TRACING SOURCES OF POTTERY FROM A LATE BRONZE AGE SITE HALA SULTAN TEKKE, SOUTH-EAST CYPRUS USING LEAD ISOTOPES AND ELEMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY

The goal of this study is to identify using lead isotopes coupled with elemental geochemistry the sources of the raw material used for pottery production in a Late Bronze Age site, located near Hala Sultan Tekke (south-east Cyprus). Eighteen sherds of the most common pottery types excavated on the archaeological site were compared with thirteen outcrop samples collected in the vicinity (c. 15 km). These outcrops were selected based on their lithology: Holocene deposits (sand, silt, clay), Pleistocene terrace deposits (calcarenites, sands) and Palaeogene marls, which could have been used as primary raw material for the pottery. The lead isotopes were measured using by MC-ICP-Mass Spectrometry. The first results show that thirteen sherds including two misfired (i.e. local products) display lead isotope compositions similar to the signature of one cluster of sediments (e.g. Holocene deposits, Palaeogene marls). This observation implies that very local sources were used for the pottery production at this site during this part of the Late Bronze Age. However, three of the sherds display unambiguously different lead isotope signatures. Based on archaeological observations, one most likely originates from the Levant. The other two were excavated from older layers. These preliminary results show the effectiveness of lead isotopes for tracing pottery provenance in Cyprus. Lead isotopes and elemental geochemistry are now being carried out on a larger range of sediments collected in the vicinity of the site and in south-east Cyprus.