Tell Arbid Syria Tell Arbid Preliminary Report on the Results of the Twelfth Season of Syrian–Polish Excavations

TELL ARBID SYRIA TELL ARBID PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE RESULTS OF THE TWELFTH SEASON OF SYRIAN–POLISH EXCAVATIONS Piotr Bieliński The twelfth field campaign of Syrian-Polish archaeological explorations on the site of Tell Arbid lasted, as usual, seven weeks and can be counted among the most successful seasons conducted so far.1 The investigation of 3rd-millennium BC urban remains continued to be the expedition’s main objective, in continuation of the work carried out in the previous two seasons. This year, however, the focus was on layers with dwellings dating to the Ninevite 5 period. The results of the 2005 and 2006 campaigns proved that deposits from this period exceed 15 m in thickness (which corresponds to more than half of the present height of the tell) and cover almost the entire surface of the site (that is, about 14 ha). This makes the Ninevite 5 period one of the most important phases in the history of occupation on Tell Arbid. Excavations were concentrated in two areas where in the last few years substantial parts of the Ninevite 5 town had been uncovered [Fig. 1]: Sector D in the northwestern part of the main tell and Sector W in the southern part. 1 The season started on August 22 and field investigations lasted through October 1. The Polish team was more numerous than usual, including Dr. Anna Smogorzewska, Dr. Dariusz Szeląg, both from the Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw; Dr. Zuzanna Wygnańska, Dr. Łukasz Rutkowski, Marta Momot and Marzena Markowska, all from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw; Andrzej Reiche from the National Museum in Warsaw; Maciej Makowski from the Research Center of Mediterranean Archaeology, Polish Academy of Sciences and Agnieszka Szymczak (freelance). Student trainees included nine volunteers from the University of Warsaw: Marta Mierzejewska, Klaudia Szajkowska, Magdalena Lipińska, Katarzyna Hryniewicka, Magdalena Ostrowska, Dagmara Siatkowska, Joanna Reiche, Łukasz Wojnarowicz and Karol Zajdowski, as well as Mattia Raccidi from the University of Florence. Dr. Joanna Piątkowska-Małecka from the Department of Paleozoology, Institute of Archaeology, University of Warsaw, joined the team for two weeks to analyze animal bones from the last five seasons of investigations on Tell Arbid. The Syrian side of the Tell Arbid expedition was represented this year by two archaeology students from Damascus University, Nancy Badra and Raghad Bach, who helped out with drawing trench plans and pottery. The expedition was co-directed by Dr. Ahmed Serriyeh and the present author. The joint Syrian-Polish expedition benefited as usual from the help and substantial financial contribution of the Direction General of Antiquities and Museums. Special thanks go to Dr. Bassam Jammous, Director General, as well as to Dr. Michel al-Maqdissi, Director of the Excavations Department, for their generous interest and encouragement. Last but not least, there is Abed Abdel Mesih Bagdo, Regional Director of Antiquities in Hassake, whose regular visits, advice and constant support in solving numerous problems proved invaluable. 537 Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 19, Reports 2007 TELL ARBID SYRIA Fig. 1. Contour map of the main tell at Tell Arbid showing the location of excavated areas (Drawing M. Wagner, based on plan by D. Pręgowski, updating M. Momot) 538 Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 19, Reports 2007 TELL ARBID SYRIA SECTOR D: NINEVITE 5 RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT Investigations continued of a large house, from other surviving examples, this seems to which is an exceptionally well preserved have been a standard in Tell Arbid example of late Ninevite 5 residential architecture of the 3rd millennium BC. The architecture. The northern and southern roughly square courtyard of the Ninevite parts of this building had already been North-Western House (3.20 by 3.00 m) uncovered in 2003 and 2005 (Bieliński organized communication inside the house. 2004: 345–348; Bieliński 2007: 457–459). It seems that the aforementioned side room, Now, the southern and southwestern parts accessible directly from the street, may have were excavated in square 30/41, enabling also held a stairway leading to an upper a full reconstruction of the ground plan and level, be it a roof or an upper floor. providing sufficient data for phasing the Three subsequent construction phases internal remodeling. In conclusion, the have now been distinguished in the building, referred to in the documentation excavated late Ninevite 5 strata in Sector D. as the Ninevite North-Western House, can The Ninevite North-Western House belongs be said to have been erected on the plan of to the oldest of these, which can be further an irregular quadrangle, almost a trapezoid. divided into two subphases. Its outer walls reached a maximum of 9.50 A new trench opened south of the by 8.00 m and the surface of the ground Ninevite North-Western House in square floor measured approx. 56 m2 [Fig. 3]. 31/41 was intended to explore Late The building could be accessed from an Ninevite 5 period structures, the northern alley turning off the main street and fragments of which had been discovered in running towards the western part of the house. One of two entrances found there, perhaps the main one, led through a hall into an inner courtyard, while the other one led into a small room in the southwestern corner of the house [Fig. 2]. The household rooms lay along the northern side of the courtyard, whereas on the south, along the street, there stretched the largest room of the house which measured approx. 5 by 2 m. It seems that it, too, came to be used for domestic activities, although this was not the original purpose [Fig. 4]. Access to this room had been provided initially by two entrances, one leading from the courtyard, the other from a side room which itself was accessible from the street. Later, the passage from the side room was blocked. The latter doorway has been preserved in its entirety, including the Fig. 2. Main entrance to the Ninevite North- height which is approx. 1.50 m. Judging Western House (Photo A. Reiche) 539 Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 19, Reports 2007 TELL ARBID SYRIA Fig. 3. General plan of Sector D (top) with the Ninevite North-Western House blown up to show the general phasing (bottom left) and subdivisions of phase III (bottom right) (Drawing A. Smogorzewska and M. Wagner, updating M. Momot) 540 Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 19, Reports 2007 TELL ARBID SYRIA Fig. 4. Ninevite North-Western House seen from the south; courtyard and three rooms with domestic installations in the background (Photo A. Reiche) Fig. 5. Akkadian-period room with tannurs and an andiron from the Northern Complex, square 31/41 (Photo A. Reiche) 541 Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 19, Reports 2007 TELL ARBID SYRIA Fig. 6. Grave G4–31/41 with equipment (Drawing M. Makowski, M. Mierzejewska and Ł. Wojnarowicz, digitizing M. Momot and A. Smogorzewska) 542 Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 19, Reports 2007 TELL ARBID SYRIA 2005 in the southern end of square 30/41. from the Early Dynastic III phase (in the The top layer in the new trench contained Southern Complex), horseshoe-shaped Khabur Ware period remains: mainly pisé andirons in different states of preservation walls, consisting of numerous segments were discovered near the tannurs [Fig. 5]. set on different foundation levels. It seems A suite of three rooms in a row were that in some cases the tops of these walls may excavated in the Northern Complex (loci: 2, have served as an occupational level, 19 and 26–31/41), one of these being although they could hardly have been erected a courtyard. The entrance to the house is in solely for this purpose. The fragmentary its northern part, which had been investi- 3rd millennium BC structures reached gated in the previous season. In the Southern beneath the Khabur Ware layers in the Complex, four small rooms were investi- western and northern parts of the trench gated. The house was accessible from the appear to have been in use during the west. It probably opened onto a small street successive Akkadian and Early Dynastic III which had functioned in the same spot since periods. The uncovered remains belong to the Ninevite 5 period. two adjacent house complexes dubbed Work in square 31/41 within the Northern and Southern respectively. Northern Complex yielded a few graves from Despite rebuilding and modification of the Akkadian period. Two among them, the internal layout, the two houses seem to graves of infants, were discovered beneath have preserved basic elements of the plan the floor of locus 22–31/41 (a room), and sometimes also the function of some while a third burial, that of an older child, rooms from the Early Dynastic III through was dug in the wall of the same room in the Akkadian period. Tannurs are good a later phase of the Akkadian period. In the examples of this continuity as they were latter grave (G4-31/41), the contracted consistently placed inside the same room skeleton was found with a bronze bracelet, within each house. In two rooms with beads of lapis-lazuli, carnelian and shell and tannurs, one dating from the Akkadian five pottery vessels: two jars, two goblets and phase (in the Northern Complex) and one a cup [Fig. 6]. SECTOR W–WEST: NINEVITE BRICK PLATFORM The western part of Sector W (the distance its function (Bieliński 2008: 558–559) between the excavation trenches in Sector [Fig. 7]. Trenches opened now in five W on the southern slope of the tell called squares: 48/49, 48/51, 48/52, 49/49 and for a subdivision into the W–West and 49/52, aimed at determi-ning the full extent E–East parts to facilitate the documentation) of this feature and recon-structing was first investigated in the season of 2003, provisionally its original height.

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