Tell Mashnaqa ( ar, تل مشنقة) is an archaeological site located on the Khabur River, a tributary to the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

, about south of

Al-Hasakah Al-Hasakah ( ar, ٱلْحَسَكَة, al-Ḥasaka; ku, Heseke/حەسەکە; syr, ܚܣܝܟܐ Hasake), is the capital city of the Al-Hasakah Governorate, in the northeastern corner of Syria. With a 2004 census population of 188,160, it is the e ...

in northeastern

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. The earliest occupation of the site dates to the

Ubaid period The Ubaid period (c. 6500–3700 BC) is a prehistoric period of Mesopotamia. The name derives from Tell al-'Ubaid where the earliest large excavation of Ubaid period material was conducted initially in 1919 by Henry Hall and later by Leonard Wool ...

(ca. 5200–4900 BC), and was excavated by a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

team from 1990–1995 in four seasons.

Overview

The tell, now flooded by the al-Hassakah Dam project, was around in area. The western side of the tell formed a high

mound A mound is a heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded area of topographically higher el ...

, rising to a height of more than . The lower and flatter eastern side rose above plain level. The

mudbrick A mudbrick or mud-brick is an air-dried brick, made of a mixture of loam, mud, sand and water mixed with a binding material such as rice husks or straw. Mudbricks are known from 9000 BCE, though since 4000 BCE, bricks have also bee ...

houses, found at the earliest level of the tell, had small rooms with fireplaces, grinding stones, mortars and painted pots. The later levels show a shift in occupation to other parts of the tell, where areas inhabited earlier were turned into a refuse midden and later a cemetery. The site was later abandoned for hundreds of years only to be rebuilt again in the fourth millennium BC. This level had a large tripartite building measuring about 11.5 by 10.5 m.

Boat models

One of the most remarkable finds at the Ubaid level of the site were fragments of two pottery boat models, excavated in 1991. The models represented long, narrow canoes with pointed sterns. The boats were probably made of

reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * Re ...

coated with

bitumen Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

to make them waterproof. The findings strongly suggest that people of the Khabur region had already made use of boats for transport and fishing by c. 5000 BC, if not before. Similar models have been unearthed from other Ubaid sites such as

Eridu Eridu ( Sumerian: , NUN.KI/eridugki; Akkadian: ''irîtu''; modern Arabic: Tell Abu Shahrain) is an archaeological site in southern Mesopotamia (modern Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq). Eridu was long considered the earliest city in southern Mesopotam ...

, Ubaid, Uqair and Abada.

References

{{reflist Neolithic sites in Syria Former populated places in Syria Archaeological sites in al-Hasakah Governorate Ubaid period