Article by D. Hulínek published: Research on the C-IV Trench in a Broader Context of the Excavations conducted at Tell Fekheriye, with an Emphasis on the Middle Assyrian Period", in: Drahoslav Hulínek - Dominik Bonatz - Milan Kováč (eds.) 2015, Archaeology on Three Continents 2006-2011, 39-57.

Abstract: Excavations in Trench C-IV at Tell Fekheriye were carried out in 2009 and 2010, and yielded promising results pointing out a considerable importance of the sit's occupation during the Syrian Late Bronze Age. The evidence for this stems primarily from the discovered graves and is linked also to architectural remains dating back to the Middle Assyrian period. Last but not least, various finds dating back to the Roman-Byzantine period were also made.

Website (English) - SAHI

Colloquium (Slovakian) - SAHI

Article by A. Hotzan-Tchabashvili published: "The Neolithic at Tell Fekheriye", in: Drahoslav Hulínek - Dominik Bonatz - Milan Kováč (eds.) 2015, Archaeology on Three Continents 2006-2011, 31-37.

Abstract: During the 2010 field season, new excavations at the northern slope of the Tell took place. The excavations yielded so far unknown levels, including a built structure underneath a Neo-Assyrian palace building, dating probably to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic. This paper will give a short summary of the current results and will offer some future perspectives.

Website (English) - SAHI

Colloquium (Slovakian) - SAHI

Article by D. Bonatz published: "Tell Fekheriye - An Introduction to the Current State of Archaeological Research", in: Drahoslav Hulínek - Dominik Bonatz - Milan Kováč (eds.) 2015, Archaeology on Three Continents 2006-2011, 13-30.

Abstract: After four seasons of intensive fieldwork the renewed excavations at Tell Fekheriye have yielded new archaeological, iconographic and textual evidence which relates to two important phases in the history of Upper Mesopotamia: The end of the Mittani state and the beginnings and consolidation of the Middle-Assyrian territorial state. This new material also contributes to the ongoing discussion about the identification of Tell Fekheriye with the Mittani capital Wassukanni and the subsequent Middle-Assyrian district centre Assukanni respectively.

Apart from the Late Bronze Age which is the focus here, other periods which attest to the long sequence of occupations at Tell Fekheriye will also briefly be addressed. Including the geographical setting, the research history and objectives of the renewed Syrian-German-Slovakian project an overall view on the current state of research at Tell Fekheriye is thus presented in this article.

Article D. Bonatz - Academia (pdf)

Website (English) - SAHI

Colloquium (Slovakian) - SAHI

What does an archaeologist do? Does he hunt for lost treasures and civilisations like Indiana Jones – or sit in a dusty library and lucubrate? How to find out how people lived in the past if there are no history books? How does an archaeologist know, where to excavate and what is he to do, when he finds something?

This and similar questions are explored when we invite the participants to virtually visit the excavation at Tell Fekheriye.

The students of second to sixth grade get the opportunity to get to know original objects from our excavation, hand them around and experience in detail how archaeologists proceed with their work.

KinderUni 2014 - TOPOI

Lecture (in German) at the 'Forschungstag des Instituts für Vorderasiatische Archäologie' of the Freie Universität Berlin by P.V. Bartl, D. Bonatz, P. Camatta, C. Coppini und A. Hotzan-Tchabashvili: Tell Fecheriye: Die Siedlungsgeschichte des Neolithikums und der Spätbronzezeit – und ein Vortrag zu den mittelassyrischen Siegeln

As in the 'Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften' 2013, the model of an excavation trench at Tell Fekheriye was presented. The superposition of settlement layers is one of the most important sources for stratigraphic information that enables us to reconstruct cultural developments. Stratigraphy, when read correctly, can provide information on both the chronological developments of bygone cultures and possible discontinuities as a result of climatic changes or other environmental or anthropogenic disasters. The exhibition invites visitors to enter an excavation trench reproduced from the Tell Fekheriye excavation and experience archaeological research at first hand.

LNdW 2014 - TOPOI

LNdW 2014 - Programme (pdf)

Opening session of the 'Fekheriye-Colloquium' with lectures by P.V. Bartl, P. Camatta und C. Coppini on the stratigraphy, architecture and pottery of the Late Bronze Age.

Article by D. Bonatz published: “Tell Fekheriye in the Late Bronze Age - Investigations into the Structures of Political Governance in the Upper Mesopotamian Piedmont”, in: Dominik Bonatz (ed.) 2014, The Archaeology of Political Spaces. The Upper Mesopotamian Piedmont in the Second Millennium BCE, TOPOI – Berlin Studies of the Ancient World 12, 61-84.

Abstract: After four seasons of intensive fieldwork the renewed excavations at Tell Fekheriye have yielded new archaeological, iconographic, and textual evidence which relates to two important phases in the history of the upper Mesopotamian piedmont: the end of the Mittani state and the beginnings and consolidation of the Middle Assyrian territorial state. This new material also contributes to ongoing discussions about the identification of Tell Fekheriye with the Mittani capital Wasˇsˇukanni and the subsequent Middle Assyrian district center Assukanni respectively. Therefore, this article has two main objectives: one is to give some insight into the results from the recent excavations as far as the Late Bronze Age periods are concerned. The other is a first attempt to interpret these results in a broader geopolitical sense, and to investigate the structures of political governance which are materially manifested in the archaeological remains from Tell Fekheriye during these periods.

Article D. Bonatz - DeGruyter Publisher (pdf)

The Archaeology of Political Spaces - DeGruyter Publisher

Lecture (in German) at the 'Altorientalisches Kolloquium' of the Institute für Assyriologie und Hethitologie, and Vorderasiatische Archäologie of the Ludwig-Maximilians Universität Munich by P.V. Bartl: Die Assyrer am Oberen Habur – Gedanken zur Etablierung assyrischer Machstrukturen in Tell Fekheriye

The superposition of settlement layers is one of the most important sources for stratigraphic information that enables us to reconstruct cultural developments. Stratigraphy, when read correctly, can provide information on both the chronological developments of bygone cultures and possible discontinuities as a result of climatic changes or other environmental or anthropogenic disasters. The exhibition invites visitors to enter an excavation trench reproduced from the Tell Fekheriye excavation and experience archaeological research at first hand.

LNdW 2013 - Programme (pdf)

Lecture (in English) at the Symposium 'Understanding Hegemonic Practices of the Middle Assyrian Empire' of the University of Leiden (NL) by P. V. Bartl: Tell Fekheriye between local tradition and Assyrian influence

Symposium "Understanding Hegemonic Practices" - Leiden University

Publication - The Netherlands Institute for the Near East

Article by D. Bonatz und P.V. Bartl published: “Across Assyria’s Northern Frontier: Tell Fekheriye at the End of the LateBronze Age”, in: Aslihan Yener (ed.) 2013, Across the Border: Late Bronze-Iron Age Relations between Syria and Anatolia, ANES Supplement 42 (Leuven), 263-292.

Abstract: Since 2006, renewed excavations at Tell Fekheriye in the Khabur headwater region have yielded important remains from the Mittani and Middle Assyrian periods. The architectural sequence at the western slope of the Tell shows a gradual change from monumental to administrative household architecture as well as the use of the same area as a burial ground at the end of the Middle Assyrian period. Many seal impressions on clay sealings and cuneiform tablets from different occupation phases attest to activities of the Assyrian central administration at this place. From the perspective of this site the establishment of regular large-scale networks cutting across Assyria’s political boundaries and an extensive Middle Assyrian state characterized by a more uniform material culture and ideological basis than seen previously can be investigated. The archaeological materials and textual sources recently discovered at Tell Fekheriye will therefore be discussed against the backdrop of geopolitical developments and interregional relations in the late second millennium BCE.

Article D. Bonatz & P. Bartl - Academia (pdf)

Book announcement - Peeters Publishers

Lecture (in German) at the 'Forschungstag des Instituts für Vorderasiatische Archäologie' of the Freie Universität Berlin held by P.V. Bartl: Neues zum Tell Fecheriye – Ansichten eines 'Armchair Archaeologist'

Article by D. Bonatz und P.V. Bartl on the excavation campaign 2010: “Tell Fekheriye 2010: Report on the 4th Excavation Campaign”. Published in Chronique Archéologique en Syrie (Vol. 6) by the Directorate-General of Antiquities & Museums (DGAM) in Damaskus.

Article D. Bonatz & P. Bartl - Academia (pdf)

The Ancient World Online (AWOL)

Directorate-General of Antiquities & Museums (DGAM) - Syria

Lecture (in German) at the 'Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften' 2012 at the Freie Universität Berlin by P.V. Bartl: Wissenstradierung zwischen Antike und Moderne - Waššukanni, die Hauptstadt der Mittani in der Syrischen Gegenwart: Der Tell Fecheriye (Syrien) – sechs Jahre syrisch-deutsche Forschungen.

LNdW 2012 - TOPOI

LNdW 2012 - Programme (pdf)

When thinking about archaeological excavations in the Middle East, adventurous travels, sandy deserts and forgotten cities come to mind. But how do archaeological scientific research and fieldwork look like in reality? This exhibition aims at giving visitors a vivid idea by introducing them to a life-size model of an excavation trench from Tell Fekheriye. Visitors of all ages can learn how archaeological features and artefacts are excavated, recovered and analysed.

LNdW 2012 - TOPOI

LNdW 2012 - Programme (pdf)

Due to the exhibition, Prof. Dominik Bonatz presents a lecture about the work on Tell Fekheriye und digs into the interests of modern archaeology in Syria. The lecture starts at 8 p.m. at the Globetrotter Berlin-Steglitz (Schloßstr. 78-82). Entry fee is 5 Euro.

The small exhibition, situated at the Globetrotter Berlin-Steglitz (Schloßstr. 78-82), covers the recent research at Tell Fekheriye as well as the archaeological profession as such. It offers a life-size trench as well as a lottery for the attentive visitors. The exhibition will be accessible only during November 2011.

Tell Fecheriye Exhibition - ARTEFACTS Berlin

Press release - FU Berlin

Exhibition - Globetrotter Magazin

Lecture (in German) at the 'Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften' 2011 at the Freie Universität Berlin held by P.V. Bartl: Aktions- und Wohnräume am Kopf des Habur: der Tell Fecheriye, Syrien

LNdW 2011 - Programme (pdf)

Three lectures (in English) at the Colloquium 'Archaeology on Three Continents 2006-2011' at the Slovak Archaeological and Historical Institute in Bratislava held by D. Bonatz: Mittani and Middle Assyrian Presence at Tell Fekheriye, A. Hotzan-Tshabashivili: The Neolithic at Tell Fekheriye and S. Geck: Recording Tell Fecheriye – Approaches towards a 3D-Record and Analysis of Archaeological Stratigraphy

Website (English) - SAHI

Colloquium (Slovakian) - SAHI

Lecture (in German) at the 'Forschungstag des Instituts für Vorderasiatische Archäologie' of the Freie Universität Berlin by D. Bonatz: Die Westexpansion des mittelassyrischen Reiches im Lichte jüngster Forschungen am Tell Fecheriye, Nordsyrien

Lecture (in German) at the 'Forschungstag des Instituts für Vorderasiatische Archäologie' of the Freie Universität Berlin by P. V. Bartl: Forschungen am Tell Fecheriye (2006 – 2010) - Ein Siedlungsplatz im Spannungsfeld von Natur und Kultur zwischen dem Neolithikum und der islamischen Zeit

During the 2010 campaign, further parts of a Middle Assyrian palace archive could be excavated, which contributes 40 complete or nearly complete cuneiform tablets to the eleven tablets already excavated in the 2009 campaign. [read more..]

Lecture at the Symposium 'Across the Border: Late Bronze-Iron Age Relation between Syria and Anatolia' given by D. Bonatz and P. V. Bartl: Across Assyria's Northern Frontier: Tell Fekheriye at the End of the Late Bronze Age

Lecture (in German) at the 'Altorientalisches Kolloquium' of the Institut für Assyriologie und Hethitologie and Vorderasiatische Archäologie of the Ludwig-Maximilians Universität Munich held by P.V. Bartl: Neue Forschungen am Tell Fecheriye - ein zentraler Siedlungsort am oberen Habur und seine kulturhistorische Einbindung

Lecture at the 7th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East given by Bonatz, D. and Bartl, P.V.: Preliminary Report on the Excavations at Tell Fekheriye between 2005 and 2009.

The Institut für Vorderasiatische Archäologie at the Freie Universität Berlin will host an international workshop on The Archaeology of the Upper Mesopotamian Piedmont in the Second Millennium BC from 21-23 January 2010. The workshop is being held within the framework of the Cluster of Excellence Topoi - The Formation and Transformation of Space and Knowledge in Ancient Civilizations. For this meeting, our specific focus is on political governance and governed spaces. The question of how imperial systems penetrated natural and social spaces by means of administrative and institutional control will be treated paradigmatically in the Upper Mesopotamian piedmont. The workshop will bring together an international group of scholars presenting new and original research related to the archaeological sites they are presently investigating. The papers and discussion will consolidate our understanding of the archaeological data and augment them through analysis of their potential for exploring inter-cultural interactions and political changes in the second millennium BC. The focus will be on the re-evaluation of the stratigraphical sequences in relation to the development of material culture as evidence for governed spaces.

Workshop - TOPOI

Workshop - Programme (pdf)