Tell Ahmar
تل أحمر · Til Barsip · Masuwari · Kar-Shalmaneser
Middle Bronze Age to Roman (c.1800 BCE–200 CE), peak Iron Age–Assyrian·Hittite → Neo-Hittite Luwian → Neo-Assyrian·🇸🇾 Aleppo Governorate, Euphrates east bank, Syria
About
About Tell Ahmar
Euphrates terrace city, 35 ha walled, Hittite Masuwari → Assyrian Til Barsip (Kar-Shalmaneser) → Til Barsib. LBA Hittite fortress, Iron Age Syro-Hittite capital, Neo-Assyrian provincial capital (857 BCE Shalmaneser III, palace with ortho-stats, cuneiform archive), later Parthian. D-shaped double wall (stone socle + mudbrick, 7 gates), north acropolis Hypogeum, south Lower Town. Excavated 1929 Thureau-Dangin, 1988 Bunnens (Melbourne/Liège), glass workshop, ivories and Assyrian palace frescoes.
Why it mattersType-site for Neo-Assyrian provincial urbanism and Hittite–Assyrian continuity.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Extent of Hittite viceregal palace?
- 02Location of river harbour?
Theories
- 01Ford control model for Assyrian annexation
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- MBA settlement c.1800 BCE
- Period
- Middle Bronze Age to Roman (c.1800 BCE–200 CE), peak Iron Age–Assyrian
- Culture
- Hittite → Neo-Hittite Luwian → Neo-Assyrian
- Builders
- Hittite empire then Assyrian provincial administration
- Purpose
- Euphrates crossing capital and Assyrian ford fortress (Kar-Shalmaneser)
- Abandoned
- Parthian era
- Rediscovered
- 1929 Thureau-Dangin
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c.1800 BCE
MBA town on terrace
c.1200 BCE
Neo-Hittite Masuwari walls
857 BCE
Shalmaneser annexes as Kar-Shalmaneser
1988
Bunnens re-excavation of palace and Hypogeum
On the ground
Structures & features
36.6740° N · 38.1210° E · 340 m · 3 mapped features
Tell Ahmar — Assyrian palace
palaceShalmaneser III palace with frescoes and orthostats
36.6745° N · 38.1210° ETell Ahmar — Hypogeum
tombVaulted Hypogeum tomb under acropolis
36.6740° N · 38.1215° ETell Ahmar — D-shaped city wall
fortificationIron Age double wall with East Gate
36.6735° N · 38.1200° E
Gallery