Ancient Kition was one of the great city-kingdoms of Cyprus, continuously inhabited from the Late Bronze Age through the Hellenistic period. Today the excavated remains are scattered across Larnaca, with the main archaeological zone at Kathari, north of the city centre. The site preserves Phoenician temple foundations, Bronze Age fortifications, and evidence of copper smelting that made Kition wealthy.
The most significant excavated section is a series of Phoenician temples and workshops from around the 9th century BC. Visiting the site requires some imagination — the ruins are fragmentary and the interpretive signage modest — but the Larnaca District Archaeological Museum nearby provides context and displays many of the best finds. The name "Larnaca" itself derives from the Greek larnax, meaning coffin or chest, a reference to the many ancient burials found across the site.