Sakka, Rif Dimashq Governorate Explained

Sakka
Native Name:	سكا
Other Name:	Saqqa
Settlement Type:	Village
Pushpin Map:	Syria
Pushpin Label Position:	bottom
Pushpin Mapsize:	250
Pushpin Map Caption:	Location in Syria
Coordinates:	33.4333°N 36.4561°W
Subdivision Type:	Country
Subdivision Type1:	Governorate
Subdivision Name1:	Rif Dimashq Governorate
Subdivision Type2:	Districts of Syria
Subdivision Name2:	Douma District
Subdivision Type3:	Nahiyah
Subdivision Name3:	Al-Ghizlaniyah
Population Total:	1520
Population As Of:	2004 census
Timezone:	EET
Utc Offset:	+2
Timezone Dst:	EEST
Utc Offset Dst:	+3

Sakka or Saqqa (Arabic: سكا) is a village to the southeast of Damascus, on the edge of the Ghouta, 5km (03miles) north west of Damascus International Airport in Syria.^[1]

Tell Sakka

Tell Sakka is a man-made tell in the neighborhood that has been excavated by Ahmed Taraqji on behalf of the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums.^[2]

Remains of a palace was found and dated to between 1800 and 1600 BCE. It has provided evidence of Egyptian influence in the Ghouta,^[3] The architectural remains were said to resemble those of Qatna and along with pottery were dated to the Middle Bronze Age.^[4] A courtyard was excavated measuring 14.5m (47.6feet) by 22.5m (73.8feet). Columns marked the entrance to the south and four large columns were positioned in a square in the centre of the courtyard. Tempera^[5] or perhaps Fresco technique Paintings were found on the walls showing ancient Egyptian style and motifs.^[6] However, beneath the apparent Egyptian scheme, a Near-Eastern tradition is evident in the ideas of the paintings.^[7]

The first cuneiform tablet recovered in the Damascus area was found at Tell Sakka. It was suggested resemble the style of cuneiform found in the archives of Mari and speaks of a king called Zimri-Lim. The cuneiform tablet in Sakka was translated to read "To my brother Zimri-lim, say "Thus saith Kanhilesu? Your brothers Samas and Dagan for the rest of the days, My brother sustenance? In front of me (it is) good. In front of my brother that is well! I heard: The enemy of my country brother, My brother has attacked, news of him that sent me! (...) inside a (?) [..., The army [of my country?], to my brother [(go go)]."^[8]

Other finds at the site included a sphinx made out of the scapula of a cow.^[9]

References

• Liebig. Michael. 133. 2014. Zum Alten Namen von Tell Sakka. NABU: Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires. Société pour l’étude du Proche-Orient Ancien. 101. 4. 0989-5671.

External links

• Sakka on geographic.org
• Sakka on maplandia.com
• Sakka on mapcarta.com
• Sakka on tageo.com
• First report of the looting of the Archaeological mission to Tell Sakka on the Facebook page of Le patrimoine archéologique syrien en danger الآثار السورية في خطر, (Syrian Archaeological Heritage under threat)
• Photo of Tell Sakka on "Le patrimoine archéologique syrien en danger" Facebook page
• Louvre conferences - Tell Sakka, une ville du Bronze Moyen de Damascène (1800-1600), Syrie

Notes and References

1. Book: Ross Burns. Damascus: A History. 21 September 2012. 20 January 2005. Taylor & Francis. 978-0-415-27105-9. 4–.
2. Taraqji, A., "Nouvelles decouvertes sur les relations avec 1'Egypte a Tell Sakka et a Keswe, dans la region de Damas," Bulletin de la Société Française d'Égyptologie 144:27-43, 1999.
3. Web site: à 12h30Tell Sakka, une ville du Bronze Moyen de Damascène (1800-1600), Syrie. louvre. 8 April 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150416060649/http://www.louvre.fr/12h30tell-sakka-une-ville-du-bronze-moyen-de-damascene-1800-1600-syrie. 16 April 2015. live.
4. http://www.akademiai.com/content/l99217ww251u5k80/ E. H. Bakraji, M. Ahmad, N. Salman, D. Haloum, N. Boutros, R. Abboud., Dating and classification of Syrian excavated pottery from Tell Saka Site, by means of thermoluminescence analysis, and multivariate statistical methods, based on PIXE analysis, Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Akadémiai Kiadó, co-published with Springer Science+Business Media B.V., 1999
5. Book: Manfred Bietak. Ernst Czerny. Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften. The synchronisation of civilisations in the Eastern Mediterranean in the second millennium B.C.: proceedings of the SCIEM 2000-2nd EuroConference Vienna, 28th of May-1st of June 2003. 21 September 2012. 2007. Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. 978-3-7001-3527-2. https://web.archive.org/web/20140704222539/http://books.google.com/books?id=nN8TAQAAMAAJ. 4 July 2014. live.
6. Book: Marlies Heinz. Marian H. Feldman. Representations of Political Power: Case Histories from Times of Change and Dissolving Order in the Ancient Near East. 21 September 2012. 2007. Eisenbrauns. 978-1-57506-135-1. 51–. https://web.archive.org/web/20140704222644/http://books.google.com/books?id=_7kP_hNKHxIC&pg=PA51. 4 July 2014. live.
7. Book: Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C.. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Joan Aruz . Kim Benzel . Jean M. Evans . 129. 2008.
8. Web site: Abdallah, Fayssal., La Découverte d'un Premier Texte Cunéiforme A Damas, Tell Sakka, Revision Historique, Damascus University Journal, Vol. 27, No. 3+4, 2011. . 2012-09-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150418121015/http://www.damascusuniversity.edu.sy/mag/human/images/stories/31-34.pdf . 2015-04-18 . live .
9. http://www.naturalsciences.be/common/pdf/science/aswa2011/aswa2011_abstracts.pdf al Besso, Moussab., Production d'objets en os dans un atelier du Bronze Moyen en Syrie du Sud: Tell Sakka, Paper for the 10th International Archaeozoology of Southwestern Asia and Adjacent Areas, Brussels, June 28th-30th, 2011.