Tell Kazel

The tell was first surveyed in 1956 after which a lengthy discussion was opened by Maurice Dunand and Nassib Saliby identifying the site with the ancient city variously named Sumur, Simyra or Zemar (Egyptian Smr Akkadian Sumuru or Assyrian Simirra).

It was a major trade center and appears in the Amarna letters; Ahribta is named as its ruler. It was under the guardianship of Rib-Hadda, king of Byblos, but revolted against him and joined Abdi-Ashirta's expanding kingdom of Amurru. Pro-Egyptian factions may have seized the city again but Abdi-Ashirta's son Aziru recaptured the city.

A large amount of imported pottery from Cyprus, known as Cypriot bichrome ware, was found dating between the 14th and 12th centuries BC and contrasting to other sites in the Homs gap. The city was destroyed during the Late Bronze Age, after which local Mycenaean ceramics, Handmade burnished ware and Grey ware replaced the imported pottery. Architectural remains at the site include a palace complex and temple that were dated towards the end of the Late Bronze Age. The temple contained a variety of amulets, seals and glazed ware that showed similarities with the culture of Ugarit.

A later Iron Age settlement was detected between the 9th and 8th centuries BC which was brought to an end with evidence of burnt destruction caused by a currently unidentified Assyrian invasion.

The ancient city is mentioned in the Bible, Book of Genesis ({{Bibleverse||Genesis|10:18|HE}}) and 1 Chronicles ({{Bibleverse|1|Chronicles|1:16|HE}}) as the home of the Zemarites, an offshoot of the Caananites.Badre, L., Gubel, E., al-Maqdissi, M. and Sader, H., "Tell Kazel, Syria. Excavations of the AUB Museum, 1985–1987. Preliminary Reports", Berytus 38, pp. 9–124, 1990

A warehouse and defensive installation made out of ashlar blocks were found dating to the Persian period with further evidence of Hellenistic occupation evidenced by a large cemetery in the northeast of the site.{{cite book|author=Glenn Markoe|title=Phoenicians|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=smPZ-ou74EwC&pg=PA205|access-date=16 December 2011|year=2000|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-22614-2|pages=205–}}

File:Stele of Shadrafa-AO 22247-IMG 4024-white.jpg

The site was surveyed in 1956.Dunand, M., and Saliby, N., "A la recherche de Simyra", Annales archaeologiques de Syrie 7, pp. 3-16, 1957 The tell was first excavated between 1960 and 1962 by Maurice Dunand, Nassib Saliby and Adnān Bounni who determined a sequence between the Middle Bronze Age through to the Hellenistic civilization.Dunand, Maurice, Bounni, A. and Saliby, N., "Fouilles de Tell Kazel: Rapport préliminaire", AAAS 14, pp. 3–22, 1964. The most important occupations were determined to have taken place during the Late Bronze Age and Persian Empire.

In 1985, new excavations began in partnership between the Archaeological Museum of the American University of Beirut and the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums in Syria under the directorship of Leila Badre. Excavations continued for 18 seasons until 2001.Badre, Leila., "Tell Kazel. Rapport Préliminaire sur les 4ème-8ème Campagnes de Fouilles (1988–1992)", Syria 71, pp. 259–359, 1994Badre, L. and Gubel, E., "Tell Kazel, Syria. Excavations of the AUB Museum, 1993–1998. Third Preliminary Report", Berytus 44, pp. 123–203, 1999–2000Capet, E., "Tell Kazel (Syrie). Rapport préliminaire sur les 9e-17e campagnes de fouilles (1993–2001) du musée de l'Université américaine de Beyrouth. Chantier II", Berytus 47, pp. 63–121, 2003

{{Portal|History}}

• Cities of the ancient Near East

{{Reflist}}

• Badre, Leila., "Beirut and Tell Kazel: Two New Late Bronze Age Temples", in Proceedings of the First International Congress of Near Eastern Archaeology, 2001
• Badre, Leila., "Handmade Burnished Ware and Contemporary Imported Pottery from Tell Kazel", in Stampolidis, N.Ch. and Karageorghis, V. (eds), Sea Routes ... Interconnections in the Mediterranean 16th-6th Centuries BC. Proceedings of the International Symposium held at Rethymnon, Crete, in September 29-October 2, 2002, Athens, pp. 83–99, 2003
• Badre, L., Boileau, M.-C., Jung, R., Mommsen, H., "The Provenance of Aegean- and Syrian-Type Pottery Found at Tell Kazel (Syria)", Ä&L 15, pp. 15–47, 2005
• Elayi, Josette., "Les importations grecques à Tell Kazel (Symyra) à l'époque perse", AAAS 36-37, pp. 132–135, 1986–1987
• Michel Al-Maqdissi, "Prospection Autour de Tell Kazel En 1988", Syria, vol. 67, no. 2, pp. 462–63, 1990
• Sapin, Jean., "Archäologische und geographische Geländebegehung im Grabenbruch von Homs", AfO 26, pp. 174–176, 1978–1979
• Stieglitz, Robert R., "The Geopolitics of the Phoenician Littoral in the Early Iron Age", BASOR 279, pp. 9–12, 1990
• Stieglitz, Robert R., "The City of Amurru", JNES 50.1, pp. 45–48, 1991

• [http://wikimapia.org/4265150/Tell-Kazel-Archaeological-Excavation-Site Wikimapia - Tell Kazel archaeological site]

{{Phoenician cities and colonies}}

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Category:Bronze Age sites in Syria

Category:Phoenician cities

Category:Great Rift Valley

Category:Archaeological sites in Tartus Governorate