Basalt Block

On Display in the Syro-Anatolian Gallery

Large basalt block inscribed with Luwian hieroglyphs preserved in three registers, from the Amuq Valley, Jisr el Hadid, Iron Age II, ca. 8th century BCE (A23427).

Tell Tayinat Cylinder Seal

On Display in the Syro-Anatolian Gallery

Stone cylinder seal recut with Egyptian symbols, Tell Tayinat, Turkey, Amuq L, ca. 1800–1600 BCE (A27494).

The Henrietta Herbolsheimer, M.D. Syro-Anatolian Gallery traces the cultures of ancient Turkey and Syria back to the earliest Neolithic stone figures. Monumental sculpture and architectural elements of the Iron Age (ca. 800 BCE) city of Tell Tayinat compliment a chronological display of ceramics, cylinder seals, and tools from the Amuq Valley that span millennia. The gallery also explores metallurgy and mining in Anatolia, including the oldest known bronze figurines (3400–2750 BCE). Other highlights are Hittite pottery, Syro-Anatolian luxury goods (jewelry, libation bowls, and cosmetic containers), and a display on the development of the alphabet in Anatolia and examples of the hieroglyphic Luwian script.

ISAC's Hittite-Anatolian Expedition (1927–1932) and Syrian-Hittite Expedition (1931–1938) excavated most of the artifacts on display in this gallery.