An unexpected sexual curse has been uncovered by archaeologists at Cyprus's old city kingdom of Amathus, on the island's south coast near Limassol.

"A curse is inscribed in Greek on a lead tablet and part of it reads: 'May your penis hurt when you make love'," Athens Archaeological School head Pierre Aubert told the English language Cyprus Weekly.

He said the tablet showed a man standing holding something in his right hand that looks like an hour glass.

The inscription dates back to the 7th century AD when Christianity was well established on the island, leading the French professor to surmise that it referred to the activity of witchcraft or shamans surviving from the pagan era.

The ancient city of Amathus was founded by the Phoenicians at around 1500 BC and derived its wealth from grain and copper mines.

The city, a regional capital under the Romans, still flourished in the 7th century AD but was abandoned by the 12th century.