Tell it-Sweyhat Survey

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The so-called Tell-es-Sweyhat Survey by the English archaeologist Tony Wilkinson summarizes a number of smaller investigations. The aim of this survey was to examine the development of settlements around Tell es-Sweyhat over the past ten thousand years. Aspects such as agriculture and cultivation as well as water management were also considered. On the other hand, it is more difficult to research phenomena such as nomadism or semi-nomadism, since as a rule only small archaeological remains are preserved here.

Prospecting area

The Sweyhat Survey mainly covers the immediate vicinity of Tell es-Sweyhat, in the area of ​​what is now the Tabqua reservoir . An area of ​​around 60 km² in the region around the Tell , but also 30 important sites on the east bank of the Euphrates were examined in the three campaigns. In addition, there are a number of excavations aimed at a more detailed investigation of selected sites and their immediate surroundings.

history

The investigations on the Euphrates find their models in surveys of the past, such as that of Robert John Braidwood in the Amuq plain , in today's Turkey . However, the focus here is no longer on finding suitable excavation sites, but rather the demand for detailed documentation of sites of all sizes, as well as landscape features, plays a central role in order to create the most comprehensive picture possible.

A majority of European travelers visited the - now Syrian - Euphrates Valley during the 19th and early 20th centuries. But only a few passed Tell es-Sweyhat, most preferred to travel past Balis from Aleppo to Deir ez-Zor . In 1812 JL Burckhardt traveled along the Euphrates. He describes the area between Bali and ar-Raqqa as populated with a pronounced Bedouin population, but there are no permanent villages.

In 1888 William Francis Ainsworth observed the fauna and flora further downstream at Raqqa and described the biodiversity and fertile vegetation in the alluvial land. But Ainsworth also noted the reference to no fixed settlement structures.

A few years later, Gertrude Bell first documented observations on archeology and landscape features on the east side of the Euphrates in 1909. She wrote of a minimally sedentary settlement, but the region was still more populated by nomadic groups. Associated with this, she noted little agricultural activity.

Six years later, Alois Musil toured the area and already noted active land use around Balis and Abu Hureyra . So there seemed to have been a rapid change.

The animal-powered irrigation systems were used until the 1930s to pump the water from the Euphrates up into the irrigation canals. Due to more and more effective technologies, a significant land grab took place here, which also increased the sedentary population. In 1948, considerations about damming the Euphrates became public for the first time. But it was not until 1957 that the decision was made to actually build the large Tabqa dam . It followed an invitation from the Syrian Antiquities Administration to participate in the rescue project, which was subsequently monitored by UNESCO . A little later in 1967, Maurits N. van Loon conducted an initial surface investigation along the banks of the Euphrates in this context.

In 1972 Tell es-Sweyhat was first mentioned as a notable site. The excavations began under the direction of Thomas A. Holland and Donald Whitcomb and lasted three campaigns. Meanwhile, Wilkinson continued the work of van Loon and examined the region with a "systematic, archaeological survey and geomorphological studies". In 1974 Michael Rowton described the “dual economy” of the Euphrates region: the cultivation of arable land by semi-nomadic groups. He calls this "dimorphic". In the same year the dam was finally closed and the damming of the Euphrates began. In the 1970s, the area around the Tell seemed dry and rather uninviting. Nevertheless, the population grew steadily as a result, so that in the 1990s the landscape was already characterized by a large number of larger and smaller villages. Almost two decades later, in 1990 Hüttenroth spoke of “extensive millet cultivation along the permanent rivers, south of the 'sedentary zone'”.

In 1991 and 1992, further investigations were carried out under the direction of Wilkinson, mainly with the aim of checking and recording sites in the immediate vicinity of Tell es-Sweyhat. The results of the excavations that took place in this region after the first survey, and also in advance, were also used to review or expand the survey results. Unfortunately, as it is today, the find situation in the 1970s was problematic not only because of the agricultural use, but also because of the heavy erosion in the alluvial plain. The completeness of the survey must therefore be questioned.

Results

Paleolithic

The results of the investigation allow the conclusion that the region has been used over a period of the last 11,000 years. Although the area was not consistently densely populated, the situation can be traced back to the Epipalaeolithic (around 10,000 - 8,300 BC) with the exception of a few gaps . Remains on the east side of the Euphrates, which resemble the Natufian finds in Abu Hureyra, are the earliest evidence in the prospecting area.

Neolithic

Early and late layers from the pre-ceramic Neolithic A were found in Mureybit and Tell Sheikh Hassan. In Abu Hureyra, on the other hand, layers that date back to the early and late Pre-Ceramic Neolithic B have followed. So it seems that it was in the region as early as 8,500 BC. There was a sedentary population - at least temporarily. The simple residential architecture consisted mainly of round pit houses and the population lived mainly on fish from the river or game that was hunted in the forests in the alluvial plain or the steppes. Grasses and grains were also harvested, which were favored by the relatively abundant rain in the region.

Houses with a rectangular floor plan gradually replaced those with a round one and the settlements quickly grew many times over. This development can be seen particularly well in the residential building architecture of the two settlements of Mureybit , where round houses were still found, and Tell Sheikh Hassan , where angular structures already exist, but were built with a similar construction method. The round structures in Mureybit are to be classified in the Mureybit IA phase and the structures in Sheikh Hassan are dated to the Mureybit III phase by Cauvin.

Strommenger found that during the 1st half of the 8th millennium BC Chr. The procurement of food changed fundamentally. The steppe game increasingly became the main target of the hunt and it began around 7,700 BC. With the sowing of grains and grasses in fields in the immediate vicinity. Strommenger doubts the practical use of the early clay pots from this time due to the small number of finds.

Halaf time

Early finds of the ceramic Neolithic also came to light in Abu Hureyra. However, finds from this period on the Euphrates do not appear as often as the Akkermanns were able to record for the Belich Valley. This find situation could be explained by the fact that either the erosion has eroded most of the sites from this time, or the settlement situation on the Euphrates has meanwhile been less attractive. Nevertheless, a Halaf site was uncovered. The find situation in the prospecting area thus differs only marginally from that further downstream, where there is no Halaf period. Strommenger also sees the introduction of ceramics for everyday household use here. This is where the development of the way of life from nomadism to sedentarism and the manufacturing economy begins. Strommenger refers to the Halaf period Shams ed-Din Tannira: “A small dof with round houses from the 1st half of the 5th millennium BC. BC, could be examined in Shams ad-Din / Tannira. Its inhabitants made beautiful painted ceramics of the well-known Halaf type ”.

Ubaid time

With the Ubaid period, the find situation becomes clearer again. Some larger sites could be identified. In 1990 two small, unnamed, Chalcolithic sites were also recorded on the west side of the Euphrates. These places document the settlement for the Ubaid period and the early late Chalcolithic, which Wilkinson interprets as a “contact time” to the pre- Uruk phase.

Uruk time

A considerable increase in the population density can be seen in the Middle and Late Uruk Period . Tell Sheikh Hassan, Habuba Kabira , Tell Kannas, Jebel Aruda and a large number of other sites show layers from this period. The region seems to be getting more and more attention from the early advanced civilizations of southern Mesopotamia and is experiencing a "special bloom under the interests and influence of Sumer and Elam ". At this time, the trade route located here is likely to have gained its importance for a long time. Raw materials from Anatolia, northern Syria or the Mediterranean were transported down the Euphrates to southern Mesopotamia. The Habuba Kabira settlement, which was well fortified in the past, is also likely to prove the importance of the region as an important “hub of international trade”. The city wall is Uruk-temporal and indicates that the place should have achieved its special position as a "goods transshipment point" around this time. An intense influence by southern Mesopotamia can also be seen in the rest of the city architecture. A niche construction method that has otherwise only been used for palaces and temples can also be found in residential buildings in Habuba Kabira. Another common feature are the house types that mainly occur in Habuba, as well as the pan-shaped fire pits. These are also typical of Uruk. The political and cultic center of the region was probably located on Jebel Aruda.

Assyrian period (3rd millennium BC)

After a phase of "settlement abandonment", a large number of the previously abandoned settlements were re-established at the beginning of the 3rd millennium and the population density rose sharply again. This development seems to have started in Tell Hadidi and from there initially spread over the Sweyhat Plain and the entire region. It can be assumed that some of the sites were under the influence of Ebla. However, Wilkinson also assumes that the majority of the settlements were not under direct influence. This is confirmed by written evidence in Tell Hadidi, which mentions another ancient oriental name, which allows the conclusion that some settlements may also have enjoyed a 'sovereign' status.

Most of the settlements remained until the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. Before some were permanently abandoned. Written evidence, however, confirms the importance for the region at today's Assad Reservoir for almost the entire second millennium. In addition to the text finds from Emar, which in the 13th century BC There are also clay tablets from Tell Munbaqa and Tell Fray. As a result, the region came under Hittite supremacy in the late Bronze Age . However, the settlements on the east side of the Euphrates came under Mitanni influence . According to Strommenger, some settlements may have been abandoned as a result of the clashes between the Hittites and Assyrians. Central Assyrian pottery documents an influence on the region on the west bank of the Euphrates, although the border of the Assyrian empire is believed to have been further downstream at the Balikh estuary.

Hellenistic-Roman period

No reliable information can be given for the region about the Achaemenid period, which is partly due to the fact that the material culture has generally developed little and traces can hardly be found in the area. The Achaemenids were followed by a phase of Seleucid rule before the Romans took over the administration of the region and incorporated it into the Roman Empire as the province of " Syria ". The Romans, however, placed their main focus on areas near the sea and securing border regions, for which the Euphrates played an important role, but only had to be fortified in a few places due to the natural conditions. The settlements were thus part of the empire, but far removed from the interests of the supremacy. Most of the Roman tumulus graves date from this time. Subsequently, the region passed into the Byzantine sphere of influence.

Islamic time

With the beginning of the Islamic period, the population density of the region increased again significantly. Numerous settlements with remains from this period were found along the Euphrates. A phase of emigration began in the 15th century, which was due to the urban policy of the Mamluks . There was a rapid rural exodus to the western cities of Syria, and nomadic groups regained the upper hand. As mentioned at the beginning, this population pattern lasted until the beginning of the 20th century.

literature

  • Jean-Claude Margueron: Le Moyen Euphrate. Zone de contacts and changes . Strasbourg 1977
  • Eva Strommenger : Habuba Kabira. A city 5000 years ago . Mainz 1980, ISBN 3-8053-0449-8
  • Maurits Nanning van Loon: Selenkahiye. Final Report on the University of Chicago and University of Amsterdam Excavation in the Tabqa Reservoir, Northern Syria, 1967-1975 . Istanbul 2001
  • Tony J. Wilkinson: Tell es-Sweyhat, Volume 1. On the Margin of the Euphrates: Settlement and Land Use at Tell es-Sweyhat and in the Upper Lake Assad Area, Syria. University of Chicago. Oriental Institute Publications, Volume 124 (Chicago 2004) [1]
  • Michael D. Danti, Richard L. Zettler: Early Bronze Age Settlement and Land Use in the Tell es-Sweyhat Region, Syria. Online Dissertation, 2000 University of Pennsylvania

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Tony Wilkinson , University of Durham