The chronology of Cyprus during the later half of the 2nd millennium BC is defined as follows:[2] Enkomi was settled in the Middle Bronze Age, near an inlet from the sea (now silted up).

From about the 16th century BC to the 12th, it was an important trading center for copper, which was smelted at the site, with strong cultural links to Ugarit on the facing coast of Syria.

[3] The complicated and badly disturbed stratigraphy of the site has four major phases, with many subdivisions: Following more than a decade of widespread looting drawn by the high quality of the tomb gifts Alessandro Palma di Cesnola drew the attention of archaeologists to the site after very briefly digging there.

The settlement remains were thought to be from the Byzantine period and a substantial portion were destroyed assuming they were unimportant.

[8] Unsuccessful trial excavations, also in the tomb area, were conducted in 1913 by the Cyprus Museum and in 1927 by R. Gunnis though the latter did discover a hoard of bronzes.

Some had diadems on their foreheads decorated with geometric ornaments, floral motifs or figures, and gold tin over their mouths.

Since burial-grounds and settlements were topographically separated, as far as was known, during the whole Bronze Age in Cyprus, there was no reason to suppose that there were other habits in Enkomi"[10] After Claude F. A. Schaeffer put in trial trenches in 1934 (putting in about 200 soundings and partially excavating one building he named the Maison des Bronzes, excavations were conducted between 1948 and 1973 by a joint expedition between Claude F. A. Schaeffer for the French Expedition and Porphyrios Dikaios on behalf of the Cyprus Department of Antiquities.

Early work determined that the site had been protected by a Cyclopean wall constructed of stone othostat slabs up to 3.5 meters long.

French excavations, on behalf of the Centre national de la recherche scientifique, proceeded under Claude F. A. Schaeffer until 1970 at which point the expedition was led by Oliver Pelon.

[25][26][27] The Horned God, measuring 0.55 meters in height, was found in a pit dug in the third phase of a very large tripartite ashlar building, built in the Late Cypriot III period (early 12th century BC) over earlier structures destroyed by an earthquake, also the dating of the statue.

[35] One tablet (#1885) was found in the north area of the site in "room 103 of the Late Cypriote I building called the Fortress", with only the top portion remaining.

It is written in the Cypro-Minoan variant and dates to LC IB (1525–1425 BC) and contains 23 total signs, 21 on the obverse and 2 on the edge.

[36] Two other tables were found in a Late Cypriote III context, one (#1193 in two fragments) dated to LC IIIB (12th century BC) in the north area and one (#1687) dated to LC IIIA (late 13th-early 12th century BC) in the central area.