Sultantepe — Assyrian Library Archive Tell
Sultantepe
Late Assyrian (750–610 BCE)·Neo-Assyrian provincial·🇹🇷 Şanlıurfa Province, Harran Plain, Sultantepe village, Turkey
Klaus-Peter Simon · CC BY 3.0
About
About Sultantepe — Assyrian Library Archive Tell
Harran plain tell excavated by Lloyd & Gökçe 1951–52, yielding 600 tablets including Gilgamesh and astrological omens. Recorded context — Period: Late Assyrian (750–610 BCE); Culture: Neo-Assyrian provincial; Field status: excavated; Materials: mudbrick, clay tablets; Condition: buried.
Why it mattersKey Neo-Assyrian provincial tell with stratified sequence and regional typology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Function of enclosure
- 02Construction labor organization
Theories
- 01Observatory
- 02Elite residence
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 750 BCE; library archive 700 BCE
- Period
- Late Assyrian (750–610 BCE)
- Culture
- Neo-Assyrian provincial
- Purpose
- Assyrian provincial centre with 600-tablet library (Epic of Gilgamesh, Enuma Elish) outside priest house
- Rediscovered
- Modern excavation 1969
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 400 BCE major extension
Major expansion / refurbishment at Sultantepe — Assyrian Library Archive Tell
c. 750 BCE; library archive 700 BCE
Initial construction / first occupation at Sultantepe — Assyrian Library Archive Tell
2005 excavation
Modern rediscovery and scientific excavation of Sultantepe — Assyrian Library Archive Tell
On the ground
Structures & features
37.0510° N · 39.1540° E · 405 m · 4 mapped features
- Sultantepe — Assyrian Library Archive Tell — Principal Palacepalacepalace at Sultantepe — Assyrian Library Archive Tell — subsidiary complex37.0512° N · 39.1548° E
- Sultantepe — Assyrian Library Archive Tell — Temple Annex 2templetemple at Sultantepe — Assyrian Library Archive Tell — primary structure37.0519° N · 39.1550° E
- Sultantepe — Assyrian Library Archive Tell — Southern Gategategate at Sultantepe — Assyrian Library Archive Tell — subsidiary complex37.0514° N · 39.1538° E
- Sultantepe — Assyrian Library Archive Tell — Eastern Palacepalacepalace at Sultantepe — Assyrian Library Archive Tell — subsidiary complex37.0505° N · 39.1556° E
Gallery