Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (15.2003(2004))

TELL QARAMEL

SYRIA

a stone marker (stela), c. 0.5 m wide,
which had four symmetrically arranged
depressions in the center. A stone footpath
led up to it. The public and religious
character of the building was further
confirmed by three graves set under the
floor in a fashion typical of the PPNA. The
skeletons were in an embryonic position,
buried vertically. There was no burial
inventory apart from animal bones. One of

the skeletons was missing the skull; the
body must have been beheaded before
burial and the head buried elsewhere.
An earlier phase of the “grill house”
was identified below the bench remains, as
well as the remains of an earlier occupa-
tional level, which contained fragments of
oval houses with walls of mud and mud
blocks (pise) and surrounding terrace
courtyards with pits for storage purposes.

FLINT INDUSTRY

An examination of the flint industry
(Fig. 10) revealed three techno-chronologi-
cal horizons. The oldest one, identified in
the lowest layers of occupation in trench K6
a,c (layers XV-XVII), was connected with
an early El-Khiam phase. It is characterized
by the use of brown (‘chocolate’) flint
among others. Flakes and blades were made
of single polar cores as a rule. Characteristic
tools included sickle-blades made of broken
blades, end-scrapers or scrapers made of
massive flakes. El-Khiam points from this
horizon are mostly big and irregular. A few
massive El-Khiam points with recesses were
also found, representing a transition to
Hellwan points. Also, two chopping tools
and one pseudo-Levallois point were
discovered (but not of ‘chocolate’ flint).
The next horizon, observed in the upper
layer of trench K6 (layer XIV), demon-
strated a change in the flint material used.
‘Chocolate’ flint predominated over other
kinds of flint in a ratio of 3:1. New tool
forms included Gilgal truncations and
Jordan Valley points. El-Khiam points in
this phase were made of ‘chocolate’ flint,
very often from re-used sickle-blades. There
was a growing number of perforators,
borers and sickle-blades of various types.

The mature PPNA flint industry is
represented by finds from trench K4/L4
containing the “grill house”. ‘Chocolate’
flint makes for about 90% of the as-
semblage, the remaining part making use
of other flint material and obsidian. The
diversification of points is also character-
istic of the phase. The category includes,
among others, small El-Khiam points and
forms transitional to the Hellwan type, as
well as typical Hellwan and Qaramel
points. Nevalla fiori points appear only
sporadically. All of the above mentioned
forms were made of blades struck from
single polar cores. Also connected with
this horizon is a double-sided flint celt of
the Jericho type, found inside one of the
walls of the “grill house” (loc. 10).
Another techno-chronological horizon,
also connected with the mature PPNA
phase, was observed in trench K7 (stratum
V, level 6). Again, ‘chocolate’ flint cha-
racteristically predominates. Flakes and
blades were made of single polar cores.
Typical points of this phase include: El-
Khiam, Qaramel and Qaramel II, and
Hellwan. There is also one proto-
Ermiinette point made of a very massive
flint flake.

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