The ancient city of Idalion, once the capital of one of the kingdoms in Cyprus, was situated in the centre of the island on the river Yalias. The ruins of the ancient city extend to the south of the modern village called Dali. It consisted of three parts: the two hilltop acropolises and the lower town. The necropolis with tombs from Late Bronze Age until the Roman period extends to the east and west.
In the summer of 1928, the SCE began excavating the top plateau of the western acropolis. Below the acropolis the SCE dug some trial trenches, which showed that here was the Royal palace. They had hoped to be able to excavate this at a later date, but never managed to return to the site.
The habitation on the acropolis began in Late Cypriot IIIA (c.1200 B.C.) through to the Cypro-Archaic period (c. 750–475 B.C.). The SCE also investigated the necropolis outside the city wall, finding tombs from the Cypro-Geometric I and Hellenistic periods. [Source: Translated from Marie-Louise Winbladh The sites of the Swedish Cyprus Expedition]
