The site of Fara, ancient Shuruppak, lies approximately halfway between Nippur and Uruk at the very core of the Sumerian urban heartland. The city was renowned as the home of Utnapishtim who survived the flood and went to live in Dilmun where he was visited by Gilgamesh. As was the case with so many Mesopotamian mounds excavated early this century, Fara was investigated in a less than ideal manner. Almost thirty years passed between the first season of excavations by the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft in 1902-3 and its publication (Heinrich 1931), while a second season by the University of Pennsylvania in 1931 received only brief coverage in print (Schmidt 1931). A great many of these inadequacies have been rectified with the recent publication of H. Martin's book on Fara (Martin 1988), the culmination of her earlier work on the site (Martin 1975; 1983), in which she has presented and discussed a considerable amount of new information concerning these early excavations, particularly with regard to the provenances of artifacts. Martin has also established the chronology of occupation at the site, with a foundation in the Jemdet Nasr period, extensive Early Dynastic I–IIIa occupation, a fairly rapid decline thereafter and a virtual abandonment at the end of the Ur III period (Martin 1983). In the present study of Early Dynastic administration at Fara the extent to which I have made use of Dr. Martin's work will be readily apparent. Additionally, this study is founded on a spell of research carried out by the writer at the Vorderasiatische Museum of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin in July 1987 during which 1,015 Fara sealings were examined.

The general character of the Middle Assyrian glyptic is well understood from the seal-impressions on the archives from Assur, Fakhariyah and Rimah. As a result of the work of Saporetti (1979) there is now a better dating of the Assyrian tablets than was available to the pioneers. Mayer-Opificius (1986) made useful progress on the chronology of the thirteenth century designs, and this has been further elaborated by the present writer (1990).

There is at present no good evidence for geographical variations in the Assyrian seals, despite the wide spread of the material. This is in contrast to the chronological situation. The criteria for the thirteenth century are summarised here, but it is unnecessary to repeat the detailed arguments justifying them which are given in my former work. The thirteenth century is divided into three phases corresponding to the reigns of Adad-nirari I (1307–1275 B.C.), Shalmaneser I (1274–45 B.C.) and Tukulti-Ninurta I (1244–08 B.C.). This is partly for convenience and partly as a consequence of the form of Saporetti's book on the eponyms. When speaking of an “Adad-nirari” style I do not, therefore, mean to imply that such seals could not have been made in the adjacent reigns.

This article deals with a class of shaped clay fragments, previously unpublished, taken from several Assyrian sites in the nineteenth century and now kept in the Department of Western Asiatic Antiquities of the British Museum. The individual fragments belong to knob-plates originally designed for attachment to the wall surface. In addition to the fragments of plates, the ceramic assemblage includes several large wall pegs whose knobs in shape resemble those of the plates. Glazed polychrome decoration occurs on the individual pieces and consists of floral patterns and geometrical and plain bands. Although the repertoire of ornamental motifs is limited, whole designs reconstructed from the plate fragments reveal a variety of fourfold symmetrical arrangements (see below). Three distinctive ornamental styles are evident on the British Museum pieces and, further, each style derives from a different site. Thus, several ceramic workshops manufactured the clay architectural fixtures that originally embellished select edifices. Cuneiform inscriptions preserved on several plate and peg pieces disclose that the date of manufacture for the entire assemblage is in the reign of Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 B.C.). See Appendix A.

In association with the investigation of Albenda (preceding paper) fragments from four polychrome glazed terracotta wall plaques (knob plates) were submitted for technical examination. All are believed to date to the ninth century B.C. and represent three sites: Nimrud (WA 131663), Ba'shiqa (Tell Billah) (WAN 2037, N2038) and Arban (WA91689). Technical information on the glazed ceramics of the Neo-Assyrian period is limited. In addition to providing basic information on the ceramic technology of the plaques, the purpose of the present study was to determine if stylistic differences noted between the ceramics from the three sites were in any way reflected in their technologies.

The plaques were examined using a binocular microscope, and small (millimetre-sized) samples of glaze with associated body were removed from the edges of the fragments. These samples were mounted in epoxy resin, ground flat, polished with diamond paste and the resulting cross sections examined in the scanning electron microscope (SEM). Elemental compositions were determined by energy dispersive x-ray analysis (EDXA) in the SEM.

A second full season of archaeological investigations was undertaken at the Uruk Mound, Abu Salabikh in the spring of 1990. The aims of this season's work were to begin to explore in some detail variations in production, exchange, and consumption of subsistence and craft goods within the Uruk community. Both the aims and the strategies employed were outgrowths of our previous work at the site which had sought a broad understanding of the kinds of activities in which the community as a whole was engaged (Pollock 1987, 1990a, 1990b).

The purpose of this report is to present briefly the results of the 1990 season as they appear to us shortly after leaving the field. More in-depth analysis and interpretation will be offered in subsequent publications.

As before, our field strategies included a mix of techniques. Surface mapping and surface scraping were utilized to provide extensive coverage of the site and a broad view of community layout and distributions of activities. In contrast, excavation offers more limited exposures but also far more precise and detailed information on contexts.

The original meaning and the changes in the content of the term Amurru in the course of the second millennium B.C. have been one of the most intensively discussed and debated subjects of Near Eastern history. The name appears from the late third millennium on, both in phonetic spelling and in the logographic writing MAR.TU. It is now generally agreed that in the early part of the second millennium the term refers loosely to the Syrian regions situated west of Mesopotamia proper and to the inhabitants of these regions. The more difficult questions under debate are concerned with the original meaning of Amurru, whether ethnic or geographical, and with the exact nature and origin of its equation with MAR.TU. These important questions however are of little concern for the issue discussed in this paper.

The broad sense of Amurru as indicated above, often used in opposition to Akkad, is gradually restricted to a more limited region of central and southern Syria. A Mari text has the “Land of Amurru” in a sequence after the lands of Yamhad and Qatna, whereas another text mentions “the messengers of four kings of Amurru” alongside the messengers of Hazor. Texts from Alalakh VII and IV mention individuals from the “Land of MAR.TU”, without however any clues to its whereabouts.

Installé sur la rive gauche du Tigre à quelques kilomètres de l'actuelle ville de Samarra, le site de Tell es-Sawwan a sans doute livré les vestiges les plus spectaculaires de la préhistoire mésopotamienne. De dimensions assez réduites et d'une durée d'occupation brève, il a fait l'objet d'une dizaine de campagnes de fouilles menées entre 1964 et 1983 par les archéologues irakiens. A la demande des autorités irakiennes, deux campagnes supplémentaires y ont été conduites par la Délégation Archéologique Française en Iraq en 1988 et 1989.

Cinq niveaux couvrant les périodes de Hassuna, Samarra et Halaf ont été identifiés dès les premiers travaux. Les deux premiers niveaux (I et II, reposant sur le terrain vierge) ont livré les vestiges de vastes édifices tripartites sous les sols desquels de très nombreuses tombes d'enfants dotées d'un matériel exceptionnel en albâtre (vaisselle et figurines) furent découvertes. La céramique, malgré sa rareté et son manque de spécificité, fut attribuée à l'époque de Hassuna. Le dégagement plus au nord, sur le tell B, des niveaux III A et B permit la découverte d'un ensemble très spectaculaire composé de plusieurs bâtiments dits “en T” (phase A) disposés à l'intérieur d'un mur d'enceinte entouré d'un fossé. Cette installation, interprétée comme l'un des premiers témoins d'une architecture villageoise fortifiée, fut modifiée au niveau III B par l'adjonction d'énormes contreforts et de divers aménagements en plâtre, désignant les bâtiments en T comme des greniers dans leur seconde phase d'existence. Au niveau IV, l'établissement ne semble plus en usage dans la mesure où un bâtiment fut construit directement sur le fossé et le rempart, indiquant que ceux-ci n'étaient plus utilisés. Ces niveaux III et IV furent datés de l'époque de Samarra grâce aux nombreux tessons de céramique qu'ils contenaient. Le dernier niveau, V, fut dégagé dans la partie ouest du site. Il est représenté par une grande construction circulaire sur soubassements de galets attribuée à l'époque de Halaf.

Two large Akkadian rock crystal cylinder seals retain red and white decorations painted within their central perforations; one seal is striped while the other bears a chevron design. In the case of the striped seal, the walls of the perforation were longitudinally grooved, presumably to aid retention of the decoration. Hematite or red ochre was used as red pigment in both seals. It would have been possible to paint the red stripes/chevrons around the central perforations with a small brush operated from within a narrow tube. The perforations were subsequently over-painted with white pigment (probably calcined bone) providing a contrasting background. Lead liners were inserted into the perforations of both seals, apparently to protect the decorations.

The perforation of another rock crystal seal is longitudinally grooved and bears the corroded remains of a copper liner which may have also served a decorative purpose. Traces of red pigment and/or distinct longitudinal grooves were observed in three other seals and may be present in a further two seals. Thus, the perforations of at least six and possibly eight of the twelve Akkadian rock crystal cylinder seals in the British Museum's collections appear to have been decorated. These observations suggest that the practice of painting or decorating the perforations was more common than has previously been appreciated.

Much has been written about chariots with three-horse hitches in antiquity. Although the triga's use in racing is generally accepted, its suitability for the battlefield is more often questioned. Greek evidence for its use is found in the Iliad and in a few figured documents of the 8th century B.C. and later (Wiesner 1968, 20–2, 66; Chamoux 1975). In Italy the triga was known to both the Etruscans and the Romans (Bronson 1965; Humphrey 1985, 16 f). In the Near East more controversial evidence is found in 9th-century B.C. Assyrian reliefs of war and hunting chariots, for which its “asymetrical” hitch has been considered impractical (Bronson 1965, 102; Nagel 1966, 54; Jacobs 1984/85, 157). This note is to point to the possibility that Ashurnasirpal IPs chariots may not have been unbalanced despite the asymetrical harnessing (Fig. 1).

All ancient harness systems were based on the use of paired animals on either side of a central pole and under a yoke. Consequently, a third horse, added to one side or the other would, by apparently increasing the pull on one side, seem to throw the equipage out of balance; it should move in a circle, like an insect with a broken wing. Indeed, in the racing chariot this has been interpreted as intentional and as helping to cope with the sharp 180° turns of the ancient circus.

The archaic tablet made available in the present note is now in a private collection in Belgium.

The well preserved proto-cuneiform tablet, measuring 73 × 69 × 18 mm (height × width × thickness), was copied from photographs in the early spring of 1989, and subsequently collated with the original in May of the same year in London. Although the exact provenience of the tablet, which came to Europe some decades ago via the antiquities market, is not secure, format, contents and personal designations point to its probable origin at Uruk/Warka.

This paper is concerned with a pointed iron helmet with decorative bronze inlay and a collection of iron fragments, also with bronze inlay, from similar or related helmets. All are now in the British Museum. The complete helmet, reconstructed from fragments (BM 22496), is clearly of Assyrian type, and the bronze inlay forms, amongst other motifs, a central design showing the king with crown-prince and attendant framed by a bud-and-garland border. This helmet was first published by Barnett in 1953, when it became possible through x-ray photography to discern some of the bronze inlaid decoration. Barnett identified the helmet as coming from Rassam's excavations at Nineveh, and as support for this suggestion cited a report to the Trustees of the British Museum by Samuel Birch referring to the arrival of a consignment of antiquities from Nineveh in July 1880 that included “an Assyrian bronze helmet”.

Almost certainly, however, Birch was referring to one of three bronze or bronze and iron “Spangenhelme” of Parthian or Sassanian date that are now in the British Museum (BM 22495, 22497–8). The two other examples were mentioned by Birch in his annual report for 1877 when he says that “two helmets from Kouyunjik” were mounted in that year. All three helmets are characterised by being made of metal plates fixed together with strips of bronze held in place by rivets. It is very unlikely, then, that the iron helmet with bronze inlay comes from Nineveh. It is much more probable that it, and the associated fragments, come from Nimrud, and they must be the fragments of Assyrian iron helmet with copper inlay registered under the numbers 48–11–4, 113–115 and described as coming from Layard's excavations in the North-West Palace at Nimrud. None of the fragments, nor indeed the complete helmet, now bears a registration number, but there seems little doubt about the identification.

The eleventh and twelfth seasons of excavations at Tell Brak in North-eastern Syria took place in the spring of 1990 and 1991, from about the middle of March to the end of May in each year. The work was sponsored and generously supported by the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge. Generous contributions were also received from the National Geographic Society, the British Academy and the British School of Archaeology in Iraq. It is a pleasant obligation, as always, to record our gratitude to our sponsoring bodies and also to Dr. Ali Abou Assaf, Director General of Antiquities and Museums, and to Dr. Adnan Bounni, Director of Excavations, both for their generous cooperation in administrative matters and for their scholarly and friendly interest in our work. Our thanks go also to their staff in Damascus, Aleppo, Deir ez Zor and Hasake for all the practical help we have received from them, and especially to Sayid Assad Mahmud, Director of Antiquities, Deir ez Zor Museum, in whose keeping the antiquities from Tell Brak now are, and to our representatives, Sayid Bassam Jamus and Sayid Hussein Yusuf in 1990, and Sayid Heitham Hassan and Sayid Ibrahim Mustafa in 1991. Once again, HE the Governor of Hasake Province and all local officials with whom we came in contact gave us encouragement and support. We owe much to all our Syrian friends.

The seals and seal impressions discovered at Tell Brak in the 1990 season are immediately published here, without a full discussion which will be included in a larger study of the Brak glyptic which I am now undertaking. Some comparisons can be found in the treatment of the Brak material from the Mallowan excavations in the Ashmolean catalogue (Buchanan 1966).

The seals and sealings were for the most part found in the FS and SS sites, with some others from the surface of the tell. FS is an area mainly of private houses which were frequently rebuilt. The two latest levels consist for the most part of very large private houses (Oates 1985, 165; Oates 1987, 179). In Level 3 there is a small monumental building contemporary with the Late Agade layer above the main SS complex (Oates 1987, 178-9 fig. 2, 3). North of it was an area of small domestic structures. Level 5 contains a larger monumental building approximately contemporary with the main structure in SS (see the preceding article, p. 132f.).

SS consists of the large ceremonial complex described in the previous article. The structure was deliberately and ritually filled, and very little material survives in situ. At least one late Akkadian layer overlies this complex, and in a few places Early Dynastic material under the complex has been excavated.

During the 1990 season of excavations at Tell Brak, the lower part of a cuneiform tablet (TB 11021) was found in the “Mitanni palace” in Area HH. The fragment was immediately identified as Hurrian by Dr. Jesper Eidem, who kindly ceded his primary rights to the present author. I am much indebted to Dr. Eidem for his generosity as well as for his readiness to supply his hand-copy of the tablet for study and publication (Fig. 1). I should also like to thank the Directors of the excavations at Tell Brak, Professor David Oates and Dr. Joan Oates, who gave the permission to publish the important new find and provided excellent photographs (Plate XXXII). I am also grateful to Dr. Diana Stein for reading my text and improving my English.

Excavations continued on a wide range of projects in Iraq during 1989 and the earlier part of 1990. Particular emphasis was laid upon research excavations, although some rescue projects continued. We are extremely grateful to the Iraqi Department of Antiquities and Heritage and its Director-General, Dr. Mu'ayyad Sa'id Damerji, for assistance throughout the period of excavations. The reports have been compiled by Roger Matthews and Tony Wilkinson from information supplied directly by the excavators to whom, as always, we are especially indebted and whose indulgence we seek for any mistakes contained herein.

As usual, the sites are arranged alphabetically, ignoring non-specific initial words such as al-, Tell, Khirbet, etc.