Tell Sabi Abyad II

Within a stone's throw of the large mound of Tell Sabi Abyad lies a second, smaller, mound: Tell Sabi Abyad II. The mound covers an area of about half a hectare and rises to a height of about 4.5 metres above the surface level of the surrounding fields. 

Here we are excavating a small prehistoric village that was inhabited from around 7500 to around 6800 BC. Of one of the upper layers of occupation we have already uncovered an area of about 540 m2..

The architecture consists of a number of rectangular buildings, each made up of several small rooms. The walls are made of orange-coloured loam. The buildings stand close together, divided by small open spaces and courtyards. The floors are of simple tamped loam. Some of the walls are plastered with loam or chalk. The dooropenings have thresholds. Many of the small rooms do not have any doors; these areas were probably accessible from the roof. Most of the rooms were empty. In one of the buildings we have found a number of ovens, but in most of the houses there were no ovens or hearths.

What function did this platform have? Was there perhaps at one time a building on top of it? The central position at the highest point of the village and the complex building construction suggest that the platform served a special purpose.

At Tell Sabi Abyad II we have found mainly tools of flint and obsidian - volcanic glass - but also a few polished stone bowls, grindstones of basalt, axes, beads and a number of bone tools. Among the most remarkable finds are some small human figurines, made of a soft white chalk.

There are two types of this kind of figurine. The first type is a corpulent woman resting on her knees. As is usual with this type, the female characteristics - hips, breasts and bottom - are greatly exaggerated. "The power of the female is expressed in erotic volume and lush curves", as one archaeologist described these characteristics. The second type is a highly stylized human head.

The inhabitants of Tell Sabi Abyad II cultivated various kinds of cereals and kept sheep and goats. Hunting was less important; the main hunted animal was the gazelle.