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Papers by Fabrizio Venturi

S.Mazzoni, G. Minunno (eds), Tell Afis (Syria). The 2005-2010 Excavations on the Acropolis: The Early, Middle, Late Bronze and Iron Age I-III Periods (Studi di Archeologia Siriana 5), Firenze, (forthcoming).

The 2005-2010 campaigns had the main goal of completing the LBA sequence. After the definitive cl... more The 2005-2010 campaigns had the main goal of completing the LBA sequence. After the definitive clearing in 2005 of the last Iron Age I structures (phases Va-IV), we defined the plan of the SE sector of the phase Vb building B, whose pillared room was documented during the 2001-2002 campaigns (Venturi 2005). The subsequent excavations were dedicated to the progressive removal of the phase Vb structures and to the investigation of the more ancient building periods. Area E4 has documented a long and articulated occupational sequence. Phases VII and VI were extensively investigated on the whole area. Phase VIII, the most ancient period discovered, was reached only in a limited sounding during the 2009 campaign (see Fiorelli, this volume). 1 1. The Stratigraphy 1.1 Phase VII, Building F (pl. I) At the end of the 2010 campaign, 13 completely or partially excavated rooms were documented. The NW-SW limits of the building were identified, but part of its surface still lies below the unexcavated area. Its measures are 32 x 17 m. for a partial extension of around 400 sq. m. The partial knowledge of the plan and the lacunae caused by later pits do not allow a comprehensive understanding of the internal circulation. However, in the excavated part, it is possible to identify two distinct sectors. The sector situated to the NW was certainly the most important and was accessible from room F9. The floor 9178, unfortunately for the most part cut by later structures, was made of a thick layer of plaster mixed with pebbles. The preserved part was probably situated in front of the missing door through which it was possible to enter into room F7. This elongated space (7 x 2.50 m.) led into room F3, but its main function was that of a vestibule to the main room F8. This last (8 x 4 m.) had floor (9152) and walls lied with good quality plaster. The entrance 9147, situated in the SE corner, is the only one excavated, provided with a door socket. It was placed inside the room from which the door could be closed. The only jamb preserved had a plinth made of a single ashlar block 100 cm. long and 50 cm high. Room F8 was provided with a low plastered bench situated immediately westward of the entrance. Close to the western limit of the room, there were two opposing doors. The southern one (9164) gave access to rooms F1-F2, which displayed the best wall and floor coating of the building. F2 was 4 x 2.70 m. and its floor 8300 yielded no installations or material in situ (fig. 13). A fragment of clay plaque depicting an archer (fig. 9.1) and a cuneiform tablet TA.08.E.1 found inside might not have been in their original position. This room gave access to F1 through door 8318 provided with two stone steps (fig. 14). This space, 4.50 x 2.50 m., is situated on the limit of the acropolis slope and its walls are almost completely razed by the erosion. However, floor 7999 is well-preserved and shows high-quality technique. It was coated with thick smoothed plaster. The walls, even if only preserved to an height of a few cm., show evidence that they must have been coated with the same plaster, at least on their lower part. The waterproof coating suggests that F1 had a hydraulic function, for example as a bathroom, but no drainage system was found inside. Considering the quality of the architectural details, it is possible that F1-F2 could represent a small living unit annexed to the main room F8. The NW door of F8 (9154) opened into room F12 (fig. 15), whose NW corner was deeply cut by the phase Vb sunken structure 9807. This service room, 5 x 2.5 m. large, was only connected to F8. The presence of

Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East Madrid April 3 8 2006 Actas Del V Congreso Internacional De Arqueologia Del Oriente Proximo Antiguo Vol 3 2008 Isbn 978 84 8344 147 3 Pags 365 381, 2008

In the transition between Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age many sites in the Levant show change... more In the transition between Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age many sites in the Levant show changes in material culture testifying to the alteration of local domestic customs. Among the different aspects of daily household economy, storage vessels are probably the more conservative in terms of shape and clay composition. Tell Afis (Syria) is one of the sites among others which demonstrates the adoption of new forms and new painted motifs in tableware and drinking vessels at the beginning of the Early Iron Age. This paper focuses the attention on the storage vessels and the storage installations in a period comprising the 13 th -8 th century BC, with the aim of analyzing elements of continuity or discontinuity in the storage strategies inside the urban context of the site.

The phase VII structures were cleared in the area corresponding to building B of phase Vb, to the... more The phase VII structures were cleared in the area corresponding to building B of phase Vb, to the south of its huge northern external wall ( ). During this period, the area was occupied by a residence (building F) which shows high-quality architecture with heavily-plastered floors. The four excavated rooms represent the domestic sector of a residence whose extension has still to be determined. This building was voluntarily abandoned, so very little material has been left in situ. The kitchen F3, equipped with two fire installations arranged along the walls and a shallow plastered vat, represents the only exception. Probably due to its non-attractive facilities, this locus was not cleaned and the pottery found on its floor represents the first corpus presented here ( ).

Les fouilles sur le site archéologique de Tell Afis (Syrie), sous la direction de S. Mazzoni, ont... more Les fouilles sur le site archéologique de Tell Afis (Syrie), sous la direction de S. Mazzoni, ont mis au jour dans le chantier E4, pendant la campagne 1999, un vase zoomorphe peint datant du premier âge du Fer. Le décor représente une scène dans laquelle on voit interagir des figures humaines et un animal. Dans le répertoire de la céramique peinte de la Syrie septentrionale, principalement décorée pendant les XII-XI e s. av. J.-C. avec des motifs géométriques, les représentations figuratives sont très rares. Le style en silhouette des figures du vase de Tell Afis présente des ressemblances, soit avec le style pictural de la Proto white Painted/White Painted I chypriote, soit avec celui du cimetière à crémation de Hama. Toutefois, l'utilisation de figures stylisées appartient à une longue tradition levantine documentée dans la production céramique et dans la glyptique de l'âge du Bronze moyen et récent. Dans un contexte caractérisé par des contacts étroits avec les milieux égéens et chypriotes, l'analyse du style et du sujet de la décoration du vase zoomorphe de Tell Afis confirme donc l'origine locale de la tradition figurative de la Syrie septentrionale pendant le premier âge du Fer.

In a joint project with the aim of collecting new information about the context of the ivories. T... more In a joint project with the aim of collecting new information about the context of the ivories. The first two campaigns were devoted to the relocation of the ancient buildings excavated in 1928 by the French archaeologists through a topographical and geo-physical survey of the mound. During the 2009 campaign a small sounding was made in area E2, revealing walls of the Bâtiment aux ivoires and two more ancient Neo-Assyrian phases.

Books by Fabrizio Venturi

Tell Afis is situated in the Syrian province of Idlib, 50 km SE of Aleppo. The archaeological pro... more Tell Afis is situated in the Syrian province of Idlib, 50 km SE of Aleppo. The archaeological project directed by Stefania Mazzoni took place between 1986 and 2010, and produced documented evidence of an occupation stretching from the fourth millennium BCE to the Neo-Assyrian period. Areas E2-E4, opened on the western edge of the acropolis, have yielded a continuous sequence, divided into eight phases, spanning the Late Bronze and Iron Age periods. These volumes present the final excavation report of phases V-I which cover the period between the end of the 13th and the 8th c. BCE. During these centuries the Northern Levant was marked by important events which deeply changed its political, social and economic order. The political rise and the sudden fall of the Hittite empire, the collapse of the city-state political system, the emergence of new cultural entities attributed to migrants identified with the Sea Peoples quoted by the Egyptian kings Merneptah and Ramses III and the re-organization of the territory in regional polities ruled by Luwian and Aramaean dynasties, are all factors which contributed to the formation of the cultural and political landscape of the 9th-8th c. BCE.
The sequence of Areas E2-E4 yields a picture of a site which actively participated in these changes and was able to cross this troubled period by constantly reshaping its cultural and economic structure until becoming in the 8th c. BCE a flourishing center, likely to be identified with Hazrek, the capital of the Aramaean king Zakkur.