Cyprus is full of hidden treasures– there are no iconic ruins like the Parthenon or Colosseum, just small glimpses of what used to be. Aside from a few well-trodden sites, the others aren’t so easy to find, especially since the tourist infrastructure in the north is not as well-developed as it is in the south. I suspect there is a lot more out there too, waiting to be discovered. I had never even heard of Agia Trias before we started planning our Karpaz weekend; since we were going all that way I did a little digging deeper to see if there was anything off-the-beaten path we could see. As it turns out, though I hadn’t heard of it until this trip, it is about as on-the-beaten path as one could get– there was a “Department of Antiquities” officer posted at the site to collect admissions, and it was open all day on a Sunday.
According to the official handout, the basilica was discovered by coincidence in 1957, and some parts of the site remain unexcavated. The mosaics are characteristic of the mosaic workshops centered in Antakya and date to the end of the 5th century AD to the beginning of the 6th century AD. The basilica was destroyed by Arab raids in the middle of the 7th century, after which the basilica was never used again.
According to this great study of the basilica I found online, the aisle down the center (you can see the remnants of some stones in the photos above and below) is part of a solea which distinguishes the most sacred places in church from the not-quite-most-sacred places.
Here’s a tantalizing glimpse of the intricate stonework that separated the solea from the rest of the church.
For the most part, the mosaics were simple geometric patterns. They are spectacular when you consider they are 1400ish years old.
This inscription in Greek records the donation of Heracleos, who made the mosaics:
A phiale (a font for holy water), still standing where it was left:
I’m pretty sure UNESCO would have not-nice things to say after we traipsed all over 1400 year old mosaics. We tried to avoid it when we could, I swear.
After reading that paper, I have realized we really didn’t do enough exploring of the site– it was hotter than hell, and the sun was up in full-force, so perhaps if we go back to Karpaz when it is cooler out it will be more comfortable for full exploration…