Tell Shiyukh Tahtani on the Euphrates. Highlights of the last excavation seasons

In recent years (2006-09) the University of Palermo Euphrates expedition has continued rescue excavations at Tell Shiyukh Tahtani (the “Lower Hill of Sheikhs”) as part of the Tishreen Dam Salvage Project. Located on the left bank of the River south of Jerablus, in the land that once was the Carchemish district, this small mound has revealed a long occupation sequence from around 3.000 B.C. to Byzantine and early Islamic times. During the last three seasons we mainly concentrated in the investigation of the eastern slope of the upper tell (Area CD), where a continuous Bronze Age occupation has been detected. Apart from the later levels (EB IV, Middle and Late Bronze Age), one of the main goals has been the investigation of the EB I–III town, dating to the first half of the 3rd millennium, a period still obscure in the Upper Syrian Euphrates Valley. In a deep trench at the foot of the tell three main phases have been identified: (a) the earliest (incipient EB I), probably transitional with the Late Uruk culture, can be assigned to the flourishing “champagne-cup” culture of the Middle Euphrates and is characterized by fine mud-brick architecture, decorated with niches and buttresses, strongly reminiscent of contemporary buildings of Lower Mesopotamia. The second phase (EB Ib-II) shows a strong continuity, also marked by funerary rituals identical to the ones uncovered by the British Museum pioneer expedition on the citadel mound at Carchemish. The third level (EB III) marks an abandonment, characterized by some kind of squatters´ occupation, with a complete change in town planning and material culture. These and other finds suggest that the small settlement of Shiyukh Tahtani played a relevant role in the history of the Middle Euphrates region and of North Syrian civilization as a whole.