Planigraphic and Architectural Features of Tell Sabi Abyad (Syria)
https://doi.org/10.21603/2078-8975-2021-23-2-360-370
Abstract
Introduction. Tell Sabi Abyad is one of the most important archaeological sites in the Balikh basin, located about 30 km south of the Syrian-Turkish border. It consists of four mounds excavated in different seasons. The excavation was initiated by a Dutch archaeological expedition that started on 1986 and finished in 2010. It was led first by Professor M. Van Loon and then by P. Akkermans.
Methods and materials. The research was based on the results of archaeological excavations, published by the excavation team. The historical reconstruction method was used to study the materials of the site.
Results. The study of excavation materials of the Tell Sabi Abyad monument made it possible to identify the cultural layers, which revealed religious buildings, dwellings, farm buildings, as well as other traces of the long-term human presence. The paper describes chronological layers and the amount of artefacts at different periods. The research made it possible to acquire new facts that can clarify the existing knowledge about Northern Mesopotamia of the Neolithic era.
Conclusion. The study of the monument showed that the houses were built on stable towering platforms, had a regular residential character, and involved bricks, clay, wood, and cane. Most of the houses had a rectangular layout and were connected to each other by small openings (doors). There were also houses with roof entrances. In addition, circular buildings, the tholoi, were found. In the late chronological layers, the era of Halaf culture, the tholoi were widely used not only as places of worship, but also for housing and food storage.
References
1. Tell Sabi Abyad II – the pre-pottery Neolithic B Settlement, eds. Verhoeven M., Akkermans P. M. M. G. Leiden / Istanbul: Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut, 2000, VIII+188.
2. Abd al-Rahman A. Inhabitation in the Balikh basin in prehistoric times. Historical research journal, 2014, 125–126: 3–24. (In Arab.)
3. Akkermans P. M. M. G., Brüning M. Architecture and social continuity at Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad III, Syria. Ina dmarri u qantuppi – Par la bêcheet le stylet! Cultures etsociétéssyro – mésopotamiennes Mélanges offerts à Olivier Rouault, eds. Abrahami P., Battini L. Summertown: Archaeopress, 2019, 101–110.
4. Akkermans P. M. M. G. Tell Sabi Abyad, or the Ruins of the White Boy. A short history of research into the Late Neolithic of Northern Syria. 100 Jahre archäologische Feldforschungen in Nordost-Syrien – eine Bilanz, eds. Bonatz D., Martin L. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2013, 29–43.
5. Excavations at Late Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad, Syria – The 1994–1999 field seasons, eds. Akkermans P. M. M. G., Brüning M. L., Huigens H. O., Nieuwenhuyse O. P. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2014, 271.
6. Akkermans P. M. M. G., Cappers R., Cavallo C., Nieuwenhuyse O., Nilhamn B., Otte I. N. Investigating the Early Pottery Neolithic of Northern Syria: new evidence from Tell Sabi Abyad. American Journal of Archaeology, 2006, 110(1): 123–156.
7. Plicht J. V. D., Akkermans P. M. M. G., Nieuwenhuyse O., Kaneda A., Russell A. Tell Sabi Abyad, Syria: radiocarbon chronology, cultural change, and the 8.2ka event. Radiocarbon, 2011, 53(2): 229–243. DOI: 10.1017/S0033822200056514
8. Akkermans P. M. M. G. Tell Sabi Abyad (Raqqa). A History of Syria in One Hundred Sites, eds. Kanjou Y., Tsuneki A. Oxford: Archaeopress Publishing LTD, 2016, 65–68.
9. Excavations at Tell Sabi Abyad – prehistoric investigations in the Balikh Valley, Northern Syria, ed. Akkermans P. M. M. G. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports International Series, 1989, 386.
10. Nieuwenhuyse O., Akkermans P. M. M. G., Plicht J. V. D. Not so coarse, nor always plain – the earliest pottery of Syria. Antiquity, 2010, 84(323): 71–85. DOI: 10.1017/S0003598X00099774
11. Akkermans P. M. M. G. Burying the dead in Late Neolithic Syria. Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, eds. Cordoba J. M., Molist M., Perez C., Rubio I., Martinez S. Madrid: Universidad Autónoma of Madrid, 2008, 621–645.
12. Russell A. Retracing the steppes: a zooarchaeological analysis of changing subsistence patterns in the Late Neolithic at Tell Sabi Abyad, Northern Syria, ca. 6900 to 5900 BC. PhD-thesis. Leiden: Leiden University, Faculty of Archaeology, 2010, 317.
13. Arntz M. Re-figuring the past: interpreting early halaf figurines from Tell Sabi Abyad (Syria). Bachelor Scriptie. Universiteit Leiden, Faculteit der Archeologie, Heemskerk, 2013, 105.
14. Badr R. Tell Sabi Abyad. Al-Khaleej newspaper, 2011. Available at: http://www.alkhaleej.ae/supplements/page/1774ac42-e724-4bff-ad6d467f90f00e67 (accessed 23.02.2021). (In Arab.)
15. Akkermans P. M. M. G., Duistermaat K. Of storage and nomads: the clay sealings from Late Neolithic Sabi Abyad, Syria. Paléorient, 1997, 22(2): 17–44.
16. Akkermans P. M. M. G., Verhoeven M. An image of complexity: the Burnt Village at Late Neolithic Sabi Abyad, Syria. American Journal of Archaeology, 1995, 99(1): 5–32.
17. Mellart J. Çatal Hüyük: A Neolithic town of Anatolia. N. Y.: McGraw-Hill, 1967, 233.
18. Akkermans P. M. M. G., Brüning M., Hammers N., Huigens H., Kruijer L., Meens A., Nieuwenhuyse O. P., Raat A., Rogmans E. F., Slappendel C., Taipale S., Tews S., Visser E. Burning down the house: the burnt building V6 at Late Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad, Syria. Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia, 2012, 43/44: 307–324.
19. Akkermans P. M. M. G. Late Neolithic architectural renewal: The emergence of round houses in the Northern Levant, ca. 6500–6000 BC. The Development of Pre-State Communities in the Ancient Near East, eds. Bolger D., Maguire L. Oxford: Oxbow books, 2010, 22–28.
20. Verhoeven M. The 1996 Excavations at Tell Sabi Abyad II, a Later PPNB Settlement in the Balikh Valley, Syria. NeoLithics, 1997, (1/97): 1–3.
21. Verhoeven M. Tell Sabi Abyad II – A Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Village in Northern Syria. Report on architecture and related finds of the 2001 campaign. Anatolica, 2004, 30: 179–218.
22. Akkermans P. M. M. G., Brüning M., Kaneda A. Foundation or rendezvous? Constructing platforms in Late Neolithic Syria. Correlates of Complexity, eds. Düring B. S., Wossink A., Akkermans P. M. M. G. Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, 2011, 1–13.
23. Nishiaki Y., Le Mière M. The oldest pottery Neolithic of Upper Mesopotamia: New evidence from Tell Seker al-Aheimar, the Khabur, Northeast Syria. Paléorient, 2005, 31(2): 55–68. DOI: 10.3406/paleo.2005.5125
24. Mukhaisen S. Tell Sabi Abyad. Arabic encyclopedia. Available at: http://arab-ency.com.sy/detail/7407 (accessed 26.02.2021). (In Arab.)
25. Mukhaisen S. Prehistoric eras. Damascus University Publications, 2006, 464. (In Arab.)
26. Bryce T., Birkett-Rees J. Atlas of the ancient Near East: from prehistoric times to the Roman imperial period. Routledge, 2016, 336.
27. Tammum D. Prehistoric roots of early historical civilizations in the Ancient Arab East. Damascus, 2011, 368. (In Arab.)
28. Matthews R. The early prehistory of Mesopotamia 500,000 to 4,500 BC. Turnhout: Brepols, 2000, 149.
29. Bach A. G., Cruells W., Molist M. Sharing spheres of interaction in the 6th millennium cal. BC: Halaf communities and beyond. Paléorient, 2016, 42(2): 117–133.
30. Amirov Sh. N. Habur Steppe of the Northern Mesopotamia in the IV – first half of the III millennia B. C. Moscow: TAUS, 2010, 412. (In Russ.)
31. Amirov Sh. N. Modern approaches to the research of Halaf Culture (Northern Mesopotamia). Vostok (Oriens), 2019, (6): 6–22. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.31857/S086919080007226-5
32. Munchaev R. M., Merpert N. Y. Early agricultural settlements of Northern Mesopotamia. The investigations of Soviet expedition in Iraq. Moscow: Nauka, 1981, 319. (In Russ.)
Review
For citations:
Majar F. Planigraphic and Architectural Features of Tell Sabi Abyad (Syria). The Bulletin of Kemerovo State University. 2021;23(2):360-370. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.21603/2078-8975-2021-23-2-360-370