BESTANSUR
![](bestansur.png)
Bestansur
shown within Near East
Location
:
Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq
Coordinates
:
35°22'36 N 45°38'44 E
HistoryFounded
:
approx 7700 BC
Periods
:
Neolithic to Sasanian
Site
notes :
Archaeologists
:
Roger Matthews (archaeologist), Wendy Matthews, Kamal Rasheed Raheem
Bestansur
is a Neolithic tell, or archaeological settlement mound, located
in Sulaimaniyah province, Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq in
the western Zagros foothills. The site is located on the edge of
the Shahrizor Plain, 30 km to the south-east of Sulaimaniyah. It
is on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List
The
site and its environment :
Bestansur is a tell located on the left bank of the Tanjero River
and near several other perennial and seasonal springs and streams
in the Shahrizor Plain. This is an area that has been densely occupied
throughout time, as evidenced by the many sites that have been recorded
by archaeological surveys, including, for example, the large site
of Yasintepe. Bestansur measures some 80-90 m in diameter and is
6 m high.
History
of research :
The site was surveyed the Iraqi Directorate of Antiquities, and
by the Shahrizor Survey Project (where Bestansur received the site
number SSP 6). Excavations have been undertaken at Bestansur since
2012 by the University of Reading and the University of British
Columbia, co-directed by Roger Mathews, Wendy Matthews and Kamal
Rasheed Raheem. Surface survey has recorded evidence of a spread
of Neolithic artefacts, including chert and obsidian. Test trenches
were excavated to establish the extent of Early Neolithic occupation,
which is thought to cover an area of 100 x 50m. A gradiometry survey
has recorded evidence for Neo-Assyrian activity.
Bestansur
is on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.
Occupation
history :
Occupation at Bestansur dates to the Early Neolithic period, 7600-7100
BC, and the Neo-Assyrian and Sasanian periods.
Occupation
at the site consists of mud-brick and pisé rectangular buildings.
The use of plaster has been recorded. An infrared microspectroscopic
study of plasters and pigments discovered from Building 8 found
evidence for red and black pigments. A large-porticoed building,
Building 5, contained a large oven. Evidence for activities taking
place in the external areas surrounding the buildings include hearths,
butchery and stone-working waste. Numerous burials have been discovered
beneath floors at the site, including 72 individuals beneath the
floor of a single-room in Building 5.
The
archaeological surface survey at the site also recorded pottery
fragments dating to the seventh or early sixth millennium BC, based
on well-stratified parallels found at sites like Tell Sabi Abyad,
Tell Hassuna and Jarmo. More specifically, the links with Sabi Abyad
allowed for a date between 6500-6200 cal BC. One interesting fragment
had an imprint of a textile net, making this some of the earliest
evidence for textile imprints in Upper Mesopotamia. The exact use
of the net could be established, but a primary function as fishing
net has been proposed based on the size of the net's meshes, and
the location of Bestansur in a marshy environment with plenty of
water resources. Fish are also depicted on painted Samarra and Halaf
pottery vessels, indicating that fish must have been an important
resource during this period.
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Bestansur