PUBLISHED 2022. Please visit the publication's website.
Tell Afis is located at the southern limit of the Jazr plain in the Muhafazeh of Idlib. In 1903 it was visited by the French consul in Alep, H. Poignon, who uncovered the broken stele of the king Zakkur, which is now in the Musée du Louvre. In the 1960s, the site was included in a survey by M. Liverani and in the 1970s it was the object of soundings by the Missione Archeologica Italiana in Siria of the University of Roma La Sapienza guided by P. Matthiae. Archaeological operations were resumed in 1986 and are still being conducted by S. Mazzoni of the Universities of Pisa and Firenze and S.M. Cecchini of the University of Bologna. The archaeological evidence recovered in the field operations indicates the site was inhabited uninterruptedly from the Late Chalcolithic to Iron Age III.
The site, which measures 570 x 500 m, is composed of a large lower town and a smaller acropolis on the northern side. In the Late Chalcolithic the acropolis was surrounded by a fortification brought to light in Area E, on the western side of the high mound. In the Middle Bronze Age both the lower town and the acropolis were defended by walls: remains of the fortifications in the northern side of the lower town are documented in Area B, while the western defences of the acropolis are investigated in Area E and the eastern ones in Area N. During the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age I the eastern side of the acropolis was fortified as the excavation of Area N shows. Between the end of Iron Age II and Iron Age III the lower town was again provided with fortifications as it was discovered in Area B, F and M.
Angelo Di Michele is the lead researcher for the Shelby White and Leon Levy Program project. He was field director in Area N (2003-2007) and Area A (2008-2010) in Tell Afis. He coordinates the digitisation work of drawings, excavation and pottery journals. He directs the team of researchers involved in the project for which he deals with the stratigraphic sequence, the reconstruction of the architectural phases and the study of pottery assemblage.
