The Department of Antiquities, Deputy Ministry of Culture, Cyprus announces that during May and June 2024, an international team led by Professor Peter M. Fischer of the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) conducted excavations at the extraurban cemetery of the Late Cypriot harbour city of Dromolaxia-Vyzakia/Hala Sultan Tekke (abbreviated HST). This Late Bronze Age city, which covered at least 25 hectares, flourished c. 1630-1150 BC. It is situated along the shores of the Larnaka Salt Lake near the mosque of Hala Sultan Tekke and close to the Larnaka International Airport.

Parallel with the excavations assisted by Dr Rainer Feldbacher, other members of the Swedish mission, supervised by Professor Teresa Bürge, processed the finds from the previous and ongoing excavations which are kept at the storerooms of the Archaeological Museum of the Larnaka District. The mission was assisted by bioarchaeologists Professor Kirsi Lorentz and PhD student Yuko Miyauchi, and Professor Sorin Hermon and his team from the Cyprus Institute. The research teams of the Cyprus Institute provided expertise for the exposure and recording of the human remains, 2D and 3D presentations of objects, and material analyses.

Guided by surface finds and the previously conducted geophysical surveys, excavations concentrated on Area A, the city’s extraurban cemetery. Field work exposed three chamber tombs – Tombs ZZ, ABE and ABW– which are preliminarily dated to the 14th century BC. The roofs of the chambers collapsed in antiquity, breaking some finds but also sealing the interments and mortuary goods within a closed environment; these tombs thus provide excellent insight into the funeral rites conducted at the site.

Along with locally produced pottery, tools and adornments, the tombs contained numerous imports. These artefacts primarily originate from the Aegean, including Crete, the Greek mainland and the Aegean islands, but also from Egypt, Anatolia, the Levant, and more remote cultures. Traded objects from the Aegean include high-quality pottery like the so-called ‘Chariot Kraters’ with painted decoration of warriors carrying weapons and standing in boxes drawn by two horses. Neutron Activation Analyses performed on minuscule samples of sherd material collected during the past few years reveal that many of the Mycenaean ceramic vessels were imported from two sites in the Peloponnesos – Berbati (primarily), and Tiryns. Other vessels came from various centres on Crete and the Aegean islands.

Ivory, mainly from elephants but also hippos, was imported from Egypt, in addition to excellently produced calcite (alabaster) vessels, precious metals and scarabs. Among the highlights of this year’s findings is an especially rare, locally produced ‘Bird-faced’ ceramic figurine of a seated female. Other important finds include two cylinder seals: one is of haematite, and the other of bronze, an uncommon material for seal construction. Both show incised motifs of gods, humans, animals, and various symbols.

Concerning burial customs, certain contexts demonstrate the intentional arrangement of bones belonging to previously interred generations. Thus, the stratigraphy of the tombs, having been used for several generations, complements the city’s stratigraphy and helps to establish a reliable chronology.

The sensitive excavation of the large number of the buried individuals is an extremely time-consuming process. Thus, the complete excavation of the tombs was not possible given the available time. Protective measures were taken to preserve the tombs for continued excavation in future campaigns. Consequently, the study of the skeletal remains is ongoing, and the estimation of the number of individuals, their gender, age at death, pathology and trauma have to await further investigations. What is known is that the tombs contain the remains of new-born children, infants and young and ‘old’ adults (over 40 years). Accordingly, the average lifespan was quite low in this period.

In sum, the city’s wealth was based on the production of copper and trade with near and distant cultures. Judging by the rich mortuary goods, the tombs belonged to families of the city’s ruling class who took part in the export of copper and intercultural trade. Further, the predilection of particular imports in some family tombs likely indicates the presence of specialised traders and/or immigrants.