Diver says he found ancient columns off Konnos bay

A US-BORN Cypriot holidaying on the island says he has stumbled on what he believes to be ancient columns, resting on and beneath the sand in the Konnos Bay area of Protaras.

The 23-year-old student from Washington DC, Nicholas Avraam Karas, was snorkelling along the rocks near Konnos Bay on Saturday when he noticed a rock that “seemed out of place”.

“It was long and too regular. I pulled off some algae, looked closely and noticed the lines,” he said. As he swam along the large object he became more convinced that it was not in fact a rock, but an ancient  column.

Karas told the Cyprus Mail that he then saw another similar object directly below the first one, and a protruding part of yet another column nearby in the sand. He returned the next day to take photographs, which he sent to the Antiquities Department for further examination.

“You can scarcely see what it actually is from the photos. It’s not very clear” said Dr Marina Solomidou-Ieronymidou, Archaeological Officer from the Antiquities Department.

Though the possibility of the findings being fakes is high, she noted that “it is definitely worth pursuing”.

“A lot of colleagues are on holidays at the moment” said Ieronymidou, adding that when they return specialised divers and archaeologists will be sent out to examine the reported findings and see if they are in fact antiquities.