Department of Antiquities (Cyprus)

The Department of Antiquities is a government department of the Republic of Cyprus with responsibility for archaeological research and cultural heritage management.[1] It was established in 1935 by the British colonial government.[2] The department is headed by the Director of the Department of Antiquities, next in line is the position of the Director of the Cyprus Museum and following that, the Curator of Monuments. It has conducted excavations at Khoirokoitia, Kition, Amathus, Kourion, Paphos, Salamis, Enkomi and carried multiple rescue excavations all around the island. The Department publishes yearly the Report of the Department of Antiquities Cyprus (RDAC) and the Annual Report of the Department of Antiquities Cyprus (ARDAC).

In 1955 the Director Peter Megaw established an Archaeological Survey Branch and appointed Hector Catling as the head and Kyriacos Nicolaou as an Assistant and a number of technicians.[3] The Branch was discontinued in 1974.[4]

The Department of Antiquities operates various archaeological sites such as Idalion, Kourion, Paphos Archaeological Park and museums like the Cyprus Museum, archaeological district museums of Paphos, Limassol, Kition and smaller local museums like the Hadjigeorgakis Kornesios Mansion.