JERUSALEM, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Israeli archaeologists have discovered four lead ingots dated at about 3,200 years old, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) said Friday.
The ingots, discovered in a shipwreck found at an anchorage off Israel's Mediterranean coast near the town of Caesarea, prove trading links between Cyprus and distant Sardinia, about 2,500 km away, according to the HU.
In a study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, archaeologists from the HU and the University of Haifa proved the trading links according to the source of the lead and Cypro-Minoan markings incised on the ingots.
The trading ties between Cyprus and Sardinia were part of the extensive commercial and diplomatic links in the Mediterranean Basin in the Late Bronze Age, including trade and gift exchanges, the researchers explained.
The study indicates that the Cypriots travelled as far as Sardinia to bring back the lead they needed to use with copper to produce luxury items, they added. ■
