ACHC Projects
Public and Awareness Raising
• Among our stakeholders contributing to Tatlısu / Akanthou ARKEOPARK Project are Istanbul Medipol University and Tatlısu Municipality.
• Protecting and preserving the archaeological and cultural heritage of Cyprus,
• Promote the study of prehistory and history of Cyprus with its archaeological and cultural heritage,
• Increase awareness, understanding and appreciation of our cultural heritage by facilitating public access to them,
• Encourage and present public participation in the preservation of cultural heritage,
• Developing a sense of belonging and identity through cultural heritage representing a multicultural society,
• Increasing cooperation with local and overseas institutions to protect cultural heritage and promote education and training,
• To promote tourism through innovative cultural heritage projects, restoration and conservation, museum and field presentations.
Archaeological Projects
• Tatlısu-Çiftlikdüzü (Akanthou-Arkosykos) Rescue Excavation and Research Project is our major project that has been running since 1996.
• Akanthou region land survey and scheduling monuments project.
• Ancient DNA Research Group, with Middle East Technical University, Department of Biology, Ankara, Turkey.
Underwater Archaeological Projects
• Akanthou Coastline, Underwater Heritage Documentation and Protection Project
• Artemis Wreck, Documentation and Assessment Project.
Documentation Projects
• Historic Carob Stores Survey
• Historic Graffiti Documentation Project
Completed Conservation Projects
• Lusignan Tower Consolidation Project Kyrenia. Masonary training capacity building. executed for the Kyrenia Municipality completed in November 2018.
• Kyrenia Castle, Byzantine Church spray paint tag removal
• Conservation of Lusignan Museum Artefacts, Nicosia
• Conservation and presentation of Venetian period stone Lion of Famagusta
• St Barnabas Monastery Museum Wooden Eagle artefact restoration
• Buffavento Castle spray paint tag removal
• Folk Art (Carob) Museum, Kyrenia, wooden artefacts preservation and treatment
• Canbulat Museum, artefact and museum preservation and fumigation
• 2012 June St. Barnabas Museum icon and iconostasis, fumigation, cleaning and preservation
An Exemplary Underwater Research and Conservation Initiative by CIU in Northern Cyprus
Cyprus International University (CIU) has been shedding light on the cultural and natural heritage of Northern Cyprus through underwater research, documentation, and conservation activities carried out along the country’s coastline since 2018. The projects, conducted by the university’s Center for Archaeology, Cultural Heritage and Conservation, aim both to protect archaeological findings and to scientifically record the region’s biodiversity.
Shaped through the joint efforts of CIU academics, the project involves identification of potential underwater cultural heritage sites, with future multidimensional activities such as detailed mapping of coastal ecosystems, and investigation of the impacts of overfishing, marine pollution, and climate change. The collected data are shared in international publications and used to develop conservation strategies in collaboration with local institutions.
University officials state that numerous shipwrecks, natural reef structures, and endangered marine species have been documented within the scope of the project, noting that the work will expand even further in the coming years.
With its strong research capacity and consistent efforts to protect the region’s cultural and natural heritage, CIU aims to carry Northern Cyprus’s underwater world into the future
