oi.uchicago.edu THE ORIENTAL INSTITUTE THE AMUQ VALLEY PROJECTS, 1995 By K. AS/llwn Yener, Assistam Professor of Archaeology, The Orienta/lnstitllte. and Tony J. Wilkinsol/, Research Associate (Associate Professor), The Oriental fnstifllre It was with great anticipation that lea rn s from the Oriental In­ which would enhance the strat igraphy from previous excava­ stitute returned 10 the Amuq Valley in the slale of Halay, tions and explore the possibility of future wide scale investi­ Turkey, afler a 57 year hiatus. Between 1932 and 1938 the ga tion. The second, directed by Tony Wilkinson with graduate pa th breaking Amuq Va lley Surface Survey by Professor Rob­ students Scott Branting and Jerry Lyon, was an ongoing pro­ ert Braidwood and his Chicago coworkers found 178 mounds. gra m of archaeological and geomorphological surveys in the The subsequent excavations, under the di rection of Calvin Amuq Plain. They located the mounds and other archaeologi­ Wells McEwan. at Halay-Catal Hoylik. Tell al-ludaidah. Tell cal sites that were mapped by the original Chicago team in Tayinat. TeJ1 Dhahab, and Tell Kurdu provided a strati graphic 1932, after which they attempted to reconstruct landscape seq uence upon which most of th e chronology of the Near East changes through time and to assess the im pact of human com­ depends even today. In 199 1 Professor Douglas Esse of the munities on the environment (see below). Oriental Institute initiated a project to reexcavate Catal Hoylik through a coll aboration with the Antakya Museum . Unfortu­ EXCAVATIONS AT TEll Al-JUDAIOAH (K. A. Yener) nately his untimely death delayed undertaking the excavation. The Amuq Valley has held great interest to me ever since our Our renewed Amuq efforts began in 1995 and were intended ongoing lead isotope analysis program indicated a source of to be the first phase of a multi -phase regional investigation. metal for several bronze and sil ver artifacts excavated previ­ Our enthusiasm for reactivating the Amuq projects was ously from the Amuq. Several sa mples of copper and sil ver matched onl y by the excitement and support of the local popu­ ore from mines in the nearby Taurus and Amanus Mountains, lation. who greeted us wi th wannth and hospitality. The ci ty located to the west of the Amuq, matched Chalcoli thic, Early of Reyhanh, where Tell al-Judaidah and Dhahab are located, Bronze, and Late Bronze Age metal artifacts, indicating that extended honorary ci tizenshi p to the Braidwoods and sent they were made fro m these ores. Of special interest were the them a plaque thanking them for their research contribut ions Amuq G fi gurines from Tell al-Juda idah, which are to da te in their region. The 1936 field team In front of Rehanleh (Reyhanll) The 1995 field team featuring the Mayor of Reyhanfl, (left House, Amuq Headquaters, (left to right, standing) Rob­ to right, bottom row) Mehmet Hazlrlar, Elizabeth ert Braidwood, Hamilton Darby, Calvin McEwan, (seated) Friedman, Asllhan Yener, Mayor Mahmut Ekmen, Beklr Arthur Pierson, Elizabeth McEwan, Rlgmor Jacobsen, Altan, (top row) Clemens Reichel, Scott Brantlng, Tony Thorklld Jacobsen, Harold Hili, and Richard Haines Wilkinson, and Jerry Lyon The 1995 fie ld season on the Amuq Plain was divided into the oldest tin bronzes in the Nea r East (ca. 3000 B.C.). Find­ two operations: The first, directed by K. Ashhan Yener with ing the metal workshops where the actual crafting was done graduate students Elizabeth Friedman and Clemens Reichel, lent immediacy and relevance to this project. was a rescue excavation that consisted of section cleaning, section drawing, and limited excavations at Tell al-Judaidah, continued on page 2 oi.uchicago.edu Robert Braidwood excavating a burial at Tell a/­ Excavations at Tellsl-Juda/dah, 1995 Juda/dah, 1936 Bulldozer cuts at Tell al-Judaidah had exposed substnn­ measuring 2.90 x 1.40 meters, which was positioned just above tial mudbrick arch itecture on its northern and northeastern an earlier burnt room visible in the section. The nex t phase edges. Ceramics in the section and sherds collected from the contained ashy lenses. a slone a li gnment. and another debris indicated that the walls daled 10 roughly Pha se F {ear­ mudbrick wa ll with stone foundations oriented northeast-south­ lier fourth mi llennium B.C.} and Phase G (Ialer fourth millen­ west along the li ne of the section. but very lillie of this was nium and early third millennium B.C.). Three architectural recoverable. levels were clearly apparent and were recorded in a I :20 scale The earliest floor in the bu ilding phase visible in the cross­ drawing. The earliest mudbrick walls had been highl y vitri­ section was not reached: however. a later mud fl oor with gyp­ fied due 10 burning. which resulted in good preservation, while sum patches was recovered below the colla pse level. A large the later phase wa lls were less coherent. A sounding 5 meters ashy lens ove rl ying several burnt destruct ion layers contain­ in widt h and 2 meters deep was ini tiated on top of the bull­ ing disintegrated mudbri ck collapse represented the lowest ar­ dozer cut. Thus a stra tigraphic column would hopefu lly corre­ chitectural phase. Three substantial walls 1.60 meters wide late with the established ceramic sequence as we ll as help and 1.50 meters high bordered a room that may have been generate an independent Amuq F-G Iransilion sequence. en­ used as a magazine or storage room and was perhaps part of hanced by dates from radiocarbon samples. an administrative unit in Phase G. Large quantities of crushed Massive mudbrick walls with stone foundations (brick pollery were recovered on the floor of the storage room. New size: 52 x 36 x 7 centimeters) were preserved to a height of Iypes of storage jars and cooking pot wares distinguished it 1.80 meters and 1.50 meters in width in the uppennost phase. from the phases above. Hitherto unknown Plain Simple Ware A room of 2.60 x 2.50 meters fomled part of a substantial ar­ storage jars with a cream-buff paste were decorated with a chitectura l unit . Several occupa ti on surfaces emerged with red wash on the interior of the rim with red paint drizzling predominantl y wheel-made Plain Simple Ware dating this down vertica ll y on the outer surfa ce of lhe vessel. This deco­ late r structure to Amuq G. After the removal of the founda­ ration is not attested in the published pottery assemblage of lions. the sounding descended in a narrower vertical column Phase G and may belong to an earlier level of Phase G or part of an undetected F-G tra nsition. Although severn I cooking pot wares and chaff-faced exampl es in this room do suggest a Phase F dale. the more well-known Phase F strata will prob­ ably emerge from below the surface level of the present plain. In future years the archaeologica l heritage of the area will be examined within the context of important technologica l. subsistence, and cultural changes taking place in the ancient Near East and will provide the basis for our understanding of the cultural history in this unique environment bounded by re­ source-rich mountain highlands. LAKE ANTIOCH UNPLUGGED (T. J . Wilkinson) Our main aim during the survey part of the 1995 field season was to obtain an overview of the region from the estuary of the Orontes River inland to the pla in itself in order to formu ­ late research goals for future seasons and to get an impression Team members Elizabeth Friedman and Clemens Reichel of how the area had chunged since the 19305 when Professor leveling In archaeologlcs/atr.'a al Tella/-Jud.ldsh Robert Braidwood conducted his ground brea k.ing survey. 2 oi.uchicago.edu Although our survey was hardly groundbreaking. other people had been breaking ground, hence we witnessed the poi­ gnant sight of several tells literally cut in half or oUlerwise mutilated as local famlers and landowners enlarged fields to grow more irrigated cotton. Earth-moving machines. although threatening to the existence of archaeological sites, can also provide a bonus for field archaeologists by supplying opportu­ nistic sections through deep accumulations of soil. Such sec­ tions enable us to infer environmental changes from the layers of sediments that have accumulated through time under vary­ ing hydrological. climatic. or vegetated conditions. One of the key environmental changes that wou ld have influenced the growth of senlement in the region must ha ve been the devel­ opment of Lake Antioch. which occupied the central part of lhe basin in recent ce nturies. As noted by Professor Braidwood. Sir Leonard Woolley. The southern end of Tell al-Judaldah showing the 1995 and others, this lake may have been a relatively late feature. excavated area but if it was late. we needed to ask what the basin wa s li ke must have pre-dated the lake's fonnalion. One such sitt-per­ before the lake formed, and how the inhabitants may have haps the site witnessed by Woolley- was visi ted by the Ori­ li ved under such different conditions. Although we get some ental Institute team during the field season. It was discovered hints about the lake's history from Islamic writers and even by asking the loca l inhabitants whether they knew of any ar­ from Assyrian reliefs. it seemed logical that we also examine chaeological sites speci fi ca ll y within the area of the fonner the landscape itself for traces of ils early hi story.