Yeronisos
| Yeronisos | ||
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| Waters | Levantine Sea | |
| Geographical location | 34 ° 53 '58.6 " N , 32 ° 18' 42.1" E | |
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| surface | 1.2 ha | |
| Residents | uninhabited | |
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The island of Yeronisos ( Greek Γερόνησος ; also Geronisos, Nisis Geronisos, Turkish called Yeroniso Adası ), also the "Holy Island" or "the island beyond the island", is an elongated limestone island near the Akamas peninsula , only 12,000 square meters in size the west coast of Cyprus .
The island is located 280 m from land near the port of Agios Georgios Pegeia and around 17 km north of Paphos , which was the capital of Cyprus during the Hellenistic period. The cliffs protrude around 21 meters from the sea. An excavation on Yeronisos in 1982 revealed extensive archaeological remains, which resulted in the expropriation of the island and securing it as a resource for the cultural heritage of Cyprus.
The island, on which Connelly has been excavated under the direction of Joan Breton since 1990 , had a Chalcolithic (3100 BC) and in the late Hellenistic period under the rule of Ptolemy XII. (80–51 BC) and Queen Cleopatra (51–30 BC) a Ptolemaic settlement phase . Glass, inscriptions, ceramics, coins and architectural remains indicate that Yeronisos was a Ptolemaic outpost of Egypt. An earthquake seems to have hit the island's buildings during the late 1st century BC. Or early 1st century AD. It remained abandoned until the 6th century.
The uninhabited island serves as a breeding ground for migratory birds, including jackdaws , rock pigeons , swifts and herring gulls .