BAKR
AWA
![](bakrawa.png)
Bakr
Awa shown within Iraq
![](640px-September_18,_2014._The_ancient_mound_of_Bakr_Awa,_Shahrizor_Plain,_Sulaymaniyah_Governorate,_Iraq.jpg)
Bakr
Awa
Bakr
Awa is a tell, or archaeological settlement mound, in Iraq. It is
located near Halabja in the Shahrizor Plain in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The site is 40 metres (130 ft) high and consists of a central settlement
mound surrounded by a lower city measuring 800 by 600 metres (2,600
ft × 2,000 ft).
The
site was first investigated in 1927 by Ephraim Speiser as part of
a more general study of the area. Subsequent excavations took place
in 1961 and 1961 by archaeologists from the Iraqi Directorate-General
of Antiquities. In 2009 the site was surveyed. New excavations were
started in 2010, with subsequent seasons taking place in 2011, 2013,
and 2014. The survey and the 2010-2014 excavations were undertaken
by a team from the University of Heidelberg.
The
oldest excavated layers date to the third millennium BC and are
contemporary with the Jemdet Nasr and Early Dynastic periods. A
small temple dates to the Akkadian period. Large houses and tombs
were recovered from the second millennium BC occupation layers.
Occupation continued into the Late Bronze Age. Material culture
from these layers showed links with the Hurrian and Kassite cultures.
Iron Age occupation at Bakr Awa dates to the Neo-Assyrian period
and the Achaemenid Empire. A Sassanian occupation at Bakr Awa is
likely, but hasn't been proven beyond doubt. Islamic period occupation
ranges from the Abbasid period into the Ottoman period. The site
continues to be occupied today.
Economy
:
In the Early Dynastic period, the economy was nomadic and based
on sheep and goat (74.1%), mainly killed for meat. There were also
remains of cattle and more rarely equids.
In
the Akkadian period, the economy shifted from nomadic to more sedentary
and pastoral, introducing new elements as pig and poultry breeding
as well as wild animal hunting.
Gallery
:
![](640px-September_18,_2014._Excavations_at_the_ancient_mound_of_Bakr_Awa,_Shahrizor_Plain,_Sulaymaniyah_Governorate,_Iraq.jpg)
September
18, 2014. Excavations at Bakr Awa
![](640px-A_fragment_of_a_clay_tablet_with_a_cuneiform_inscription,_unearthed_September_2014_at_Bakr_Awa,_Sulaymaniyah,_Iraq.jpg)
A
fragment of a clay tablet with a cuneiform inscription, unearthed
in September 2014 at Bakr Awa
![](640px-A_1st-millennium_BCE_grave_at_Bakr_Awa,_Shahrizor_Plain,Sulaymaniyah_Governorate,_Iraq.jpg)
A
1st-millennium BCE, probably Neo-Assyrian, grave at Bakr Awa
![](640px-September_18,_2014._Fragments_of_pottery_unearthed_at_Bakr_Awa,_Shahrizor_Plain,_Sulaymaniyah_Governorate,_Iraq.jpg)
Fragments
of pottery unearthed at Bakr Awa
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Bakr_Awa