This image is part of a series of large format photographs depicting main cultural heritage sites and monuments in Cyprus, including Kiti, Kolossi, Kourion, Kyrenia, Larnaka, Nicosia, Paphos, Salamis and Soli.
Kourion was one of the most important ancient city-states on the south-western coast of Cyprus. The majority of Kourion’s archaeological remains date from the Roman and Late Roman/Early Byzantine periods. The theatre - the site’s centrepiece - was built in the 2nd century BCE and was enlarged under Trajan in the 2nd century CE.
This series of photographs were brought to ICCROM from a mission to Cyprus undertaken by Gérard Bolla, Director of the Cultural Heritage Department at UNESCO, and Giorgio Torraca, Deputy Director of ICCROM, in October 1974. The aim of the mission was to study the state of conservation of the cultural heritage of Cyprus after the 1974 military conflict, as well as to advise on preventing illicit traffic, particularly pottery from the archaeological sites. Modalities for technical advice, provision of equipment and training to local technicians were also discussed.