page_title: Sam'al
section_title: Archaeology
hierarchical_section_title: Sam'al / Archaeology
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Eck-Orthostat des Fürsten Kilamuwa, Samal (heute Zincirli, Türkei) English: Memorial stone of Kilamuwa King of Sam'al (Zincirli), written in Phoenician.
context_page_description: Sam'al, also Zincirli Höyük, was founded at least as far back as the Early Bronze Age. It was largely abandoned during the Hittite and Mittani periods then flourished again in the Iron Age, initially under Luwian speaking Neo-Hittites, and by the 920 BC had become a kingdom. In the 9th and 8th century BC it came under control of the Neo-Assyrian Empire and by the 7th century BC it had become a directly ruled Assyrian province. It is located in the Anti-Taurus Mountains of modern Turkey's Gaziantep Province.
context_section_description: The site was excavated in 1888, 1890, 1891, 1894 and 1902 during expeditions led by Felix von Luschan and Robert Koldewey. Each of the expeditions was supported by the German Orient Committee, except for the fourth (1894), which was financed with monies from the Rudolf-Virchow-Stiftung and private donors.
  They found a heavily fortified teardrop-shaped citadel, which was surrounded by the as yet unexcavated town and a further enormous double fortification wall with three gates and 100 bastions. Among the notable objects found at the site are five giant statues of lions carved from stone, which apparently had guarded the gates of the city, but may have been ritually buried together within the citadel.  The German excavations on the citadel recovered large numbers of relief-carved orthostats, along with inscriptions in Aramaic, Phoenician, and Akkadian. These are on exhibit in the Pergamon Museum, Berlin, and Istanbul. Also found was the notable Victory stele of Esarhaddon celebrating his victory over Taharqa. The field diaries of the excavation were lost during World War II.
  In August 2006, the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago began a new long-term excavation project at the site of Zincirli under the directorship of David Schloen. Seven seasons of excavation have been conducted through 2012.
caption: Inscription of Prince Kilamuwa of Samal, Pergamon Museum
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