Tell Amarna (Syria)

Last updated

Tell Amarna is an archaeological site near the village Amarnah in northern Syria, on the west bank of the Euphrates. [1]

Contents

Archaeological research

The site was investigated as part of the archaeological salvage excavations conducted due to the building of the Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates. From 1991 to 1998, a mission from the University of Liège, directed by Önhan Tunca, worked there at the invitation of the Syrian Direction Générale des Antiquités et Museums. Eight excavation seasons carried out on the 20-m-high tell revealed layers dating from the Halaf culture [2] (6th millennium BC) through the Byzantine period (5th century AD). [3] After the discovery of a basilica, dated to the 5th century AD, archaeologists and conservators from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology University of Warsaw were asked to assist in the restoration and interpretation of this building. The Polish team was headed by Dr. Tomasz Waliszewski (Institute of Archaeology of the University of Warsaw) and Dr. Krzysztof Chmielewski (Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw). [1] In 2000 and 2001, archaeologists and conservators from Belgium, Poland, and Syria worked at the site. More than 40 mosaic fragments were transported to a storeroom in Damascus where they underwent conservation in 2004–2005. Thirteen of them formed the core of the exhibition “Tell Amarna in Syria; From the 6th Millennium BC Painted Pottery to the Byzantine Mosaics”, which was presented in 2005 first in Belgium and then in Poland, in the State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw. [4]

Further reading

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 "Tell Amarna". pcma.uw.edu.pl. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  2. Clop Garcia, X.; Alvarez Perez, A.; Hatert, Frédéric (2004). "Characterization study of Halaf ceramic production at Tell Amarna (Euphrates Valley, Syria)". hdl:2268/102885.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. Tunca, Önhan; Waliszewski, Tomasz; Koniordos, V. (2011). Tell Amarna (Syrie) V. La basilique byzantine et ses mosaïques. PEETERS, Louvain–Paris–Dudley (MA); (=Publications de la Mission archéologique de l’Université de Liège en Syrie, vol. 5).
  4. Tunca, Önhan; Waliszewski, Tomasz; Koniordos, V. (2005). Tell Amarna w Syrii – Barwy chrześcijaństwa; Od malowanej ceramiki z VI tysiąclecia p.n.e. do bizantyjskich mozaik // Tell Amarna in Syria; From the 6th Millennium BC Painted Pottery to the Byzantine Mosaics. Culture Lab éditions, Państwowe Muzeum Archeologiczne, Bruksela–Warszawa.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washukanni</span>

Washukanni was the capital of the Hurrian kingdom of Mitanni, from around 1500 BC to the 13th century BC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balikh River</span> River in Turkey, Syria

The Balikh River is a perennial river that originates in the spring of Ain al-Arous near Tell Abyad in the Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests ecoregion. It flows due south and joins the Euphrates at the modern city of Raqqa. The Balikh is the second largest tributary to the Euphrates in Syria, after the Khabur River. It is an important source of water and large sections have recently been subjected to canalization.

Hamoukar is a large archaeological site located in the Jazira region of northeastern Syria, near the Iraqi and Turkish borders. The early settlement dates back to the 5th millennium BCE, and it existed simultaneously with the Ubaid and the early Uruk cultures. It was a big centre of obsidian production. In the 3rd millennium, this was one of the largest cities of Northern Mesopotamia, and extended to 105 ha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tell Barri</span>

Tell Barri is a tell, or archaeological settlement mound, in north-eastern Syria in the Al-Hasakah Governorate. Its ancient name was Kahat as proven by a threshold found on the south-western slope of the mound. Tell Barri is situated along the Wadi Jaghjagh, a tributary of the Khabur River.

Chagar Bazar is a tell, or settlement mound, in northern Al-Hasakah Governorate, Syria. It is a short distance from the major ancient city of Nagar. The site was occupied from the Halaf period until the middle of the 2nd millennium BC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tell Fekheriye</span>

Tell Fekheriye is an ancient site in the Khabur River basin in the Al Hasakah Governorate of northern Syria. It is securely identified as the site of Sikkan, attested since c. 2000 BC. While under an Assyrian governor c. 1000 BC it was called Sikani. Sikkan was part of the Aramaean kingdom of Bit Bahiani in the early 1st millennium BC. In the area, several mounds, called tells, can be found in close proximity: Tell Fekheriye, Ra's al-'Ayn, and 2.5 kilometers east of Tell Halaf, site of the Aramean and Neo-Assyrian city of Guzana. During the excavation, the Tell Fekheriye bilingual inscription was discovered at the site, which provides the source of information about Hadad-yith'i.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jieh</span> City in Mount Lebanon

Jieh is a seaside town in Lebanon with an estimated population of 5000, 23 km south of Beirut, in the Chouf district via a 20-minute drive along the Beirut to Sidon highway south of the capital. In Phoenician times it was known as Porphyreon and was a thriving natural seaport, which still functions today. The town is also known for its seven kilometre sandy beach, a rarity along Lebanon's mainly rocky coastline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Til Barsip</span> Archaeological site in Aleppo, Syria

Til Barsip or Til Barsib is an ancient site situated in Aleppo Governorate, Syria by the Euphrates river about 20 kilometers south of ancient Carchemish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terqa</span> Ancient city in Syria

Terqa is the name of an ancient city discovered at the site of Tell Ashara on the banks of the middle Euphrates in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria, approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) from the modern border with Iraq and 64 kilometres (40 mi) north of the ancient site of Mari, Syria. Its name had become Sirqu by Neo-Assyrian times.

Tell es-Sweyhat is the name of a large archaeological site on the Euphrates River in northern Syria. It is located in Raqqa Governorate roughly 95 km northeast of Aleppo and 60 km south of Carchemish. Also, a Uruk site of Jebel Aruda and a Bronze Age site Tell Hadidi (Azu) are located just across the river.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halaf culture</span> Archaeological culture

The Halaf culture is a prehistoric period which lasted between about 6100 BC and 5100 BC. The period is a continuous development out of the earlier Pottery Neolithic and is located primarily in the fertile valley of the Khabur River, of south-eastern Turkey, Syria, and northern Iraq, although Halaf-influenced material is found throughout Greater Mesopotamia.

Tell Fray is a tell, or settlement mound, on the east bank of the Euphrates in Raqqa Governorate, northern Syria. The archaeological site takes its name from an ancient irrigation canal, hence 'Fray' or 'Little Euphrates'.

Tell Ramad is a prehistoric, Neolithic tell at the foot of Mount Hermon, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) southwest of Damascus in Syria. The tell was the site of a small village of 2 hectares (220,000 sq ft), which was first settled in the late 8th millennium BC.

Tell Ghoraifé is a prehistoric, Neolithic tell, about 22 kilometres (14 mi) east of Damascus, Syria. The tell was the site of a small village of 5 hectares (540,000 sq ft), which was first settled in the early eighth millennium BC.

Al-Rawda is a tell, or archaeological settlement mound, in the Syrian steppe, east of Hama. It was a large urban site with city walls and several temples, occupied between 2400–2000 BC. A French–Syrian mission has been excavating the site since 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archaeological Museum of the American University of Beirut</span>

The Archaeology Museum of the American University of Beirut in Beirut, Lebanon is the third oldest museum in the Near East after Cairo and Constantinople.

Leila Badre is a Lebanese archaeologist and director of the Archaeological Museum of the American University of Beirut.

Shhiim alternatively written as Shheem or Chhim/Shleem is a town in Lebanon which is located 40 kilometres south-east of Beirut. Shhiim is located on 4 mountains in the Chouf region in lebanon. Chhim has a population of about 49,000. It is considered a city by some.

Tell Judaidah is an archaeological site in south-eastern Turkey, in the Hatay province. It is one of the largest excavated ancient sites in the Amuq valley, in the plain of Antioch. Settlement at this site ranges from the Neolithic through the Byzantine Period.

Tell Hadidi, ancient Azu, is an ancient Near East archaeological site in Syria about 30 kilometers north of Emar and 5 kilometers north of Ekalte. It lies on the west bank of the Euphrates River on the opposite bank from Tell es-Sweyhat. It is thought to be a paired city with Tell es-Sweyhat controlling a Euphrates river crossing. There are prominent hollow ways between the site and Tell es-Sweyhat, Tell Othman, and Tell Jouweif. The site was occupied from the Early Bronze Age period to the Late Bronze Age and again to a lesser extent in Roman times. It was one of several rescue excavations sparked by the construction of the Tabqa Dam and the resulting Lake Assad. The town's primary god was Dagan.