Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Tel Fahkariaya Aramaic-Akkadian biligual inscription

ARAMAIC WATCH: The Syrian site of Tel Fakhariya is profiled briefly by the Global Arab Network, with mention of the Aramaic-Akkadian bilingual inscription discovered there a little over thirty years ago:
North-eastern Syria: An ancient landmark with valuable archaeological discoveries

By H. Said/Ghossoun
Friday, 14 May 2010 15:04

Archaeological landmarks of the Middle and Neo Assyrian, Aramaic, Roman, Byzantine and the Islamic periods in Tell al-Fakhariya (North-eastern Syria) make it a alive witness to ancient civilizations which succeeded each other in the site.

[...]

Rich archaeological discoveries have been found in the site.

Director of al-Hasakah Antiquities Department Abdul Masih Baghdo said a 2-meter basalt statue of the Assyrian king Adad-it'i/ Hadd-yi'thi, king of Guzana and Sikan who ruled between the 9th century and the 8th BC was unearthed in 1979 during land leveling activities.

The bilingual inscription in the Assyrian dialect of Akkadian and Aramaic carved on the statue refers to the city of Sikan and relates that the statue was erected in front of the Temple of Weather God in Guzana (now Tell Halaf), not very far from Tell al-Fakhariya.

[...]
Other interesting discoveries from the Byzantine period are mentioned as well. There are articles on the Aramaic part of the inscription by Jonas Greenfield in JSTOR (here) and by Victor Sasson in de Gruyter Reference Global (here). I can access them from my University computer, but I think they are both behind subscription walls.