Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (12.2000(2001))

TELL ARBID

SYRIA

the Khabour-ware period and represent the
very end of the 3rd millennium BC, layer
VI can thus be considered as the oldest of
a series of “industrial” strata in this part of
the main tell.
Moreover, the proposed dating of this
stratum is supported by the discovery, in
a shallow pit, of an infant burial (Grave 4,
square 36/54), which can be dated to the
post-Akkadian period. The skeleton of
a child, the bones in very good condition,
was found deposited in a big jar, which was
accompanied by a medium-sized vessel.
Inside the jar there were two small bronze
bracelets, four earrings (one pair made of
bronze, while the other possibly of silver),
as well as five beads of shell and stone. It
seems that the opening of the jar had been
blocked with a mudbrick. Near the rim
and bottom of the jar some scattered
animal bones were found, including the
skull of a sheep or goat. Among the small

finds from the ash fill in this layer one
should mention a stone die more than
twice the size of modern ones. Five of its
six sides are marked with engraved dots,
the sixth is plain (Fig. 2). It is noteworthy
that on the five-point and three-point sides
the dots are arranged in different fashion
than on modern dice.
Stratum VII contains stumps of
mudbrick walls from the southeastern part
of sector “SS”. The “patchwork” appearance
of these walls, constructed of red bricks with
interspersed grayish ones, is characteristic in
this part of the tell of the Akkadian and
post-Akkadian periods. They were erected
directly on top of the poorly preserved
remains of the “public building”, which
belongs to the eighth layer identified in the
described area. The walls of the “public
building” unearthed this year in the
southern part of area “SS” are aligned EW
and obviously constitute a continuation of


Fig. 2. Tell Arbid. Stone die from stratum VI
(Drawing D. Bielinska, inking M. Wagner)

318