner, they fully investigated a shallow water basin connected to a well discovered in earlier years and dated to the first half of the 2nd century BC. They also found a ceramic pipe running in from the north and feeding into the basin.
In the western part of the excavation, north of the basin, the team uncovered part of a previously unknown stone base that once supported columns. They also found the lower parts of two fluted stone columns. Nearby, archaeologists identified traces of burning and part of a terracotta pipeline.
The date of these finds remains uncertain, as the team has not yet reached the lowest levels in that area. At present, researchers suggest that the colonnaded structure may belong to an earlier phase of the portico, predating its final known phase in the first half of the 2nd century AD. The team will continue work next season to determine exactly when these structures were built and what purpose they served.
Specialists examined architectural fragments, coins, and metal objects
The 2025 season also included specialist work beyond the main excavation areas.
During field inspection, the team identified 350 elements in buildings excavated by the mission, including the Villa of Theseus, the so-called Hellenistic House, the Early Roman House, the House of Aion, and the North-East House, as well as in nearby storage areas for stone finds. Researchers inventoried and photographed the pieces, then entered them into a dedicated database. They have also planned further work.
At the Archaeological Museum in Paphos, conservators treated 71 coins, one in silver and the rest in bronze. They also conserved a small fragment of gold foil and the handle of a bronze situla, a bucket-shaped vessel used in antiquity.
