Tell es-Sawwan
Hassuna, and Samarra culture | |
Site notes | |
---|---|
Excavation dates | 1964-1971 |
Archaeologists | Behnam Abu Al-Soof. Khalid Ahmad Al-a'dami, Walid Yasin |
Condition | Ruined |
Ownership | Public |
Public access | Yes |
Tell es-Sawwan is an important
. It lies on a 12 meter high cliff overlooking the Tigris River.The site is a primarily
History
The inhabitants of Tell es-Sawwan were farmers who used irrigation from the
Underfloor graves of adults and children contained terracotta and alabaster statuettes of women and men, in various poses; some of these had the eyes and pointed heads typical of the Ubaid period.[2]
Archaeology
Tell es-Sawwan is an oval mound 350 metres (1,150 ft) long by 150 metres (490 ft) wide with a maximum height of 3.5 metres (11 ft). It consists of three tells, labeled A, B, and C aligned from north to south. Some of the western portion of the site has been lost to river erosion. The main mound was surrounded by a three-meter defensive ditch and a strong mudbrick wall. The neolithic village, on mounds B and C, consisted of large mudbrick houses and other buildings thought to be granaries. There were five occupation layers.[3] Among the finds were 77 neolithic clay tokens.[4] A number of clay sling bullets were also found, by a ditch and wall the excavators termed defensive in nature. The ditch was radiocarbon dated to 5730 ± 75 B.C.[5]
Tell es-Sawwan was first noted by Ernst Herzfeld in 1930 while working at Samarra.[6] The site was excavated by a team from the Iraqi Directorate General of Antiquities in seven seasons between 1964 and 1971. The first, third, and fourth seasons were directed by Behnam Abu Al-Soof, the second season by Khalid Ahmad Al-a'dami and the sixth and seventh season by Walid Yasin.[7][8][9][10][11][12] Donny George Youkana worked briefly at the site in 1985.[13] In 1988 and 1989 further excavations were conducted by C. Breniquet for the Delegation Archeologique Francaise en IraK.[14][15][16]
Gallery
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Female figurine from Tell es-Sawwan, Louvre Museum
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Mother goddess from Tell es-Sawwan, Iraq, 6000-5800 BCE. Iraq Museum
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Mother goddess figurine from Tell es-Sawwan, Iraq, 6000-5800 BCE. Iraq Museum
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Alabaster jar with a necklace from Tell es-Sawwan, Iraq. 6000-5800 BCE. Iraq Museum
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Bowl with human bones from Tell es-Sawwan, Iraq, 6000-5800 BCE. Iraq Museum
See also
- Cities of the ancient Near East
References
- ISBN 978-0415109765
- ^ Oates, Joan, "The Baked Clay Figurines from Tell Es-Sawwan", Iraq, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 146–53, 1966
- ^ Helwing, Barbara, "Reconsidering the Neolithic Graveyard at Tell Es-Sawwan, Iraq", Paléorient, vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 123–36, 2016
- ^ Overmann, Karenleigh A., "CHAPTER 9. THE NEOLITHIC CLAY TOKENS", in The Material Origin of Numbers: Insights from the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Piscataway, NJ, USA: Gorgias Press, pp. 157-178, 2019
- ^ Roper, Marilyn Keyes, "Evidence of Warfare in the Near East from 10,000-4,300 B.C.", in War, its Causes and Correlates, edited by Martin A. Nettleship and Dale Givens, Berlin, New York: De Gruyter Mouton, pp. 299-344, 1975
- ^ Herzfeld E., "Die Ausgrabungen von Samarra 5. Die vorgeschichtlichen Töpfereien von Samarra", Berlin: Reim, 1930
- ^ [2] F. el-Wailly and B. Abu Al-Soof, "The Excavations at Tell es-Sawwan: First Preliminary Report (1964)", Sumer , vol. 21, pp. 17-32, 1965
- ^ Khalid Ahmad Al-a'dami, "Excavations at Tell es-Sawwan (Second Season)", Sumer, vol. 24, pp. 57-95, 1968
- ^ Ghanim Wahida, "Excavations at Tell es-Sawwan (Third Season) 1966", Sumer, vol. 23, pp. 167-178, 1967
- ^ [3] Behnam Abu Al-souf, "Tell es-Sawwan: Excavation of the Fourth Season (Spring 1967)", Sumer, vol. 24, pp. 3-15, 1968
- ^ [4] Behnam Abu Al-soof, "Tell es-Sawwan: Fifth Seasons Excavations (Winter 1967, 1968)", Sumer, vol. 27, pp. 3-7, 1971
- ^ Walid Yasin, "Excavation at Tell es-Sawwan - the Sixth Season (1969)", Sumer, vol. 26, pp. 3-20, 1970
- ISBN 978-1-897750-05-6
- ^ "Excavations in Iraq 1987-88", Iraq, vol. 51, pp. 249–65, 1989
- ^ "Excavations in Iraq 1989-1990", Iraq, vol. 53, pp. 169–82, 1991
- ^ C. Breniquet, Rapport sur deux campagnes de fouilles à Tell es-Sawwan, 1988–1989, Mesopotamia, vol. 27, pp. 5–30, 1992
Further reading
- Abdul Qadir al-Tekriti, The Flint and Obsidian Implements of Tell es-Sawwan, Sumer, vol. 24, pp. 53–36, 1968
- Catherine Breniquet, "Tell Es-Sawwan: Realites et Problemes", Iraq, vol. 53, pp. 75–90, 1991
- [5] Breniquet, Catherine, "Tell Es-Sawwan, Irak. Essai de Synthèse et de Prospective Sur La Néolithisation de La Plaine Mésopotamienne", Paléorient, vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 137–49, 2016
- Connan, J. and Deschesne, O., "Origine et alteration de quelques bitumes archaeologiques de tell Es-Sawwan (5500-5000 av. J.C.)", Mesopotamia 27, pp. 47–61, 1992
- Connan, J., D. Dessort, and O. Deschesne, "A model of highly weathered oil seepages: the bitumens of Tell Es-Sawwan in Iraq", Bulletin des Centres de Recherches, Exploration-Production Elf-Aquitaine;(France) 16.1, pp. 33–53, 1992
- Coqueugniot, E., "Tell Es-Sawwan (1988-1989): Note concernant les outils de Pierre Taillee", Mesopotamia 27, pp. 31–46, 1991
- Ducos, P., "La faune de Tell Es-Sawwan (1988-1989)", Mesopotamia 27, pp. 63–70, 1992
- Keith Flannery and Jane C. Wheeler, Animal Bones From Tell as-Sawwan Level III (Samaran Period), Sumer, vol. 23, pp. 179–182, 1967
- H Helbaek, Early Hassunan vegetable food at Tell es-Sawwan near Samarra, Sumer, vol. 20, 1966
- Ippolitoni F., "The pottery of Tell es-Sawwan - First season", Mesopotamia V-VI, pp. 105–179, 1970–71
- Joan Oates, The Baked Clay Figurines from Tell es-Sawwan, Iraq, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 146–153, 1966
- Qaddoori, Waleed Khalid, Badawi Mohamed Ismail, and Mahmoud Abdel Hafez Adam, "Study the Risks Affecting Adobe Buildings in Tell Es-Sawwan, Iraq, and Methods of Restoration and Reinforcement", Al Malweah for Archaeological and Historical studies 7.21, pp. 105–142,2020
- F. Strika, Clay human figurines with applied decoration from Tell Es-Sawwan, Mesopotamia, vol. 33, pp. 7–21, 1998
- Strika, Fiorella Ippolitoni, "W-like signs on pottery, anthropomorphic vessels and on seals: Pre-writing at Tell es-Sawwan", Rivista Degli Studi Orientali, vol. 72, no. 1/4, pp. 1–10, 1998