Kourion excavations uncover 4th century Artemis statue

A marble statue of Apollo’s twin sister Artemis dating to the fourth century AD was found during the 2024 final excavation season of the Kourion Urban Space Project, it was reported on Saturday.

The remains of four victims from the earthquakes of the mid-fourth century AD that devastated Kourion and other cities across the Mediterranean region were also found.

“This season, a marble statue of Apollo’s twin sister Artemis was found, completing the set of twins born out of a liaison between Zeus and Leto,” the antiquities department said.

“Artemis is 80 cm tall and stands in an active posture with slightly bent knees and one foot forward.”

The department announced the completion of the 2024 final excavation season of the Kourion Urban Space Project (KUSP).

During this season, it adds, the KUSP has concluded the excavation of Building 4, a large and highly decorated structure in the ancient city of Kourion which was destroyed in the earthquakes.

It was never rebuilt following its destruction. Instead, it was further buried with debris from earthquake cleanup efforts when other parts of Kourion were cleared and rebuilt.

KUSP has now excavated nine interior rooms in Building 4. Of note is an exterior facing room on the east side of the building that appears to have served as public space. Bordered by a large exterior wall with cisterns used to store fresh water, this room has a mosaic floor, marble-covered walls, and was once adorned with two marble statues.

The mosaic floor is composed of white tesserae (tiles) bordered with two bands of black tesserae. Between these bands is a black criss-cross pattern separated by medallions. At the corners, the mosaic is decorated with geometric designs that include red and blue accent tesserae. One wall of this room was decorated with sheets of white marble at the bottom and different coloured marble above. When the earthquake that destroyed this building struck, most of the marble fell from the wall and broke as it landed on the floor.

In 2022, a marble statue of Harpocrates-Apollo was found in this room. This season uncovered the marble statue of his twin Artemis.

The statue depicts the goddess as wearing a billowing tunic tied at the waist and strappy sandals. Her right arm reaches over her shoulder for a quiver of arrows while her left arm holds her bow. She is accompanied by a dog crouching at her left knee.

Traces of red paint are visible on Artemis’ lip suggesting the statue was painted in vibrant colours when it was displayed in this room.

The remains of four earthquake victims, likely fallen from a second storey, were also found this season. Along with these individuals, three copper alloy coins minted in the fourth century and commemorating the reigns of two emperors, Constantius II and Valens, were found.

The earthquake victims still wore their personal jewellery including a pair of gold earrings with glass or rock crystal and pearl settings, and another complete, pair of gold earrings with three dangling mother-of-pearl beads. A single gold earring decorated with a pinched loop or sailor’s chain was also found with one of the victims. Still clasped and encircling the neck of one victim was a gold and garnet bead necklace with a decorative clasp.

“The presence of lamps with the victims as well as personal items such as jewellery, a possible coin purse and keys may indicate that the earthquake struck in the evening before Kourion had gone to sleep for the night or in the early morning just as they were preparing for their day,” it adds.

“The excavation of Building 4 has given us a greater understanding of life at Kourion during the fourth century AD (CE) and the events of that fateful and devastating moment that ended the lives of many of its inhabitants and changed the character of the city,” the press release said.

The excavations were carried out under the direction of Dr Thomas Davis, associate director of the Lanier Centre for Archaeology at Lipscomb University, Dr Laura Swantek (assistant professor of anthropology, Phoenix College) and Dr Lucas Grimsley (Lanier Centre for archaeology, Lipscomb University).