Geoffrey King

Archaeological Fieldwork at the Citadel of Homs, Syria: 1995–1999

Abstract The Citadel of Homs is set on one of the largest urban tells of Syria but it has been neglected in terms of its archaeology as it was occupied by the military until recent years. The tell goes back to at least the Early Bronze Age although the present paper focuses primarily on its Islamic fortifications. The extant Islamic walls were built during the Ayyubid period and the Mamluk sultan Baybars subsequently carried out restorations. All of this work is testified by inscriptions although without exception, they are lost. A joint Syrian-British study of the Citadel of Homs commenced in 1994, and this has involved recording the remains of the walls and towers, while excavations have attempted to understand the stratigraphic sequence of floors in the rooms of the mediaeval Islamic defences.