Swedish Cyprus Expedition

About two-thirds of nearly 18,000 finds (c. 12,000 objects and 5,000 boxes of sherds) went to Stockholm in 1931; the rest stayed in the Cyprus Museum. About 900 of c. 1,000 Ayia Irini terracottas in the Swedish share are displayed at the Medelhavsmuseet. (2012)

Recke 2012

1. 1923–1924
   Einar Gjerstad's preliminary work before the expedition: study of Menelaos Markides's finds in the Cyprus Museum and soundings at Alambra, Kalopsidha, Nikolidhes and Phrenaros, for his Uppsala dissertation (defended 1926).

   Einar Nilson GjerstadMenelaos MarkidesRecke 2012

2. 1925
   Official discussions in Cyprus about amending the 1905 Antiquities Law, prompted by a Swedish proposal for systematic excavation on condition that a substantial share of the finds could be exported to Sweden; the law was then amended (Stanley-Price cites Law 6 of 1927).

   Luke Zenon PieridesMalcolm StevensonStanley-Price 2025, n. 6, n. 11

3. 13 October 1926
   The Swedes wrote to the Governor asking for a change in the law to allow part of the finds to be exported; in December 1926 they were told their wishes would receive sympathetic consideration with as liberal an interpretation as legally permissible. The source names the Governor as Storrs, while Stanley-Price names Stevenson as Governor in the 1925 debate.

   Ronald StorrsLuke Zenon PieridesStylianou-Lambert & Bounia 2016

4. 1927
   The 1905 Antiquities Law was amended; per the Political Museum, 65% of the finds were afterwards exported to Sweden.

   Stylianou-Lambert & Bounia 2016Stanley-Price 2025, n. 11

5. 4 April 1927
   Swedish Cyprus Committee constituted under Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf (note in the Bernadotte archives, as cited by Whitling); its members signing the SCE I preface were Gustaf Adolf, Johannes Hellner, Martin P. Nilsson, Sigurd Curman and Axel W. Persson.

   StockholmGustaf VI Adolf of SwedenJohannes HellnerSigurd CurmanEinar Nilson GjerstadWhitling 2014, p. 139 n. 13Gjerstad et al. 1934

6. September 1927
   Fieldwork began at the end of September 1927 and continued until February 1931; the expedition left Cyprus in March 1931. Work was run by Sjöqvist and Westholm in two parties, with Lindros recording and Gjerstad directing.

   Einar Nilson GjerstadErik SjöqvistAlfred WestholmJohn LindrosGjerstad et al. 1934Recke 2012

7. September 1927 – April 1928
   Erik Sjöqvist excavated 23 tombs at Vrysi tou Barba (Sept-Oct 1927) and 30 tombs at Kastros (Nov 1927-Apr 1928), Lapithos; Gjerstad dug the settlement in Oct-Nov 1928.

   LapithosErik SjöqvistEinar Nilson GjerstadRecke 2012

8. October 1927
   Alfred Westholm began excavating the Roman theatre at Soli; later (Nov 1930-Feb 1931) he dug six temples (A-F) at Cholades, with costs shared between the expedition and the Cyprus Museum.

   SoliAlfred WestholmRecke 2012

9. February–March 1928
   Westholm excavated tombs at Milia under a permit, after police reported clandestine digging; four tombs published (LC I-II).

   MiliaAlfred WestholmRecke 2012

10. April 1928
    Sjöqvist examined a built tomb with a relief of two dancing figures at Trachonas and, the same month, a sanctuary field at Oura (unpublished in SCE).

    KarpassErik SjöqvistRecke 2012

11. 1928
    Idalion: Sjöqvist excavated the fortified Anat-Athena sanctuary on the west acropolis and located the royal palace in trial trenches; the Swedes hoped to return but did not.

    IdalionErik SjöqvistRecke 2012

12. 1928–1929
    Westholm excavated Vouni (spring 1928-autumn 1929): a palace in use c. 500-380 BC, an Athena temple, a necropolis and the Vouni treasure (252 gold and silver coins).

    VouniAlfred WestholmRecke 2012

13. 1928
    Excavation of a Bronze Age necropolis and a Cypro-Archaic II sanctuary at Neta, Karpass (unpublished apart from two sculptures in the 2003 Medelhavsmuseet catalogue).

    NetaRecke 2012

14. 21 August 1928
    Gjerstad wrote to the Crown Prince expressing mistrust of Storrs and Gunnis over disputes about the Greek or Phoenician character of the finds (letter in the Royal Archive, Stockholm, as quoted by Houby-Nielsen).

    Einar Nilson GjerstadRonald StorrsRupert Forbes GunnisGustaf VI Adolf of SwedenHouby-Nielsen 2016

15. 1929
    Sjöqvist excavated 14 intact tombs at Kountoura Trachonia, 3 intact tombs and the Cyclopean fort at Nitovikla, seven tumuli at Paleoskoutella, and the necropolis and Bronze Age sanctuary at Ayios Iakovos.

    KarpassErik SjöqvistRecke 2012

16. March 1929
    Marion: Sjöqvist began excavating the necropolis (98 tombs, 1050-150 BC).

    PolisErik SjöqvistRecke 2012

17. 1929
    Westholm excavated Petra tou Limniti in two summer weeks, finding the first Neolithic remains in Cyprus; he also made a small unpublished excavation at Ayios Phokas in September.

    Petra tou LimnitiAlfred WestholmRecke 2012

18. October 1929 – April 1930
    Westholm excavated the Bamboula mound at Kition from October 1929 to April 1930, finding a large deposit of votive sculpture within days.

    KitionAlfred WestholmRecke 2012Houby-Nielsen 2016

19. November 1929
    Ayia Irini: after a priest handed a figurine to the Cyprus Museum, the expedition obtained a permit from Storrs; Sjöqvist and Lindros excavated the open-air sanctuary (more than 2,000 votive figures, seven periods). A Gunnis trial trench (section V) preceded them.

    Ayia IriniErik SjöqvistJohn LindrosRonald StorrsRupert Forbes GunnisRecke 2012Houby-Nielsen 2016Stanley-Price 2025, n. 47

20. 1929
    Per a 1930s memorandum quoted by Stanley-Price, Gunnis secretly opened a tomb at night near the Swedes' concession at Polis (an allegation attributed to Hilton's report and J. R. B. Stewart).

    Rupert Forbes GunnisStanley-Price 2025

21. 1930
    Westholm surveyed Amathus necropolis (26 tombs); Kythrea Chalcolithic huts excavated in spring; Sjöqvist worked at Enkomi in summer (22 tombs) and at Stylli in autumn (17 tombs), where the Crown Prince took part.

    AmathusAlfred WestholmErik SjöqvistGustaf VI Adolf of SwedenRecke 2012

22. 27 October 1930
    Division of finds: Markides, Gunnis and Gjerstad drafted a scheme over three weeks; Crown Prince and Governor Storrs had the final say; the Museum Committee ratified it unchanged on 27 October 1930. Principles: find-units not to be split; Sweden to receive a representative series and all scientifically valuable sherds; 'unique' objects stay in Cyprus, interpreted broadly.

    Menelaos MarkidesRupert Forbes GunnisEinar Nilson GjerstadGustaf VI Adolf of SwedenRonald StorrsRecke 2012

23. 1930
    Sweden received about two-thirds of nearly 18,000 finds (c. 12,000 objects) plus 5,000 boxes of sherds. The c. 2,000 Ayia Irini terracottas were divided between the two countries despite belonging to one deposit; most gold stayed in Cyprus and casts went to Stockholm.

    Ayia IriniRecke 2012

24. 5 March 1931
    771 packing-cases went by rail from Nicosia to Famagusta and sailed on the M/S Gotland via Beirut and Constantinople, with the expedition members.

    Recke 2012

25. 1931
    The finds were housed in the unheated 18th-century Oxenstiernska Malmgården, Stockholm; Westholm was in charge of the Cyprus collections 1934-1945.

    StockholmAlfred WestholmRecke 2012

26. 1933
    First exhibition of the finds at the Liljevalch Art Gallery, Stockholm, with the Ayia Irini group.

    StockholmRecke 2012

27. 1934–1937
    SCE I-III (Text and Plates) published in Stockholm: some 2,000 pages and 600 plates; SCE I preface acknowledges 35,000 crowns from the Swedish State for excavation costs and 50,000 for preparing the material for publication, plus named private donors.

    Einar Nilson GjerstadErik SjöqvistAlfred WestholmJohn LindrosRecke 2012Gjerstad et al. 1934

28. 1941
    Westholm curated the exhibition Före Fidias (pre-classical art, mainly Cyprus and Mycenaean Greece).

    Alfred WestholmRecke 2012

29. 1947–1948
    Arne Furumark (Uppsala) directed excavations at Sinda; finds divided between Uppsala (Museum Gustavianum) and the Cyprus Museum; most of the share left in Cyprus is now lost from storage at the Famagusta Museum.

    SindaArne FurumarkRecke 2012

30. 1954
    The Medelhavsmuseet was created, merging the Cyprus collections with the Egyptian Museum and other Mediterranean antiquities, at first administratively; it is the direct institutional successor of the SCE and holds its archive.

    StockholmRecke 2012

31. 1971
    Paul Åström began excavations at Hala Sultan Tekke, a continuation of Swedish fieldwork; Åström also completed SCE IV:1B-1D.

    Hala Sultan TekkePaul ÅströmRecke 2012

32. 1982
    The Medelhavsmuseet moved into premises at Gustav Adolfs Torg; first exhibition opened 16 September 1982 with the Ayia Irini group as focal point; a separate Cyprus gallery followed in 1989.

    StockholmCarl-Gustaf StyreniusRecke 2012

33. 2009
    A. G. Leventis Gallery of Cypriote Antiquities opened at the Medelhavsmuseet, with well over 900 of the c. 1,000 Ayia Irini figures in the Swedish share on display (a mirror doubles the view to the original c. 2,000).

    StockholmSanne Houby-NielsenRecke 2012

34. 2010
    The 'New Swedish Cyprus Expedition' resumed work at Hala Sultan Tekke under Peter M. Fischer (Gothenburg); georadar in 2012 suggested a city of up to 50 ha.

    Hala Sultan TekkePeter M. FischerRecke 2012

35. 2011
    Research programme on the 5,000 boxes of sherds launched at the Medelhavsmuseet, with two post-doctoral scholars focused on Ayia Irini, funded by the A. G. Leventis Foundation and others; excavation notebooks scanned in 2012.

    Giorgos BourogiannisRecke 2012

• Scarab found at Ajia Irini

  A.I. 2662from Ayia Irini1930Medelhavsmuseet

• Terracotta figurine, C.A. I-II (700-475 BC), height 20 cm

  A.I. 1646from Ayia Irini1930Medelhavsmuseet

• A Cypriot Jar in the Mycenaean StyleArticle
• A Short History of Cypriot ArcheologyArticle
• Ancient Cypriot Pottery: A Course from the First Pots to the Classical KingdomsArticle
• Cypriot Free-Field Art: One Bird on an Empty JugArticle
• From Colonial Bargains to Contested Heritage: Tracing the Price and Provenance of Cypriot Antiquities (1883-Present)Article
• Max Ohnefalsch-Richter: The Excavator Who Recorded Cyprus and Scattered ItArticle
• Paul Åström: The Man Who Printed Cypriot ArchaeologyArticle
• The Judge, the Escape, and a Chocolate Box of Six-Thousand-Year-Old SherdsArticle
• The Savant of LarnacaArticle
• The Severis Collection of Cypriote ArtArticle
• The Short History of Denmarks Cypriot Art CollectionsArticle
• The Swedish Cyprus Expedition and What It Left BehindArticle
• Two Figures and a TreeArticle
• Unearthing the Secrets of Ancient Idalion: A Journey Through Archaeological ExcavationsArticle
• Vassos Karageorghis (1929–2021): The Maker of Modern Cypriot ArchaeologyArticle
• AchnaSite
• Agios SozomenosSite
• AmathusSite
• EnkomiSite
• IdalionSite
• LapithosSite
• Achaemenid PersiaCompendium
• Archaic Limestone StatuesCompendium
• Arms and Armour of Iron Age CyprusCompendium
• Baskets and Basket-Handled VesselsCompendium
• Bichrome Red WareCompendium
• Bichrome WareCompendium
• CirclesCompendium
• Cypro-Archaic CyprusCompendium
• Cypro-Classical CyprusCompendium
• Cypro-Geometric CyprusCompendium
• Faience in Ancient CyprusCompendium
• Fortifications in Ancient Cyprus: From Khirokitia to the Siege of PaphosCompendium
• Free-Field Style: Birds, Bulls and Lotus on Cypro-Archaic JugsCompendium
• From Bronze to Iron: Cypriot Pottery c. 1300–950 BCECompendium
• Furniture in Ancient CyprusCompendium
• Gold, Silver, Tin, Arsenic and Iron in Ancient CyprusCompendium
• Hellenistic CyprusCompendium
• How Cypriot Figurines Are ClassifiedCompendium
• Iron Age White Painted WareCompendium
• Jugs and JugletsCompendium
• Lattice, Chequers and Checkerboards on Cypriot PotteryCompendium
• Medicine and Healing in Ancient CyprusCompendium
• Mycenaean Imports and Local ImitationsCompendium
• Plain White WareCompendium
• Proto-White Painted WareCompendium
• Red Polished Zoomorphic Vessels and Animal FigurinesCompendium
• Red-on-White WareCompendium
• Snowman FigurinesCompendium
• Spindle Whorls and Textile Tools in Ancient CyprusCompendium
• Stone Plank FiguresCompendium
• The Chronology of Ancient CyprusCompendium
• The Legal Export of Cypriot AntiquitiesCompendium
• The PhoeniciansCompendium
• Village Life in Early Bronze Age CyprusCompendium
• Wavy LinesCompendium
• Weapons of Bronze Age CyprusCompendium
• White Painted Wheelmade WareCompendium
• Zig-ZagsCompendium
• Base Ring II Bilbil Juglet with White-Painted BandsObject
• Bichrome IV Amphoriskos with Concentric CirclesObject
• Bichrome IV Bowl with Red-Painted Pierced Lug HandlesObject
• Bichrome IV Jug with Vertical Circle SystemsObject
• Bichrome IV Jug with Wreathed Circle SystemsObject
• Bichrome Jug with Wide Neck, Shoulder Circles and Red StrokesObject
• Bichrome Skyphos with Stags in MetopesObject
• Bichrome V Jug with Painted Eyes and Leaf StrokesObject
• Black Slip Bucchero Jug with Trefoil Mouth and Fluted BodyObject
• Black-on-Red Deep Bowl with Concentric Circles below the RimObject
• Black-on-Red Trefoil-Mouthed Juglet with Ringed CirclesObject
• Fusiform UnguentariumObject
• Globular Bichrome Amphora with Two Registers of Concentric CirclesObject
• Jug with Flaring Neck, probably Black Slip WareObject
• Large Bichrome IV Jug with Vertical Circle SystemsObject
• Large White Painted Plate with Knobbed Handles and a Four-Armed Cross on the UndersideObject
• Limestone Head of a Beardless Votary in a Conical HelmetObject
• Miniature Bichrome Plate with Concentric CirclesObject
• Red Polished Black-Topped Bottle with Incised Concentric CirclesObject
• Two Fragments of a White Painted Deep Bowl with Panel DecorationObject
• Upper Part of a Mould-Made Female Figure with an Egyptianizing WigObject
• White Painted III-IV Bowl with Rising Handle and Hatched TrianglesObject
• White Painted Plate with Latticed Triangles and Wavy Lines on the UndersideObject
• White Painted VI Owl-Headed RattleObject
• White Slip II Hemispherical Bowl with Wishbone HandleObject