Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (10.1998(1999))

TELL ARBID

SYRIA


Fig. 6. Infant burial in trench 36/58, below
the floor of a Ninevite 5 period room
(Photo A. Reiche)

and adorned with elaborate incised deco-
ration. In another room (locus 19) uncov-
ered in this stratum, a child burial of
Ninevite 5 period was found below the
floor level. It was a small pit with mud-
plastered walls containing a round basket
in which the body of an infant had been
deposited in strongly contracted position
(Fig. 6).
Of the basket itself not much has sur-
vived except a clear impression of its bot-
tom in the mud.
Large quantities of kitchen ware sherds
collected from this area, as well as the size
and nature of the architectural remains
suggest that in the Ninevite 5 period this
part of the town was occupied by dwelling
quarters furnished with numerous domes-
tic installations. The complicated stratig-
raphy of this trench certainly requires fur-
ther clarification in the future.
Reassessing, the 1998 field season on
Tell Arbid has revealed the whole strati-
graphic complexity of the 3rd and 2nd
mill. BC towns on the site.

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