Tell Saadiya (also Tell es-Saadiya) is a
tell, or archaeological settlement mound, in
Diyala Governorate (
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 ...
).
Archaeological research
Excavations at the site were conducted in 1979–1980.
They were part of an international
salvage operation organized by the Iraqi Directorate of Antiquities which aimed to protect historical monuments in the
Gebel Hamrin region endangered by the building of a
dam
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...
on the
Diyala River[{{Cite journal, last=Kozłowski, first=Stefan Karol, last2=Bieliński, first2=Piotr, date=1979, title=Tell El Saadiya, url=http://bazhum.muzhp.pl/media//files/Informator_Archeologiczny_badania/Informator_Archeologiczny_badania-r1979-t13/Informator_Archeologiczny_badania-r1979-t13-s289-290/Informator_Archeologiczny_badania-r1979-t13-s289-290.pdf, journal=Informator Archeologiczny, volume=13] (Hamrin program,
Hamrin Dam Salvage Project). Archaeological works at Tell Saadiya were carried out by a team from the
, headed by Stefan K. Kozłowski and Piotr Bieliński.
The northern and western slopes of the small tell (about 80 m in diameter) had already been destroyed by construction works. Most of the site was occupied by a modern cemetery, which had disturbed the
stratigraphy.
The excavations uncovered a settlement from 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 Wo ...
(5th millennium BC) with multi-room houses built of sun-dried mud-bricks, as well as pottery kilns. Some of the houses were more impressive, featuring a central hall with rooms, usually smaller, adjacent to its longer sides. Child burials in urns were found under some of the floors. These burial containers, including beautifully-painted jugs, were the most valuable objects discovered at the site.
[Piotr Bieliński, Od Eufratu do Tygrysu i jeszcze dalej, M. L. Bernhard (eds.). In: Od Nilu do Eufratu: polska archeologia śródziemnomorska 1981–1994, Warsaw: PCMA 1995.]
See also
*
Tell Rashid
*
Tell Abada
Tell Abada is a tell, or archaeological settlement mound, in Diyala Governorate (Iraq). Abada was excavated as part of the archaeological salvage operation to excavate sites that would be flooded by the reservoir of the Hamrin Dam. Excavations ...
*
Tell Madhur
Tell Madhur (also Madhhur) is a tell, or archaeological settlement mound, in Diyala Governorate (Iraq). The site was excavated due to it being flooded by the reservoir created by the Hamrin Dam. Madhur is best known for its particularly well-pre ...
References
Further reading
Polish National Commission for UNESCO Review. 2017/18 bulletin(Polish Archaeology for the Safeguarding of World Heritage)
* A. Pieńkowska, D. Szeląg, I. Zych (Eds). Stories Told Around the Fountain. Papers Offered to Piotr Bieliński on the Occasion of His 70th Birthday, Warsaw: PCMA, University of Warsaw Press 2019
* Kozłowski, S. K., Bieliński, P. Tell el-Saadiya; A preliminary report on the first season of excavations, 1979. Sumer, 40 (1985).
External links
Salvage excavations at Tell Saadiya
Saadiya
Diyala Governorate
Ubaid period
Saadiya