Badre Tell Kazel-Simyra, 2006

Tell Kazel-Simyra: A Contribution to a Relative Chronological History in the EasternMediterranean during the Late Bronze AgeAuthor(s): Leila BadreSource: Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, No. 343 (Aug., 2006), pp. 65-95Published by: The American Schools of Oriental ResearchStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25066965 .

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Tell Kazel-Simyra: A Contribution to a

Relative Chronological History in the

Eastern Mediterranean during the

Late Bronze Age

Leila Badre

Archaeological Museum

P.O. Box 236-9

American University of Beirut

Beirut, Lebanon

badre @aub.edu.lb

The archaeological results of 18 excavation campaigns at Tell Kazel have shed con

siderable light on relations between the ancient city of Sumur/Simyra and the eastern

Mediterranean. The vast number of Cypriot imports from the late 14th until the begin

ning of the 12th century B.c. at Tell Kazel shows a significant quantitative contrast with

other sites in the Horns gap. Both Cypriot and Mycenaean pottery tend to disappear

before the major destruction of the site during the transitional LB Il/Iron I phase. It

was during this same phase that the imported pottery was replaced by locally made

Mycenaean ceramics as well as by two new wares: Handmade Burnished Ware and

Grey Ware.

THE SITE

Tell Kazel is situated on the Syrian coast, 3.5

km from the shore, 8 km north of Nahr-al

Kabir al-Ganubi (ancient Eleutheros), and 18

km south of Tartous. It overlooks the al-Abrash River

to the south.

The tell has an oval shape with a surface of 350 x 325 m at its base and 200 x 200 m at its top. Its

height reaches 25 m above the level of the surround

ing Akkar Plain. It has a flat top and sharp edges which mark the presence of fortifications around the

city. Two depressions in the center of the west and

south sides indicate the existence of two correspond

ing city gates with sloping approaches leading up to

them.

Tell Kazel was first surveyed in 1956 and sub

sequently excavated in 1960-1962 by M. Dunand, A. Bounni, and N. Saliby (Dunand and Saliby 1957;

Dunand, Bounni, and Saliby 1964: 3-12) (fig. 1). Their objective was to identify the site with Sumur or

Simyra, whose name appears many times in ancient

texts including Genesis, the Annals of Thutmosis III,

the el-Amarna tablets, Assyrian texts, and classical

authors. This identification became the subject of a

lengthy discussion started by M. Dunand (Dunand and Saliby 1957) and later extensively developed by

H. Klengel (1984). The preliminary reports of these early excavations

provide an account of the chronological sequence

of the site from the Hellenistic period back to the

Middle Bronze Age, and indicate that the Persian

and Late Bronze periods were the most important at

the site. The Department of Antiquities in Syria has

not yet published a full report of these excavations.

After a lapse of 23 years, a joint expedition from

the Syrian Department of Antiquities and the Mu seum of the American University of Beirut (AUB) resumed work at Tell Kazel in 1985. Starting with

the second season, the entire concession to the site was granted to the American University of Beirut

Museum under the directorship of Leila Badre.

In addition to the goal of investigating further

the identification of Tell Kazel?either with Simyra or with another, unknown ancient city?there were

other objectives that led the AUB Museum team to

65



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Fig. 1. Location of Tell Kazel on the Mediterranean coast, and its region (inset).



2006 TELL KAZEL-SIMYRA 67

consider the reexcavation of this site. Tell Kazel

(along with Tell cArqa and Tell Gamus) is one of the

three largest sites of the Akkar Plain and the Horns

gap which stretches toward the sea (Thalmann and

al-Maqdissi 1989: 98). Its geographical location on

the main passage between the Mediterranean coast

and inland Syria, at the unique break point between

the two long mountain chains of Mount Lebanon and

Jabal al-Ansariyeh, gives it a strategic role in control

ling access to this major regional trade route. More

over, surveys of the many tells on the Akkar Plain

allowed Thalmann and al-Maqdissi to conclude that

these settlements were all deserted at the end of the

Late Bronze Age in favor of Tell Kazel (see above). Their conclusion added considerable weight to

the tell's identification with Sumur, stronghold of the

former kingdom of Amurru and counterpart in the

northern Akkar to the site of Tell cArqa in the south

ern half of these coastal plains. Dunand described significant Iron Age levels that

were brought to light in the early excavation seasons

at Tell Kazel. With the exception of the excavations

at Al-Mina, Ras al-Bassit, Ras Ibn Hani, and Tell

Sukas, the Iron Age period, which is present on the

Syrian coast, is rich in historical documents but poor in the results of archaeological investigations. The

opportunity to fill in the gap in our knowledge of the

transitional period between the Late Bronze Age and

the Iron Age, the time corresponding to the invasion

of the "Sea Peoples," was another important factor in

our selection of Tell Kazel.

Having pointed out the main objectives of the re

newed excavation, it is appropriate now to analyze some conclusions drawn from our 18 excavation cam

paigns. It is important to note that the identification

of Tell Kazel with Sumur has not yet been estab

lished by any inscription found on the site. It is, how

ever, quite evident that Tell Kazel is to be equated with Sumur on the basis of its strategic situation in

the Horns gap and its very rich Late Bronze and Iron

I and II levels, the period when Sumur played a dom

inant role in Amurru.

This article will discuss the pottery of the Late

Bronze Age II and the transitional Late Bronze-Iron

Age period at Tell Kazel, with a particular emphasis on the appearance of the Handmade Burnished Ware

and the Grey Ware and their considerable importance for establishing a relative chronology in coastal Syria.

The pottery belonging to these two periods was

found in two main sectors at Tell Kazel: Area II, which occupies the southeastern part of the site, and

Area IV, which lies to the west side of it (fig. 2) (cf. Badre and Gubel 1999-2000 and Capet 2003).

LATE BRONZE AGE II

The Late Bronze Age II in Area IV includes Level

6 with its two superposed floors as well as the lower

floor of Level 5. In Area II, the lowest level reached

so far is Level 6 which corresponds stratigraphically to the Level 5-lower floor of Area IV. The correla

tion between the levels in Areas II and IV are sum

marized in Table 1 (Capet 2003: 117).

Area IV: Level 6

Area IV is the area of the Temple complex which

to date has yielded three (and possibly four) super

posed celia (fig. 3), all oriented east-west.

The celia of Temple 6 is the smallest of the

three (9.50 m in length; its width has not yet been

established), but it is the richest in terms of material

finds. It presents the characteristic features of the

Langbau-type temple: an entrance from the west

with a threshold and two offering tables on the east

ern end, preceded by two stone bases of circular col

umns, along with a mudbrick bench on the lateral

side.

Level 6 included two superposed floor layers in

side the celia and outside to the north of it in the rect

angular courtyard (Badre and Gubel 1999-2000:139). The two floor layers of Level 6 belong to the begin

ning of the LB II period. They yielded a large and

varied assortment of material culture items, the ma

jority of which were concentrated on the lower floor

of the courtyard. The finds included locally made

and imported pottery vessels of different sizes and

functions, metal objects, stone items, cylinder seals,

and luxury items such as frit and glass beads as well

as faience objects (Badre and Gubel 1999-2000: 139

69). The imported material reflects a wealthy city that

maintained commercial relations with the eastern

Mediterranean. It is this category of imported items

that will form the bulk of the present study.

The Cypriot Imported Pottery: Area IV, Level 6, Upper and Lower Floors

The strong relations between Tell Kazel and Cy

prus are reflected in the very large concentration of

Cypriot pottery found in Level 6. Barbara Vitale is




AF AG AH AI

EFGHI JKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZAAAB

Tell Kazel Contour map & grid plan (Voronine 1960, implemented by R.Yassin)

I...::'. J Modern village in 1955

D.GAM. Excavations (1956-1961)

A.U.B. Excavations (1985-2001)

Fig. 2. Grid plan.




Table 1. Correlation between the Levels in Areas II and IV

Dates Area II Area IV

LB II early

LB II late

Transitional LB-Iron

Iron I

Not yet excavated

Level 6 lower floor

Abandonment

Level 6 upper floor

Destruction by fire

Level 5

Destruction by fire

Level 6

Level 5 lower floor

Abandonment

Level 5 upper floor

Destruction by fire

Levels 4-3

Destruction by fire

Fig. 3. Temple, Area IV, Levels 3-7.

preparing a detailed analysis of this imported Cyp riot material for publication.

The material presented below gives but a general

representative picture of the items that were im

ported to Tell Kazel. This presentation takes into

consideration the qualitative rather than the quanti tative distribution of the Cypriot material: a selec

tion of typological samples of this imported pottery has been made in order to set the chronological

background for the major discovery of the Hand

made Burnished Ware and the Grey Ware.

White Slip Ware (fig. 4). The White Slip WS I

Ware and the transitional WS IIA sherds were found

in minute quantities (Barbara Vitale, personal com

munication). Quantities of Cypriot White Slip II Ware

sherds, popularly called '''milk bowls," were collected

in the Temple complex, mostly in the courtyard but

also some in the celia. This WS II bowl type forms

the largest category in the Cypriot pottery repertoire (35% of the Late Bronze Cypriot pottery in terms

of sherd count, according to Vitale). It is handmade

and hard-fired and has an average diameter between

12 and 20 cm. These bowls have a globular shape, a rounded base, and a single wishbone handle. The

walls of the bowl are very thin and have a thick slip

generally of a light cream color. They are decorated on the exterior with a brown painted lattice frieze on




6 7

Fig. 4. White Slip Ware (1-4) and Monochrome Ware (5-7) from Area IV, Level 6. Scale: 1/3.75.




the rim and vertical ladder bands hanging from the

upper frieze. Different combinations of bands and

motifs are attested on the Tell Kazel specimens?for

example,

Simple horizontal lattice bands and dotted rim.

Hanging rows of lozenges or dots. They can be

simple or cross-hatched, framed or free style (fig.

4:3-4). Similar Cypriot milk bowls were found in

ancient Beirut (cf. Badre 1998: 75, fig. 1:10) and

at Ugarit in Tombs T. 81 (Schaeffer 1978: 284, fig.

30:20), T. 4253, and T. 35 (Yon 2001: 119, figs. 2J, 4).

Base Ring Ware (fig. 5). A large number of

Base Ring Ware (BR) fragments were found in Level

6 of the Temple complex. They are very close in

terms of the percentage of sherds (32% of the Late

Cypriot pottery) to the White Slip category (35%). The BR ware is hard-fired to a nearly metallic-like

clay. Its color varies from metallic gray to brown and

is covered with a dark or red/orange slip. This cate

gory displays the widest variety of forms:

The bowls are characterized by their high carina

tion and their high wishbone handle (fig. 5:15). The juglet is the most widely represented shape in

this ware. There are a few plain lustrous juglets of

Base Ring I Ware, with a gray or light brown slip

(fig. 5:1,10; no. 10 differs from all other juglets by its trefoil rim and its higher handle starting from

the rim). The majority of the Base Ring II Ware

juglets have the usual piriform bodies, ring bases, and long, tapering necks. They are painted over

with groups of parallel horizontal, oblique, and

crossing lines (fig. 5:2-8). Another Base Ring II

Ware juglet, with a fusiform body, imitates the

"spindle bottle" (fig. 5:11). This juglet is painted with regular, vertical, white lines crossed at right

angles with groups of three horizontal lines. A

similar juglet was found at Ugarit (Schaeffer 1978:

290, fig. 32:3). A lentoid flask of Base Ring II

Ware (fig. 5:9) with a handle from mid-neck to

mid-body is painted in white with encircling lines on the neck and with groups of four or six par allel lines crossing one another (cf. Astr?m

1972: fig. 53:13). An exceptional jug with a straight neck (fig. 5:12) is covered with a red slip. It is burnished vertically on the neck and horizontally on the globular body. This type may be a local imitation of the Cypriot Base Ring Ware jugs.

Monochrome Ware (fig. 4). A significant num

ber of Monochrome Ware fragments and complete

profiles (fig. 4:5-7) were also found in the celia of the

temple. They come from small globular bowls with convex bases and flat-sectioned wishbone handles.

They are covered with a light brown slip. This cate

gory, according to Vitale, represents about 13 percent of the Cypriot fragments.

White Shaved Ware (fig. 6). The White Shaved

Ware sherds appear in about the same percentage as

that of the Monochrome Ware (i.e., 13%). However, a larger number of complete Cypriot White Shaved

juglets was found among the ex-votos in the court

yard of the Temple (Badre and Gubel 1999-2000: fig. 24, CD ROM pis. 1-2). The great majority of them were found on the lower floor of Level 6 (fig. 6:1

9). They have pinched rims and pointed bases. The

most interesting discovery was that of some bronze

sheet figurines which were discovered set inside these

White Shaved juglets, either singly or in pairs (see

below). Other, similar bronze figurines found scat

tered around the broken White Shaved juglets prob

ably were originally associated with these juglets. A series of similar juglets with pinched rims but

with flat bases (fig. 6:10-14) correspond most prob

ably to the Plain White Wheel Made I Ware of ?s tr?m's typology (Astr?m 1972: fig. 67:1). Their ware

is coarser than that of the White Shaved juglets: it is

gritty and pinky buff/yellow.

Red Lustrous Wheel-Made Ware (fig. 5:14). A

complete spindle bottle, along with some fragmen

tary sherds of orange lustrous ware, belong to the

Red Lustrous Ware type, which is another negligible

category in terms of the percentage of sherds. The

complete bottle has a conical shape, a handle from the neck to the shoulder, and a ring base that has an

incised potmark on its exterior.

Bucchero Ware (fig. 5:13). A small, complete

juglet of Cypriot Bucchero Ware (LC IIB) was found

among the temple offerings. It is handmade, with ver

tical, applied ribbing on the body (cf. Astr?m 1972:

425, fig. 78:1). Only a very few sherds of this type have been found.

Mycenaean Imported Pottery: Area IV, Level 6,

Upper and Lower Floors

The imported Mycenaean pottery found at Tell Kazel is the subject of a thorough study undertaken




=# (&

10

12

13

15 14 Fig. 5. Base Ring Ware juglets from Area IV, Level 6, lower floor (1-12) and BR bowl (15); Bucchero Ware (13); and Syrian bottle (14). Scale: 1/3.75.




Fig. 6. White Shaved juglets from Area IV, Level 6: lower floor (1-14); upper floor (15). Scale: 1/3.75.




by Reinhard Jung (Jung in press a). The Mycenaean collection is a very rich and promising one in terms

of typological and chronological information. Ac

cording to Jung, this Mycenaean collection "makes

Tell Kazel one of the richest sites for Mycenean pot

tery finds in the Near East?comparable in find den

sity to Sarepta and Tell Abu Hawam." The collection

includes a wide spectrum of types. A few represen tative specimens are described below to illustrate the

main types.

The lower floor of Level 6 in the Temple complex has yielded the following Mycenaean types:

A small, almost complete piriform amphoriskos

(fig. 7:3) with three horizontal handles. It is painted in black with large and thin horizontal bands as

well as oblique lines over the shoulder. A close par allel is from Mycenaean Nauplion and dated to

LH IIIA Late (1325-1300 B.c.) (Mountjoy 1986:

70, fig. 81:1). Another parallel was found at Ugarit (Hirschfeld 2000: 80, cat. no. 23).

An upper part of a kylix (fig. 7:5), which is made

in very fine clay with a self-same slip and is highly burnished. It is decorated with motifs of fish and

hybrid flowers, painted in red/orange to brown.

Jung believes that the fish motif on this vessel

shape is unique, and he dates the kylix in combi

nation with the hybrid flower motif between LH

IIIA Late and LH IIIB Early (cf. Jung in press a). A conical rhyton (fig. 7:1) with painted motifs of

bivalve chains and octopuses. Jung has noted that

this combination of motifs is unique and has no

Aegean parallels. The rhyton is dated by the con

text of its discovery with the rest of the pottery from Level 6 to LH IIIA Late.

A shallow bowl with strap handles. It is decorated

with painted horizontal bands (fig. 7:2). Jung indi

cates that comparable linear bowls are attested

since LH IIIB Early (Jung in press a and b). He

cites two parallels: one from Mycenae (French 1965: 177, fig. 7:26) and another one from Tiryns

(Schonfeld 1988: 155, Tab. 1:59). Both parallels are dated to LH IIIB Early, the Mycenaean complex

having been redated from LH IIIA Late to LH IIIB

Early on the basis of the stratigraphy at Tiryns.

The Upper Floor of Level 6 in the

Temple Complex

The continuity of use of the two consecutive floors

of Level 6 was clearly described in the third prelim

inary report on the Tell Kazel excavations (Badre and

Gubel 1999-2000: 145). The stratigraphy excludes

the possibility of a period of abandonment between

the two levels.

The upper floor yielded fewer Mycenaean objects than the lower one. Among them are the following:

A zoomorphic rhyton (fig. 7:6) in the shape of an

animal's head (possibly a boar). It is of buff clay with a light slip and is highly polished, decorated

all over with the hybrid unvoluted flower motif,

painted in deep red/orange. The ears are pinched out in semicircles, and the large oval eyes are in

relief and painted over in the same color. An al

most identical Mycenaean rhyton with a more

ovoid body, but with similar features and decora

tion, was found "near a tomb" in the lower eastern

city at Ugarit (Schaeffer 1949: 222-23; Yon 1997:

160, fig. 37). It is dated to LH IIIA-IIIB Early. A kylix (fig. 7:4) with a row of vertical whorl

shells. Jung indicates that both its shape and motif

suggest a date between LH IIIB Early and IIIB

Middle (Jung in press a and b).

The Levantine Bronze Sheet Figurines (fig. 8). We noted above the very interesting discovery of

some bronze flat sheet figurines which were found in

side the White Shaved juglets (single or in pairs), and

nearby broken ones, probably associated with these

latter ones. This group of bronze sheet figurines in

cludes 12 figurines with schematized bodies that are

peg-shaped or arrowhead-shaped. Their anatomical

features are barely distinguishable: breasts and navel are usually indicated in the repouss? technique. One

figurine has a suspension loop in the center (fig. 8:5). Six of them have rounded heads, while five others

have a high triangular headdress which recalls those worn by several sheetmetal specimens of Palestinian

origin found at Hazor, Gezer, Megiddo, and Tell el

cAjjul (Negbi 1976: 97). Similar sheet idols, in silver or in bronze, were found in the Late Bronze Age

temple at Kamid el-Loz (Hachmann 1980: pis. 15

16). It is possible that the rounded-headdress figu rines represent female ex-votos, while the elongated ones represent male figurines. Our knowledge of

terracotta figurines (Badre 1980: 123: e) makes this

hypothesis quite possible. Two pairs of the two types

(the rounded headdress and the high headdress) of

such figurines were found inside a juglet; in this

situation they could represent a couple. Moreover, the almost equal distribution of "male" and "female"




w'm

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Fig. 7. Mycenaean pottery from Area IV, Level 6. Scale: 1/3.75.




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Fig. 8. Bronze sheet figurines from Area IV, Level 6. Scale: 1/1.




bronze sheet figurines may indicate that male-fe

male couples were placed inside the juglets, but un

fortunately these figurines were not all found within

the juglets. The presence of these bronze sheet figurines at

Tell Kazel raises the question of their origin: Pales

tinian, local, or local imitation of Palestinian. This

question is complicated further by their association

with the White Shaved juglets, which in turn may raise the question as to their own origin: Cypriot or

local imitation. Pending the results of the chemical

analyses, we would conditionally suggest that the as

sociation of both juglets and bronze sheet figurines is

unique to Tell Kazel.

With this information at hand, and pending the

completion of the detailed study of the imported ma

terial, we have tentatively related the two phases of

Level 6 as follows: the lower phase to the Amarna

period (Sumur is mentioned in the Amarna tablets:

Briquel-Chatonnet in Badre et al. 1994: 354), and the

upper phase to the beginning of the Hittite period of

Amurru.

Area IV: Level 5

Level 5 in Area IV was built directly over the

destruction layer of Level 6. The temple of Level 5

consists of a large rectangular celia (16.5 x 7.5 m) surrounded by architectural annexes on both its

northern and southern sides, while the southwestern

side is bordered by a street composed of alternating

clay and ashy layers. The temple of Level 5 has the

best-preserved celia with monumental features: large walls (average width of 1.35 m) of stone substruc

tures, and mudbrick superstructures with ashlar stones

at the angles. It has two occupation phases, indicated

by two superimposed floors for the same architecture.

The Cypriot Imported Pottery: Area IV, Level 5, Lower Floor

The lower occupation points to a continuation of

external relations with the West, as the following se

lected examples make clear. It yielded a large amount

of Cypriot pottery, the greatest majority of which is

fragmentary and residual. This pottery presents a simi

lar repertoire of Cypriot ware types as was found in

the upper phase of Level 6, which yielded a larger

quantity of Cypriot pottery except for the case of

White Slip ware. Below are a few complete or nearly

complete profiles:

A White Slip II bowl (fig. 9:1), found in the east

ern room of the temple celia. It belongs to the sim

ple, late, parallel line style. It is decorated with a

set of four parallel lines: two outer thicker lines

and two inner thinner lines. They are painted around the exterior of the rim from which other

sets are descending. Another White Slip II "milk bowl" (fig. 9:2) with

an elaborate painted design. It has an unusual

ledge handle with two small perforations. The

painted decoration consists of two parallel, hor

izontal rows of dots around the interior of the

rim and a similar row on the exterior. Underneath

is a cross-hatched horizontal band. Descending from this band is a vertical row of dotted lozenges enclosed on each side by a straight, vertical line

which in turn is framed by a vertical row of dots.

Another free row of continuous dotted lozenges is

parallel to the first one. A similar bowl was found

at Ugarit (Schaeffer 1978: 282, fig. 30:3). Mer

rillees ascribes a similar bowl from Thera Akrotiri

to WS I (Merrillees 2001: 93, figs. 3-4), and Kara

georghis attributes another parallel from Palaepa

phos Teratsoudhia to LC IB (Karageorghis 1990:

42, 44, pi. 33:B. 13, B. 52). However, the speci men from Tell Kazel definitely dates from LB II, and it could therefore belong to a transitional White

Slip I?II type.

A local imitation (?) of a shaved juglet (Badre and

Gubel 1999-2000: 172, fig. 31:a) with a flat bronze

object (Badre and Gubel 1999-2000: fig. 31:o) was

pointed at one end (figurine ?) and was set inside the

juglet.

The Mycenaean Imported Pottery: Area IV, Level 5, Lower Floor

Below are some representative Mycenaean-type

specimens from Tell Kazel. They resemble the vari

ety found at other Levantine sites and especially those found at Ras Shamra/Ugarit.

Several fragments of an amphoroid krater deco

rated with a chariot scene (fig. 10:6). The lower

part of the chariot is oriented from left to right. The

chariot wheel shows four spokes. Directly above

the wheel is the chariot box (?) filled with a row

of horizontal hatches. The shape of the krater in

dicates a date from the LH IIIB (Early-Middle ?).




m[z-::::f F

Fig. 9. Cypriote White Slip II from Area IV, Level 5-Lower.

Scale: 1/3.

This type of krater with chariots is widely repre sented in the eastern Mediterranean, where several

examples were found on the Syrian coast, mainly at Ugarit (Schaeffer 1949: 214-17, pi. 35) and in

Palestine (e.g., at Tel Dan, Beth Shemesh, Ashdod, and Tell Abu Hawam), and belong to the LH IIIB 1

period.

A krater (fig. 10:5) of open shape with the base and

handles missing. The main body is decorated with an octopus motif. This octopus motif is frequently found on various Mycenaean shapes at Ugarit: on

a large stirrup jar in Tomb 2698 from the end of LH

IIIB (Schaeffer 1978: 344, fig. 53:6) and on a large krater (Schaeffer 1978: 346, fig. 54:2). Horizontal

bands are painted on the interior and exterior of the

rim. According to Jung, this kind of rim decoration

is not attested before LH IIIB Middle and contin

ued to be produced in LH IIIB Developed and Late

(Jung in press a and b).

A chalice with a series of standing human figures

(fig. 10:1) and a stem painted with large horizontal

bands and thin lines. A similar decorative motif

of standing figures is found on a Mycenaean con

ical rhyton from Ugarit (Schaeffer 1978: 310, fig. 37:1). Jung indicates that the style of these human

figures is typical of LH IIIB Early and Middle

(Jung in press b). A conical rhyton painted with hybrid flowers (fig.

10:2-3) belongs to LH IIIB1 (Mountjoy 1986:

109:1). A stirrup jar (fig. 10:4) with missing spouts and

handles. The upper part is squat with a sloping shoulder, and the lower part is conical with a ring base. The body is decorated with wide horizontal

bands, thin lines, and a horizontal band of chev

rons, all painted in red. Jung indicates that this

type was not produced before LH IIIB Middle

(Jung in press a and b).




?=*

m~)

Fig. 10. Mycenaean pottery from Area IV, Level 5-Lower. Scale: 1/3.75 except no. 6: 1/7.5.




A shallow cup (fig. 10:7) with a painted spiral de

sign, found at the entrance of the celia. For a par

allel, cf. Mountjoy 1986: fig. 136:1, from LH IIIB

Early Mycenae. The lower occupation phase of Level 5 ended

with an abandonment, leaving few material remains, which made its dating practically impossible.

Area II: Level 6

In its earliest Level 6 (corresponding to Temple Level 5), Area II, which occupies the southeastern

part of Tell Kazel (fig. 2), represents the residential

sector of the city. It consists of a large building com

plex, Building II.

Building II

Building II is a large complex formed by what

could be considered a single, very large building or

a group of three parallel buildings consisting of a

large rectangular hall to the north, bordered on the

east and south sides by square rooms. These are con

nected by narrow passages.

Building II is characterized by its luxurious archi

tectural features: mudbrick walls coated with plaster and the surface entirely encrusted with shells. Its

floor is paved with the same type of shells, as it is at

tested in several rooms of Building II (cf. Capet 2003: figs. 13, 25). Within this floor was set stand

ing a large biconical krater (fig. 11). This particular shell decoration on the walls is unique in the Levant,

while the shell paving on the floor is known from

Stratum VIIB in the palace of Megiddo (Loud 1948:

figs. 50, 52).

Level 6, Lower Phase

(= Lower Phase of Level 5

in the Temple Area)

The excavated surface of the lower floor of Level

6 in Area II is almost equal to the excavated surface

area of the lower floor of Level 5 in Area IV (see the

correlation in table 1), but the material it yielded is

by far less abundant, due to the fact that this floor of

Area II was largely emptied before its restoration

and reoccupation in the second phase (upper phase of

Level 5). Because of its scarcity in this area, the imported

pottery will be presented as a simple typological dis

Fig. 11. Shell floor from Area II, Level 6.

tribution of the Cypriot and Mycenaean pottery, with

no statistical data.

The Cypriot Imported Pottery: Area II, Level 6-Lower

This group is represented by the few following

examples:

A White Shaved juglet (fig. 12:1) was found with

a bronze sheet figurine in its vicinity (Capet 2003:

fig. 15), repeating the same combination of figu

rine/juglet as in the temple area (cf. Badre and

Gubel 1999-2000: 148-49). A few others were

also found in the same level (fig. 12:2). A Base Ring II Ware jug (Capet 2003: fig. 7f ) and

a bowl of the same Base Ring II ware (Capet 2003:

fig. 32d) were found on the early floor of Level 6

in Building II (fig. 12:3-4).



2006 TELL KAZEL-SIMYRA

Fig. 12. Cypriot (1-3) and Mycenaean (5-11) pottery from Area II, Level 6-Lower. Scale: 1/3.75 except no. 9: 1/7.5.




The Mycenaean Imported Pottery: Area II, Level 6-Lower

This group is represented by the following

examples:

An amphoroid krater with a chariot scene (fig.

12:9) (Capet 2003: fig. 12a; from LH IIIB Early). It may have an origin in the Argolid (Jung, per sonal communication).

A series of stirrup vases (fig. 12:10-11) from LH

IIIB (Capet 2003: fig. 7e; 27a). Two fragmentary figurines of the psi type (fig.

12:7-8) (Capet 2003: figs. 22j, 29b).

From the same level of Area II but in Building I (to the west of Building II), a well-preserved, spouted conical bowl was found along with a straight-sided

pyxis (Badre et al. 1994: figs. 44b, 45g). For com

paranda, cf. Furumark 1972: 52, fig. 15, and Mount

joy 1986: 91, fig. 111:300 (in LH IIIA2) and 118, fig. 145:2, 3(inLHIIIBl).

At the end of its first phase (Level 6, lower), Build

ing II was almost completely emptied and abandoned.

This abandonment corresponds to the similar situa

tion in the early phase of Temple 5, where for the

same reasons (namely, the lack of material evidence), it has been difficult to date the phase.

THE TRANSITIONAL

LATE BRONZE AGE II-IRON AGE I

This transitional period was almost completely devoid of imported material and must correspond to

the time of the trade embargo imposed by the Hit

tites. This situation is clearly stated in the treaty con

cluded between the Hittite king Tuthaliya IV and

Shaushga-muwa, the last attested king from the

Amurru dynasty (ca. 1250-1230 B.c.). In the words

of H. Klengel, "Shaushga-muwa was forbidden to

send a merchant to Assyria or to receive/let pass merchants from this hostile country. . . . The trade

with the country of Ahhiyawa (i.e. the Aegean) should

be stopped, that means the landroute from the sea

shore to Assyria should be blocked up by the king of

Amurru" (Klengel 1991: 173). This trade embargo is clearly reflected in the field.

Cypriot and Mycenaean imports are almost com

pletely absent from the upper phase of Level 5; we

found only a few imported vessels, while locally im

itated ones were found in larger quantities.

Area IV, Level 5, Upper Phase

The following examples are representative of

the ceramics found in the upper phase of Area IV, Level 5.

A Cypriot White Slip II bowl (fig. 13:1), found

in the southern complex of the temple. It is a

large fragment of a hemispherical bowl decorated

around the rim with two sets of two parallel, hori

zontal lines which frame a horizontal band of

cross-hatched lozenges. The vertical space shows

a set of four vertical parallel lines. Several com

paranda have been noted in LC IIB-C contexts in

Cyprus: at Kalavassos-Ay/?s Dimitrios (South and

Steel 2001: 68, figs. 3-4), in Tomb 90:2 at Kathy data (Astr?m 1972: 445, fig. 51:3), and at Ugarit

(Schaeffer 1978: 282, fig. 30:12). Two almost complete kraters in the local imitation

style of Mycenaean prototypes, found in the celia

of this upper phase of Level 5. (These kraters were

incorrectly attributed to Level 5-Lower in the third

preliminary excavation report [Badre and Gubel

1999-2000: 172, fig. 31:j-k].) One of the kraters is

plain (fig. 13:2), while the other (fig. 13:3) is deco

rated with red painted designs: the body with large bands and lozenges, and the neck with metopes embellished with a cross-hatch pattern alternating

with a design of two antithetic triangles.

Jung also notes the appearance of large quanti ties of unpainted, Mycenaean-style vessels in this

phase, the most common of which are the carinated

kylikes (see fig. 18:6) and the deep bowls (see fig, 18:8). He also points out that the rare, painted

Mycenaean pottery from the same contexts was

most probably locally produced (see the results of

neutron activation analysis: Badre et al. 2005: 30) and can be dated to the beginning of LHIIIC Early in Aegean terms (cf. Jung in press a and b).

The importation of foreign pottery from the West

to Tell Kazel was replaced in this transitional phase

by the first appearance of the new Handmade Bur

nished Ware (HMBW), or Barbarian Ware as it is

otherwise known. This ware is made of coarse clay with coarse micaceous inclusions. It is handmade at

a time when the wheel was in full use, and it is fired

at low temperatures which results in a surface that is

uneven in color, changing from reddish-brown to

black and brittle. This surface is well smoothed and

highly (but crudely) burnished.




Fig. 13. Mycenaean local Imitations from Area IV, Level 5-Upper. Scale: 1/3.75.

The HMBW vessels discovered in Area IV were

found in the annexes surrounding the celia of Temple 5 (fig. 14). They are distributed as follows:

The Southern Complex

This complex, which so far is known to have five

small, square rooms (fig. 15) with a well-preserved

hard-beaten floor, yielded a rich assortment of mate

rial culture items.

Room A. Along with the usual group of domes

tic material?pithoi, storage jars, miniature cups (cf. Badre 2003: 90, fig. 6:1)?this room yielded a very rare shape of HMBW vessel. It is a tall cylindrical container (fig. 16:1) with a flat disk base and a loop




Fig. 14. Handmade Burnished Ware from Areas II and IV.

handle attached slightly above the middle of its height. Two plain cordons are applied below the rim and

above the base. The clay is brown with a black core.

The surface is reddish-brown with gray-black patches. Its excavator, Dib Vitale, has compared it with a mea

suring container used in present-day Syria, called a

qirata in Arabic, which is made of reeds, put together as a structure, and covered up with clay. In Syria today it is used to measure any one of the following: 14 kg of wheat, 12 kg of oats, or 14 kg of lentils. The

Tell Kazel container has a capacity of 13.250 liters. This type of vessel is, as of now, a unique form in

the Handmade Burnished Ware repertoire.

Room B. The only nearly complete profile found in this room is that of a Barbarian Ware jar (fig. 16:2) of the well-known type found at Maa-Palaeokastro

(Pilides 1994: fig. 20:1) from an LHIIIC Middle con

text. It has a flat base with convex sides narrowing toward the rim, and is decorated with an applied fin

ger-impressed cordon below the rim. The cordon is

interrupted by two or possibly four lug handles. An

other plain cordon is applied around the body slightly above the base.

Room D. In the third room, Room D, a rim sherd

of an unusual shallow plate shape (?) (fig. 16:3) was

found.

The Northern Complex

The Northern Complex is a large building of ap

proximately 200 m2. It is bordered by two streets on

its northern and western sides. The complex consists

of ten rooms, two of which are large; the others are

of the same small size. The very rich material dis

covered there attests to an area of domestic activities.

Room A. This is the largest room in this com

plex. It has a floor that is partly paved with stone

slabs, while the other half is earthen. The bulk of the

pottery finds was concentrated above the paved strip, while the stone objects (basalt mortars, grinders, and

roof rollers) were gathered on the earthen floor. Two




?t^t-L ""

(j

Tell Kazel ; (1993-2003) t

Area IV *

Level 5 Architects : Ahmad Yehia

Amale Mkeis Topographer : LDebavelaere

Fig. 15. Plan of Area IV, Level 5.

HMBW rim sherds (fig. 16:4-5) were found within

the collection of the common pottery. They have

characteristics similar to those of the above-men

tioned Maa-Palaeokastro jar type (Pilides 1994: fig. 20:1).

Room E. Room E is one-quarter the size of

Room A. Its destruction layer yielded a very rich col

lection of finds, among which was a large and almost

intact Handmade Burnished Ware jug (fig. 16:7). The

closest comparison to this vessel is a jug from Tiryns (Pilides 1994: fig. 7:1), but the body of the latter has

a more piriform shape and the attachment of its

handle is lower than that of the Tell Kazel specimen. Inasmuch as the Tiryns vessel is somewhat different

from the HMBW jug at Tell Kazel, the latter may be

considered another unique type in the HMBW reper toire. Chronologically, Klaus Kilian has explained the

presence of HMBW in Tiryns before the destruction

levels of LH III2B as indicating that there may have

been a gradual infiltration of these ceramics at the end

of LH IIIB which increases and makes its presence felt in the LH IIIC levels: "This ware should be linked

to a small, foreign population element, not bigger




I

V

l>ca

Fig. 16. Handmade Burnished Ware pottery from Area IV, Level 5-Upper. Scale: 1/4, except nos. 1-2: 1/8.




than, e.g., the Cypriote one in Tiryns," both integrated into Mycenaean households. These people formed a

minority and did not cause the end of the palace sys tem (Pilides 1994: 15; Kilian quoted in this source).

A sherd of a deep goblet (fig. 16:6) was found

in the corner of a room in the northeast section of

the Northern Complex. It has straight sides that are

slightly curved inward toward the rim and is decorated

with a raised horizontal cordon just below the rim.

The Southwestern Complex

A recently excavated area southwest of the paved entrance of the celia has yielded a house that is not

yet completely excavated. Its thick destruction layer

produced a relatively large quantity of Handmade

Burnished Ware sherds. These have not yet been re

stored, and it therefore would be difficult at this stage to discuss their types. They are mostly sherds of stor

age jars with a glossy burnished surface (fig. 17:1-6). The Handmade Burnished Ware was associated in

this Southwestern Complex with the appearance of

another new category of pottery, the wheelmade lus

trous Grey Ware, also known as Trojan Grey Ware.

The clay of this ware was fired to an even gray or

sometimes a mottled tan; it was then incised in linear

patterns of alternating bands of wavy and straight horizontal lines (Allen 1994: 39).

Grey Ware (fig. 17:7-12). This category is rep resented so far by five nearly complete profiles.

1. Two carinated bowls (fig. 17:9-10). 2. The upper part of a storage jar (fig. 17:12). 3. A deep bowl with two handles. This is very

likely the upper part of a kylix (fig. 17:8). 4. A deep bowl with horizontal handles. This

shape is very much like the local Mycenaean

product, according to Jung's classification.

5. A flat base (of an open bowl?).

Along with this group is a one-handled small cup, which bears a strong Mycenaean influence and is

very likely a local imitation of the Aegean style. Because neutron activation analysis has been

conducted on only a few sherds, it is still premature to identify the manufacturing origin of this type. S.

Allen, in her study of Trojan Grey Ware, notes that

"in Cyprus and the Levant, Grey Ware is found with

the Standard Mycenaean cargo, suggesting that Troy was part of the wide-ranging network of the koine"

(Allen 1994: 42). She suggests that the trade of this

Grey Ware material was indirect, made by Aegean

emigrants possibly via Cyprus. The recent chemical analysis on some of the above

Grey Ware sherds (fabric G2) confirmed the attribu

tion of some sherds to northwestern Asia Minor, since samples of this fabric form the chemical group that matches the Trojan chemical group TRO-B. This

group is found not only in Grey Ware but also in

Mycenaean pottery at Troy and was common in the

LH IIIB period, the period to which the Tell Kazel

pieces of fabric G2 also belong (cf. Badre et al. 2005:

31-32, n. 48). However, more research is necessary

before it is possible to say when the imported Grey Ware was replaced by the second Grey Ware fabric, which so far is of undetermined provenance, possibly of local imitation (Badre et al. 2005: 36).

The association of the Grey Ware with the Hand

made Burnished Ware at Tell Kazel may suggest a

similar origin for both (see below). It is clear from the above that although the textual

documents pertaining to the reign of Shaushga-muwa do not provide any information as to whether the king abided by the embargo treaty, the archaeological re

sults, including the scarcity of the imported material

in Level 5, are the best evidence for it.

The end of Level 5 is marked by a thick layer of

ashes from the heavy fire which burnt and destroyed the Level 5 Temple complex.

Area II: Level 6, Upper Phase

(= Upper Phase of Level 5 in

the Temple Complex)

A similar situation concerning the absence of im

portations occurs in the contemporary level of Area II.

In its last phase of Level 6, Building II was reoccupied by squatters, who fortunately left behind them few but

significant material remains, among which appeared the first Handmade Burnished Ware mug.

The Cypriot and Mycenaean Imported Pottery: Area II, Level 6-Upper

As in the Temple area, imports in the equivalent level of Area II are almost absent, but their memory is preserved in the local imitation of some of the

Mycenaean shapes. Some examples of actual imports could be reused vessels from the previous period.

A very few imported Cypriot and Mycenaean

pots were found together inside a silo (1 m deep) located in the southeast corner of a very small




1

1

H

If

y>

V

( 10

12 Fig. 17. Handmade Burnished Ware (1-6) and Grey Ware (7-12) from Area IV, Level 5-Upper. Scale: 1/4.




room in the southern part of Area II (AA21NW). This silo belongs to the final phase of Level 6. It

is not unlikely that the material, which was found

almost complete on the floor of the silo, belonged to an earlier assemblage (possibly that of Level 6

Lower) that was intentionally hidden there for its rare value. This material included three Cypriot vessels along with one Mycenaean jar: a Base

Ring Ware jug (fig. 18:3); a White Slip II bowl (fig.

18:2); two White Shaved juglets (fig. 18:4-5); and a Mycenaean stirrup jar (fig. 18:1). Two fragments of a Mycenaean kylix (a rim with

a group of vertical whorl shells around the interior

and a base; fig. 18:7) were found in this level (Ca

pet 2003: fig. 3Id). This resembles the Zygouries

type (FT 258 A) of LH IIIB Early-Middle.

Local Imitations. Other shapes that look Myce naean are actually local imitations of Mycenaean pot

tery. The most common among these are the unpainted

pottery of Mycenaean inspiration.

An unpainted conical kylix (fig. 18:6) imitates

the Mycenaean conical kylikes from the LH

IIIB-IIIC.

A fragment of a carinated bowl (fig. 18:9) in dark

brown clay may show some Aegean inspiration.

Finally, some Mycenaean deep bowls (fig. 18:8) with horizontal handles and decorated with verti

cal strokes around the interior of the rim were

noted by R. Jung as a local product which has no

parallel anywhere, either in the Aegean or in the

Levant, and which he attributes to a local "Amurru

style" (cf. Jung in press a: fig. 8:4).

In a few rooms of the eastern part of Building II, several pottery assemblages were found that have

some interesting features. A first assemblage, known as the "kitchen group" or Room P (Capet 2003: fig. 20-21), includes a large and varied group of local

pottery, among which is a krater (Capet 2003: fig. 2In) in the imitation of the amphoroid Mycenaean kraters, identical with the one found in the temple of

Level 5 (cf. fig. 13:3). Another krater, with a row of painted deer (Capet

2003: fig. 21m, nn. 41, 42), is locally made and has no known parallel. Its decoration, however, is known

from the "pictorial style" Mycenaean krater.

To the south of Room P, another ensemble of three

pots was found, in what is considered a corridor or

passageway. This group included a complete Hand

made Burnished Ware mug and two other sherds of the same ware, as described below.

The HMBW cup (fig. 19:4) or mug-shaped vessel

(Capet 2003: fig. 24c; Badre 1998: fig. 5) has a

cylindrical body, slightly everted rim, flat base, and vertical handle. It is decorated with an applied horizontal band with rough finger depressions. It

has a close parallel with the handmade cup of Lef

kandi (Euboea), from the earliest phase of the LH

IIIC (Popham and Sackett 1968: 18, fig. 34). A sherd of another, larger HMBW deep bowl (fig. 19:1) was found in the same context as the pre

vious one (Capet 2003: fig. 24d). It has incurved

sides and a raised horizontal cordon below the rim.

The burnishing is done horizontally above the

band and vertically below it.

Another deep bowl (fig. 19:2), which is similar to

figure 19:1 but has straight sides, belongs to the

same chronological context as the goblet shown in

figure 19:4.

A fourth fragmentary cup (fig. 19:5) has a cordon

impressed with a rope motif. It comes from the last

phase of Room W (Capet 2003: fig. 31m).

This last phase of Building II was destroyed in a

general fire, which must correspond to the same

fierce fire that burned the temple of Level 5, bring

ing a final end to the Late Bronze II period. Follow

ing this destruction, the area was reoccupied shortly afterward, certainly and at least partly by the same

population who continued to live there. That the pe riod separating the two levels was a short one is in

dicated by the fact that parts of the walls were reused

in the following phase: the stone substructure was re

used, and a new mudbrick superstructure was con

structed on top with bricks of new shapes and sizes.

The Origins of the Handmade

Burnished Ware

It is important at this stage to locate the origins of the Handmade Burnished Ware which is associated

with the level of this transitional period of the Late

Bronze II/Iron Age I. How did it reach the Mediter ranean coastal sites?

Despina Pilides has studied the question of these

origins at some length in her dissertation on "Hand

made Burnished Wares of the Late Bronze Age in

Cyprus" (Pilides 1994), where the presence of HBW was analyzed both in the West (Greece, South Italy,




>

K7

JL

?

l

Fig. 18. Cypriot (2-5) and Mycenaean (1) pottery in silo; local Mycenaean imitations (6-9) from Area II, Level 6

Upper. Scale: 1/4.




*

r

\ v

J

Fig. 19. Handmade Burnished Ware pottery from Area II, Level 6-Upper. Scale: 1/3.33.




the Balkans, Troy, and Cyprus) and, but on a minor

scale, in the Levant.

In Greece, HBW seems to occur as early as LH IIIB

Middle in very small quantities, reaching its "peak" in

LH IIIC. What is clear, concludes E. Chatzipovliov, is that "this pottery is alien to the Mycenaean pottery so far known and was therefore produced by foreign tribes" (Chatzipovliov in Demakopoulo 1988: no.

298). This new pottery type seems to have appeared

later in Cyprus than in Greece. The ware is easily

distinguished from any of the local, traditional fab

rics. Its first appearance with the influx of LH IIIC

painted pottery in Cyprus argues for some connec

tion between the bearers of the ware and the presence of Mycenaean elements on the island from the be

ginning of LCIIIA through LC IIIB: it is still present at Kition in early CG IA times (Pilides 1994: 108). Pilides develops her research further in the direction

of the Near East: "It would also be extremely inter

esting if a project was undertaken to identify HBW

in the Near East, especially on sites such as Ras Ibn

Hani and Tell [sic] Miqne, where large quantities of

'Myc. IIIC: lb,' the pottery associated with HBW in

Cyprus, were found" (Pilides 1994: 40). Our quick survey in this direction showed that:

At Ibn Hani, a special handmade grey ware pot

tery called "c?ramique ? la steatite" appeared in

the settlement of the 12th century b.c. (cf. Bounni

et al. 1979: fig. 27:1-2), which was built immedi

ately following the destruction of the palace. This

pottery, produced mainly in the shape of cooking pots, was associated with a locally made pottery

imitating the Mycenaean IIIC1 style. This same "c?ramique ? la steatite" was noticed

by L. Courtois in "La maison aux alb?tres" at

Ugarit (Lagarce and Lagarce 1974: 21). Its date

(the Late Bronze Age) is earlier than that at Ibn

Hani. In view of the recent appearance at Ugarit of a great quantity of Mycenaean pottery from

the second half of the 13th century and the be

ginning of the 12th century, which probably came

from workshops established outside Greece nearer

to its foreign customers (Yon 2003: 44), further

research on the "c?ramique ? la steatite" and Bar

barian Ware is necessary.

At Ras al-Bassit, our colleague Leone du Pied

identified a similar pottery "? la steatite" in an

Early Iron Age context. Other Handmade Bur

nished Ware pottery from Ras al-Bassit is being studied by Pascal Darque.

A sherd discovered in the excavations of Beirut

Town Center/Bey 003 (Badre 1998: 76, fig. 4a-b) is made of coarse grey ware with a light brown, smoothed surface and is decorated with an incised

motif. Vassos Karageorghis identified this sherd as

HMBW. It was found within a fill of a rock-cut

tomb where Mycenaean IIIA:2b sherds were also

found. If this context were conclusive, the Beirut

Barbarian sherd would be the earliest HMBW

known so far, but unfortunately a fill is not neces

sarily a reliable context.

Concerning the presence of the Handmade Bur

nished Ware on the eastern Mediterranean coast, we

may conclude that:

A new pottery type (HMBW) has made a sudden

and short appearance in the Levantine pottery se

quence. This new pottery is always associated with

a destruction layer very much related to the date of

the Sea Peoples. This pottery may have come along a route from

the Aegean via the west coast of Asia Minor and

Cyprus, down along the Near Eastern Mediterra

nean coast.

It is essential that large-scale neutron activation

and p?trographie analyses be conducted on this pot

tery. Preliminary results of neutron activation analy

ses conducted on a few HMBW specimens (Badre et

al. 2005) indicate local production of the Handmade

Burnished Ware in the Akkar Plain. This pottery may become a decisive element in the relative chronology of the transitional Late Bronze/Iron Age period.

CONCLUSIONS

The historical events corresponding with the end

of the Late Bronze II period at Tell Kazel (Level 5

in Area IV and its contemporary Level 6 in Area II) include the fall of the Hittite Empire, on the one

hand, and the arrival, settlement, and departure of

the Sea Peoples, on the other. As a hypothesis, we

may attribute the architectural achievements of this

period to the part-Hittite dynasty of Amurru around

1300 B.c., and the evacuation of the city toward the

end of LB II, when the city was emptied (Area IV

Level 5-Lower and Area II Level 6-Lower).




The city was reoccupied shortly afterward (Area IV Level 5-Upper and Area II Level 6-Upper), in part

by the same population reusing the existing temple,

probably for cultic purposes, and partly by a group of newcomers who brought with them the style and

technique of the Handmade Burnished Ware pottery. This group may correspond to a first peaceful wave

(of the Sea Peoples?) who pitched their camps in this

region sometime before the eighth year of the reign of

Ramses III, possibly related to the first inscription of

Medinet Habu from the fifth year of Ramses III, which mentions a "king of Amurru" (whose name has

disappeared) and that the people of Amurru were cap tured and dispersed, and finally submitted (Klengel 1991: 184).

The final destruction of Level 5 is due to a fierce

fire which may be attributed to a second and larger wave of Sea Peoples, who vanquished both the popu lation and the country of Amurru. We may imagine that the inscription of year 8 of Ramses III (from

Medinet Habu) could refer to this second wave. The

various analyses in progress may well shed further

light on the problem.

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Documents

Badre Tell Kazel-Simyra, 2006