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Hershel Shanks

The Late Bronze Age walls of Kition still stand 3,200 years after they were erected. The construction of these massive ashlar (dressed stone) walls and rectangular towers probably coincided with the arrival of Mycenaeans on Cyprus—perhaps associated with the Sea Peoples mentioned in Egyptian texts. After a 1075 B.C. earthquake destroyed much of this city on Cyprus’s south-central coast, Phoenicians established a colony on the site, restoring one of the ancient city’s temples and dedicating it to the goddess Astarte.