The Swedish Cyprus expedition at Hala Sultan Tekke: intercultural relations in the Late Bronze Age

The project is a continuation of the traditional "Swedish Cyprus Expedition" that started in the 1920s. The aim of the excavation of the great Bronze Age city of Hala Sultan Tekke (Larnaca) is to study intercultural relations and absolute chronology during the Late Bronze Age (c. 1600-1100 B.C.). During this period, which is referred to as the first "international" period, the Mycenaean (Greece, Troy) and Minoan (Crete) cultures and the famous 18th Dynasty of Egypt flourished. The then very popular Cypriot pottery is today the main tool of archaeology to synchronize numerous cultures: Cypriot pottery has been found from Italy in the west to Mesopotamia in the east, and from Anatolia in the north to Egypt/Sudan in the south. In 2010 and 2011, the expedition used geo-radars to find and partially expose a large complex of buildings with dwellings and workshops dating from 1300-1150 BC (carbon 14 dated). A temple was discovered during the last week of excavation. The wealth of finds is outstanding: complete vessels, tools, jewelry and weapons as well as imports from Greece, the Levant and Egypt, a stone figurine of a god, a cylinder seal with religious motifs made of hematite and a large complete vessel with motifs of high artistic level. The finds will be used for cultural synchronization and further excavations will concentrate on the newly discovered temple.