Brian Janeway
Tell Ta‘yinat is located in southern Turkey, in a region where the southern border dips down to take in a fertile region known as the Amuq Valley east of the northeast corner of the Mediterranean. A major city in this area in New Testament times was Antioch, where followers of Jesus were first called Christians (Acts 11:26). Tell Ta‘yinat is located 12 mi (20 km) northeast of Antioch, modern Antakya, some 28mi (45 km) from the Mediterranean coast. It lies on the banks of the Orontes River near what was once an ancient lake that existed as late as the 1930s before being drained. The site is comprised of an upper and lower mound, with occupation in the third millennium and the Iron Age (ca. 1200–500 BC) when it reached its largest size of ca. 86 acres (35 hectares).
Site plan: dark shaded areas are where the University of Chicago excavated in the 1930s and the light shaded areas are where the University of Toronto is presently excavating (Fields 1, 2 and 3). The Megaron Temple and bit hilani Palace described in the article are located in Field 1, while the Eastern Citadel Gate is east of Field 1 at the edge of the tell.
Excavations at Tell Ta‘yinat
The University of Chicago conducted large-scale excavations on the mound for four seasons, 1935–1938. Results were fairly spectacular, including monumental buildings in the bit hilani1 style, a temple similar in ground plant ot he Solomonic Temple, gateways, an Assyrian governor’s residence, Luwian2 hieroglyphic inscriptions, and numerous stone sculptures and orthostats. In sum, all the cultural and architectural elements of a Neo-Hittite3 city of considerable importance were present. In 2004, excavations were resumed under the direction of Timothy Harrison of the University of Toronto.
It is my goal to report on the ongoing excavations of Tell Ta‘yinat for two reasons. First, the Aramean Neo-Hittite kingdoms that resulted from the breakup of the Hittite Empire in ca. 1200 BC were very important to the history of the Levant and influential in Israel and Judah, particularly in terms of their architectural styles and motifs. An example of this is the two tenth-century palaces founding Megiddo (Building 6000 and 1723), both of which contain bit hilani ground plans (Barkay 1992: 310). The rise of Neo-Hittite states in the north took place during the same period that Iron
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Michael Luddeni
Tribute from Qalparunda of Hattina,depicted on the fifth register of the famous Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser. Hattina is the Assyrian designation for the Amuq area in northwest Syria. Seen here is one of four panels depicting emissaries of Qalparunda bringing tribute to the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III. The Black Obelisk is famous because the second register portrays tribute from Jehu king of Israel (for photo, see Bible and Spade, Spring 2004, page 55).
Age states were coalescing in the south in Israel, Judah, Moab, and Ammon, and were part of common political, social and economic trends in the region.
Secondly, I would like to share the excitement of discovery inherent in any archaeological excavation, something to which some Bible and Spade readers can attest firsthand. The University of Toronto excavations, directed by Dr. Timothy Harrison, anticipate many fruitful seasons and important discoveries at Tell Ta‘yinat, which the members of ABR will find both intriguing and informative. To this end, the present report will review some of the significant discoveries of the 1930s and survey the important finds from the first two seasons of the renewed excavations (2004 and 2005).
King Qalparunda of Kunulua
The site of Tell Ta‘yinat is likely the ancient city of Kunulua, known from Neo-Assyrian annals of the ninth and eighth centuries BC. It is the largest mound in the Amuq Valley from the Iron Age and several epigraphic finds strengthen the identification of the ancient city. Atotal of over 80 fragments of Luwian inscriptions carved in stone were recovered. One of these contains the name of king Halparuntiyas, attested in the campaign list of Shalmaneser III in 857 and 853 BC as Qalparunda4 (Hawkins 2000: 366). Fragments of a small bowl were inscribed with the Aramaic letters K-N-L-H. The script was dated to the seventh century and seems to provide a linguistic equivalent to the name Kunulua in Assyrian documents (Harrison et al. 2005: 173).
Name of Qalparunda in a Luwian inscription. A Luwian Neo-Hittite hieroglyphic inscription found at Tell Ta‘yinat con-tained the name Halparuntiyas, equivalent to Qalparunda in Assyrian records, shown here in a line drawing of the glyph. (Oriental Institute, University of Chicago)
Brian Janeway
Fragments of the head of a colossal statue of a ruler, possibly King Qalparunda/Halparuntiyas. The statue fragments, reconstructed here in the Anatolian exhibit at the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, reflect Neo-Hittite artistic conventions. It probably once stood at the Eastern Citadel Gate of Tell Ta‘yinat.
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Assyrian soldier relief showing a bowman carrying the severed head of a fallen enemy in one hand and arrows in the other. The lifeless body of the victim lies at the feet of the soldier (McEwan 1937: fig. 9). This is one of seven Assyrian-style reliefs found in secondary use at the Eastern Citadel Gate. Typical of the Assyrian “provincial style,” it dates stratigraphically and stylistically to the end of the eighth century. (Oriental Institute, University of Chicago)
One of the most important finds from the Chicago team was unfortunately only fragmentary. It consisted of several pieces of a monumental statue of a ruler found in a secondary context in the Eastern Citadel Gate. It is possible that the statue was that of Qalparunda/Halparuntiyas mentioned in the ancient inscriptions.
The fragments belong to the head and reflect distinctive Neo-Hittite features. Two of these features are “pothook” curls in the hair descending on either side of the head in two neat rows, and a headband across the forehead. The closest parallel among contemporary statues was found at Zinjirli in an excellent state of preservation. It stood on top of a stand comprised of two lions being held by a mythical creature, and is generally dated to the period 950–850 BC (Orthmann 1971: 545), which accords well with the reign of Qalparunda/Halparuntiyas in the middle of the ninth century.
Assyrian Presence at Tell Ta‘yinat
After the initial Assyrian campaigns of the ninth century, which resulted in the payment of tribute, Tell Ta‘yinat thrived and grew to inhabit a lower city that eventually spread over an area of 86 acres (35 hectares). The city of Kunulua lost its independence, however, when the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III conquered the city in 738 BC. He deported the population and resettled people from the eastern part of the empire in Kunulua, much as his successor Sargon II did in Samaria 16 years later. Evidence from this period was found on the south mound where a large administrative building (Building IX) of Mesopotamian character was excavated, similar to those found at Tel Barsip and Arslan Tash (Haines 1971: 61). It was evidently the seat of an Assyrian governor.
An ornamental copper disc bearing the inscription, “for the life of Tiglath-Pileser, King of Assyria” provides further proof of Assyrian presence. Moreover, several limestone reliefs of Assyrian soldiers were found in the same secondary context as the fragments of the monumental statue. The soldier reliefs present graphic evidence of the presence of Assryians at the site. They were likely erected at the Eastern Citadel Gate following Tiglath Pileser III’s conquest of Tell Tay‘inat in 738 BC.
Bit Hilani Palace
Building I, excavated in the 1930s, was a monumental palace in the style of a bit hilani, a feature typical of Syro-Hittite cities. Originally facing a large open courtyard, it contained a broad monumental staircase and three ornately carved stone column bases in situ at the top.
No stone columns were found on the site, which led the excavator to suggest the columns were made of cedar wood. Evidence for this architectural feature is found in an inscription
Brian Janeway
One of an original set of three ornate column bases from the bit hilani Palace (Building I). The base is expertly carved in three registers, the topmost of which is decorated with stylized palm volutes very similar to those found on royal proto-Ionic capitals found in Iron Age Israel. (Oriental Institute, University of Chicago)
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Haines 1971: pl. 103
The Bit Hilani Palace (Building I) and the Megaron Temple (Building II) to its south, from the plan of the Chicago excavations of the 1930s. The Megaron Temple is similar in plan to Solomon’s Temple described in I Kings 6. In 2004 and 2005, the University of Toronto team located the foundation walls of the temple and sections of the cobbled floor. Two rooms underneath Building I belonging to an earlier palace were uncovered in 2005.
Limestone bust of a man, possibly a prince of Kunulua, exhibiting Aramaean stylistic elements such as ropelike locks of hair, a neatly-trimmed beard and no mustache. (Oriental Institute, University of Chicago)
The Arameans were a tribal Semitic people who lived throughout the Fertile Cresent in antiquity. During their early history, they were semi-nomadic pastoralists with a life style similar to that of the Biblical patriarchs. The Bible indicates that Abraham was of Aramean descent, since he came from the vicinity of Aramaean Haran in southern Turkey (Gn 24:4), 150 mi (240 km) northeast of Tell Ta‘yinat. Abraham’s grandson Jacob, in fact, was called an Aramean (Dt 26:5), as was Jacob’s uncle Laban (Gn 25:20) and his maternal grandfather Bethuel (Gn 25:20; 28:5).Following the collapse of the Hittite empire in the late second millennium BC, the Aramean tribes in Syria developed into powerful city-state monarchies that flourished in the 11th-8th centuries BC. These kingdoms came in contact with the nation of Israel on numerous occasions. BGW
from Sargon II, in which he stated:
I erected a bit apati in the fashion of a Hittite palace, which is called a bit hilani in the Amurru language… eight paired lions…and four high columns of cedar wood taken from Amanus I had placed on lion colossi (Akurgal 1968: 47).
In 2005 the Toronto expedition dug beneath Building I and exposed two rooms from the underlying Building XIV. The building seems to have been oriented on the same plan as Building I and dates to the tenth-ninth century, based on ceramic evidence. It was comprised of massive mudbrick walls approximately 10 ft (3 m) thick in a good state of preservation. Plans are to expand the exposure of Building XIV in 2006.
Two noteworthy artifacts recovered in Room G of Building I from its second phase of occupation, which ended in a conflagration possibly associated with the 738 BC destruction, may be related to a new ethnic element at the site. To the Aramaic inscription mentioned earlier can be added a limestone bust of a prince (?) sculpted in an Aramaeanizing style.
Brian Janeway
Sphinx sculpture found at Tell Ta‘yinat. This menacing figure, dating to the early first millennium BC, has an Aramaeanizing style influenced by Egyptian prototypes. (Oriental Institute, University of Chicago)
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Double lion column base found on the right side of the porch of the Megaron Temple. Most likely it was one of an original matching set, the second of which was never recovered. Though placed in a temple plan of Syrian design, the lions themselves exhibit Assyrian stylistic characteristics. (Museum of Antakya, Turkey)
The figure has ropelike locks of hair dangling down the back similar of his head from ear to ear and wears a close cut beard with loopy curls. The beard is closely braided and he is without a mustache. The closest stylistic parallels are a stela found at Zinjirli (King Barrakub) and a monumental sphinx column base from Sakcagozu both dating to the last quarter of the eighth century. It appears that by this time, Aramaean peoples had peacefully infiltrated the region and gained control of the economic and cultural centers of northern Syria and southern Asia Minor, including Tell Ta‘yinat. Prior to 738 BC, our evidence indicates that Tell Ta‘yinat was ruled by a Luwian-speaking elite.
Also found in the destruction debris of Room G was a splendidly crafted sphinx carved in basalt stone. It is in the form of a female and has inlaid eyes, only one of which survives. It wears a thin cap tied off at the back of the neck and has long curls dangling from each side of the head in the style of a “Hathor” hairdo. The sphinx, of course, is a common motif in art a cross abroad area of the Levant that likely originated in Egypt. The sidelocks of hair more closely resemble the Neo-Hittite style than the Aramaean. It dates to the early first millennium BC, perhaps the tenth or ninth century. It was possibly kept as an heirloom for a century or more until the time of the destruction of the city in the late eighth century.
Megaron Temple
The author had the good fortune of supervising the reexcavation of the Megaron Temple, Building II, dated to the ninth century. The structure has long been cited as a parallel to Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. Both were comprised of three rooms aligned along a single axis, the inner of which was considered the most sacred, or Holy of Holies. The Tell Ta‘yinat temple was adorned by presumably two double lion column bases, only one of which was found by the Chicago team(cf. the pillars of Jakin and Boazin Solomon’s Temple, 1 Kings 7:21).
The lions are depicted in a crouching pose with mouths agape, bearing their fangs. Guardian lions were very common in Neo-Hittite and Assyrian art and were often placed at the entry portals of important buildings. The peculiar aspect of the Tell Ta‘yinat pair is that they display Assyrian features, such as stylized palmette skin folds beneath the eyes and an open mouth with the tongue slightly extended (Akurgal 1968: 31, 38), while at the same time being situated in a Syrian-style temple plan. The pair was likely a secondary addition to the temple after the Assyrian conquest of the city.
In 2004 and 2005, the Toronto team succeeded in exposing a narrow strip of the original cobblestone floor, along with the north and south mudbrick foundation walls of the temple.
Beneath the remains of the temple, a surprising discovery was made in the first two seasons of the renewed excavations. Soundings revealed significant occupational deposits from the Iron I period, characterized by Mycenaean IIIC:1 pottery and cylindrical unbaked clay loom weights similar to those used by the Philistines at Ashkelon, Ashdod, and Ekron (Stager 1998: 346). Mycenaean IIIC:1 pottery is found along the
Brian Janeway
Foundation wall of the Megaron Temple. The checkerboard pattern of mudbricks is virtually all that remains of the Megaron Temple from the ninth century due to cultivation activity on the surface following the Chicago excavations of the 1930s. This wall section was located nearly 3 ft (1 m) below the original level of the floor and would not have been visible to the ancient worshippers.
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Brian Janeway
Mycenaean pottery from Tell Ta‘yinat. The restored vessel is a two-handled amphora decorated with red bands, tassels, and a motif known as a zigzag vertical triglyph. It dates to the 12th century BC. Next to it is a krater fragment painted with semicircles. The bird motif on the sherd on the right is the first such figure found on pottery at Tell Ta‘yinat.
Levantine coast from Gaza through Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Cilicia in southeast Turkey. It dates to the beginning of the Iron Age (ca. 1200–1050 BC) and is strongly associated with Aegean culture, as best exemplified by the Philistines. The vessels are beautifully decorated with Aegean motifs such as birds and semicircles, among many others.
Concluding Thoughts
One of the major questions still to be answered is whether the presence of large quantities of Mycenaean ware at Tell Ta‘yinat is the result of trade or the influx of Aegean peoples to the valley, perhaps cousins of the Philistines themselves!
Stay tuned for future reports of the renewed excavations of Tell Ta‘yinat in Bible and Spade. If you find yourself in the Chicago area, visit the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago where the Anatolian exhibit was opened in 2005. For the first time since the excavations of the 1930s, the artifacts from Tell Ta‘yinat are on public display. If you are fortunate enough to visit Turkey, the Museum of Antakya houses many fine Tell Ta‘yinat objects, including the double lion column base, reliefs of Assyrian soldiers, and several types of sculpted stone column bases.
Bibliography
Akurgal, Ekrem
1968 The Birth of Greek Art: The Mediterranean and the Near East, trans. from German by Wayne Dynes. Art of the World 26. London: Methuen.
Barkay, Gabriel
1992 The Iron Age II-III. Pp. 302–73 in The Archaeology of Ancient Israel, ed. Amnon Ben-Tor. New Haven: Yale University.
Frankfort, Henri
1952 The Origin of the Bit Hilani. Iraq 14: 120–31.
Haines, Richard C.
1971 Excavations in the Plain of Antioch 2: The Structural Remains of the Later Phases, Chatal Huyuk, Tell Al-Judaidah, and Tell Ta‘yinat. University of Chicago Oriental Institute Publications 95. Chicago: University of Chicago.
Harrison, Timothy P., et al.
2005 The Ta‘yinat Survey, 1999–2002. Pp. 171–92 in The Amuq Valley Regional Projects I: Surveys in the Plain of Antioch and Orontes Delta, Turkey, 1995–2002,ed. Aslihan Yener. Oriental Institute Publications 131. Chicago: Oriental Institute, University of Chicago.
Hawkins, John D.
2000 Amuq. Pp. 361-78 in Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscriptions 1.2. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.
Luckenbill, Daniel D.
1926 Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia 1. Chicago: University of Chicago.
McEwan, Calvin W.
1937 The Syrian Expedition of The Oriental Institute of The University of Chicago. American Journal of Archaeology 41: 8–16.
Orthmann, Winfried
1971 Untersuchungen zur spathethitischen Kunst. Bonn: Rudulf Habelt Verlag.
Stager, Lawrence E.
1998 The Impact of the Sea Peoples in Canaan (1185–1050 BCE). Pp. 332–48 in The Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land, ed. Thomas E. Levy. London: Leicester University.