Jewelry in the style of Nefertiti and other objects, some of which have traveled widely: Archaeologists report rich finds in Bronze Age graves on Cyprus. Many come from different cultures in the Mediterranean region and even from Mesopotamia. They confirm the importance of the island in the extensive network of the Bronze Age, say the scientists.
A team of archaeologists led by Peter Fischer from the University of Gothenburg has been researching the secrets of the Hala Sultan Tekke site in southeastern Cyprus since 2010. There are the remains of a trading town slumbering underground, which was built between 1600 and 1150 BC. BC reached considerable proportions. Numerous structures of the settlement have already been discovered, including graves. In 2018, the Swedish archaeologists discovered two underground chambers with a large number of human skeletons. In recent years they have devoted themselves to the investigation of this burial site and the recovery of the human remains and their accessories. Now the university is reporting on the results of this archaeological project.
In total, the team discovered the remains of 155 people and around 500 objects in the two chambers. Apparently these were crypts that had been in use for a long time: the skeletons and grave goods lay in layers on top of each other, which shows that the chambers were used for burial of the dead for several generations. The people there may have celebrated festivals in their honor. The archaeologists interpret the discovery of a drinking vessel in the shape of a bull as an indication of this. It has an opening on its back to fill it with a liquid, probably wine, and an opening on its nose to drink from.
Family graves of the upper class
“Overall, the finds suggest that the graves were family graves for the city’s ruling elite,” says Fischer. Because his team discovered many luxurious objects, including jewelry and other artifacts made of gold, silver, bronze, ivory and precious stones as well as ornate vessels. A special treasure is a gold set consisting of a necklace, earrings and a diadem with which a five-year-old child was buried. “It was obviously a child from a powerful and wealthy family,” says Fischer.
One of the discoveries from the burial chambers is a gold pendant with inlaid gemstones depicting a lotus flower. As the scientists explain, the features of this jewelry and other finds that came from Egypt give temporal clues: “The comparisons show that most of the objects from the era of Pharaoh Akhenaten around 1350 BC. Come from BC. His wife Nefertiti wore similar jewelry, ”explains Fischer. In general, according to him, the multicultural character is a particularly interesting aspect of the discoveries in the burial chambers: In addition to objects of local origin, many artefacts and their components come from afar. They prove that the city played a central role in trade in the Bronze Age.
Connections as far as Mesopotamia
“I am particularly fascinated by the extensive network of contacts that the people here apparently had back then,” says Fischer. A particularly impressive find in this context is a cylindrical seal made of the mineral hematite with cuneiform writing. It came from Mesopotamia in what is now Iraq. “The text consists of three lines and names three names. One is Amurru, a god worshiped in Mesopotamia. The other two are historical kings, father and son, whom we recently mentioned in other texts on clay tablets from the 18th century BC. Chr. Could locate. We are currently trying to find out why the seal landed on Cyprus more than 1000 kilometers from its place of origin, ”says Fischer.
In addition, the scientists are now planning to elicit DNA residues from the skeletons for genetic analysis. “This will show how the different individuals are related to each other and whether there have been immigrants from other cultures, which in view of the extensive trading networks does not seem unlikely,” says Fischer.
Source: Gothenburg University