Tell Zeidan is an archaeological site of the Ubaid culture in northern

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 ...

, from about 5500 to 4000 BC. The dig consists of three large mounds on the east bank of the

Balikh River The Balikh River ( ar, نهر البليخ) is a perennial river that originates in the spring of Ain al-Arous near Tell Abyad in the Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests ecoregion. It flows due south and joins the Euph ...

, slightly north of its confluence with the

Euphrates River The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers''). Originating in Turkey, the Eup ...

, and is located about east of the modern Syrian city of

Raqqa Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) ( Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, ...

(or Raqqa). This site is included within the historical region known as

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

and the Tigris-Euphrates river system, often called the

Cradle of Civilization A cradle of civilization is a location and a culture where civilization was created by mankind independent of other civilizations in other locations. The formation of urban settlements (cities) is the primary characteristic of a society that c ...

. An international archaeological project, the Joint Syrian-American Archaeological Research Project at Tell Zeidan, were surveying and excavating the Tell Zeidan site. The project started in 2008, two seasons were completed. The third season was scheduled to start in July 2010. Muhammad Sarhan, director of the Raqqa Museum, and Gil Stein, director of the

Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago The Oriental Institute (OI), established in 1919, is the University of Chicago's interdisciplinary research center for ancient Near Eastern ("Orient") studies and archaeology museum. It was founded for the university by professor James Henry Brea ...

, are co-directors of the project. Part of the mound appears to have been looted after the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011.

Notes

External links

The dig page at the Oriental Institute of the University of ChicagoThe approximate location at Wikimapia
* Press Release 10-054

* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJdpPMjXX3Q The Land Before the Wheel - Gil Stein discusses the mound of Tell ZeidanAlternative repository at YouTube of the same NSF video. Better video and streaming quality.

Notes

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See also