Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (16.2004(2005))

TELL ARBID

SYRIA

AREA "D"

Continued investigations of the Ninevite 5
period quarter in the northwestern part of
the main tell (Area "D") concentrated firstly
on opening a new square in the southern
part of the sector to check the southward
extension of the Ninevite quarter. Equally
high on the list of priorities was the con-
tinued work in the northern part of the
sector, where last year two houses of the
Ninevite 5 period started being uncovered.
Two others were now revealed and further
work was done on clearing the main street
cutting across this part of the Ninevite 5
urban complex on Tell Arbid. This street,
while somewhat winding in places, retained
its initial width for most of the distance
[Fig. 9]. Similarly as in the case of the later
streets in Area "SD", the houses were en-
tered from short transversal cul-de-sacs
instead of opening straight off the main
street.
To reach Ninevite 5 remains in the newly
opened square 31/42 in the southern part
of the sector, it was necessary first to re-
move the poorly preserved later remains.
This was the chief objective in the 2004
season. The latest feature on this spot was
a Hellenistic grave (Gl-31/42) found in
the southwestern part of the square. The
chamber, built of typical period bricks of
large size, contained nothing but the skele-
ton of a young male. This was surprising in
itself, as all the other Hellenistic burials dis-
covered on Tell Arbid, whether during
Mallowan's excavations in the 1930s or by
the Austrian and American expeditions
working here later, had yielded a rich in-
ventory of grave goods. Despite tidy build-
ing, as in all other contemporaneous tombs
on the site, the only evidence of any special
treatment of the deceased was a piece of

lead stuffed up the nose, presumably instead
of the traditional obolus.
Next in terms of finds chronology was
another grave, dated by the pottery to the
Khabour-Ware period. This burial found
in the northwestern corner of the trench
(recorded as G2-31/42) proved much more
interesting. The pit under the tomb was
revealed to cut very distinctly into the
earlier Khabour-Ware layer. It encompas-
sed the burial chamber, as well as shaft situ-
ated next to the entrance. The vaulted burial
chamber, c. 2.50 by 1.50 m, was raised of
single rows of square bricks [Fig. 10]. Inside
the chamber there were two human burials:
one consisting of disarticulated bones
pushed against the north wall, the other in
anatomical order, lying more or less in the
center. This is clearly suggestive of secondary
burial. The grave goods included a bronze
pin, ceramic jar and bowl, and a clay censer
in the form of a hut or shrine. These ob-
jects, and likewise the three jars and bowl
from the shaft outside, appeared to belong
to the second (later) of the two burials. The
shaft constituted a particularly curious ele-
ment, it being the first case on Tell Arbid
of a Khabour-period grave being found with
a shaft. The vessels found in the shaft could
suggest that funeral rites in the Khabour
Ware culture included some form of offer-
ing presented in front of the burial chamber.
As mentioned already, the burial had
been excavated into an earlier Khabour
Ware layer, containing in the western part
of the square two massive platforms made
of pise brick and three fragments of thick
walls made of the same building material.
In the central and eastern part of square
31/42, a fragment of a Khabour-Ware pe-
riod house was uncovered. It comprised at

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