Archaeologists studying a collection of limestone architectural fragments discovered near ancient Kourion say the remains may have belonged to a previously unknown Roman-period temple, potentially adding a new chapter to the history of religious architecture in Cyprus.
The research, published in the American Journal of Archaeology, examines architectural pieces found in the Latsithkia area near present-day Episkopi in Limassol district. The authors conclude that the fragments may once have decorated a temple-like structure built around the end of the first century CE.
The assemblage consists of 48 limestone objects, most of them pieces of architectural decoration. They were discovered on the surface of a hillside in 1997 by Cypriot archaeologist Eleni Procopiou, accompanied by Anthea Garrod of the Western Sovereign Base Area Archaeological Society. The site lies about 1.5km north-west of ancient Kourion and 1.2km north-east of the Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates.
Among the finds are column bases and shafts, Corinthian capitals, an Ionic architrave, cornice blocks and a distinctive niche-framing block. Researchers also documented a large cylindrical cippus, measuring just over a metre high, which they suggest could have served as an altar.
The fragments attracted renewed attention in 2022 when Anna Urszula Kordas encountered them during doctoral research into stonemasons' marks. The team subsequently used photogrammetry to document the pieces and create digital reconstructions, helping researchers determine how the surviving fragments may originally have fitted together.
Their analysis indicates that the material formed a stylistically coherent group and was probably produced by a local Cypriot workshop. The architecture combines influences associated with the Alexandrian tradition with distinctive local adaptations. Similar features occur at two of Cyprus's best-known Roman-period religious monuments — the Temple of Apollo Hylates at Kourion and the Temple of Aphrodite at Amathous.
A small but monumental building
Reconstructing a vanished building from scattered stonework is necessarily uncertain, but the dimensions provide important clues.
Researchers estimate that the columns would have stood about 5.07 metres high, including their bases and capitals, while the complete architectural order may have reached approximately 5.87 metres. The surviving stone architrave and other features point towards a structure considerably more monumental than would normally be expected for domestic architecture.
One possibility considered by the researchers is that the pieces came from a monumental tomb designed to resemble a temple. However, the surrounding archaeological evidence does not strongly support that interpretation: no remains of the sort of freestanding funerary monument that would be expected have been identified at the site.
Instead, the combination of monumental architecture and the large cippus strengthens the possibility that the building had a sacred function. The researchers caution that such monuments could have several uses, but note that comparable cippi are known to have functioned as altars or votive monuments.
Was the temple actually at Latsithkia?
Another unresolved question is whether the stones belonged to a building standing on the hill where they were discovered.
An earlier interpretation proposed that the location could have been a stonemason's workshop, with architectural pieces being prepared for use at the nearby Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates. No foundations belonging to the proposed Latsithkia building were recorded when the fragments were discovered.
There are nevertheless strong topographical reasons for considering the hill itself as the site of the monument. A building there would have occupied a conspicuous rocky position overlooking the countryside and a junction of ancient routes. The location would therefore have made the structure highly visible to people travelling through Kourion's hinterland.
If the interpretation proves correct, the discovery could be particularly significant because Greek-style temples were comparatively uncommon in Cyprus. Roman-period activity on the island more often involved monumentalising established sanctuaries rather than founding entirely new ones.
The researchers therefore argue that a Roman temple at Latsithkia could point to previously unrecognised investment in an extra-urban sanctuary during the Early Roman period and could change understanding of how monumental religious architecture developed in Cyprus.
For now, however, the temple remains a hypothesis rather than a confirmed archaeological discovery. The authors repeatedly stress that further investigation of the site is needed before the building's identity, precise location and purpose can be established.
The study, “An Unknown Roman Temple in Cyprus? Reading the Architectural Fragments from Latsithkia (District Limassol, Cyprus)”, is by Anna Urszula Kordas, Szymon Popławski, Monika Rekowska and Aleksandra Brzozowska-Jawornicka and appears in the October 2026 issue of the American Journal of Archaeology.
Sources : https://doi.org/10.1086/742298