Excavations in Iraq, 1983-84Source: Iraq, Vol. 47 (1985), pp. 215-239Published by: British Institute for the Study of IraqStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4200241Accessed: 09/03/2009 08:20

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2 I 5

EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ I983 84

During I983 and I984 the focus of archaeological research in Iraq shifted to the north of the country, with teams from Iraq and abroad participating in the Saddam Dam Salvage Project (previously known as the Eski Mosul Dam). In addition work continued on some sites in the Qadisiyeh Dam Salvage Project (formerly the Haditha Dam Salvage Project) and on research excavations in the south of the country.

We are indebted to Dr. Mu'ayyad Sa'id, President of the State Organization for Antiquities and Heritage, for permission to publish these reports in Iraq. We would also like to thank Dr. Behnam Abu as-Soof, Dr. Muhammad Baqir al-Husseini, Dr. Abd-as-Sittar al-'Azzawi and Sd. Abd-ul-Qadir Hassan, the Directors-General of the four regions, for the considerable assistance they have rendered. Our greatest debt is to the excavators of the various sites who have freely given the information about their discoveries. We apologize for any errors we may have made in summarizing their results.

The reports from the Saddam Dam Project have been collected by Robert Killick and those from other areas by Jeremy Black, from information supplied by the excavators, amplified by personal visits, conference reports, etc.

These reports are presented in two sections. with the sites in the Saddam Dam Salvage Project, north of Eski Mosul, listed separately. Within each section the sites have been arranged alphabetically according to the first essential component of the name, ignoring al-, Ishan, Khirbet, Tell and Tulul. Sites in the Qadisiyeh Project, north of Haditha, have Qadisiyeh written after them and a number referring to Map 2 on page 203 of Iraq 45 (I983). Numbers after sites in the Saddam Dam Project refer to Map 2 found here. For a description of earlier stages in these excavations the reader is referred to the reports in Iraq 4I (1979), 43 (I98I) and 45 (1 983) .

Index of sites by period N.B. Sites in the Saddam Dam Salvage Project are followed by an asterisk and are discussed in the second half of the report.

Palaeolithic Uruk See under Tell Rijim * Khirbet Hatara *

Tell Karana * Pre-ceramic Tell Karana 3 *

Der Hall * Lagash Tell Mishrifeh *

HassunalHalaf/Ubaid Tell Mohammed 'Arab * Khirbet Derak * Tell Rifan * Der Hall * Warka Khirbet Hatara * Tell Jikan * Ninevite 5 Kharabeh Shattani * Tell Baqaq X* Tell Kutan * Khirbet Derak * Tell el-'Oueili Tell Fisna * Wadi Khatkhun * Khirbet Hatara *

2I6 EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ, I983-84

Tell Jikan *

Tell Karana i * Tell Karana 3 * Tell Kutan * Tell Mohammed 'Arab *

Tell Rijim * Tell Selal *

Early Dynastic Abu Salabikh Lagash Sippar 'Usiyeh Warka

Akkadian/Ur III Abu Salabikh Tell Dhuweij *

Tell Fisna * Khirbet Hatara * Tell Jikan *

Tell Karana * Lagash Larsa Sippar Tell Sulaimah Wadi Khatkhun *

Warka

Old Assyrian/Old Babylonian/lsin-Larsa Anzeh Cemetery * Tell Baqaq * Tell Bismaya Der Hall * Tell al-Dhiba'i Khirbet id-Diniyeh Tell Fisna * Tell Haddad Khirbet Hatara * Isin Tell Jikan *

Lagash Tell Muhammed Tell Rijim * Tell Selal *

Shuwaimiyah Sippar Tell Sulaimah * 'Usiyah Wadi Khatkhun * Warka

Kassite/Middle Babylonian Tell Haddad Lagash

Larsa Shuwaimiyah Warka

Middle Assyrian Anzeh Cemetery * Der Hall *

Tell Fisna * Khirbet Hatara * Karhol Sufla * Tell Mohammed 'Arab *

Sheikh Hamzeh *

Neo-Assyrian/Neo-Babyl onian 'Ana Island Tell Baqaq * Borsippa Tell id-Dehemiya Khirbet id-Diniyeh Habi as-Sahr Tell Haddad Khirbet Hatara * Kifrin Larsa Qasrij Cliff* Tell Rijim * Tell Ronak *

Shuwaimiyah Tilbis Warka

Achaemenid/Seleucid/Parthian/Sasanian Tell Abu al-Qaws 'Ana Island Babneet Village * Dhuweij * Tell Fisna *

Tell Jikan * Tell Karana i *

Karhol Sufla * Kharabeh Shattani * Kharabeh Shattani Village *

Khirbet Khatuniyeh * Kifrin Larsa Maqabir Majwal Tell Mohammed 'Arab * Qaradere * Khirbet Qasrij * Tell Ronak * al-Tar Caves Tilbis Wadi Khatkhun * Warka

EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ, I983-84 2I7

,see Ma 2 U yVi

7.' MOSUL /'x n r

0k y s

~~~~1983- 84 /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

j

I, 0 X * KIRKUK

4 j ~~~~~~TELL HADDADA ELL'SULAIMAH

ELL AL-DHIBIA'I BAGHDADi-A ELL MUHAMMED

HABL AS;AHRA A TELL BISMAYA <-

ASippaira -

Borsipp A A ABU SALABIKH AL-TAR A

A * sin

0 *~~~~Lag sh

TELL ID DEHEMIYA RKA

?._. ~~~~~~BASRA

ARCHA,EOLoqICAL SIrEs A ---)

ANCIENT NAMES Sippar MODERN N4AMES WARKA

MODERN TOWN4S eMOSUL /L

0 20 40 60 so too - i

Map 1.

218 EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ, 1983-84

Islamic Kharabok * 'Ana Island Lagash Babneet Village * Mishrifeh Mill *

Tell Baqaq 3 * Mishrifeh Village * Tell Baqaq 4 * Qaradere *

Bir Hami * Khirbet Saleh * Tell Ibrahim al-Khalil Sheikh Hamzeh * Tell Fisna * Tilbis Jamrash * Warka Tell Jikan *

Tell Abu al-Qaws Final work was carried out by the State Organization for Antiquities and Heritage

at this Parthian site.

Abu Salabikh The British Archaeological Expedition to Iraq carried out a ninth season of

excavations at the site from March to May I983, directed by Nicholas Postgate. A preliminary report on this work has been published (J. N. Postgate, " Excavations at Abu Salabikh, I983 ", in Iraq 46, 95-113). The excavation of grave I62, which contained five equid skeletons, was completed. In the Area E public building, a stratigraphic connection between the Central and South-east Complexes was established and they were shown to be partly contemporary. An area to the north of the Area A public building was scraped, revealing what may be an enclosing corridor and a thick outside wall. Two private houses which had been identified from the surface scrape were investigated. They contained six graves, of which grave 205 especially yielded much Early Dynastic II pottery. The town wall of the same date seems to have survived into the late third millennium, as excavations through it yielded pottery and other artefacts of Akkadian or Ur III date lying in the rubbish beyond the wall. Recovered by the technique of surface scraping, the city plan continues to grow, and a strip from Area A to Area E is now completely planned. A large Early Dynastic III private house was identified just north of the Area E public building.

'Anbeh (Qadisiyeh Dam no. 15) Further work was carried out at 'Anbeh by the State Organization for Antiquities

and Heritage during I983 and I984.

'Ana Island (Qal'at 'Ana) (Qadisiyeh Dam no. 3) Excavations by the the State Organization for Antiquities and Heritage were

continued under the direction of Sd. Mahir Mohammed Jalal. Work was con- centrated in the area of the mosque.

Tell Bismaya Further work was carried out by the State Organization for Antiquities and

Heritage at this site, where Isin-Larsa Period houses were excavated.

EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ I983-84 219

Borsippa The Austrian Archaeological Expedition to Iraq, under the direction of Dr. H.

Trenkwalder, carried out a third season of work at Borsippa in autumn i984. A detailed plan was made of the brickwork of the ziggurat and the staircase found in I98I was investigated further. A system of channels, 50 cm wide, running into the core of the ziggurat was found. On the southern corner of the ziggurat a Io m stretch of the facing wall was exposed. It had two projecting buttresses, each 3-7 m wide. Next to the ziggurat and the Nabu Temple was a 9 m wide mud-brick wall. Several fragments of economic and administrative tablets, dating to the Neo- Babylonian period, were found near the outer face of this wall. A later mud-brick platform at least 7 m high, was discovered on the south-eastern slope of the ziggurat.

Tell id-Dehemiya The site of Dehemiya is located 40 km south-east of Shanafiya at the confluence of

the Khasif and Atshan rivers (no. I4 on map 93 of the Atlas of Archaeological Sites, Ministry of Information, Baghdad, I 976). The site was in serious danger of erosion from the rivers and a rescue excavation was carried out from November I 984 to the end of February I 985 under the direction of Dr. Abd-as-Sittar al-'Azzawi, with the assistance of Sd. Mohammed Yahya Radhi and Sd. Shakir Jasim Mohammed. A complete building was excavated and dated by the excavators to between the Kassite and Neo-Babylonian periods, or to the Neo-Babylonian period. A number of graves were found, mostly of children, and among the finds were " mother- goddess " figurines, a small statue of a bearded man holding a cup to his chest and animal figurines (dogs, a camel, a horse and a lion). Some of the pottery recovered was glazed.

Tell al-Dhiba'i Further work was carried out by the State Organization for Antiquities and

Heritage at this site. Old Babylonian houses in the north-east part of the site were excavated.

Khirbet id-Diniyeh (Qadisiyeh Dam) Fourth and fifth seasons of excavations were carried out at Khirbet id-Diniyeh in

I983 and I984 by the Delegation Archeologique Fransaise en Irak under the direction of Dr. C. Kepinski. The town (ancient Haradum) appears to have been founded as a Babylonian merchant colony in the latter half of the Old Babylonian period. Three phases of occupation have been distinguished, of which the second was destroyed by fire in c. I665 B.C. or shortly after, leaving tablets and numerous other artefacts in position. Excavations have revealed a remarkably regular town plan. A principal gate in the western wall led to a main street cut at right angles by five lanes which divided the town into eight quarters. In the town centre on the opposite side of a square lay (on the north side) the house of the rabianum (mayor) and (on the south) a temple with a gateway protected by two large polychrome terra-cotta lions, coloured red, black and white. Altogether some ten houses and artisans' workshops have been excavated. Further excavation and soundings have

220 EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ, I983-84

helped to clarify the plan of the later Assyrian military post (Harada) built on the same site.

Fuhaimi (Qadisiyeh Dam no. 22)

Further work was carried out at Fuhaimi by the State Organization for Antiquities and Heritage in I983.

IHabl as-Sahr In autumn I983 a short season of excavations was carried out along the ruins of

Habi as-Sahr by the British and Belgian Archaeological Expeditions to Iraq, directed by Dr. H. Gasche and Mr. R. Killick. A preliminary report on this work has already appeared (R. G. Killick, " Northern Akkad Project: Excavations at Habl as-Sahr ", Iraq 46, I 25-30). The remains lie close to Tell ed-Der and excavation revealed a 7 m wide baked brick and earth wall. The evidence of the in situ stamped bricks demonstrated that the structure had been built by Nebuchad- nezzar and probably corresponded to the wall which is known from the texts to have been built by him from the Euphrates to the Tigris Rivers.

Tell Haddad Excavations continued at Tell Haddad under Sd. Burhan Shakir of the State

Organization for Antiquities and Heritage until the site was flooded in I984. The most notable discovery of the last season was an Old Babylonian building complex which may have been a temple, or possibly a palace. Two rectangular courtyards were found. The surrounding walls of both courtyards were decorated with semi- engaged mud-brick columns which had date-palm and barley-sugar designs similar to those found in the Old Babylonian temple at Tell al-Rimah. One of the texts from Tell Haddad mentions an E be-el me-tu-ra-an (" House (or temple) of the Lord of Me-Turan ").

In level 4, which lay over virgin soil, a number of rooms were distinguished, in one of which were found 34 tablets in a jar with dates mostly of Silli-Sin, Dadusha and Ibal-pi-El of Eshnunna.

It seems clear from the textual evidence that Tell Haddad/Tulul al-Sib was called Me-Turan in the Old Babylonian period and Me-Turnat in the Neo-Assyrian period. The total number of tablets found at the three sites was about I,OOO, including fragments; of these 745 were found from the two tells al-Sib and the remainder from Tell Haddad. These were letters; contracts; leases of fields, houses and other property, with and without interest added; receipts and other lists; adoption and legal suits; mathematical, literary and school texts including lexical lists and an omen text bearing a date of Dadusha; and an inventory ofjewels of the god Adad. Some of the texts contain new date formulas. The texts of the Neo- Assyrian period are written in Babylonian script.

[Hazim Mohammed Abdul-hafidh, Excavations at Tell al-Sib, al-Athari 1978/ I (in Arabic); Na'il Hannun, Tell al-Sib, Sumer 35 (I 975) (in Arabic); Fawzi Rashid, A Royal Text from Tell Haddad, Sumer 37 (I98I); F. N. Al-Rawi, Assault and Battery, Sumer 38 (i 982); F. N. Al-Rawi and J. A. Black, The Jewels of Adad, Sumer

EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ, I983-84 22I

39 (I983); Ahmad Kamil Mohamed, Studies in unpublished cuneiform texts from Tell Haddad, M.A. thesis, Baghdad University, 1985 (in Arabic).]

Tell Ibrahim al-Khalil As part of its survey of the Borsippa area, the Austrian Archaeological Expedition

to Iraq, under Dr. H. Trenkwalder, investigated this site in autumn 1984. Islamic pottery of most periods was collected from the surface. A Hellenistic pottery kiln was excavated and an industrial, glass-manufacturing area identified. Many glass beads and semi-manufactured pieces were recovered. A small hoard ofjewellery was also found.

Isin (Ishan Bahriyat) Professor B. Hrouda directed the 7th and 8th campaigns at Isin in spring I983 and

autumn I984 respectively. The excavations were sponsored by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, the Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften and the University of Munich. A public building in the south-east area, resembling the Southern Building at Tell Asmar, was investigated. In the north-east area a number of tablets of the early second millennium were found in private houses and a brick- built tomb. North-east of the temple of Gula was a large enclosure wall with some clay cones of Ishme-Dagan which mentioned work on the " great wall ". In a robber pit in the celia of the goddess Gula there was a Jemdet Nasr stamp seal and a small stone lion figurine of the Uruk period. Near the temple, half of a deliberately sliced tablet was found in a pot. This was an incantation text, mentioning individuals by name, and was apparently intended to help a woman win the favours of one particular man away from a second woman. It seems to be unique. Future work will concentrate on the south-east area where it is hoped to locate the palaces of the Isin I and Isin II dynasties.

Kifrin (Qadisiyeh Dam no. I2)

The fifth season of excavations at Kifrin, sponsored by the Centro Scavi di Torino (director, A. Invernizzi; field director, E. Valtz) was conducted from April to December I983. An altar surrounded by columns on a platform was found in the middle of the courtyard of Building A. This religious area is enclosed by a rectangular precinct. Between this precinct and the city wall a second large building was found with an iwan flanked by two small rooms on the north-east side and by an open area with two water basins to the south-west. The city walls were cleared and rectangular towers found at 30 m intervals as far as the southern limit. No entrance was found in that side which faces the Jezireh. More of the citadel was excavated and on the river-side four towers were found and a postern gate. A second thermae building was located outside the citadel wall; it had under-floor rooms, supported by brick columns, with water-pipes and basins. These outer thermae were probably used by the city garrison while the ones in the citadel may have been reserved for the dux.

Further-soundings revealed two Roman graves on the northern hill, outside the city, and a number of Neo-Assyrian burials. Scattered remains of private houses on

222 EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ, x983-84

the main mound suggest an extensive occupation of the site during the first half of the third century A.D.

[A. Invernezzi, in AfO 29-30 (X983-84), 207-9.]

Lagash (Tell al-Hiba) The excavations at al-Hiba are sponsored jointly by the Metropolitan Museum of

Art, New York, and the University of California, under the directorship of Professor D. Hansen. A sixth season at the site was conducted in spring I 984 led by Professor E. Carter. Tell al-Hiba is a large, relatively low mound (3,600 m north to south by I,900 m east to west, rising up to 6 m high). A canal runs along part of the southwestern edge of the site and the rest is surrounded by reed-covered marsh lands. The exact extent of the ancient city is unknown. An estimate of approx- imately 500 hectares for the Early Dynastic period (compared with 400 hectares for Uruk in the Early Dynastic I period), based on collections from currently visible portions of the site, does not seem unreasonable. Earlier excavations in Area B had revealed the Bagara (temple of Ningirsu) and, in Area A, the IB.GAL (temple of Inana), two of the major religious complexes of the Sumerian city. A multi-roomed building, possibly a store-house or administrative building, of the Late Early Dynastic period had also been investigated. In the 1984 season, a systematic unaligned random sample of I% was collected from the surface of the site. The survey led to the tentative identification of residential and industrial quarters of the ancient city.

Collections in and around the central western portion of the mound accurately reflected the sequence discovered in the excavations of that sector. Sherds of Isin- Larsa/Old Babylonian date were predominant, with scattered Early Dynastic and Ur III material. Inscribed brick fragments of Amar-Suen and an inscribed cone dated to the reign of En-ana-tum I were found in the central portion of the mound. Most of the remains identified outside this area were of Early Dynastic date. However, much of the material seems to belong to the Early Dynastic II-III time span rather than the end of the Early Dynastic III period as originally proposed. A hitherto unreported occupation of the Islamic period was identified on the eastern edge of the site. Seven distinct areas of ceramic production were noted. On the western slope of the northeastern mound, adjacent to one of the largest ED kiln areas, a zone littered with broken shell (Conidae and Strombidae) waste was found. An intensive collection within this zone led to the discovery of numerous microlithic tools (drills, saws, borers and " bullet " cores) scattered among the broken shells. Continuing studies of the distribution patterns of the surface finds will yield new data on the size and composition of the city in the different phases of the ED period. Of particular interest will be the further analysis of the waste products left behind by the various manufacturing activities.

Larsa The tenth season of excavations of the Delegation Archeologique Franqaise en

Irak at Larsa took place in autumn I983 under the direction of ProfessorJ.-L. Huot. The Neo-Babylonian temple on top of the E-babbar mound was excavated with its walls preserved up to a height of 2 m. The main entrance to the sanctuary was from

EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ, x983-84 223

the south-east and a long central room led into the main cella where a large altar with side-steps was found. The altar had an inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II. Flanking the central room were eight small side-chambers. The sanctuary was enclosed by an oval wall of baked bricks which was itself surrounded by a rectangular wall. Stamped bricks of Nebuchadnezzar were found in both walls. Elsewhere, a mutilated stela was found re-used as a door-socket in the Hellenistic period. Most of the design and text had been chiselled away but the stela was a local version of the stela of Nabonidus found at Harran and bears witness to the religious reforms of that king. Pottery and a tablet dating to the third year of Philip III Arrhidaeus (320 B.C.) provided evidence for a Seleuco-Parthian phase of occupation in the sanctuary. A small and mutilated statuette was also found in these late levels but stylistic criteria suggest that it is Early Dynastic III in date. In one of the side chambers, there was a vertical brick-lined drain, 6 m deep and o 5 m wide. Three of the bricks bore the name of Ur-Nammu so that the drain might be a vestige of a destroyed Ur III building. Finally, a deep sounding in the sanctuary showed that the Neo-Babylonian walls were built directly over a Kassite temple. Baked bricks from this earlier structure had stamps of Kadashman-Enlil II.

[Y. Calvet, Le Temple babylonien de Larsa, problemes d'orientation, in G. Roux (ed.) Temples el Sanctuaires, Lyon, I984, 9-22; J.-L. Huot et al., Rapport prelimin- aire sur la huitieme campagne, 1978, Sumer 38 (1982), 73-90 (in Arabic); id., Larsa: preliminary report on the ninth campaign, I98I, Sumer 38 (I982), 89-95; id., Larsa et 'Oueili, Travaux de I978-i98i, Paris 1983; J.-L. Huot, J. Margueron and D. Arnaud, S. V. Larsa, RIA VI (i983), 496-506.]

Maqabir Majwal (Qadisiyeh Dam no. I3) Excavations at this cemetery site, also known as Maghawir Majwal, were

continued in I983 and I984 by the State Organization for Antiquities and Heritage under the direction of Sd. Ahmed Reshwan. A considerable number of Roman/ Sasanian tombs were discovered. These varied considerably in plan and details but the majority were rows of chambers with painted decoration on the walls. In some of the chambers refuse left by the tomb robbers was found.

Mawrid (Qadisiyeh Dam no. 3I) Further work was carried out by the State Organization for Antiquities and

Heritage at Mawrid in I983 and I984.

Tell Muhammed Further work was carried out by the State Organization for Antiquities and

Heritage at Tell Muhammed. The excavation of the temple area is now complete. Work continued in levels 2 and 3 (Old Babylonian) in the north and east parts of the site.

Tell el-'Oueili A fourth season at this site was carried out in I983 by the Delegation Archeolo-

gique Fransaise en Irak under the direction of Professor J.-L. Huot. Previous work had suggested that Ubaid I levels might be close to the surface in the north-west part

224 EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ, I983-84

of the site. Excavations here revealed a large mud-brick terrace of Ubaid III date but, further still to the north-west, Ubaid I and even earlier material was found. Although no coherent architecture has been recovered from these levels so far, parts of small, compartmentalized structures were excavated similar to the Ubaid IV buildings on the site. Long hand-shaped mud bricks with parallel longitudinal grooves were also used. The pottery is similar to that from Eridu XIX-XVIII but with a wider range of painted patterns. Footed cups and bowls which are absent from Eridu appear in level I3 at 'Oueili and levels II-I9 show a phase which is earlier than Eridu. In the lowest levels at the site, only twenty sherds were recovered; one was decorated and some were straw-tempered and burnished. So far, clay sickles have only been found in the latest Ubaid levels.

[J.-L. Huot et al., Larsa et 'Oueili, Travaux de 1978-198i, Paris, 1983; id. Tell el'Oueili, the works of 1978 and 198I, Sumer 39 (1983), I8-67.]

Shuwaimiyah (Qadisiyeh Dam no. 28) During I983 and I 984 more of this cemetery site was excavated by Sd. Ratib Ali

Faraj for the State Organization for Antiquities and Heritage. Some of the graves dated to the Old Babylonian period: these are generally mud-brick tombs surrounded by a circular wall of mud brick or, in some cases, stone. Others are thought to be contemporary with the Middle Babylonian and Neo-Assyrian periods: some of these are mud-brick structures and others are jar burials. Among the finds are spear-heads, necklaces of precious stones and clay figurines.

Telul al-Sib See under Tell Haddad.

Sippar The College of Arts, Baghdad University, carried out a sixth season at Sippar

from October I983 toJune 1984 under the direction of Dr. Walid al-Jadir, assisted by Sd. Zuhair Rajib. A deep sounding, 30 X 5 m, was dug in the north-eastern part of the site where Old Babylonian remains had been exposed in earlier seasons, with the aim of investigating as far as virgin soil. Currently a depth of 7 m below mound surface has been reached. According to the excavators, the upper four levels in the sounding are Old Babylonian in date; levels 5 and 6 are Akkadian and levels 7 to 9 probably of late Early Dynastic date. In the Early Dynastic levels plano-convex bricks laid in herring-bone pattern were found as well as fragments of stemmed dishes and a clay model bed. The Akkadian levels were badly disturbed and included one grave with a single jar.

[Walid al-Jadir and Zuhair Rajab Abdallah, Preliminary Results of the Baghdad University Excavations at Sippar (Abu Habba), Seasons 1978-1983, Sumer 39 (X983) (in Arabic); Lamia al-Gailani Werr and Walid al-Jadir, Seal impressions from Sippar, Sumer 37 (198I).]

EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ, I983-84 225

Tell Sulaimah The excavations conducted by the State Organization for Antiquities and

Heritage continued until I984. Levels I-3 were Old Babylonian in date. The most important building of this period was Building 2 (excavated in I977-78) which was thought to be the remains of a large palace. It consisted of a central courtyard surrounded by rooms on three sides. Another building was thought to be a public building because of its broad, decorated entrance. Also found was a courtyard with black-painted walls and with eight intact mud-brick arches leading off into the side- rooms. In the lower levels an Early Dynastic round building had been excavated in earlier seasons (Iraq 45, 220). A possible administrative building of the Akkadian period was excavated in which were 47 Sargonic period tablets. From these it appears that the ancient name of the site may be Awal, or else Batir.

[Salah Ramidh and Burhan Shakir, The excavations at Tell Sulaimah, Sumer 35 (I979) (in Arabic); Abdul-majid Mohammed Abdul-rahman, Excavations at Tell Sulaimah, third season (1980) (S.O.A.H. report) (in Arabic); Fawzi Rashid, Himrin Reports 4 (I983) (in Arabic); Burhan Shakir, Preliminary report on the excavations at Tell Sulaimah, I977-8 (S.O.A.H. report) (in Arabic); Mohammad Mahmud Shakir, Special report on the work of the Sulaimah Project, (S.O.A.H. report) (in Arabic); Lamia al-Gailani et al., Catalogue of the cylinder seals from Tell Suliemeh-Himrin, Sumer 38 (I982); id., Cylinder seal discoveries in the Hamrin Basin, Ur I-i983, 47-50.]

al- Tar Caves A sixth season of excavations was carried out at al-Tar caves from September to

December I984 by the Institute for Cultural Studies of Ancient Iraq, Kokushikan University, Japan, under the direction of Professor Hideo Fujii. The al-Tar caves are located 30 km south-west of Kerbala and were dug into a marlstone escarpment next to the present-day Lake Razaza. Their prime purpose was probably defensive but they were also used for tombs. The evidence suggests that the burials in the caves were secondary burials, following exposure of the corpses. The sixth season completed the excavation of wind-blown debris in cave 2 on Hill C and yielded a burial with textiles which in general appearance seem to be Hellenistic in design. The finds included a human mandible a pile textile and textiles woven in a variety of other techniques (plain weave including tapestry weave, twill weave and rib weave) and with several colourful designs (wave patterns, flower patterns and colour gradation). On the basis of CI4 dates for the textiles, including a specimen from cave 1 2, it is thought that the burial unearthed this season can be dated between the 3rd century B.C. and the 3rd century A.D.

[H. Fujii (ed.), Al- Tar I: Excavations in Iraq I97I-I974 (Tokyo, I 976); id., Studies on textiles and leather objects from al-Tar Caves, Iraq, al-Rafidan I (Tokyo, I980) (in Japanese); id. et al., Textile from al-Tar Caves, Iraq, al-Rafidan 3/4 (Tokyo, I 983) ; id., in Sumer 29 (I 973), Sumer 30 (I 974), Sumer 32 (I977).]

Tilbis Island (Qadisiyeh Dam no. 9) Work on the island of Tilbis has been continued by the State Organization for

226 EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ, I 983-84

Antiquities and Heritage under the direction of Sd. Nadhir Abdullah. A number of houses of the 12th-I4th centuries A.D. were uncovered. Most parts of the Neo- Assyrian fortifications have been exposed. Some graves of the Hellenistic period were found containing seals, jewellery, some coins and pottery.

'Usiyeh (Qadisiyeh Dam no. i8) Work was continued on this site by Sd. Abdul-majid Mohammed Abdur-rahman,

Sd. Ratib Ali Faraj and Sd. Barkat Ahmed Barkat. During this period a number of graves of the Old Babylonian period were excavated. A group of graves was also discovered beneath the principal mound. Among the finds were a cuneiform tablet, a large number of clay figurines, pottery, rings and weights and some cylinder seals.

The Institute for Cultural Studies of Ancient Iraq, Kokushikan University,Japan, under the direction of Professor Hideo Fujii, excavated at 'Usiyeh from January I983 toJanuary I984. Area A, which was about 40 m east to west and 6o m north to south, was located some 500 m south of the main mound. Here a stone-built structure was found which was divided into two halves; one half had two rooms and entrances and the other had a single room with an entrance opening on to the stone roofing. Although animal bones were found inside, no human bone was recovered. Fifteen cylinder seals were found as well as several thousand shell rings, twenty haemetite weights, one ivory human figurine and incised grey-ware pottery with gypsum in-fill of Isin-Larsa type which included a representation of a five storey shrine and an ox. On one of the cylinder seals is the name Dagan-tillat (written dda- gan-ILLAT); another shows a five storey shrine with a lion and a crescent symbol above. One of the weights is shaped like a frog; some twenty others are barrel- shaped. At ground level surrounding this structure, the remains of a stone-built staircase and a gypsum floor were found. Many fragments of terracotta guardian figures of lions similar to those from Tell Harmal were distributed in front of the staircase. To the south-east a courtyard was uncovered, surrounded by a series of stones set at 3 m intervals, presumably column bases. Next to the stones terracotta figurines were found, including female pudenda, model chariots, model beds and Isin-Larsa or Old Babylonian pottery.

Area B, which consists of two mounds, is located about 300 m north-west of Area A and 500 m south-west of the main mound. Mound X was 12 m in diameter and I-5 m high. At its centre was a stone-lined chamber with corbel vaulting. Five smaller graves surrounded the central one, in one of which a small Old Babylonian jar was found. Mound 2 was 7 m in diameter and o 8 m high and also had a stone chamber at the centre, of which only the foundations remained.

Warka In winter I982 and spring I984 the Deutsches Archaologisches Institut, Abteilung

Baghdad, carried out a second and third season of archaeological survey at the site. Dr. R. Boehmer was the director and Dr. U. Finkbeiner acted as field director. The survey of the entire inner town (bounded by the town walls on the outside and by the edge of the previously excavated sacred area on the inside) has been completed and sherds of every period from Late Uruk to Sasanian have been found. Study of the distribution of these has revealed important information about the historical

EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ, 1983-84 227

topography of the site. Extensive traces of the Late Uruk period were observed, overlaid by Seleucid and Parthian in an area rising to I9 m in squares G/H XVIII (cf. UVB I, Tafel I for grid of site), perhaps covering remains of a pre-Uruk occupation. It is hoped to investigate this area in detail in the future. South of the E-ana, an extensive area of Early Dynastic settlement was identified in area O/P XXVIII-XXIX, which is also scheduled for further investigation. Early Dynastic material was prominent on the mound K/M XII-XIII (27 m high). The surround- ing areas, especially to the west, are heavily eroded. In area K XI, the remains of an Early Dynastic stone industry were recovered. A full investigation of the stone- working industry at Warka is proposed. Fragments of a lion sculpture with an inscription of Gudea of Lagash were found.

Old Babylonian occupation is clear in the area of the Sinkashid palace and, on the west side of the town, does not extend south of squares D XX-XXI. Previously unsuspected Middle Babylonian traces were located in C XIII and a large area of occupation in G/H XXIII-XXV. It is hoped to investigate this area in detail later. A Seleuco-Parthian town quarter was identified in the south-east sector of the town and coins of Seleukos IV were found south-west of the Bit-resh. Finally, over forty coins and pottery provide evidence of occupation at Warka as late as Shapur I.

New topographical maps at a scale of I: I,000 are in preparation. Other projects include the accurate tracing of the town walls, the scientific analysis of the stone and mineral finds, and a detailed study of the numismatic evidence.

[Reports in AfO 29/30 (1983/4); BaM 14 (I983)-35th season; BaM 15 (1984) 36th season; BaM i6 (i985) 37th season.]

Saddam Dam Salvage Project

Anzeh Cemetery (Saddam Dam no. I4) The Austrian Archaeological Expedition to Iraq directed by Dr. H. Trenkwalder

excavated at Anzeh Cemetery in I983. The site lies close to the modern village and has an Islamic cemetery on top. Several Middle Assyrian graves were found in the top layers. Finds from these included: gold and bronze ear-rings, pendants and bracelets, a glazed frit bowl with green, black and yellow bands and nipple-base beakers. Two levels of Middle Assyrian houses were excavated. The remains of five houses were found, all of them built with thick walls (o8o-I *20 m wide). In House 2 in square J8 a large part of a vaulted ceiling was found intact and a well-preserved kiln with pots in situ.

A geomorphological survey was undertaken along the Wadi Anzeh. The Quaternary sequence was established by excavation along the wadi at three points and by examining soil profiles in the wadi bed. This sequence may be divided into two horizons: a lower series of cemented gravels overlain by sand layers and an upper series of gravelly sands overlain by different soils and the occasional layer of gravel. Crudely made stone artefacts and pottery were observed in these layers to a depth of 7 m.

228 EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ I983-84

Babneet Village (Saddam Dam no. 9) The British Archaeological Expedition to Iraq under the direction of Dr. Michael

Roaf excavated a 20 m-long section on the river terrace under the village of Babneet. There was a maximum of 3.5 m of archaeological deposit above virgin soil. No structural remains were encountered. The pottery from the section was supplemen- ted by intensive surface collection around the village and belongs to the Late Sasanian and Early Islamic periods.

Tell Baqaq i (Saddam Dam no. 23) During I983 the State Organization for Antiquities and Heritage continued work

on the lower levels of this site under the direction of Sd. Kerim Toma. In levels 5 and 6 stone foundations of private houses were recovered with associated Habur ware. The lowest level of the site (level 7) yielded Ninevite 5 painted and incised pottery.

Tell Baqaq 2 (Saddam Dam no. 23) Excavations at this site by Sd. Kerim Toma of the State Organization for

Antiquities and Heritage continued until mid-I983. More of the plan of the Late Assyrian palace was uncovered. Off the east side of the baked-brick courtyard, opposite the throne-room, was a suite of four rooms. This comprised two parallel, long rooms with two smaller, rectangular rooms behind. One of these smaller rooms had a baked brick floor. Traces of two other courtyards were found but excavation was limited by the position of the modern police post.

Tell Baqaq 3 (Saddam Dam no. 23)

This was an Islamic khan excavated in I983-84 by Sitt Najat Yunus and Sd. Kerim Toma for the State Organization for Antiquities and Heritage. The main gate into the khan was exposed and a single range of rooms on three sides. The walls were made of gypsum and stone. Pottery lamps and glazed pottery were also found.

Tell Baqaq 4 (Saddam Dam no. 23) This site is located on the Baqaq River, east of the Mosul to Zakho road and was

excavated by Sd. Kerim Toma of the State Organization for Antiquities and heritage. The site was a one-period Ottoman fort with round corner towers and a fortified entrance in stone. The other walls were made of mud-brick. Supports for pillars were found along two sides of the internal courtyard and, on the side opposite the entrance, steps led down to four small rooms, possibly cells.

Bir Hami (Saddam Dam no. I)

Bir Hami is situated south of Kharabeh Shattani village and was excavated by Sd. 'Abdul-salam Sam'an of the State Organization for Antiquities and Heritage in autumn I984. In the top level the remains of a small house with two rooms were found. The walls were very thin, made of stone and hard mortar. There was some evidence that the main room was vaulted. Very few sherds were recovered and the level was dated to the Late Islamic period. In the lower level the stone foundations of two houses and a street were exposed. No diagnostic material was recovered from this level.

EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ, I 983-84 229

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230 EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ, 1983-84

Khirbet Derak (Saddam Dam no. 2)

Two seasons' work have been done at this site by Dr. J.-D. Forest of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. The site lies close to the villages of Karkhosh and Ronak. It had been heavily eroded so that no architectural remains were found. Nothing was left except concentrations of clay pits which had been filled with rubbish. The ceramics were Halaf in date but some sherds had painted designs reminiscent of 'Ubaid pottery and a fabric closer to Halaf pottery so that the assemblage may be transitional. As well as animal figurines and spindle whorls, several seal impressions with either geometric or naturalistic designs were found. The lithic industry is represented by flint and obsidian tools. Gazelle, goat, ox and sheep bones were recovered.

Der Hall (Saddam Dam no. i6) This site is located in the modern village of Der Hall, 3 km northwest of TellJikan.

It was excavated from November I983 toJanuary I984 by the Institute for Cultural Studies of Ancient Iraq, Kokushikan University, under the direction of Professor Hideo Fujii. Six levels were distinguished. In the top level the remains of recent structures were cleared away. Level 2 contained pottery belonging to the Nuzi period. In levels 3 and 4 three houses and a street were cleared. These were dated by the presence of Habur ware pottery to the first half of the second millennium. Below level 4 there was a gap in the occupation of the site. Level 5 contained Halaf sherds and the plans of part of a tholos and a rectilinear structure were recovered. Level 6 was aceramic; a large number of lithic artefacts, including microliths, were found in this level as well as a quantity of animal bone.

Tell Dhuwey (Saddam Dam no. 26) The tell lies next to the village of Zammar and was excavated by a team from

Mosul University, led by Dr. Zamir Sulaiman assisted by Dr. Najim Abu Adil and Dr. Khalil Jabar. Two levels have so far been excavated. Level I is Hellenistic in date while level 2 has produced Taya ware pottery and is, therefore, probably Akkadian in date.

Tell Fisna (Saddam Dam no. 22)

Tell Fisna is on the east bank of the Tigris, some 5 km north of Tell Jikan. The north part of the site has been eroded by a wadi leaving a steep cliff section on that side. The site was excavated from October I983 toJune I984 by the Institute for Cultural Studies of Ancient Iraq, Kokushikan University, under the direction of Professor Hideo Fujii. Excavation along the northern cliff section revealed six levels. In the lowest level, level 6, a rectangular libn platform was found, measuring I 2-5 m east to west and 5.5 m north to south. The brickwork survived to a height of I-2 m. There were three surfaces associated with this structure: the lowest surface contained Ninevite 5 painted pottery while the highest yielded Ninevite 5 incised sherds as well as Ninevite 5 painted. In level 5, walls made of large limestone slabs were found and the pottery exhibited close parallels with that from Tell Taya levels 9 and 8. Level 4 produced Habur ware pottery and level 3 Nuzi ware pottery. In level 2 there were several pits with Hellenistic pottery, in one of which there was an

EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ, I983-84 231

undecipherable cuneiform tablet which may be a very late hemerological text. Level I was dated to the Islamic era.

Khlirbet Hatara (Saddam Dam no. I 5) Hatara lies to the east of the Tigris River not far from the Mosul to Zakho road.

It was excavated in autumn 1984 by the Centro Scavi di Torino under the direction of Dr. P. Fiorina. The site of Hatara consists of two main parts: Hatara village (Areas i and 2) and Hatara Cemetery (Areas 3-6). The first season was devoted to exploratory soundings to determine the sequence of occupation at the site. In Area I the earliest deposit so far found was characterized by Halaf pottery. Pottery of the Ubaid 3 period, but no structural remains, was found in the north and in the south- eastern part of the site. There was also some Late Uruk material and three phases with Ninevite 5 painted pottery. The Akkadian period was attested in the south-east part of the site where some stone wall foundations were found. From mixed layers were some examples of white-on-black painted Nuzi ware.

At Hatara Cemetery a sequence starting at the beginning of the second millennium was established. Graves of the Old Assyrian period were found and in Area 4 there were two well-preserved floors with Habur and Nuzi ware pottery. Other periods of occupation at the site, attested by surface collection, include the Middle and Neo- Assyrian periods.

Jamrash (Saddam Dam no. 24) This site lies east of Sheikh Hamza and was excavated by Sitt Hanna Yalda Hanna

and Sd. Ghalib Muhammed al-Khashab for the State Organization for Antiquities and Heritage. A building of the Islamic period was found and a bronze lamp and pottery of the same date were recovered.

Tell Jikan (Saddam Dam no. I 3)

Tell Jikan is one of the largest sites in the area and in I983 and I984 it received the attention of Austrian, Iraqi, joint Italian-German and Japanese teams. Sd. Hikmet Bashir al-Aswad directed excavations for the State Organization for Antiquities and Heritage on the north-east side of the site. In a section cut along the edge Hassuna, Halaf, Ninevite 5 painted and Parthian pottery was found. A bulldozer was used to cut a large west-east trench across the northern part of the mound. This was I 30 m long, 5 m wide and up to 8 m deep. Material from the Hassuna, Halaf, Ninevite 5, Akkadian, Habur, Hellenistic, Parthian, Sasanian and Islamic periods was recovered. Many complete vessels from the lower levels were salvaged and two disturbed Ninevite u graves contained some cylinder seals and a gold ear-ring. Large stone foundations of buildings, probably dating to the Akkadian period, were observed in the section, and near the west edge of the tell there were the remains of a massive mud-brick structure, possibly a platform, unfortunately of uncertain date. On the west side of the mound by the river, work by the late Mahfudh Abdullah, and Salahuddin Hamid of the State Organization for Antiquities and Heritage produced a large stone building of uncertain post-Nuzi date. The Institute for Cultural Studies of Ancient Iraq, Kokushikan University, under the direction of Dr. Hideo Fujii, worked in the first half of I 984 on the north-eastern and eastern sides of

232 EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ, 1983-84

the tell. In Area A a cut was made into the steep side of the tell. In levels 7 and 6 pottery and lithics belonging to the Hassuna period were found. Level 5, which was probably disturbed, produced Akkadian and Ninevite 5 painted pottery. Levels 4 and 3 contained Habur ware pottery. Level 2 was dated to the Late Habur period or Nuzi period and level I was Sasanian or Early Islamic in date. Along the eastern edge of the excavation a large gully was found, I O m wide and up to 7 m deep, which was full of Akkadian pottery. It was suggested that this might represent the defensive ditch of the third-millennium settlement. In Area B, 23 graves, 2 pits, a kiln and a few mud-brick walls were found. The graves belonged to three periods: Islamic, Habur or Nuzi and Akkadian. Most of the Islamic graves were covered with stones. The second-millennium graves were lined with mud bricks. Akkadian period graves were either simple pits or more elaborate chambers constructed of large stone slabs.

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the Centro Studi Ricerche Ligabue, University of Bologna, also worked along the north-eastern side ofJikan in autumn I984. This expedition was headed by Drs. M. Fales, S. Tusa, G. Wilhelm and C. Zaccagnini. A trench along the top yielded three architectural levels, of which the first two were Abbasid in date and the third somewhat earlier. Another trench on the north slope of the tell produced Halaf material above virgin soil. Two Akkadian levels were identified; a large vaulted stone-lined cistern was found which had been sliced by a stone-capped grave. Above the Akkadian layers a high and well- preserved level produced abundant Habur ware sherds and further up the slope there was a 2 5 m wide wall built of bricks 40 x 40 x IO cm, and with a stone foundation. At the bottom of the tell a steep slope was found similar to that identified by the Japanese expedition and likewise full of Akkadian pottery.

The Austrian Archaeological Expedition to Iraq under the direction of Dr. H. Trenkwalder, worked on the north side of the Wadi Baqaq where it passes the south side of Tell Jikan. The remains of a large stone building were observed in the eroding edge of the wadi. A section was cut, I2 m wide and 6 m deep. The walls of the building were preserved nearly 3 m high and the thickest wall had a width of I*45 m. Rubbish layers found in between and over these walls contained Ninevite 5 sherds.

Tell Karana i and 2 (Saddam Dam no. 25)

This important tell lies 2 km west of the Mosul to Faideh road along the north side of a wadi with a perennial spring. It consists of a tell (Karana I) and a skirt (Karana 2). The main tell rises 25 m above the surrounding plain and excavations were started here in summer 1984 by Sd. Kerim Toma of the State Organization for Antiquities and Heritage. A trial trench has so far established six levels without reaching virgin soil. Level I dates to the Hellenistic period, levels 2 and 3 are Akkadian, level 4 is either Ninevite 5 or Akkadian, level 5 is Early Uruk and level 6, currently under excavation, is Early Uruk or earlier still. Stone foundations of houses of the Hellenistic period were exposed in level i. Level 2 was badly disturbed and contained jars with incised hatched triangles and finer Taya ware pottery. In level 3, a cache of six hollow stands was found. Five were clearly phallic symbols, made of hollow cylinders of pottery each about 54 cm long, and with small globular jars inverted and stuck on one end. The sixth had been shaped at one end in the form

EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ 1983-84 233

of a human head. Also from this level was a pottery plaque, c. I I cm high, of a human figure. The head was missing, one arm of the figure was down by its side and diagonally-cut curving impressions indicated a fleecy garment. Two sandstone moulds were found. The first had cuts for six objects, four of which seemed to be pointed at both ends. The second was a mould for a flat, broad chisel and for two other implements. An Akkadian grave produced a belt of black and white beads arranged in geometric patterns as well as many frit and shell beads.

The inhabitants of level 4 had settled at the side of the older mound. Here two stone courtyards with rooms off two sides were excavated. One room was burnt and Io kg of charred seeds were recovered from inside. In level 5 there were two houses of Early Uruk date. One of these was c. 20 m long and 5 m wide and had five adjoining rooms. The pottery from this layer looked similar to that from Grai Resh and from Mishrifeh. Lithics recovered included two curving flint blades, I 8 cm long, with trapezoidal sections. Level 6 has produced the plan of a well-preserved house which is probably Early Uruk in date. Walls were preserved over I m high. The plan so far recovered consists of three adjoining rooms. The recessed 8 m long central chamber was flanked by two long rooms with niched fasades and elaborate, projecting buttresses on the corners. The plan is very reminiscent of the " megaron "-type house of Gawra IX.

Tell Karana 3 (Saddam Dam no. 25) Karana 3 lies on the same wadi as Karana I but is nearer to the Tigris River. It

was excavated in autumn I984 by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the Centro Studi Ricerche Ligabue, University of Bologna. The expedition was headed by Drs. M. Fales, S. Tusa, G. Wilhelm and C. Zaccagnini. Karana 3 is a steep natural hill covered by approximately 2 m of archaeological deposit, the edges of which are almost completely eroded. In the central and southern parts of the tell three main phases were articulated which demonstrate the transition from Late Uruk ceramics to Ninevite 5 painted pottery. The earliest structure found was a granary or drying rack of the Late Uruk period built of four parallel mud-brick walls. Traces of a layer of reeds in the brickwork were observed. A similar structure existed in the succeeding phase where part of a large oven and a big building were also found. A large sample of charred seeds was recovered and among the finds was a so-called Jemdet Nasr seal impression.

Karhol Sufla (Saddam Dam no. I 2)

This site lay on the west bank of the river opposite the village of Babneet. It was excavated for the State Organization for Antiquities and Heritage by Sd. Hikmet Bashir al-Aswad. Five squares were opened next to the modern cemetery and three levels were distinguished. On top were some stone walls of the Parthian period and from lower levels Habur ware and Nuzi ware sherds were recovered. Three brick- vaulted graves containing Nuzi pottery were excavated.

Kharabeh Shattani (Saddam Dam no. 5) This site lies next to Kharabeh Shattani village and was dug over two seasons by a

team from Edinburgh University under Drs. E. Peltenburg and T. Watkins, in co- operation with the British Archaeological Expedition to Iraq. The site has three

234 EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ 1983-84

periods of occupation: Hassuna, Halaf and post-Assyrian. The Hassuna levels have so far been reached only in a limited area where part of a rectangular structure with stone foundations was found. The Halaf deposits were separated from the Hassuna by a I2 m thick compacted, silty layer. Two tholoi with stone foundations were excavated but the deposits were badly disturbed. Fragmentary rectilinear structures were found adjacent to one of these tholoi. A number of post-Assyrian pits were excavated and finds from these include a knife, an ornamented belt-plate and a ring. No structures of this period were found.

Kharabeh Shatlani Village (Saddam Dam no. 5) In April I983 a small sounding was dug in Kharabeh Shattani village to sample

the small site on which the village stands. The work was carried out by a team from Edinburgh University. In a 2 X 2 m sounding little diagnostic material was recovered except for a sherd with a stamp impression which suggests a date for the settlement in the Sasanian period.

Kharabok (Saddam Dam no. i8) This is an Islamic site on a natural bluff on the east side of the Baqaq River. It was

excavated over two seasons in I983 and I984 by Sd. Abdullah Amin Agha of the State Organization for Antiquities and Heritage. A single large building was excavated, measuring c. 75 x 45 m. There was a large central courtyard with a corridor running round and ranges of rooms on all sides. It was well built of large stones, gypsum and pebbles with some stucco plaster. This original phase was dated to the Abbasid period and probably earlier since a Byzantine coin of Anastasius was found as well as Abbasid coins. In a secondary phase the building was re-used and an elaborate water system installed. This included a central pool in the courtyard and a network of terracotta pipes. This phase of re-building probably dates to the Ilkhanid period. Finds included lamps, glass bottles, a glass pilgrim flask, glass phials, bronze cups, a circular gypsum plaque with inscribed Kufic script and barbotine ware pottery.

Khirbet Khatuniyeh (Saddam Dam no. 8) In March I984, and in spring I985, a British Museum team under the direction of

Dr. John Curtis, working in collaboration with the British Archaeological Expedi- tion to Iraq, excavated at Khirbet Khatuniyeh. This site is on the east bank of the Tigris, a little over 2 km west of Tell Mohammed 'Arab. On the surface of the mound are stone wall footings (level I) of comparatively modern date, beneath which are levels (2 and 3) represented by stone walls, sometimes with related cobble pavements. The associated pottery is Hellenistic or Parthian and Achaemenid period, respectively. The chief interest of the site, however, lies in the level 4 building which was destroyed by a fierce fire. One and a half large rooms, belonging to a substantial private house or minor public building, have been completely cleared. On the floors was a wealth of pottery, with evidence for about sixty vessels. These included an Assyrian " palace ware" beaker, a carrot-shaped bottle decorated with bands of red paint, a polychrome glazed jar, a large crater with pedestal foot, and a number of large storage jars. Among the small finds were a

EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ, I983-84 235

stamp seal with floral design, a stone incense burner and a magnificent drinking cup, terminating in a ram's head at one end and decorated with bands of red paint. The level 4 building was apparently destroyed a little after the collapse of Assyria, perhaps between 550 and 500 B.C. A small sondage has been dug below the level 4 floor, but virgin soil has still not been reached at a depth of c. 3-8 m.

Tell Kutan (Saddam Dam no. 3) Kutan is located 500 m west of the village of Karkhosh and is spread over two hills

separated by a wadi. The site was excavated by two teams from the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, one under Dr. J. D. Forest and one under Dr. L. Bachelot. The north-west hill was mostly sterile. A large stone wall was traced for 20 m and Ninevite 5 painted pottery recovered. On the south-east hill, five levels were identified within I m of archaeological deposit. The room plans were fragmentary but a typical feature seemed to be a central fireplace with low mud- brick bench. Pottery included Ninevite 5 painted bowls and jars, fine grey-ware which was sometimes decorated with grooves or a rope pattern, small incised four- lugged jars and many miniature vessels. Other finds included geometric and naturalistic cylinder seals, animal figurines and spindle whorls. Domesticated fauna was mostly goat, pig, sheep and oxen. The flint industry is mainly represented by large sickle blades, of so-called " Canaanean " type. Occupation of the Halaf period is attested by one adult grave.

Tell Mishrifeh (Saddam Dam no. I 7) Mishrifeh is located 2 km north-east of Tell Jikan and was excavated from

December I983 to June I984 by the Institute for Cultural Studies of Iraq, Kokushikan University, under the direction of Professor Hideo Fujii. The mound is saddle-shaped and both summits were investigated. The north-eastern summit (Area A) had 2 m of deposit above virgin soil. Two levels were distinguished. In the upper level the plan of a house with five rooms was recovered as well as six kilns and a stone pavement surrounding the house. The floors of the house had sunk down into an underlying 2 m thick deposit of ash. On the east side of the tell, in a lower level, was another house with five rooms. Finds included a terracotta " hut symbol" and pottery closely resembling that from Strata XI-IX at Tepe Gawra, dating to the Early Uruk period. On Area B a mud-brick building of the same date with a 2 m thick wall was found.

Mishrifeh Mill (Saddam Dam no. 17) This sites lies 200 m east of Mishrifeh village and was dug by Sd. Abdullah Amin

Agha of the State Organization for Antiquities and Heritage. Two soundings were made and the plan of a single room, 4-3 x 2-6 m, built of gypsum and stone was found. The building appears similar in plan to a Yezidi shrine.

Mishrifeh Village (Saddam Dam no. 1 7) This Islamic khan was excavated in winter I 984 by Sd. Abdullah Amin Agha on

behalf of the State Organization for Antiquities and Heritage. The khan was late Abbasid in date and remained in use in the Ilkhanid period. It was built of stone,

236 EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ, I983-84

pebbles and gypsum and consisted of a courtyard, 22'5 X 2I m, with ranges of rooms on three sides and an entrance on the south side. The east range of rooms were re-used as a stable; the partition walls were knocked down and mangers, a grain bin and a bin lined with bitumen constructed. The finds included a glazed jug, a filter jug with moulded decoration, a metal lamp and coins of the Ilkhanid and Ottoman periods.

Tell Mohammed'Arab (Saddam Dam no. io) The British Archaeological Expedition to Iraq, under the direction of Dr. M. D.

Roaf, continued work at this site until it was flooded in April I985. A preliminary report on this work has already appeared. In the final season at the site the sounding through the Late Uruk and Ninevite 5 levels was finished and the plan of a well- preserved Middle Assyrian house recovered. In the IO X 12 m sounding 13 levels were distinguished. They represent a dense sequence of superimposed village houses. Rectangular rooms of poorly constructed walls with an external courtyard were typical of each level. A domestic feature, confined to the lowest Ninevite 5 levels, was a central hearth and mud-brick bench similar to examples from Tell Kutan and Tell Selal. The sounding confirmed that Ninevite 5 painted pottery was the earlier style and that it subsequently co-existed with a restricted range of incised pottery before dying out completely. Along the western edge of the tell, on the riverside, the plan of a Middle Assyrian house was recovered. The building measured I8 m x I2 m and consisted of 5 rooms, one large room opening onto a stone-paved courtyard and two suites of two smaller rooms. A large quantity of smashed pottery was found on the floors of these rooms, including large storage jars, " pie-crust" pot-stands and a pottery ram on wheels similar to examples from Nuzi. A fragmentary tablet recording a list of pots was found in Middle Assyrian levels which post-dated this building. Comparisons with pottery from Dur Katlimu suggest a provisional dating of late i3th and 12th centuries B.C. for the Middle Assyrian material from Mohammed 'Arab. The later levels included Hellenistic pits and a Sasanian cemetery.

[M. D. Roaf, A Report on the work of the British Archaeological Expedition in the Eski Mosul Dam Salvage Project, Sumer 39 (i983), 68-94; id., Excavations at Tell Mohammed 'Arab in the Eski Mosul Dam Salvage Project, Iraq 46 (1984), I 4 I -56.]

Qaradere (Saddam Dam no. 4) rhe site lies in a wadi just over I km south-east of Babneet village and was

excavated for two weeks by the British Archaeological Expedition to Iraq. The remains of stone walls on the surface proved to be of recent date. In a lower level, a rectangular room with stone paving was found which probably dates to the Late Sasanian or Early Islamic periods.

Khirbei Qasri (Saddam Dam no. I I)

In February and March I984 the British Museum team working with the British Archaeological Expedition to Iraq undertook excavations at Khirbet Qasrij, some 300 m inland from Qasrij Cliff. The work was conducted by Drs. John Curtis and

EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ I1983-84 237

Dominique Collon. This is a one-period site, occupied for a relatively short time, and with stone wall-footings and pavements not far below the surface. Part of an industrial complex was excavated, with a kiln for firing pottery, work surfaces and a raised platform. Large numbers of pottery wasters and collapsed jars were recovered, and small finds included a stone duckweight. Additional trenches and sondages showed that the site measures at least 500 m across. The pottery dates from the Achaemenid period, c. 400 B.C.

J. Curtis, Industrial interlude in the dark ages in Iraq, British Museum Society Bulletin 48 (March 1985), 12-15.]

Qasrij Cliff (Saddam Dam no. I I) In March 1983 Dr. John Curtis, working on behalf of the British Archaeological

Expedition to Iraq, excavated a small Late Assyrian site at Qasrij Cliff on the east bank of the Tigris c. 700 m east of Tell Mohammed 'Arab. A circular, straight-sided pit, presumably an ancient grain silo at least 2-25 m deep and with a diameter of c. 3 70 m, was emptied out. On one side the pit-fill had been eroded away, but in the remaining deposit a large number of potsherds were found, all of 8th-7th cen- tury B.C. date. No occupation levels were found associated with this feature, and it was assumed they had been washed away either by the river or by the adjacent wadi.

Tell Rifan (Saddam Dam no. 20)

In spring I984, the Polish Archaeological Mission from the Institute of Mediter- ranean Archaeology, Warsaw University, began work at Tell Rifan which lies on the right bank of the Tigris River some I2 km downstream from the village of Zammar. The work was directed by Professor W. Chmielewski, with Dr. P. Bielinski as Acting Director. Much of the site is covered by a modern cemetery and was heavily eroded. At least three inundations of the river were observed in excavation. The depth of deposit varied between 20 and 8o cm. No architecture was found but Early Uruk pottery was recovered which finds its closest parallel in Strata IX-XI at Tepe Gawra.

Dr. R. Mazurowski of the Polish Mission also carried out a survey of Palaeolithic sites in the area. Twenty five sites were found and most of these lay on the third terrace of the Tigris River which is now about I50 m above the river bed. Most belonged to the Middle Palaeolithic period and were often associated with Upper Palaeolithic occupation. The material was rich and included flint cores used for making flakes and blades, scrapers, side-scrapers and hand axes. A few of the tools were fashioned in the Levallois technique. The assemblage appears to represent a local variant, being markedly different from sites in North Syria, Haditha or the Zagros.

Tell Rijm (Saddam Dam no. 1g) The site lies on the right bank of the Tigris River I -5 km west of Tell Rifan and

was excavated by the Polish Archaeological Mission from Warsaw University. In level i modest fragmentary architecture was found. The pottery, especially the bowl shapes, were typical of the Neo-Assyrian period and this dating was confirmed by

238 EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ I983-84

the find of a linear style seal depicting an archer trampling over a headless corpse. Levels 2 and 3 were also Assyrian but only fragments of walls and a stone pavement were found. Level 4 was a I 5 m-thick deposit of Habur period occupation containing cups with bands of brown paint, pots with applied decoration in the form of snakes, scorpions and dragon-like creatures and " pie-crust" pot-stands. In a limited area, some Ninevite 5 painted pottery and a few incised sherds were found (level 5).

Tell Ronak (Saddam Dam no. 6) This is a small tell on a natural ridge lying west of Ronak village. It was excavated

by Sd. Abdul-Salam Sam'an of the State Organization for Antiquities and Heritage. Two levels were identified: the higher was post-Assyrian in date and the second level was perhaps Neo-Assyrian. Finds from the second level included some " palace ware" sherds, two cylinder seals and a stamp seal depicting a winged genie.

Khirbet Saleh (Saddam Dam no. 2I)

Khirbet Saleh is a small tell with about 2 m of archaeological deposit. It lies 200 m east of Tell Fisna and was excavated by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the Centro Studi Ricerche Ligabue, led by Drs. M. Fales, S. Tusa, G. Wilhelm and C. Zaccagnini. The site was single-period with some intrusive Islamic graves. It contained a building with a large courtyard. This courtyard was delimited on the east and west sides by two pairs of columns and rectangular pillars, built of pebbles, mortar and limestone. On the southern side three square pillars joined by mud-brick walls were found. In the centre of the courtyard there was a solid rectangle of masonry and a square room with four entrances. The building is probably Abbasid in date but its function is not known.

Tell Selal (Saddam Dam no. 27) Work continued at this site in 1983 and I984 under the direction of Dr. Amir

Sulaiman from Mosul University who was assisted by Dr. Najim Abu Adil and Dr. Khalil Jabbar. Fifteen levels were identified above virgin soil and a sequence of Ninevite 5 incised pottery recovered in levels 8-9 and I '-I4. Ninevite 5 painted pottery was not so common, being found only in level i5. More was exposed of the early second millennium levels (levels 3 and 4). Two buildings were found with small rectangular rooms. Entrances were in the north wall which was niched and the brickwork survived in places up to the vaulting which had been constructed over the doorways.

Sheikh Hamza (Saddam Dam no. 54) This site was excavated by Sd. Dhanun Yunus Abdullah of the State Organization

for Antiquities and Heritage and two levels were identified; one belonging to the Islamic period and the second to the Middle Assyrian period.

Wadi Khatkhun (Saddam Dam no. 7) The site lies just downstream from Khirbet Khatuniyeh on a spur overlooking the

river. Two seasons of work, in summer I983 and in autumn I984, were carried out

EXCAVATIONS IN IRAQ, 1983-84 239

by Dr. C. A. Burney from Manchester University with the co-operation of the British Archaeological Expedition to Iraq. Five periods of occupation were identified. Under recent walls showing on the surface (Period i) was a stone-built house (Period 2) with a perimeter or terrace wall along the steep north side which slopes down to the river. More stone pavements were found underneath as well as thick stone walls up to 15 m wide. These Period 3 structures were dated by the excavator to the Achaemenid period. Period 4 produced Habur ware pottery and in a limited area some Late Ubaid material was found (Period 5).