Tell Yelkhi Explained

Tell Yelkhi
Map Type:	Iraq
Relief:	yes
Coordinates:	34.2856°N 45.0014°W
Map Size:	200
Location:	Diyala Governorate (Iraq)
Type:	settlement
Built:	Early 3th millennium BC
Epochs:	Bronze Age
Excavations:	1977-1980
Archaeologists:	Antonio Invernizzi, G. Bergamini
Condition:	Ruined
Ownership:	Public
Public Access:	Yes

Tell Yelkhi, is an ancient Near East archaeological site in Diyala Governorate (Iraq). It was examined as part of the Hamrin Dam salvage excavation before it flooded. Other sites a part of that rescue excavation included, Me-Turan, Tell Gubah, Tell Songor, Tellul Hamediyat, Tell Rubeidheh, Tell Madhur, Tell Imlihiye, Tell Rashid, Tell Saadiya and Tell Abada.^[1] Some of these sites, including Tell Yelkhi, periodically emerge from the water.^[2] The site of Tell Yelhi was settled in the early 3rd millennium BC and occupation continued through the Kassite period late in the 2nd millennium BC. Its name in ancient times is not yet known though Awal^ki (known during Akkadian, Ur III, and Old Babylonian periods) has been suggested.^{[3] [4]}

Archaeology

The oval mound (220 meters by 170 meters) rises about 12 meters above the plain, having two peaks, one lower than the other, and covers an area of about 4 hectares. The edges of main mound have eroded somewhat, removing some Level I Kassite remains and modern period graves have damaged the site. Tell Yelkhi was excavated for three seasons, from 1977 to 1980, by a team from the Italian Archaeological Expedition led by Antonio Invernizzi and G. Bergamini.^[5] Excavation was conducted in two areas A, at the top of the mound exposing Levels I and II, and B, a 30 by 10 meter stratigraphic trench on the southeast side of the mound exposing Levels III, IV and V, VI, VII, and VIII. Additionally, four 4 meter by 4 meter soundings on the tell reached virgin soil exposing Levels IX and X. Excavators defined ten occupation levels.^[6] As part of the excavation a photogrammatical survey was conducted.^[7] Stratigraphic soundings and minor excavations were also conducted on some of the surrounding area and sites.^{[8] [9] [10] [11]}

• Level IX/X - Early Dynastic, partially below water table. ED cylinder seal found in grave. (Early 3rd millennium BC)
• Level VIII - Akkadian Empire. Residential occupation with a large industrial area on the western part. (c. 2334 – 2154 BC)
• Level VI/VII - Ur III. A monumental temple complex with a courtyard and buttressed doorways and containing an altar was built on a foundation of pure sand on Level VI, found on the eastern part. A large rectangular building with pods built on mud brick arches was found on the western part. (c. 2112 BC – c. 2004 BC)
• Level IV/V - Isin-Larsa period. A large palace with courtyard and about 70 cuneiform tablets holding administrative texts were found on Level V. Burial chambers and graves excavated. A large public building designed for storage was excavated, on Level V, holding many storage jars containing remnants of cereals. Numerous cylindrical beakers were also found in this space. Carbon-14 samples were taken. This building was destroyed by fire and combined with other evidence from the level led the excavators to believe the city was sacked. A high status grave of a tall women with a number of metal ornaments was found in the floor of the main room of the building.(Early 2nd millennium BC)^[12]
• Level III - Old Babylonian and Eshnunna. Forty cuneiform tablets and fragments (literary, administrative and omen texts) were found, associated with a small rectangular temple containing an altar and offering table. Mainly industrial activities. Two phases, IIIa and IIIb. (17th to 18th century BC)
• Period of abandonment
• Level II - Mitanni, Sealand, and Elamite. Remains heavily cut by the Level I foundations. (c. 1525–1400 BC)^{[13] [14]}
• Level I - Kassite. A large 12 room fortified palace built with thick walls and "particularly deep foundations" covers most of the main mound. It was in use from the early through to the late Kassite period. It was cut by an Islamic cemetery of recent date. (c. 1400-1100 BC) ^[15]

Finds included a number of cuneiform tablets.^{[16] [17]} Eight tablets were omen texts.^[18] An archive, found in the same layer (Level IIIb) mentions the Babylon ruler Ibal-pi-el II.^[19] Tablets in a strata contemporary to Level I at the nearby site of Tell Imlihiye carried the names of Kassite rulers Kadasman-Enlil, Kudur-Enlil, Sagarakti-Surias, and Kastilias IV.^[20]

A number of terracotta figurines were excavated in Levels I to VI.^[21] In the Kassite remains (Level I) barley, dates, and legumes were found.^[22] A bronze fenestrated shaft hole axe was found in a grave in the Isin-Larsa level.^[23]

Tell Kesaran

This low but large (240 meters by 110 meters in area and about 3 meters in height) site lies across a wadi from Tell Yelkhi, about 1/5 kilometer away. In 1979 and 1980 the Italian Archaeological Expedition led by E. Valtz excavated three adjoining 4 meter by 4 meter trenches on the summit and nine small (1.5 meter by 3 meter) test pits at various points. These established a Kassite period industrial (mainly pottery production) and residential occupation. Minor Late Assyrian occupation was recorded in the form of pottery shards, graves, and a 7th-century BC cylinder seal.^{[24] [25]}

History

The site was first settled in the Early Dynastic period (possibly the prior Jemdat Nasr period) early in the 3rd century BC with residential occupation continuing into the Akkadian Empire period. Late in the 3rd millennium BC, under the Ur III empire, a large temple and administrative/storage areas were constructed. In the Isin-Larse period, early in the 2nd millennium BC, a large palace was built.^[26] Tell Yelkhi then continued in an administrative role into the Old Babylonian period with evidence of Mitanni influence. After a time of abandonment it was resettled under the Kassites at which time a large palace was built. Afterward the site was permanently abandoned.^[27]

See also

• Cities of the ancient Near East
• Chronology of the ancient Near East

Further reading

• https://isac.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/shared/docs/Mesopotamian_Pottery.pdfArmstrong, James A., and Hermann Gasche, "Mesopotamian Pottery. A Guide to the Babylonian Tradition in the Second Millennium B.C.", MHE II/4. Ghent, Chicago: University of Ghent and The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, pp. 11-12, 2014
• Bergamini, G., A. Gabutti, E. Valtz, "La ceramica di Tell Yelkhi", Mesopotamia 37–38, pp. 1–340, 2002–2003
• Bergamini, "Tell Yelkhi", in The Land between the Two Rivers: Twenty Years of Italian Archaeology in the Middle East: The Treasures of Mesopotamia, edited by E. Quarantelli, Italy: II Quadronte, pp. 41–61, 1985
• Valtz, E., "The Yelkhi countryside", in The land between two rivers. Twenty years of Italian archaeology in the Middle East, The treasures of Mesopotamia, ed. Quarantelli, E., Turin: Il Quadrante Edizion, pp. 69–71, 1985
• Bergamini, Giovanni, "La couche basale de Yelkhi au début de la période protodynastique I. In : Huot J.-L. (éd.), Préhistoire de la Mésopotamie. La Mésopotamie préhistorique et l'exploration récente du Djebel Hamrin. Paris, 17-19 décembre 1984, Paris: Éditions du CNRS, pp. 489-498, 1987
• Boehmer, R. M., "Glyptik aus den italienischen Ausgrabungen im Hamrin-Gebiet", Mesopotamia 20, pp. 5–22, 1985
• Cellerino, Alessandra, "La signora dell'Hamrin. Terrecotte con figura divina dagli scavi italiani di Tell Yelkhi", Un impaziente desiderio di scorrere il mondo. Studi in onore di Antonio Invernizzi per il suo settantesimo compleanno, hrsg. v. Carlo Lippolis, Stefano de Martino (Monografie di Mesopotamia 14), pp. 45–60, 2011
• Dietre, C., "L’area di Tell Yelkhi. I picolli ogetti", Mesopotamia 42, pp. 167–209, 2007
• Fiorina, P., "L’area di Tell Yelkhi : le sepolture", Mesopotamia 42, pp. 1–115, 2007
• Kepinski, Christine, "De Yelkhi à Harrâdum. Aux marges des royaumes Mésopotamiens et des territoires nomades", Μνεμειου. Mnemeion. Scritti in memoria di Paolo Fiorina, hrsg. v. Antonio Invernizzi (Mnème 9), 2013
• https://search.proquest.com/openview/ee3ebde4928e81ecd714e7823addaad8/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750 Malko, Helen O. Investigation into the Impacts of Foreign Ruling Elites in Traditional State Societies: The Case of the Kassite State in Babylonia (Iraq). Diss. State University of New York at Stony Brook, 2014
• https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/59025/1/external_content.pdf#page=60 Oselini, Valentina, "Do I Know You? Points of Contact between Northern and Central/Southern Mesopotamian Ceramic Traditions in the 2nd Millennium BC", Bridging the Gap: Disciplines, Times, and Spaces in Dialogue, pp. 52–72, 2022
• Saporetti, C., "Testi da Tell Yelkhi del perido Isin-Larsa - 1", Mesopotamia, vol. 30, pp. 5–39, 1995
• Valtz, E., "La campagna di Yelkhi", in: E. Quarantelli (Hg.), La terra tra i due fiumi. Venti anni di archeologia italiana in Medio Oriente. La Mesopotamia dei tesori, Torino, pp. 69–71, 1985
• Viaggio, Salvatore, "Note sulla cronologia di Tell Yelkhi", Egitto e Vicino Oriente 27, pp. 103–108, 2004

External links

• Tell Yelkhi Cuneiform Texts at CDLI
• Centro Scavi Torino Hamrin Excavation site

Notes and References

1. Kawamata, Masanori, "Telul Hamediyat near Tells Gubba and Songor: Part III", al-Rafidan 12, pp. 249-59, 1991
2. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/4/786
3. Gentili, Paolo, "I Nomi di Yelkhi", Egitto e Vicino Oriente, pp. 95-127, 2011
4. Bergamini, Giovanni, "Awalki-Yelkhi?", Mesopotamia 57, pp. 1-15, 2022
5. https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763295&increment=221
6. J N. Postgate and P.J. Watson, "Excavations in Iraq, 1977-78", Iraq, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 141–81, 1979
7. https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763295&increment=257
8. https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763295&increment=67
9. https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763295&increment=205
10. https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763295&increment=216
11. https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763295&increment=290
12. https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763295&increment=68
13. Oselini, V., "Traces of Elamite and Mittani Culture in the Hamrin Basin: the Case of Fine Pottery in The Kassite Contexts of Tell Yelkhi", Cultural & material contacts in the ancient Near East, Apice libri, pp. 36-46, 2016
14. Armstrong, James A., "Babylonian Pottery in the Kassite Period", Volume 2 Karduniaš. Babylonia under the Kassites 2, edited by Alexa Bartelmus and Katja Sternitzke, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 421-436, 2017
15. Calderbank, Daniel, "Dispersed Communities of Practice During the First Dynasty of the Sealand: The Pottery from Tell Khaiber, Southern Iraq", Babylonia under the Sealand and Kassite Dynasties, edited by Susanne Paulus and Tim Clayden, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 58-87, 2020
16. https://findit.library.yale.edu/images_layout/view?parentoid=15763295&increment=242
17. Rouault, O., "Old Babylonian Texts from Tell Yelkhi (Hamrin Project, Iraq)", Mesopotamia, vol. 20, pp. 23-52, 1985
18. Michalowski, Piotr, "How to Read the Liver—In Sumerian", If a Man Builds a Joyful House: Assyriological Studies in Honor of Erle Verdun Leichty, Brill, pp. 247-257, 2006
19. Gentili, Paolo, "Chogha Gavaneh: An outpost of Ešnunna on the Zagros mountains?", Egitto e Vicino Oriente, vol. 35, pp. 165–73, 2012
20. Kessler, Karlheinz, "Kassitische Tontafeln vom Tell Imliḥiye", BaM 13, pp. 51–116, 1982
21. Bottino, Sara, "Again on nude females in southern Mesopotamia during the Middle Bronze Age. An analysis of stratified visual materials and written sources on female figures related to Ishtar", Ocnus. Quaderni della Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni Archeologici 30, 2022
22. Constantini, L. and L. C. Biasini, "The plants of Yelkhi", in: E. Quarantelli (Hg.), The land between two rivers. Twenty years of Italian archaeology in the Middle East. The treasures of Mesopotamia, Torino, 1985
23. Philip, G., "New Light on North Mesopotamia in the Earlier Second Millennium B.C.: Metalwork from the Hamrin", Iraq, vol. 57, pp. 119–44, 1995
24. M. D. Roaf and J. N. Postgate, "Excavations in Iraq, 1979-80", Iraq, vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 167–98, 1981
25. Invernizzi, Antonio, "Excavations in the Yelkhi Area (Hamrin Project, Iraq)", Mesopotamia 15, pp. 19-49, 1980
26. Gentili, Paolo, "Wandering Through Time: The Chronology of Tell Mohammed", Studi Classici e Orientali, pp. 39-55, 2011
27. https://www.academia.edu/25046684/The_cultural_influence_of_Mesopotamian_states_in_the_Upper_and_Middle_course_of_the_Diyala_River_during_the_mid_2nd_millennium_BC