Tell Hassuna

Tell Hassuna

Shown within Iraq
Location	Nineveh Province, Iraq
Region	Mesopotamia
Coordinates	36°27′50.4000″N 42°57′48.6000″E / 36.464000000°N 42.963500000°E / 36.464000000; 42.963500000Coordinates: 36°27′50.4000″N 42°57′48.6000″E / 36.464000000°N 42.963500000°E / 36.464000000; 42.963500000
Type	tell
Length	200 meters
Width	150 meters
Height	7 meters
History
Material	mud-brick
Site notes
Excavation dates	1943, 1944
Archaeologists	S. Lloyd

Tell Hassuna is a tell, or settlement mound, in the Nineveh Province (Iraq). It is the type site for the Hassuna culture (early sixth millennium BCE).

Tell Hassuna was found in 1942 by Fuad Safar, and excavated in 1943 and 1944 by a team from the Iraqi Directorate General of Antiquities led by Seton Lloyd. Excavations revealed that there was once an advanced village culture that was spread throughout northern Mesopotamia. At Hassuna, six different layers of houses were uncovered, revealing various vessels and pottery that date ~5600-5350 BCE, with each layer becoming more substantial. Similar vessels were found throughout the Middle East, showing that there was an extensive trade network that was present as early as the 6th Millennium BCE. Pottery found at Hassuna can be divided into three different categories: Hassuna Archaic, Hassuna Standard, and Samarran. These also include painted, incised, and painted-incised ware. The decoration of the Samarra Painted Fine Ware is always monochrome, but it seems as if three types of paint have been used: an ivory black, a dark violet brown, and a medium chocolate brown. Circumstances of firing and variations in the concentration of the paint have caused color changes, so that for example an oxidizing firing of vessels painted with ivory black has produced an Indian red color. In general, the designs of the Samarra Painted Fine Ware are carefully painted. Occasionally, however, parallel lines approach or diverge slightly, and the thickness of some lines varies, apparently due to the use of a soft painting-brush. The outside rim motifs are spaced and limited by groups of horizontal lines.

Tell Hassuna is located approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi) southwest of modern Mosul, along the west bank of the Tigris River. It is a small site, roughly 200 by 150 metres (660 ft × 490 ft) and about 7 metres (23 ft) high. Hassuna was one of the earliest cultures in Northern Mesopotamia. Before this time, Southern Mesopotamia was considered the cradle of civilization. When settlements began forming in the north, such as Hassuna, Jarmo, Samarra, and Tell Halaf, the north became the important region. The architecture at Hassuna was built of packed mud, with the width varying from 20 to 50 centimeters. The mud-brick technique may perhaps have been developed in Southern Mesopotamia, where mud-bricks were common in the first half of 6th millennium B.C.