Abstract
Basalt stone tools were collected from some Iraqi Archaeological Sites. Twenty-one samples were studied petrographically, mineralogically, and chemical composition. Five samples were from the Gaara Depression north of Rutba town, seven samples from Tarmiya, north Baghdad, seven samples from Dalmij site, east of Diwaniya city, and two samples from Jordan, which were used for comparison. The studied samples were classified into three groups, according to their mineralogy and texture: Group A: Vesicular Basalt, Group B: Dolerite, and Group C: Olivine Basalt. These stones most probably were used as a hand axe, grinder, hammer, and other uses, as well as for buildings, like those used in Qasar Al- Azraq and Umm Al- Jamal archaeological sites in Jordan. These basalt rocks most probably were transported by an ancient man from Harrat Al-Sham, which extends through Syria-Jordan-Saudi Arabia, or from NE Syria through a trade route that connected between source areas and the studied archaeological sites in Iraq.
Highlights
Basalt is a hard, dense volcanic igneous rock that occurs in many countries across the world (Al-Baijat, 2008)
This study aims to identify the petrography, texture, chemical compositions and trade routes of the basalt stone tools collected from some Iraqi archaeological sites
Basaltic igneous rocks are exposed in some countries at the Middle East, such as: northeast Iraq near Iraq- Iran border (Buday and Jassim, 1987), but this type of basalt is composed of pillow lava, which is not hard, in Syria- Jordan- Saudi Arabia within Harat Al-Sham (Aboud, 1999), northeast Syria (Turkmani and Al-Shara, 2009), northeast and central Iran (Tehran et al 2010; Chatroodi, et Al. 2010)
Summary
Dense volcanic igneous rock that occurs in many countries across the world (Al-Baijat, 2008). In the Middle East, basalt is especially exposed in the northeastern part of Iraq near the Iraq-ran border, which had been related to Alpine porphyritic glassy basalt; and in the Penjween Subzone which had been related to the Lower Cretaceous volcanicity, which contains spilitic basalt, metabasalt, spilites and basalt. The Shalair zone contains alkali olivine basalt, high aluminum basalt, basaltic andesites (Buday and Jassim, 1987). In northeast Syria, the exposed basalt is of alkali olivine basalt, olivine phenocrysts and microphenocrysts have altered to Idengsite (Turkmani and Al- Shara , 2009). In Northeast Iran, the exposures are of basaltic andesite, trachyte andesite basalt, trachyte basalt, normal basalt, olivine basalt, and dolerite (Tehran, et al, 2010). The Central Iranian area includes basaltic andesite, andesite to trachyte andesite, quartz andesite, rhyolite rhyo-dacite and dacite
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