Tepe Gawra (also Tepe Gaura) is an ancient Mesopotamian settlement NNE of Mosul in northwest Iraq that was occupied between 5000 and 1500 BC. It is roughly a mile from the site of Nineveh and 2 miles E of the site of Khorsabad. 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.
Tell Arpachiyah is a contemporary Neolithic site nearby. At Yarim Tepe, located about to the west of Gawra, the uppermost levels of the Halaf cultural deposits are analogous to the Arpachiyah levels TT-6 to TT-8, and Tepe Gawra levels XVIII-XX.N. Yoffee, J. J. Clark (eds.), Early stages in the evolution of Mesopotamian civilization. Soviet excavations in Northern Iraq. The University of Arizona Press, Arizona (1972, 1993 reprint) p.178
Archaeology
The site of Tepe Gawra is in diameter and high. A brief exploratory dig was performed by Austen Layard in 1849 who stated "By my directions deep trenches were opened into its sides, but only fragments of pottery were discovered". Austen H. Layard, Harper, "Discoveries among the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon; with Travels in Armenia, Kurdistan, and the Desert: Being the Result of a Second Expedition Undertaken for the Trustees of the British Museum", New York : Putnam, 1856 (also in reprint by Kessinger Publishing, 2007, ) The site was formally excavated in 1927 and between 1932 and 1938 by archaeologists from a joint expedition of the University of Pennsylvania and the American Schools of Oriental Research. After a 15 day trial excavation in 1927 which opened a sounding trench on the southeast slope of the main mound the 1932, 1933, and 1936 seasons were led by Ephraim Avigdor Speiser. E. A. Speiser, Excavations at Tepe Gawra 1, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 1935 In the remaining seasons the team was led by Charles Bache. Arthur Tobler,. Excavations at Tepe Gawra 2, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 1950E. A. Speiser, "Preliminary Excavations at Tepe Gawra", The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research, vol. 9, pp. 17-57+59-94, (1927 - 1928)The Expedition to Tell Billa and Tepe Gawra, Bulletin of the University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, vol. 3(2), pp. 59-66, 1931Charles Bache, "Tepe Gawra 1934–1935", American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 185–188, April–June 1935 At the same time, these scholars explored the related nearby ancient site of Tell Billa, which is located about southwest of Gawra.Excavations at Tell Billa and Tepe Gawra, Bulletin of the University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, vol. 3(5), pp. 126-130, 1932
Burials were found in graves and tombs. Graves took the form of inhumations, urn burial, side-wall graves, and pisé graves. Tombs ranged from mudbrick to stone and grave goods included ivory combs and gold foil. While most work concentrated on the main mound, two deep soundings were conducted on the adjacent plain, recovering early Halaf pottery shards and simple construction.Van Buren, E. Douglas, "A Lesson in Early History: Tepe Gawra", Orientalia 20.4, pp. 443-452, 1951 Small finds included thousands of beads, mostly stone and shell, and a number of implements of stone and obsidian. These included knives, razor blades, 100 flint arrowheads, mace heads, and a large number of sling stones.Speiser, E. A., "The Joint Excavation at Tepe Gawra. January and June Reports", Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no. 47, pp. 17–23, 1932 Also found was one of the earliest known distillation apparatus (dated c. 3500 BC), 46 centimeters high.Schlosser, Štefan, "Distillation–from Bronze Age till today", 38th International Conference of Slovak Society of Chemical Engineering, Tatranské Matliare, Slovakia, 2011Levey, M., "Chemistry and chemical technology in ancient Mesopotamia", New York, 1959
Although no epigraphy was recovered at the site about 700 seals and sealings were found. This included 5 stamp seals from the Halaf and 34 from the Ubaid. These seals were of the geometric and the animal design types. Stamp seals were found as late as Level VII and not later. Cylinder seals were found in Levels VII and VI.Mitchell S. Rothman, "Sealings as a Control Mechanism in Prehistory", Tepe Gawra XI, X, and VIII. in G. Stein and M. S. Rothman, eds., Chiefdoms and Early States in the Near East, Madison: Prehistory Pres, pp. 103-120, 1994Paszke, Marcin Z., "The imperceptible scorpion: a short study on the visual and symbolic language of an erotic stamp seal impression found at Tepe Gawra", Acta Archaeologica Lodziensia 69, pp. 89-103, 2023Caldwell, David H., "The Early Glyptic of Gawra, Giyan and Susa, and the Development of Long Distance Trade", Orientalia, vol. 45, pp. 227–250, 1976
The excavators defined the stratigraphy as follows:Schmandt-Besserat, Denise, "The interface between writing and art: the seals of Tepe Gawra", Syria, vol. 83, pp. 183–193, 2006 Levels XX - Halaf (c. 5500-4900 BC). Structures included a 5 meter diameter mud brick tholos Levels s XIX-XVII, XVI-XV, XIII, and XII - Ubaid (c. 4900-4000 BC)Rothman, Mitchell S., and B. Peasnall, "Societal evolution of small, pre-state centers and polities: The example of Tepe Gawra in northern Mesopotamia", Paléorient, pp. 101-114, 1999 Level XIX - Large residence with a courtyard and at least 20 roomsAnn Louise Perkins, "The Comparative Archeology of Early Mesopotamia", Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 25, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1949 Level XIII - Three large temples built partially superimposed over earlier temples. The Northern Temple measured 12.25 meters by 8.65 meters Level XII - Site violently destroyed by conflagration. Dead bodies found in street. Levels XIIa-VIII - Gawra Period (c. 4000-2900 BC) Contemporary with Uruk period and Jemdat Nasr period Level XIa - Large circular fortress built Level VIIIc - Four large buildings built deemed temples by the excavators. Later work indicates some were of an administrative natureMitchell S. Rothman, "Religion, Function, and Social Networks: Tepe Gawra in the Late fifth and Early Fourth Millennia BC", In Apropos de Tepe Gawra, Le Monde Proto-Urbain de Mésopotsmie, edited by Pascall Butterlin, Subartu XIII, pp. 15-40, 2009 Levels VII-IV - Early Dynastic, Akkadian, Neo-Sumerian and Isin-Larsa periods (c. 2900-1800 BC)
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.Mitchell S. Rothman, Tepe Gawra: The Evolution of a Small, Prehistoric Center in Northern Iraq. University Museum Publications, 2001, Rothman, Mitchell S., "Re-analysis of fourth millennium Bc Tepe Gawra", Paléorient 15.1, pp. 284-286, 1989
A team from the University of Toronto led by Khaled Abu Jayyab has begun to address the issue or whether or not there was a Lower Town at the site. In October 2021 a preliminary visit to the site found a dense scatter of Late Chalcolithic pottery shards on the plain around the mound. Satellite imagery, both legacy (Corona and Keyhole), and modern (Landsat) were then examined which identified two smaller tells, one to the north of the main mound and one to the east separated from the main mound by dry stream beds. The northern tell was noted on the 1930s excavation topographic map. A drone survey was used to produce a digital elevation model and a 3D model. In 2022 a systemic surface survey of the site was conducted, collecting pottery shards and stone tools. The 1930s excavation removed at least the top 7 meters of the main mound completely and half the mound beginning at Level X through Level IV. Spoil had been dumped down the side of the mound. Modern olive groves, planted about 30 years ago have significantly damaged the site, especially the lower town. In recent years the terrorist group ISIS dug extensive tunnels in the main mound to the point where collapse is a concern. The main study result was that a 24 hectare Lower Town existed at the site in the late 3rd millennium BC.Khaled Abu Jayyab, "2022/2023 Mesopotamian Fellowship Report: Preliminary Report on the Tepe Gawra Lower Town Survey", American Society of Overseas Research, 2023CRANE Fieldwork in Northern Iraq: The Tepe Gawra Lower Town Survey
Occupation history
Excavations at Tepe Gawra revealed 16 levels showing that the Tepe Gawra site was occupied from approximately 5000 BC to 1500 BC with only a few short gaps in occupation, though virgin soil was not reached. In that period a number of spring fed streams ran through or near the site, now all dry due to modern pumping and deep wells in the area to support the olive groves that surround the mound. They include the earliest known temple to be decorated with pilasters and recesses. The Gawra Period (3500–2900 BC), contemporary with Uruk period and Jemdat Nasr period, is named for the site. The earliest temple was dated to the LC2 period, approximately 4200 BC. The site was part of the Uruk Expansion, as the city of Uruk extended its trading network into Syria, Iran, and northern Mesopotamia (Tepe Gawra, Grai Resh, Nineveh, and Tell al-Hawa).Abu al-Soof, B., "Prehistoric Pottery from Nineveh, Gawra, and the Neighboring Sites", Sumer 30, pp. 1-10, 1974Schwartz, G., "Syria and the Uruk Expansion", in Rothman. M. Uruk (ed) Mesopotamia and Its Neighbors: Cross-cultural Interactions in the Era of State Formation, School of American Research Press, pp. 233-264, 2001
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. Finds included, in Level XI burials, "rosettes of gold foil with centres of coloured stone set in bitumen".Van Buren, E. Douglas, "The Rosette in Mesopotamian Art", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 45, no. 2-3, pp. 99-107, 1939
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 Jemdet Nasr period.Daniel T. Potts, Mesopotamian Civilization: The Material Foundations. Cornell University Press, 1997 p167 A single tin-bronze pin was found at the site, on Level VII.Rahmstorf, Lorenz, "The use of bronze objects in the 3rd millennium BC—A survey between Atlantic and Indus", Appropriating Innovations. Entangled Knowledgement in Eurasia, 5000–1500 BCE, pp. 184-210, 2017
See also Cities of the Ancient Near East
References
Further reading Bache, Charles, "Prehistoric Burials of Tepe Gawra", Scientific American 153.6, pp. 310-313, 1935 Charles Bache, "From Mr. Bache’s First Report on the Joint Excavations at Tepe Gawra and Tell Billah, 1932-3", Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no. 49, pp. 8–14, 1933 Bilotti, Giacomo, and Michael Campeggi, "The use of space in Late Chalcolithic Northern Mesopotamia: Assessment of activity patterns at Tepe Gawra XII through statistical analysis", Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 38, August 2021 Butterlin, Pascal, "Réflexions sur les problèmes de continuité stratigraphique et culturelle à Tepe Gawra", Syria, pp. 7-49, 2002 P. Butterlin (éd.), "A propos de Tepe Gawra, le monde proto-urbain de Mésopotamie - About Tepe Gawra: a proto-urban world in Mesopotamia", Brepols Publishers, 2009, T. E. Davidson and Hugh McKerrell, The Neutron Activation Analysis of Halaf and 'Ubaid Pottery from Tell Arpachiyah and Tepe Gawra, Iraq, vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 155–167, 1980