Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus’s antiquities department said two chamber tombs and evidence of human activity dating to around 1400 BC were discovered during excavations at the Dromolaxia-Vyzakia Hala Sultan Tekke site. The tombs yielded local pottery, tools and personal adornment items.
Finds and preservation
The antiquities department said the tombs produced a range of finds, including meticulously crafted local pottery, tools and personal adornments. It said the ceilings of the chamber tombs collapsed in antiquity, damaging some contents while preserving much of the material and allowing researchers to access archaeological context.
Burial practices and analysis
According to the department, the collapse sealed the tombs and enabled the research team to derive information about Late Bronze Age burial customs. Human remains found in the tombs are being analysed, and the department said the tombs’ long-term use of more than one century is expected to provide further insights into the dating and history of the site.
Preliminary findings on age and reuse
The department said preliminary results indicate the tombs include individuals of all ages, from newborns to adults who rarely exceeded 40 years of age, reflecting a low life expectancy consistent with data from the period. Stratigraphic data indicate the tombs were used for many generations, with older remains often moved to make room for new burials, a pattern the department said reflects family continuity and kinship ties.
Trade links and Cyprus’s role
The department said exotic objects found at the site likely reached Cyprus via complex trade routes, often mediated by civilizations such as the Mycenaean, Egyptian and Mesopotamian. The discoveries were described as underlining Cyprus’s role in Mediterranean trade in the Bronze Age, with Hala Sultan Tekke’s wealth linked to the export and production of copper, as indicated by remains of copper processing including slag heaps, ores, furnaces and crucibles.
What do you think the newly uncovered tombs could reveal about daily life and social organisation at Hala Sultan Tekke?
