Tell Balabra is located to the east of the Qaramukh, a now dry tributary of the Balikh River, in northern Syria. The site consists of two major mounds (Balabra East and West) surrounded by unmounded ruins. We estimate that the site covers approximately 50 hectares. The Directorate-General of Antiquties and Museums suggested the site for excavation because it will provide information on a time period and region that currently form major gaps in our understanding of the Bronze and Iron Ages.
In the Late Bronze Age, Aramaean populations settled in this area and became the chief competitors of the powerful Middle Assyrian kingdom to the east. During the early Iron Age, ca. 1000-800 BC, this region formed the border between the powerful Aramaean kingdoms of Balih and Bit Adini to the west. The region was targeted by Assyrian imperial expansion during the reign of the Shalmaneser III, who conquered it in 853 BC. Under his successors it was fully incorporated into the empire. The size of Tell Balabra East indicates it was an important center when Aramaeans first settled in this area and established small kingdoms on the Assyrian frontier.
In 2006, The University of Pennsylvania Museum initiated a multidisciplinary scientific expedition to conduct long-term investigations at Tell Balabra and in the surrounding region.
