Defining the MB-LB Transition in Northern Mesopotamia: Some Archaeological Considerations on the New Data from the Erbil Plain and Neighbouring Regions

Defining the MB-LB transition in northern Mesopotamia: some archaeological considerations on the new data from the Erbil Plain and neighbouring regions

VALENTINA OSELINI

Sapienza University of Rome

Abstract

The transitional phase between the Middle and the Late Bronze Age in Northern Mesopotamia is difficult to define, both from a historical and an archaeological perspective. This paper seeks to address the main issues in the identification of diagnostic ceramic features for this phase, by comparing the evidence from the Erbil plain with the data gathered from surveys and excavations in the Middle and Upper Tigris region (i.e. Yorgan Tepe, Tell Rimah, Tell Billa) and in the Syrian Jazirah (i.e. Tell Brak, Tell Bderi and Tell Barri). Through the analysis of the ceramic assemblages coming from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and their comparison with materials belonging to better known stratified sequences, I will focus on the diagnostic features characterizing the pottery repertoire during the Middle Bronze Age - Late Bronze Age transition.

Keywords

Transition, pottery, Northern Mesopotamia, Dark Age

West & East 205 Monografie, 4 Valentina Oselini

1. Introduction information about the small kingdom of Tunip- Teššup, probably located East of the Tigris and The transition between the Middle and the Late contemporary with the reign of Hattusili I, is pro- Bronze Age in Mesopotamia (hereafter MBA and vided by textual documents whose provenance is LBA) is traditionally dated to the middle of the dubious.6 Textual sources coming from other ar- second millennium BC, and it represents a prob- eas7 suggest that Mitanni should be considered lematic period for what concerns both the defini- as the most powerful polity in northern Mesopo- tion of an absolute chronology and the identifi- tamia before the rise to power of the Middle As- cation of its archaeological phases.1 The centuries syrian Kingdom. The peak of Mitanni’s influence between the Old Babylonian and the Middle Kas- was reached during the fifteenth and the first half site period are known as “Mesopotamian Dark of the fourteenth century BC, when a vast terri- Age”2 owing to the shortage of textual sources for tory extending from North-Western Syria to the this epoch. Moreover, the absence of well-docu- Eastern Tigris Region was under its control.8 The mented and exhaustive stratified contexts and ar- capital city of the Mitannian state was Washush- chaeological sequences for the northern Mesopo- kanni, initially identified with Tell Fekheriye,9 tamian area so far (especially in northern Iraq) while secondary capitals were located along the does not allow a comprehensive reconstruction of Khabur and Balikh rivers(fig. 1).10 Excavations at the historical background that could fill in the gaps Tell Brak (Area HH),11 Tell Fekheriye,12 Tell Barri of the documentation. There is consensus among (Area G, phases BF-BA)13 and Tell Bderi14 in the scholars in considering the time frame of the col- Syrian Jazirah allow us to recognize the main fea- lapse of the First Dynasty of Babylon, traditionally tures of the LBA material culture in the heartland set in 1595 BC3, and of the decades following this of the Mitannian state. event as a thorny issue.4 According to Novák, the first period that can be For what regards northern Mesopotamia, the properly defined Mitannian -both from an archaeo- scarcity of textual data concerning the phase be- logical and historical point of view- corresponds to tween the Old Assyrian and the Middle Assyrian the overlapping of the last phase of the MBA with periods, spanning from the end of eighteenth to the end of fifteenth century BC, has prevented a dle of the fifth century BC, the city of Assur appears as the capital of a territorial state (Veenhof, Eidem 2008, pp. 23-27). reliable reconstruction of the Assyrian history at 6 Salvini 1998, 1996. the middle of the second millennium BC.5 Some 7 Western Syria, Egypt, Hittite and Babylon Kingdoms, Cancik-Kirschbaum et Al. 2014, pp. 2-3. 1 Pruzsinsky 2009; Schwartz 2008, p. 450. 8 De Martino 2014, p. 61; Schwartz 2014, 2 Pruzsinsky 2009, p. 41. pp. 270‑271. 3 According to the Middle Chronology. 9 The identification of Washushkanni with Tell Fekheri- 4 Gasche et Al. 1998, pp. 6-7; Pruzsinsky 2009, ye was first suggested by von Oppenheim (von Oppenheim p. 17. 1931, p. 60). It has to be said, though, that this association has 5 The Assyrian King List is unclear for the end of the not been proved by archaeological excavations or documentary eighteenth century, when the so-called Dark Age begins. At the evidence so far (Bonatz 2015, p. 26; Salvini 1998, p. 114). time of Shamshi Adad, the city of Assur had a prominent role 10 Such as Ta’idu, seat of the sovereigns of Khanigal- as religious hub and trading post connected to the northern bat, possibly to be identified with Tell Hamidiya:Schwartz Mesopotamian area. We also know that Hammurabi defeated 2014, p. 269. many towns in the area of Subartu and Ekallatum during his 11 Oates D., Oates J., Mcdonald 1997. 33th year of reign and, despite the lack of a direct mention of 12 Bonatz 2014, 2015; Bonatz, Bartl 2012. Assur, it is likely that this city was included among the towns he 13 triumphed over. Textual data from Sippar, contemporary with According to Pecorella, Tell Barri was one of the main the reign of Samsu-Iluna (1750-1712 BC), describe Assur as an religious centres of the Mitannian state during the sixteenth important trade centre and Tell Leilan as the capital of the Old and fifteenth century BC: Pecorella 1997, p. 310. For the Assyrian kingdom. At a later stage, Shaushatar of Mitanni con- analysis on the MB-LB archaeological sequence and pottery quered the city of Assur which was then dominated or at least from Tell Barri, see Baccelli, Manuelli 2008; Coppini influenced by this political entity. Textual documents increase 2008; D’Agostino, Coppini 2014; D’Agostino 2014. at the beginning of the Middle Assyrian period and, at the mid- 14 Pfälzner 1990, 1995.

West & East 206 Monografie, 4 Defining the MB-LB transition in northern Mesopotamia…

Figure 1 The main centres of the Mitannian state in northern Mesopotamia and in northern Syria during the 15th-14th century BC. Map made by the author

the early LBA (ca. 1600-1522 BC). De Martino, in- 2. Mid-second millennium BC in the stead, argues that the Mitannian polity developed Syrian Jazirah and in the Middle and 15 later, by the end of the sixteenth century BC. Not- Upper Tigris Region: contexts and withstanding the archaeological excavations in the Syrian Jazirah, the main features of the material cul- ceramics ture characterizing the transition between the MBA The bulk of the archaeological material dating to and the LBA are still difficult to identify.16 the middle of the second millennium BC in North- New contributions to the understanding of ern Mesopotamia was brought to light in the Syrian the “Mesopotamian Dark Age” are provided by Jazirah; in particular, the most significant sequences the data from the recent archaeological activities known for the MBA-LBA transitional period were conducted in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (i.e the excavated at Tell Brak and Tell Barri. The stratigra- Dohuk, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah provinces), where phy of Area HH at Brak shows a continuity of occu- extensive surveys, soundings and archaeological pation from the Old Babylonian period to the Mi- excavations have been carried out at several sites tannian period.17 The analysis of the materials from since 2012. the superimposed domestic buildings in Trench F, indeed, shows elements both of continuity and

17 Levels 7 and 6 of area HH (trenches A-D) are char- 15 Novák 2013, pp. 349-352; According to De Martino, acterized by residential buildings lying on the Old Babylonian a Hurrian polity existed in the Mitannian area even before the layers found in Trench D and predating the construction of time of the Hittite king Mursili I, although the Mitannian state the Mitannian palace (Oates, Oates, McDonald 1997, emerged in a phase posterior to his reign. De Martino 2004; pp. 18‑21, 35); the domestic building in area HH, trench F, can 2014, pp. 66-69. be dated to the Mitannian period and is set on the Old Babylo- 16 Novák 2007, pp. 389-390. nian level (McMahon, Oates 2007, p. 147).

West & East 207 Monografie, 4 Valentina Oselini

change between the two periods.18 Lingering ce- Rimah, traces of re-occupation of the site after the ramic types are: shouldered beakers often decorated abandonment and destruction of the MB buildings with painted stripes (Younger Khabur Ware), the were found in Level 2 of the Great Temple (Site A), so-called “grain measures”, Grey-burnished ware and in two occupation phases of a large residential build- large jars or vats incised with wavy lines.19 ing in Level 5 (Site C) and in the edifices brought to Excavations in Area G and Area P at Tell Barri light in Level 4 of Site D. Level 3 of the Great Tem- revealed a change in the layout and destination of ple area and the so-called “Kitchen floor” of Site this part of the town from residential to productive. C (Level 6a), in particular, are of great interest for Moreover, new ceramic types appeared in the Mi- what concerns the MB-LB transitional period.24 tannian phase; among them can be listed: Young- The pottery assemblage from these two sequenc- er Khabur Ware, red-edge bowls, carinated bowls, es allows us to delineate the ceramic horizon of the straight-sided footed beakers, Nuzi ware and Grey Middle Tigris Region around the middle of the sec- ware.20 D’Agostino and Coppini proposed a corre- ond millennium BC as consisting of undecorated, lation of the MB II with the late Old Babylonian/ incised and painted ware types. Old Jazirah III period, while the LB I should be as- Plain pottery from Yorgan Tepe/Nuzi includes sociated to the earliest phase of the Mitanni period storage jars, small jars, bottles, straight, concave side or Middle Jazirah I.21 shouldered beakers, flat or ring base Grey burnished Until the recent upswing of archaeological ac- ware bowls and other everyday shapes, less frequent- tivities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the most ly found, such as plates, infant burial jars or drains.25 significant discoveries dating to the middle of the The sequence of Area C At Rimah, in particular, second millennium BC in Northern Iraq, and es- is significant for the presence of the more typical pecially in the Middle Tigris Region, were made at shapes dating from the MBA to the LBA, such as Yorgan Tepe in the 1920s and at Tell Rimah in the beakers with wide rim, shallow rough-based bowls, 1960s.22 The archaeological evidence from Strata I Grey burnished ware, large unpainted jars and vats and II excavated at Nuzi, as Yorgan Tepe was called with incised wavy decorations.26 in the second millennium BC, consists of buildings, The production of painted pottery, Younger including a palace, a temple and houses, along with Khabur Ware and the so-called Nuzi Ware is gen- a large amount of ceramics and objects.23 At Tell erally associated to the beginning of the LBA. The monochrome painted Khabur Ware is considered 18 A domestic building with a collapsed vaulted roof and a street dating to the Mitannian period were brought to light as belonging to the Old Babylonian tradition and, in Trench F during the 2006 excavations, while an Old Baby- according to Oguchi, the later phase of the Khabur lonian multi-room house emerged directly below it in the 2007 Ware (Younger Khabur Ware), represented by the campaign. The materials coming from these buildings, including the pottery, are currently under study. McMahon, Oates painted pottery from Tell Brak and Tell Rimah, 2007, pp. 146-147. has to be dated to the period spanning from 1550 19 Oates, Oates, McDonald 1997, pp. 64-66. and 1400 BC.27 For Pfälzner, the Younger Khabur 20 D’Agostino, Coppini 2014, pp. 387-388. 24 21 D’Agostino, Coppini 2014, table 1. According Postgate, Oates D., Oates J. 1997, pp. 21-26, 37, to Pfälzner, thin-walled shouldered beakers painted in red or 43-44, 56. brown, Grey-burnished ware, White Paste inlay ware, carinated 25 Yorgan Tepe/Nuzi, Strata I and II. For a detailed de- bowls with vertical rim and accentuated, thickened carination scription of the Nuzi pottery see Cecchini 1965 and Starr are the most characteristic shapes of the Middle Jazirah Ia pe- 1939. riod, while Red-Edge bowls are typical of the Middle Jazirah Ib 26 These are typical of the MB-LB transition, recurring phase and Nuzi Ware is common to the entire Middle Jazirah I in Level 6a of Site C. Unpainted ware dating to the LBI peri- period (Pfälzner 2007, pp. 237-250). od was found in Level C5 and consists of pie-crust potstands, 22 For a reappraisal of the survey activities carried out in straight sided and footed beakers, large vessels with geometric the Mesopotamian area see Wilkinson, Ur, Hritz 2013, decorations on the rim and impressed grey ware with white in- while for a focus on the Iraqi territory, see Ur et Al. 2013, lays (Postgate, Oates, Oates 1997, pp. 55-56). p. 89. 27 Oguchi 1997, pp. 196-197, table 1. The archaeologi- 23 Starr 1939, pp. 42-179, 207-262, 304-322, 331-345, cal sequence at Tell Brak and Tell Rimah showed how features 387-494. specific of the Khabur Ware occur in MB/Old Babylonian and

West & East 208 Monografie, 4 Defining the MB-LB transition in northern Mesopotamia…

Figure 2 Relative Chronology of the Northern Mesopotamia area in term of ceramic phases. Grey is the period considered within the present analysis, corresponding to the so called “Dark Age” (until 1550 BC) and to the beginning of LBA (Mitanni period)

Ware, of which the thin-walled shouldered beaker sidered one of the most representative chronological painted in red or brown constitutes the most com- markers of the LBA, often associated to the presence mon shape, is typical of Middle Jazirah Ia-b contexts of Mitanni. It has been mainly related to luxury con- dating from 1550 to 1270 BC and it is contempo- texts such as religious buildings and the residences of rary to the Nuzi Ware production.28 the elite.29 Moreover, it was found in the lower oc- The peculiar white on blackNuzi Ware, attested cupation level of the Kassite palace of Dur Kurigalzu from the Amuq plain to north-eastern Iraq, is con- 29 Cecchini 1965, pp. 19-20. Although Nuzi Ware has LB/Mitannian contexts and illustrated that the distinction be- been found in domestic contexts as well, and even if it doesn’t tween “Older” and “Younger” Khabur Ware is not so strict: seem to be exclusive to the residences of the elite, it is gener- Postgate, Oates, Oates 1997, pp. 53-54. ally uncommon within private dwellings: Postgate, Oates, 28 Pfälzner 2007, pp. 243-244, 248. Oates 1997, p. 54.

West & East 209 Monografie, 4 Valentina Oselini

in association with other small precious objects and nected to the Northern Mesopotamian landscape, this assemblage represents the southernmost deposit settlement distribution and dynamics of interaction of this distinctive ceramic material.30 between sites in the mid-second millennium BC. In the Upper Tigris basin, excavations conduct- Moreover, the increase in field activities in this ex- ed at Tell Billa revealed that the site was occupied tremely important area shall provide a great oppor- around the middle of the second millennium BC. tunity to better define the characteristics of the sec- The earliest stages of this occupation date to the end ond millennium BC local ceramic horizon (fig. 3).34 of the seventeenth-beginning of the sixsteenth cen- The methodology used to distinguish the dif- tury BC (Stratum 4), while the latest are contempo- ferent phases of the second millennium BC in the rary with Stratum II at Nuzi (Stratum 3, 1600-1400 surveys carried out in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq BC). 31 Even if the two Strata were consecutive in generally derives from the archaeological periodiza- the archaeological sequence, the pottery assemblage tion based on the ceramic sequence established for from Stratum 4 lacks some of the shapes that char- the Syrian Jazirah. As proposed by Pfälzner, the MB acterize Stratum 3; this is the case for shouldered should correspond to the Old Jazirah I and II-III beakers decorated with horizontal bands on the periods (ca. 2000-1650 BC), while the LB should body and for Nuzi-style goblets and cups. be equated to the Middle Jazirah I-II periods (ca. Several sites were investigated in the framework 1550-1150 BC).35 Nevertheless, the terms “Mitan- of the Eski Mosul Dam Salvage Project between nian” or “Middle Assyrian” are frequently used in 1981 and 1984. Domestic buildings and graves char- substitution of the periodization of the LBA, in acterized by the presence of Khabur and Nuzi Ware accordance with the stratigraphic sequences high- were found in seven of them, indicating an occupa- lighted in two soundings at Assur and Kar Tukulti tion of this area in the mid-second millennium BC Ninurta36 and with the analysis and classification of and the existence of a common ceramic repertoire the ceramic materials found herein.37 shared with the neighbouring regions.32 At Tell Ri- The archaeological survey conducted in the hin- jim in particular, the early LBA sequence sees the terland of Nineveh (LoNAP)38 revealed that dur- re-use of the latest MBA buildings, testifying to the ing the MBA and the LBA, and especially in the continuity of occupation between the two phases.33 Middle Assyrian period (LB II), this area was quite densely occupied.39 The survey and the test trench

34 The first results of the recent archaeological activities 3. Cultural horizon: diagnostic pottery conducted in the Iraqi Kurdistan region have been published from the Trans-Tigridian region by K. Kopanias and J. MacGinnis in 2016, following the comprehensive article of 2015: Kopanias, MacGinnis, Ur (eds.) 2015; Kopanias, MacGinnis (eds.) 2016. The recent archaeological survey and excavation 35 See Pfälzner 2017 for the final third – early second projects in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq offer the millennium BC; and Pfälzner 2007 for the late second mil- chance to better understand relevant aspects con- lennium BC. 36 Beuger 2014. 30 Baqir 1945, fig. 15. 37 According to Coppini, the LoNAP team uses MBA I, 31 Two seasons of archaeological excavations were carried IIA and II B for the early second millennium BC pottery and out at Tell Billa in 1930-1933 by the same team that was exca- Mitannian or LBA I and Middle-Assyrian or LBA II for the vating at Tepe Gawra, under the direction of E.A. Speiser. Un- late secomd millennium pottery, taking into consideration the fortunately, the excavations did not cover the entire surface of nature of the historical events in the region (Coppini 2018, the tell: Stein 1984, pp. 13-16. p. 67). 32 Tell Fisna (Levels 4 and 3); Kirbet Hatara (Mixed Lay- 38 For a preliminary report on the MBA and LBA pottery ers in the Hatara Village and floors in the Hatara Cemetery); from the LoNAP survey see Coppini 2018. Tell Jikan (Nort-East and East side, Levels 4, 3 -Area A- and 39 Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project in the Dohuk Level 2 -Area B-); Karhal Sufla (three graves); Tell Rijim (Lev- and Nineveh provinces (LoNAP): Morandi Bonacossi, Ia- el 4); Wadi Khatkhum (Period 4): Killick, Black 1985, moni 2015, pp. 23-25, fig. 8. According to Coppini, the MBA pp. 227-239. See also Nemrik (Mitanni settlement: defence sites are clustered in the Navkur Plain, along the Zagros Pied- wall and four Houses, A, B, D, E), Reiche 2014. mont and the Gomel River, East of the Al-Khazir River and 33 Kolisńki 2000, p. XII. in the area around the site of Jerahiyeh. Early LBA sites in the

West & East 210 Monografie, 4 Defining the MB-LB transition in northern Mesopotamia…

Figure 3 Focus on the northern Iraq with the mention of the archaeological sites quoted in the text and of the surveyed areas in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Map made by the author (QGIS®)

showed that the largest settlement identified in the In the north-west part of the Kurdistan region Navkur Plain, namely Gir-e Gomel, has a well pre- (EHAS), pottery dated to the LBA was identified served archaeological sequence for the second mil- in ten sites; four among them were probably occu- lennium BC.40 The ceramics shapes used as chrono- pied in the LB I and LB II and about 6% of the total logical references for the beginning of the LBA in number of sherds retrieved in Bassetki can be dat- this area are “pie-crust” pot stands, Grey-burnished ed to the LBA as well. Diagnostic types of the LBA ware, red-edge bowls and Nuzi and Khabur Ware.41 period find parallels with similar shapes from Tell Diagnostic shapes indicating a LB II occupation of Sabi Abyad, Tell Sheikh Hamad, Tell Brak and Tell the sites are carinated bowls and plates, large stor- Barri.43 During the first two seasons of archaeologi- age jars with thickened, squared or rounded rim and cal excavations carried out at Bassetki in 2015 and nipple bases.42 2016, three stratigraphic phases that can be attrib- uted to the sixteenth century BC were recognized in LoNAP area amount to 122 settlements and they are scarcer in Area A (Phases A10-A8). Following Pfälzner, these the eastern part of the plain, more regularly distributed in the Piedmont (Coppini 2018, p. 70). ni 2018, pp. 71-72. 40 Coppini 2018, pp. 72-73. 43 Eastern Ḫabur Archaeological Survey (EHAS) of the 41 Gavagnin, Iamoni, Palermo 2016, pp. 141-142; Dohuk province: Pfälzner, Sconzo 2016a, 2016b. For the Coppini 2018, pp. 70-71. LBA pottery report from the survey see Puljiz in Pfälzner, 42 Gavagnin, Iamoni, Palermo 2016, p. 142; Coppi- Sconzo 2016b, pp. 39-40.

West & East 211 Monografie, 4 Valentina Oselini

are generically dated to the MB III, although some Rouault. An earlier phase datable to the LBA I pe- pottery types diagnostic for the LB occur as well. riod was discovered in area A during the field activ- For this reason, Pfälzner himself proposes to adopt ities, thus demonstrating the existence of a strong the definition of MBA/LBA transitional or “Proto- continuity between the LBA I and the LBA II in Mitanni” phase for this assemblage.44 this relevant site.50 The 2012 survey conducted along the Greater Archaeological excavations are being carried out Zab and in the Bastora Cay (UZGAR45) demon- at Kurd Qaburstan by a team of the Johns Hopkins strated that second millennium BC settlements, University, directed by G. Schwartz.51 The occupa- identified thanks to the presence of band painted tional sequence singled out here covers most of the Younger Khabur Ware,46 are quite abundant in the second millennium BC: the lower town was mainly area and larger in comparison to the third millen- occupied during the MBA, while three levels of occu- nium BC ones. According to the available data, it pation dating to the LBA have been identified at the appears that during the early second millennium top of the mound, encompassing a timespan covering BC the occupation concentrated more on the east- the early LBA, all the LBA I, and the LBA II.52 ern bank of the Greater Zab, while during the LB According to Schwartz, the pottery from Kurd I the western bank of the river was settled as well.47 Qaburstan can be dated to the LBA I period thanks According to Kolinski, during the second millenni- to parallels with Nuzi, Tell Rimah, Tell Brak and um BC the eastern area of the Dohuk province was Tell Barri, even if the Nuzi Ware is very rarely found sparsely occupied.48 within this archaeological context.53 As shown by the results of EPAS Survey, which Starting from 2013, the Italian Archaeological is currently being carried out in the Erbil Plain un- Expedition in the Erbil Plain (MAIPE) has carried der the direction of J. Ur, a progressive increase in out an intensive survey and three campaigns of ar- the number of sites during the MB and LB periods chaeological excavation at Helawa, a site located in can be seen in this area. In this context, Ur identi- the south-western part of the Erbil Plain.54 The dis- fied Qasr Shemamok and Kurd Qaburstan as the tribution of second millennium potsherds, repre- two major settlements, respectively for the LB II senting the 25% of the total amount of the survey and the MB periods, since the beginning of his ac- collection, shows that they are spread on the en- tivities on the field.49 The situation of the second half of the LBA in 50 Masetti-Rouault 2017, p. 113. the Erbil Plain seems to be consistent with this pic- 51 Schwartz 2016; Schwartz et Al. 2017. ture as this period is well represented in the archae- 52 The early phase of the LBA has probably to be associated with a pre-Mitannian occupation and it is represented by ological remains of Qasr Shemamok, where baked a distinctive building characterized by a system of toilets and bricks bears cuneiform inscription about the pal- baths on the High Mound East and by drains and walls on the ace of Adad-Nirari I were identified in Area B by High Mound West. The discovery of a cylinder seal belonging to the Mitanni Common Style in Phase 2 confirms the chrono- the team directed by O. Rouault and M.G. Masetti- logical frame for the objects and the production area is dating to this phase. Few later graves and a kiln have been associated to 44 This interpretation was suggested by the presence of the later occupation of the top of the mound and dated to the flat conical bowls, red-edge bowls and knob-based beakers LBA II/Middle Assyrian period (Phase 1): Schwartz et Al. among numerous specimens of Late Khabur Ware: Pfälzner, 2017, pp. 217-223. Qasim 2017, p. 24. 53 Schwartz et Al. 2017, p. 235. 45 The Upper Greater Zab Archaeological Reconnaissance 54 The works on the field in the Helawa and Aliawa area project in the Dohuk and Erbil provinces (UGZAR), http://ar- began in 2013 and are still in progress. An intensive survey was cheo.amu.edu.pl/ugzar/indexen.htm; Koliński 2018. carried out at Helawa and Aliawa in 2013 and 2015 and archae- 46 Koliński R. 2012. ological excavations under the direction of L. Peyronel (Uni- versity of Milan) have been conducted in Area B and Area D 47 Koliński R. 2014. at Helawa from 2016: Peyronel, Vacca, Zenoni 2016. The 48 Koliński R. 2015. preliminary results of the survey and the archaeological excava- 49 Erbil Plain Archaeological Survey (EPAS) directed by tions (2016-2018) at Tell Helawa will be published in the pro- J. Ur (Harvard University) in collaboration with the Director- ceedings of the 10th ICAANE conference in Munich, Peyro- ate of Antiquity of Erbil, Ur et Al. 2013, pp. 99-101. nel, Vacca forthcoming.

West & East 212 Monografie, 4 Defining the MB-LB transition in northern Mesopotamia…

Figure 4 Topographic plan of Helawa indicating the distribution of the MB-LB pottery types on the site (results of the 2013-2015 surveys). In general, the MB-LB pottery represents the 25% on the total of potsherds collected. MAIPE©

tire area, with higher concentrations on the north- evident in the case of painted and incised wares. eastern and on the southern slopes of the mound Moreover, both the repertoires present the same (fig. 4). Excavations carried out since 2016 in Area plain ware shapes: carinated bowls with verti- D, on the north-eastern lower mound, brought to cal rims, bowls with outward rims, triangular or light three different architectural phases character- squared in section and deep bowls and jars with ized by domestic and productive structures to be thick squared rims. dated to the middle of the second millennium BC The Helawa pottery assemblage is also character- (Phases 2-4). The ceramic assemblage is homogene- ized by the presence of Younger Khabur Ware and ous and representative of a single ceramic horizon. its typical shouldered beakers with a black-greenish Chronological and typological references for or red painted horizontal band and bowls with ex- the Helawa pottery assemblage can be found in Tell panded rim decorated with a zig-zag motif painted Barri, Tell Bderi, Tell Brak, Tell Rimah, Tell Billa on its upper part (fig. 6: 1-3, 8).55 The unpainted and in the pottery from the recently excavated High Mound at Kurd Qaburstan (figs. 5-6). 55 The red-stripe decoration on shouldered beakers and other shapes found at Tell Rimah and Brak is characteristic of Compelling typological similarities between the the Old Babylonian and Mitannian traditions (Postgate, pottery from Helawa and that from Qaburstan are Oates, Oates 1997, p. 53).

West & East 213 Monografie, 4 Valentina Oselini

Figure 5 Plain pottery, diagnostic open shapes of the beginning of the Late Bronze Age from different sites in northern Iraq and Syrian Jazirah (re-drawn by the author). Helawa materials come from the survey (TH.13.) and the excavations (TH.16.; TH.17.) in Area D

West & East 214 Monografie, 4 Defining the MB-LB transition in northern Mesopotamia…

Figure 6 Painted pottery and diagnostic closed shapes of the beginning of the Late Bronze Age from different sites in northern Iraq and Syrian Jazirah (re-drawn by the author). Helawa materials come from the survey (TH.13.) and the excavations (TH.16.; TH.17.) in Area D

West & East 215 Monografie, 4 Valentina Oselini open forms include bowls with vertical rim (fig. 5: 1), 4. Conclusion bowls with thickened rim (fig. 5: 5), slightly carinated bowls with everted rim (fig. 5: 8-9), carinated The Archaeological survey and excavations in the Grey ware bowls (fig. 5: 13) and deep bowls with ex- Kurdistan Region of Iraq show that this area was panded or squared rim (fig. 5: 15, 17). Among the settled at the beginning of the LBA, an historical closed forms, the most characteristic for this peri- phase that remains partly obscure in the textual as od are the vats and jars with squared rim (fig. 6: 11, well as archaeological documentation. Settlements 13) and the pithoi with thickened and squared rim dating to the beginning of the LBA seem to be fewer (fig. 6: 15). The archaeometrical evaluation of this than those dating to the MBA or to the second part material found that the pastes are usually coarse, of the LBA. organic and mineral tempered, with calcareous and Some sites are larger than others and prob- mica inclusions.56 The characteristic painted ware ably had an administrative role; these are Kurd found both at Helawa and Kurd Qaburstan seems Qaburstan and Qasr Shemamok in the Erbil Plain, to belong to the Younger Khabur Ware horizon, Bassetki in the Eastern Khabur and Gird-e Gomel datable to the beginning of the LBA. in the Navkur Plain. On the other side, smaller set- LBA markers of the Syrian Jazirah and north- tlements like Helawa were established in the coun- western Iraq ceramic horizon, i.e. the white on black tryside as domestic and productive sites with a painted Nuzi Ware, have not yet been found at shorter life cycle. More excavations both on the big- Helawa. Moreover, typical Middle Assyrian (LB II) ger sites and the smaller rural settlements in the Er- shapes, such as the wide carinated bowls, the inward bil Plain are needed in order to clarify the social and rim bowls and the nipple bases are completely absent economic dynamics connecting contemporary sites in this site. On the other side, very few specimens of during the MB-LB transitional period. Nuzi Ware were discovered at Kurd Qaburstan. Chronological and typological correlations be- Three hypotheses can be formulated to explain tween the ceramic material dating to the middle the absence of Nuzi Ware at Helawa and its scarcity and late second millennium BC from the Syrian at Kurd Qaburstan: Qaburstan was occupied longer Jazirah, the Middle and Upper Tigris Region and than Helawa; Nuzi Ware was not as typical and fre- the Kurdistan Region of Iraq show that a common quent in the Erbil Plain as in the Syrian Jazirah; the ceramic horizon was shared in Northern Mesopota- presence of Nuzi Ware at Kurd Qaburstan could mia. However, further and more in-depth analyses be related to the building with representative func- could reveal the existence of smaller ceramic regions tions located on High Mound East. characterized by similar pottery types and technol- The similarity of the ceramic materials from the ogies as is probably the case with the Erbil Plain. two sites as well as their proximity, as they are both Close parallels have been found, indeed, between located in the south-western part of the Erbil Plain the Kurd Qaburstan and Helawa repertoires, show- (ca. 7 km away from each other), suggest that they ing that the two sites were contemporary and shared were probably contemporary and somehow con- a distinctive local ceramic tradition. nected. The comparison between the data from Hel- The analysis of the archaeological and ceramic awa, Kurd Qaburstan and Qasr Shemamok, which sequences of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq could is situated slightly to the north of the first two sites, allow us to establish an updated and independent in the Erbil Plain, is crucial to define the chrono- regional periodization, which would shed light on logical and morphological markers of the material some aspects that remain uncertain due to the lack culture of the area in a regional perspective. of data for other previously investigated areas in Northern Mesopotamia.

56 The archaeometric analyses were conducted by dr. L. Medeghini of the Department of Earth Science (Sapienza, Uni- versity of Rome).

West & East 216 Monografie, 4 Defining the MB-LB transition in northern Mesopotamia…

Acknowledgments

I would like to express my gratitude to Luca Peyronel, director of the MAIPE project of the University of Milan, for giving me the possibility to study the second millennium BC ceramic materials from Helawa. I also wish to thank Agnese Vacca, deputy director of the project, for the useful discussion on the pottery sequence at the site. I am much obliged to both of them for the stimulating suggestions they always provide, enriching the perspectives of my ongo- ing research. Finally, I wish to extend warm thanks to Costanza Coppini for our frequent exchanges concerning the MBA-LBA ceramic materials in Northern Mesopotamia.

West & East 217 Monografie, 4 Valentina Oselini

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Armstrong J.A., Gasche H. 2014, Mesopotamian International Congress on the Archaeology of the Pottery. A Guide to the Babylonian Tradition in the Ancient Near East (Madrid, April 3-8 2006), Madrid, Second Millennium BC, in MHEM VI, Ghent. pp. 477-491. Baccelli G., Manuelli F. 2008, Middle Bronze Coppini C. 2018, The Land of Nineveh Archaeological Khabur Ware from Tell Barri/Kahat, in: Cordoba Project: Preliminary Results from the Analysis of the J., Molist M., Perez C., Rubio I., Martínez S. Second Millennium BC Pottery, in: Salisbury R. (ed.), (eds.), Proceedings of the 5th International Congress Prehistoric and Historical Landscapes & Settlement on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (Madrid, Patterns, Proceedings of the 10th International Congress April 3-8 2006), Madrid, pp. 187-206. on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (Vienna, Baqir T. 1945, Iraq Government Excavations at 25–29 April 2016), Wiesbaden, pp. 65-82. Ἁqar Quf, Second interim report 1943-44, «IRAQ D’Agostino A. 2008, Between Mitannian and Middle- Supplement», pp. 1-15. Assyrians: Changes and Links in Ceramic Culture at Beuger C. 2014, Pottery Tradition from the Mitannian Tell Barri and in Syrian Jazirah during the end of the nd to the Early Neo-Assyrian Period – Evidence from 2 millennium BC, in: Cordoba J., Molist M., Soundings in Ashur and Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta, in: Perez C., Rubio I., Martínez S. (eds.), Proceedings th Luciani M., Hausleiter A. (eds.), Recent Trends of the 5 International Congress on the Archaeology in the Study of Late Bronze Age Ceramics in Syro- of the Ancient Near East (Madrid, April 3-8 2006), Mesopotamia and Neighbouring Regions (Proceedings Madrid, pp. 525-547. of the International Workshop in Berlin, 3-5 D’Agostino A. 2014, The Tell Barri Sequence of Late November 2006), Berlin, pp. 263-288. Bronze Age Levels: Evolution Trends within Late nd Bonatz D. 2014, Tell Fekheriye in the Late Bronze 2 Millennium Ceramic Culture, in: Luciani M., Age: Archaeological Investigations into the Structures Hausleiter A. (eds.), Recent Trends in the Study of Political Governance in the Upper Mesopotamian of Late Bronze Age Ceramics in Syro-Mesopotamia Piedmont, in: Bonatz (ed.), The Archaeology of and Neighbouring Regions (Proceedings of the Political Spaces. The Upper Mesopotamian Piedmont International Workshop in Berlin, 3-5 November in the Second Millennium BC, Berlin, Boston, 2006), Berlin, pp. 235-261. pp. 61-84. D’Agostino A., Coppini C. 2014, Life at the Edge Bonatz D. 2015, Tell Fekheriye – An Introduction to the of the Settlement: the MBA-LBA Transition at the Current State of Archaeological Research, in: Hulínek Northern and Southern Slope of Tell Barri (NE Syria), D., Bonatz D., Kováč M. (eds), Archaeology on in: Bieliński P., Gawlikowski M., Koliński Three Continents 2006-2001, Bratislava, pp. 13-30. R., Ławecka D., Sołtysiak A., Wygnańska Z. (eds.), Proceedings of the 8th International Congress on Bonatz D., Bartl P. 2012, Tell Fekheriye 2010: th the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (University Report on the 4 Excavation Campaign, «Chronique of Warsaw, 30 April – 4 May 2012), Wiesbaden, Archéologique en Syrie» 6, pp. 161-167. pp. 385-410. Cancik-Kirschbaum E., Brisch N., Eidem J. 2014, Gasche H., Armstrong J.A., Cole S.W., in: Cancik-Kirschbaum E., Brisch Introduction, Gurzadyan V.G. 1998, Dating the Fall of Babylon, N., Eidem J (eds.), Constituent, Confederate, and a Reappraisal of Second-Millennium Chronology, in Conquered Spaces. The Emergence of the Mitanni MHEM IV, Ghent. State, in Topoi: Berlin Studies of the Ancient World 17, Berlin, pp. 1-10. Gavagnin K., Iamoni M., Palermo R. 2016, The Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project: The Ceramic Cecchini S. 1965, , Rome. La Ceramica di Nuzi Repertoire from the Early Pottery Neolithic to the Coppini C. 2008, Mitanni Pottery from Tell Barri, Sasanian Period, «BASOR» 35, pp. 119-169. in: Cordoba J., Molist M., Perez C., Rubio Hunger H., Pruzsinszky R. (eds.) 2004, I., Martínez S. (eds.), th Proceedings of the 5 Mesopotamian dark age revisited: proceedings of an in-

West & East 218 Monografie, 4 Defining the MB-LB transition in northern Mesopotamia…

ternational conference of SCIEM 2000 (Vienna 8th-9th Tušratta, in: Hunger H., Pruzsinszky R. (eds.) November 2002), Vienna. 2004, pp. 35-42. Iamoni M. 2012, The Late MBA and LBA Pottery de Martino S. 2014, The Mitanni State: The Horizons at Qatna. Innovation and Conservation Formation of the Kingdom of Mitanni, in: Cancik- in the Ceramic Tradition of a Regional Capital and Kirschbaum E., Brisch N., Eidem J (eds.), the Implications for Second Millennium Syrian Constituent, Confederate, and Conquered Spaces. Chronology, in SAQ 2, Udine. The Emergence of the Mitanni State, in Topoi: Berlin Killick R., Black J.1985, Excavations in Iraq 1983-84, Studies of the Ancient World 17, Berlin, pp. 61-74. «IRAQ» 47, pp. 215-239. Masetti Rouault M.G. 2017, A Summary of the 5th Koliński, R. 2000, Tell Rijim, Iraq. The Middle Bronze Campaign of the French Archaeological Mission at Layers, «BAR International Series» 837. Qasr Shemamok (Kurdistan, Iraq), 21 September – 19 October, 2016, «As-sharq»1, April 2017, Koliński, R. 2012, Report on the field activities of The pp. 112-123. Upper Greater Zab Archaeological Reconnaissance Project in year 2012, http://archeo.amu.edu.pl/ug- Mc Mahon A., Oates J., 2007, Excavations at Tell zar/REPORT%20UGZAR%202012.pdf Brak 2006-2007, «IRAQ» 69, pp. 145-171. Koliński, R. 2014, Report on the field activities of The Morandi Bonacossi D., Iamoni M. 2015, Landscape Upper Greater Zab Archaeological Reconnaissance and Settlement in the Eastern Upper Iraqi Tigris and Project in year 2014, http://archeo.amu.edu.pl/ug- Navkur Plains: the Land of Nineveh Archaeological zar/UGZAR%20Report%202014cor.pdf Project, Seasons 2012–2013, «IRAQ» 77, pp. 9-39. Koliński, R. 2014, Settled Space. Evidence for Changes Novák M. 2007, Mittani Empire and the Question of in Settlement Patterns of Northern Mesopotamia at Absolute Chronology: Some Archaeological Conside the Advent and at the Turn of the Mitanni Era, in: rations, in Bietak M., Czerny E. (eds), The Synchro Cancik-Kirschbaum E., Brisch N., Eidem nisation of Civilisations in the Eastern Mediterranean J (eds.), Constituent, Confederate, and Conquered in the Second Millennium B.C. III. Proceedings of the nd th Spaces. The Emergence of the Mitanni State, in Topoi: SCIEM 2000 – 2 Euro Conference Vienna, 28 of st Berlin Studies of the Ancient World 17, Berlin, May – 1 of June 2003, Wien, pp. 389-402. pp. 179-212. Novák M. 2013, Upper Mesopotamia in the Mittani Koliński, R. 2015, Report on the field activities of The Period, in Orthmann W., Matthiae P., al- Upper Greater Zab Archaeological Reconnaissance Maqdissi M. (eds), Archéologie et Histoire de la Project in year 2015, https://www.academia. Syrie I. La Syrie de l’époque néolithique à l’âge du fer, edu/17604803/UGZAR_Report_2015 Wiesbaden, pp. 345-356. Koliński, R. 2018, An Archaeological Reconnaissance in Oates D., Oates J., McDonald H. 1997, Excavations the Greater Zab Area of the Iraqi Kurdistan (UGZAR) at Tell Brak, Vol. 1: The Mitanni and Old Babylonian 2012–2015, in: Salisbury R. (ed.), Prehistoric periods, London. and Historical Landscapes & Settlement Patterns, Oguchi H. 1997, A Reassessment of the Distribution of Proceedings of the 10th International Congress on the Khabur Ware: an Approach from an Aspect of its Main Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (Vienna, 25–29 Phase, «al Rāfidān» 18, pp. 195-224. April 2016), Wiesbaden, pp. 13-26. Oguchi H. 2006, The Date of the Beginning of Khabur Kopanias K., MacGinnis J. (eds.) 2016, The Ware Period 3: Evidence from the Palace of Qarni- Archaeology of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Lim at Tell Leilan, «al Rāfidān» 27, pp. 45-58 Adjacent Regions, Oxford. von Oppenheim M.F. 1931, Der Tell Halaf. Eine neue Kopanias K., MacGinnis J., Ur J. (eds.) 2015, Kultur im ältesten Mesopotamien, Leipzig. Archaeological Projects in the Kurdistan Region in Pecorella E. 1997, Gli Scavi della Missione Italiana Iraq, The Directorate of Antiquities of Kurdistan. a Tell Barri, in: Barich B., Stoppiello A.A., Maidman P. 1995, Nuzi: Portrait of an Ancient Missioni archeologiche italiane: la ricerca archeologica, Mesopotamian Provincial Town, in: Sasson J., antropologica, etnologica, Roma, pp. 309-314. Baines, J., Beckman, G., Rubinson K.S. (eds.), Peyronel L., Vacca A. forthcoming, Survey and Civilizations of the Ancient Near East (Volume II), Excavations at Helawa, Southwest Erbil Plain, New York, pp. 931-947. Kurdistan, Iraq, (Proceedings of the 11th Interna de Martino S. 2004, A Tentative Chronology of the tional Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Kingdom of Mitanni from its Rise to the Reign of Near East).

West & East 219 Monografie, 4 Valentina Oselini

Peyronel L., Vacca A., Zenoni G. 2016, Helawa: Salvini M. 1996, The Habiru Prism of King Tunip- a New Northern Ubaid/Late Chalcolithic Site in the Tessup of Tikunani, in Documenta Asiana 3, Roma. Erbil Plain, in Kopanias K., MacGinnis J. (eds.) Salvini M. 1998, The Earliest Evidences of the Hurrians 2016, pp. 309-321. Before the Formation of the Reign of Mitanni, in Pfälzner P. 1990, Tell Bderi. The Development of a Buccellati, G.; Buccellati, M.K. (eds) Urkesh and the Bronze Age Town, in Kerner S. (ed.), The Near East Hurrians, Studies in Honor of Lloyd Cotsen, BiMes in Antiquity. German contributions to the archaeo- 26, pp. 99-115. logy of Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt, Schwartz G.M. 2008, Problems of Chronology: Amman, pp. 63-79. Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and the Syro-Levantine Pfälzner P. 1995, Mitannische und Mittelassyrische Region, in: Aruz J., Benzel K., Evans J.M. (eds.), Keramik. Eine Chronologische, Funktionale und Pro Beyond Babylon. Art, Trade and Diplomacy in the duktionsökonomische Analyse, (Berichte der Aus Second Millennium B.C., New York, pp. 450-452. grabung Tall Šēḫ Ḥamad / Dūr-Katlimmu 3), Berlin. Schwartz G.M. 2014, Reflections on the Mitanni Pfälzner, P. 2007, The Late Bronze Age Ceramic Emergence, in: Cancik-Kirschbaum E., Brisch Tradition on the Syrian Jazirah, in: al-Maqdissī N., Eidem J (eds.), Constituent, Confederate, and M., Matoïan V., Nicolle C. (eds.), Céramique de Conquered Spaces. The Emergence of the Mitanni l‘Âge du Bronze en Syrie, II, L‘Euphrate et la Region State, in Topoi: Berlin Studies of the Ancient World de Jézireh (Bibliothèque archéologique et historique 17, Berlin, pp. 265-277. 180), Beyrouth, pp. 231-291. Schwartz G.M. 2016, Kurd Qaburstan, A Second Pfälzner P. 2017, Ḫabur Ware and Social Continuity: Millennium BC Urban Site: First Results of the Johns The Chronology of the Early to Middle Bronze Age Hopkins Project, in Kopanias K., MacGinnis J. Transition in the Syrian Jezireh, in: Höflmayer F. (eds.) 2016, pp. 385-401. (ed.), The Late Third Millennium in the Ancient Near Schwartz G.M., Brinker C.D., Creekmore A.T., East. Chronology, C14, and Climate Change (Papers Feldman M.H., Smith A., Weber J.A. 2017, from the Oriental Institute Seminar, Held at the Excavations at Kurd Qaburstan, a Second Millen Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago 7–8 nium B.C. Urban Site on the Erbil Plain, «IRAQ» March 2014), in OIS 11, Chigaco, pp. 163-202. 79, pp. 213-255 Pfälzner P., Qasim H.A. 2017, The First and Second (https://doi.org/10.1017/irq.2017.2). Seasons of the German-Kurdish Excavations at Starr R.F.S. 1939, Nuzi. Report on the Excavations at Bassetki in 2015 and 2016, «ZOrA» 10, pp. 10-43. Yorgan Tepa near Kirkuk, Iraq, conducted by Harvard Pfälzner P., Sconzo P. 2016a, From the banks of University in conjunction with the American Schools the Upper Tigris River to the Zagros Highlands. The of Oriental Research and the University Museum of first season (2013) of the Tübingen Eastern Ḫabur Philadelphia 1927-1931, Cambridge. Archaeological Survey, in Kopanias K., MacGinnis Stein D. 1984, Khabur Ware and Nuzi Ware: their J. (eds.) 2016, pp. 323-331. Origin, Relationship, and Significance, in Assur 4, Los Pfälzner P., Sconzo P. 2016b, The EasternḪ abur Angeles. Archaeological Survey in Iraqi Kurdistan. A pre- Ur J., De Jong L., Giraud J., Osborne J.F., liminary Report on the 2014 Season, «ZOrA» 9, MacGinnis J. 2013, Ancient Cities and Landscapes pp. 10-69. in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq: the Erbil Plain Postgate C., Oates D., Oates J. 1997, The Archaeological Survey 2012 Season, «IRAQ» 75, Excavations at Tell Rimah: The Pottery, Warminster. pp. 89-117. Pruzsinsky R. 2009, Mesopotamian Chronology of Veenhof K.R., Eidem J. 2008, Mesopotamia: The the 2nd Millennium B.C. An Introduction to the Old Assyrian Period, in OBO 160/5, Fribourg Textual Evidence and Related Chronological Issues, – Göttingen. in Contributions to the Chronology of the Eastern Wilkinson T., Ur J., Hritz C. 2013, Settlement Mediterranean 22, Vienna. Archaeology of Mesopotamia, in: Wilkinson T., Reiche, A. 2014, Late Bronze Age Pottery from Nemrik Gibson McG., Widell M. (eds.), Models of (Northern Iraq), in: Luciani M., Hausleiter A. Mesopotamian Landscapes. How Small-Scale Processes (eds.), Recent Trends in the Study of Late Bronze Age Contributed to the Growth of Early Civilizations, in Ceramics in Syro-Mesopotamia and Neighbouring BAR IS 2555, Oxford, pp. 34-55. Regions (Proceedings of the International Workshop in Berlin, 3-5 November 2006), Berlin, pp. 289-332.

West & East 220 Monografie, 4