Excavations at Tell Brak

Book excerpt: Tell Brak in Syria is one of the largest and most important multi-period sites in northern Mesopotamia. Excavations in 1994-1996 cast new light on everyday life at the settlement through several phases of occupation from the early 4th millennium BC to the 2nd millennium BC. Volume 4 in the Tell Brak Monograph series provides an account of the architecture, artefacts, and environmental evidence, supported by a program of radiocarbon dating. The results emphasize the indigenous nature of cultural development in Upper Mesopotamia during these millennia. Among the highlights are a small temple dating to the Ninevite 5 period (earlier 3rd millennium BC), which provides new insights into a phenomenon that has hitherto been little explored; and an exceptional hoard of precious materials and artefacts that underlines the importance of Tell Brak in the later 3rd millennium BC. The report is completed by studies of subsistence, diet, economy, use of space, and craft activities, which focus on the variabilities and continuities in daily life that underlay the shifting political and cultural forces. These studies highlight the unique position of Tell Brak in the long-term ebb and flow of regional interactions across Mesopotamia.