BOAT‐SHAPED OBJECTS OF LEAD FROM LATE BRONZE AGE HALA SULTAN TEKKE, CYPRUS, AND THE ULUBURUN SHIPWRECK

Summary This study examines four exceptional lead boat‐shaped objects recovered from the fourteenth‐century BC Chamber Tomb ZZ at the cemetery of the cosmopolitan city of Hala Sultan Tekke, Cyprus. A closely related lead object was also found in Stratum 1 of City Quarter 4 at Hala Sultan Tekke, dating to the early twelfth century BC. Similar artefacts have been identified in the late fourteenth‐century BC Uluburun shipwreck, representing the only known parallels from the Late Bronze Age. This paper details the archaeological contexts of these finds and interprets their function as composite fishing lures, originally fitted with bronze hooks. Additionally, we explore the possibility that their boat‐like shape held symbolic significance, potentially referencing either a generic fishing vessel or the well‐known br ship type. A proposed reconstruction of the lures with attached hooks is also presented.