 At Engomi, archeologists have uncovered the remains
of a great Bronze Age city, possibly that of ancient Alasia, whose kings
shipped copper to the Pharaohs of Egypt.
The site contains some of the
richest Bronze Age tombs ever excavated.
 Items discovered there include
gold and ivory objects, imitation diamonds, glass vases, and rare examples
of Mycenian pottery.
The evidence of an Achaean settlement at Engomi
supports the legend that nearby Salamis was founded by Greek colonists led
by Teucer soon after the Trojan War.
It was first investigated by a
British Museum Expedition in 1896, when a number of tombs containing rich finds
was opened. In 1913 Sir John Myres together with Cyprus Museum and in 1930 the
Swedish Cyprus Expedition led by Prof. Gjerstad excavated a score of tombs.
 The
earliest remains at Enkomi beginning of the second millennium B.C. (2000-1700)
which correspond with the Middle Bronze Age.
A period of prosperity for
Enkomi begins about 1550 B.C. Enkomi become an important centre of copper, where
the copper worked and then exported to the East.
The most brilliant period of
Enkomi begins about 1450 B.C. Her cooper products were sent abroad both to the
East and to the West. Its name was then Alasia and under this name Cyprus is
reffered to in a correspondance between the king of Alasia and the pharaoh of
Egypt, Amenophis IV (1370-1352 B. C.). During that time Enkomi- Alasia was
fortified with a strong wall.
Cyprus
had become a part of the Hitite Empire between 1500 and 1450 B.C. It was
used as an exile place of the Hitite kings upon the state archives in Bogazkoy (Hattusas).
By the end of the 1300 B.C.
Enkomi - Alasia was conquered and destroyed by "The people of sea". It
was however rebuilt. Later in the 12th century an earthquake destroyed part of
the city again. In the early 11th century B.C. the city was finally abandoned.
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