Reliefs from Tell Halaf - Bird

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The ancient cuneiform inscription etched onto the reliefs recounts, 'Palace of Kapara, son of Hadianu'. Bird WA 117105 Tell Halaf Perched on the headwaters of the river Habur in north-eastern Syria, Tell Halaf was unearthed between 1911 and 1921 by a German expedition under the command of Baron Max von Oppenheim. Extensive areas of the early Iron Age city (c. 1200-900 BC) were exposed. Ruled by an Aramaean family, the city, known as Guzana (Old Testament, Gozan), reached its zenith of prosperity around the middle of the tenth century BC under King Kapara. The foundation of the south wall of Kapara's palace was lined with a series of 187 reliefs carved in black basalt alternating with red-ochre tinted limestone. Tell Halaf remained occupied in later periods, but ceased to be an influential city after the downfall of the dynasty of Kapara.