Tell Tayinat (Kunulua)
تل طعينات · Tell Tayinat, Kunulua, Kunalua, Patina
EBA through Iron III; Iron Age capital phase·Amuq EBA → Syro-Hittite Luwian-Aramaean Pattin → Assyrian Kinalua·🇹🇷 Hatay Province, Amuq Plain, Antakya—Reyhanlı road, Turkey
Tayinat Archaeological Project - credit Murat Akar · CC BY-SA 4.0
About
About Tell Tayinat (Kunulua)
Capital of Neo-Hittite/Aramaean kingdom Pattin/Unqi (Kunulua) on Orontes bend, excavated 1935–38 Haines (Syro-Hittite Expedition, Oriental Institute) and since 2004 Timothy Harrison. Iron I-III double city (20 ha lower town + citadel) with Bit-Hilani palaces, Syro-Hittite sculptures, Luwian/Aramaic inscriptions and neo-Assyrian provincial rebuild after 738 BCE sack. Underneath, EBA Amuq levels and MBA storage. Famous for colossal royal statues, Temple XVI and Palaces I/IV — defines North Syrian Iron Age synthesis. Lower north town still buried under cotton.
Why it mattersDefinitive sequence for Syro-Hittite palatial architecture and North Syrian Iron Age–Assyrian transition; anchors Amuq chronology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Pattin as Luwian vs Aramaean polity composition
- 02Lower town street grid from geophysics vs Haines plan accuracy
Theories
- 01Harrison continuity vs Osborne episodic rebuilding model
- 02Kunulua = biblical Calno identity
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.3000 BCE EBA Amuq phase; Pattin capital c.1000–738 BCE; Assyrian Kinalua province 738–610 BCE
- Period
- EBA through Iron III; Iron Age capital phase
- Culture
- Amuq EBA → Syro-Hittite Luwian-Aramaean Pattin → Assyrian Kinalua
- Builders
- Luwian-Aramaean Pattin kings; Assyrian governors
- Purpose
- Capital double-walled city on Orontes-Amanus route
- Abandoned
- 738 BCE sacked by Tiglath-Pileser III, Assyrian provincial centre until 610 BCE
- Rediscovered
- Excavated 1935–38 Chicago; 2004– Harrison (Toronto)
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
1000 BCE
Pattin seizes Amuq, builds Kunulua double city with Palaces I/IV
738 BCE
Tiglath-Pileser III captures Kunulua, renames Kinalua
On the ground
Structures & features
36.2490° N · 36.3790° E · 85 m · 3 mapped features
Palace I (Bit-Hilani)
palaceSyro-Hittite palace with lion orthostats and stairs
36.2492° N · 36.3795° EBuilding XVI temple
templeIn antis temple/Temple XVI with basalt column bases
36.2490° N · 36.3790° ELower town outer wall (buried)
fortificationIron II casemate wall under cotton fields
36.2485° N · 36.3785° E
Gallery