Newsroom
What was supposed to be just another construction site has suddenly turned into a local mystery.
Earth-moving works between the Elysium Hotel and Kefalos Beach Holiday Village have uncovered stone structures that look suspiciously ancient, and they sit just a stone’s throw from the famed Tombs of the Kings. Cue the drones, the zoom lenses, and, inevitably, the speculation.
Photos circulating online show what appear to be carved rooms, walls and cavities emerging from the ground after recent clearing work. At first glance, they resemble tombs, not an unreasonable assumption given the neighborhood. But a closer look has raised more questions than answers. Are these burial chambers? Living spaces? Something else entirely?
The site, photographed in mid-December, shows multiple excavated sections with soil neatly piled to one side, a detail that hasn’t gone unnoticed. To many observers, that careful handling of earth suggests archaeological supervision rather than routine construction work. In Cyprus, where history has a habit of popping up whenever you dig more than a few meters, that usually means one thing: pause everything and call in the experts.
Online discussions quickly took off, with some users floating the idea of additional tombs linked to the nearby archaeological complex, while others wondered whether the remains could belong to an early Christian structure. As often happens, theories multiplied faster than official information.
Then came a clarification.
In a social media post, Elena Tooulia said the work is being carried out following instructions from the Ministry of Culture and stressed that there are currently no immediate plans to build a new hotel on the site. According to her, the area is undergoing clearance, and any findings should be treated with respect until authorities determine their significance.
For now, officials have not confirmed what exactly lies beneath the surface. What is clear is that the site has drawn fresh attention to Paphos’ layered past, a city where luxury resorts and ancient history often share the same plot of land, sometimes uncomfortably so.
Whether the discoveries lead to a full excavation, a redesign of future plans, or simply a careful reburial remains to be seen. But for the moment, one thing is certain: in Cyprus, even a routine dig can turn into a brush with antiquity.
*See the original blog post here.
