The offical press release based on the mandatory report by the director of the expedition to the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus can be found at: http://www.culture.gov.cy/dmculture/da/da.nsf/All/C8FF86C38B382F40422578EA003B5BED?OpenDocument
Introduction
In May and June 2024, during its 15th season, the Swedish project at the Late Cypriot harbour city of Dromolaxia-Vyzakia/Hala Sultan Tekke continued the investigation of tombs in the site’s cemetery. The international team was led by Professor Peter M. Fischer (University of Gothenburg, Sweden), with fieldwork assisted by Dr Rainer Feldbacher. Parallel to and following the excavations, another team led by Professor Teresa Bürge processed pottery and other finds from previous seasons stored at the Archaeological Museum of the Larnaca District. The project was supported by bioarchaeologists Professor Kirsi Lorentz and Dr Yuko Miyauchi, and by Professor Sorin Hermon and his team from the Cyprus Institute including Dr Valentina Vassallo, Rahaf Orabi, Raphael Moreau, and Ropertos Georgiou, who contributed expertise in the excavation and documentation of human remains, 2D and 3D object recording, and material analysis. As in previous years, Andreani Papageorgiou and Christodoulos Sofokleous served as the expedition’s surveyors. Conservator Paulina Staszkiewicz restored ceramic vessels; Dr Dominika Kofel (part-time) acted as palaeobotanist; and Elena Peri (part-time) served as draughtsperson. Logistics were managed by Dina and Petros Georgiou. In addition to international students and volunteers the team also included students from the University of Cyprus, recommended by Professor Vasiliki Kassianidou and other Cypriot scholars. Participating were Lucía Avial Chicharro, Jaris Darwin, Ane Dybkjaer, Alexandra Konrad, Magda Pelc, and Jacek Tracz. Part-time participants were Dr Laura Álvarez, Dr Peter Andersson, Professor Susanna Cardell-Lycke, Dr Ingrid Fischer, Professor Lars Sennerby, Marita Werngren, and the volunteers Maritza and Anton.
Excavations in Area A (Cemetery)
The 2024 season focused once again on tombs affected by farming and erosion. In addition to securing and documenting these tombs, a key objective was the continued collection of human petrous bones and teeth for aDNA and strontium isotope analyses. These studies aim to reveal familial relationships within tombs and trace the presence of non-local individuals. Surface concentrations of man-made objects were aligned with magnetic anomalies identified during the 25 ha large-scale magnetic and electromagnetic survey conducted in 2017. This led to the discovery of six tombs: Chamber Tomb VV (partly looted in antiquity or disturbed during the 19th-century British Museum excavations), the intact Chamber Tombs XX, YY, ZZ, and the double Chamber Tomb AB, consisting of AB East (ABE) and AB West (ABW).
Several of these tombs show evidence of successive interments spanning up to 150 years, offering valuable chronology to the occupational sequence of the 25+ hectare city. Excavation of Chamber Tomb VV, completed in 2023, was followed by further post-excavation processing in 2024. Work on Chamber Tombs XX and YY, partly exposed in 2023, continued this season, while excavations of Chamber Tombs ZZ, ABE, and ABW began in 2024.
Chamber Tomb VV
(see also the 2023 website)
Finds from this tomb, which contained the remains of at least 11 individuals, suggest it was in use from the 14th to the early 13th century BC. The tomb had been disturbed and partially looted, likely in haste. Although the exact timing is uncertain, the damage most likely occurred during the 19th century CE, when early excavations and widespread looting were common. Despite the disturbance, the numerous remaining objects, most of them revealed thanks to careful sieving, indicate that the tomb belonged to individuals of significant wealth. Artifacts imported from across the eastern Mediterranean and beyond—including the Mycenaean, Minoan, Egyptian, Anatolian, and Levantine cultural spheres—are well represented, as is typical for elite burials at Hala Sultan Tekke. A capped cylinder seal of haematite shows Near Eastern motifs.
One particularly noteworthy find is a large flask with a hard, crackled slip resembling glaze and a solid base (N1143; see below). This vessel aligns with Middle Babylonian ceramic traditions from the Kassite period, and to the best of the author’s knowledge, represents the first example of such a vessel of Kassite provenance discovered in Cyprus.
Chamber Tomb XX
(See also the 2023 website)
The assemblage from Chamber Tomb XX suggests it was in use from the second half of the 14th to the early 13th century BC. The tomb contained the remains of at least 29 individuals. The quantity and variety of personal items and mortuary gifts are striking, reflecting the high social status of those buried within.
The assemblage includes nine arrowheads made from various minerals. The range of imported artifacts, particularly from the Aegean and Egypt, suggests that the interred individuals belonged to a wealthy family, possibly engaged in long-distance trade. A cylinder seal is of copper base. The seal belongs to the Cypriot Common Style group which is characterised by linear and schematic engraving. Another remarkable find is a large Egyptian scarab carved from elephant ivory, featuring incised hieroglyphs that include symbols for a gold collar, life, protection, and papyrus. Stylistic and epigraphic analysis suggests a date in the early 18th Dynasty or earlier, indicating it may have been an heirloom.
In the tomb’s northern chamber, animal bones identified as caprine (sheep or goat) were found on the floor—clearly an offering. The fusion pattern on the proximal femur indicates the animal was over one year old but younger than 3.5 years at the time of death.
Chamber Tomb YY
(See also the 2023 website)
A Mycenaean beaked jug from Layer 2, traditionally dated to LH IIIA1 (c. 1400–1350 BC), helps anchor the chronology of Chamber Tomb YY. The rest of the imported and locally produced pottery suggests a period of use during the second half of the 14th century BCE, with a few vessels possibly dating to the early 13th century BCE. Overall, the tomb was likely in use from the second half of the 14th century to the transition between the 14th and 13th centuries BCE. The tomb contained the remains of at least 17 individuals. Although situated near the larger Chamber Tombs XX and VV, Tomb YY shows no stratigraphic connection to either. The close yet distinct placement appears deliberate, perhaps indicating that the three tombs were intended for related nuclear families buried in close proximity but with separate identities.
Despite its relatively small size, Tomb YY contained an exceptional assemblage. The quality and quantity of the grave goods reflect the high status of the individuals buried here, all likely members of the city’s elite. Notably, many of the objects are similar to those found in the cargo of the Uluburun shipwreck, further highlighting their prestige and international connections. A haematite cylinder seal shows motifs which correspond well to the Mitanni Common Style, while motifs and stylistic features typical of Cypriot-style seals are absent.
Most of the artifacts were imported from the Aegean. Among the Mycenaean ceramics are three distinctive examples: the “Charging Horse Krater”, a Chariot Krater and the “Dolphin Krater” (the latter two below). No Anatolian imports were identified, and the commonly found Red Lustrous Wheel-made ware is absent—just as in Tomb XX. Levantine imports are also lacking. This pattern reinforces the interpretation that the individuals buried in Tomb YY, like those in Tomb XX, were primarily involved in interregional networks centred on the Aegean.
Chamber Tomb ZZ (preliminary report; fully excavated in 2025)
The pottery suggests a preliminary date in the second half of the 14th century BCE. Most imported ceramics originate from the Aegean, while a smaller number (a spindle bottle and a lentoid flask) are of Red Lustrous Wheel-made ware from Anatolia. Aegean imports make up a substantial 34% of the ceramic assemblage.
Among the significant finds is a cylinder seal carved from haematite. The nine arrowheads made of various minerals closely parallel the nine found in Chamber Tomb XX and may have been used for hunting birds. Additionally, four boat-shaped lead baits, each pierced at the “bow and stern,” likely point to the profession of the associated individuals—possibly fishermen or seafarers.
Organic mortuary goods include seven pointed ivory “pins,” interpreted as projectile points.
Chamber Tomb ABE (preliminary report; fully excavated in 2025)
The Mycenaean pottery (24% of all ceramics) matches both the LH IIIA1 and 2 repertoires. The smallest Mycenaean vessels recovered so far from the cemetery are a miniature piriform jar and a miniature juglet. Considering the numerous child burials, we suggest that they were used as exquisite toys. Among the highlights of this year’s findings is an especially rare, locally produced “Bird-faced” ceramic figurine of a seated female.
Chamber Tomb ABW (preliminary report; fully excavated in 2025)
The Mycenaean pottery (19% of all ceramics) suggests a date in the LH IIIA2 period, i.e. second half of the 14th century BC. Spindle bottles of Red Lustrous Wheel-made ware belong to Anatolian repertoire of pottery. Two finds are classified as Egyptian imports: the pomegranate-shaped pendant of glass and the calcite juglet without handles.
Bioarchaeology
The study of the skeletal remains is ongoing. Therefore, the final estimation of the number of individuals, their gender, age at death, indications of diseases and trauma have to await further investigations. New-born, infants and young and “old” adults were found associated with numerous burial gifts. “Old” should be understood as individuals rarely exceeding 40 years of age, i.e., the average lifespan was quite low in this period. aDNA and Sr-isotope research are in progress.
Conclusions
In 2024, continued fieldwork in the Late Bronze Age cemetery of the harbour city of Hala Sultan Tekke significantly deepened our understanding of both the elite mortuary practices and the extensive interregional connections of the city’s population. While additional cemeteries may exist beyond the areas covered by geophysical survey, Area A remains unique: it contains only tombs, associated offering pits, and wells—without any architectural remains. In contrast, other tombs, most of them disturbed, have been found within the settlement itself.
The existence of a distinct burial area outside the urban core is unusual in Late Bronze Age Cyprus, where intramural tombs typically predominate. This spatial separation of the dead from the living may reflect the cosmopolitan nature of Hala Sultan Tekke’s inhabitants, who maintained contact with cultures that practiced varied burial traditions, including the use of extramural cemeteries. It may also suggest a mixed or multicultural population—an idea currently being explored through ongoing ancient DNA analysis.
Ancient DNA is expected to clarify kinship ties among the interred individuals and determine the biological sex of subadults whose gender cannot be assessed through conventional bioarchaeological methods. Strontium isotope analysis will further illuminate patterns of mobility and geographic origins during the individuals’ lifetimes.
A notable feature of Late Cypriot mortuary practice at Hala Sultan Tekke is the long-term, multi-generational use of tombs, which creates a valuable stratigraphy that complements the settlement’s occupational sequence. All presented chamber tombs excavated are figure-eight shaped, cut into the site’s clay-rich soil, and date to the 14th and early 13th centuries BCE—corresponding to the Late Cypriot IIB to IIC phases.
Acknowledgements
The expedition extends its gratitude to Dr Giorgos Georgiou, Director of the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus, and to the department’s staff for their support throughout our work. We are especially grateful for the continued interest and encouragement of Professor Vasiliki Kassianidou, Deputy Minister of Culture, whose support has been instrumental to the success of this long-term project. We also wish to thank H.E. Martin Hagström, Ambassador of Sweden in Nicosia, and the Cyprus Institute for their steadfast collaboration and encouragement.
Special thanks go to the colleagues who offered their expert advice across a range of topics: Professors Manfred Bietak (Egypt), Timothy Clayden (Mesopotamia), Jürg Eggler (scarabs), Reinhard Jung (Italian bronzes), George Papasavvas (copper-gold exchange), Vassiliki Pliastika and Laerke Recht (Mycenaean finds), Cemal Pulak (connections to the Uluburun shipwreck), and David Reese (animal bones).
We are particularly grateful to the institutions whose generous financial support made this work possible. The project was primarily sponsored by the Royal Swedish Academy of History and Antiquities in Stockholm (Enbom Foundation for field work) and the Cypriot Leventis Foundation (for aDNA research). Additional research funding was kindly provided by INSTAP—our special thanks to M.H. Wiener and Tom Brogan—and by the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences in Gothenburg (KVVS).
Lastly, our heartfelt thanks go to all the participants whose dedication and hard work have been fundamental to the success of this project.