The Tell"'The Balikh?' I say innocently.
The well-known archaeologist Max Mallowan, during his archaeological field-work assisted by his wife Agatha Christie (yes, indeed, the best-seller author), was not the first Westerner to visit the Balikh valley in Northern Syria. He was the first, however, to do archaeological research there in the 1930s. Mallowan's enthusiasm soon vanished. After a short stay in the area, at the time still a kind of Wild West in the Middle East, he relegated the whole valley to the margins of history.   In 1986 Peter Akkermans began his excavations at Tell Sabi Abyad in the Balikh valley: the "Mound of the White Boy". The excavations have been successful and have since been undertaken every year, under the flag of the National Museum of Antiquities. The Balikh valley has proved to be an archaeological El Dorado! Tell Sabi Abyad is a medium-sized mound ('tell' in Arabic), about ten metres high and five hectares large. The villagers are convinced that the area is haunted: a 'white boy' walks the grounds at night. Maybe this is why the hill is called the 'Mound of the White Boy'.
The mound is situated about 30 kilometres from the Turkish border, along the Balikh river. This is a small tributary of the Euphrates which rises near the Turkish border and joins the Euphrates at the Syrian city of Raqqa. As a rule the river does not run dry at any time of the year. This is why the Balikh is an important water source for the steppes of Northern Syria. The Syrian steppe along the Balikh river is a vast and beautiful plain. In antiquity it was a densely populated area. One sees large and small mounds everywhere, impressive breaks in the flat landscape.   We have focussed on two important and hitherto rarely investigated periods. On the one hand we have been paying attention to the social and economic developments in the Late Neolithic (ca. 6800-5300 B.C.). At the same time we have been trying to gain an understanding of the way in which the Assyrians in the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1300-1100 B.C.) governed the far outposts of their kingdom. We have been excavating a number of mounds: Tell Sabi Abyad itself with a Late Neolithic village at its foot and an Assyrian settlement at its top, and at the same time Tell Sabi Abyad II and Khirbet esh-Shenef, two small Neolithic villages. We are also doing a field survey in order to get a picture of human occupation in the valley through the ages.
We would like to introduce ourselves and our project to you. Read what we are doing and visit the excavation. Take a look around in our expedition house in Syria and meet the Sabi Abyad team. Enjoy Syrian hospitality and make yourself at home. As the Syrians themselves put it, ...ahlan wa sahlan, welcome! |
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Reproduction right and copyright: The National Museum of Antiquities.