Archaeologists Find Burial Cellar In Ancient Syrian City Containing Spectacular Artifacts
The archaeological excavations at the royal palace in the ancient city of Qatna, north east of the Syrian city of Homs, have once again unfolded a remarkable archaeological discovery. The summer excavations, due to end September 25, located a rock tomb-cellar underneath the palace containing hundreds of artifacts as well as human bones from the period 1600-1400 BC.
In 2002, excavations at this site found a tomb with accessibility from the central palace rooms. The present excavation, led by the German-Syrian team of Dr. Michel al-Maqdissi, Director of Excavations at the Directorate General of Antiquities in Damascus, and Professor Dr. Peter Pfälzner from the University of Tübingen, brings to light the existence of an unexpected second underground tomb-cellar. Heike Dohmann-Pfälzner is the excavation coordinator on site. The Institute for Ancient Near Eastern Studies (IANES) in Tübingen spearheads the excavations which have been in existence for the last eleven years in cooperation with the Syrian Directorate General of Antiquities.
The archaeologists made their discovery during excavations of the north-west wing of the palace. They located a “slope basement” below ground floor level, its walls almost completely intact. A chamber bearing a collapsed timber roof, acting as an antechamber to the tomb-cellar, exists beneath the basement. A stone rock-cut leads from here into the spacious cellar itself. It is 4.90 by 6.30 metres large and is divided into two chambers by a wall hollowed out of the rock. The cellar is accessible from the palace and is integrated architecturally into its whole structure. Its use can be verified back to the later period of the palace in 1400 BC.
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In 2002, excavations at this site found a tomb with accessibility from the central palace rooms. The present excavation, led by the German-Syrian team of Dr. Michel al-Maqdissi, Director of Excavations at the Directorate General of Antiquities in Damascus, and Professor Dr. Peter Pfälzner from the University of Tübingen, brings to light the existence of an unexpected second underground tomb-cellar. Heike Dohmann-Pfälzner is the excavation coordinator on site. The Institute for Ancient Near Eastern Studies (IANES) in Tübingen spearheads the excavations which have been in existence for the last eleven years in cooperation with the Syrian Directorate General of Antiquities.
The archaeologists made their discovery during excavations of the north-west wing of the palace. They located a “slope basement” below ground floor level, its walls almost completely intact. A chamber bearing a collapsed timber roof, acting as an antechamber to the tomb-cellar, exists beneath the basement. A stone rock-cut leads from here into the spacious cellar itself. It is 4.90 by 6.30 metres large and is divided into two chambers by a wall hollowed out of the rock. The cellar is accessible from the palace and is integrated architecturally into its whole structure. Its use can be verified back to the later period of the palace in 1400 BC.