Ancient site · Settlement
Tell Halaf
Also known as Guzana
A mound near Ras al-Ayn in northeastern Syria that gave its name to the Halaf culture, famous for finely painted pottery with geometric and animal designs. Max von Oppenheim dug here from 1911, mostly exposing the much later palace of the Aramaean city of Guzana with stone statues and reliefs.
Many of those finds were smashed when a Berlin museum was bombed in 1943 and have since been pieced back together.
- Dates
- c. 6100–5400 BCE (Halaf village); later the Aramaean city of Guzana
- Still standing
- No, or only traces
- Location
- 36.83° N, 40.04° E
How we know
The Neolithic village had no writing and is dated by excavation; the later city of Guzana is named in Assyrian texts.
Nearby sites
- Karahan Tepe c. 9750–9400 BCE (dates still being refined)
- Göbekli Tepe c. 9500–8000 BCE
- Çayönü c. 8630–6800 BCE
- Tell Abu Hureyra c. 11,300–5800 BCE
- Arslantepe c. 4000–700 BCE; palace c. 3400–3200 BCE
- Nineveh c. 3000–612 BCE (Assyrian capital from c. 700 BCE)
Related
- Halaf culture archaeological culture