Tell Afis is an archaeological site in the

Idlib Governorate Idlib Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Idlib'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay province to the north, Aleppo Governorate to the east, Hama Governorate to the sou ...

of northern

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 ...

, lying about fifty kilometers southeast of

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

and 11 kilometers north of the ancient site of

Ebla Ebla (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''eb₂-la'', , modern: , Tell Mardikh) was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria. Its remains constitute a Tell (archaeology), tell located about southwest of Aleppo near the village of Mardikh. Ebla was ...

.Venturi, F., "La Siria nell’Età delle Trasformazioni: Nuovi Contributi dallo Scavo di Tell Afis", Cooperativa Libraria Universitaria Editirice Bologna, 2007 The site is thought to be that of ancient Hazrek (under Neo-Assyrians - Hatarikka) capital of the Kingdom of Hamath and

Luhuti Luhuti, Lukhuti or Lu'ash, was a Syro-Hittite region during the early 1st millennium BC, located in northern Syria, in an area that used to be called Nuhašše. Political situation and capital Luhuti was a region of uncertain political status, ...

. The

Stele of Zakkur The Stele of Zakkur (or ''Zakir'') is a royal stele of King Zakkur of Hamath and Luhuti (or Lu'aš) in the province Nuhašše of Syria, who ruled around 785 BC. Description The inscription was on the lower part of the original stele. The upper ...

(KAI 202), dated c, 785 BC, which contains a dedication in Aramaic to the gods Iluwer and

Baalshamin Baalshamin (), also called Baal Shamem () and Baal Shamaim (), was a Northwest Semitic god and a title applied to different gods at different places or times in ancient Middle Eastern inscriptions, especially in Canaan/Phoenicia and Syria. The t ...

, was discovered at the top of the acropolis in 1903 by the French Consul Henri Pognon. It is now in the

Louvre Museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

History

Occupation of the site extends from the Late Chalcolithic, Ubaid period, Early Bronze I period, Middle Bronze II, until the Iron Age.

Late Chalcolithic

In the Late Chalcolithic (4000-3200 BC) it was surrounded by a megalithic stone wall at the base of the acropolis with a moat. The economy was based on the herding of mostly sheep but also pigs. The find of elderly bovines indicated that agriculture was being practices.

Early Bronze Age

During the Early Bronze Age (2500-2000 BC) occupation was mainly of a domestic nature though an industrial area (pottery manufacture) was found to the north and a food processing area to the south.

Middle Bronze Age

Yamhad Period

In the Middle Bronze IIA (c. 1820-1628 BC), the Kingdom of Yamhad (Aleppo) gained control of the region and Ebla to the south became a vassalage. Afis being north of Ebla on the route to Aleppo would have been part of this change. In the lower town Middle Bronze Age II occupation is attested (excavation Area D) but in a smaller area than the later Iron Age II-III Aramaean town, as well as on the acropolis. Both the lower town and acropolis were walled, with the latter substantial and laid on massive stone foundations. A number of radiocarbon samples from a kiln in the EB-MB layer were tested. In the Middle Bronze I/II layer of excavation E on the acropolis an Old Syrian Linear Style green stone seal was found, dating to the 1st half of the 2nd millennium BC.

Late Bronze Age

Mitanni Period

In the 15th century BC, the Mitanni Empire gained control over the region. Afis may have belonged to a petty kingdom called Nuhasse.

Hittite Period

Around 1350-1345 BC, the Hittite ruler Suppiluliuma I gained control over the northern parts of Syria. This region was then called Nuhasse. Levels VII to V have been firmly dated to the time of control by 13th century BC Hittite ruler

Hattusili III Ḫattušili (''Ḫattušiliš'' in the inflected nominative case) was the regnal name of three Hittite kings: * Hattusili I (Labarna II) * Hattusili II * Hattusili III It was also the name of two Neo-Hittite kings: * Hattusili I (Kummuh) * Hattus ...

by seals, pottery, and nine cuneiform tablets and fragments (in Building F). Two of the tablets, and a fragment, were in Hittite while the others, badly damaged, were administrative documents in local clay.

Iron Age

In Iron Age I (1100-950 BC) the site was a small settlement. In Iron Age II (950-750 BC) Tell Afis grew to substantial size and was part of the Kingdom of Hamath.Soldi, Sebastiano, "Aramaeans and Assyrians in North-Western Syria: Material Evidence from Tell Afis", Syria, vol. 86, pp. 97–118, 2009 On the western side of the Acropolis a multiperiod temple was found. The two lowest levels (A3.2 followed by A3.1) date from Iron Age I, both of mudbrick with the same plan and a 2.5 meter wide gate to the south. In A3.1 a plastered central podium was found with pit of ashes which included animal bones and fragments of a painted keros jar. A cylinder seal depicting a storm god was also found. The earlier temples were leveled when the Iron Age II-III temples, A2 followed by A1, were constructed. They were of a tripartite longroom design 38 meters by 32 meters with a vestibule, a long hall, a rear room, and rooms along the sides and constructed of stone.Temple A1 was dismantled and the materials re-used. A sizable Iron Age II cultic area was discovered to the east of Temple A2, on the eastern acropolis. In Building G, 25 meters to the east of the sacred area, a pottery shard marked "LWR" was found. It was speculated that they were three letters of the god of Hazrek El-we. Three additional Aramaic fragments were later found. In Iron Age III (750/700-600 BC) the site was occupied c. 738 BC by the Neo-Assyrian empire under Tiglath-Pileser III. In 720 BC

Sargon II Sargon II (, meaning "the faithful king" or "the legitimate king") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 722 BC to his death in battle in 705. Probably the son of Tiglath-Pileser III (745–727), Sargon is generally believed to have be ...

defeated the Kingdom of Hamath.

Archaeology

The tell is 28 hectares in area (570 meters by 500 meters) with an extensive lower city and an acropolis on the northern edge. The site had been subject to quarrying by the local populace for building materials. The lower town was protected by a Late Iron Age 5.2 meter wide wall. The wall was built without foundation or facing which the excavators took to indicate it was built rapidly. In 1932

William F. Albright William Foxwell Albright (May 24, 1891 – September 19, 1971) was an American archaeologist, biblical scholar, philologist, and expert on ceramics. He is considered "one of the twentieth century's most influential American biblical scholars ...

collected Iron Age pottery in a surface collection. In 1970, 1972, and 1978 excavations were conducted by

Paolo Matthiae Paolo Matthiae (born 1940) is an Italian archaeologist. He is a professor of History of Art of the Ancient Near East in the University of Rome La Sapienza; he has been Director of the Ebla Expedition since 1963—in fact, its discoverer— ...

with the Italian Archaeological Mission in Syria. The site was excavated from 1986 until 2010 by a joint project from the universities of Rome, Pisa and Bologna, under the direction of Stefania Mazzoni and Serena Maria Cecchini. Two areas (B and D) were excavated in the northern part of the lower town. On the acropolis, areas A, G, and, E (on the western slope) were excavated.Stefania Mazzoni, "Tell Afis: History and Excavations", Near Eastern Archaeology, vol. 76(4), pp. 204-212, December 2013 The site was reportedly damaged by encampments during the Syrian civil war.Cunliffe, Emma., Damage to the Soul: Syria's cultural heritage in conflict, Durham University and the Global Heritage Fund, 1 May 2012
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