Tall Šṭīb

The basalt stele was found in 2002 during an archaeological survey by the eastern edge of the site of Tall Šṭīb. The round-topped stele is broken at the bottom and in its current shape is about 76 cm high, 66 cm wide, and 38 cm thick. On the front face towards the top is a two-line Hieroglyphic Luwian inscription that identifies the author as Urahilina, son of Parita, king of Hama, and similar to several other inscriptions of his from Hama, it is a declaration of founding an unnamed settlement dedicated to the deity called Ba'alatis. The find spot of the stele gives some idea about the extent of the kingdom of Hama to the north. Urahilina is known to have ruled in the mid-9th century BCE.


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