PHOTO BY P.M. FISCHER
Archaeologists excavating two tombs at the site of Hala Sultan Tekke, on the southern coast of Cyprus, unearthed a magnificent trove of more than 500 items dating to the 14th century BCE, including bronze weapons, fine ceramics, semiprecious stones, and various ivory and metal objects. About half the items—or the materials used to make them—were imported from other lands: gold and ivory came from Egypt, turquoise from the Sinai Peninsula, lapis lazuli and carnelian from central and south Asia, and amber from the Baltic region far to the north. The pottery came from Mycenean Greece, Anatolia, Egypt, and the Levant.
The burial trove indicates the immense wealth that flowed through Cyprus during the Late Bronze Age (c. 1550–1200 BCE), when the island was a rich source of copper, a key mineral in the production of bronze. The men, women, and children buried in the tombs were likely some of the city’s wealthy elites. This is evident not only in the valuable goods arrayed around their remains, but also in the finery that adorned the bodies themselves, including impressive gold diadems embossed with bulls and other animals.
Archaeologists excavating two tombs at the site of Hala Sultan Tekke, on the southern coast of Cyprus, unearthed a magnificent trove of more than 500 items dating to the 14th century BCE, including bronze weapons, fine ceramics, semiprecious stones, and various ivory and metal objects. About half the items—or the materials used to make them—were imported from other lands: gold and ivory came from Egypt, turquoise from the Sinai Peninsula, lapis lazuli and carnelian from central and south Asia, and amber from the Baltic region far to the north. The pottery came from Mycenean Greece, Anatolia, Egypt, and the Levant. […]
