Tenta

Tenta, also known as Kalavasos-Tenta, is a Neolithic settlement which dates back to eighth millennium BC. According to local source, the locality of Tenta was named after St. Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, pitched her tent on the site when she returned to Cyprus in AD 327 from her trip to Jerusalem, bearing the Cross of the Crucifixion, before the construction of the Stavrovouni Monastery which is located close to the Tenta settlement.

There are relatively many similarities with the Khirokitia settlement. As mentioned by the first excavator of the two sites, Porphyrios Dikaios, the settlement of Tenta includes a small but densely populated to its center, village. The houses were built near the highest peak of a small natural hill and approximately 18 human skeletons were dug up from the site. In addition, a proportional large building discovered in the Western part of the settlement but archaeologists are still uncertain about its use.

References:

• heartcyprus.com

Address

A1, Larnaca, Cyprus

Details

Founded: 800-700 BC
Category: Prehistoric and archaeological sites in Cyprus