New evidence on the religious use of Room 67 at Hala Sultan Tekke. A tribute to Paul Åström

Karin Nys, Melissa Samaes & Jan Coenaerts Journal of Prehistoric Religion XXII (2010): 57-61.

Abstract

In 1988, the archaeological team under the direction of Paul Åström unearthed in Area 8 at Hala Sultan Tekke a building complex consisting of five rooms. Room 67 is the main room of this complex. The complex was interpreted as a sanctuary as its plan is considerable to that of sanctuaries at Kition and Enkomi. Until now, neither the architecture nor the finds of this building complex had shed any light on the supposed cult or its exact function. However on 1 April 2009, while studying the bags containing the excavating material from Room 67, the authors made two discoveries that provide important new evidence for the religious use of Room 67. The first discovery consists of seven small glass amulets. The most exciting discovery, however, consisted of several fragments of a tablet inscribed with a text in Ugaritic cuneiform that described a religious ceremony.