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©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
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Hirbemerdon 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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522 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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Mesudiler |
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Investigation Method:
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Excavation |
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Period:
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| Location: Hirbemerdon Tepe is located along the right bank of the upper Tigris River valley in southeastern Anatolia (Turkey) about 30 km east of Bismil in the Diyarbakir province. |
| Geography and Environment: At Hirbemerdon Tepe; the ancient settlements were built on top of a geological formation based on a Pliocene continental rock structure that characterizes the entire region. The site has a size of about 10.5 hectares. The site is bordered by the bed of the Tigris along the eastern side; while the northern side of Hirbemerdon Tepe has been eroded by a modern irrigation channel. |
| History: |
| Research and Excavation: The mound was discovered during the Tigris-Euphrates Archaeological Reconnaissance Survey conducted by G. Algaze in 1989. It was revisited in 2002 by a team conducted by N. Laneri and in 2003 an excavation started. It takes place in the registered archaeological sites list prepared by Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The Hirbemerdon Tepe Archaeological Project, lasted 10 years, was finished in 2012 [Laneri 2014:195]. |
| Stratigraphy: Depending on the surface material collected during the survey it was thought that Hirbemerdon Tepe occupied from Neolithic to Seljukian Period. The ongoing excavations clarified the stratigraphy. According to this; the earliest phase of the settlement is dated to the Late Chalcolithic (Fourth Millennium BC); which is characterized by a local chaff-faced ware. The most important archaeological phase occurred between the late 3rd to the mid 2nd Millennium BC and was distinguished by a high presence of the so-called red brown wash ware ceramic assemblage; recognizable throughout the entire site. After a brief period of abandonment; Hirbemerdon Tepe was reoccupied during the Iron Age; and in a much later period; a final settlement occurred during the Islamic Period. The layers reached by the excavations carried out at the high mound (Area A) and the outer town (Area B) are Iron Age; Middle Bronze Age (Sub-phase A); Early Bronze/Middle Bronze Age (Sub-phase B) and Chalcolithic [Laneri-Schwartz 2008:137-138]. The studies conducted so far have confirmed that Hirbemerdon Tepe can be related to seven occupational levels: Level I: Chalcolithic period (LC 3, the first half of 4th millenium BC) Level IIa: EBA I (about 3100-2750 BC) Level IIb: EBA II (about 2750-2500 BC) Level IIIa: EBA III/IV (about 2500-2000 BC) Level IIIb: MBA I (about 1950-1750 BC) Level IIIc: LBA (about 1550-1350 BC) Level IVa: Early IA (about 1150-900 BC) Level IVb: Middle IA (Neo-Assyrian, about 900-610 BC) Level V: Late IA (about 610-350 BC) Level VI: Middle Age (about 11th-13th centruy AD) Level VII: Ottoman period (18th-19th century AD) [Laneri 2014]. |
| Small Finds: Architecture: The researches performed in the Outer Town defined as the 'B Area' in 2005 revealed the Iron Age; Middle Bronze Age; Early Bronze Age; and Chalcolithic periods [Laneri 2007:672-674]. The remains belonging to this Level were exposed in the soundings made in Outer City. The soundings yielded remains of some mud brick walls and a large pit bearing traces of fire. The architectural remains of this level have been largely affected by river floods [Laneri 2014:195]. Pottery: As a result of the researches performed in the 'Area B' in 2005; it was found; that the earliest phase of occupation in the Outer Town belongs to a local Chalcolithic horizon (ca. from the end of the Fifth to the first half of the Fourth Millenium BC). Chalcolithic phase is found below the yellowish sandy layer and consists in badly preserved surfaces and pits. This archaeological phase is characterized by an overwhelming presence of large potsherds comprised primarily of handmade vessels of the cream-brown chaff-faced ware category. The shapes of these vessels are very simple and range from globular bowls with simple rims; to jars with short necks and straight or slightly everted rims. This material is easily comparable to similar objects found in the upper Tigris valley and in other Anatolian regions further north and east of Hirbemerdon Tepe [Laneri 2007:674]. As a result of the researches performed in the 'Area A' in 2005; it was found; that the earliest phase of pottery production seems to be characterized by hemispherical bowls with flattened rims that have an incurved blunt and club-shape. In some cases a groove is visible along the exterior surface of these vessels just below the rim. This pottery category is usually associated with Dark Rimmed Orange Bowls; Gray Burnished Ware; and; in one case; a complete profile of a fine ware bowl with a beaded rim. Although these shapes are only represented at Hirbemerdon tepe; they are comparable to other assemblages from a wide range of sites with material culture dating to the late Third Millenium BC in the Syro-Anatolian region [Laneri 2007:676]. |
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