Ancient Tell Mashnaqa

Selected Excerpt on Tell Mashnaqa:

The Archaeology of Syria: From Complex Hunter-Gatherers
to Early Urban Societies (Circa 16,000-300 BC)

Tell Mashnaqa is located on the Khabur River which is a tributary to the Euphrates about 30 kilometers south of Hassake in northeastern Syria. It is of moderarte size covering less than four hectares. To the west the mound rises to a height of more than 11 meters forming a so-called High Mound. The eastern part of the tell is a low and a flat mound rising four meters above plain level. The formation is built up of remains from several thousand years of human activities at the site including habitation -- burials -- midden deposits. (*)

The Danish expedition considered the oldest remains at the site to belong to the Ubaid Period. During the Ubaid Period southern Mesopotamian Culture for the first time spread into a vast geographical region reaching the Arabian Gulf in the southeast and the Syrian Mediterranean coast in the west. In the following millennia this culture developed into the better known Sumerian Civilization (ibid) ...

(*) The Danish Archaeological Expedition to the Khabur: Tell Mashnaqa

Mashnaqa 1985 : Rapport préliminaire sur la 1re campagne de fouilles

Mashnaqa 1986: Rapport préliminaire sur la deuxième campagne de fouilles

The History of the Ancient Near East Electronic Compendium