Tell Arbid

Tell Arbid is an ancient Near East archaeological site in the Habur or Khabur Basin region of Syria near Tell Mozan, the site of ancient Urkesh.

History

Little is currently known about the history or identity of Tell Arbid. The site was heavily occupied during Early Dynastic times, primarilyNinevite 5 and Early Dynastic III periods, then sporadicallythrough the Hellenistic period.

Archaeology

The site comprises a large main tell and 4 smaller mounds, togethercovering about 38 hectares. The main tell consists primarily of
Mittani, Akkadian, Early Dynastic, and Ninevite 5 layerswith the later two including monumental buildings.

The initial excavation of Tell Arbid was performed by a British Museumteam led by M.E.L. Mallowan. The operation ran from 1934 to 1936. Itemscollected during the excavations ended up in the British Museum, the Institute of Archaeology Collections at University College London, the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford,and in Syria. [The excavations at Tell Chagar Bazar and an archaeological survey of the Habur region. 2nd Campaign, M.E.L. Mallowan, 1936] A survey was done at the site in the 1990s by Bertille Lyonnet of the Centre National de Recherches Scientifiques in Paris. [Bertille Lyonnet, La prospection archéologique de la partie occidentale du Haut-Khabur (Syrie du nord-est) : Méthodes, résultats et questions autour de l´occupation aux IIIe et Iie millénaires av. n. E. In : Durand, J.M. (Ed.) Mari et les hourites. Amurru 1. ERC, Paris, 1998]

Since 1996, the site has been excavated by a Polish and Syrian team lead byPiotr Bieliński from Warsaw University and Dr. Ahmad Serriyeh from Damascus University. [Preliminary Report on the First Season of Syro-Polish Excavations on Tell Arbid, Piotr Bieliński, Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean VIII Reports, 1996, pp. 203-211] [1998: Tell Arbid: Preliminary Report, Bielínski P., Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean, X, 1998, pp. 205-216] [Bielinski, P., Tell Arbid. The Fourth Season. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean vol. XI (Reports. 1999), 2000] [The 2003 Campaign of Polish-Syrian Excavations, Preliminary report, Piotr Bieliński, Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean XV Reports, 2003, pp.335-354] They have been assisted by a Austrian team fromthe Oriental Institute of the University of Vienna. [ [http://homepage.univie.ac.at/elisabeth.trinkl/forum/forum1299/13syria.htm] A first preliminary Report of the Excavation Project of the "Institut für Orientalistik der Universität Wien" and Archaeos at Tell Arbid, Syria, Sector D]

Notes

References

*Come, Tell Me How You Live, Agatha Christie, Akadine Press, 2002, ISBN 1585790109

See also

* Cities of the ancient Near East

External links

* [http://www.siwaiwa.pl/TellArbid/index.html Polish-Syrian Archaeological Expedition to Tell Arbid]
* [http://homepage.univie.ac.at/elisabeth.trinkl/forum/forum1299/13syria.htm Austrian-American Expetition to Tell Arbid in 1999]
* [http://www.podnova.com/channel/16360/episode/151/ Pod Cast - Tell Arbid and the Bronze Age in Syria, Ahmad Serrieh, director of Syrian museums, syrian department of antiquities]