Tell ‘Acharneh, Likely Site of Bronze Age Tunip

Tell ‘Acharneh is a 77-hectare mound rising on the bank of the Orontes at the southern end of the Ghab Plain, about 35 kilometres north-west of Hama. Was it Tunip? Probably. The case that it was that Bronze Age city-state is strong but not settled. Tunip appears in texts from the Ebla archives to the Amarna letters, a city caught between Egypt, Mitanni and the Hittites. What you see here is not a standing city: an acropolis hill, the earth ramparts around it and the river.

Where it is

The mound lies right next to Salhab, in the Salhab subdistrict of al-Suqaylabiyah. The village of ‘Acharneh sits beside it. Same name.

What is on the mound

The acropolis occupies the highest part of the site. Around it spreads a wide lower town with secondary hills, enclosed by high earth ramparts. The sources do not say how much of what was excavated is still exposed; the mound reads as the shape of a city on the ground rather than as individual buildings.

Who excavated it

A Canadian team led by Michel Fortin of Université Laval in Quebec and Elizabeth Cooper of the University of British Columbia began work in 1998. They excavated in 1998, 1999 and 2002, held a study season in 2004 and opened new seasons in 2009 and 2010.

Is it really Tunip

The location of Tunip was argued over for a long time. Astour proposed Tell Hama in 1977; Klengel proposed ‘Acharneh in 1995. The current view rests on petrographic analysis of pottery from the mound. It treats ‘Acharneh as most likely Tunip.

Tunip in the texts

Tunip appears in the Palace G archives of Ebla, dated to 2400-2300 BC, as a city under Ebla’s control. A colony of at least 530 people from Mari lived there: 30 merchants led by Puzur-Ashtar with their workers, most likely trading timber from the mountains.

Egyptian records mention the city from Thutmose III to Ramesses II. Its name occurs five times in the Amarna letters; EA 59 is a petition from “the people of Tunip” asking the pharaoh for help. Tunip also comes up in the letters of Aziru, king of Amurru.

How long it takes

About an hour on foot. Sources do not say whether the site is open to visitors or which track leads up; that has to be found out on the spot.

What most people miss

The view of the Orontes from the acropolis. The city stands at the southern mouth of the Ghab, right on the river; from there it is easy to see why Tunip ended up between three great powers.