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©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
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Kenan Tepe |
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For site maps and drawings please click on the picture...  |
For photographs please click on the photo...  |
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Type:
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Mound |
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Altitude:
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530 m |
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Region:
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Southeastern Anatolia |
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Province:
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Diyarbakir |
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District:
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Bismil |
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Village:
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Kenan |
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Investigation Method:
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Excavation |
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Period:
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| Location: The site is located about 15 km east of the Bismil District in Diyarbakir Province; close to the Diyarbakir-Batman motorway. |
| Geography and Environment: Kenan Tepe is a large multi-period site composed of a tall central mound and extensive lower town stretching off to the northeast of the main mound. The site lies on a natural terrace and the top of the main town is 56.3 m above the Tigris River. The visible mounding extends for 225 m from southeast to northwest and 350 m from southwest to northeast. The Tigris River flows to the east of the mound and the road leading to the mound runs to the west. To the southeast; the village of Sefalik can be seen on a hill. |
| History: |
| Research and Excavation: The site is being excavated by a team from the Upper Tigris Archaeological Research Project (UTARP) under the directorship of B.J. Parker from the University of Utah; Department of History. It takes place in the registered archaeological sites list prepared by Ministry of Culture and Tourism. |
| Stratigraphy: During the archaeological researches; discontinuous occupation episodes during five broad time periods were identified. The earliest remains unearthed at Kenan Tepe belong to the Ubaid period. Ubaid period occupation is so far restricted to the eastern and southern slopes of the high mound. Remains dating to the Late Chalcolithic period have been discovered in abundance in the eastern most area of the mound. The remains from the Late Chalcolithic-Early Bronze Age transition phase were also encountered. An analysis of the ceramics from various areas at Kenan Tepe combined with two carbon dates confirms that occupation at the site probably continued at least through the first half of the Early Bronze Age. Middle Bronze Age remains have been recovered on the eastern; western and northern slopes of the high mound. Thus far no in situ Late Bronze Age remains have been discovered. During the Early Iron Age; Kenan Tepe was probably a small settlement. During the Hellenistic Period the site contained a substantial fortification and after this period it was used as a cemetery [Parker et al.2002c]. |
| Small Finds: Architecture: The transition between the Late Chalcolithic and the Early Bronze Age is observed in an unusual way in Area F. The ash and other debris created by decades of production during the Late Chalcolithic Period was covered by the inhabitants of the Early Bronze Age by the beginning of the third millennium. The debris was covered by; in one case a mudbrick pavement; and in another; re-deposited virgin soil. The Early Bronze Age town continued upon this new foundation [Parker et al. 2003:7;8]. The architectural remains consist of cobble surfaces and some ephemeral remains of walls. In trenches F2 and F8 the cobble surfaces were associated with tanoor style ovens. Some surfaces were more compacted; suggesting that the area was more heavily trampled; perhaps functioning as a passageway rather than a work area. Assuming that these remains are in fact contemporary; the latest level of Early Bronze Age occupation in Kenan Tepe's lower town consists of cobblestone surfaces; beaten earth surfaces; three ovens; three stone installations; a stone wall foundation and fragments of other poorly preserved stone structures or installations. It is suggested that all of these surfaces belong to a single phase of occupation and thus may be part of a complex of outdoor activity areas and pathways ranging across an area 35x35 m [Parker et al.2002c]. Remains of two large defensive or revetment wall belonging to Late Chalcolithic/EBA 1 were revealed in the stepped trench studied in 2002. Outside of the trenches of A2 and A8, small part of the wall which was built in similar way with those mentioned above was found 100 m east of the stepped trench, in the C sounding. These three walls share similarities; First of all, all of them were built with at least four kinds of mudbricks in different colors. This color difference may be related to the aesthetic concern or the result of using more than one clay sources. Second similarity is the reed layers located between every ten or twelve courses of bricks. These reed layers were used as damp isolation layer and to add stability to the construction [Parker-Dodd 2011:708]. It has been discovered that the rough surfaces with pebbles unearthed in Trench F which yielded EBA finds in the lower section of Kenan Hill were related the floor furnace-like ovens [Parker-Dodd 2011:709]. Ceramics: Numerous pedestalled bowls (chalice ware or fruit stands) were encountered. They are chaff and grit-tempered; with prominent vertical burnishing marks on the base as well as the bowl in many examples. They are generally around 0.20 m high. These forms proliferate in the Ninevite V period. The other local Early Bronze Age ceramic types are small; grit tempered; handmade ring base bowls; which are also often vertically burnished and have a slight indentation below an otherwise simple; slightly incurved rim. During the 2002 studies conducted on the skirts of Kenan Hill, a great number of caliches that are called "fruit stand" were found. They are chaff and mineral tempered and there are traces of visible vertical burnishing. Although their necks are very long, they are well proportioned and measure 0.20 m. These forms increased in Ninova V Period (3100-2500 BC.). Among EBA local wares, there are small, mineral tempered, handmade vessels with ring base, vertically burnished, slightly concaved vessels and simple vessels with incurved rims [Parker-Dodd 2011:709.]. Clay: During the studies carried out in 2002 a conical spindle whorl is captured on the pseudomorphic straw coated surface outside the Ubeid house [Parker-Dodd 2011: 714]. Bone/Horn: In 2002, tools processed from bones in the form of a packing needle or shaft are found in the middle of ruins or embankment layer related with the pseudomorphic straw coated surface outside the Ubeid house [Parker-Dodd 2011: 714]. |
| Remains: |
| Interpretation and Dating: In comparison with upper Mesopotamia and the upper Euphrates basin; the transition between the Late Chalcolithic and the Early Bronze Age is quite unusual at Kenan Tepe. While the other sites show substanial settlement dislocations; Kenan Tepe has a great degree of continuity between these periods [Parker et al. 2003:7;8]. The dating of the EBA settlement is based on the analysis of the ceramics. The pedestalled bowls are dated to the Ninevite V Period. Based on the results of the excavations; it is suggested that Kenan Tepe was a small village during the Ubaid Period. The settlement expanded during the Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Ages; and the lower mound was occupied extensively. By the end of the Late Chalcolithic or the beginning of the Early Bronze Age; the upper mound appears to have been fully or partly encircled by stone founded mudbrick walls. Since the remains dating to the Late Chalcolithic and the Early Bronze Age are not covered by later material; the data suggest that Kenan Tepe probably reached its largest extent during the late fourth and early third millennia BC [Parker et al. 2001]. The settlement has also yielded evidence of use at various times from the mid-fifth millennium BC through the Ottoman period. Based on the results of 14C dating, three revetment walls exposed during the 2002 excavations are dated to the transition period from Late Chalcolithic to EBA. Trench A2 yielded the dates of 3350-3010 BC and Trench A8 is dated to 3100-2900 BC. [Parker-Dodd 2011:708]. |
