A Group of Neo-Assyrian Pottery in the Mardin Museum

Abstract

Presence of Neo-Assyrians in Southeastern Anatolia was not known well enough until the excavations at Uctepe and Girnevaz started in the early 1990's. Salvage projects within the frame of the Southeast Anatolian Project (GAP) and the increasing number of excavations, particularly in the Upper Tigris basin have provided new evidence regarding the overall knowledge of the region during the Middle Iron Age. However, due to the lack of studies in the Khabur valley, the settlement pattern of the Middle Iron age here is still not very well known. In the Middle Euphrates Valley Tille VIII, Upper Tigris Valley Uctepe 8-7, Ziyarettepe, Kavusan V, Hakemi Use, Gre Dimse, Harabe Bezikan, Salat, Asagi Salat and Hirbemerdon IVb and finally in the Upper Khabur Valley Girnevaz give information related to settlement patterns of the Neo-Assyrian kingdom, especially inn the Upper Tigris region. However, Neo-Assyrian pottery uncovered has not been published entirely other than in annual excavation reports and in some articles covering particularly the Tille and partially the Lidar excavations. On the other hand the northern expansion and distribution of the pottery culture to the south of the Southeast Taurus Mountains has been already established. This area extends to the Euphrates on the west and to the Batman River on the east. Neo-Assyrian pottery groups in the Mardin Museum quite resemblein respect of their techniques the Middle Iron Age - Neo-Assyrian pottery of Upper Tigris and Upper Euphrates basins, and also the Neo-Assyrian centres in North Syria and North Iraq. Although the provenance of the wares purchased is not known it is plausible to say that they originated from Southeast Anatolia.