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Excavating at Salamis in Cyprus

Four sirens and eight griffins adorn the rim of this magnificent 4-foot-high bronze cauldron with iron tripod from Salamis’s royal tombs. The cauldron, perhaps used for making offerings, was found in association with Phoenician pottery, which allowed archaeologists to date the necropolis to the eighth and seventh centuries B.C. These tombs contained many treasures: gold necklaces, ivory carvings and bronze weapons. They also yielded grimmer finds, such as the remains of bound captives who were interred—perhaps alive—along with the remains of Salamis’s kings and aristocrats.