Location | Raqqa Governorate, Syria |
---|---|
Coordinates | 36°14′6″N38°5′54″E / 36.23500°N 38.09833°E |
Type | settlement |
History | |
Founded | 4th millennium BC |
Periods | Uruk V |
Site notes | |
Excavation dates | 1972-1982 |
Archaeologists | G. Van Driel |
Condition | Ruined |
Ownership | Public |
Public access | Yes |
Jebel Aruda (also Djebel Aruda or Jebel 'Aruda or Sheikh 'Arud or Gebel Aruda or Gabal Aruda), is an ancient Near East archaeological site on the west bank of the Euphrates river in Raqqa Governorate, Syria. It was excavated as part of a program of rescue excavation project for sites to be submerged by the creation of Lake Assad by the Tabqa Dam. The site was occupied in the Late Chalcolithic, during the late 4th millennium BC, specifically in the Uruk V period. It is on the opposite side of the lake from the Halafian site of Shams ed-Din Tannira and is within sight of the Uruk V site Habuba Kabira (8 kilometers downstream) and thought to have been linked to it. The archaeological sites of Tell es-Sweyhat and Tell Hadidi are also nearby.
The site, which lies 60 meters above the west bank of the Euphrates River, was founded on virgin soil, and covers an area of about 3 hectares. There is a 9.5 meter high 80 meter by 70 meter temple terrace with a stone foundation. An area of about 1 hectare has been excavated. Excavators defined three areas, a temple precinct, northern houses, and southern houses. [1] Three charcoal samples, associated with a fragment of a miniature limestone clay wheel, gave calibrated radiocarbon dates of 3335–3103 BC, 3333–3101BC, and 3315–2916BC. [2]
In 1909 Gertrude Bell observed the tell on a journey down the East bank of the Euphrates river but was prevented from crossing over to explore it by high winds. [3] After having been visited by Maurits Van Loon in 1964 as part of the rescue survey the site of Jebel Aruda was excavated, as part of the Tabqa Dam rescue effort, between 1972 and 1982 by a Dutch team from the University of Leiden led by G. Van Driel. [4] Finds from this excavation are held in the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities though are property of the government of Syria. [5] [6] [7] Finds include eight copper axes (alternatively described as ingots). [1] In a storeroom several kilograms of unprocessed lapis lazuli and a variety of precious stones were excavated. [8] After a forty-year delay the excavation final report was finally released in 2023. [9] [10]
In the southern houses area of the mound there are "T-Form" manor houses, suggested as prototypes for the later Mesopotamian E-GAL temples. [11] Houses in the northern areas were more of a residential nature (Similar to those found at the nearby Uruk V site of [[Habuba Kabira|Habuba Kabira South]]) but included areas with industrial functions. Kilns were found in the courtyard of NC-NF compounds associated with ashy deposits containing a large number of bevel rim bowls and flower pots. The northern houses area was destroyed by fire. [12] [13] [14] A few of the ceramic objects had been coated with bitumen. [15] [16] Clay sealing were found at the site. [17]
On the in the elevated temple precinct were two 40 square meter tripartite structures with the typical Uruk period niched facades, one named the Red Temple and another named the Grey Temple, assumed to have religious and possibly administrative functions. The Red Temple had a triple entrance leading across three vestibules into the cult room at the center. The Grey Temple had two entrances leading to a central area with a closed sacristy. [18] The temple precinct is surrounded by a niched wall. There were two building phases with the Red Temple built in the first phase and the Grey Temple added in the second. Occupation ended in a nonviolent manner being emptied, leveled, and filled in with large mudbricks. This resulted in very few finds, amounting to a small number of flower pots and seal impressions. [19]
Thirteen Uruk V period "numerical tablets" (possibly a precursor to Proto-cuneiform and Proto-Elamite), sometimes called "impressed tablets", were found at the site in the southern houses area, some sealed. Four of the tablets were found in a large T-shaped room near the temple precinct. [20] [21] [22] Eleven Neolithic clay tokens were also excavated. [23]
Jebel Aruda is a single period site, occupied in three phases in the Uruk V period (c. 3500-3350 BC) of the late 4th millennium BC. [7]
Tell Sheikh Hassan (also Tall Sheikh Hassan and Tall Šaih Hasan) was a walled ancient Near East settlement across the Euphrates from Jebel Aruda. Originally on the left bank of the Euphrates river, it is now an island as a result of flooding from the Tabqa Dam. Its original height of 14 meters and area of 5 hectares has been reduced to half a hectare. The site was occupied during the Neolithic and Uruk periods and again in the Iron age and through to the Islamic period. [24] [25] [26] [27] [28]
In 1909 Gertrude Bell observed the tell on a journey down the East bank of the Euphrates river. [29] The site was examined in 1963 by Abdul Kader Rihaoui and in 1964 by Maurits. N. van Loon. Tell Sheikh Hassan was excavated between 1972 and 1994 as part of the Tabqa Dam rescue archaeology project. A French team led by A. Bounni (1972 to 1974), J. Cauvin (1976), and D. Stordeur (1993) focused on the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (9th and 10th millennium BC) areas. [30] [31] [32] A German team in 1981 led by W. Orthmann and from 1984 to 1990 and from 1992 to 1994 led by J. Boesse of the University of Saarbruecken focused on the Late-Terminal Ubaid period, Uruk period (4th millennium BC) and Iron Age (1st millenium BC) areas. [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] Smelting crucibles were found among the 17 Middle Uruk levels. Beveled rim bowls were also found. Bullae and tokens, and cylinder seals were in use as was bitumen. [39] [40] This is one of the earliest known uses of cylinder seals. Also in the Uruk period levels a left bent axis single shrine temple was found. [41] [42] In the Iron age levels a Bit-hilani palace was uncovered. [43] Five ostracon, inscribed in Aramaic and dated to the 5th century BC, were found in the rubble of an Iron Age building. [44]
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia. Originating in Turkey, the Euphrates flows through Syria and Iraq to join the Tigris in the Shatt al-Arab in Iraq, which empties into the Persian Gulf.
Eridu was a Sumerian city located at Tell Abu Shahrain, also Abu Shahrein or Tell Abu Shahrayn, an archaeological site in Lower Mesopotamia. It is located in Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq, near the modern city of Basra. Eridu is traditionally considered the earliest city in southern Mesopotamia based on the Sumerian King List. Located 12 kilometers southwest of the ancient site of Ur, Eridu was the southernmost of a conglomeration of Sumerian cities that grew around temples, almost in sight of one another. The city gods of Eridu were Enki and his consort Damkina. Enki, later known as Ea, was considered to have founded the city. His temple was called E-Abzu, as Enki was believed to live in Abzu, an aquifer from which all life was thought to stem. According to Sumerian temple hymns, another name for the temple of Ea/Enki was called Esira (Esirra).
"... The temple is constructed with gold and lapis lazuli, Its foundation on the nether-sea (apsu) is filled in. By the river of Sippar (Euphrates) it stands. O Apsu pure place of propriety, Esira, may thy king stand within thee. ..."
Uruk, known today as Warka, was an ancient city in the Near East, located east of the current bed of the Euphrates River, on an ancient, now-dried channel of the river. The site lies 93 kilometers northwest of ancient Ur, 108 kilometers southeast of ancient Nippur, and 24 kilometers southeast of ancient Larsa. It is 30 km (19 mi) east of modern Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.
Umma (Sumerian: 𒄑𒆵𒆠ummaKI; in modern Dhi Qar Province in Iraq, was an ancient city in Sumer. There is some scholarly debate about the Sumerian and Akkadian names for this site. Traditionally, Umma was identified with Tell Jokha. More recently it has been suggested that it was located at Umm al-Aqarib, less than 7 km to its northwest or was even the name of both cities. One or both were the leading city of the Early Dynastic kingdom of Gišša, with the most recent excavators putting forth that Umm al-Aqarib was prominent in EDIII but Jokha rose to preeminence later. The town of KI.AN was also nearby. KI.AN, which was destroyed by Rimush, a ruler of the Akkadian Empire. There are known to have been six gods of KI.AN including Gula KI.AN and Sara KI.AN.
Bad-tibira, "Wall of the Copper Worker(s)", or "Fortress of the Smiths", identified as modern Tell al-Madineh, between Ash Shatrah and Tell as-Senkereh and 33 kilometers northeast of ancient Girsu in southern Iraq, was an ancient Sumerian city on the Iturungal canal, which appears among antediluvian cities in the Sumerian King List. Its Akkadian name was Dûr-gurgurri. It was also called Παντιβίβλος (Pantibiblos) by Greek authors such as Berossus, transmitted by Abydenus and Apollodorus. This may reflect another version of the city's name, Patibira, "Canal of the Smiths".
The Uruk period existed from the protohistoric Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age period in the history of Mesopotamia, after the Ubaid period and before the Jemdet Nasr period. Named after the Sumerian city of Uruk, this period saw the emergence of urban life in Mesopotamia and the Sumerian civilization. The late Uruk period saw the gradual emergence of the cuneiform script and corresponds to the Early Bronze Age; it has also been described as the "Protoliterate period".
The Tabqa Dam, or al-Thawra Dam as it is also named, most commonly known as Euphrates Dam, is an earthen dam on the Euphrates, located 40 kilometres (25 mi) upstream from the city of Raqqa in Raqqa Governorate, Syria. The city of Al-Thawrah is located immediately south of the dam. The dam is 60 metres (200 ft) high and 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) long and is the largest dam in Syria. Its construction led to the creation of Lake Assad, Syria's largest water reservoir. The dam was constructed between 1968 and 1973 with help from the Soviet Union. At the same time, an international effort was made to excavate and document as many archaeological remains as possible in the area of the future lake before they would be flooded by the rising water. When the flow of the Euphrates was reduced in 1974 to fill the lake behind the dam, a dispute broke out between Syria and Iraq that was settled by intervention from Saudi Arabia and the Soviet Union. The dam was originally built to generate hydroelectric power, as well as irrigate lands on both sides of the Euphrates. The dam has not reached its full potential in either of these objectives.
Hamoukar is a large archaeological site located in the Jazira region of northeastern Syria, near the Iraqi and Turkish borders. The early settlement dates back to the 5th millennium BCE, and it existed simultaneously with the Ubaid and the early Uruk cultures. It was a big centre of obsidian production. In the 3rd millennium, this was one of the largest cities of Northern Mesopotamia, and extended to 105 ha.
Arslantepe, also known as Melid, was an ancient city on the Tohma River, a tributary of the upper Euphrates rising in the Taurus Mountains. It has been identified with the modern archaeological site of Arslantepe near Malatya, Turkey.
The Civilization of Mesopotamia ranges from the earliest human occupation in the Paleolithic period up to Late antiquity. This history is pieced together from evidence retrieved from archaeological excavations and, after the introduction of writing in the late 4th millennium BC, an increasing amount of historical sources. While in the Paleolithic and early Neolithic periods only parts of Upper Mesopotamia were occupied, the southern alluvium was settled during the late Neolithic period. Mesopotamia has been home to many of the oldest major civilizations, entering history from the Early Bronze Age, for which reason it is often called a cradle of civilization.
Til Barsip or Til Barsib is an ancient site situated in Aleppo Governorate, Syria by the Euphrates river about 20 kilometers south of ancient Carchemish.
Tepe Gawra is an ancient Mesopotamian settlement 15 miles NNE of Mosul in northwest Iraq that was occupied between 5000 and 1500 BC. It is roughly a mile from the site of Nineveh and 2 miles E of the site of Khorsabad. It contains remains from the Halaf period, the Ubaid period, and the Uruk period. Tepe Gawra contains material relating to the Halaf-Ubaid Transitional period c. 5,500–5,000 BC.
Tell es-Sweyhat is the name of a large archaeological site on the Euphrates River in northern Syria. It is located in Raqqa Governorate roughly 95 km northeast of Aleppo and 60 km south of Carchemish. Also, a Uruk site of Jebel Aruda and a Bronze Age site Tell Hadidi (Azu) are located just across the river.
The Tishrin Dam is a dam on the Euphrates, located 90 kilometres (56 mi) east of Aleppo in Aleppo Governorate, Syria. The dam is 40 metres (130 ft) high and has 6 water turbines capable of producing 630 MW. Construction lasted between 1991 and 1999. Rescue excavations in the area that would be flooded by the dam's reservoir have provided important information on ancient settlement in the area from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) period upward.
Habuba Kabira is an ancient Near East archaeological site on the west bank of the Euphrates River in Aleppo Governorate, Syria, founded during the later part of the Uruk period in the later part of the 4th millennium BC. It was about 1300 kilometers from the southern Mesopotamia city of Uruk, five kilometers north of Tell Halawa, ten kilometers south of Mumbaqat, and eight kilometers upstream from Jebel Aruda. The site was excavated as part of a rescue archaeology effort due to the construction of the Tabqa Dam and is now mostly underwater. The Habuba Kabira complex consists of two sites
Tell Fray is a tell, or settlement mound, on the east bank of the Euphrates in Raqqa Governorate, northern Syria. The archaeological site takes its name from an ancient irrigation canal, hence 'Fray' or 'Little Euphrates'. It was part of a rescue excavation project for sites to be submerged by the creation of Lake Assad by the Tabqa Dam.
Al-Rawda is a tell, or archaeological settlement mound, in the Syrian steppe, east of Hama. It was a large urban site with city walls and several temples, occupied between 2400–2000 BC. A French–Syrian mission has been excavating the site since 2002.
Beveled rim bowls are small, undecorated, mass-produced clay bowls most common in the 4th millennium BC during the Late Chalcolithic period. They constitute roughly three quarters of all ceramics found in Uruk culture sites, are therefore a unique and reliable indicator of the presence of the Uruk culture in ancient Mesopotamia.
Tell Hadidi, ancient Azu, is an ancient Near East archaeological site in Syria about 30 kilometers north of Emar and 5 kilometers north of Ekalte. It lies on the west bank of the Euphrates River on the opposite bank from Tell es-Sweyhat. It is thought to be a paired city with Tell es-Sweyhat controlling a Euphrates river crossing. There are prominent hollow ways between the site and Tell es-Sweyhat, Tell Othman, and Tell Jouweif. The site was occupied from the Early Bronze Age period to the Late Bronze Age and again to a lesser extent in Roman times. It was one of several rescue excavations sparked by the construction of the Tabqa Dam and the resulting Lake Assad. The town's primary god was Dagan.
Hacınebi Tepe is an ancient Near East archaeological site 3.5 kilometers north of the modern town of Birecik and near the Euphrates river crossing between Apamea and Zeugma in Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. The area marks the northernmost easily navigable route of the Euphrates River. The site was occupied in the 4th millennium BC by a local population, joined by an enclave of the Uruk culture in the middle of that millennium. It was then abandoned aside from occasional use for burials, until the Hellenistic period when it was again fully occupied. The sites final use was as a Roman farmstead.