New light on North Mesopotamia in the earlier second millennium B.C.: metalwork from the Hamrin

Abstract

It is typical of Mesopotamian studies that periods well supplied with documentary evidence are frequently those for which archaeological evidence is least reliable. Such is the case with the earlier part of the second millennium B.C. (Poradaet al.1992: p. 119). While the situation has improved somewhat as a result of several recent publications (Gasche 1989; Hillet al.1989; Kepinski-Lecomte 1992), many gaps remain. The paucity of reliable data from Mesopotamia has certainly hindered attempts to understand relationships between that area and the often better documented material cultures of neighbouring regions.The present report represents an attempt to tackle one aspect of these problems by presenting a group of metal weapons of secure north Mesopotamian provenance, which can be reliably dated to the early second millennium B.C., the Old Babylonian period in particular. The material presented here is the first substantial assemblage of Mesopotamian weapons of this date to be published.