New Excavations at Chagar Bazar, 1999-2000

Abstract

For three seasons, 1935 through 1937, Max Mallowan excavated at Chagar Bazar, after selecting it during a survey of the Upper Habur region in 1934. The Mallowan excavations are most notable for the “Prehistoric Pit”, with its deep sequence of Halaf and 3rd millennium BC levels, and for the horizontal exposure of early 2nd millennium BC buildings at the centre of the site. These excavations made a substantial contribution to the initial identification of the northern Mesopotamian archaeological assemblages and artifactual sequence. But there are questions remaining about the sequence and the nature of occupation at Chagar Bazar. In 1999, a new programme of excavations at the site was begun, a joint project involving the British School of Archaeology in Iraq (Dr Augusta McMahon), the University of Liege (Professor Onhan Tunca), and the Syrian Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums (Mr Abdul-Massih Bagdo of the Hasseke Department of Antiquities). Our first two seasons took place in March-May of 1999 and March–May of 2000. The new research programme focuses on two related diachronic questions. The first is Chagar Bazar's internal cycle of occupation, abandonment, and re-occupation, and the internal diversity within the site. The second question is the changing role of the site within settlement trends in the Upper Habur, focusing on its status as a relatively small site in the Mesopotamian context.