Tell Qraya on the Middle Euphrates
Tell Qraya is predominantly a late-fourth millennium B.C. archaeological site astride a natural conglomerate rock promontory on the west bank of the Euphrates River, just five kilometers north of the large second millennium B.C. city of Tell Asharah (ancient Terqa). In 1981 systematic excavation of a major square and test trenches uncovered three Protoliterate building phases.
This excavation report offers a comprehensive record of the stratigraphy, features such as burials, walls, heaths, and fire pits, and all categories of artifacts such as pottery, other ceramic objects, chipped stones, bone tools, stone objects, bitumen objects, and unbaked clay objects. In addition to an abundance of classical Protoliterate material of all kinds, including cylinder and stamp seals, are painted pottery and other atypical findings that may be indicative of inter-cultural contacts rather than being intrusion from an earlier Ubaid period.
The excavations at Qraya were undertaken in conjunction with the work being carried out at Terqa, and under the same permit. This was not only because of logistics, but also because the site of Qraya may plausibly be considered as the one from which Terqa took its origin, given their close proximity in space and their neat juxtaposition in time.
Daniel Shimabuku is a Research Associate at IIMAS (The International Institute of Mesopotamian Area Studies).