Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (11.1999(2000))

TELL QARAMEL

SYRIA

In trench J-8, two chronological and occu-
pational levels were explored The first,
found immediately under the topsoil, is
a compact pavement in the northern half
of the trench and a stone wall running
E-W to the south of the pavement.
A stone axe, geometrically ornamented on
both sides, has been found to the south of
the wall. The second occupational level
consists of three stone walls and the rem-
nants of a fourth, enclosing a rectangular
area (12 m2). The destroyed wall, closing
the structure on the south, had been erect-
ed directly on top of an earlier wall. The
eastern and western walls were destroyed
by two pits, which contained coarse pot-
tery, flint artifacts, animal bones and char-
coal; this suggested household activities
dated to slightly later than the fill of the
wall-enclosed area. Southwest, there is
a rectangular structure made of pise (the
wall is 3 m thick and at least 0.5 m high),
cut through to a depth of 50 cm by pit
no. 3, which contains pieces of pottery, some
flints, animal bones, and a shell pendant.
The subsurface structures in the lower-
most trench J-7 were poorly preserved,
revealing below them a complex building
level with the outlines of at least four dif-
ferent structures. An oval stone wall is to
be observed in the western part of the
trench. Considering the level of the wall,
which practically corresponds to the
PPNA open-air site, as well as the specific
course it takes, it could be one of the old-
est, perhaps also from the PPNA period. A
chalk and stone surface on the same level
as the oval wall is located in the southern
part of the trench. There are two large pits
dug into it. A lunar-shaped bone pendant
with a hole in the center and parallel inci-
sions at both ends was found in the south-

western of the pits. The best visible struc-
ture is a corner wall identified in the
northern part of the trench. The youngest
structure consists of two stone walls with
a kind of channel between them, running
east-west from the center of the trench and
disappearing into the eastern trench wall.
Three pits in the northeastern part of the
trench cut through these remains.
The pottery from the step-trench, after
a preliminary examination,7) was dated
mostly to the period from c. 1500 BC to
Hellenistic times, but with an indication
to the later 2nd millennium BC.
Admittedly, it is difficult to find clear par-
allels between the pottery from Tell
Qaramel and the well-stratified assem-
blages from Inner Syria. The subsurface
layers in all trenches contained pieces of
Hellenistic fine wares, indicating perhaps
the presence of Hellenistic occupational
strata, probably denuded on the most part.
The underlying strata yields assemblages
that are from the Middle and Late Bronze
Ages, for instance, the rilled bowl rims
and body sherds with incised comb deco-
ration, typical of Middle Bronze Age pot-
tery. The carinated bowl, however, so char-
acteristic of the period, is almost com-
pletely absent, and instead of it there are
bowls with plainly folded rims and plain,
often burnished or slipped platters, as well
as jars with handles on the widest part of
the shoulders, typical of Alalakh IV-I or
Amuq M, more suggestive of LB date. In
addition, some of our pottery forms resem-
ble examples found at Tell Rifa'at, which
has "the same characteristics of LB with
MB tradition, rather than being complete-
ly MB".8) Nevertheless, it should be
admitted that a small number of body
sherds with painted decoration has been

7) Mr. tukasz Rutkowski has kindly identified this assemblage.
8) Matters, op. cit., 371 and figs. 220-226.

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