Tell Zeidan is an archaeological site of the Ubaid culture in northern Syria, dates from between 6000 to 4000 BC.[1] The dig consists of three large mounds on the east bank of the Balikh River, slightly north of its confluence with the Euphrates River, and is located about 5 km (3.1 mi) east of the modern Syrian city of Raqqa (or Raqqa). This site is included within the historical region known as Mesopotamia and the Tigris-Euphrates river system, often called the Cradle of Civilization.
Archaeology
The site, with three submounds, covers an area of about 12.5 hectares.[2][3][4][5][6][7]
An international archaeological project, the Joint Syrian-American Archaeological Research Project at Tell Zeidan, were surveying and excavating the Tell Zeidan site. The project started in 2008, two seasons were completed. The third season was scheduled to start in July 2010.[8][9]
Muhammad Sarhan, director of the Raqqa Museum, and Gil Stein, director of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, are co-directors of the project.[10]
Part of the mound appears to have been looted after the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011.
^[1]Fisher, M. T., "Intrasite Variability and Changing Social Practices during the Ubaid-Late Chalcolithic Transition at Tell Zeidan, Syria", Paléorient. Revue pluridisciplinaire de préhistoire et de protohistoire de l’Asie du Sud-Ouest et de l’Asie centrale 48-1, pp. 73-97, 2022
^[2]Grossman, Kathryn, and Miriam Hinman, "Rethinking Halaf and Ubaid animal economies: hunting and herding at Tell Zeidan (Syria)", Paléorient, pp. 201-219, 2013
^[3]Smith, Alexia, Philip J. Graham, and Gil Stein, "Ubaid Plant Use at Tell Zeidan, Syria", Paléorient, pp. 51-69, 2015
^Fisher, Michael T., "The Late Chalcolithic 1 Period in Northern Mesopotamia: Tell Zeidan, Syria, in Regional Context", The University of Chicago, 2017
^[4]Hart, Thomas C., "Phytoliths, starch grains, and emerging social complexity at Tell Zeidan, Syria", 2014
^Anastasiou, Evilena, et al., "Schistosomiasis Parasite Found in the Prehistoric Middle East at Tell Zeidan (6500-6000 BP)", Lancet Infectious Diseases 14, pp. 1-6, 2014
^Stein, Gil J. (2009). "Tell Zeidan"(PDF). 2008-2009 Annual Report of The Oriental Institute. University of Chicago. pp. 126–137. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
^Stein, Gil J. (2010). "Tell Zeidan"(PDF). 2009-2010 Annual Report of The Oriental Institute. University of Chicago. pp. 105–118. Retrieved 2012-10-15.