Sakka or Saqqa () is a village to the southeast of

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, on the edge of the

Ghouta Ghouta ( / ALA-LC: ''Ḡūṭat Dimašq'') is a countryside area in southwestern Syria that surrounds the city of Damascus along its eastern and southern rim. Name Ghouta is an Arabic term (''ghuta'') for 'garden'. Geography The Ghouta is an ...

, north west of

Damascus International Airport Damascus International Airport () is the international airport of Damascus, the capital of Syria and the home base of the national flag carrier airline, Syrian Air. Damascus International Airport serves as a primary gateway to Syria and is one ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Tell Sakka

Tell Sakka is a man-made tell in the neighborhood that has been excavated by Ahmed Taraqji on behalf of the

Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums The Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums (DGAM); , ) is a Syrian government-owned agency that is responsible for the protection, promotion and excavation activities in all sites of national heritage in the country. The Directorate was e ...

. Remains of a palace was found and dated to between 1800 and 1600 BCE. It has provided evidence of Egyptian influence in the Ghouta, The architectural remains were said to resemble those of

Qatna Qatna (modern: , Tell al-Mishrifeh; also Tell Misrife or Tell Mishrifeh) was an ancient city located in Homs Governorate, Syria. Its remains constitute a tell situated about northeast of Homs near the village of al-Mishrifeh. The city was an ...

and along with

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

were dated to the

Middle Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

. A

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary a ...

was excavated measuring by . Columns marked the entrance to the south and four large columns were positioned in a square in the centre of the courtyard.

Tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. ''Tempera'' also refers to the paintings done in ...

or perhaps

Fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

technique Paintings were found on the walls showing ancient Egyptian style and motifs. However, beneath the apparent Egyptian scheme, a Near-Eastern tradition is evident in the ideas of the paintings. The first

cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...

tablet recovered in the Damascus area was found at Tell Sakka. It was suggested resemble the style of cuneiform found in the archives of Mari and speaks of a king called

Zimri-Lim __NOTOC__ Zimri-Lim was in the Middle Bronze Age the king of Mari, Syria, Mari (c. 1767–1752 BCE; low chronology). Background Family Zimri-Lim (Akkadian language, Akkadian: ''Zi-im-ri Li-im'') was the son or grandson of king Yahdun-Lim of Ma ...

. The cuneiform tablet in Sakka was translated to read ''"To my brother Zimri-lim, say "Thus saith Kanhilesu? Your brothers Samas and Dagan for the rest of the days, My brother sustenance? In front of me (it is) good. In front of my brother that is well! I heard: The enemy of my country brother, My brother has attacked, news of him that sent me! (...) inside a (?) .., The army f my country?">.., The army [of my country? to my brother [(go go)"'' Other finds at the site included a sphinx">f my country? to my brother [(go go)">f my country?">.., The army [of my country? to my brother [(go go)"'' Other finds at the site included a sphinx made out of the scapula of a cow.al Besso, Moussab., Production d'objets en os dans un atelier du Bronze Moyen en Syrie du Sud: Tell Sakka, Paper for the 10th International Archaeozoology of Southwestern Asia and Adjacent Areas, Brussels, June 28th-30th, 2011.
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References

External links

Sakka on geographic.orgSakka on maplandia.comSakka on mapcarta.comFirst report of the looting of the Archaeological mission to Tell Sakka on the Facebook page of Le patrimoine archéologique syrien en danger الآثار السورية في خطر, (Syrian Archaeological Heritage under threat)Photo of Tell Sakka on "Le patrimoine archéologique syrien en danger" Facebook pageLouvre conferences - Tell Sakka, une ville du Bronze Moyen de Damascène (1800-1600), Syrie
{{Rif Dimashq Governorate, douma Populated places in Douma District Archaeological sites in Rif Dimashq Governorate Bronze Age sites in Syria Tourist attractions in Syria