Tell Atchana Palace Mound — Alalakh
Tell Atchana · Alalakh · Alalah
Middle to Late Bronze Age, c.2200-1200 BCE (Amorite–Hittite)·Amorite / Hittite (Yamhad / Alalakh)·🇹🇷 Hatay Province, Turkey
About
About Tell Atchana Palace Mound — Alalakh
Tell Atchana 22 ha tell in Amuq Plain (Hatay): capital Mukish polity and Alalakh palaces. Excavated by Leonard Woolley (1935-49) and K. Aslı Yener (2003–): Level VII Yarim-Lim palace (1994 BCE) with 175 cuneiform tablets (Old Babylonian), Level IV Idrimi palace (15th BCE) with Idrimi statue and autobiography (longest Early Hittite inscription), Hittite hegemonyLevel. High tell 15 m over Amuq plain. Materials North Syrian vs Hittite. Demonstrates Aleppo-Yamhad rivalry and Hittite Mitanni struggle in Amuq. Near Tell Tayinat (Kunulua).
Why it mattersKey Amorite / Hittite (Yamhad / Alalakh) tell with stratified sequence and regional importance.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether Level VII is Yamhad vassal or independent Mukish king
- 02Idrimi's exile narrative historic vs literary topos
Theories
- 01Alalakh as gateway capital buffering Yamhad (Aleppo) and Hatti in Amuq — palatial mounds competing Tell Tayinat
- 02Tablets showing Old Babylonian law vs Hittite administration transition
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.2000 BCE (Amorite palace, Yarim-Lim era, Level VII)
- Period
- Middle to Late Bronze Age, c.2200-1200 BCE (Amorite–Hittite)
- Culture
- Amorite / Hittite (Yamhad / Alalakh)
- Builders
- Amorite
- Purpose
- Palatial mound-tell of Alalakh (ancient Mukish) in Amuq Plain: 22 ha tell with successive palaces (Level IV–VII), archive of Alalakh tablets and Yarim-Lim palace, high tell mound 15 m
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c.2000 BCE (Level XVII)
Early tell settlement
c.1780 BCE (Level VII)
Yarim-Lim palace — tablets
c.1490 BCE (Level IV)
Idrimi palace — statue inscription
1935
Woolley excavations
2003
Yener renewed project
On the ground
Structures & features
36.4025° N · 36.3800° E · 95 m · 2 mapped features
Yarim-Lim Palace Level VII archive
palaceAmorite palace (Level VII) 80×70 m with 175 tablets, throne room, wool and wine administration
36.4025° N · 36.3800° EIdrimi Palace Level IV and statue
palaceLater palaceLevel IV with Idrimi statue (inscribed autobiography 104 lines) and basalt orthostat lions
36.4024° N · 36.3801° E