Tell Boueid II

Book excerpt: Tell Boueid II is one of many sites submerged by the completion of the Middle Khabur dam, northeastern Syria. Salvage excavations by Antoine Suleiman (DGAM) in 1997 and 1998 exposed a small (about 0.12 ha) settlement dated on the basis of the ceramics to the Late Neolithic period. More specifically, comparisons with Tell Sabi Abyad and Tell Chagar Bazar suggest a date at the end of the Pre-Halaf era and the beginning of the Transitional stage between pre-Halaf and Early Halaf. During this crucial period, which remains poorly understood in Syria and northern Mesopotamia, various regional communities in Syria and northern Mesopotamia exhibit an increasingly strong cultural unity. In the report, archaeologists and specialists present the analyses of some aspects of the excavations: the architecture, the small finds, the Late Neolithic ceramics, the faunal remains, the obsidian, two clay sealings and the contents of two Late Chalcolithic pits. The ceramics show strong relationships with the so-called Hassuna and Samarra traditions known from Iraq. The obsidian tools, too, show affinities with the Samarra tradition but also with local, Syrian traditions. Of particular significance are two sealings with stamp seal impressions, which are similar to sealings recently excavated at Tell Sabi Abyad. In a concluding chapter the authors bring together their viewpoints in a joint discussion of Tell Boueid II.