Tell Mashnaqa

Tell Mashnaqa (Arabic: تل مشنقة‎) is an archaeological site located on the Khabur River, a tributary to the Euphrates, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Al-Hasakah in northeastern Syria. The site dates from the Ubaid period (ca. 5200–4900 BC), and was excavated by a Danish team from 1990–1995 in four seasons.^[1]

Overview

The tell, now flooded by the al-Hassakah Dam project, was around 4 hectares (0.015 sq mi) in area. The western side of the tell formed a high mound, rising to a height of more than 11 metres (36 ft). The lower and flatter eastern side rose 4 metres (13 ft) above plain level.^[1]

The mudbrick houses, found at the earliest level of the tell, had small rooms with fireplaces, grinding stones, mortars and painted pots. The later levels show a shift in occupation to other parts of the tell, where areas inhabited earlier were turned into a refuse midden and later a cemetery. The site was later abandoned for hundreds of years only to be rebuilt again in the fourth millennium BC. This level had a large tripartite building measuring about 11.5 by 10.5 m.^[2]

Boat models

One of the most remarkable finds at the Ubaid level of the site were fragments of two pottery boat models, excavated in 1991.^[2] The models represented long, narrow canoes with pointed sterns. The boats were probably made of reed coated with bitumen to make them water-proof. The findings strongly suggest that people of the Khabur region had already made use of boats for transport and fishing by ca. 5000 BC, if not before.^[2] Similar models have been unearthed from other Ubaid sites such as Eridu, Ubaid, Uqair and Abada.^[2]

References