The picture shows an ancient Egyptian lotus pendant around 1350 BC, inlaid with precious stones. Including this pendant, most of the objects unearthed in the tomb are from the time of Queen Naftiti. Queen Naftiti often wears similar jewelry. (Image copyright: P. M. Fisher, T. Berg)
Recently, a lotus pendant with precious stones was unearthed in a burial area in Cyprus, which is very similar to the jewelry worn by Queen Nafertiti of Egypt. The site has also unearthed hundreds of extravagant funerary objects from the Mediterranean region, including gemstones, ceramics and jewelry.
In 2018, archaeologists from the New Sweden-Cyprus Expedition first excavated two Bronze Age tombs in the ancient city of Hala Sultan, both with underground burial chambers. The tomb unearthed 155 human bones and 500 burial items, stacked on top of each other, indicating that the burial chamber may have been used for generations.
Peter Fisher, the excavation leader and professor emeritus of historical studies at Gutenberg University in Sweden, wrote in a statement, "The results of these excavations suggest that these tombs may be the family tombs of the ruling elite in the city." For example, we found a five-year-old child wearing a gold necklace, gold earrings and a gold crown on the skeleton. This shows that the child may come from a very prominent, wealthy family. “
The tomb also includes jewelry and other gold, silver, copper, ivory artifacts, as well as vessels from different cultures. Fisher noted, "We also found a pottery cow, hollow, with two holes in its body. One is on the back, used to inject liquids such as wine, and the other is on the nose, used as a drink stream. It is clear that people once held a cocktail party in the burial chamber to pay homage to the dead. ”
Gold jewelry on the skeleton of a five-year-old child, including this crown. (Image copyright: P. M. Fisher, T. Berg)
Five-year-olds also wear this gold necklace. (Image copyright: P. M. Fisher, T. Berg)
Other burials include Indian carnelian chalcedony, Afghan lapis lazuli and Black Sea amber – valuable evidence of the extensive participation of Cypriots in the Trade Network during the Bronze Age. Archaeologists have also found evidence of local trade with ancient Egypt — including gold jewelry from the Nile, scarabs (amulets in the shape of hieroglyphs engraved with beetles) and fish bones.
The archaeological team compared the gold jewelry with the Egyptian analogues to perform the work of dating. According to Fisher, "This comparison shows that most of the objects come from the reign of Queen Naftiti and her husband Aknaton (also spelled Akhenaten, Father of Tutankhamun), around 1350 BC." One piece of gold pendant we found is particularly illustrative. The pendant is lotus-shaped and studded with gemstones. Nafertiti wore similar jewelry. ”
The statue of the goddess unearthed in the tomb has the face of a bird. Or a bird-headed goddess, holding a half-bird, half-human child. (Image copyright: P. M. Fisher, T. Berg)
The remains of a woman found on the upper floor of the burial chamber, about 30 to 40 years old. She wears a decorative ivory panel on her chest, or part of a shroud, dating from about 1350 BC. (Image copyright: P. M. Fisher, T. Berg)
This is a cylindrical seal from Mesopotamia. The composition is hematite and the inscription is cuneiform, which should be a product of the 18th century BC. The object on the left is an ancient Egyptian scarab around 1350 BC, inscribed with hieroglyphs. (Image copyright: P. M. Fisher, T. Berg)
This vessel depicts an ancient Egyptian chariot from around 1350 BC. This pottery was found in the tomb, (Image copyright: P. M. Fisher, T. Berg)
The excavation team also found a cylindrical stamp made of metallic-hued minerals, hematite. Deciphered by archaeologists, the seal is inscribed with cuneiform script from Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq).
Fisher noted, "The inscription consists of three sentences and mentions three names. One is Amr, one of the Mesopotamian gods. The other two are a father-son king from a historical dynasty, and we have found similar inscriptions on clay tablets from the same period in recent days. Around the 18th century BC. Now we are trying to answer why this seal finally appeared in Cyprus. Cyprus is about a thousand kilometres (620 miles) from where it was manufactured. ”
Fisher mentions that an analysis of the ceramic vessels found in the tomb shows that their style has changed with the age of production. This also better helps us to deget the excavated objects. Next, archaeologists plan to analyze the DNA of the bones in the tomb. Fisher tells us, "This will reveal how the different individuals in the tomb are related to each other and whether there are immigrants from other civilizations of their own." The existing long-distance trade network illustrates that this is quite possible. ”
Originally published in the journal Life Sciences
Translator: Zhao Jinchao
Proofreader: Li Erwu
Reprinted from the Silk Road Heritage Public Account