Lecture Summaries: 15 March, 2007

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by
Jonathan N. Tubb
The British Museum

In April 1881, Claude Conder visited the region of Homs in Syria in an attempt to identify the site of Qadesh, where the great battle between the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II and the Hittite king, Muwatallis took place in 1289 BC. The event is depicted and described in detail on reliefs at Ramses’s mortuary temple (the Rameseum) at Thebes, and also at Luxor, Karnak, Abydos and Abu Simbel. Conder, informed by the Egyptian pictorial representations of the site, which show a fortified city surrounded by water, considered two sites as suitable candidates, Tell Nebi Mend, which is partly encircled by the Orontes river on one side and its tributary, the Wadi et-Tannur, on the other, and Tell et-Tin situated within the present Lake of Homs. Rejecting the latter on the basis of its smaller size and its isolation from the shore, Conder chose Tell Nebi Mend as ancient Qadesh, and this identification gained general acceptance. Indeed, confirmation appeared to have been provided by subsequent excavations at the site. Maurice Pezard’s 1921-2 excavations uncovered a stela of Seti I, indicating the importance of the site, and Peter Parr’s excavations (1975-96) produced tablets addressed to Niqmadu, king of Kinza (Qadesh).

Largely overlooked, however, are the excavations undertaken by Joseph-Etienne Gautier in 1895 at the "rejected" site of Tell et-Tin in the Lake of Homs. His meticulously conducted work was truly outstanding for its day, a model of scientifically objective research. Beginning with the hypothesis that, contrary to Conder’s belief, Qadesh might be identified with Tell et-Tin, he set about testing it through well-controlled excavation. His analysis of the results led him ultimately to reject his initial thesis and to accept instead Conder’s identification. With the benefit of more recent information, however, an examination of Gautier’s report suggests that he might have been too hasty in rejecting his initial hypothesis.

Last modified 8 March, 2007