Tell Shiyukh Tahtani, Syria Report of the 2006-09 Seasons

The Italian excavations at Shiyukh Tahtani have recently resumed, revealing a long occupation sequence on the mound’s eastern slope (Area CD). In Trench D23, on the summit, an Iron Age level II building contained a rich array of pottery, sheep knuckle bones, clay ‘bobbins’ and an unstratified Egyptian scarab of Menkheperre. An earlier massive building (LBA ?) was also excavated below the Iron Age II occupation. Halfway down the slope the lower level of a large burnt complex of Middle Bronze I date contained rich finds and various burials characterized by peculiar rituals. Finally, in a deep trench down below the slope, EB I-II remains included niched mud-brick architecture of fine Mesopotamian tradition as well as many pot burials of the Carchemish ‘champagne-­cup culture’. All these finds enhance the knowledge about the Bronze and Iron Age civilization of the Syrian Euphrates.