Tell Ezou
Encyclopedia
Tell Ezou is a prehistoric, Neolithic
tell
, about 2 hectare in size, located between Krak des Chevaliers
and Homs
, in Syria
.
and neolithic
materials and three megalithic monuments as part of a survey by a combined project that commenced as a partnership of the Museum of Lebanese Prehistory
, Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums in Syria, the Mila and Fontanals Institution of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (Barcelona
) and the International Institute for Prehistoric Research in the University of Cantabria
(Santander
). Scientific direction was carried out jointly by Dr. Michel Al-Maqdisi (Directorate of Antiquities and Museums of Syria), Dr. Maya Haïdar Boustani
(Museum Lebanese Prehistory, LSU) and Dr. Juan José Ibañez (Mila and Fontanals Institution).
by a bulldozer. The four other soundings hit architectural remains.
Sounding FC82 revealed a foundation wall almost one meter wide formed by layers of basalt
boulders. Similar boulders were found to the west may indicate the existence of another wall perpendicular to the first. Bronze age pottery along with a serrated sickle
were found at this sounding and the walls and blocks suggested a rectangular building.
Sounding CA72 was taken in an area of 3 x 1 m where the surface layer suggested a mud wall, almost one meter wide in an east west direction. The wall was preserved to a height of 1 cm. South of the wall was a bed of stones suggested to be a floor. This area was excavated and another floor found ten centimeters lower than the first made of large basalt stones with diameters ranging from twenty to thirty centimeters. The wall and the lower floor were suggested to be different layers of occupation, the walls for the first were not found. Beneath this, sandy black earth was found where the excavation was halted. Bronze age pottery and flint were collected and a fragment of a bronze
object in the first level wall.
Sounding BQ97 excavated an area of 4 x 4 m. The surface was covered with a heap of stones which examination suggested was due to clearing of the fields for agriculture
. The remains of a wall were found under this rockpile, again approximately one meter wide. This was another foundation wall following a northwest to southeast direction, formed by two layers of large blocks of basalt. The presence of two aligned blocks southwest of the wall may indicate another perpendicular to the first. Pottery recovered was dated to the bronze age and obsidian
was found in this area including twelve carved pieces.
Sounding CQ87 was again a 4 x 4 m excavation which revealed a floor very near the surface that was semi-circular in shape and made of basalt stones with a diameter of approximately 10 cm. No walls were found but beneath these slabs was found another surface formed of flat tiled stones which are suggested to be two separate bronze age layers. Bronze age pottery was found along with a large number of worked flints and some obsidian. Lower still the team found another layer of architecture that they tentatively date to the neolithic
, this consisted of a dirt floor bounded by three walls that had been beaten until leveled. The walls drew a rectangular plan. Some stones formed a circle in the west of the building suggested a post hole in the dirt floor. The structure seemed to be part of a rectangular house oriented in an east-west axis. The post hole was an equal distance from both long walls which are build directly on bedrock which is a natural layer of altered basalt. Neolithic pottery of this level is made by hand and is very coarse with simple straight or sometimes ovoid form and notable for its lack of decor. Three parts of a sickle were found and a fragment of an Amuq point arrowhead, showing signs of having been made hastily. One piece of obsidian was found in between the bronze age and neolithic levels.
network and distribution of this material from the Anatolia
n sources. Neolithic levels have been documented at the bottom of the CQ87 souunding. This has levelled architecture where part of 3 m wide rectangular house was documented, its length was not determined. A layer of stones was found at the base of wall, indoor clay floors and a possible post hole. The archaeological material of this level has some similarities to those of Al Wakara 1 (H122) and Wadi Qawyak (H130), located in the basalt plain further east.
plantation or wheat
field. This may be his choice but he will have to clear the ancient blocks of basalt leftover from prehistory, an obvious risk to the site, but at least Doctor Boustani's team has recorded something here for local, regional and global heritage
.
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
tell
Tell
A tell or tel, is a type of archaeological mound created by human occupation and abandonment of a geographical site over many centuries. A classic tell looks like a low, truncated cone with a flat top and sloping sides.-Archaeology:A tell is a hill created by different civilizations living and...
, about 2 hectare in size, located between Krak des Chevaliers
Krak des Chevaliers
Krak des Chevaliers , also Crac des Chevaliers, is a Crusader castle in Syria and one of the most important preserved medieval castles in the world. The site was first inhabited in the 11th century by a settlement of Kurds; as a result it was known as Hisn al Akrad, meaning the "Castle of the...
and Homs
Homs
Homs , previously known as Emesa , is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is above sea level and is located north of Damascus...
, in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
.
Discovery and survey
The site was discovered in 2004 through finds of bronze ageBronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
and neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
materials and three megalithic monuments as part of a survey by a combined project that commenced as a partnership of the Museum of Lebanese Prehistory
Museum of Lebanese Prehistory
The Museum of Lebanese Prehistory is a museum of prehistory and archaeology in Beirut, Lebanon.-History:...
, Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums in Syria, the Mila and Fontanals Institution of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
) and the International Institute for Prehistoric Research in the University of Cantabria
University of Cantabria
University of Cantabria , in Spanish Universidad de Cantabria, is a public university located in Santander and Torrelavega in Cantabria, Spain. It was founded in 1972 and is organized in 12 schools and colleges....
(Santander
Santander, Cantabria
The port city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community and historical region of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain. Located east of Gijón and west of Bilbao, the city has a population of 183,446 .-History:...
). Scientific direction was carried out jointly by Dr. Michel Al-Maqdisi (Directorate of Antiquities and Museums of Syria), Dr. Maya Haïdar Boustani
Maya Haïdar Boustani
Maya Abdallah Haïdar Boustani is a Lebanese archaeologist and curator of the Museum of Lebanese Prehistory at Saint Joseph University, Beirut.-Biography:...
(Museum Lebanese Prehistory, LSU) and Dr. Juan José Ibañez (Mila and Fontanals Institution).
Excavations
The site was badly damaged in 2007 by new work done with flattening bulldozers; only the eastern part of one tell mound remained, with another cut in two, one of the megalithic monuments had been completely destroyed in the process. Seven small soundings were taken in total, three hitting bedrock between ten and thirty centimeters, it was suggested that this could have been the result of recent demolition of the land for a plantationPlantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
by a bulldozer. The four other soundings hit architectural remains.
Sounding FC82 revealed a foundation wall almost one meter wide formed by layers of basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
boulders. Similar boulders were found to the west may indicate the existence of another wall perpendicular to the first. Bronze age pottery along with a serrated sickle
Sickle
A sickle is a hand-held agricultural tool with a variously curved blade typically used for harvesting grain crops or cutting succulent forage chiefly for feeding livestock . Sickles have also been used as weapons, either in their original form or in various derivations.The diversity of sickles that...
were found at this sounding and the walls and blocks suggested a rectangular building.
Sounding CA72 was taken in an area of 3 x 1 m where the surface layer suggested a mud wall, almost one meter wide in an east west direction. The wall was preserved to a height of 1 cm. South of the wall was a bed of stones suggested to be a floor. This area was excavated and another floor found ten centimeters lower than the first made of large basalt stones with diameters ranging from twenty to thirty centimeters. The wall and the lower floor were suggested to be different layers of occupation, the walls for the first were not found. Beneath this, sandy black earth was found where the excavation was halted. Bronze age pottery and flint were collected and a fragment of a bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
object in the first level wall.
Sounding BQ97 excavated an area of 4 x 4 m. The surface was covered with a heap of stones which examination suggested was due to clearing of the fields for agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
. The remains of a wall were found under this rockpile, again approximately one meter wide. This was another foundation wall following a northwest to southeast direction, formed by two layers of large blocks of basalt. The presence of two aligned blocks southwest of the wall may indicate another perpendicular to the first. Pottery recovered was dated to the bronze age and obsidian
Obsidian
Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock.It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimum crystal growth...
was found in this area including twelve carved pieces.
Sounding CQ87 was again a 4 x 4 m excavation which revealed a floor very near the surface that was semi-circular in shape and made of basalt stones with a diameter of approximately 10 cm. No walls were found but beneath these slabs was found another surface formed of flat tiled stones which are suggested to be two separate bronze age layers. Bronze age pottery was found along with a large number of worked flints and some obsidian. Lower still the team found another layer of architecture that they tentatively date to the neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
, this consisted of a dirt floor bounded by three walls that had been beaten until leveled. The walls drew a rectangular plan. Some stones formed a circle in the west of the building suggested a post hole in the dirt floor. The structure seemed to be part of a rectangular house oriented in an east-west axis. The post hole was an equal distance from both long walls which are build directly on bedrock which is a natural layer of altered basalt. Neolithic pottery of this level is made by hand and is very coarse with simple straight or sometimes ovoid form and notable for its lack of decor. Three parts of a sickle were found and a fragment of an Amuq point arrowhead, showing signs of having been made hastily. One piece of obsidian was found in between the bronze age and neolithic levels.
Analysis and conclusions
The pottery is quite eroded and the bone is not preserved. The remains of flint evoke a very expeditious technology. There was an abundance of pieces of pressure carved obsidian that were used as tools. In addition, presence of maintenance products and splinters found with pieces indicates that this was worked on site. The relative importance of obsidian as stone tool material suggests the existence of a procurementProcurement
Procurement is the acquisition of goods or services. It is favourable that the goods/services are appropriate and that they are procured at the best possible cost to meet the needs of the purchaser in terms of quality and quantity, time, and location...
network and distribution of this material from the Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
n sources. Neolithic levels have been documented at the bottom of the CQ87 souunding. This has levelled architecture where part of 3 m wide rectangular house was documented, its length was not determined. A layer of stones was found at the base of wall, indoor clay floors and a possible post hole. The archaeological material of this level has some similarities to those of Al Wakara 1 (H122) and Wadi Qawyak (H130), located in the basalt plain further east.
Site conservation and potential demolition
Tell Ezou is located in a basaltic region with road access from Khirbat Al Hamam, where a well preserved bronze age and neolithic site awaits a more extensive excavation. It is difficult to classify or schedule as a monument and is situated on private land. The owners were very understanding and the team very well received by the locals during their surveys. They however expressed their interest to turn the archaeological site into an oliveOlive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
plantation or wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
field. This may be his choice but he will have to clear the ancient blocks of basalt leftover from prehistory, an obvious risk to the site, but at least Doctor Boustani's team has recorded something here for local, regional and global heritage
Heritage
Heritage refers to something inherited from the past. The word has several different senses, including:* Natural heritage, an inheritance of fauna and flora, geology, landscape and landforms, and other natural resources...
.