M'lefaat is a tell, or archaeological settlement mound, in

Upper Mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia is the name used for the uplands and great outwash plain of northwestern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey, in the northern Middle East. Since the early Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century, the region has been ...

that was occupied during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A.

History of research

The site was first excavated by Robert Braidwood in 1954 as part of their larger project on uncovering the early prehistory of the hilly flanks. At that time, the site was already damaged by the construction of a military installation during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. In 1984, a rescue excavation was carried out by the Mosul Department of Antiquities under the direction of Matti Baba Altun, as the site was threatened by road construction. Two further excavation seasons were conducted in 1989 and 1990, this time directed by Stefan Karol Kozłowski. M'lefaat is part of a small cluster of early Neolithic sites that have been excavated in northern Iraq and that also includes Qermez Dere and Nemrik 9.

The site and its environment

M'lefaat is located near the

Khazir River The Khazir River ( ar, الخازر) is a river of northern Iraq, a tributary of the Great Zab river, joining its right bank. Geomorphology The area around the Khazir River is geologically active and crosses three anticlines from the north to th ...

, in what is now northern

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

, at an elevation of 314 m above sea level. It is a small tell, approximately 90 m in diameter and up to 2 m high. The environment of M'lefaat is heavily degraded and characterised as moist steppe. Potentially, the area could support a

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

-type vegetation characterised by pistachio.

Oak woodland An oak woodland is a plant community with a tree canopy dominated by oaks (''Quercus spp.''). In terms of canopy closure, oak woodlands are intermediate between oak savanna, which is more open, and oak forest, which is more closed. Although the ...

may have been closer to the site than it is today. Annual precipitation at M'lefaat is sufficient for winter cultivation without additional

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

History of occupation

M'lefaat was a 0.7 ha settlement dating to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A. More specifically, it has been described as belonging to the Taurus-Zagros Round House Horizon.

References

{{Neolithic Southwest Asia 1954 archaeological discoveries Archaeological sites in Iraq Neolithic sites of Asia Pre-Pottery Neolithic A Nineveh Governorate

History of research

The site and its environment

History of occupation

See also

References