Mureybet
مريبط | |
Location | Syria |
---|---|
Region | Raqqa Governorate |
Coordinates | 36°02′36″N 38°07′43″E / 36.0434°N 38.1287°E |
Type | settlement |
Width | 75 m (246 ft) |
Height | 6 m (20 ft) |
History | |
Founded | 10,200 BC |
Abandoned | 8,000 BC |
Periods | Natufian, Pre-Pottery Neolithic A, Pre-Pottery Neolithic B |
Site notes | |
Excavation dates | 1964, 1965, 1971–1974 |
Archaeologists | M. N. van Loon, J. Cauvin |
Condition | flooded by Lake Assad |
Public access | no |
Mureybet (
History of research
The first archaeological investigation of the site was carried out in 1964. In that year, the site was noted during an
Mureybet and its environment
Mureybet is located in modern-day Raqqa Governorate in northern Syria. It is situated on an elongated ridge that is c. 4 metres (13 ft) above the river terrace of the Euphrates, which flowed directly west of the site before the valley was flooded. Mureybet is a tell, or ancient settlement mound, measuring 75 metres (246 ft) in diameter and 6 metres (20 ft) high.[1]
Climate and environment of Mureybet during the time of its occupation were very different from the modern situation. When Mureybet became occupied around 10,200 BC, climate was slightly colder and more humid than today, an effect of the onset of the
Occupation history
The excavations have revealed four occupation phases I–IV, ranging from the
Phases IB, IIA and IIB (9,700–9,300 BC) make up the
Phases IIIA and IIIB (9,300–8,600 BC) represent the Mureybetian, a subphase of the PPNA that was named after Mureybet and is found in the area of the Middle Euphrates. Architecture diversified, with rectangular, multi-cellular buildings appearing next to the round buildings that were already known from the previous phases. Walls were built from cigar-shaped stones that were created by percussion and that were covered with earth. Semi-subterranean structures also continued to be used and they are compared to similar structures found at nearby and contemporary
The last occupation phases, IVA (8,600–8,200 BC) and IVB (8,200–8,000 BC) date to the Early and Middle PPNB, respectively. No architecture has been encountered in phase IVA. No domesticated cereals were found, but this may be an effect of very small archaeobotanical sample that was retrieved from these phases. Hunting focused on equids, followed by aurochs. It could not be determined whether any domesticated animals were exploited in Mureybet. Mud-built walls of rectangular structures were uncovered in phase IVB. Domesticated sheep and goat were exploited in this period, and domesticated cattle may also have been present.[14]
Material culture
The excavation of Mureybet has produced an abundance of lithic material. During all periods, flint was the main raw material from which tools were made. It was procured from local sources. Obsidian was much less common. Natufian tools include points, burins, scrapers, borers and herminettes, a kind of tool that was primarily used for woodwork.[10] Flint arrowheads appeared in the Khiamian period. Other stone tools included burins, end-scrapers and borers.[11] Mureybetian stone tools included Mureybet arrowheads, scrapers and burins, while borers were much less common.[12] During the PPNB phase, Byblos arrowheads replaced the Mureybetian types, and other technological improvements were also introduced.[14]
Apart from the lithics, other artefact categories were also present in Mureybet in smaller quantities. Personal ornaments in the Natufian period consisted of pierced
See also
References
- ^ a b van Loon 1968, p. 265
- ^ Cauvin 1977, p. 19
- ^ Bounni 1977, p. 4
- ^ Calley 1984, p. 35
- ^ Willcox & Fornite 1999
- ^ Roux et al. 2000
- ^ Ibáñez 2008a
- ^ Ibáñez 2008a, p. 7
- ^ a b Ibáñez 2008b, p. 662
- ^ a b c Ibáñez 2008b, pp. 663–664
- ^ a b c Ibáñez 2008b, pp. 664–667
- ^ a b c Ibáñez 2008b, pp. 667–671
- ISBN 978-0-8032-9167-6. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
- ^ a b Ibáñez 2008b, pp. 671–672
Bibliography
- Bounni, Adnan (1977), "Campaign and exhibition from the Euphrates in Syria", The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 44: 1–7, JSTOR 3768538
- Calley, S. (1984), "Le débitage natoufien de Mureybet: étude préliminaire" (PDF), Paléorient (in French), 10 (2): 35–48,
- JSTOR 3768538
- Ibáñez, Juan José (2008a), "Introduction", in Ibáñez, Juan José (ed.), Le site néolithique de Tell Mureybet (Syrie du Nord). En hommage à Jacques Cauvin, BAR International Series (in French), vol. 1843, Oxford: ISBN 978-1-4073-0330-7
- Ibáñez, Juan José (2008b), "Conclusion", in Ibáñez, Juan José (ed.), Le site néolithique de Tell Mureybet (Syrie du Nord). En hommage à Jacques Cauvin, BAR International Series, vol. 1843, Oxford: Archaeopress, pp. 661–675, ISBN 978-1-4073-0330-7
- Roux, J.C.; der Aprahamian, Gérard; Brenet, Michel; Stordeur, Danielle (2000), "Les bâtiments communautaires de Jerf el Ahmar et Mureybet Horizon PPNA (Syrie)", Paléorient (in French), 26 (1): 29–44,
- van Loon, Maurits N. (1968), "The Oriental Institute excavations at Mureybit, Syria: preliminary report on the 1965 campaign. Part I: architecture and general finds", Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 27 (4): 265–282, JSTOR 543223
- Willcox, Georges; Fornite, Sandra (1999), "Impressions of wild cereal chaff in pisé from the 10th millennium uncal B.P. at Jerf et Ahmar and Mureybet: Northern Syria", Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 8 (1–2): 21–24,