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©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
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Tell Açana / Alalakh |
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For site maps and drawings please click on the picture...  |
For photographs please click on the photo...  |
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Type:
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Mound |
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Altitude:
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160 m |
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Region:
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Mediterranean |
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Province:
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Hatay |
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District:
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Reyhanli |
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Village:
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Tayfursökmen |
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Investigation Method:
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Excavation |
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Period:
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Ceramic |
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| Location: This site lies on the Turkish-Syrian border; east of the Amuq Plain; about 3 km away from the village of Tayfursökmen and northeast of the village of Varisli; southwest of Reyhanli District; northeast of the city of Hatay. |
| Geography and Environment: The Tell Açana Mound on the Asi River (Orontes) bank; which used to be called Alalakh; is one of the largest and most important mounds of the area. |
| History: |
| Research and Excavation: The mound was cited as site no 136 during the survey conducted on behalf of the Chicago Oriental Institute in 1936. Excavations were conducted by L. Wooley in 1937-39 and 1946-49; and by J. Matthers in 1978. The lower layers of the mound could be reached in Trenches 13-15 / L-K; and in the 13x25 m trench; labeled as "pit trench" in a wide area south of the big building called "Palace of Yarim-Lim". Recent excavations at Tell Açana started in 2000. Excavations conducted by A. Yener carried out at the areas that are untouched by Wooley and mainly focused on MBA; LBA and Early Iron Age layers. 2009 excavations continued in 8 trenches in total by A. Yener between 2 July and 9 September 2009. Surveys and geo-archaeological researches on Amik Plains are carried out and the stratigraphy of different parts of the mound is analysed. A new trench is added to the three excavations opened on going on systematically in the palaces section since 2006. Researching the archaeological building layers which covers the periods between Middle Bronze I and Late Bronze II and Half-Lim-Idrimi Dynasties and which is between Layers I and X based on the Wooley System. It takes place in the registered archaeological sites list prepared by Ministry of Culture and Tourism. |
| Stratigraphy: The site; which lies between Mesopotamia and Anatolia; is important because it was both a prehistoric and historic settlement area. A total of 17 strata were exposed at the site. The site is important because of the information it provides on the historic levels in the Amuq Region. Excavations did not reach Neolithic Layers. |
| Small Finds: Mellaart reports that Dark Burnished Ware was found on the flanks of the mound. In ASPRO; the site has been placed into the fifth and sixth periods [Hours et al. 1994:64]. |
| Remains: |
| Interpretation and Dating: The Neolithic component of this site should be viewed with skepticism. Only when excavations reach this level can a definite answer be ascertained. Braidwood did not survey this site during his Amuq Project because an excavation was already being conducted on the mound [Braidwood 1937:34]. |
