Investigating Tells in Syria

Abstract

Archaeological mounds form when activities and settlement were conducted at a site over time and sediment and material accumulation rates exceed those of truncation or erosion. In Southwest Asia an archaeological mound is called a “tell” in Arabic, “tepe” or “chogha” in Farsi, and “höyük” in Turkish. In the ancient Near East, mounds may vary in size from c. 30 m to 1 km in diameter and in height from c. 1 to >43 m (Fig. 24.1). The archaeological investigation of these mounds presents a range of major challenges: (1) low mounds and the bases of mounds may be masked by several meters of sediments from rivers, hill-wash, or erosion; (2) early levels may be buried below many meters of later settlement and difficult to access; (3) materials may be recycled and redeposited throughout a mound by successive construction and digging of pits or graves, for example; (4) with shifting settlement patterns and variations in construction and leveling, mounds are not uniform “layer cakes” and include truncated or eroded areas; and (5) mounds may represent only one aspect of settlement patterns and strategies, but may be overrepresented in field investigations due to their predominance in the landscape. Mound sites nevertheless often provide rich sequences of well-preserved deposits and many aspects of ecological and social strategies. The examples below are largely from interdisciplinary excavations in Syria.