The Larnaca Salt Lake is considered to be the silted port of Hala Sultan Tekke which was abandoned during the Late 12th century BCE (Fischer and Bürge 2018: 612). The site was founded on biocalcarenites and sands of the Athalassa Formation. Exposed nearby is the Kalavasos Formation, composed of gypsum and chalky marls (GSD 1995). The Tremithos River, which transports clays, silts, and pebbles eroded from the pillow lavas, carbonate rocks, and alluvial deposits, flows through and carries fragments of the Ophiolite mixed with calcareous rocks (Ghilardi et al. 2015). The Miocene Lefkara fm. Is characterized by calcareous microfossils (Robertson 1998), this formation is often found in the sediments transported in the rivers of the southwestern part of the Island and repeatedly observed in thin sections of unburnt sediments. This combination produces clay-rich calcareous alluvial sediments of the region were a possible source for raw materials for pottery production.
Lefkara formation burnt to 700°C
Alluvial sediment by the salt lake
Rock fragments outside Hala sultan Tekke
Firing experiments in alluvial sediments from the salt lake
