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Tell al-Wilayah

Coordinates: 32°18′45″N 45°39′39″E / 32.31250°N 45.66083°E / 32.31250; 45.66083
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Tell al-Wilayah
Tell al-Wilayah is located in Iraq
Tell al-Wilayah
Shown within Iraq
Tell al-Wilayah is located in Near East
Tell al-Wilayah
Tell al-Wilayah (Near East)
LocationWasit Governorate, Iraq
RegionMesopotamia
Coordinates32°18′45″N 45°39′39″E / 32.31250°N 45.66083°E / 32.31250; 45.66083
Typetell
History
PeriodsUbaid period, Uruk period, Early Dynastic period, Akkad period, Ur III period
Site notes
Excavation dates1958, 1999-2000
ArchaeologistsTariq Madhlum

Tell al-Wilayah (also Tell al-Wilaya) is an archaeological site in the Wasit Governorate of eastern Iraq. The site has now been completely destroyed by large scale looting. It is located around 20 km southwest of the modern city of Kut and 6 kilometers southwest of Tulul al-Baqarat. It has been proposed that the tutelary deities of the site were either the god Nergal or a local god Aški, and the goddess Mamma/Mammïtum.[1][2]

History[edit]

The site was occupied beginning in the Early Dynastic period extending into the Akkadian and Ur III periods.[3] It has been suggested as the location of Kesh (Sumer), now thought to be at Tulul al-Baqarat. It has also been proposed as the site of Irisaĝrig.[1][4][5] The lost city of Larak has also been proposed.[1]

Archaeology[edit]

There were two mounds. The main mound Tell al-Wilayah I covered 64 hectares with a height of 5 meters. Tell al-Wilayah II covered about 4.5 hectares and rose to about 5 meters above the plain.

Iraqi archaeologists led by Tariq Madhlum worked the site in 1958.[6] Sixteen degraded whole and partial cuneiform tablets of the Old Akkadian and Ur III periods were found in robber holes, discarded by looters. Also found were two Old Akkadian clay jar sealings, an ivory figurine, terracotta plaques depicting naked females clasping their breasts, and two Ur III bricks, of Shu-Shin and Shulgi.[7][8] An Early Dynastic palace was found at the extreme northwest corner (Area III) of the main mound, constructed with plano-convex bricks.[9][1][10][11] In response to major looting, the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage conducted excavations in 1999 and 2000. Five Old Akadian cuneiform tablets were found.[12][13] More brick inscriptions of Shu-Shin "Šu-Sîn, mighty king, king of Ur, king of the four quarters" and Shulgi "Šulgi, mighty man, king of Ur, king of the four quarters" were also found.[14]

A number of items illegally excavated from Tell al-Wilayah have appeared on the antiquities market. This likely includes two archives of Ur III merchant texts called the Turam-ilï Archive and the SI.A Archive.[15][2][16][17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d [1]J. N. Postgate, "Inscriptions from Tell al-Wilaya", Sumer, vol. 32, no. 1-2, pp. 77-100, 1976
  2. ^ a b Frayne, Douglas, "Unattributed Ur III", Ur III Period (2112-2004 BC), Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 393-426, 1997
  3. ^ J. Moon, "The Distribution of Upright-handled Jars and Stemmed Dishes in the ED. Period", Iraq 44, pp. 39–69, 1982
  4. ^ Viano, M., "On the Location of Irisaĝrig Once Again", JCS 71, pp. 35–52, 2020
  5. ^ Lippolis, C. and M. Viano, "It is indeed a city, it is indeed a city! Who knows its interior? The historical and geographical setting of Tūlūl al-Baqarat. Some preliminary remarks", Mesopotamia, vol. 51, pp. 143–146", 2016
  6. ^ Rashid, S. A., "Die Ausgrabungen von Tell al-Wilayah und die Bedeutung ihrer Rollsiegel", Sumer 19, pp. 82-106, 1963
  7. ^ Graff, Sarah B., "Sexuality, Reproduction and Gender in Terracotta Plaques from the Late Third-Early Second Millennia BCE", Critical Approaches to Ancient Near Eastern Art, edited by Brian A. Brown and Marian H. Feldman, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 371-390, 2014
  8. ^ [2]Radner, Karen, "Cuneiform inscriptions in the Archaeological Museum of Sulaimaniya", Archiv für Orientforschung, pp. 98-103, 2013
  9. ^ [3] Matthews, R. and Matthews, W., "A palace for the king of Eres? Evidence from the Early Dynastic City of Abu Salabikh, south Iraq" In: Heffron, Y., Stone, A. and Worthington, M. (eds.) At the dawn of history. Ancient Near Eastern studies in honour of J. N. Postgate. Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, pp. 359–367, 2017 ISBN 9781575064710
  10. ^ T. A. W. Madhloom, "The excavations at Tell al-Wilaya", Sumer, vol. 16, pp. 62–92, 1960 (in Arabic)
  11. ^ Rumaiydh, Salah Salman. "Excavations at Tell Wilaya. Field Campaign June 8th – September 12th, 2001", Zeitschrift für Orient-Archäologie. ZOrA, vol. 8, pp. 62-89, 2015
  12. ^ Salim Younis Hussein et al., "Report on Excavations at Tell al-Wilaya, Iraq Further Information on the 1999 and 2000 Seasons", Akkadica, vol. 130/1, pp. 3-42 and pp. 113-166, 2009
  13. ^ Abather R.Saadoon, "New Cuneiform Texts from Tell Al-Wilaya (ancient Kesh?) Kept in Iraqi museum", Sumer 59, pp. 42-61, 2014
  14. ^ Gabbay, Uri, et al., "Bricks with Cuneiform Inscriptions, Probably from Tell al-Wilaya", Akkadica 134.1, pp. 77-82, 2013
  15. ^ Van De Mieroop, Marc, "Tūram-Ilī: An Ur III Merchant", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 1–80, 1986
  16. ^ P. Michalowski, "Editorial Preface to the Turam-Ili Tablets", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 54, pp. 25–27, 2002
  17. ^ Garfinkle, Steven, "Si.a-a and His Family: the Archive of a 21st Century (BC) Entrepreneur", Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie , vol. 93, no. 2, pp. 161-198, 2003

See also[edit]

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