Editing Soli, Cyprus (section)

=== Temples at Cholades ===
According to the excavators many of the walls at Cholades were made of reused material found in the river below the sites. Sometimes even pieces of broken statues were reused in the walls. Several walls had been decorated with [[Mural|mural paintings]], most of them were found on fragments of [[stucco]], fallen to the floors close to the walls. In one room the paintings were better preserved, and the pattern could be studied. The other rooms seem to have had walls decorated with vertical and horizontal lines in red, blue, black, and green creating large squares. One room had fragments with wide red bands as well.<ref name=":72"/>
[[File:Marble_sculpture_found_at_Soli.tif|left|thumb|Naked marble sculpture probably depicting Aphrodite. Cypro-Hellenistic, IB. Found at Soli/Soloi. This sculpture can be found at the [[Cyprus Museum]], [[Nicosia]].]]
They also found [[Plumbing|water conduits]], cisterns, stairs and altars. All the buildings create a temple complex consisting of different temples numbered from A to F. The temples were altered, changed, and rebuilt during four periods. Material from the temples displays a particularly rich material of sculptures made of [[marble]] and [[limestone]]. According to the archeologists temples A and B were conjointly dedicated to [[Aphrodite]] and [[Cybele]]. One or possibly both of temples C and D were sacred to Isis and temple E to [[Serapis|Serapis Canopus]] and [[Eros]]. Temple F was dedicated to [[Mithraism|Mithras]]. During the first period, there was a loose connection between the cella and the irregular courtyards in front of it. In period 2 (temple B, C, and D) the shape is still irregular although the connection between the cella and courtyards is beginning to get closer. In the third period, temple E was reconstructed with the cellae and courtyards built together as a closed unit and it seems like the importance of symmetry improves. In period 4 are some courtyards roofed with several closed chapels. The temples date from the Cypro-Hellenistic period and the Roman times.
[[File:Construction_from_Soli_Cholades.tif|left|thumb|From the Swedish Cyprus Expedition's excavation at Soli Cholades. Construction of temples C-F.]]
The marble sculptures found during the excavation were probably made from imported marble. It seems likely that the heads were made separately from the body and fitted together with an iron pin. Some sculptures have been mended. All the sculptures were once painted although the colours are faintly preserved. Other sculptures were made of [[alabaster]], [[terracotta]] as well as soft and hard limestone. Some of the sculptures were found in situ and these were always located in connection to the cellae. The archeologists proposed that they probably were placed on the altars in the cellae. Therefore the altars might have been used as [[iconostasis]], or a stand for the various sculptures. This was only observed with the sculptures in the cella, not the ones from the courtyards or outside. The sculptures from period 1 (250 B.C.) were all found in temple A. From period 2 (end of 2nd century B.C.) all the sculptures were found at temples B, C, and D. From period 3 (middle of 3rd century A.D.) and 4 (beginning of 4th century. A.D.) all the sculptures were found in temple E. The sculptures and inscriptions were used as the foundation for the archaeologist's identifications of the temples, therefore they might be the correct identification but it is not completely sure.<ref name=":72" />