Skales Tomb II, Kouklia sculpture collection
The excavation of the cemeteries was not originally among the interests of the excavators. Mitford and Iliffe were probably aware of the 19th century accounts of looted material from tombs from Hogarth’s and James' accounts of the 1888 excavation.
This is part of the Kouklia, Ancient Cyprus collection.
In 1951 there was interest in finding tombs. Two tombs were found in Skales, in a plot about 1 mile south east of Kouklia village, as a result of information given by local tomb raiders. Both tombs discovered were of the Iron Age and consisted of a main chamber approached by a dromos. In the first tomb, the roof had collapsed onto the contents of the tomb. This included 100 vessels of the earliest Geometric style, some bronze jewellery and a gold finger ring. In the upper levels, from the roof of the tomb Late Bronze vessels were found, including a Mycenean two handled flask of Late Cypriot III A.
Tomb II at Skales was 5 metres north west of Tomb 1 and contained in its chamber a number of large vessels of early Geometric period, all broken by flooding which had carried silt into the chamber. Bone was also found on this burial site, some of it contained in big pots. Some of the bones bore signs of burning suggesting the possibility of animal sacrifice.