Archaeologists Discovered a 4,000-Year-Old Toppled Monolith. How It Fell Is a Mystery.

It may be the oldest sacred location ever uncovered on this island.

BY TIM NEWCOMB

PUBLISHED: JUL 24, 2024 10:45 AM EDT

A 4,000-year-old monolith was found at a “sacred site” on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.

A 4,000-year-old monolith was found at a “sacred site” on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.

Experts believe the new discovery at the Erimi archeological site offers the oldest sacred place on the island.

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At some point in the last 4,000 years, an ancient 7.5-foot-tall monolith on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus could no longer stand on its own, and toppled to the floor. Experts that have studied the aftermath have declared the site the oldest sacred location ever found on the island.

While crews scoured the remains of the archaeological site of Erimi, a prehistoric settlement atop a limestone terrace near the south coast of the island, they discovered the remains of a large room featuring a monolith more than 7.5 feet tall. The tower is completely smooth and has a motif in the center consisting of a circular pattern of cups.

The room—and monolith—are dated to the Middle Bronze Age, roughly 4,000 years ago.

But the tall artifact couldn’t fully stand the test of time. “The monolith, which originally stood in the center of the room, collapsed onto the floor and destroyed a large amphora placed at its feet in front of a small circular hearth,” Luca Bombardieri, scientific director of the Erimi Italian Archaeological Project from the University of Siena, Italy, said in a translated statement.

“During the Middle Bronze age [around 2000-1600 BC] a community of artisans chose to settle on the Erimi hill and build a community living space with very particular characteristics,” Bombardieri said in the statement.

More:
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/archaeology/a61666033/archaeologists-find-ancient-monolith/