Walk along the footsteps of the first Achaeans – Myceneans…

The archaeological site is a small settlement dated at the end of the Late Bronze Age, in the 12th century B.C. According to the excavator, the settlement has been interpreted as a “colony” of the first Achaeans – Myceneans who came to Cyprus as immigrants after the collapse of the Mycenaean Kingdoms in mainland Greece.

This is where the troubled Achaeans first saw land, where they came, and from the arid peninsula of Maa began the actual Hellenization of the Island. The first debarkation of the Mycenaeans at Cyprus, on the Maa peninsula, is a historic event.

The first ships of the Achaean colonist reached the area of Maa and founded one of their first colonies, Palaiokastro. At the exact same location, and as a remembrance of this event, was founded the first Museum of Mycenean Colonization in Cyprus. It can be pertinently said that this region is of great importance to Cypriot history, as the Hellenization of Cyprus began right here.

When the Myceneans came to the shore of Maa, the mainland was inhabited by an self-ruled population with its own Gods and Goddesses, its own beliefs and creeds.

The peninsula on which the settlement was built had a maximum length of 450 m. And was 150 m. wide, while it covers a surface of 46.000 m. It is unified to the mainland through a narrow strip of land. Both its sides are steep, while at the edge the soil descends mildly towards the sea.

Two sandy bays are formed on each side of the peninsula, and a water source can be seen to its east side.

Archaeologists discovered building complexes on that same peninsula; they were protected by the land and by a fortification wall.

The small museum with its unique architecture is the creation of one of the most important architects in Europe, Andreas Bruno, Professor in the University of Turin. The museum is linked to the presence of the Mycenean Greeks in Cyprus and its contents today are under restoration.