Academic literature on the topic 'Cyprus; Gold jewellery; Late Bronze Age'

In the seventh season at the Bronze Age city of Hala Sultan Tekke excavations continued in City Quarter 1 (CQ1) where georadar indicated stone structures to the south of the area excavated in 2010–2012. Massive domestic structures, which belong to three phases of occupation (Strata 1–3), were exposed. Both the most recent Stratum 1, and Stratum 2 were destroyed in a conflagration. The three phases are preliminarily dated to the 13th and 12th centuries BC. Excavations were also carried out in Area A, roughly 600 m to the south-east of CQ1. Seven circular anomalies indicated by our geomagnetic survey were excavated. Two were pits of modern date, and three were identified as Late Cypriot wells. Another anomaly turned out to represent a rich Late Cypriot offering pit with figurines and more than 60 ceramic vessels. Amongst the Mycenaean vessels are several “chariot kraters” and a large vessel with the oversized image of a female robed in a splendidly adorned Minoan-style dress. The remaining anomaly probably represents a tomb of a very wealthy family so far containing, inter alia, 80 locally produced and imported vessels, gold jewellery, weapons, scarabs, and seals. The material in the offering pit and the tomb reflects far-reaching intercultural connections in the period from the 16th to the 13th centuries BC.

During the eighth field season at the Bronze Age city of Hala Sultan Tekke, excavations in City Quarter 1 (CQ1) exposed massive industrial and domestic structures belonging to three phases of occupation (Strata 3–1) dating to the 13th and 12th centuries BC (LC IIC–IIIA). Georadar survey, penetrating to a maximum depth of approximately 1 m, guided the excavation of walls of Strata 1–2, both of which were destroyed by conflagration. Excavations 1.5–2 m below the surface and also below the maximum penetration depth of the radar revealed a heretofore buried phase of occupation with substantial architectural units. For the first time, massive Stratum 3 structures with a markedly different building technique were exposed. Copper smelting installations, much ash and slag, and storage facilities also belong to this phase of occupation. Additional excavations guided by results from a magnetometer survey were carried out in Area A, roughly 600 m to the south-east of CQ1. Numerous circular anomalies were excavated. These were identified as Late Cypriot wells, rich offering pits, and a tomb from the same period. In addition to numerous intact locally produced vessels and other finds, the tomb contained a complete Late Minoan II/IIIA piriform jar with bird motifs which have exact parallels from Knossos. Other finds from this tomb include a diadem of leaf gold, amethyst jewellery, and nine sphendonoid shaped balance weights of haematite together with a hornblende whetstone. The features from Area A cover a period from the 16th to the 13th centuries BC (LC IB–IIC).

AbstractThis paper aims to reappraise and evaluate central Anatolian connections with the Black Sea region and the Caucasus focusing mainly on the third millennium BC. In its first part, a ceremonial item, the knobbed or ‘mushroom’ macehead, in its various appearances, is discussed in order to reconstruct a possible pattern of circulation and exchange of shapes and values over a longer period of time in the regions of Anatolia, southeast Europe and the Caucasus in the third and late second to early first millennium BC. The second part is devoted to the archaeometrical study of selected metal and mineral artefacts from the Early Bronze Age necropolis of Resuloğlu, which together with the contemporary settlement and graveyard at Kalınkaya-Toptaştepe represent two typical later Early Bronze Age sites in the Anatolian heartland. The high values of tin and arsenic used for most of the smaller jewellery items are suggestive of an attempt to imitate gold and silver, and the amounts of these alloying agents suggest a secure supply from arsenic sources located along the Black Sea littoral in the north and probably tin ores to the southeast of central Anatolia. This places these ‘Hattian’ sites within a trade network that ran from the Pontic mountain ridge to the Taurus foothills.

AbstractThe Hittite royal funerary ritual šalliš waštaiš prescribes gold pieces to be placed on the eyes and mouth of the deceased. This is consistent with the manner in which thin sheets of hammered gold are reported to have been found on the faces of occupants of in-house graves in the Lower Town of Kültepe, ancient Kaneš. Mouth-pieces of unmistakable similarity have also turned up in great numbers in Late Bronze Age graves on Cyprus, most notably at Enkomi. Beyond comparison with the šalliš waštaiš text, gold eye- and mouth-pieces from Kaneš have received little attention. This contribution offers the first comprehensive study of these objects specifically as a class of funerary paraphernalia. It provides a catalogue and typology of gold sheets, and explores their archaeological context before turning to their social and symbolic significance against the backdrop of the cosmopolitan Kanešean households. The discussion considers hybridity in terms of a compatibility between funerary practices across different cultural settings, also noting chronological implications.