Excavations of the late Bronze Age settlement at Dromolaxia Vizatzia (Hala Sultan Tekke) have unearthed a rich array of imported and local bronze and pottery artefacts in Cyprus. The finds at the ancient city which were carried out in May by the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, under the direction of Professor Peter M. Fischer, witness the central role Cyprus played during the Late Bronze Age, the Antiquities Department said in an announcement.
     The ancient city was inhabited during the Late Bronze Age, which dates roughly to 1600-1100 BCE. The city was once as large as 25 hectares making it one of the largest ancient cities of the period on the island. This year's excavations exposed only 10m x 10m of the site, with nine rooms exposed so far. The city was built in two phases: one in the 13th/12th century BCE and the other some hundreds years earlier.
     The finds from the partly exposed complex include locally produced and imported pottery and objects of bronze, bone and stone. Dominating amongst the imported pottery are vessels from the Aegean region, mainly from the Greek mainland. There are also imports from the Levant and Egypt. The imports from the Levant include so called Canaanite jars. These jars were of considerable size - 100 litres are not uncommon - and once contained oil and wine. Imports from Anatolia were also found.
     Sophisticated equipment was used by the excavators and included an advanced geo-radar device. The radar results demonstrated the outlines of a large compound, at least 30m times 30m in size, buried deep under the surface.
     
Source: Cyprus Mail (4 July 2010)