Shir (Neolithic site)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Shir_Lageplan.jpg/220px-Shir_Lageplan.jpg)
Shir (German transcription according to the
History of research
The settlement of Shir was discovered in 2005 during a local survey in the central Orontes area
Settlement
According to radiocarbon datings, the settlement of Shir was inhabited between 7000 and 6200/6100 calBC (calibrated data). The site was abandoned towards the end of the 7thmillennium
Architecture
For the time span between 7000 and 6450
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f1/Shir_Nordostareal.jpg/220px-Shir_Nordostareal.jpg)
As a rule, the foundation walls of the buildings in Shir are built of
The ecological conditions for the settlement were extraordinarily favourable, because at least two bountiful habitats were present for use: the surrounding, open oak forest and the dense floodplain forest of the Sarut as well as the Orontes rivers, flowing ca. 4 km west of the settlement. Water supply was secured by the perennial Sarut River. Raw materials for constructing buildings and producing items for everyday use, such as
Burials
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/Shir_Saeuglingbestattung.jpg/220px-Shir_Saeuglingbestattung.jpg)
There are numerous burials within the excavated part of the southern settlement area. Most of them were the graves of infants and young children, which were found in buildings under walls and stretches of lime plaster. Burials of adults were seldom, appearing mostly as individual graves outside of the houses. In the youngest layer of the central area was a larger space with numerous burials, which possibly can be addressed as an extramural necropolis. All of the burials contained only few grave goods. Turquoise beads are an exception and were found only in the graves of infants.
Finds
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/Shir_Gefaess_der_DFBW.jpg/220px-Shir_Gefaess_der_DFBW.jpg)
Ceramic finds already appear in Shir in the oldest settlement layer, dated to ca. 7000 B.C.
Next to
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Shir_Knochenfloete.jpg/220px-Shir_Knochenfloete.jpg)
Other small finds include weapons, such as
Investigations at Shir have enabled comprehensive insight into the development of a Neolithic village over a time span of almost 800 years. The recorded data provide evidence of complex architecture, the differentiated use of raw materials and elaborate techniques employed in constructing buildings and manufacturing artefacts. Furthermore, excavations at the site have shown that Shir was integrated in the Neolithic network of exchange and communication that extended from Anatolia to the Red Sea. In comparison with other coeval settlements in the Levant, northern Mesopotamia and the Anatolian region, the finds from Shir exhibit a strongly regional component of the cultural development during the Late Neolithic period.
References
Literature
- Karin Bartl, A. Farzat, W. al-Hafian 2012: The Late Neolithic Site of Shir. New Results from 2010, in: Zeitschrift für Orient-Archäologie 5, 2012, 168–187.
- Karin Bartl, A. Haidar, mit Beiträgen von O. Nieuwenhuyse und D. Rokitta-Krumnow 2008: Shir – Ein neolithischer Fundplatz am mittleren Orontes. Vorläufiger Bericht über die Ergebnisse der Testkampagne Herbst 2005 und Grabungskampagne Frühjahr 2006, in: Zeitschrift für Orient-Archäologie 1, 2008, 54–88.
- Karin Bartl, M. Hijazi, J. Ramadan, mit einem Beitrag von Reinder Neef 2009: Die spätneolithische Siedlung Shir/Westsyrien. Vorläufiger Bericht über die Ergebnisse der Grabungskampagnen Herbst 2006 und Frühjahr 2007, in: Zeitschrift für Orient-Archäologie 2, 2009, 140–161.
- Karin Bartl, M. al-Maqdissi 2007: Ancient Settlements in the Middle Orontes Region Between ar-Rastan and Qal´at Shayzar. First Results of Archaeological Surface Investigations 2003-2004, in: Daniele Morandi Bonacossi (Hrsg.): Urban and Natural Landscapes of an Ancient Syrian Capital. Settlement and Environment at Tell Mishrifeh/Qatna and in Central-Western Syria, Udine, 9–11 December 2004, Udine, Studi Archeologici su Qatna, Forum, Udine 2007, 227–236.
- Karin Bartl, J. Ramadan 2008: The Late Neolithic Site of Shir. Third Season of Excavations 2007, in: Chronique Archéologique en Syrie 3, 2008, 63–73.
- Karin Bartl, J. Ramadan, W. al-Hafian 2010: Shir/West Syria. Results of the fourth and fifth seasons of excavations in 2008, in: Chronique Archéologique en Syrie 4, 2010, 59–66.
- Karin Bartl, J. Ramadan, W. al-Hafian 2011: Shir/West Syria. Results of the sixth and seventh season of excavations in 2009, in: Chronique Archéologique en Syrie 5, 2011, 51–60.
- O. Nieuwenhuyse 2009: The Late Neolithic Ceramics from Shir. A First Assessment, in: Zeitschrift für Orient-Archäologie 2, 2009, 310–356.
- O. P. Nieuwenhuyse, Karin Bartl, K. Berghuijs, G. Vogelsang-Eastwood 2012: The cord-impressed pottery from the Late Neolithic Northern Levant: Case-study Shir, in: Paléorient 38, 2012, 65–77.
- D. Rokitta-Krumnow 2011: The lithic artifacts from the Late Neolithic settlement of Shir/Western Syria, in: Zeitschrift für Orient-Archäologie 4, 2011, 212–244.
- D. Rokitta-Krumnow 2012: Lithikfunde des 7. Jahrtausends v. Chr. in der nördlichen Levante. Die Entwicklung der Steingeräteindustrie der spätneolithischen Siedlung Shir/Syrien. Dissertation am Fachbereich Geschichts- und Kulturwissenschaften der Freien Universität Berlin 2012 online