Petrographic studies of ceramics from Hala Sultan Tekke: evidence for intra-island and interregional connections

• This paper presents a large-scale petrographic analysis of the ceramics from Hala Sultan Tekke, which offers an unprecedented view of various aspects of economy and daily life in this harbour city during the final part of the Bronze Age. The aim of the study is to systematically investigate the ceramic fabrics to shed further light on provenance and production techniques. Provenance studies will contribute to a deeper understanding of cultural and economic contacts and networks, both between Hala Sultan Tekke and other Late Cypriot regions as well as to other regions in the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond. Since the site shows an occupation from at least the beginning of the Late Cypriot period (around 1630 BC; Fischer & Bürge 2022: 9) to the second half of the 12th century BC, i.e. the LC IIIA (Fischer & Bürge 2018a), it offers an excellent possibility to study diachronic developments during the Late Bronze Age and especially in the period of transformations around 1200 BC. Typological investigations of the Late Cypriot ceramic assemblage are, since the early 1970s, intrinsically tied to excavations in the harbour city of Hala Sultan Tekke, the rich assemblage of which has provided much comparative information (see HST1–12; Bürge & Fischer 2018; also Åström 1972). Beyond ware classification, also macroscopic observations of the fabric, tempering, surface treatment and decoration contributed to a fairly accurate macroscopic identification of the production region and applied technologies.

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Historia och arkeologi -- Arkeologi (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- History and Archaeology -- Archaeology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Petrography

Cyprus

Bronze Age

regional

interregional connections

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