TEPE
GAWRA
![](tepegawra.jpg)
Tepe
Gawra within Iraq
Location
: Nineveh Province, Iraq
Region
:
Northern Mesopotamia
Coordinates
: 36°29'44 N 43°15'37 E
Type
:
tell
Site
notes :
Excavation
dates :
1927, 1931, 1932
Archaeologists
:
E.A. Speiser
Tepe
Gawra (Kurdish for "Great Mound") is an ancient Mesopotamian
settlement in the Mosul region of northwest Iraq that was occupied
between 5000 and 1500 BC. It contains remains from the Halaf period,
the Ubaid period, and the Uruk period (4000–3100 BC). Tepe
Gawra contains material relating to the Halaf-Ubaid Transitional
period c. 5,500–5,000 BC.
History
of archaeological research :
![](Uruk_period_north.jpg)
Tepe
Gawra on the map of Uruk period archaeological sites in Upper Mesopotamia
and Anatolia
A brief exploratory dig was performed by Austen Layard before 1850.
The site was formally excavated in 1927, 1931, and 1932 for a total
of 8 months by archaeologists from a joint expedition of the University
of Pennsylvania and the American Schools of Oriental Research, led
by Ephraim Avigdor Speiser.
In
2001, Mitchell Rothman reanalyzed the data from previous excavations
that did not use precise stratigraphic techniques. He considerably
clarified the stratigraphy of the site.
Tepe
Gawra and its environment :
![](640px-Northern_Ubaid_pottery_from_Tepe_Gawra_and_other_sites_-_Oriental_Institute_Museum,_University_of_Chicago_-_DSC06940.jpg)
Northern
Ubaid pottery from Tepe Gawra and other sites
Tepe Gawra lies near the ancient site of Nineveh, 2 miles (3.2 km)
from Khorsabad and 15 miles (24 km) northeast of the modern city
of Mosul. The tell or settlement mound at Tepe Gawra is 120 metres
(390 ft) in diameter and 22 metres (72 ft) high.
Tell
Arpachiyah is a contemporary Neolithic site nearby.
Occupation
history :
![](640px-Early_Ubaid_pottery_5100-4500_BC_Tepe_Gawra_Louvre_Museum_DAO_3.jpg)
Early
Ubaid period pottery, 5100 - 4500 BC, Tepe Gawra. Louvre Museum
DAO 3
![](623px-Columbella_Rustica_snail_shell_necklace_from_Tepe_Gawra_(modern_day_Iraq)_4000_BCE.jpg)
Columbella
Rustica snail shell necklace from Tepe Gawra (modern day Iraq) 4000
BCE
Excavations at Tepe Gawri revealed 16 levels showing that the Tepe
Gawra site was occupied from approximately 5000 BC to 1500 BC. They
include the earliest known temple to be decorated with pilasters
and recesses. The Gawra Period (3500–2900 BC) is named for
the site.
Earliest
use of gold :
According to Daniel Potts, the earliest evidence for gold or electrum
use in the Near East comes from Ur and Tepe Gawra; a few small artifacts,
such as wire and beads, have been found at these sites. At Tepe
Gawra, the use of gold and electrum continued into the Early Dynastic
period, starting about 2900 BC.
Several
objects from levels 12 to 8 (mid-fourth to early-third millennium
BC) at Tepe Gawra were made of arsenical copper, which is quite
early for Mesopotamia. Similar objects are also found in Fara (Shuruppak),
also dating from Jamdat Nasr period.
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Tepe_Gawra