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Tepe Gawra
Tepe Gawra (also Tepe Gaura) is an ancient Mesopotamian settlement 24 km (15 mi) 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 (4000–3100 BC). Tepe Gawra contains material relating to the Halaf-Ubaid Transitional period c. 5,500–5,000 BC.
Tell Arpachiyah is a contemporary Neolithic site nearby. At Yarim Tepe, located about 70 km (43 mi) to the west of Gawra, the uppermost levels of the Halaf cultural deposits are analogous to the Arpachiyah levels TT-6 to TT-8, and Tepe Gawra levels XVIII-XX.
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 Austen Layard in 1849 who stated "By my directions deep trenches were opened into its sides, but only fragments of pottery were discovered". The site was formally excavated in 1927 and between 1932 and 1938 by archaeologists from a joint expedition of the University of Pennsylvania and the American Schools of Oriental Research. After a 15 day trial excavation in 1927 which opened a sounding trench on the southeast slope of the main mound the 1932, 1933, and 1936 seasons were led by Ephraim Avigdor Speiser. In the remaining seasons the team was led by Charles Bache. At the same time, these scholars explored the related nearby ancient site of Tell Billa, which is located about 8 km (5.0 mi) southwest of Gawra.
Burials were found in graves and tombs. Graves took the form of inhumations, urn burial, side-wall graves, and pisé graves. Tombs ranged from mudbrick to stone and grave goods included ivory combs and gold foil. While most work concentrated on the main mound, two deep soundings were conducted on the adjacent plain, recovering early Halaf pottery shards and simple construction. Small finds included thousands of beads, mostly stone and shell, and a number of implements of stone and obsidian. These included knives, razor blades, 100 flint arrowheads, mace heads, and a large number of sling stones. Also found was one of the earliest known distillation apparatus (dated c. 3500 BC), 46 centimeters high.
Although no epigraphy was recovered at the site about 700 seals and sealings were found. This included 5 stamp seals from the Halaf and 34 from the Ubaid. These seals were of the geometric and the animal design types. Stamp seals were found as late as Level VII and not later. Cylinder seals were found in Levels VII and VI.
The excavators defined the stratigraphy as follows:
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.
Tepe Gawra
Tepe Gawra (also Tepe Gaura) is an ancient Mesopotamian settlement 24 km (15 mi) 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 (4000–3100 BC). Tepe Gawra contains material relating to the Halaf-Ubaid Transitional period c. 5,500–5,000 BC.
Tell Arpachiyah is a contemporary Neolithic site nearby. At Yarim Tepe, located about 70 km (43 mi) to the west of Gawra, the uppermost levels of the Halaf cultural deposits are analogous to the Arpachiyah levels TT-6 to TT-8, and Tepe Gawra levels XVIII-XX.
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 Austen Layard in 1849 who stated "By my directions deep trenches were opened into its sides, but only fragments of pottery were discovered". The site was formally excavated in 1927 and between 1932 and 1938 by archaeologists from a joint expedition of the University of Pennsylvania and the American Schools of Oriental Research. After a 15 day trial excavation in 1927 which opened a sounding trench on the southeast slope of the main mound the 1932, 1933, and 1936 seasons were led by Ephraim Avigdor Speiser. In the remaining seasons the team was led by Charles Bache. At the same time, these scholars explored the related nearby ancient site of Tell Billa, which is located about 8 km (5.0 mi) southwest of Gawra.
Burials were found in graves and tombs. Graves took the form of inhumations, urn burial, side-wall graves, and pisé graves. Tombs ranged from mudbrick to stone and grave goods included ivory combs and gold foil. While most work concentrated on the main mound, two deep soundings were conducted on the adjacent plain, recovering early Halaf pottery shards and simple construction. Small finds included thousands of beads, mostly stone and shell, and a number of implements of stone and obsidian. These included knives, razor blades, 100 flint arrowheads, mace heads, and a large number of sling stones. Also found was one of the earliest known distillation apparatus (dated c. 3500 BC), 46 centimeters high.
Although no epigraphy was recovered at the site about 700 seals and sealings were found. This included 5 stamp seals from the Halaf and 34 from the Ubaid. These seals were of the geometric and the animal design types. Stamp seals were found as late as Level VII and not later. Cylinder seals were found in Levels VII and VI.
The excavators defined the stratigraphy as follows:
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.