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Image:Halafhunting.jpg Hunting scene relief in basalt found at Tell Halaf, dated 850-830 BCE Tell Halaf (Arabic: تل حلف) is an archaeological site in the Al Hasakah governorate of northeastern Syria, near the Turkish border. It was the first find of a Neolithic culture, subsequently dubbed the Halafian culture, characterized by glazed pottery painted with geometric and animal designs. The site dates back to the 6th millennium BCE and was later the location of the Aramaean city-state of Guzana.
Discovery and excavationThe site is located near the village of R'as al 'Ayn in the fertile Khabur valley (Nahr al Khabur) through which the Khabur river flows, close to the modern border with Turkey. The name Tell Halaf is a local Arabic placename, tell meaning "hill" in Arabic, and Tell Halaf meaning "made of former city"; what its original inhabitants called their settlement is not known. It was discovered in 1899 by Baron Max von Oppenheim, a German diplomat, while he was surveying the area to build the Baghdad Railway. At the time, Syria was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. He returned to excavate the site from 1911 to 1913 and then again 1929, now under French stewardship following the creation of modern Syria. Oppenheim took many of the artifacts found to Berlin. In 2006, new Syro-German excavations have started under the common direction of Lutz Martin (Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin), Mirko Novák (University of Tuebingen), Joerg Becker (University of Halle) and Abd al-Masih Bagdo (Directorate of Antiquities Hassake). Image:Ras al ayn locator map.gif Location of R'as al 'Ayn, Syria. Tell Halaf lies nearby.
HistoryHalaf culture developed from Neolithic III without any strong break. The Tell Halaf site flourished from about 6000 to 5300 BC, a period of time that is referred to as the Halafian period. The Halafian culture was succeeded in northern Mesopotamia by the Ubaid culture. The site was then abandoned for a long period. In the 10th century BC, the rulers of the small Aramaean kingdom Bit Bahiani took their seat in Tell Halaf, which was re-founded as Guzana. King Kapara built the so-called Hilani, a palace in Neo-Hittite style with a rich decoration of statues and relief orthostats. In 894 BC, the Assyrian king Adad-nirari II recorded the site in his archives as a tributary Aramaean city-state. In 808 BC the city and its surrounding area was reduced to a province of the Assyrian Empire. The governor's seat was a palace in the eastern part of the citadel mound. Guzana has survived the collapse of the Assyrian Empire and remained inhabited until Roman-Parthian Period. Economy
Halaf pottery has been found in other parts of Northern Mesopotamia, such as at Nineveh and Tepe Gawra, Chagar Bazar and at many sites in Anatolia (Turkey) suggesting that it was widely used in the region. In addition, the Halaf communities made female figurines of partially baked clay and stone and stamp seals of stone, (see also Impression seal). The seals are thought to mark the development of concepts of personal property, as similar seals were used for this purpose in later times. The Halafians used tools made of stone and clay. Copper was also known, but was not used for tools. CultureArchitectureImage:Halafpottery.jpg Halafian ware Although no Halaf settlement has been extensively excavated some buildings have been excavated: the tholoi of Arpachiyah, circular domed structures approached through long rectangular anterooms. Only a few of these structures were ever excavated. They were constructed of mud-brick sometimes on stone foundations and may have been for ritual use (one contained a large number of female figurines). Other circular buildings were probably just houses. In historical periods the mound itself became the citadel of the Aramaean and Assyrian city. The lower town extended to 600m N-S and 1000m E-W. The citadel mound housed the palaces and other official buildings. Most prominent are the so-called Hilani or Western Palace with its rich decor, dating back to the time of King Kapara, and the North-Eastern Palace, the seat of the Assyrian governors. In the lower town a temple in Assyrian style was discovered. PotteryThe best known, most characteristic pottery of Tell Halaf, called Halaf ware, produced by specialist potters, can be painted, sometimes using more than two colors (called polychrome) with geometric and animal motifs. Other types of Halaf pottery are known, including unpainted, cooking ware and ware with burnished surfaces. There are many theories about why the distinctive pottery style developed. The theory is that the pottery came about due to regional copying and that it was exchanged as a prestige item between local elites is now disputed. The polychrome painted Halaf pottery has been proposed to be a "trade pottery" i.e. pottery produced for export however, the predominance of locally produced painted potter in all areas of Halaf sites including potters settlement questions that theory.
Bibliography
References
de:Tell Halaf fr:Halaf nl:Tell Halaf ru:Халафская культура sv:Halaf
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