The New Swedish Cyprus Expedition 2017: Excavations at Hala Sultan Tekke (The Söderberg Expedition). Preliminary results

Abstract

During the eighth field season at the Bronze Age city of Hala Sultan Tekke, excavations in City Quarter 1 (CQ1) exposed massive industrial and domestic structures belonging to three phases of occupation (Strata 3–1) dating to the 13th and 12th centuries BC (LC IIC–IIIA). Georadar survey, penetrating to a maximum depth of approximately 1 m, guided the excavation of walls of Strata 1–2, both of which were destroyed by conflagration. Excavations 1.5–2 m below the surface and also below the maximum penetration depth of the radar revealed a heretofore buried phase of occupation with substantial architectural units. For the first time, massive Stratum 3 structures with a markedly different building technique were exposed. Copper smelting installations, much ash and slag, and storage facilities also belong to this phase of occupation. Additional excavations guided by results from a magnetometer survey were carried out in Area A, roughly 600 m to the south-east of CQ1. Numerous circular anomalies were excavated. These were identified as Late Cypriot wells, rich offering pits, and a tomb from the same period. In addition to numerous intact locally produced vessels and other finds, the tomb contained a complete Late Minoan II/IIIA piriform jar with bird motifs which have exact parallels from Knossos. Other finds from this tomb include a diadem of leaf gold, amethyst jewellery, and nine sphendonoid shaped balance weights of haematite together with a hornblende whetstone. The features from Area A cover a period from the 16th to the 13th centuries BC (LC IB–IIC).

Geophysical survey in archaeological context: A review from Cyprus

“…Geochemical analysis, performed in combination with this geophysical survey, identified patterns in the concentration of some elements (K-Ca-Ni-Cu-Zn) that might be related to domestic or industrial activities undertaken at the site (Hafez et al, 2017). Several more features related to stone structures and pits were identified during the large-scale (23 ha) 2017 magnetometry campaign (Fischer et al, 2018(Fischer et al, , 2020. The most striking feature was a large architectural compound, with regularly arranged stone walls of large dimensions intersected by streets (Figure 4a).…”

Late Bronze Age Metal Exploitation and Trade: Sardinia and Cyprus

“…Over the years, the investigations at the site of Hala Sultan Tekke have provided many interesting features and finds. [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] Hala was an urban settlement of considerable size and wealth, with a strategic position close to the sea, and a natural harbor, which had roughly the contour of today's local salt lake. The excavations at the site revealed, among other things, striking evidence of varied craft production, [18,[23][24][25][26] including metalworking of consistent scale.…”

“…The excavations at the site revealed, among other things, striking evidence of varied craft production, [18,[23][24][25][26] including metalworking of consistent scale. [13,14,16,17,[27][28][29] In addition to the settlement, an extra-urban necropolis has also been detected. [9,[14][15][16]30] The discovery of Nuragic tableware from Hala Sultan Tekke arrives as a welcome addition to a long-lived debate on the character of the specific connections between Sardinia and Cyprus.…”

The New Swedish Cyprus Expedition 2019: Excavations at Hala Sultan Tekke (The Söderberg Expedition). Preliminary results, with contributions by L. Recht, B. Placiente Robedizo, C. Eriksson, L. Andersson, M. Svensson, L. Avial Chicharro, S. Hermon, M. Polig, & D. Kofel

“…Bürge & Fischer 2019/2020 In the final reports the strata are presented chronologically.8 See the previous excavation reports inFischer & Bürge 2017b;2018a; and the detailed description and discussion of the results fromCQ1, 2010, in Fischer & Bürge 2018b See plan inFischer & Bürge 2018b, 73-74, figs. 2.56a-b.…”