Saranta Kolones ( el, Κάστρο Σαράντα Κολώνες, Forty columns castle) is a ruined medieval fortress inside the

Paphos Archaeological Park Paphos Archaeological Park (also Kato Pafos Archaeological Park) contains the major part of the important ancient Greek and Roman city and is located in Paphos, southwest Cyprus. The park, still under excavation, is within the Nea Pafos ("New Paph ...

and it is located just north of the harbour of

Paphos Paphos ( el, Πάφος ; tr, Baf) is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and New Paphos. The current city of Pap ...

, on the island of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. It takes its name from the large number of granite columns that were found on the site and probably once formed part of the ancient

agora The agora (; grc, ἀγορά, romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Greek city-states. It is the best representation of a city-state's response to accommodate the social and political order of t ...

. The

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

castle is believed to have been built at the end of the 7th century AD to protect the port and the city of Nea Pafos from Arab raids and later remodeled by the

Lusignans The House of Lusignan ( ; ) was a royal house of French origin, which at various times ruled several principalities in Europe and the Levant, including the kingdoms of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Armenia, from the 12th through the 15th centuries dur ...

. The Fortress had a three-metre thick wall with four huge corner towers and another four intermediary towers along the joining walls and moat surrounding the castle. Access was across a wooden bridge spanning the moat. The square courtyard measured 35 metres long by 35 metres wide, with a tower at each corner. The main entrance was through a fifth, horseshoe-shaped tower on the east side. Destroyed by an earthquake in

1222 Year 1222 ( MCCXXII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Asia * The Ghurid dynasty capital of Firozkoh (in modern-day Afghanistan) is destroyed, by Mongol ...

, the castle was subsequently abandoned. In modern times a series of excavations have taken place.

References

External links

Saranta Kolones
Buildings and structures in Paphos Castles in Cyprus {{Cyprus-struct-stub