Location of R'as al 'Ayn, Syria. Tell Halaf lies nearby.

Holocene epoch This box: view • talk • edit ↑ Pleistocene Holocene Preboreal (10 ka - 9 ka), Boreal (9 ka - 8 ka), Atlantic (8 ka - 5 ka), Subboreal (5 ka - 2.5 ka) and Subatlantic (2. The Holocene is a Geological epoch which began approximately 10000 years ago (about 8000 BC The Pleistocene ('plaɪstəsin is the epoch from 18 million to 10000 years BP covering the world's recent period The Holocene is a Geological epoch which began approximately 10000 years ago (about 8000 BC The Blytt-Sernander classification or sequence is a series of north European climatic periods or phases based on the study of Danish Peat bogs by Axel In the 8th millennium BC, Agriculture becomes widely practiced in the Fertile Crescent and Anatolia. In Paleoclimatology of the Holocene, the Boreal was the first of the Blytt-Sernander sequence of North European climatic phases that were originally During the 7th millennium BC, Agriculture spreads from Anatolia to the Balkans. The Atlantic in palaeoclimatology was the warmest and most moist Blytt-Sernander period Pollen zone and chronozone of Holocene north Europe. During the 6th millennium BC, Agriculture spreads from the Balkans to Italy and Eastern Europe and from Mesopotamia to Egypt. The 4th millennium BC saw major changes in human culture It marks the beginning of the Bronze Age and of Writing. The Blytt-Sernander classification or sequence is a series of north European climatic periods or phases based on the study of Danish Peat bogs by Axel The 3rd millennium BC spans the Early to Middle Bronze Age. It represents a period of time in which Imperialism, or the desire to conquer grew to prominence The 1st millennium BC encompasses the Iron Age and sees the rise of successive empires The Blytt-Sernander classification or sequence is a series of north European climatic periods or phases based on the study of Danish Peat bogs by Axel 5 ka - present). Anthropocene

Tell Halaf (Akkadian: Guzana; Arabic: تل حلف‎, Syria) is an archaeological site in the Al Hasakah governorate of northeastern Syria, near the Turkish border, just opposite Ceylanpınar. The term Anthropocene is used by some scientists to describe the most recent period in the Earth 's history Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية Al-Hasakah ( الحسكة) is the capital city of the Al Hasakah Governorate and is located in the far north-east corner of Syria. Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Ceylanpınar is an agricultural district of Urfa Province, on the border with Syria and reached by a long straight road across the plain south from Viranşehir It was the first find of a Neolithic culture, subsequently dubbed the Halafian culture, characterized by glazed pottery painted with geometric and animal designs. The Neolithic (from Greek νεολιθικός — neolithikos from νέος neos, "new" + λίθος lithos The site dates to the 6th millennium BCE and was later the location of the Aramaean city-state of Guzana or Gozan. The Aramaeans (also Arameans) ( Aramaic / Syriac: ܐܪܡܝܐ, Ārāmāye' were a Semitic (West Semitic language group

Discovery and excavation

The site is located near the village of R'as al 'Ayn in the fertile Khabur valley (Nahr al Khabur) through which the Khabur river flows, close to the modern border with Turkey. The Khabur River (also Habur Habor Kebar Chebar Chaboras; Aramaic: ܚܒܘܪ, Kurdish: Çemê Xabûr, Turkish: Habur The Khabur River (also Habur Habor Kebar Chebar Chaboras; Aramaic: ܚܒܘܪ, Kurdish: Çemê Xabûr, Turkish: Habur Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches The name Tell Halaf is a local Arabic placename, tell meaning "hill" in Arabic, and Tell Halaf meaning "made of former city"; what its original inhabitants called their settlement is not known. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language It was discovered in 1899 by Baron Max von Oppenheim, a German diplomat, while he was surveying the area to build the Baghdad Railway. Max Freiherr von Oppenheim ( July 15, 1860, Köln - November 17, 1946, Landshut) was a German Ancient historian Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the Ottoman Empire planned to construct a Baghdad Railway under German control At the time, Syria was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish He returned to excavate the site from 1911 to 1913 and then again 1929, now under French stewardship following the creation of modern Syria. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Oppenheim took many of the artifacts found to Berlin. In 2006, new Syro-German excavations have started under the common direction of Lutz Martin (Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin), Mirko Novák (University of Tuebingen), Joerg Becker (University of Halle) and Abd al-Masih Bagdo (Directorate of Antiquities Hassake). The Vorderasiatisches Museum (Middle East Museum is an archaeological museum in Berlin.

Von Oppenheim founded the Tell Halaf museum in Berlin to house his discoveries from the site. The museum was wrecked in a massive aerial bombardment in World War II, and many of the irreplaceable artifacts were damaged or destroyed, in what is considered one of the worst losses to have occurred in Near Eastern archaeology. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including However, eighty cubic meters of basalt fragments were later rescued and stored away in the Pergamon Museum. The Pergamon Museum ( German: Pergamonmuseum) is among the museums on Museum Island in Berlin. In 2001, a restoration project commenced in Germany that has made some headway in reconstructing many of the damaged artifacts. This project is scheduled to be finished in 2008.

Timeline

Tell Halaf is the type site of Halafian culture, which developed from Neolithic III at this site without any strong break. In Archaeology a type site (also known as a type-site or typesite) is a site that is considered the model of a particular Archaeological The Tell Halaf site flourished from about 6000 to 5300 BCE, a period of time that is referred to as the Halafian period. The Halafian culture was succeeded in northern Mesopotamia by the Ubaid culture. The Tell (mound of Ubaid (عبيد near Ur in southern Iraq has given its name to the Prehistoric Pottery Neolithic to Chalcolithic The site was then abandoned for a long period.

In the 10th century BC, the rulers of the small Aramaean kingdom Bit Bahiani took their seat in Tell Halaf, which was re-founded as Guzana. King Kapara built the so-called Hilani, a palace in Neo-Hittite style with a rich decoration of statues and relief orthostats.

In 894 the Assyrian king Adad-nirari II recorded the site in his archives as a tributary Aramaean city-state. Early history The most Neolithic site in Assyria is at Tell Hassuna, the center of the Hassuna culture Adad-nirari II is generally considered to be the first King of Assyria in the Neo-Assyrian period. The Aramaeans (also Arameans) ( Aramaic / Syriac: ܐܪܡܝܐ, Ārāmāye' were a Semitic (West Semitic language group In 808 the city and its surrounding area was reduced to a province of the Assyrian Empire. Early history The most Neolithic site in Assyria is at Tell Hassuna, the center of the Hassuna culture The governor's seat was a palace in the eastern part of the citadel mound. Guzana survived the collapse of the Assyrian Empire and remained inhabited until Roman-Parthian Period.

Economy

Hunting scene relief in basalt found at Tell Halaf, dated 850–830 BC

Dryland farming was practiced by the population. Basalt (bəˈsɔːlt ˈbeisɔːlt ˈbæsɔːlt is a common Extrusive Volcanic rock. Dryland farming is an Agricultural technique for cultivating land which receives little Rainfall. This type of farming was based on exploiting natural rainfall without the help of irrigation, in a similar practice to that still practiced today by the Hopi people of Arizona. The Hopi are Native American people who primarily live on the 12635 km² (2531 The State of Arizona ( is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. Emmer wheat, two-rowed barley and flax were grown. Emmer wheat ( Triticum dicoccon) also known as farro especially in Italy is a low yielding awned Wheat. Barley ( Hordeum vulgare) is an annual Cereal Grain, which serves as a major animal Feed crop, with smaller amounts used for Flax (also known as common flax or linseed) (binomial name Linum usitatissimum) is a member of the genus Linum They kept cattle, sheep and goats.

Architecture

Although no Halaf settlement has been extensively excavated some buildings have been excavated: the tholoi of Arpachiyah, circular domed structures approached through long rectangular anterooms. As a generic term tholos tomb is an alternative name for a Beehive tomb from the late Bronze Age. Only a few of these structures were ever excavated. They were constructed of mud-brick sometimes on stone foundations and may have been for ritual use (one contained a large number of female figurines). Other circular buildings were probably just houses.

In historical periods the mound itself became the citadel of the Aramaean and Assyrian city. The lower town extended to 600m N-S and 1000m E-W. The citadel mound housed the palaces and other official buildings. Most prominent are the so-called Hilani or Western Palace with its rich decor, dating back to the time of King Kapara, and the North-Eastern Palace, the seat of the Assyrian governors. In the lower town a temple in Assyrian style was discovered.

Halaf pottery

Halafian ware

The best known, most characteristic pottery of Tell Halaf, called Halaf ware, produced by specialist potters, can be painted, sometimes using more than two colors (called polychrome) with geometric and animal motifs. Other types of Halaf pottery are known, including unpainted, cooking ware and ware with burnished surfaces. There are many theories about why the distinctive pottery style developed. The theory is that the pottery came about due to regional copying and that it was exchanged as a prestige item between local elites is now disputed. The polychrome painted Halaf pottery has been proposed to be a "trade pottery" i. e. pottery produced for export however, the predominance of locally produced painted potter in all areas of Halaf sites including potters settlement questions that theory.

Halaf pottery has been found in other parts of northern Mesopotamia, such as at Nineveh and Tepe Gawra, Chagar Bazar and at many sites in Anatolia (Turkey) suggesting that it was widely used in the region. Nineveh ( Akkadian: Ninua; Aramaic: ܢܝܢܘܐ Hebrew נינוה Nīnewē; Arabic نينوى Naīnuwa) Tepe Gawra is an ancient Mesopotamian settlement in northwest Iraq, near the ancient site of Nineveh and 15 miles northeast of the modern city of Mosul Chagar Bazar is an ancient site in northern Syria, occupied from the sixth to the second millennium BC Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches In addition, the Halaf communities made female figurines of partially baked clay and stone and stamp seals of stone, (see also Impression seal). The stamp seal and the Cylinder seal are stone type seals first made in the 4th millennium B The impression seal is a common Seal that leaves an impression typically in Clay (but not excluding the obvious " Wax impression seals" The seals are thought to mark the development of concepts of personal property, as similar seals were used for this purpose in later times. The Halafians used tools made of stone and clay. Copper was also known, but was not used for tools.

Notes

Bibliography

• Hijara, Ismail. The Halaf Period in Northern Mesopotamia London: Nabu, 1997.
• Axe, David. "Back from the Brink. " Archaeology 59. 4 (2006): 59-65.
• Winfried Orthmann: Die aramäisch-assyrische Stadt Guzana. Ein Rückblick auf die Ausgrabungen Max von Oppenheims in Tell Halaf. Schriften der Max Freiherr von Oppenheim-Stiftung. H. 15. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2005. ISBN 3-447-05106-X
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• Alain Gaulon, "Réalité et importance de la chasse dans les communautés halafiennes en Mésopotamie du Nord et au Levant Nord au VIe millénaire avant J. -C. ", Antiguo Oriente 5 (2007): 137-166. Antiguo Oriente (often abbreviated as AntOr) is an annual peer-reviewed scholarly journal published by the ''Centro de Estudios de Historia del Antiguo Oriente
• Mirko Novak, Die Religionspolitik der aramäischen Fürstentümer im 1. Jt. v. Chr. , in: M. Hutter, S. Hutter-Braunsar (ed. ), Offizielle Religion, lokale Kulte und individuelle Religion, Alter Orient und Altes Testament 318. 319–346. Munster 2004.
• Johannes Friedrich, G. Rudolf Meyer, Arthur Ungnad et al. : Die Inschriften vom Tell Halaf. Beiheft 6 zu: Archiv für Orientforschung 1940. reprint: Osnabrück 1967
• Max Freiherr von Oppenheim: Der Tell Halaf. Eine neue Kultur im ältesten Mesopotamien. F. A. Brockhaus, Leipzig 1931. (reprint de Gruyter, Berlin 1966. )

References

• http://www.tell-halaf-projekt.de/
• http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/uni/qvo/highlights/h44-tell-halaf.html