Impressive find: Egyptian jewels found in Cyprus

Archaeologists have completed the excavation of tombs in the Bronze Age city of Hala Sultan Tekke in Cyprus, uncovering cosmopolitan connections with advanced civilizations in the region. The research findings include more than 150 human skeletons and around 500 objects, including gold jewelry similar to that worn by Queen Nefertiti of Egypt, as well as precious stones and ceramics, from around 1350 BC. c.

Archaeologists from the University of Gothenburg discovered two tombs in the form of underground chambers in 2018, where they found a large number of human skeletons. The management of these findings took four years due to the fragility of the bones after more than 3,000 years in salty soil. But the skeletons were not the only find of the archaeologists, they also found about 500 objects.

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Skeletons and ritual burial objects were found layered, one on top of the other, showing that the tombs were used for several generations. "The findings indicate that these are family tombs of the ruling elite of the city. For example, we found the skeleton of a five-year-old boy with a gold necklace, gold earrings and a gold tiara. He was probably the son of a rich and powerful family," explained Professor Peter Fischer, leader of the excavations, in a statement.

Among the finds were jewelry and other objects made of gold, silver, bronze, ivory, and precious stones and richly decorated vessels from many cultures. "We also found a ceramic bull. The body of this hollow bull has two openings: one in the back to fill it with a liquid, probably wine, and one in the nose to drink from. Apparently, they had chamber parties to honor their dead," Fischer added.

One of the most notable finds is a cylinder-shaped seal made from the mineral hematite. It has a cuneiform inscription from Mesopotamia (where Iraq sits today) and archaeologists were able to decipher it. "The text consists of three lines and mentions three names. One is Amurru, a god worshiped in Mesopotamia. The other two are historical kings, father and son, whom we have recently been able to trace in other texts on clay tablets from the same period, it is say, from the 18th century BC We are currently trying to determine why the stamp ended up in Cyprus over 1,000 kilometers from where it was made," revealed Peter Fischer.

Furthermore, they also found a red gemstone carnelian from India, blue gemstone lapis lazuli from Afghanistan and amber from around the Baltic Sea. These finds demonstrate that the city played a central role in trade during the Bronze Age. Gold jewelry, along with scarabs (scarab-shaped amulets with hieroglyphics) and the remains of fish imported from the Nile Valley, tell the story of intensive trade with Egypt.

"Comparisons show that most of the objects are from the time of Nefertiti and her husband Echnaton around 1350 BC. As a gold pendant we find: a lotus flower encrusted with precious stones. Nefertiti wore similar jewellery", Fischer revealed, after comparing similar finds from Egypt.

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The ceramic finds are also important: "The way the ceramics changed in appearance and material over time allows us to date them and study the connections these people had with the surrounding world. What fascinates me most is the wide network of contacts that they were 3,400 years ago. In that sense, the DNA analysis of the skeletons will be the next step. "This will reveal how different individuals relate to each other and whether there are immigrants from other cultures, which is not unlikely considering the vast trade networks," said Peter Fischer.

With information from Europe Press