Archaeology Magazine - October 1967 - 49

TELL AL-RIMAH

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coherent unit in the building is the independent
shrine complex (Figure 8) consisting of the plastered shrine itself with a crude stone female statuette
(pictured in Archaeology 18 [1965] 155) on a
plastered bench, a court, and three associated storerooms. The foundations of the main room have now
been traced down through four levels. We had been
aware since the 1964 season that in the section of the
palace where we had reached the Nuzi level, a complex drainage system awaited elucidation. Our perplexity has only increased since 1965 when we discovered in one of the courts a large shallow plaster basin
of the early phase of the Middle Assyrian period. Presumably it served to catch rainwater. The water then
ran from the basin through a drain attached to drains
of the Nuzi period system which clearly led downward into the center of the building!
There are several reasons for believing the structure in Site C to be a palace: Even in Middle Assyrian times a "palace" is noted in a tablet. This is one
of the three most prominent mounds within the Rimali city walls and the Early Assyrian building foundations (dated to the time of the Old Babylonian
Hammurabi by fragments of three tablets) resting on
virgin soil are monumental and carefully constructed.
The storerooms of the mid-second millennium were
built on a grand scale which suggests an official edifice. The extensive and well constructed drainage system is far too elaborate for either the budget or requirements of a private citizen. The presence of a
shrine complex as well lends support to the theory
that this is a palace. Finally, in the rubble fill of Site
C, chiefly from the Nuzi period levels, we have recovered a good number of large terracotta wall nails,
decorated and plain; in other Mesopotamian excavations such nails are associatedexclusivelywith temples
and palaces.
The most outstanding find from the palace is a
glazed pottery vase (Figure 9) very similar to one of
the Middle Assyrian period found at Ashur. Connected yellow and cream triangles decorate the upper
portion of the pale green body. Among the numerous
sherds were a substantial number of fragments of fine
banded cups and sections with red-on-white painted
designs. Some good bronze implements included
knives, spear and javelin points, and a serrated sickle
blade. A small but interesting metal find was a twofigured molded lead plaque depicting a headless couple flanking an altar. This piece is very similar to
finds from Kíil Tepe in Anatolia. The man clutches
symbols to his breast and the woman cups hers in the
traditional manner. From Site C came terracotta rams'
heads and a zoomorphic wheeled jar. Otherwise finds
were scant as we were obligated to clear the Middle

Assyrian rooms and record complete plans of them
before proceeding to search for the archives and other
treasures of earlier palace levels.
Some hundred meters to the north of the temple
mound and built into the city wall is located the rectangular mound labeled Site D. This mound had long
piqued our curiosity when viewed from above because
of its regular features and association with the wall.
Disappointment occurred at once upon removal of the
topsoil- the symmetrical configurations of the surface
bore little resemblance to the confusion of architecture
beneath. Five periods of occupation have been identified: Islamic and/or Sassanian, Late Assyrian, Middle Assyrian, Nuzi, Old Assyrian. The architecture of
all periods consists of a series of connected rooms, so
that in reality the site is nothing more than a domestic
quarter where occupational debris accumulated over
several millennia, lending itself quite accidentally to a
misleading surface pattern which had seemed regular.
The most coherent architecture was found at Level 4,
the Nuzi period (ca. 1500 B.c.), in which some of
the buildings were terraced. As a result of intermittent occupation the buildings of the Middle Assyrian
period are the least impressive. As is often the case in
clusters of houses of the second millennium, many
burials were located within the domestic units. Apart
from one elaborate grave of the Nuzi period, the others were of the Late Assyrian period- twenty-two in
all. Besides the graves with their varied finds within
them, Site D produced a zoomorphic vessel, a stone
block with a graffito of a zebu, two Mitannian cylinder seals, one of glass and the other of frit.
The results of the second and third campaigns
reinforce the conclusions of the first season: Tell alRimah was founded as a religious center early in the
second millennium. The Nuzi rebuilding and restoration of the temple and ziggurat bear witness to the
fact that the religious importance of Rimah persevered after 1500 b.c. By 1250, however, the mound
no longer belonged to the gods, although it and all
the other buildings investigated continued in use. The
commercial life of the town must have maintained
some population until the inhabitants either died away
or deserted the site sometime before the end of the
millennium.
Dr. Theresa Howard Carter, Co-Director of the Tell
al-Rimah expedition for the UniversityMuseum (Philadelphia, Pa.) has excavated in Libya, Turkey, and
Italy. She taught Mesopotamian Archaeology at Bryn
Mawr College, 1961-63, where she received her doctorate and has served as Annual Professor of the
AmericanSchoolsof Oriental Research,Baghdad.
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Archaeology Magazine - October 1967

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - October 1967