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    • The Early Bronze Age
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    • The Iron Age I
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    • Portal Lion
    • King Suppiluliuma
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Tayinat Archaeological Project

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About the Site

About the Site

Tell Tayinat (ancient Kunulua) is a large archeological mound located at the northern bend of the Orontes River, approximately 30km east of Antakya (ancient Antioch) in southeast Turkey. Strategically positioned at the crossroads between the Anatolian highlands to the north, the inland Syrian steppe to the east, and the Levantine coast to the south, Tayinat preserves a unique record of the rich cultural heritage of the region. As the royal capital of a succession of historically attested Bronze and Iron Age kingdoms (ca. 3200-600 BCE), Tayinat has been an important bellwether of social and cultural change. The university of Toronto’s Tayinat Archaeological Project (TAP) has been exploring Tayinat since 1999. TAP was conceived within the framework of the Amuq Valley Regional Projects (AVRP), which has been systematically investigating the archaeology of the North Orontes Valley since 1995. The TAP invstigations seek to document Tayinat’s exceptional cultural record, while contributing to the study of early social complexity and the rise of the first stage ordered societies in the ancient world.

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The column base in the Portico of Temple XVI
The arrival of the Portal Lion in the Old Hatay Archaeological Museum
Excavation in Field 1
Aerial photo of Tayinat (courtesy of M. Akar)
Charioteer orthostat, attributed to Tayinat, now in the Hatay Archaeological Museum
Trench T9 in the West central area in the Chicago excavations of the 1930’s
View of Chicago excavations of Tayinat al-saghir in the 1930’s
Back-dirt piles from the excavations of the 1930’s
Excavations of Field 1 in the 2004 Season.13
Gold Roundel with dedicatory inscription to the Assyrian King Tiglat-Pileser, found in Building VI in the 1930’s excavation
“Colossus” statue of Neohittite King, excavated in the 1930’s excavations, now in the Oriental Institute Museum
Excavations of Field 1 in the 2004 Season
‘Lady of Tayinat’ monumental statue excavated in 2017 season
The 2005 TAP Team having 2nd Breakfast
The Basalt Reconstruction Program of 2018 in the Hatay Archaeological Museum
3D scanning of Basalt Statue Fragments for virtual reconstruction of damaged monuments
Architects model of proposed Tayinat Visitor’s Centre
Limestone bust found in the 1930’s excavations
Pottery processing in the field
The excavation of the Shupiluliuma statue
Utilizing a camera boom for site photography
Excavating in Field 1
Carved column base found in Field 7
Delegation visiting Tayinat, October, 2018
Aerial view of Temple XVI after excavation in 2009
Excavations of the Esarhaddon tablet in on the podium of Temple XVI in 2009
Reconstructed temple paraphernalia of the Assyrian period, found on the podium of Temple XVI in 2009
Neohittite pyxis found on the podium of Temple XVI in the 2009 season
Portal Lion excavated in the 2011 season, seated in the courtyard of the ‘old’ Hatay Archaeological Museum
Aerial view of part of Platform XV, Temple XVI, and the “Gateway” complex of Field 7 in 2011
Excavation of the statue of King Šuppiluliuma II with Project co-director Elif Denel, and Temple XVI in the background
Statue of King Šuppiluliuma II with Project Director Tim Harrison, Project co-director Elif Denel, and Government representative Yıldız Şahin
3D reconstruction of hypothetical arrangement of Šuppiluliuma II statue in the Iron Age ‘Sacred Precinct’
Conservation and reconstruction of the Esarhaddon Treaty Tablet by Tayinat conservator, Julie Unruh in 2013
Reconstruction of the Easarhaddon Treaty Tablet
Aerial photo of Fields 1, 2 and 7 showing architectural conservation work in progress in 2015
Development of new Tayinat exhibit in the Hatay Archaeological Museum in 2014
Statue of Šuppiluliuma II, now in the ‘new’ Hatay Archaeological Museum
Tayinat excavation teams in 2004 and 2015
Aerial view of Fields 1, 2, 7 with rpreserved and reconstructed Temples II & XVI from the 2017 season

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Tayinat Archaeological Project

The Department of Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations
University of Toronto
4 Bancroft Ave, 2nd Floor
Toronto, ON M5S 1C1
(416) 978-3306
nmc.utoronto.ca  •  @UOFTNMC  •  Facebook

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