Tell Saadiya
Tell as-Saadiya, Tell es-Saadiya, Tell el-Saadiya
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Project name:
Hamrin Dam Salvage Project
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Site type:
Settlement site
Location:
Iraq
Middle-eastern Iraq
Dijala River region
Jebel HamrinDating:
– Late phase of the Ubaid culture (Chalcolithic period, end of the 5th millennium BC–first half of the 4th millennium BC (c. 4000–3800 BC)
– Residual traces from the Sassanid/Early Islamic period
Most interesting finds:
– Children’s burials in urns with lids
– Painted pottery vessels
– A collection of stone tools
History of research:
Salvage excavations were conducted as part of the Hamrin Dam Salvage Project. Work at the site had been interrupted in 1980 by the outbreak of Iran–Iraq war and was never resumed afterwards.
Dates of PCMA research:
1979–1980
Type of research:
Excavations
Project director:
Stefan Karol Kozłowski
Piotr Bieliński
Partners:
– Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology of the University of Warsaw
– Directorate of Antiquities of the Republic of Iraq
Description of site and research results:
Tell as-Saadiya is located on the left bank of Dijala, on the river terrace near Saadiya. The tell is about 85 km long, 75 m wide, rises more than 2.5 m above the level of the terrain and covers about 0.6 ha. From the north and west the sides of the hill were damaged by digging related to the building of the dam. A modern-day cemetery occupies the majority of the site. The work which concentrated on the southern and central part of the hill uncovered about 220 m2.
Reiche, A., (2019). Isin-Larsa and Sasanian graves from the site of el-Saadiya in the Hamrin region, Iraq. In A. Pieńkowska, D. Szeląg, I. Zych (Eds). Stories Told Around the Fountain. Papers Offered to Piotr Bieliński on the Occasion of His 70th Birthday (pp. 583–597). Warsaw: PCMA, University of Warsaw Press.
Bieliński, P. (1995). Od Eufratu do Tygrysu i jeszcze dalej, w: M. L. Bernhard (red.), Od Nilu do Eufratu: polska archeologia śródziemnomorska 1981–1994 (pp. 119–126). Warsaw: PCMA
Bieliński, P. (1991). “Ubaid Północny”: Mezopotamia pomiędzy Dijalą a Haburem w latach 4800–4000 p.n.e. Warszawa: Wydawnictwa Fundacji “Historia pro Futuro”.
Kozłowski K. S. (1987). Chipped stone industry of the Ubaid site Tell el-Saadiya in Iraq (Hamrin). In J.-L. Huot (red), La Préhistoire de la Mésopotamie (pp. 277–291). Paryż.
Kozłowski, S. K., Krogulska, M., Reiche, A., Szymczak, K. (1986). Irak, w: Kiss, Z. (red.) 50 lat polskich wykopalisk w Egipcie i na Bliskim Wschodzie, Warszawa: PCMA, 135–142.
Kozłowski, S. K., Bieliński, P. (1985). Tell el-Saadiya; A preliminary report on the first season of excavations, 1979, Sumer, 40, 103–106.
Kozłowski K. S., Bieliński P. (1979). Tell El Saadiya, Informator Archeologiczny, 13, 289–290.
Gallery:
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1. General view of the excavations at Tell as-Saadiya, a village from the Ubaid period (5th–4th millennium BC). Tell as-Saadiya, wioska z okresu kultury Ubaid (V/IV tys. p.n.e.) , widok ogólny wykopalisk. (fot. A. Reiche) -
2. Remains of an Ubaid-period village. Pozostałości wioski z okresu kultury Ubaid. (fot. A. Reiche) -
3. Child’s burial from the Ubaid period; grave urn after exploration. Pochówek dziecięcy z okresu kultury Ubaid – urna grobowa po eksploracji. (fot. P. Bieliński) -
4. Child’s burial from the Ubaid period; grave urn with a lid. Pochówek dziecięcy z okresu kultury Ubaid – urna grobowa z pokrywą. (fot. A. Reiche) -
5. Three children’s burials from the Ubaid period; handmade grave urns of unfired clay. Grupa trzech pochówków dziecięcych z okresu kultury Ubaid – urny grobowe ręcznie lepione z gliny, niewypalone. (fot. A. Reiche) -
6. Fragments of painted vessels from the Ubaid period. Fragmenty naczyń malowanych z okresu kultury Ubaid. (fot. P. Bieliński) -
7. Cup with painted decoration used as an urn in a child’s burial (Ubaid period). Pucharek z dekoracją malowaną, użyty jako urna w pochówku dziecięcym (okres kultury Ubaid). (fot. A. Reiche) -
8. Bowl with painted decoration used as an urn in a child’s burial (Ubaid period). Misa z dekoracją malowaną, użyta jako urna w pochówku dziecięcym (okres kultury Ubaid). (fot. A. Reiche) -
9. Jug with painted decoration on the shoulders used as an urn in a child’s burial. Dzban z dekoracją malowaną na ramionach, użyty jako urna w pochówku dziecięcym (okres kultury Ubaid). (fot. P. Bieliński)
