Tell Halaf
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (April 2009) |
تل حلف | |
Location | Al-Hasakah Governorate, Syria |
---|---|
Coordinates | 36°49′36″N 40°02′23″E / 36.8266°N 40.0396°E |
Type | settlement |
History | |
Founded | c. 6,100 BCE |
Abandoned | c. 5,400 BCE |
Periods | Neolithic |
Cultures | Halaf culture |
Site notes | |
Excavation dates | 1911—1913, 1929 2006—present |
Archaeologists | Max von Oppenheim Lutz Martin Abd al-Masih Bagdo |
Ownership | Public |
Public access | Yes |
Tell Halaf (
History
Neolithic (Halaf culture)
Tell Halaf is the
Late Bronze
Mitanni Period
The Mitanni Empire controlled this region in the 15th century BC until around 1345 BC.
Hittite Period
In the Late Bronze,
Iron Age (Neo-Hittite Guzana)
Ramesses III of Egypt states in an inscription dating to his 8th Year from his Medinet Habu mortuary temple that Carchemish was destroyed by the "Sea Peoples".[1] This was a period of climate change and social unrest caused by drought, weakening the central powers, and marking the transition from the Late Bronze to the Iron Age. Furthermore, it saw the emergences of Neo-Hittite city-states.
Kingdom of Bit Bahiani (Guzana)
In the 10th century BCE, the rulers of the small
Assyrian Period
In 894 BCE, the
In historical times, the mound itself became the citadel of the Aramaean and Assyrian city. The lower town extended 600 m N–S and 1000 m E–W. The citadel mound housed the palaces and other official buildings. Most prominent are the so-called Hilani or "Western Palace" with its rich decor, dating back to the time of King Kapara, and the "North-Eastern Palace", the seat of the Assyrian governors. In the lower town a temple (or cult room) in Assyrian style was discovered.
Excavations
The site is located near the city of
Discovery
In 1899, when the area was part of the
Excavations by Max von Oppenheim
According to noted archaeologist Ernst Herzfeld, he had urged Oppenheim in 1907 to excavate Tell Halaf and they made some initial plans towards this goal at that time. In August 1910, Herzfeld wrote a letter calling on Oppenheim to explore the site and had it circulated to several leading archaeologists like Theodor Nöldeke or Ignác Goldziher to sign. Armed with this letter, Max von Oppenheim was now able to ask for his dismissal from the diplomatic service (which he did on 24 October 1910) while being able to call on financing from his father for the excavation.[5]: 48–49
With a team of five archaeologists, Oppenheim planned a digging campaign that began on 5 August 1911. Substantial amounts of equipment were imported from Germany, including a small steam train. The costs totaled around 750,000 Mark and were covered by von Oppenheim's father's banking fortune.[6] On arrival, the archaeologists discovered that since 1899 locals had uncovered some of the findings and heavily damaged them – in part out of superstition, in part to gain valuable building material. Oppenheim had recruited five hundred locals from Tell Halaf to help towards the excavation.[7]
During the excavations Oppenheim found the ruins of the town of Guzana (or Gozan). Significant finds included the large statues and reliefs of the so-called "Western Palace" built by King Kapara, as well as a cult room and tombs. Some of the statuary was found reused in buildings from the Hellenistic period. In addition, they discovered Neolithic pottery of a type which became known as Halaf culture after the site where it was first found. At the time, this was the oldest painted pottery ever found (together with those discovered at Samarra by Herzfeld).[5]: 25, 48–49, 64–66
In 1913, Oppenheim decided to return temporarily to Germany.[5]: 16 The finds of Tell Halaf were left at the building he and his team had inhabited during the dig. Most of them were securely packaged and stored. The outbreak of World War I prevented Oppenheim from returning.[5]: 66–67 However, Oppenheim was able to sell some of the stone reliefs, pottery and other artefacts he had excavated to various museums after the war including the British Museum[8] and Walters Art Museum in Baltimore.
In 1926, Germany joined the
Tell Halaf Museum, Berlin
Attempts by Oppenheim to have his findings exhibited at the newly constructed Pergamon Museum in Berlin failed, as the museum refused to agree to Oppenheim's financial demands. He thus opened his own private "Tell Halaf Museum" in an industrial complex in Berlin-Charlottenburg in July 1930. The museum's concept of presenting the exhibits is considered quite modern even by today's standards.[5]: 26
In 1939, Oppenheim once more travelled to Syria for excavations, coming within sight of Tell Halaf. However, the French authorities refused to award him a permit to dig and he had to depart. Oppenheim also unsuccessfully tried to sell some of his finds in New York and again negotiated with the German government about the purchase of the Tell Halaf artefacts. In 1943, eight German-owned orthostat reliefs stored in New York were seized by the US Office of Alien Property Custodian.
Reconstruction of the artefacts
Stored in the cellars of the Pergamon Museum during the period of communist rule under the
Artistically, the many fragmented sculptures tell a new story, not only of their ancient heritage, but of their journey in possession and the politics of the 20th century. Some sculptures were destroyed in WW2 in the
Today, of the 194 excavated orthostat reliefs from Tell Halaf, 59 are in Berlin, 4 are in Paris, 15 are in London, 4 are in New York, 4 are in Baltimore, 34 are in Aleppo, 1 is in Deir ez-Zor, 6 are missing, 12 have been destroyed, and 55 have disappeared.[14]
New excavations
In 2006, new Syro-German excavations were started under the direction of Lutz Martin (Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin), Abd al-Masih Bagdo (Directorate of Antiquities Hassake), Jörg Becker (University of Halle) and Mirko Novák (University of Bern).
See also
- Cities of the Ancient Near East
- Beehive tomb
- Hadad-yith'i
Notes
- ^ Gary Beckman, "Hittite Chronology", Akkadica, pp.119–120 (2000), p.23
- ^ Benzel, Kim; Tabet, Rayyane; Davies, Clare (2019). Rayyane Tabet / Alien Property. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 6.
- ^ Museum notice File:Statue TellHalaf 01.jpg
- ^ Gossman, Lionel (2013). The Passion of Max von Oppenheim: Archaeology and Intrigue in the Middle East from Wilhelm II to Hitler (1st ed.). Cambridge: Open Book Publishers. p. 33.
- ^ ISBN 978-3-8030-3365-9.
- ISBN 978-1-58839-704-1.
- ISBN 978-1-58839-704-1.
- ^ British Museum Collection
- ^ Metropolitan Museum of Art (2020). "Chronology of the Tell Halaf Reliefs From Excavation to the Present" (PDF). www.metmuseum.org. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
- ^ Shapiro, Gideon Fink. "Narrating Ornament: Rayyane Tabet's Arabesque and Alien Property". The Avery Review. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
- ^ Bailey, Martin (29 July 2009). "New life for ancient Syrian sculptures". The Art News Paper. Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2012.
- ^ Brockschmidt, Rolf (26 January 2011). "Eine Göttin kehrt zurück (German)". Tagesspiegel. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
- ^ Grimberg, Klaus (27 January 2011). "Ausstellung der "geretteten Götter von Tell Halaf" in Berlin (German)". Westdeutsche Allgemeine. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
- ^ a b c Ammodo (2020-09-23), Displaced Pieces (EN), retrieved 2021-01-31
- ^ Benzel, Kim; Tabet, Rayyane; Davies; Clare (2019). Rayyane Tabet / Alien Property. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
References
- Abd el-Mesih Baghdo, Lutz Martin, Mirko Novák, Winfried Orthmann: Ausgrabungen auf dem Tell Halaf in Nordost-Syrien. Vorbericht über die erste und zweite Grabungskampagne (German), Harrasowitz, Wiesbaden 2009. ISBN 978-3-447-06068-4.
- Abd el-Masih Baghdo, Lutz Martin, Mirko Novák, Winfried Orthmann: Ausgrabungen auf dem Tell Halaf in Nordost-Syrien. Vorbericht über die dritte bis fünfte Grabungskampagne 2008-2010. (German) Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2012, ISBN 978-3-447-06828-4.
- Jörg Becker: Tell Halaf. Die prähistorischen Schichten - Neue Einblicke. in: D. Bonatz, L. Martin (eds.): "100 Jahre archäologische Feldforschungen in Nordost-Syrien - eine Bilanz" (German). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2013, pp. 45–64, ISBN 978-3-447-10009-0.
- Mirko Novák: Gozan and Guzana. Anatolians, Aramaeans and Assyrians in Tell Halaf. in: D. Bonatz, L. Martin (eds.): "100 Jahre archäologische Feldforschungen in Nordost-Syrien - eine Bilanz. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2013, pp. 259-281, ISBN 978-3-447-10009-0.
- Hijara, Ismail. The Halaf Period in Northern Mesopotamia London: Nabu, 1997.
- Axe, David. "Back from the Brink." Archaeology 59.4 (2006): 59–65.
- Winfried Orthmann: Die aramäisch-assyrische Stadt Guzana. Ein Rückblick auf die Ausgrabungen Max von Oppenheims in Tell Halaf. Schriften der Max Freiherr von Oppenheim-Stiftung. H. 15. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2005. ISBN 3-447-05106-X.
- U. Dubiel – L. Martin, Stier aus Aleppo in Berlin. Bildwerke vom Tell Halaf (Syrien) werden restauriert (German), Antike Welt 3/2004, 40–43.
- G. Teichmann und G. Völger (ed.), Faszination Orient. Max Freiherr von Oppenheim. Forscher, Sammler, Diplomat (German) (Cologne, Max Freiherr von Oppenheim-Stiftung 2003).
- Nadja Cholidis, Lutz Martin: Kopf hoch! Mut hoch! und Humor hoch! Der Tell Halaf und sein Ausgräber Max Freiherr von Oppenheim. (German) Von Zabern, Mainz 2002. ISBN 3-8053-2853-2.
- Bob Becking: The fall of Samaria: an historical and archeological study. 64–69. Leiden 1992.
- Gabriele Elsen, Mirko Novak, Der Tall Halāf und das Tall Halāf-Museum (German), in: Das Altertum 40 (1994) 115–126.
- Alain Gaulon, "Réalité et importance de la chasse dans les communautés halafiennes en Mésopotamie du Nord et au Levant Nord au VIe millénaire avant J.-C." (French), Antiguo Oriente 5 (2007): 137–166.
- Mirko Novak, Die Religionspolitik der aramäischen Fürstentümer im 1. Jt. v. Chr. (German), in: M. Hutter, S. Hutter-Braunsar (ed.), Offizielle Religion, lokale Kulte und individuelle Religion, Alter Orient und Altes Testament 318. 319–346. Munster 2004.
- Johannes Friedrich, G. Rudolf Meyer, Arthur Ungnad et al.: Die Inschriften vom Tell Halaf. (German), Beiheft 6 zu: Archiv für Orientforschung 1940. Reprint: Osnabrück 1967.
External links
- Web site of current excavations
- Project page for Tell Halaf and statue reconstruction
- The Max von Oppenheim photo collection
- Exhibition of Tell Halaf artefacts at Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn
- Past exhibition of Tell Halaf artefacts in 2011 at the Pergamon Museum, Berlin
- Article on reconstruction of Tell Halaf statues Archived 2011-06-08 at the Wayback Machine