The Paphos Archaeological Museum is located in the upper town (Ktima) and houses artifacts from the Neolithic period to the present day.
It was founded in 1936 to preserve the local archaeological heritage, but was moved to its current building only after Cyprus’ independence in 1964.
Over the years, the museum has been progressively expanded with the addition of new exhibition spaces to accommodate the ongoing discoveries in the excavation area.
The museum’s exhibition is divided into five rooms and traces the evolution of Cypriot civilization from 9000 BC, known as the Neolithic, to the medieval period.
- Room 1 (Prehistory): Objects dating back to the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and Bronze Age periods, including stone idols, flint tools, and the first coins minted in Paphos.
- Room 2 (Iron Age and Classical Period): Ceramics, sculptures, and important funerary stelae in the Cypriot syllabic alphabet.
- Room 3 (Hellenistic and Roman Period): Marble statues, including a bust of Aphrodite and a statue of Asclepius, flanked by clay vases and artifacts imported from Athens.
- Room 4 (Late Roman and Early Christian): Collection of Roman bronze medical instruments, ancient terracotta hot water bottles modeled after body parts, and artifacts from the excavations of the House of Dionysus.
- Room 5 (Byzantine and Medieval Period): Frescoes and glassware from the fortresses of Saranta Kolones.
Admission is free, as required by the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus for state museums.
