The presence of the Severan dynasty in Cyprus was expressed above all through practices of the imperial cult and the construction of public monuments, of which only disiecta membra are often preserved. Current research is therefore directed towards the study of architectural material either housed in museum collections or reused in later contexts, particularly within medieval sites such as Saranta Kolones, Chrysopolitissa, and Limeniotissa.
This approach not only highlights the challenges of reconstructing Severan monumental interventions in Cyprus, but also underscores the importance of secondary contexts for understanding the afterlives of Roman architectural elements. The systematic analysis of these remains—ranging from decorated blocks and column capitals to structural fragments—offers critical insights into the forms, styles, and symbolic dimensions of Severan architectural production on the island. At the same time, the investigation of their reuse in medieval fortifications and ecclesiastical architecture sheds light on processes of continuity, transformation, and resemanticization of the Roman material legacy in subsequent periods.
By situating the Cypriot evidence within the broader framework of Severan provincial architecture, the project aims to clarify both the mechanisms of imperial representation in the eastern Mediterranean and the specific ways in which local communities engaged with, adapted, and perpetuated the Severan monumental heritage.
Bibliography
T. Fujii, Imperial Cult and Imperial Representation in Roman Cyprus, Stuttgart 2013
E. Hussein, Revaluing Roman Cyprus. Local Identity on an Island in Antiquity, Oxford 2021.
A. Ochal-Czarnowicz, In the Shadow of Emperors: The Cult in Roman Cyprus, Kraków 2018
P. Pensabene, Classificazione tipologica dei capitelli d’importazione orientale, in Società Romana e impero tardo-antico, 3, Le merci. Gli insediamenti, Roma 1986, pp. 304-333.
J.Rosser, Excavations at Saranda Kolones, Paphos, Cyprus, 1981-1983. Dumbarton Oaks Papers, vol. 39, 1985, pp. 81-97.