Czech Ambassador Eva Filipi visited Czech archaeologists in Syria's Tell Al-Shamiya

The archaeological site of Tell Al-Shamiya is located in western Syria near the port of Latakia. This is the second year of a joint Czech-Syrian expedition that is investigating the site. The team consists of experts from the Czech National Museum and the General Directorate of Monuments and Museums of the Syrian Arab Republic (DGAM).

Tell Al-Shamiya is a tell-type site that covers an area of about 4 hectares. In 1932, Claude Schaeffer made the first exploration here, in 2012-2015 a Syrian team led by Dr. Ahmad Deb from DGAM returned to the site to continue with a smaller scale exploration works.

A joint Syrian - Czech team led by Dr. Ahmad Deb and Dr. Marika Tisucká is now uncovering architectural remains of buildings on the top of the tell and at the same time exploring the tombs located on its slope. From them comes, for example, the bronze tip of a spear and a dagger, which are dated to the Middle Bronze Age (2000-1800 BC). Based on the research so far, the settlement in the site dates back to a period between the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, i.e. the period approximately between 2200 and 700 BC.

The team is trying to find out what happened at the location in the 12th century BC, when the human settlements in a wide coastal area totally collapsed. The nearby city-state of Ugarit and other important centers of power in the region disappeared.

Czech archaeologists in Syria's Tell Al-Shamiya

Czech archaeologists in Syria's Tell Al-Shamiya

Czech archaeologists in Syria's Tell Al-Shamiya

Czech archaeologists in Syria's Tell Al-Shamiya

Czech archaeologists in Syria's Tell Al-Shamiya

Czech archaeologists in Syria's Tell Al-Shamiya

Czech archaeologists in Syria's Tell Al-Shamiya

Czech archaeologists in Syria's Tell Al-Shamiya

Czech archaeologists in Syria's Tell Al-Shamiya