Tepe Gawra

Coordinates: 36°29′44″N 43°15′37″E / 36.49556°N 43.26028°E / 36.49556; 43.26028
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Tepe Gawra
Nineveh Province, Iraq
RegionNorthern Mesopotamia
Coordinates36°29′44″N 43°15′37″E / 36.49556°N 43.26028°E / 36.49556; 43.26028
Typetell
Site notes
Excavation dates1927, 1931, 1932
ArchaeologistsE.A. Speiser
Tepe Gawra on the map of Uruk period archaeological sites in Upper Mesopotamia and Anatolia

Tepe Gawra is an ancient

Halaf period, the Ubaid period, and the Uruk period (4000–3100 BC). Tepe Gawra contains material relating to the Halaf-Ubaid Transitional period
c. 5,500–5,000 BC.

Archaeology

Northern Ubaid pottery from Tepe Gawra and other sites

The tell or settlement mound at Tepe Gawra is 120 metres (390 ft) in diameter and 22 metres (72 ft) high.

A brief exploratory dig was performed by

Tell Billa, which is located about 8 km (5.0 mi) southwest of Gawra.[5]

In 2001, Mitchell Rothman reanalyzed the data from previous excavations that did not use precise stratigraphic techniques. He considerably clarified the stratigraphy of the site.[6]

Tell Arpachiyah is a contemporary Neolithic site nearby.

At

Arpachiyah levels TT-6 to TT-8, and Tepe Gawra levels XVIII-XX.[7]

Occupation history

Early Ubaid period pottery, 5100-4500 BC, Tepe Gawra. Louvre Museum DAO 3
Columbella Rustica snail shell necklace from Tepe Gawra (modern day Iraq) 4000 BCE

Excavations at Tepe Gawra revealed 16 levels showing that the Tepe Gawra site was occupied from approximately 5000 BC to 1500 BC. They include the earliest known temple to be decorated with pilasters and recesses. The Gawra Period (3500–2900 BC) is named for the site. The earliest temple was dated to the LC2 period, approximately 4200 BC.[8]

Earliest use of gold

According to Daniel Potts, the earliest evidence for gold or electrum use in the Near East comes from Ur and Tepe Gawra; a few small artifacts, such as wire and beads, have been found at these sites. At Tepe Gawra, the use of gold and electrum continued into the Early Dynastic period, starting about 2900 BC.[9]

Several objects from levels 12 to 8 (mid-fourth to early-third millennium BC) at Tepe Gawra were made of arsenical copper, which is quite early for Mesopotamia. Similar objects are also found in Fara (Shuruppak), also dating from Jamdat Nasr period.[10]

See also

  • Cities of the Ancient Near East

References

  1. ^ A. H. Layard, Nineveh and Its Remains, John Murray, 1849
  2. ^ E. A. Speiser, "Preliminary Excavations at Tepe Gawra", The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research, vol. 9, pp. 17-57+59-94, (1927 - 1928)
  3. ^ The Expedition to Tell Billa and Tepe Gawra, Bulletin of the University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, vol. 3(2), pp. 59-66, 1931
  4. ^ Charles Bache, "Tepe Gawra 1934–1935", American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 185–188, April–June 1935
  5. ^ Excavations at Tell Billa and Tepe Gawra, Bulletin of the University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, vol. 3(5), pp. 126-130, 1932
  6. ISBN 0-924171-89-8
  7. ISBN 0816513937
    p.178
  8. S2CID 254605429
    . Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  9. ISBN 978-1-4443-6077-6
    .
  10. ISBN 0801433398
    p167

Further reading

External links

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