1. Stratigraphy

Giorgio Buccellati – February 2007

1.1 Introduction

1.1.1 Overview

The results of our earlier excavations in the large monumental urban complex showed the manner in which the Temple Terrace is emerging as perhaps the single most monumental and best preserved stone structure of third millennium Syro-Mesopotamia. Already by Early Dynastic III (middle of the third millennium), the Temple Terrace had a diameter of 60 meters along its long side, with the Temple standing some 12 meters above the level of the Plaza and some 25 meters above the level of the surrounding plain. The Terrace was framed by a stone revetment wall some 3 meters high that would have been seen from great distances. The impact must have been stunning. In some ways, the structure has the monumentality of an Egyptian pyramid, however different in all other aspects. To expose it fully, much work remains to be done. But the details we already have allow for a very impressive architectural reconstruction. All the more so as the Temple Terrace became part of a vast urban plan that was put in effect when Tupkish built his Royal Palace around 2300 B.C.

In addition, the historical picture is becoming richer and far more complex than we ever anticipated. Last year, we were able to attribute with a a degree of plausibility the lions of Tish-atal to a specific construction phase of the Temple complex, thereby providing a stratigraphic home for two very important artifacts, the bronze lions now in the Metropolitan and the Louvre. This year, a major surprise was in store for us. In several places immediately below the third millennium surface of the Temple Terrace we found clear and repeated evidence for a much earlier date, the middle of the fourth millennium. The implications of this are very significant, as we will outline below.

We also made major progress in a number of other projects, especially in the full implementation of the Urkesh Global Record, which came very close to being complete at least for two units at the end of the season.

1.1.2 Chronicle

Excavations began on August 12th, under the supervision of Federico A. Buccellati and Jamal Omar, the newly appointed Assistant Directors of the Expedition. The writers joined the staff on August 14th. Several oindividuals affiliated in different ways with the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology joined us in the field: William Orrange, Barbara Pritzkat, Mary Stancavage, James Walker.

The main excavations ended on September 8, after which date only a small operation in J1 was kept open for a relatively short period of time.

We remained in the field until October 16, working on completing the record.

On September 6th we had the visit of the Minister of Culture, the Governor of Hassakah, the Director General of Antiquities and Museums, the Director of Excavations and the Director of Museums of the DGAM. All the archaeologists of missions working in the Jezirah were also invited, and more than 80 people were in attendance. After a brief welcoming reception, we visited the excavations for about one hour: given the late hour, we had installed an architectural lighting system for both the Palace and the Temple Terrace, which proved very effective. After the visit, there was a brief meeting with all the participants, at which the Director General introduced the archaeologists to the Minister, and the Minister expressed words of appreciation for the work being done. This was followed by a sit down dinner.

1.1.3 Aims and results

At the end of the 2005 season, we had prepared a detailed request to the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums with our reasons for recommending the use of mechanical means to clear the massive inert deposit overlaying the ancient Plaza. The main thrust of the argument was that we have convincing evidence to the effect that there are no structures in this deposit, and that manual excavation cannot possibly bring back to light one of the most remarkable architectural monuments of third millennium Syro-Mesopotamia. Our recommendation was not accepted, so as a result we had to commit more seasons of excavation to clearing up the remaining points of archaeological interest, using of course manual excavation only. These questions are listed below, in an order proceeding from west to east (Fig. 1).

1.1.3.1 The articulation of the revetment wall

Does the revetment wall have a curved or a polygonal configuration? While the geo-physical survey suggested an oval, the current exposure, especially in J1, suggested otherwise. This was confirmed, with the excavations exposing two obtuse and one very sharp angle, thus revealing a polygonal configuration that is in line with the current understanding of the Chuera “Steinbauten.”

1.1.3.2 The level of the Plaza

We assume the elevation of the third millennium Plaza to be at 485.00 (georeferentially, this is the absolute elevation in meters above sea level), and we assume the escarpment at the base of the revetment wall to present a sharp slope linking the wall with the Plaza. We expected to reach this goal in J1, but were only able to reach the early second millennium levels. The evidence we have obtained strengthens our expectations of last year.

1.1.3.3 The upper apron

The western end of the upper apron, to the extent that it was exposed in earlier seasons, was tantalizingly complete and near the surface, so it was decided to complete this portion of the excavations. As we did this, we realized that this component of the staircase is really not an apron after all, but rather a reduced monumental access added in the latest phase of the sacral use of the area.

1.1.3.4 The fill below the top surface of the Temple Terrace

In 2005 we had found in J3 ceramic material dated to Late Chalcholithic, but we interpreted this evidence onservatively as an isolated pocket, possibly a fill brought in from elsewhere. This season we wanted to obtain a larger exposure, to gain a fresh insight into the nature of the deposition and to secure a broader inventory of ceramic types. In the process we saw that this early material is found wherever we excavate below the third millennium surface, leading us to the conclusion that there is indeed an earlier fourth millennium Temple Terrace on which the third millennium version we know sits.

1.1.3.5 The eastern portion of the staircase

A small sounding carried out by the German team, as well as the general configuration of the staircase, suggested that the staircase as exposed last year was only one half of an even more monumental complex. Reasonable though such an assumption was, it proved to be incorrect. Symmetry was clearly not part of the stylistic preferences of the Hurrians.

2 The new stratigraphic sequence of the Plaza area (JP)

Last year’s excavations yielded the surprise of a massive Mittani period deposit against the revetment wall and the monumental staircase of the Temple. We have now revised the pertinent stratigraphic sequence (Tables 1-3) to accommodate the larger amount of data. The main changes are two.

First, we have added stratum 14, and have in the process proposed an explicit correlation to the known kings of Mittani (on this see below, 6.4).

Second, we have a much earlier, fourth millennium, phase which for now we have labeled as phase 0, expecting to revise the entire sequence once the earlier strata become clearer.

Also of interest are the Khabur levels which we have reached in two areas. In J4 a large bin-like structure is paved with pebbles and sherds which are exclusively Khabur. And in J1 we now have a sherd and pebble pavement which overlays the earlier escarpment we found in 2005. The levels in J1 are lower than those in J4, and this is significant because it supports our general understanding of the sacral use of the area. In the east (J4) we envision a service area that had built up even before the ED III Temple terrace (the one currently visible) came into existence, and that accordingly was built up at a faster rate. In the west (J1), on the other hand, the Plaza was kept clean throughout the third millennium, and only started to build up beginning precisely with the Khabur period.