Tell Fekheriye
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Tell Fekheriye (Arabic: تل الفخيرية) (often spelled as Tell el-Fakhariya or Tell Fecheriye, among other variants) is an ancient site in the Khabur river basin in al-Hasakah Governorate of northern Syria.[1] It is securely identified as the site of Sikkan, attested since c. 2000 BC.[2] While under an Assyrian governor c. 1000 BC it was called Sikani.[3][4] Sikkan was part of the Syro-Hittite state of Bit Bahiani in the early 1st millennium BC. In the area, several mounds, called tells, can be found in close proximity: Tell Fekheriye, Ras al-Ayn, and 2.5 kilometers east of Tell Halaf, site of the Aramean and Neo-Assyrian city of Guzana. During the excavation, the Tell Fekheriye bilingual inscription was discovered at the site, which provides the source of information about Hadad-yith'i.[5]
تل الفخيرية | |
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Alternative name | Sikkan |
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Location | Ras al-Ayn, Al-Hasakah Governorate, Syria |
Region | Upper Mesopotamia |
Coordinates | 36°50′24″N 40°4′7″E |
Type | Settlement |
Site notes | |
Excavation dates | 1929, 1940, 1955, 2001, 2006-2010 |
Archaeologists | Felix Langenegger, Hans Lehmann, Calvin W. McEwan, A. Pruß, Anton Moortgat |
Condition | In ruins |
In the early 20th century Tell Fekheriye was suggested as the site of Washukanni, the capital of Mitanni, but the claim is unconfirmed.[6][7] Many scholars opposed this theory including Michael Roaf, Peter Akkermans, David Oates, Joan Oates and Edward Lipiński.[2][8][9] However this identification received a new support by Stefano de Martino due to recent archaeological excavations by a German team led by Mirko Novák and Dominik Bonatz.[10]