The Hall of the Late Bronze Age Building
Ca. 1200 BCE.
Cyprus.
Kouklia (Paliapaphos), Temple of AphroditePhoto by Olga Lyubimova

The Hall of the Late Bronze Age Building.

Ca. 1200 BCE.
Cyprus.

Kouklia (Paliapaphos), Temple of Aphrodite.

Description:
The Hall most likely formed the holy-of-holies of the Late Bronze Age sanctuary. Its walls were built of carefully drafted ashlar blocks of which only the lower courses of the south wall are preserved today. Between the walls two rows of square bases extended on the east side and in the centre of the building. These bases supported square piers with drafted edges; the northernmost pier of the eastern row still remains in situ after more than 3,000 years. There are reasons to suppose that the Hall was closed by solid walls to the west and north, while the south and east fronts remained open. A circular rock-cut pit in the Hall housed a near-complete storage jar of the thirteenth or twelfth century BC (exhibited in the Kouklia Museum), remarkable for the relief decoration on one of its handles. This jar and the rectangular rock-cut basin east of it may have been used for ritual purposes.
Credits:
(сс) 2009. Photo: Olga Lyubimova (CC BY-SA 4.0).
© 2004 Text: Maier F. G. “Guide to Paliapaphos (Kouklia)”. Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation. Nikosia. PP. 43—44.
Keywords: αρχιτεκτονική architectura architecture architettura architektur ελλάδα graecia greece greek grecia greca greco greche griechenland griechische griechisches grèce grecque grecquesё paliapaphos kouklia sanctuary of aphrodite temple afrodite venus venere temenos hall pier pillar