The memorial day of Ruth Keshishian- On September 20th, I visited her cemetery early in the morning at 9 a.m. The sun was already strong, and the Cyprus heat lingered softly in the quiet air. After a brief religious prayer, I took a walk with Anastasia. During our conversation, she mentioned the archaeological sites of Kition, located just behind the cemetery.

Although time was short, our curiosity drew us to the nearby museum. There, surrounded by artifacts and fragments of ancient history, we felt a deep connection between past and present — a serene and meaningful way to honor the day of remembrance.
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Beneath the streets of modern Larnaca, Cyprus, lie the evocative remains of Kition, a powerful ancient city-kingdom whose archaeological sites offer a rare, tangible journey through the island's complex history. Dating back to the Late Bronze Age, Kition served as a vital cultural, religious, and economic crossroad in the Eastern Mediterranean for millennia.

A Tale of Two Civilizations
The city’s monumental architectural ruins provide clear evidence of two dominant cultures:

• The Mycenaean Greeks (13th - 11th century BC): The arrival of the Mycenaean Achaeans marked Kition's emergence as a significant urban center. They fortified the city with massive "Cyclopean Walls"—built from giant, unworked blocks of stone—and constructed impressive sanctuaries, including the foundations of five successive temples that speak to a thriving Late Bronze Age city engaged in the copper trade.
• The Phoenicians (9th century BC onwards): Following a period of transition, Phoenician settlers from Tyre took control of the city, transforming it into a major commercial hub and the first known Phoenician colony in the region. They rebuilt and expanded the city, a period that saw the construction of some of the most famous remains.

The Legacy of Kition

Kition's strategic position and deep harbor allowed it to flourish as an essential naval base and a major trade center, exporting agricultural products and importing goods across the Mediterranean. The city-kingdom continued to thrive until its destruction by the Egyptian Pharaoh Ptolemy I Soter in 312 BC, but habitation persisted into Christian times.
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Today, the Kition Archaeological Sites are one of the most important historical attractions in Cyprus. They serve as a powerful testament to the island’s rich past, offering a layered view of ancient life where Cypriot, Mycenaean Greek, and Phoenician cultures intersected and coexisted for centuries

Housed within the esteemed Pierides Foundation Museum in Larnaka, Cyprus, is a small but profoundly significant artifact: a terracotta figurine of a sitting man from the Chalcolithic Period (c. 3900-2500 BCE). This enigmatic figure offers a rare and intimate glimpse into the beliefs and artistic expressions of one of the island's most pivotal prehistoric eras.

The ArtifactCrafted from local clay, the figurine is characterized by its highly stylized and abstract form. The man is depicted in a seated position, often with his legs crossed or folded beneath him. Key features, such as the face, are typically rendered with simple, incised lines or small pellets of clay, giving it a minimalistic yet expressive quality. The figure is often depicted as ithyphallic (with an erect phallus), a common trait in prehistoric art that is widely interpreted as a powerful symbol of fertility, virility, and the continuation of life. The artist's focus was clearly not on realistic portraiture but on conveying a symbolic or ritualistic idea.

Archaeologists believe such statuettes served various purposes: 

• Fertility Idols: As a symbol of male potency, the figurine may have been used in rituals intended to ensure the fertility of the land, livestock, and the community itself. 
• Ritual Objects: It could have represented a deity, an ancestor, or a shamanic figure used in religious ceremonies.
• Grave Goods: Placed in tombs, it might have been intended to serve or protect the deceased in the afterlife.
  
  A Lasting Legacy
  Today, the Terracotta Figurine of a Sitting Man stands as a testament to the rich artistic and spiritual world of ancient Cyprus. It is a powerful reminder that long before the island became a crossroads of great empires, it was home to a unique and vibrant culture, whose silent symbols continue to fascinate and inspire us.

My artistic practice is inspired by nature, civilization, displacement, ethnic conflict, and questions of identity. It is deeply rooted in both memory and geography, brought to life through materials gathered during my travels—sand, seashells, driftwood, and spices from my birthplace.
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I have visited many archaeological sites across South Asia, the Middle East, and the Caribbean islands, but the La Rozel Neanderthal site was uniquely exciting and profoundly significant for my artistic field. This was my first visit as both an archaeologist and a discoverer, and working on it was truly unforgettable. Guided through the site’s story and history, I took photographs and left with Dominique Cliquet’s book on Le Rozel, carrying the experience forward in memory and research.

That day, the sun did not set—it shone brightly, holding back the rain. On the dry earth, Neanderthal footprints appeared with striking clarity. Seagulls circled above, as if guarding the site until my arrival. The atmosphere of the forest, the breeze from the sea—unchanged since their time—connected present and past in a single moment.

The Rozel site, located on the western coast of the Cotentin Peninsula (Manche, France), is one of the most remarkable Paleolithic complexes in Western Europe. Dated to approximately 80,000 years ago, it has yielded an exceptional corpus of remains linked to Neanderthal occupation. Its outstanding significance lies in the extraordinary preservation of habitation surfaces, including Neanderthal hand and footprints—an exceptionally rare occurrence in the global archaeological record.

Archaeological excavations, initiated in the 1960s and conducted systematically since the 2010s, have revealed the remarkable integrity of the occupation layers. Unlike most prehistoric sites, which primarily yield tools or faunal remains, Le Rozel preserves direct traces of human presence: footprints and handprints of adults, adolescents, and children. These ichnological records suggest a small group of about ten to fifteen individuals who frequented or resided at the site.

Situated at the base of an Armorican sandstone cliff, the site lies in an area of intense erosional processes. Stratigraphic analysis shows alternating sandy and silty deposits, sealing and protecting archaeological surfaces. These conditions enabled the fossilization of activity zones and movement paths, largely undisturbed post-deposition.

Excavations, directed by Dominique Cliquet and his team (CNRS, INRAP, Regional Archaeology Service), revealed:

• a rich lithic assemblage dominated by flint flakes and Mousterian scrapers,
  
• faunal remains of large herbivores (horse, aurochs, deer) with butchery marks,
  
• constructed hearths, attesting to fire mastery for cooking and spatial organization.
  

Together, these finds confirm the residential function of the site, interpreted as a temporary encampment associated with hunting and carcass processing.

The most striking contribution of Le Rozel is the discovery of several hundred footprints and handprints attributed to Neanderthals. Morphometric and biometric analyses indicate a group composition of around fifteen individuals, spanning adults, adolescents, and children. These ichnological records provide a rare window into group demography and the spatial organization of daily activities.

Le Rozel offers unprecedented insights into the social and economic dynamics of Neanderthal groups in northwestern Europe. The preservation of entire habitation surfaces allows for detailed behavioral reconstructions in situ, whereas most Mousterian sites preserve only fragmentary evidence. It also illustrates the adaptability of Neanderthals to Atlantic coastal environments during a climatic transition toward glacial conditions.​

The Paleolithic site of Le Rozel represents a key milestone in Neanderthal studies. Its combination of stratigraphic, lithic, faunal, and ichnological data makes it a unique laboratory for Paleolithic archaeology. Given its fragility under the threat of marine erosion, safeguarding efforts—including 3D digitization and timely publication of findings—remain critical to preserving this irreplaceable heritage.

The ʿAin Ghazal statues are large-scale lime plaster and reed statues discovered at the archaeological site of ʿAin Ghazal in Amman, Jordan, dating back to approximately 9,000 years ago (made between 7200 BC and 6250 BCE), from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic C period. A total of 15 statues and 15 busts were discovered in 1983 and 1985 in two underground caches, created about 200 years apart.

The statues are among the earliest large-scale representations of the human form and represent remarkable specimens of prehistoric art from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B or C period. Their purpose remains uncertain, with archaeologists believing they may have been buried just after production, having possibly been made with that intent. 

The ʿAin Ghazal Statues are today part of the collections of The Jordan Museum in Amman, with some also on display at the Amman Citadel's Jordan Archaeological Museum, while a few have been loaned to foreign museums: one statue is in the Louvre Museum in Paris; parts of three other statues can be seen at the British Museum in London;  and one of the figures with two heads is on show in the Louvre Abu Dhabi.