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Archaeological excavations at Dromolaxia-Vyzakia, near Hala Sultan Tekke in the Larnaca district, have uncovered architectural remains and pottery dating to the 15th to 17th centuries BC, providing the earliest directly documented evidence of urban occupation yet identified by the Swedish-led mission at the site.
The Department of Antiquities announced the successful completion of the 2026 excavation season, conducted by the University of Gothenburg under the direction of Professor Peter M. Fischer and Professor Teresa Bürge, who is also affiliated with the University of Bern.
Fieldwork took place in February, May and June, with local and international specialists and students investigating City Quarter 1, alongside complementary research in the cemetery. The discoveries offer new evidence about the settlement’s initial development and the cultural influences that shaped its growth during the Bronze Age.
Evidence of an earlier settlement
Previous excavations had identified the oldest urban remains at Hala Sultan Tekke as dating to the 14th century BC. Although pottery fragments from earlier periods had been recovered, they were not found in archaeological layers directly associated with occupation from those times.
The 2026 campaign changed that picture, with the team identifying architectural remains and pottery in undisturbed archaeological layers assigned to Strata 4, 5 and 6. The finds date to the 15th to 17th centuries BC and provide a more secure basis for understanding the settlement’s earliest documented phases.
Pottery from Stratum 4 included White Slip I vessels, both monochrome and decorated in two colours, Base-ring I pottery, Bichrome Wheel-made ware, and Black and Red Slip wares. Imported ceramics from this phase were limited, so far, to Anatolian Red Lustrous Wheel-made spindle bottles.
The complete absence of Aegean pottery in these layers is also significant. It supports previous archaeological observations that imports from the Mycenaean cultural sphere became most prominent during the following centuries, particularly the 14th and early 13th centuries BC.
The pottery from Strata 5 and 6 presents a different picture. White Slip I and Base-ring I vessels are almost entirely absent, apart from a small number of possible early examples. Instead, researchers identified Red-on-Red, Red-on-Black and White Painted IV to VI pottery, types associated with the transition between the Middle and Late Bronze Age and, in part, the Middle Cypriot III period.
Together, the findings help establish the chronological sequence of the settlement and provide evidence for the cultural changes that preceded its development into a major urban centre.
A city built on copper and maritime trade
Hala Sultan Tekke eventually grew into a settlement covering as much as 50 hectares, making it the largest known Bronze Age site in Cyprus, according to the Department of Antiquities.
Founded by the 17th century BC at the transition between the Middle and Late Bronze Age, the city flourished for approximately five centuries before being destroyed and abandoned around 1150 BC.
Its economic strength was closely linked to copper production. Archaeologists have identified evidence of extensive metalworking, including slag deposits, copper ore, furnaces and crucibles. Copper extracted from the Troodos Mountains was processed locally before being transported through the settlement’s protected harbour for export.
The harbour helped establish Hala Sultan Tekke as an important destination for merchants, particularly during the 14th and 13th centuries BC. Archaeological finds indicate that the city participated in trade networks extending across large parts of the ancient world.
Imported goods recovered at the site have origins ranging from Sardinia in the west to Afghanistan and India in the east, as well as from the Baltic region in the north to Nubia in the south. The range of materials illustrates the commercial links that connected Cyprus with distant societies during the Bronze Age.
International research team
The 2026 campaign combined traditional excavation with specialist scientific analysis. Fischer and Bürge led the fieldwork and post-excavation investigations, supported by Dr Rainer Feldbacher and an international team of researchers and students.
Researchers from the Cyprus Institute also contributed to the project. Professor Kirsi Lorentz and Dr Yuko Miyauchi carried out bioarchaeological studies, while Professor Sorin Hermon provided two-dimensional and three-dimensional documentation and non-destructive analysis of archaeological materials.
The collaboration enabled the team to examine the settlement’s architectural remains alongside evidence relating to its inhabitants, material culture and economic activity.
The Department of Antiquities said the latest discoveries mark an important stage in research at Hala Sultan Tekke. By establishing evidence of occupation in earlier archaeological layers, the excavations offer a firmer foundation for tracing how the settlement developed from its earliest documented phases into one of the eastern Mediterranean’s significant Bronze Age trading cities.
