A remarkable late bronze age building at Kaleburnu-Kral Tepesi/Galinoporni-Vasili in Cyprus

Abstract

While Cyprus, with its ports and mines, has always had a significance in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Karpaz peninsula occupies a distinctive place within Cyprus due to its advantageous proximity to neighboring cultures. Krai Tepesi or Vasili, meaning King's Hill in Turkish and Greek, is located in the Kaleburnu/Galinoporni village on the Karpaz peninsula. Krai Tepesi is a hill, approximately 1.5 km from the sea. The settlement was discovered coincidentally in 2004 by the Eastern Mediterranean University academic staff during a hiking trip. This discovery initiated a scientific excavation that lasted from 2005 to 2009. The bronze hoard uncovered during the initial excavation at Kaleburnu-Kral Tepesi was the best preserved and largest bronze collection of art dating to the Late Bronze Age found in Cyprus up to this point. Some of the twenty six bronze artifacts were produced by processing copper that was probably from Cyprus but the rest were from outside of Cyprus. Some artifacts, such as the bronze jug with a twisted handle, represent a local product, but other artifacts, such as the bronze bowls, exemplify products that were widely known and distributed throughout the Levant. A subsequent rescue excavation carried out in 2014 at Krai Tepesi unearthed the largest bronze collection ever found in the Eastern Mediterranean. One hundred eleven pieces of bronze, one storage jar, fabric, and wooden pieces were found hidden inside a well on the highest Terrace of Krai Tepesi. There are many necropolises and settlements of different periods around Krai Tepesi, but one necropolis called "Galinoporni Village" (due to its location in Galinoporni village) is most likely contemporary with Krai Tepesi. It is understood that these sites are contemporary due to similar typologies of "Mycenaean" pottery found during salvage excavations at both sites. Excavations of Kral Tepesi were carried out on the Terrace as well as the Northern and Southern Plato sections of the settlement, the approximate boundaries of which were determined by carrying out scientific excavations, surface surveys, and geophysical studies. These excavations have revealed traces of settlements belonging to two different cultural periods: one on the Terrace and Northern Plato section dating to the Late Bronze Age and a second on the Southern Plato section dating to not only the Late Bronze Age but also earlier. The Terrace and Northern Plato section bear the traces of a rock-cut-rooms architecture and a rich trading network including locally-produced ceramics such as Base Rings, Red Lusters and White Shaved Wares, as well as "Mycenaean" vessels and bronze artifacts. A unique local architectural building plan has been uncovered on the Southern Plato section with mudbrick walls overlaying rock-cut and stone walls. This structure, is inspired from and constructed, based on earlier round architectural elements, contains both ritual and administrative elements. The structure itself is quite remarkable with its substantial storage capacity, as with its contents including tablet pieces, writing samples on ceramic vessels, stamp seals, weights used in trade, and luxury-use materials. When all this is taken into account, the structure likely played a notable role in the daily life of the community living in the region. While the building is predominantly religious and partly administrative, it offers a harmonious operation of the two different functions. This architectural complex, called BUILDING 1 in the existing excavations at Krai Tepesi, illustrates the ritual and administrative elements of the authority's power within the social political organization system in the region. The Krai Tepesi settlement area is close to regional fault lines. Examination of Ro. 16 on the Northern Plato section revealed that the room had been split into two halves with a significant difference in the level of the floor in each half of the rock-cut room. This division and the way in which the relics were scattered throughout the site indicate its possible exposure to an earthquake. These traces may indicate that inhabitation of Kaleburnu-Kral Tepesi ended with an earthquake. Alternately, the excavated sling pellet, tang weapon, and traces of fire indicate that inhabitation may have finished due to a fire set during an attack on the settlement. Krai Tepesi differs from the generally accepted system of Cypriot Bronze Age settlements in terms of the use of topography, architecture, and function of the settlement. However, in order to fully understand the exact features of the settlement, it is necessary to excavate and investigate additional terrace sections that are spread throughout the settlement area.