German archaeologists have made discoveries at an ancient sanctuary dedicated to Apollo in Cyprus, known as Fragkissa. Recent excavations uncovered over 100 bases of statues, some colossal in size, which once supported giant votive limestone statues from the Archaic period (7th and 6th centuries BCE).
Since 2021, archaeologists from the Universities of Frankfurt and Kiel/Würzburg have been working to determine the location of the 1885 excavation at Fragkissa in the Pera Orinis area, which was backfilled upon completion. During the last excavation season, the team accurately located the site from 1885 and began extensive excavations, revealing the walls of the votive courtyard and over 100 bases of statues. The director of the excavations is Dr. Matthias Recke from the University of Frankfurt, with field directors including Philipp Kobusch from the University of Würzburg.
The Fragkissa site was initially discovered in 1885 by German archaeologist Max Ohnefalsch-Richter, who found a rich rural sanctuary dedicated to Apollo belonging to the ancient kingdom of Tamassos, one of the ten kingdoms of Cyprus. After his research, the site was forgotten, and many fragments of limestone forms and large terracottas remained behind. The larger pieces seized by Ohnefalsch-Richter ended up in museums in Canada, the US, UK, Ireland, Cyprus, and possibly even Russia.
Recent excavations unearthed marbled glass beads and Egyptian amulets made of faience, a sintered-quartz ceramic material, which testify to cultural exchanges. The team also discovered fragments of statues that had not been recorded in the 1880s, including many statue fragments found in the 19th-century backfill.
According to a statement from the University of Frankfurt, "A preliminary assessment of the findings showed that the area was in use from the Iron Age and was used throughout the Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods."