SYKHARI–LAKKIN: PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS ON A NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE FROM KYRENIA MOUNTAINS – CYPRUS

Although it is the third largest island in the Mediterranean, Cyprus can be regarded as a small geography on the basis of its surface area. Yet, the island still offers great importance for both Mediterranean and world archaeology in terms of archaeological wealth and diversity it hosts. For the last quarter-century, surveys conducted in the western, southern and northwestern parts of Cyprus have added lots of new information to the island s archaeological inventory. On the other hand, there is a continuing stability in the north and east of the island for many years. Just in this context and situation, a series of coincidental discoveris related to an archaeological landscape within a small valley on the Kyrenia Mountain Range has occurred. Within these coincidental discoveries, a group of various archaeological finds was found not contemporarily at a location known as Sykhari-Lakkin. Among these finds, there were tombs as well as a wide selection of ceramics, figurines, architectural elements, industrial usage tools and even some architectural remains. This article will be the first publication that will evaluate Sykhari-Lakkin in an archaeological perspective in light of the aforementioned finds and reveal its archeological significance for the island of Cyprus.