Souskiou

Souskiou in Cyprus is an abandoned village in the province of Paphos and is situated 26 km southeast of the homonymous city, 60 km northwest of Limassol and 143 km southwest of Nicosia.

A settlement very close to the historical Kouklia (4 km away), Souskiou is located in the southeast part of the Diarizos valley and was in the past one of the Turkish Cypriot villages of the province. The great earthquake that struck Paphos in 1953, coupled with the 1963-64 intercommunal riots and the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, were the main reasons the area was deserted and now there is little left to remind of the settlement’s past glory.

In the area and specifically in the Chalcolithic settlement of Souskiou-Laona, which belonged to the historical kingdom of Palaipafos, remains of the Neolithic era have been found, dating back to the Bronze Age. The settlement existed up to 3000 BC. and consisted of dwellings, a cemetery and copper processing workshop, which came down from Troodos.

In the 2004 excavation of the cemetery, an intact burial was found, containing grave goods, small cruciform statuettes of steatite, female necklaces, a bowl, beads of decal and glass beads, stones, Roman ceramic shells, a glass vase, iron, a stone pickaxe and traces of fabric.

The findings of a team of the Leba Archaeological Research Center and the University of Edinburgh in 2010 relate to the production of cross-shaped figurines of the same type as the figurine of Pomos, depicted on the Cypriot Euro coins. However, a unique artifact of its kind is considered to be a jewel with engraved linear decorations, which is the second bronze object discovered in the history of the ancient Cypriot civilization, after the bronze knife of Erimi in the province of Limassol.

In the copper processing workshop, crude raw material from the Troodos Mountains was found, rough and slightly unfinished figurines (which were probably rejected because of some defects). According to the research, the workshop was operating in a building where other day-to-day household activities were also carried out.

At another point in the settlement, in the remains of a house tools were found with which the figurines were manufactured, but also large quantities of depletions from the early stages of their construction. Also, at a different location at the settlement, excavations unearthed animal bones, ceramics, charcoal, bone tools and more, which give a lot of information about the economy of the settlement.

Souskiou much later, especially during the Middle Ages, was a fief. During the period of the Lusignan kings of Cyprus, it was a royal estate, while during the Venetian period it was a state property. In 1571, when the Ottoman domination began, it was confiscated by the Turks and later it was a village inhabited by Turkish Cypriots. The mosque of the area is still preserved in good condition.

One of the attractions of the formerly large community is the first location where Agios Neophytos practised asceticism, the “old Enclestra”, situated in a secluded spot on a rock and among wild vegetation. According to tradition, this was the first carved cave of the saint before he arrived to Tala and carved the famous “Enclestra” and later the well-known Agios Neophytos Monastery. The hermitage, which is adorned with beautiful frescoes, can be visited after consultation with the Palaipaphos ticket offices that hold the keys.