limestone statuettes by residents of Dhali. He went there and claimed to have “cleared” some 3,000 tombs after which three ships were loaded with antiquities, one of which sank in the Mediterranean, while the others reached New York to help found the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 1868 R. Hamilton Lang, the British Consul, found an open-air sanctuary which he called the "Temple of Apollo" containing 142 limestone sculptures, now in the British Museum. From 1927, the Swedish Cyprus Expedition started its work on the island and did a lot of work at Idalium. On the western acropolis they excavated the remains of a fortification wall. They identified six different building periods. Periods 1–3 were dated to the Late Cypriote III, when the city kingdom of Idalion seems to have been formed. Periods 4–6 were considered to belong from Cypro-Geometric III to Cypro-Archaic II. Based on these assumptions, the earliest settlement on the acropolis could have begun around 1200 BC. More recent excavations have brought to light much of the fortified palace and other monuments. The sanctuary of Adonis (Apollo) has produced many statues and objects which are now in museums. The Idalion Tablet is a 5th-century BC bronze tablet found here and inscribed on both sides. The script of the tablet is in the Cypriot syllabary and the inscription itself is in Greek. The tablet records a contract between "the king and the city" and mentions a reward given to a family of physicians for providing free health services to casualties during the siege of Idalion by the Persians. North of Idalium is the Nymphaeum of Kafizin, with Cypro-syllabic inscriptions dated to 225–218 BC. See also Idalion Tablet List of ancient Greek cities Notes References 2008: P. Gaber "The History of History: Excavations at Idalion and the Changing History of a City-Kingdom" NEA Vol.71, Nos. 1&2, pp. 51–63; L. Stager, A. Walker, American Expedition to Idalion Cyprus 1973–1980, Oriental Institute Press, Chicago 1989; 1974: L.Stager, A. Walker, and G.E. Wright, eds. American Expedition to Idalion: First Preliminary Reports: Seasons of 1971 and 1972. ASOR, Cambridge, MA. External links Cities in ancient Cyprus Phoenician colonies in Cyprus Former populated places in Cyprus