Place:Mumbaqat

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Tall Munbāqa or Mumbaqat or Tell Munbaqa, proposed as the site of the Late Bronze Age city of Ekalte, is a 5,000-year-old town complex in Raqqa Governorate of northern Syria. The ruins are located on a steep slope on the east bank of the upper course of the Euphrates. Due to the establishment of the Tabqa Dam at Al-Thawrah, 35 kilometers west of Raqqa, the city ruins are partially flooded today by Lake Assad. Situated high above the steep drop of the eastern shore, the high mound of Tall Munbāqa is still preserved. Several other sites are in the vicinity including Emar about 100 kilometers to the south, Tell Hadidi about 5 kilometers to the north, and Habuba Kabira about 10 kilometers to the south. The city-god of Ekalte was Baʿlaka (Bakhlaka).[1][2] There are known to have been four temples in the city, three on the high ground by the Euphrates and one at a city gate.[3]

History

The site was occupied, in a limited area between the main mound and the Euphrates river, in the Early Dynastic IV period (Akkadian Empire period). The settlement included a citadel-like structure, temples and a defense wall. The dating was established by an inscription of Akkadian Empire ruler Šar-kali-šarri on a bronze vessel.[4][5] While there are no archaeological remains from that time it has been suggested that in the Old Babylonian period the site was named Yakaltum or Ekallatum, based mainly on the similarity of names. Yakaltum was an obscure town still unlocated but known to be near Mari. Ekallatum, also unlocated, was the original capital of the Amorite ruler Shamshi-Adad I.[6][7] This correspondence has been challenged.[8]

Middle and Late Bronze

Beginning in the Middle Bronze and to its maximum extent in the Late Bronze period the site expanded in size. The main new settlement areas were termed "Innenstadt", "Ibrahim’s Garten", and "Aussenstadt" by the excavators.[5] The Late Bronze occupation (Late Bronze Age phase 4 which is separated from phase 3 by another destruction layer) is sealed by a destruction layer and the site is abandoned afterward. The date of destruction is uncertain and there are several proposals:[9][10]

  • c. 1530-1446 BC during the campaign of Egyptian Pharaoh Tuthmosis III in the area
  • c. 1400-1325 BC during the campaign of Šuppiluliuma I in the area
  • c. 1340-1265 BC during the siege of Emar by Hurrian forces

Archaeology

In 1907, the English explorers William M. Ramsay and Gertrude Bell discovered the ruins, drew up a plan and described the ramparts: "Munbayah where my tents were pitched - the Arabic name means only a high-altitude course - was probably the Bersiba in Ptolemy's list of city names. It consists of a double ramparts, situated on the river bank." Though Bell was wrong in the localization of Bersiba, she did recognize the importance of the mound for the study of the oriental city.[11]

File:The Tabqa Dam.png
Euphrates Dam

The 400 meter by 500 meter, rectangular town ruins, once strongly fortified, were documented and investigated in 1964 during a Syrian Antiquity Administration regional survey on the occasion of the inspection of the area for a proposed reservoir due to construction of the Euphrates Dam. The German Oriental Society requested an excavation permit for the mound in 1968. In 1969–1970, Ernst Heinrich of Technische Universität Berlin measured the visible remains and in 1971 the excavation of these remains were carried out.[12] In 1973 and 1974, excavations were led by Winfried Orthmann and in 1977 by Alfred Werner Maurer, both of the University of Saarbrücken.[13][14][15]

From 1979 on Dittmar Machule of the Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg was the director. During the excavations in 1973, 1974 and 1977 up to 16 scientists and 90 local workers were involved in the excavations. Thanks to the discovery of 15 Late Bronze Age clay tablets mentioning the name of the city, it is now believed that it was known in this period as Ekalte. A geophysical survey was also conducted.[16][17]

Excavation was resumed in 1999 and continued in six seasons (1999, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2010) until 2010 under Machule and Felix Blocher. Work focused on the top of the mound, the Inner City, and the North Gate area.[18][19][20][21][22][23][2]

Finds included bronze objects, in a Late Bronze context, which have been speculated to be drill bits or stunning bolts for hunting fowl.[24] A sizable hoard of hacksilver was found in a Late Bronze period building floor.[25][26]

About 96 cuneiform tablets in total were excavated from the site and a few more have appeared via the antiquities market. They are primarily financial in nature including sales of property. The tablets from this site show no Hittite or Luwian influences, such as personal names, dating them before Hittite influence grew in the area. A few Hurrian personal names are noted. Transactions include a (TM 23) a woman being sold for 1000 head of small cattle and (TM 72) the purchase of 140 asses from Sutean tribesmen. Tablets were dated using a local eponym system based on the name of current mayor. Two or three kings are mentioned in the tablets including Ba'alkabar (IŠKUR-kabar), who may or may not be the one who ruled Emar, and Yaḫṣi-Ba‛la. Zū-Ba‛la, the son of Yaḫṣi-Ba‛la, is mentioned in text but it is uncertain if he became a ruler. One mayor, Ba‛la-malik, is known to have been a son of Ba'alkabar.[27] [9][28]

The objects excavated from the site were held mainly in the National Museum of Syria in Raqqa with some remains onsite at the mission house. Both of those locations were looted out in the chaos that engulfed Syria since excavations ended. The site itself has been extensively looted, especially in the northern temple area and the southwest residential area. A large number of stones have been stolen for use in modern construction.[29]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Torrecilla, Eduardo, "The Dwellers of Azû: A Study on the Tall Ḥadīdī Society and Chronology", Altorientalische Forschungen, vol. 46, no. 1, pp. 33-50, 2019
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Dittmar Machule & Felix Blocher Excavations at Tall Munbāqa / Ekalte (Province of Raqqa) 1999 – 2010
  3. ↑ Otto, Adelheid, "Archaeological Evidence for Collective Governance along the Upper Syrian Euphrates during the Late and Middle Bronze Age", Organization, Representation, and Symbols of Power in the Ancient Near East: Proceedings of the 54th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale at Würzburg 20–25 Jul, edited by Gernot Wilhelm, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, pp. 87-100, 2012
  4. ↑ Rainer M. Czichon and Peter Werner, "Ausgrabungen in Tall Munbaqa – Ekalte IV: Die bronzezeitliche Keramik", Wissenschaftliche Veröffentlichungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 118, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2008
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 De Feyter, T., "The Aussenstadt settlement of Munbaqa, Syria", To the Euphrates and Beyond, CRC Press, pp. 237-256, 2020
  6. ↑ Wu Yuhong, "Yakaltum= Ekalte= Tell Munbaqa on the east bank of the Euphrates", N.A.B.U. 1992/51, 1992
  7. ↑ Dominique Charpin, "Tell Munbaqa, Ekallâtum-sur-l’Euphrate", N.A.B.U. 1993/32, 1993
  8. ↑ Mayer, Walter, "Die Tontafelfunde von Ta11 MunbaqaEkalte 1989 und 1990", Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient Gesellschaft 125, pp. 103-106, 1993
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 [1]Torrecilla, Eduardo, "Members of the Royal Family and Mašrû-ḫamiṣ the Scribe: a Chronological Link between the Archives from Ekalte and Emar Miembros de la familia real y el escriba Mašrû-ḫamiṣ: un posible enlace cronológico entre los archivos de Ekalte y Emar", Vínculos de Historia Revista del Departamento de Historia de la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha 4, pp. 177-194, 2015
  10. ↑ Pruzsinszky, Regine, "Evidence for the short chronology in Mesopotamia? The chronological relationship between the texts from Emar and Ekalte", Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, pp. 43-50, 2004
  11. ↑ [2]Bell, Gertrude, "Tell Ahmar to Buseirah", Amurath to Amurath: A Journey Along the Banks of the Euphrates, Piscataway, NJ, USA: Gorgias Press, pp. 35-76, 2004
  12. ↑ Heinrich, E., "Vierter vorläufiger Bericht über die von der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft mit Mitteln der Stiftung Volkswagenwerk in Habuba Kabira (Habuba Kabira, Herbstkampagnen 1971 und 1972 sowie Testgrabung Früjahr 1973) und in Mumbaqat (Tall Munbaqa, Herbstkampagne 1971) unternommenen archäolo-gischen Untersuchungen", Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 105, pp. 6–68, 1973
  13. ↑ W. Orthmann, Hartmut Kühne, "Mumbaqat 1973, Vorläufiger Bericht über die von der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft mit Mitteln der Stiftung Volkswagenwerk unternommenen Ausgrabungen", in MDOG, pp. 53–97, 1974
  14. ↑ *W. Orthmann, "Mumbaqat 1974. Vorläufiger Bericht über die von der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft mit Mitteln der Stiftung Volkswagenwerk unternommenen Ausgrabungen", MDOG 108, pp. 25–44, 1976
  15. ↑ Alfred Werner Maurer, "Ausgrabungen 1977 in Mumbaqat am Syrischen Euphrat, Vortrag am 17", in Berlin Schloss Charlottenburg, March 1978
  16. ↑ Frank, D. R.; Machule, D.; Wittwer, U., "Tall Munbâqa 1979", MDOG 114, pp. 7-70, 1982
  17. ↑ Eichler, Seyyare, Dieter Robert Frank, Dittmar Machule, et al., "Ausgrabungen in TallMunbaqa 1983", Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 116, pp. 65–94, 1984
  18. ↑ Blocher Felix, Machule Dittmar & Werner Peter, "Bericht über die Ausgrabungen in Tall Munbāqa/Ekalte 1999", Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft, vol. 132, pp. 123-131, 2000
  19. ↑ Blocher Felix, Machule Dittmar & Werner Peter, "Bericht über die Ausgrabungen in Tall Munbāqa/Ekalte 2004", Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft, vol.137, pp. 99-107, 2005
  20. ↑ Blocher Felix, Machule Dittmar & Kara Hans-Christian, "Tall Munbāqa-Ekalte 2005: Die Geschichte geht weiter", oder: Ein Leben am Stausee, Alter Orient aktuell, vol. 7, pp. 22-27, 2006
  21. ↑ Blocher Felix, Kara Hans-Christian, Machule Dittmar & Werner Peter, "Bericht über die Ausgrabungen in Tall Munbāqa/Ekalte 2005-2007", Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft, vol. 139, pp. 83-130, 2007
  22. ↑ Blocher Felix, Kara Hans-Christian, Machule Dittmar & Werner Peter, "Bericht über die Ausgrabungen in Tall Munbāqa/Ekalte 2008", Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft, vol. 141, pp. 85-95, 2009
  23. ↑ Blocher Felix, Kara Hans-Christian & Machule Dittmar, "Bericht über die Ausgrabungen in Tall Munbāqa/Ekalte 2010", Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft, vol. 144, pp. 31-73, 2012
  24. ↑ Genz, Hermann, "Stunning bolts: Late Bronze Age hunting weapons in the ancient near East", Levant 39.1, pp. 47-69, 2007
  25. ↑ Begemann, F., & Schmitt-Strecker, S. "Zur Herkunft des Silbers aus TALL MUNBAQA (Nordsyrien)", Praehistorische Zeitschrift, 79(1), pp. 111–117, 2004
  26. ↑ [3]Eshel, Tzilla, and Israel Finkelstein, "Lead isotopes may link the earliest silver hoard from Megiddo to the military campaign of Thutmose III", Archaeometry 67.2., pp. 380-398, 2025
  27. ↑ [4]Beckman, Gary. "A Small Town in Late Bronze Age Syria", ZA 98, pp. 211–220, 2008
  28. ↑ Cohen, Y., "Excursus: The Munbāqa-Ekalte Scribes", in The Scribes and Scholars of the City of Emar in the Late Bronze Age. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, pp. 93-97, 2009
  29. ↑ Abdo, Ristam, "Damage to Archaeological Sites and Museums in Raqqa and the Eastern Countryside of Aleppo During the Syrian Conflict", J. Art Crime 29, pp. 33-48, 2023

Further reading

  • Boese, W. Orthmann, "Mumbaqat. Eine 5000 Jahre alte Stadt am Euphrat", Saarbrücken, 1976
  • Czichon, R. M./P. Werner, "Tall Munbaqa – Ekalte I: Die bronze-zeitlichen Kleinfunde", WVDOG 97, Saarbrück, 1998
  • Fijałkowska, Lena, "Legal Fiction in Emar and Ekalte: A Source of Order or Disorder in the Legal System?", Law and (Dis) Order in the Ancient Near East , pp. 78-86, 2021
  • Josué J. Justel, "A New Expression for Adoption from Nuzi and Ekalte. Some Remarks on the Role of Adoption during the Late Bronze Age", Zeitschrift Der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, vol. 161, no. 1, pp. 1–15, 2011
  • E. Kretz, "Ein Töpferofen mit Lochtenne und Kuppel in Mumbaqat", in Festschrift für Martin Graßnick, ed. Fachbereich Architektur / Raum- und Umweltplanung / Bauingenieurwesen der Universität Kaiserslautern, pp. 267–270, 1987
  • Leder, Muschel/Perlmutt/Schnecke, Schilf, Textilien. AUWE 7. MainzWerner, P., "Tall Munbaqa – Bronzezeit in Syrien", Hamburg, 1998
  • Machule, D., "Ausgrabungen in Tall Munbāqa/Ekalte 1990", MDOG 124, pp. 11-40, 1992
  • Alfred Werner Maurer, "Mumbaqat 1977, Bericht über die von der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft mit Mitteln der Universität Saarbrücken unternommene Ausgrabung", Philologus Verlag, Basel, 2007.
  • W. Mayer, "Tall Munbaqa - Ekalte II. Die Texte", WVDOG 102, Saarbrücken, 2001
  • Mori, Lucia, "" Kunuk ahhi" the seal of the brothers. Notes on the use of a collective seal at Ekalte during the Late Bronze age", Pathways through Arslantepe. Essays in honor of Marcella Frangipane. Sette Città, pp. 369-378, 2020
  • [5]Oliva, Juan, and E. Torrecilla, "An Appraisal of Ekalte 11 (MBQ-T 65): 34 from Tall Munbaqa (Syria)", ISIMU 13, pp. 9-13, 2011
  • [6]Rösner, Ulrike, "Sedimentological evidences to archaeological problems on Tall Munbāqa, Northsyria", Quartär–Internationales Jahrbuch zur Erforschung des Eiszeitalters und der Steinzeit, pp. 207-219, 1995
  • Winfried Orthmann, "Der Alte Orient", Propyläen Kunstgeschichte, Bd. 14, 1974
  • Eduardo Torrecilla, "Late Bronze Age Ekalte - Chronology, Society, and Religion of a Middle Euphrates Town", Noor Publishing, 2014 ISBN 978-3-639-70497-6
  • P. Werner, "Tall Munbaqa - Bronzezeit in Syrien", Katalog zur Wanderausstellung, Neumünster, 1998 ISBN 3-529-02008-7



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