Shibaniba Explained

Tell Billa
Native Name:	Shibaniba
Alternate Name:	Tell Billa
Map Type:	Iraq
Relief:	yes
Coordinates:	36.4336°N 43.3483°W
Location:	Nineveh Province, Iraq
Type:	settlement
Area:	12 ha/30 acres
Excavations:	1850, 1930–1934
Archaeologists:	A.H. Layard, E.A. Speiser, C. Bache

Tell Billa (also Tell Billah, Tall Billa, and Baasheikhah) is an archaeological site near Bashiqa in Nineveh Province (Iraq) 20 kilometers northeast of Mosul.

History

The site consists of a large mound and covers around . There is some evidence of occupation as far back as the Uruk period, including some Hurrian presence in the middle second millennium. An Uruk period cylinder seal was found at the site, a presentation scene of Istar.^[1] A few preliterate clay tokens were also found.^[2] On Stratum V a number of copper weapons, mainly axe heads and lance butts. One lance butt was inscribed with cuneiform characters.^[3]

Early Bronze

In 2022 it was proposed that Tell Billa was the site of the Ur III period (ca 2100 BC) city Šimānum (possibly known as Asimānum during the Akkadian Empire).^[4]

Late Bronze

Beginning in Middle Assyrian times the ancient city, not far from Assur, was named Šib/manibe in the Middle Assyrian period and Šibaniba in the Neo-Assyrian period. Its earlier name is not known.

The Hurrian artifacts were identified in the excavators' Stratum 3. The comparison with the similar artifacts from Nuzi led Speiser to conclude that the Hurrians settled at Billa before they moved on to Nuzi.^[5]

The majority of excavated material, however, is from the Middle Assyrian and Neo-Assyrian times, including glyptic and epigraphic material.^[6] Ninety One Middle Assyrian tablets (ca. 1400-1000 BC) are attested from Tell Billa/Shibaniba.^[7] Several Middle Assyrian faience items were also found at Tell Billa.^[8] The name Shibaniba relates to this period of its history.^[9]

Some ceramic remains of the Parthian period were found at the site.^[10]

Excavations

After some minor soundings done by Austen Henry Layard around 1850, Tell Billa was excavated between 1930 and 1934 by a team from the University of Pennsylvania and the American Schools of Oriental Research.^[11] The excavation was led by Ephraim Avigdor Speiser with Charles Bache.^{[12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]} The work was complicated by the fact that the mound was divided up among 18 owners includinga Jacobite church.^[18]

At the same time, these scholars explored the related nearby ancient site of Tepe Gawra, which is located about 8km (05miles) northeast of Billa.^[14]

See also

• Cities of the ancient Near East

Further reading

• Charles Bache, "From Mr. Bache’s Reports on the Joint Excavation at Tell Billah", Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no. 50, 1933
• Creamer, Petra M, "Domestic Architecture and Household Structure at Late Bronze Age Tell Billa", Ancient Near Eastern Studies 58, pp. 147-172, 2021
• Galter, Hannes D., "Texts and Fragments: Ein Tonnagel Adaneraris II. Aus Tell Billa", Journal of cuneiform studies 41.2, pp. 235-236, 1989
• Goodman, Reed Charles, "Tell Billa's Bull Pendant: A Connection to Middle Assyrian Assur", Assyromania and More. In Memory of Samuel M. Paley, hrsg. v. Friedhelm Pedde, Nathanael Shelley (marru 4)., pp. 187-196, 2018
• Donald Matthews, "Middle Assyrian Glyptic from Tell Billa", Iraq, vol. 53, pp. 17-42, 1991
• Claudio Saporetti, "Middle Assyrian Texts of Tell Billa", (Graphemic Categorization, No 3), Undena Publications, 1990,
• Speiser, Dr., "The Excavation of Tell Billah: Letter from Dr. Speiser to the Directors of the American School of Oriental Research in Baghdad and of the University Museum,(October 30, 1931)", Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 44.1, pp. 2-5, 1931
• Speiser, Dr., "Tell Billah: Letter from Dr. Speiser to the Directors of the American School in Baghdad and the University Museum." Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 45.1, pp. 32-34, 1932
• Speiser, E. A., "An Assyrian Document of the Ninth Century BC from Tell Billah", Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 54.1, pp. 20-21, 1934
• C. L. Wooley and E.A. Speiser, "Excavations at Ur;the Pottery of Tell Billa", The Museum Journal, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 249–308, 1933
• Speiser, E. A., "Gleanings from the Tell Billa texts", Symbolae ad iura orientis antiqui pertinentes Paolo Koschaker dedicatae, Leiden, Brill, pp. 141–50, 1939
• Speiser, E. A., "The Cuneiform Tablets from Tell Billa", Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no. 71, pp. 23–24, 1938

External links

• Digitizing Tell Billa - work on publishing 1930s digs
• Expedition video from the University of Pennsylvania Museum 4
• Expedition video from the University of Pennsylvania Museum 3
• Expedition video from the University of Pennsylvania Museum 2
• 3rd Millennium BC cylinder seal from Tell Billa - possibly lost
• Archaeological site photographs from the Oriental Institute
• Digital Tell Billa tablets at CDLI

Notes and References

1. Sollberger E. and J. R. Kupper, "Inscriptions roy-ales sume ́ riennes et akkadiennes", Paris: Editions du Cerf, 1971
2. Schmandt-Besserat, Denise, "An Ancient Token System: The Precursor to Numerals and Writing", Archaeology, vol. 39, no. 6, pp. 32–39, 1986
3. Speiser, E. A., "An inscribed lance-butt from Tell Billah V", Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 50.1, pp. 11-13, 1933
4. Edmonds, Alexander Johannes, and Petra M. Creamer, "More to Tell About Billa!", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, 2022 https://doi.org/10.1515/za-2022-0011
5. https://www.penn.museum/sites/journal/9407/
6. Creamer, Petra M. "A Neo-Assyrian Provincial Palace at Tell Billa", IRAQ 83, pp. 25-44, 2021
7. https://web.archive.org/web/20110617023650/http://cdli.ucla.edu/search/result.pt?result_format=list&size=100&-op_provenience=ct&provenience=billa Digital Tell Billa tablets at CDLI
8. Puljiz, Ivana, "Faience for the empire: A Study of Standardized Production in the Middle Assyrian State", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, vol. 111, no. 1, pp. 100-122, 2021
9. Jacob J. Finkelstein, "Cuneiform Texts from Tell Billa," Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 7, pp. 111–176, 1953
10. Haerinck, E., "Twinspouted Vessels and Their Distribution in the near East from the Achaemenian to the Sasanian Periods", Iran, vol. 18, pp. 43–54, 1980
11. Layard A H, "Nineveh and its Remains: with an account of a visit to the Chaldean Christians of Kurdistan, and the Yezidis, or devil worshipers; and an inquiry into the manners and arts of the ancient Assyrians", John Murray, London, vol. 1, 1849
12. "The Expedition to Tell Billa and Tepe Gawra", Bulletin of the University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, vol. 3(2), pp. 59-66, 1931
13. "Developments at Tell Billa and Tepe Gawra", Bulletin of the University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, vol. 3(3/4), pp. 94-95, 1932
14. "Excavations at Tell Billa and Tepe Gawra", Bulletin of the University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, vol. 3(5), pp. 126-130, 1932
15. https://archive.org/details/Speiser19241963SelectedWritings/page/n251/mode/1up
16. Charles Bache, "Work of the Baghdad School", Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no. 51, pp. 20-26, 1933
17. Charles Bache, "From Mr. Bache's First Report on the Joint Excavations at Tepe Gawra and Tell Billah", 1932-3, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no. 49, pp. 8-14, 1933
18. "University of Pennsylvania Museum - Baghdad School Expedition at Billah (letter from E. A. Speiser)", Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no. 40, pp. 11-14, 1930