Affiliation:
1. School of History Capital Normal University 100089 Beijing CHINA
2. Sidney Sussex College University of Cambridge CB2 3HU Cambridge UK
3. Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Center (STARC) The Cyprus Institute Nicosia 2121 CYPRUS
4. Department of Historical Studies University of Gothenburg 41255 Gothenburg SWEDEN
Abstract
SummaryThis study deals with the results of the 2023 fieldwork at the extramural cemetery of the Late Bronze Age harbour city of Hala Sultan Tekke. One of the three excavated tombs in 2023 was the undisturbed Chamber Tomb XX, which is dated around 1300 BC. It contained a riveted bronze mirror, a rare type in Cyprus at that time, which is part of a mortuary context of four individuals out of a total of 17 individuals and 264 complete objects, many of them imported from a vast area, which includes the Mycenaean, Minoan, Egyptian and Levantine cultures. The current paper presents this mirror and associated contexts. As regards the provenance of the mirror, the Aegean is suggested as the area of manufacture, and more precisely Crete, suggesting potential evidence of direct contact between individuals from Crete and Hala Sultan Tekke.