TELL
RASHID
![](tellrashid.jpg)
Tell
Rahid shown within Iraq
Location
: Diyala Governorate, Iraq
Region
:
Mesopotamia
Coordinates
:
34°1'48 N 45°10'12 E (approximate)
Type
:
tell
History
:
Periods
:
Ubaid period
Tell
Rashid is a tell, or archaeological settlement mound, in Diyala
Governorate, Iraq. The site lies in the foothills of the Zagros
Mountains, some 12 km (7.5 mi) south of Tell Abada, another Ubaid
period site. It measures 54 by 30 m and extends 2.5 m above the
surrounding plain. Tell Rashid was excavated for a single season
in 1978 under the direction of Sabah Abboud Jasim as part of the
archaeological salvage work being done for the construction of the
Hemrin Dam. The excavation trench reached a depth of 5 m, at which
point virgin soil (undisturbed by human activity) was reached. Four
different occupation levels were recognised, all dating to the Ubaid
period.
Occupation
history :
The oldest level, IV, consists of some mudbrick foundations that
were part of a larger building that extended beyond the excavated
area. Based on the ceramics, the level could be dated to Ubaid 2.
Level III yielded significant architectural remains, consisting
of at least three separate buildings. Two of these were examples
of the typical tripartite Ubaid house with a central hall or courtyard
with smaller rooms on either long side, One of the buildings contained
two child burials. The smaller of these two buildings had a facade
adorned with buttresses, suggesting that this building may have
had a special purpose, for example as a guest house. In level II,
parts of a single building with several rooms were excavated. The
youngest level I was severely damaged and only some wall fragments
and hearths were found.
Material
culture :
Artefacts recovered from the excavation included clay animal figurines
and spindle whorls, undefined tokens and sling bullets. Small cones
found at the site have been interpreted as labrets. Stone blades
were also found, some of which still had pieces of bitumen sticking
to them, indicating that they were probably inserted in a wooden
shaft, for example to create a sickle. Recovered pottery consisted
mostly of painted, incised or impressed ware and could be dated
to the Ubaid 2-3 periods. Parallels for the so-called Fine Painted
Ware at Tell Rashid have been found as far away as Yumuktepe in
Turkey.
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Tell_Rashid