Archaelogical Excavations at Tell Halaf

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Barbara Helwing, since 6/2020
• Subject Area: Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
• Term: from 2006 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 22709751

In the requested period from 2018 to 2020, the final publication of the results of the excavations at Tell Halaf 2006 - 2010 will to be completed. The shrived goals for the funding period 2014 - 2017, were not fully realized for objective as well as subjective reasons. Therefore the new application after finishing of the studies of the Assyrian Gouvernor’s Palace in April 2018 focuses on two topics: The studying of small finds and pottery as well as the studying of architecture and stratigraphy in the lower town and citadel area.The first focus of the application is directed on the complex of small finds and pottery. Here all small finds and pottery collections recovered during the new excavations will be presented, in order to adapt the meanwhile nearly 60 years old publication of the small finds and pottery from historical time by B. Hrouda to the current knowledge level.The previous studies of the small finds and ceramic collections also yielded unexpected results for the settlement history of Tell Halaf. It has become clear that the settlement has also a reference character for the Achaemenid period in Northern Mesopotamia, a period that has not been given any attention until now. In addition, it has been shown that the rich material on the Terracotta figurines requires a separate publication. The nearly completed study of the terracotta figurines is not the subject of the application, but it is done by the VAM itself.The second focus is on detailed studies of the developments in the residential areas on the citadel and the lower town, which can be dated well by a cuneiform tablet and dockets. It is interesting to note in this context that elite residences were not only situated on the citadel, but also in the lower town.Significant new insights provided the new excavations also to the settlement structure in prehistoric periods. For the first time round buildings could be examined on a larger area. However, the publication of the results on the prehistoric settlement at Tell Halaf is likewise not the subject of the application, but it is carried out by the excavator himself.A last prolongation of the project by two years provides the guarantee that the mentioned topics can be published in the required quality. Together with our own studies of the terracotta figurines and on prehistory, all results of the new excavations can be submitted by 2020. Today it is not foreseeable whether or when ever again excavations in Syria will be possible. It is therefore particularly important to document the results so sustainable and comprehensively that questions and problems for further research can be formulated for the next few years. However at the same time, with the publication of the excavation results, a contribution is made for preservation of cultural heritage in the local and global awareness of the people.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Switzerland
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr. Mirko Novák
• Ehemaliger Antragsteller: Dr. Lutz Martin, until 6/2020