A rampart, or part of a defensive wall, has been found underneath an ancient burial mound in Cyprus.
The tumulus of Laona is the largest mound in the world and was built around the third century B.C. Over the past 10 years, researchers have been excavating and documenting the tumulus. Archaeologists discovered that the tumulus was built on top of a broken rampart, which is older than the mound.
The ancient people of Cyprus buried the fortress wall under about 13,700 square feet of loose soil with sand, silt, and red soil, which had been transported from elsewhere on Cyprus for the construction of the tumulus. One of the most significant monuments of the "Age of the Cyprus Kingdoms" is the Laona fortress, which was well preserved under the tumulus.
"Laona combines two monuments that are so far unique in the archaeology of Cyprus", according to the Department of Antiquities Cyprus.
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An ancient site dating to the 12th century B.C. is northeast of the tumulus. Giorgos Papantoniou, an assistant professor of ancient visual and material culture at Trinity College Dublin, was not involved in the excavation of the mound. It was confirmed as an artificial mound in 2011.
The tumulus was described in a study as an accomplished architectural structure that was built over time. The tumulus became an imposing physical mark as the height of the structure increased.
The rampart is believed to have been built by the royal dynasty that ruled Paphos through the end of the 4th century B.C.
The main goal of the project is to identify the urban structure of the capital centre of the ancient polity of Paphos.
The east side of the rampart was exposed during a recent excavation. The rampart went north under the highest point of the mound. The team said that the wall is in an excellent state of preservation.
The monument is made of mold-made mud bricks and is 16 feet wide. The internal area of the wall is at least 18,700 square feet and it is 525 feet long.
Ancient people leveled the ground to begin the project, according to investigations at the base of the wall. There is a thick layer of river pebbles and red soil on top of the leveled ground.
The person who built the monument is not known.
Since there are no tumulus builders from ancient Cyprus, the engineers who built the tumulus must have been non-Cypriots.
Due to safety concerns, the northern staircase excavation has been stopped. The tumulus will be the focus of the project. The researchers said that the construction of the burial mound would have required a large and experienced workforce. Laona will try to prove that it is a burial mound and try to find out who was behind it.
It was originally published on Live Science
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