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'.[1] It was part of a rescue excavation project for sites to be submerged by the creation of Lake Assad by the Tabqa Dam.
  Shown within Syria | |
| Alternative name | Yakharisha or Shaparu |
|---|---|
| Location | Syria |
| Region | Raqqa Governorate |
| Coordinates | 35°54′13″N 38°23′03″E / 35.903545°N 38.384198°E |
| Type | tell |
| History | |
| Periods | Late Bronze Age |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1972–1973 |
| Archaeologists | Adnan Bounni, Paolo Matthiae |
| Condition | flooded by Lake Assad |
| Public access | no |
Excavations
editIt was excavated in 1972 and 1973 as a joint Syrian–Italian operation under the direction of Adnan Bounni of the Syrian Service of Archaeological Excavations and the Sapienza University of Rome under the direction of Paolo Matthiae, the excavator of Ebla along with the Aleppo Museum directed by Ch. Chaath, and Johns Hopkins University.[2][3][4] The operation was part of the UNESCO-coordinated international effort to excavate as many sites as possible in the area that would be flooded by the reservoir of the Tabqa Dam, which was being constructed at that time.[5] Tell Fray disappeared under the rising waters of Lake Assad in 1974.[1]
The excavations revealed occupation layers dating to the 14th century BCE, or Late Bronze Age. There were at least two temples in this city, one of them probably devoted to the god Teshub. The southern temple had 0.8 meter thick walls.[6] A number of houses were also excavated. Two of these houses belonged to important officials. One of these was possibly a local representative or governor of the Hittite king, whereas the other was responsible for the maintenance of the canals in the area.[1][7]
The clay tablets found at Tell Fray indicate that the site belonged to the influence sphere of Ashtata (Astata), centered on Emar, which in turn fell under Carchemish, upstream from both Emar and Tell Fray.[8] Text finds included a 12th/13th century BC will.[9] A clay sealing of late Hittite ruler Ḫattušili III (c. 1275–1245 BC) was also found.[10]
The site was destroyed by fire in the 13th century BCE, probably by the Middle Assyrian kings Shalmaneser I or Tukulti-Ninurta I, when the Assyrians conquered this area.
Based on the cuneiform texts found in Tell Fray and elsewhere, it has been proposed that the name of the ancient site was either Yakharisha or Shaparu.[1] Finds from the excavation are now on display in the National Museum of Aleppo.[11]
See also
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References
editCitations
edit- ^ a b c d Bounni 1988, pp. 368–369
- ^ Freedman, David Noel, and John M. Lundquist, "Archeological Reports from the Tabqa Dam Project: Euphrates Valley, Syria", The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research, vol. 44, pp. iii–182, 1977
- ^ P. Matthiae, "Ittiti ed Assiri a Tell Fray", SMEA 22, pp. 35–51, 1980
- ^ Bounni, A., and Matthiae, P., "Tell Fray 1973", in Antiquities de l'Euphrate, ed. A. Bounni. Aleppo: Directo- rate General of Antiquities and Museums of Syria, pp. 33-41, 1974
- ^ Bounni 1977, p. 4
- ^ Fleming, Daniel E., "Emar and the Question of Time", Time at Emar: The Cultic Calendar and the Rituals from the Diviner's Archive, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 1-12, 2000
- ^ Akkermans & Schwartz 2003, p. 345
- ^ Wilkinson 2004, p. 6
- ^ Wilhelm, Gernot, "Ein Testament aus Tell Fray", Grenzüberschreitungen. Studien zur Kulturgeschichte des Alten Orients. Festschrift für Hans Neumann zum 65. Geburtstag am 9. Mai 2018, hrsg. v. Kristin Kleber, Georg Neumann, Susanne Paulus (dubsar 5)., pp.791-796, 2018
- ^ Mackinson, Martin, "Musru, Masuwari and MSR: From Middle Assyrian Frontier to Iron Age City”, in State Archives of Assyria Bulletin 14, pp. 33–62, 2002/05
- ^ Bounni 1977, p. 6
Bibliography
edit- Akkermans, Peter M. M. G.; Schwartz, Glenn M. (2003), The archaeology of Syria. From complex hunter-gatherers to early urban societies (ca. 16,000–300 BC), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-79666-0
- Bounni, Adnan (1977), "Campaign and exhibition from the Euphrates in Syria", The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 44: 1–7, ISSN 0066-0035, JSTOR 3768538
- Bounni, Adnan (1988), "Découvertes archéologiques récentes en Syrie", Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (in French), 132 (2): 361–380, doi:10.3406/crai.1988.14616
- Wilkinson, Tony J. (2004), On the margin of the Euphrates. Settlement and land use at Tell es-Sweyhat and in the upper Lake Assad region (PDF), Oriental Institute Publications, vol. 124, Chicago: Oriental Institute, ISBN 1-885923-29-5