第 XLV 巻

2024

チャルモ（ジャルモ）先史時代遺跡2023年度調査概要（英文）常木 晃，サーベル・アハメド・サーベル，渡部展也，
安間 了，サーリ・ジャンモ，牧野真理子，
宮内優子，キルシ O. ローレンツ，板橋 悠，
米田 穣，黒澤正紀，池端 慶

12世紀から19世紀にかけてのレバノン・ベイルートにおける日常生活：
土器からみて（英文）グレース・ホモシー・ゴットウォールズ

アヒル型石製分銅についての考察：鴨なのか，アヒルなのか（英文）常木麻衣

国士舘大学21世紀アジア学部附属
イラク古代文化研究所

© 2024 The Institute for Cultural Studies of Ancient Iraq, in the School of Asia 21,
Kokushikan University, Tokyo
ISSN 0285–4406
Published by the Institute for Cultural Studies of Ancient Iraq, in the School of Asia 21,
Kokushikan University, 1-1-1 Hirohakama, Machida, Tokyo, 195–8550, Japan
Printed in Japanby Letterpress Co., Ltd., Hiroshima

第 XLV 巻
目

2024

次

CONTENTSPRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO)
PREHISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS, 2023
Akira TSUNEKI, Saber Ahmed SABER, Nobuya WATANABE, Ryo ANMA, Sari JAMMO,Mariko MAKINO, Yuko MIYAUCHI, Kirsi O. LORENTZ, Yu ITAHASHI,
Minoru YONEDA, Masanori KUROSAWA and Kei IKEHATA………

1

EVERYDAY LIFE IN BEIRUT-LEBANON FROM THE 12TH TO THE 19TH CENTURY AD:
THE POTTERY ANALYSIS (SFI.415)
Grace HOMSY-GOTTWALLES……… 49
A STUDY OF DUCK-SHAPED STONE WEIGHTS:
WILD DUCKS OR DOMESTIC DUCKS

国士舘大学21世紀アジア学部附属
イラク古代文化研究所

Mai TSUNEKI………

63

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO) PREHISTORIC
AL-RĀFIDĀNINVESTIGATIONS,
Vol. XLV 2024
2023

1

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO)
PREHISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS, 2023
Akira TSUNEKI*1, Saber Ahmed SABER*2, Nobuya WATANABE*3,
Ryo ANMA*4, Sari JAMMO*5, Mariko MAKINO*6, Yuko MIYAUCHI*7,
Kirsi O. LORENTZ*8, Yu ITAHASHI*9, Minoru YONEDA*10,
Masanori KUROSAWA*11 and Kei IKEHATA*12

1.

Introduction

The team of the University of Tsukuba aimed to understand the Neolithization process in the Near
East and advance archaeological investigations in the eastern wing of the Fertile Crescent a step
forward. Slemani is not only located at the heart of the eastern wing of the Fertile Crescent but
also in the area where the study of Neolithization was initiated in the 1940s. Fortunately, with thegreat help and permission of the Directorate of Antiquities of the KRG, the University of Tsukuba
team started investigating Neolithization in this area in 2014. Excavations were undertaken at Qalat
Said Ahmadan (2014, 2015) [Tsuneki et al. 2015, 2016] in the Raparin area, in addition to surveys
at Charmo (Jarmo) and Turkaka (2016–2018) [Tsuneki et al. 2019] in the Chamchamal area.
The results of the excavations at Qalat Said Ahmadan were fruitful. We discovered anintermittent cultural sequence, ranging from the late phase of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic (middle of
the 8th millennium) to the Ubaid period. However, this sequence does not appear to include theearliest Neolithic deposits. The Neolithic cultural sequence discovered in Shimshara [Mortensen
1970] on the Raniya Plain in the Raparin area appears to be almost the same as that of Qalat
Said Ahmadan. We do not know whether the Raparin area lacks the earliest Neolithic deposits
or whether these sites lack the deposits of that period. Therefore, since 2016, we have explored
Neolithization in the Chamchamal area as well.
To develop a more complete scheme of the Neolithization process, we must understand the longcultural sequence from the Epi-Paleolithic to the Pottery Neolithic periods. In the Chamchamal areaof the Zagros region, research by the University of Chicago revealed the proximity of Cham Gawar,
Turkaka, a terminal Paleolithic site; Karim Shahir, a transitional site from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic;
and Charmo, an early Neolithic site (Figs. 1-1, 1-2). These are considered a crucial group of sites fordiscussing the Neolithization of the Zagros region. In recent years, they have been reexamined by the
UCL at Charmo (Fuller 2015, Carretero et al. 2023) and by the University of Liverpool at Karim Shahir.
We believe that further investigation of these sites and landscapes from new perspectives and using
technologies will further our understanding of the Neolithization process in the Zagros region. Therefore,
we had a strong motivation to re-examine these sites from a new perspectives and use novel techniques.
*1
*2
*3
*4
*5
*6
*7
*8
*9
*10
*11
*12

Professor Emeritus, University of Tsukuba
Researcher, Directorate of Slemani Antiquities and Heritage, KRG, Iraq
Professor, International Digital Earth Applied Science Research Center, Chubu University
Professor, Graduate School of Technology, Industrial and Social Sciences, Tokushima University
Researcher, Research Center for West Asian Civilization, University of Tsukuba
Assistant Professor, Research Institute of Cultural Properties, Teikyo University.
Ph.D. candidate, Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Center, The Cyprus Institute
Associate Professor, Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Center, The Cyprus Institute
Associate Professor, Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Tsukuba
Professor, The University Museum, The University of Tokyo
Associate Professor, Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba
Associate Professor, Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba

2

Akira TSUNEKI, Saber Ahmed SABER, Nobuya WATANABE, Ryo ANMA, Sari JAMMO, Mariko MAKINO,
Yuko MIYAUCHI, Kirsi O. LORENTZ, Yu ITAHASHI, Minoru YONEDA, Masanori KUROSAWA and Kei IKEHATA

Fig. 1-1 Three prehistoric sites along the Cham Gawra.

Fig. 1-2 UAV photo of Charmo, Turkaka and Karim Shahir.

With the kind permission of the Directorate of Antiquity and Heritage of the KRG, we
executed the measurement survey at Charmo in the summer of 2016 and created a detailed map and
3D images using GPS and UAV (Fig. 1-3).
In 2017, we conducted extensive GPS and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) surveys and createda detailed map covering Turkaka and Charmo. We also created small-sounding trenches at Turkaka
and identified the age and characteristics of the sites. The cultural layers are very thin (~ 0.5 m) andno definite architectural remains have been discovered. Two suitable datings of 14C indicate that thesite was used repeatedly and briefly during c. 18,500 – 16,500 cal. BC. The results of the sounding
excavations and inventory of chipped stones indicate that prehistoric people used the Turkaka
site as a place to produce chipped stones, especially blades and micro-blades, during the Zarzian
period, much before the Proto-Neolithic period. Thus, Turkaka is clearly a Pre-Neolithic site andnot directly related to neolithization. However, importantly, the Charmo-Turkaka-Karim Shahir

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO) PREHISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS, 2023

3

Fig. 1-3 Topographic map and orthographic image of Charmo made using UAV (made by N. Watanabe).

share similar environmental characteristics of being located on a freshwater-rich hillside surroundedby the Cham Gawra, with an abundance of chert suitable for stone tool making, and springs fromthe sandstone-marlstone cuesta topography, which were critical factors in the neolithization of the
Chamchamal area.
Owing to this in-depth knowledge of the location of the Chamchamal prehistoric sites, we
determined that Charmo was located on an extremely prosperous freshwater land. This environment
affected the formation of early farming villages in this area. Therefore, we decided to concentrate
our research on Charmo to explain the neolithization process in this area.
During the 2018 season, we continued
our measurement surveys at Charmo on alarger scale, particularly from the perspectiveof a series of springs. We also created small
soundings in three locations at Charmo to detect
cultural conditions for further investigation.
These investigations revealed that Charmo
was managed under extremely fruitful natural
conditions. To the south of Charmo, theunderflow water from the Zagros Mountains isgushed out by dozens or even several hundred
meters. A series of kani (Kani is a spring in
Kurdish) ranges in a few lines on a gentle
slope, and they seem to irrigate the gentle
slope land naturally toward the southwest
from the northeast (Fig. 1-4). Accordingly, it
is necessary to reconsider the preconceptionof primitive farming in the Zagros region as“simple rain-fed farming along the hilly flanks,”
as proposed by Robert Braidwood [Braidwood
1967]. We must add new perspectives and theconcept of “more complicated farming using
springs in the water reservoir area” to further
Fig. 1-4 Topographic map south of Charmo.
understand the farming practices of the early
Numerous springs (kani) exist to theCharmo people.
south of the Charmo site.

4

Akira TSUNEKI, Saber Ahmed SABER, Nobuya WATANABE, Ryo ANMA, Sari JAMMO, Mariko MAKINO,
Yuko MIYAUCHI, Kirsi O. LORENTZ, Yu ITAHASHI, Minoru YONEDA, Masanori KUROSAWA and Kei IKEHATA

Therefore, we decided to conduct our investigations at Charmo and hope to reconsider theCharmo site and obtain a variety of materials to reconsider the beginning of farming way of lifein the Zagros region. We are, therefore, very grateful that our survey application has once again
been approved by the Directorate of Antiquities and Heritage of the KRG and that the Directorateof Slemani Antiquities and Heritage fully supports us. During the 2019 season, we conducted
exploratory soundings at the Charmo site and explored the prehistoric fields in the modern wheat
field area south of the site. We also continued our work to extend Charmo’s topographic map. In
the 2020 and 2021 seasons, when we were unable to send a mission team from Japan because of
the COVID-19 pandemic, we asked the Slemani Department to continue with small soundings in
Charmo.
Fortunately, after the COVID-19 pandemic has faded, the Directorate of Antiquities andHeritage of the KRG allowed us to resume full-scale research at Charmo in 2022. With the newperspectives and purposes described above, we decided to take up the challenge of investigation at
Charmo again.
(Akira Tsuneki)2.

Excavations at Charmo, the 2023 season

Excavations in the previous season had two main purposes. The first purpose was to establish thechronology of the Charmo site and determine the date of the last phase of the Charmo village.
The second purpose was to reveal people’s lives in the Charmo Neolithic village by excavating a
relatively wide trench. For the first purpose, we set up a JT square on top of the Charmo culturaldeposits. The series of 14C data obtained from the JT square indicated that the Charmo Neolithic
village ended in the late 7th millennium BC. The upper four layers at JT square produced a great
number of potsherds, and they are thought to be the oldest pottery in Zagros, typologically ProtoHassuna, or earlier. More precisely, both in absolute and relative chronological terms, the demise of
the village at Charmo in the late 7th millennium can almost certainly be established. The J-II central
square investigation provided a glimpse into the aspects of village life in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic
period, including houses, tannor, and other basic living infrastructure [See Tsuneki et al. 2023].
Based on these results, the 2023 season excavations had two main objectives. The first wasto establish the chronology of the Charmo site from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic to the beginning of
the Pottery Neolithic period. In particular, we aimed to determine when villages began to form in
Charmo. For this, we had to dig down to the virgin soil at Charmo and collect a series of samples
for 14C dating from each layer to fix the absolute ages of the beginning of the Charmo settlement.
As for the villages at Charmo, last season’s excavations at the J-II central square yielded rich
results; thus, we assumed that continuing the investigations at the J-II central square would be themost useful, especially for gaining a deeper understanding of the conditions of the older Pre-Pottery
Neolithic villages.
J-II central square
The aim of the investigation in this excavation square was to explore the oldest cultural layers
at Charmo. Braidwood’s research showed that the oldest cultural layers of Charmo were only
detected in a small part of Operation J-I and Step Trench J-A, with a few trenches reaching virginsoil [Braidwood et al. 1983]. This left it unclear when and how the first settlement at Charmo
began operating. Therefore, we decided to dig further by cleaning Operation J-II, which was thewidest and reached the most extensive and relatively oldest cultural layer excavated by Braidwood
during the previous season. A 10 m × 10 m excavation square was set up (almost entirely within
Braidwood’s Operation J-II) using our benchmark (0,0) as a starting point, hitting a point 50 –60

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO) PREHISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS, 2023

5

m to the northwest and 30–40 m to the northeast. It was cleaned and dug down (Fig. 2-1). We
discovered various types of structures, such as a square-planned pisé building and well-preserved
tannor, in Layers 5 and 6 (following Braidwood’s Levels 5 and 6), and were able to capture a
glimpse of Neolithic village life at Charmo.
Braidwood excavated approximately four meters below the surface for Operation J-II and up

N3
80 m
JW1

N2
60m
G-10

JT

JII-S

JII Central

N1
50m

Magnetometry

WT

NW

JII-N
Braidwood
excavation

Magnetometry

BM
0.0

GPR

S1
-50

2018

S2
-100

JII-N
G-10
GPR

N

Magnetometry
2019

JII-S
WT

0

25

50

South Agricultural Field
Magnetometry
2022

JW1
J-T

S3
-200

JII Central
2023

JII-C, NW

South Agricultural Field

Fig. 2-1

Investigation squares in each season at Charmo.

75

100 m

6

Akira TSUNEKI, Saber Ahmed SABER, Nobuya WATANABE, Ryo ANMA, Sari JAMMO, Mariko MAKINO,
Yuko MIYAUCHI, Kirsi O. LORENTZ, Yu ITAHASHI, Minoru YONEDA, Masanori KUROSAWA and Kei IKEHATA

to the sixth-floor level. Pottery was discovered from the top to Level 5, but no potsherds werediscovered at Level 6. Therefore, the cultural deposits below Level 6 are Pre-Pottery Neolithic
layers. We hoped to excavate the cultural layers below this Level 6 (we called it Layer 6) and toreach the virgin soil, because we learn more about the period when people began to inhabit theCharmo site.
Because this season’s investigation was expected to last approximately 50 days, the digging
area was limited to the northwestern portion of the J-II central square (5 m × 5 m) to reach thevirgin soil (Fig. 2-2). We refer to this as the J-II central NW area. Therefore, an excavation square
was set up, hitting a point of 55–60 m to the northwest and 30– 35 m to the northeast from ourbenchmark (Figs. 2-1 and 2-2).
Layer 6, which was excavated in the previous season, was approximately 728 m asl. reaching
the basement of the pisé building (Str. 10) and tannor (Str. 11). In this season’s excavation area, J-II
central NW, ash pits and ash deposits were found in Layer 7, just below Layer 6 (Figs. 2-3 – 2-5).
Animal bones, stone vessels, bone implements, and clay figurines were discovered in andaround ash pits and deposits. One of the most beautiful artifacts was a complete bone spoon (Fig.
2-6). Its form is similar to the marble spoon excavated in the previous season, but it is thinner andmore delicate, requiring high-quality craftsmanship.
When Layer 7, consisting of ash pits and ash deposits, was removed, a hearth (Str. 22) andstone cluster (Str. 23) began to be detected, forming cultural deposits, that is Layer 8 (Figs. 2-3 and
2-7).
The hearth (Str. 22) consisting of black ash deposits was found at the northeastern corner ofthe excavated square (Fig. 2-8). An animal clay figurine was discovered alongside the black ash(Fig. 2-9).
The stone cluster (Str. 23), consisting of flat sandstones, was discovered in the southern portionof the excavation area (Fig. 2-10). Possibly, it was a part of the stone foundation for a pisé wall ora lid stone for a pit structure, but no definite remains were detected in this structure.
In addition to these stone cluster and hearth structures, many building materials and mat
fragments were discovered in this layer. Building materials consist of lumps of clay of various sizes
containing a lot of chaff and sometimes with traces of mats. These were likely used as pisé, ceilingor flooring materials (Fig. 2-11).
More direct evidence was the presence of mat fragments (Fig. 2-12). These are woven reeds,
such as baskets, and are the charred remnants of a ceiling or flooring material. Undoubtedly,

Fig. 2-2 UAV view of Charmo 2023 excavations.

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO) PREHISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS, 2023

7

these building materials were unearthed because houses and other buildings were located near the
excavation area.
From the middle of Layer 8, the excavation area was further limited to 5 m × 3 m, hitting
a point of 57–60 m to the northwest and 30 – 35 m to the northeast of our benchmark, and the
excavation was continued. After the removal of Layer 8 structures, a 0.3 – 0.4m thick layer with nosignificant structures was detected (Layer 9 upper). Below that was a black ash layer more than 0.5
m thick. We named Layer 9 snail layer. This is because a very large number of snails, over 20000
in total, were excavated from this ash layer (Figs. 2-13 – 2-15).
X55

X56

X57

X58

X59

X60

Y30
stone
vesselbead

ash depositas

h d ash deposit
ep
os
it

ash pit

bone
spoon

building
materialashdepositbead

Y31

ash deposit
Str. 21bone awl

mat 1
building
materialcore

ash deposit

mat

mat 2

Y32
ash deposit
clay animal
figurinebone awl

N

Y33
Str. 23mat

unfinished beadclay animal
figurine

Y34

Str. 22stone vesselash deposit
Y35
StonesAsh / burnt tracesMat

Layer 7Layer 8Fig. 2-3 J-II central, Layers 7 and 8 structures.

Fig. 2-4 Str. 21 (ash pit) in Layer 7.

Fig. 2-5 Ash deposits in Layer 7.

8

Akira TSUNEKI, Saber Ahmed SABER, Nobuya WATANABE, Ryo ANMA, Sari JAMMO, Mariko MAKINO,
Yuko MIYAUCHI, Kirsi O. LORENTZ, Yu ITAHASHI, Minoru YONEDA, Masanori KUROSAWA and Kei IKEHATA

Fig. 2-6

Complete bone spoon discovered from Layer 7.

Fig. 2-7 General view of Layer 8 (from west).

Fig. 2-9 Animal clay figurine discovered beside Str. 22.

Fig. 2-8

Fig. 2-10

Hearth (Str. 22).

Sand stone cluster (Str. 23).

Fig. 2-11 Building materials discovered from Layer 8.

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO) PREHISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS, 2023

Fig. 2-12

9

Mat fragments discovered from Layer 8.

Fig. 2-13 Layer 9 snail layer.

Fig. 2-14

Digging the Layer 9 snail layer.

Fig. 2-15 Large number of snails excavated.

A small percentage of the snails were subjected to fire and turned blue. However, because manyothers appear to have been boiled, snails must have been used in their diet. The snails excavatedwere the same species, likely Helix salomonica Nägele 1899, a type of escargot. Therefore, it isassumed that the snails were edible to the Charmo people.
Layer 9 yielded not only a large number of snails, but also many clay figurines (Fig. 2-16),
carbonized mat fragments (Fig. 2-17), carbonized seed deposits (Fig. 2-18), and animal bones (Fig.
2-19). These diverse and abundant objects indicate that this ash layer was a type of dumping groundwithin the Layer 9 settlement. The study of carbonized seeds and animal bones is expected to reveal
specific food habits of the Pre-Pottery village at Charmo. We are particularly interested in the bonesof large unearthed cattle. This is because, in the Pottery Neolithic and Pre-Pottery Neolithic layers
at Charmo that we previously investigated, sheep and goat bones were overwhelmingly abundant,Akira TSUNEKI, Saber Ahmed SABER, Nobuya WATANABE, Ryo ANMA, Sari JAMMO, Mariko MAKINO,
10 Yuko MIYAUCHI, Kirsi O. LORENTZ, Yu ITAHASHI, Minoru YONEDA, Masanori KUROSAWA and Kei IKEHATA

whereas cattle and wild boars were rarely discovered.
Below the thick ash layer (Layer 9 snail layer) is a slightly harder cultural deposit of lightyellow-orange color, with scattered limestone and sandstone and many animal bones. We named it
Layer 10 (Fig. 2-20).
As in Layer 9, carbonized seed deposits (Fig. 2-21) and clay figurines were discovered in this layer.
Interestingly, flat circular clay balls were found in these clusters (Fig. 2-22). Notably, four well-polishedstone axes were found in close proximity to each other, indicating deposits of some type (Fig. 2-23).

Fig. 2-16 Large animal clay figurine.

Fig. 2-17

Fig. 2-18 Carbonized seed deposit.

Fig. 2-19 Astragalus of a huge cattle.

Fig. 2-20 General view of Layer 10 from east.

Fig. 2-21

Carbonized mat fragment.

Carbonized seed deposit.

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO) PREHISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS, 2023

Fig. 2-22

11

Flat and circular clay
objects found in Layer 10.

Fig. 2-23 Well-polished stone axes discovered in Layer 10.
X57

X58

X60

X59

Y30

mat 7

Y31

clay balls
large animal bone

Y32

animal boneN

Further excavation revealed a pisé walland mud-plaster floor east of the excavation
area (Figs. 2-24–2-25). It was assumed to bepart of a rectangular plan building (Str. 24).
Therefore, we identified the cultural deposits
in which this building was located as Layer
11. The remaining pisé wall in the northern
section of the excavation area accounts for atleast four stages (Fig. 2-26). An adult burial(Sk5) was found in a pit dug into this pisébuilding (Fig. 2-27). Based on these findings,
it was possibly an underfloor burial of therectangular pisé building.
After removing the buildings and artifacts
discovered in Layer 11, we reached a reddishbrown colored marginal virgin soil at an elevationof approximately 725 m asl (Fig. 2-28).
Rough dwelling-pit-like structures (Strs.
26 and 28) dug down into the virgin soilof marl. A small ash pit (Str. 27) was also
discovered in virgin marl soil (Figs. 2-29 and2-30). It can be assumed that these dwellingpit-like structures were detected from thelowest cultural deposits at Charmo. Therefore,
these structures can be considered the earliest
evidence of living at Charmo.

Y33

mat 10
mat 6

mat 9
pisé wall

Y34

Str. 24plaster floor
sanilshells

pisé
wall

Sk5

Y35

StonesFig. 2-24

Pisé

PlasterMat

Layer 10Layer 11

J-II central NW, Layer 11 structures.

Akira TSUNEKI, Saber Ahmed SABER, Nobuya WATANABE, Ryo ANMA, Sari JAMMO, Mariko MAKINO,
12 Yuko MIYAUCHI, Kirsi O. LORENTZ, Yu ITAHASHI, Minoru YONEDA, Masanori KUROSAWA and Kei IKEHATA

Fig. 2-25

Pisé building in Layer 11.

Fig. 2-27 Adult burial discovered within the pisébuilding.

Fig. 2-26

Remains of the pisé wall in the sectionof the excavation area.

Fig. 2-28

Layer of marl that appears to be thevirgin soil beneath Layer 11.

Interestingly, a goat mandible was discovered with a small flint point just above the westernwall of Str. 28 (Fig. 2-31). Using imagination, this may be interpreted as the beginning of Charmo
village, when the people began to build simple dwelling pits for hunting, herding or other activities
on the Charmo marl. Topographically, Charmo is higher than the surrounding hills, even at 725 m
asl, with the elevation of the virgin soil ground immediately below Layer 11. In any case, it canbe assumed that the first people to come to Charmo set up a camp here, probably because it had agood vantagepoint that was suitable for hunting or other activities.
In addition to the ash pit and goat mandible, a clay figurine that might have been a wild boar
(Fig. 2-32), carbonized seeds (Fig. 2-33), and the entire rodent skeleton (Fig. 2-34) were excavatedabove the virgin soil, suggesting that a variety of activities took place on the virgin soil.
In the J-II central NW area, we reached the virgin soil at approximately 725 m asl, which isapproximately three meters deeper than Layer 6 excavated by Braidwood (Fig. 2-35). We collected
approximately 70 carbon samples for 14C dating from the excavated area to determine the absolute
age of Charmo’s earliest village.

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO) PREHISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS, 2023

13

X57

X60

X58

X59

Y30

Str. 26(dwelling pit?)
Y31

Y32

Str. 27
black ash pit
reddish-brown coloredvirgin soil of marlgoat mandible

Y33

N

lithic point

Y34

Str. 28(dwelling pit?)

Y35
Ash / burnt traces

Fig. 2-29 Dwelling pit-like structures discovered beneath of Layer 11 on the virgin-soil.

Fig. 2-30 Small ash pit found at the periphery ofStr. 26 dwelling pit.

Fig. 2-32 Clay figurine of the wild boar.

Fig. 2-31 Goat mandible discovered with a small flint
point at the periphery of Str. 28 dwelling pit.

Fig. 2-33

Carbonized seeds.

Akira TSUNEKI, Saber Ahmed SABER, Nobuya WATANABE, Ryo ANMA, Sari JAMMO, Mariko MAKINO,
14 Yuko MIYAUCHI, Kirsi O. LORENTZ, Yu ITAHASHI, Minoru YONEDA, Masanori KUROSAWA and Kei IKEHATA

Fig. 2-34

Fig. 2-35 North section of the J-II central NW area.

Rodent skeleton.

(Akira Tsuneki)
3.

Neolithic burials at Charmo, the 2023 season

Excavations in the 2023 season were concentrated in J-II central NW area. The skeletal remainsof six individuals were identified during the two excavation seasons (2022 and 2023) (Table 3-1).
During this season, the remains of two human skeletons were excavated, one from Layer 8 and theother from Layer 11, both belonging to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) cultural layers (Table 3-1).
Table 3-1 Skeletal remains from Charmo.
Skeleton
No.

Square

1

Sk1

JT

2022

5

2
3

Sk2
Sk3

J-IIC
J-IIC

2022
2022

5
6

4

Sk4

J-IIC NW 2023

8

5

Sk5

J-IIC NW 2023

11

6

SK6

JT

Year Layer

2022

5

Age

Sex

Burialtype

5yrs − unknown
adolescent
Adult− unknown
2 – 5yrs.
− unknown
adult− unknown
40 – 60yrs.
adultmale Primary
40 – 50yrs.
adult− unknown

Position

Body axis
Face
Grave
direction direction goods

Grave
pit

−

−

−

−

−

−
−

−
−

−
−

−
−

−
−

−

−

−

−

−

N

−

−

−

Left
−

Flexedposition−

Shallowgrave pit−

Sk4
It is a fragment of a human adult cranium discovered at the bottom of Layer 8 near the northwesternwall of the J-II central NW (Fig. 3-1). The cranium was buried below the corner of the whitishyellow floor. As the rest of the floor is outside the excavation area, it is not clear whether thelocation of the cranium is associated with the floor. The other half of the cranium and otherskeleton parts were missing. It was difficult to determine the burial type; therefore, it was classified
as unknown. No evidence of a grave pit or grave preparation was found.
Sk5
Sk5 is the primary burial of an adult, probably a male, discovered at the eastern edge of Square J-II
central NW in Layer 11 (Fig. 3-2). Parts of the skeletons were outside the excavation area. The
preservation condition of the bones was relatively good, except for the skull. The deceased wasburied in a tightly flexed position on the left side. The body axis direction was west-east, and thehead pointed to the west. Based on the deposition of the skull, it likely faced north.
The skull and upper body were initially located beneath the steps made to exit the excavationsquare. Workers smashed the frontal part of the skull while cleaning the step section; therefore, thePRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO) PREHISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS, 2023

15

Fig. 3-1 Sk4 A fragment of an adult cranium.

mandible and maxilla were damaged. The restof the skull remains intact in the step section.
After removing these steps, the skeleton was
revealed; however, some skeletal parts were
missing. The upper body was twisted, and it
is not clear whether the skeletal remains were
under the wall section. The skull, maxilla,mandible, a few ribs and vertebrae, and upperand lower limbs are present. The head wasleaned beside a large sandstone located behindthe skull. Notably, approximately 25 snail
shells were found at neck level at the base of
Fig. 3-2 Sk5.
the skull. Snail shells are likely to have been
intentionally brought to this place in relation to a funerary rite.
Initially, the bones of the lower and upper limbs were discovered; however, not all bones of thehands and feet were present in situ. The legs were tightly bent as if they were tightened by a rope,
both arms were bent, and the hands were placed over the knees. The hipbone was not extracted
because it was out of the excavation area in the eastern section.
Regarding the spatial location of the burial, the deceased was buried in a shallow grave pit beneath a
mud-plastered floor (Fig. 3-3). In addition to the grave pit, there was a pisé wall on the west side and a shortrow of small stones on the north and east sides. Another small pisé wall was discovered to the north of thestone. These structures are probably related to the rectangular plan building (Str. 24) in Layer 11 (Fig. 3-4).
The burial was likely associated with the building, and the grave pit was dug through the floor of the room.

Fig. 3-3 Location of Sk5.

Fig. 3-4

Eastern wall section of Square J-II central
NW area.

Akira TSUNEKI, Saber Ahmed SABER, Nobuya WATANABE, Ryo ANMA, Sari JAMMO, Mariko MAKINO,
16 Yuko MIYAUCHI, Kirsi O. LORENTZ, Yu ITAHASHI, Minoru YONEDA, Masanori KUROSAWA and Kei IKEHATA

Sk6
Sk6 is a fragment of a human skull excavatedduring the 2022 excavation season in Layer
5 in the NE part of the J-II central square,
as reported by [Tsuneki et. al 2023: 28] (Fig.
3-5). No number was provided at that time
to conduct further analyses. Analyses of theskeletal elements by Y. Miyauchi indicated thatthe fragments belonged to an adult individual.
Conclusion
Remains of six individuals were discovered at
Charmo during the 2022 and 2023 excavationseasons. Five of the six individuals werepartially represented by different skeletal
elements. One of the individuals was primarily
buried beneath the floor of a building, but
Fig. 3-5 Sk6 bone fragment.
lacked some skeletal elements. The other fiveindividuals were buried in different contexts,
such as next to a tannor-like structure, in a charred layer, or beside a structure building. However,
the relationship between human remains and these structures is not clear. In general, humanremains discovered in Charmo have not provided information that helps us understand and estimate
the Neolithic burial customs in the eastern part of Zagros.
A noteworthy discovery was the large number of snail shells in the thick layer (Layer 9) andat the neck of Sk5 in Layer 11. Snails are mollusks used in different cultures worldwide as asource of food and in rites. Both intact and cremated snail shells were uncovered at Charmo. The
large number of snail shells uncovered in Layer 9 indicates that they were consumed by people indifferent ways and that the nearby Cham Gawra River was the source of the snails.
The presence of snail shells in large quantities may be associated with ritual feasts or asymbolic significance event, and the snails were prepared and consumed during these events. On
the other hand, the snail at the neck of Sk5 might have been dedicated to the dead as a ritual
practice or grave goods.
(Sari Jammo)
4. The human remains from Charmo (2022 and 2023)
Aim and scope of the analyses
This is a preliminary report on human remains found at Charmo (Jarmo) during an archaeologicalmission from the University of Tsukuba in 2022 and 2023. Charmo is located in northern Iraq in
the Chamchamal area, on one of the hills along Cham Gawra. The site was excavated between
1948 and 1955 by the Jarmo Prehistoric Project, led by Professor Robert J. Braidwood of the
University of Chicago, to study the Neolithization process in the region. The cultural deposits datefrom the Pre-Pottery Neolithic to the Pottery Neolithic periods. In addition to a detailed descriptionof the human remains found in 2022 and 2023, this report also provides an overview of the humanremains found during the 1940s and 50s, as well as previous analyses. It should be noted that theunexcavated areas of the site may contain additional human remains.

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO) PREHISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS, 2023

17

Human remains recovered from the excavations during the 1940s and 50s
Several burials were found during excavations between 1948 and 1955 [Braidwood et al. 1960,
1983]. Human remains designated by identification codes S1 to S6 were reported from the J-I
operation, S1 to S5 from the J-II operation, and one burial near the M20 square [Braidwood et al.
1983: 427]. The results are summarized in Table 4-1. Charlotte M. Otten (University of Chicago)and Fredrick Barth (Ethnographic Museum of the University of Oslo) performed field observations,but no detailed information on human remains has been published yet. Burials were generally
articulated. However, the burials lacked uniformity in skeleton positioning. There were no tracesof grave pits, except for one case (J2-S3), and no grave goods. Given the limited number ofrecovered burials and seeming attention afforded to the burials, it was suggested that the Charmo
people buried their dead at an off-site cemetery [Braidwood et al. 1983: 427]. All human remains
recovered during the 1940s and the 1950s belong to the Pottery Neolithic period (Table 4-1).
Detailed studies on the cranium from J2-S4 were conducted by Sherwood L. Washburn fromthe University of Chicago and J. Lawrence Angel from the University of Pennsylvania, BaughInstitute of Anatomy. The prevailing research interest at the time was the origin of the populations,based mainly on the facial morphology of the cranium. Washburn reported that the cranium was“completely modern” with a “very high-ridged nose” [Braidwood et al. 1983: 427], whereas Angelobserved that “the general impression is a face showing Iranian and well as Mediterranean traits”[Dahlberg 1960: 248].
Albert A. Dahlberg from the Zoller Laboratory of Dental Anthropology at the University of
Chicago analyzed 96 permanent and 30 deciduous teeth from seven individuals to explore genetic
and nongenetic dental features [Dahlberg 1960]. Dahlberg concluded that the dental features from
Charmo were similar to those of modern Mediterranean and European populations and that theTable 4-1 Summary of the human remains excavated by Braidwood [Braidwood et al. 1983].
Square

J-I

Year

1948

Skeletonnumber

Age

Sex

Bone
preservation

Location/
Layer

S1

infantcba

articulated

S2

infantcba

articulated

Uppermostmeter ofdeposit

S3

adult

indet

articulated

S4

adult

indet

articulated

S5

adult

indet

articulated

S6

adult

indet

articulated

S1

–

–

articulated

S2

J-II

Near
M20

1950

1955

Third floor in
the corner ofa portion of
pisé walling

Positionof body

Grave
pit

Grave
goods

Remarks

Flexed, facing
opposite
directions

No

No

Recent burial?

No

No

Accidental
death by roof
cave-in?

Recent burial?

Supine,flexed, facing
South?*
Flexed?*Supine?
flexed*Left side
down, flexed*

Clearance ofthe first floor

–

No

No

indet

disarticulated Second floor

–

No

No

indet

Seconddisarticulated floor, partly
overlying S4

–

No

No

Prone, facing
West

Yes

No

S3

youthful/
young
adult

S4

adult

male

articulated

S5

early
teens

femalearticulated

Cleaning of
the second
floorSupine, flexed

No

No

–

adult

indet

articulated

0.75 m in
depth

–

No

No

cba: cannot be assessedindet.: indeterminate* inferred from Braidwood et al. 1983, Fig 172

Accidental
death?

Akira TSUNEKI, Saber Ahmed SABER, Nobuya WATANABE, Ryo ANMA, Sari JAMMO, Mariko MAKINO,
18 Yuko MIYAUCHI, Kirsi O. LORENTZ, Yu ITAHASHI, Minoru YONEDA, Masanori KUROSAWA and Kei IKEHATA

dental attrition pattern indicated the absence of gross, coarse particles in their diet. However, thespecific individuals included in Dahlberg’s analyses were not clearly stated in the publication.
Human remains excavated during the 2022 and 2023 season
Materials
Six individuals were recovered in 2022 and 2023 from Charmo in the J-II central square and JT
square (Table 4-2). In 2022, three individuals, represented mainly by cranial remains and consistingof both non-adults and adults, were found in the J-II central square. One individual was recoveredfrom the JT square. In 2023, the first primary burial discovered during the two previous excavationseasons was found in the northeast part of the J-II central square. Furthermore, a fragment of an
adult cranium was found in the northwestern part of J-II central square. The following subsections
outline the results of macroscopic and metric analyses of these remains.
Methods
Sk (abbreviation of “skeleton”) number was allocated to the accumulation of human bones. It isnoteworthy that a single Sk does not necessarily represent a single individual.
The age-at-death of adults was estimated comprehensively based on suture closure of the
cranium [Meindl and Lovejoy 1985] and dental attrition [Lovejoy 1985] in the absence of otherviable indicators (i.e., auricular surface of os coxae, pubic symphysis). Due to the highly fragmented
state of preservation and the limited elements recovered, the age-at-death of non-adult individuals(under 16 years old) was estimated by size comparison with reference models (©Bone Clones,
Inc.: fetus SCM-186-D, 14–16 months old SC-187-DH, 5 years old SC-183-DH, and 13 years
old FM-509-SET) to narrow the age range. These reference models were cast from the original
bones of modern specimens. Based on a size comparison with the reference models, the age range
was divided into a full-term fetus, fetus-2 years, 2 years, 2 – 5 years, 5 years, 5– 13 years, andindeterminate non-adult. However, it should be noted that age estimation based on size comparisonis only approximate and is less accurate than other methods (i.e., dental development, fusion of
epiphyses, and bone measurements).
Sex estimation was based on the cranial morphological characteristics outlined by Walker in
Buikstra and Ubelaker [1994] and the morphological characteristics of the postcranial bones. Sex
cannot be morphologically estimated based on non-adult bone elements that have not yet developed
secondary sexual characteristics. The stature of adults was estimated using the American whitemale and female formulae from Trotter [1970] and formulae for all population groups from Sjøvold
[1990], as no population-specific methods exist for the relevant population.
When Sk was represented only by the cranium, the preservation ratio of the cranium wasindicated by percentages of < 25%, 25–50%, 50 – 75%, and 75 – 100%.
Table 4-2 Overview of the human remains from Charmo (seasons 2022 and 2023).
Sk no.
Sk 1
Sk 2
Sk 3
Sk 4

SquareLayer
AgeJT
5 5–13 years old
J-II central
5 adult?
J-II central
6 2–5 years old
J-II central
8 40–60 years old

Sk 5

J-II central

11

40–50 years old probable male

Sk 6

JT

5

adult

cba: cannot be assessedindet.: indeterminate

Sex

Stature

cba
indet
cba
indet

indet

176.91 ± 4.32 cm [Trotter 1970]
174.99 ± 4.97 cm [SjØvold 1990]

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO) PREHISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS, 2023

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Results
Human remains excavated during the 2022 season
Contextual information on burials from 2022 is available in Tsuneki et al. [2023: 27 – 29].
Sk1
Sk1 is represented by small indeterminate calvarium fragments. These fragments were found at
a depth of approximately 3 m in Layer 5 of the JT square. The size of the calvarium fragments
indicates an age of approximately between 5 and 13 years. Preservation of the cranium was < 25%.
Sk2
Sk2 is represented by the frontal bone. This frontal bone was found in Layer 5 on the westernwall of the J-II central square. The right orbit of the glabella was preserved with fragments of thefrontal squama. The size of the bone is close to that of an adult but relatively gracile. The score of
the glabella for sex estimation was 1. However, sex estimation based on only one feature may beproblematic; therefore, sex was not estimated. Preservation of the cranium was < 25%.
Sk3Sk3 is represented by indeterminate small fragments of the calvarium of a non-adult, probably
between 2–5 years old, based on the thickness of the bone fragments. It was found on the floorof a pit in the J-II central square, north of a structure building (Str. 10). The association between
human remains and buildings is discussed. Preservation of the cranium was < 25%.
Sk6
Sk6 is a newly identified individual from bone fragments found in the northeast part of the JT
square in Layer 5. A new Sk number was given in 2023, as no Sk number was allocated to thebone fragments collected from this area during excavation. It is represented by the left orbital partof the frontal bone and the left greater wing of the sphenoid. The size of the frontal bone wassimilar to that of an adult; however, the frontal suture was persistent. Sex estimation is not possible
because of the lack of sex diagnostics within the recovered elements. Preservation of the cranium
was < 25%.
Human remains excavated during the 2023 season
Sk4
Sk4 is part of an adult cranium. It was found at the bottom of Layer 8 near the northwestern wall of
the J-II central square. 2/3 of the posterior right parietal, 1 /4 of the posterior left parietal, and 1 /3of the superior occipital region were preserved. The sagittal suture was completely fused and theline was mostly obliterated. Sagittal and lambdoidal sutures around the lambda are slightly visibleon the endocranial surface but are completely obliterated on the ectocranial surface. The age of anindividual is estimated to be approximately 40 – 60 years old. No sex diagnostics were available.
Preservation of the cranium was 25–50%.
Sk5
Sk5 was the first primary burial found during the two previous excavation seasons from the easternedge of the J-II central square in Layer 11. However, the cranium is poorly preserved. Fragmentsof the parietal and distal parts of the right supraorbital margin, right and left temporal, right and left
zygomatic, right part of the maxilla, and mandible were preserved. Postcranial elements included
the proximal part of the clavicle, right and left humeri, radii, ulnae, carpals, metacarpals, handphalanges, patellae, femora, tibiae, and fibula. Vertebrae and rib fragments are very few, which
may be due to the disturbance from the upper layer [Prof. Tsuneki, personal communication]. The
pelvic area and foot bones were not recovered, but there is a possibility that they remained in the
excavation trench section. The excavation and analysis of such unexcavated elements, still within
the archaeological strata, can only be completed during future excavation seasons.
Sex: Sexual dimorphic features of the cranium from the left mastoid process and right supraorbital

Akira TSUNEKI, Saber Ahmed SABER, Nobuya WATANABE, Ryo ANMA, Sari JAMMO, Mariko MAKINO,
20 Yuko MIYAUCHI, Kirsi O. LORENTZ, Yu ITAHASHI, Minoru YONEDA, Masanori KUROSAWA and Kei IKEHATA

margin are indeterminate. However, the postcranial bones are robust, which gives the impressionthat the individual was probably male.
Age: The age was estimated to be 40–50 years old from dental attrition.
Stature: The stature was estimated from the length of the left ulna (278 mm). Using
the formulae for American white males from Trotter [1970], the stature was estimated to be
3.70 * 27.8 + 74.05 = 176.91 ± 4.32 cm. Stature estimation using the formulae for all populationgroups from Sjøvold [1990] is 4.61 * 27.8 + 46.83 = 174.99 ± 4.97 cm.
Pathologies: Ante-mortem tooth loss was observed on the left side of the mandible. The alveoli
from the first to third molars were completely closed and resorbed (Figs. 4-1A, B). The height of
the resorbed part of the mandibular body was 18 mm. Linear enamel hypoplasia was observed in
the upper canines (Fig. 4-2).
Other features: All roots of the teeth and some bones were discolored green (Fig. 4-3). According
to pXRF measurements by Professor Ryo Anma from Tokushima University, the discolored area
contained significantly more manganese than the other areas measured [Prof. Anma, personalcommunication]. This discoloration was likely due to the post-mortem uptake of manganese fromthe soil.
Other human remains with no Sk number
The following outlines the results of the macroscopic observation of the bone fragments found in
2022 with no allocated Sk number.
Within the label “Human Bones?” are fragments of the calvarium and indeterminate boneFig. 4-1A

Fig. 4-2

Mandible of Sk5, superior.

Fig. 4-1B

Mandible of Sk5, lateral.

Fig. 4-3

Discolored tooth from Sk5.

Upper canines of Sk5 with linear enamelhypoplasia (white arrows).

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO) PREHISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS, 2023

21

fragments.
Within the label “Square J-II Central SW Basket no. 44, Underneath the floor of Str. 10” arefragments of the calvarium of indeterminate age.
Discussion and conclusions of the human remains from 2022 and 2023
Remains of a total of six mostly incomplete individuals were recovered during the 2022 and 2023
seasons at Charmo. They were found in layers from the end of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic to thebeginning of the Pottery Neolithic. The remains were highly fragmented, except for Sk5, which
was an articulated burial. Both adults and non-adults were found in both squares. One non-adultand one adult were found in the JT square. From J – II square, two adults, one probable adult, andone non-adult were found. Sex estimation was not possible for most individuals because of highfragmentation and lack of sex diagnostics within the recovered elements. Sk5, found in 2023, wasthe first primary burial discovered during the two past excavation seasons. Sk5 is a probable male,approximately 40–50 years old. The teeth and mandible show signs of strong physical stress andante-mortem tooth loss, pointing to further research directions regarding health and disease during
the transition from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic to the Pottery Neolithic period.
(Yuko Miyauchi and Kirsi O. Lorentz)
5.

Figurines and other clay objects from Charmo

Excavations during the 2023 season were concentrated in the J-II central square in the northwestern
part. Various types of objects made of different materials were discovered, including clay figurinesand other clay objects. All clay objects described in this report were discovered between Layers
6 and 11, and a few from the surface layers. Clay objects were among the most remarkablediscoveries made during the excavation season. Some objects were illustrated on an actual scale.
Also, sophisticated figurines were documented using three-dimensional (3D) modeling. In addition,
five broken or need-to-be-clean figurines were transported to Japan for cleaning, restoration, andanalysis, and they will be returned to the Slemani Museum.
Study process
According to Braidwood’s final report in 1983, more than 5,000 figures and other clay objects
were discovered [Morales 1983]. By the end of the 2023 excavation season, 83 clay objects were
uncovered. Clay objects are artifacts made of clay, unbaked or originally made of clay, and exposed
to fire at certain levels. Clay objects include human figurines, animal figurines, small and large clay
balls and other geometric forms. Some of the shapes of the clay figurines /objects were identified;
however, others are unclear, and further analyses are required.
The color of the clay of the figurines /objects tended to be darker than the surrounding soilin which they were discovered. Generally, their color was brown and dark brown; therefore, they
were in many instances easily identified during excavation; however, after drying, the color of someclay objects turned greyish brown. It is not clear whether a particular type of clay was used to
manufacture the figurines/objects or if the clay was mixed with other materials. Scientific analyses
were conducted on a number of samples to determine the clay content. Among the clay objects, atleast two pieces were coated with a visible red color, probably ochre.
The production technique of the figurines and other objects was relatively good. The surfacesof a few clay figures were smooth; however, others were coarse with cracks. None of the figurines
were baked; however, a few seemed to have been partially exposed to fire, and black-carbonized
traces were visible on the surface. Despite the discovery of several fireplaces, there was no evidenceof baking the figurines, indicating that some figurines might have been accidentally exposed to fire.

Akira TSUNEKI, Saber Ahmed SABER, Nobuya WATANABE, Ryo ANMA, Sari JAMMO, Mariko MAKINO,
22 Yuko MIYAUCHI, Kirsi O. LORENTZ, Yu ITAHASHI, Minoru YONEDA, Masanori KUROSAWA and Kei IKEHATA

Although not all clay figurines/objects were sufficiently dry, light cleaning was carried out using
soft brushes and dental tools.
Figurines and other clay objects
Clay figurines/objects were discovered in all the excavated layers, including the surface layer. The
largest number of clay figurines/objects were discovered in Layer 9, or the so-called snail layer(a large number of snail shells were discovered), Layer 8, and Layer 10 (Fig. 5-1). A few clay
figurines/objects were discovered intact; however, the majority were fragmented or had missing
parts, which made it difficult to determine their shape. The sizes of the clay figurines /objects wererelatively small ranging from 2 to 10 cm. The largest figurine represents an animal (No. 39). The
back half of the figurine (legs, tail, and parts of the body) is preserved; however, the head part ismissing.
Clay figurines / objects were sorted into seven groups (Fig. 5-2): animal figurines, humanfigurines, geometrically shaped clay objects, fragments of figurines, sherds of clay vessels, ovoidshaped clay objects, and unclassified clay objects. The final classification can be modified based on
further discoveries and studies.

Fig. 5-1 Distribution of clay
figurines / objects.

Fig. 5-2

Clay objects typology.

Animal figurines
Animal figurines were well elaborated, representing a sophisticated artistic sense. A minimum of
11 animal figurines were discovered (Fig. 5-3). The animal shapes of some figurines were clearlyobserved; however, it was difficult to identify the exactly represented creatures in some instances.
The face or facial elements for the five examples were missing or broken; hence, they were difficult
to categorize. All figurines were missing tails, except for two (No. 39 and 68) with short extensions.
Based on the animal figurine shape, three categories were identified: wild boars, dogs, and horned
animals (sheep or goats). In addition, some animals were represented partly by the partition of the
body and parts of the limbs, called indeterminate figurines. Animal figurines were standing on theirlimbs, sitting with the limbs extended, or sitting straight on their legs. The forelegs and legs of two
figurines (nos. 38 and 56) were combined, with the base resting on.
The best-preserved animal figures are No.16, 40, and 68. No. 16 and 40 represent dogs andNo. 68 represents a wild boar. The latest is small but the most beautiful among the animal figurines
collected during this season. The wild boar is approximately 3 cm long standing on its limbs. It
has a short, rounded nose, the left eye is visible, and the left ear is at the top of the head (the rightPRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO) PREHISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS, 2023

23

eye and ear are broken off). The head isconnected to the body; therefore, there isno neck. It has an accentuated spine at thecenter of the back extending straight to thetail, which is missing.
Human figurines
The number of human figurines uncoveredfrom Charmo during this season was limited(4 figurines). Unlike animal figurines, nocomplete human figurine was discovered(Fig. 5-4). The figures are small (less than
5 cm). The figurines were incarnated andwere likely depicted as females. These
Fig. 5-3 Animal figurines.
human figurines from Jarmo are similar tosome extent to female figurines discovered
during Braidwood’s excavations, and to those fromneighboring regions [Morales 1983; Zeidi and Riehl
2012].
Two of the figurines (No. 15 and 42) are in astanding position on a conical base and have theirhead broken off. One (No.15) was made with a bandlike shape wrapped around the waist, forming a visible
protrusion resembling a node at the joint point. The
Fig. 5-4 Human figurines.
other one (No. 42) has a protrusion in the chest area
on one side of the body (probably depicting breasts).
Another one (No. 30) is simply made and consists of fragments that seem to have been composited
together. The head and body parts exist, and the bottom part is broken. The head is bent down witha notch, dividing it into two halves; however, no facial features were observed. The last one (No.
53) is represented by a portion of a clay figurine, probably in the sitting position. A pair of legs
and part of the bottom of the body are present, but the top is broken, and no head was preserved.
Geometric-shaped clay objects
Geometric clay object collection was aremarkable discovery at Jarmo, and they
were modeled in shapes that included
balls, discs, cylinders, and polyhedrons(Fig. 5-5). In general, these objects
were devoid of markings, had plain andsmooth surfaces, and some appeared to beincomplete. The most common objects
were balls and discs of different shapes,
sizes, colors, and finishes. One small clay
ball (No. 59) was special, depicting a headwith eyes and nose, indicated by small
holes. Some of the balls were not finishedor well-modeled, with irregular grooves
on the surface, and were discarded.

Fig. 5-5 Samples of geometric-shaped clay objects: no.
46-1, no. 75 differently finished clay balls; no.
76 smashed or discarded clay ball; no. 37 clay
disc; no. 36-2 Polyhedron-shape; no. 59 head.

Akira TSUNEKI, Saber Ahmed SABER, Nobuya WATANABE, Ryo ANMA, Sari JAMMO, Mariko MAKINO,
24 Yuko MIYAUCHI, Kirsi O. LORENTZ, Yu ITAHASHI, Minoru YONEDA, Masanori KUROSAWA and Kei IKEHATAIn Layer 10 of the excavation square, unique assemblages of clay balls were excavated next toeach other in the same place (Fig. 5-6 middle). The assemblage comprises two types of balls, andat least seven clay balls were discovered. The first type comprises four balls arranged in a circularform around the fifth ball in the center (Fig. 5-6 right). The balls were solid and intact; however,some broke off during the excavation. The second type comprises two clay balls (Fig. 5-6 left).
The upper parts of the balls broke off during the excavation; however, they were spherical hollow
clay balls. No specific elements were found on the balls. The balls were wet, fragile, and left todry before restoration and surface cleaning. These hollow balls are among the oldest of their kindin the Near East. The purpose of these artifacts is not yet clear; -although it is early to assumethey seem to be like hollow clay balls or sphere-shape that contain geometrical shapes “tokens”
connected to the beginnings of literacy in the succeeding periods in the ancient Near East.

Fig. 5-6 Assemblages of clay balls. Left: hollow clay balls; right: assembly of five clay balls.

Fragments of figurines
This collection contains 22 objects
found in different parts of the
excavation area (Fig. 5-7). These
are fragments of a variety of partsof clay figurines that probably
broke off of their original bodies.
This collection contains conicaland circular bases of figurines(10 samples), cylindrical parts ofFig. 5-7 Fragments of figurines: no. 6 of clay figure depictedfigurines (seven samples), stalkwith red ocher; no. 11 and no. 60 figurines with conicalfigurines (three samples), and upperbases; no. 29 parts of figurine body; no. 34 and no. 43
parts of figurines (two samples).
stalk-type figurines.
One of the remarkable samples
in this collection is a fragment of aclay figurine coated with a red pigment. This object was brought
to Japan for restoration and analysis. Preliminary analysis indicatedthat the pigment was red ochre.
Ovoid-shaped clay objects
A distinctive discovery among the collections of clay objects was
the presence of two ovoid-shaped samples. Their shapes are unique,and the purpose of using these types of objects remains unclear. The
first sample (No. 55) was not intact; only half of the object was
uncovered, whereas the other half was missing. Its color was dark,
probably owing to deep firing. The second sample (No. 77) (Fig. 5-8)

Fig. 5-8

Ovoids-shaped
clay objects.

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO) PREHISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS, 2023

25

was also fired, and a dark
black color was visible on
the surface. The sample
was intact, but fragile
when excavated; however,some parts broke up
during moving.
Unclassified clay objects
Fig. 5-9 Unclasified clay objects.
Unclassified clay objects
refer to a collection of 17
objects discovered in the same contexts as other clay objects (Fig. 5-9). They are neither complete
nor have a particular shape. Therefore, they are difficult to classify. They are likely parts of clay
figurines/objects, discarded objects, or residues when clay objects were manufactured. One object(No. 12) was unique with a hollow pointed end and two small holes on either side of the pointed
end.
(Sari Jammo)
6.

Other objects discovered during the 2023 excavations

Excavations in the Charmo J-II central NW area in 2023 investigated layers below Layer 6, which
was excavated in the previous season. A wide variety of objects were discovered from each layer,from Layer 6 to the pit-dwelling structures dug down from Layer 11’s virgin soil. Here, we present
a summary of the artifacts, excluding natural remains such as human bones, animal bones, andcarbonized plants. Note that the clay objects were reported in the previous section.
Stone and clay vessels
A few potsherds were recovered from Layer 5 last year, but none were discovered in Layer 6.
During this season’s investigation, not a single potsherd was recovered from the Layers 6 – 11
cultural deposits, except for a few pieces recovered during the cleaning of the fill in the previous
season’s research area on the first day of the season. In other words, all the cultural strata
investigated this season were from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period; thus, stone vessels replaced
pottery as container vessels. Fifty-seven stone vessels of various sizes made of marble, limestone,
and sandstone were excavated. Most were small fragments; however, some contained whole forms
that could be reconstructed. The marble vessels were often bowl-shaped with a curved body andsemicircular cross section, ranging from small (Fig. 6-1:1) to medium sized (Fig. 6-1:2). Some
vessels had a body that was not curved but rather extended in a straight line toward the rim (Fig.
6-1:3). The marble vessels were beautifully polished. The limestone vessels were mainly mediumto-large-sized, but most were fragments and could not be reconstructed into their original shape.
The sandstone vessels ranged in size from small to large ( > 30 cm in diameter). Shallow bowls(Fig. 6-1:4) were prominent, but there were also semicircular bowls (Fig. 6-1:5) and large bowls(Fig. 6-1:6).
Stone vessels were discovered in the lowest layers, 11 to 6, and there is no doubt that somewere from the Charmo Pre-Pottery Neolithic village. They were recovered from Layer 5 of J-II
central and Layer 5 onward of JT square, the cultural layer from which pottery was recovered, so it
is clear that stone vessels continued to be used after the introduction of pottery at Charmo.
Pottery-related objects of interest were also recovered. Two clay vessels (Figs. 6-2-1 and
6-2-2) were discovered in the snail layer of Layer 9. They are very small objects made of unfiredAkira TSUNEKI, Saber Ahmed SABER, Nobuya WATANABE, Ryo ANMA, Sari JAMMO, Mariko MAKINO,
26 Yuko MIYAUCHI, Kirsi O. LORENTZ, Yu ITAHASHI, Minoru YONEDA, Masanori KUROSAWA and Kei IKEHATA

clay, and it is unclear whether they served as vessels given their size and shape. There were no
similarities in size or shape among the pottery discovered in large numbers in JT square Layers 4
and above. An additional small sandstone vessel excavated from Layer 6 is interesting. Its interior
and exterior surfaces are covered with yellow slip, as is done on pottery (Fig. 6-3). Although it isa small fragment, it may indicate that stone vessels were sometimes decorated like pottery.

1

2

3

4

5

0

6

10cm

Fig. 6-1 Stone vessels made of marble (1-3) and sandstone (4-6).

1

0

5 cm

Fig. 6-2 Clay vessels in Layer 9.

2

0

5cm

Fig. 6-3 Sandstone vessel covered
with yellow slip discoveredin Layer 6.

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO) PREHISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS, 2023

27

Bone implements
A beautiful bone-spoon was unearthed in Layer 7 (Fig. 6-4). It is similar in size and shape topreviously excavated marble spoons but exhibits a more delicate construction. The tip of the handle
is cut at an angle and incised. At least 11 other bone
implements, including awls, needles, and spatulas, werealso discovered (Fig. 6-5).
Stone axes
Five stone axes were found in Layer 10 in close proximity(Figs. 6-6 and 6-7). The materials were serpentinite andchert with beautiful finishes. The largest stone axe (Fig.
6-7) was the most notable, with a bitumen-like material
remaining on the front and back where the handle was
attached to the opposite side of the blade. Scientificanalysis of this material is currently underway. If it isbitumen, it will be an example of the use of bitumen asa handle anchoring material.
0

Ornaments
Marble bangles, marble and chert beads, and pearlyshell pendants such as Unio were discovered (Fig. 6-8).
Unfinished beads and other ornaments were unearthed,
indicating that they were made in Charmo.
Chipped stone industry
A total of 1,345 pieces of chipped stone were discoveredin the J-II central NW area during the 2023 season.
Of these, 971 were flint and 374 were obsidian. The
flints included natural flint stone, primary cores,
blade cores, flake cores, core preparation flakes, andmicroblade cores, which clearly indicates that blade
production took place within Charmo village, including
sickle elements, scrapers, burins, notches, points, anddrills, all of which were few in number. There were asignificant number of truncated and retouched blades;

5cm

Fig. 6-4 A beautiful bone-spoon unearthedin Layer 6.

Fig. 6-5 Various bone implements.

Akira TSUNEKI, Saber Ahmed SABER, Nobuya WATANABE, Ryo ANMA, Sari JAMMO, Mariko MAKINO,
28 Yuko MIYAUCHI, Kirsi O. LORENTZ, Yu ITAHASHI, Minoru YONEDA, Masanori KUROSAWA and Kei IKEHATA

Fig. 6-6

Stone axes unearthed in Layer 10.

Fig. 6-7

Stone axe with traces of bitumen unearthedin Layer 10.

Fig. 6-8 Various ornaments made of marble, chert and shell.

therefore, it is likely that these were sickle elements, but most of them lacked a sickle sheen. Evenamong the blades that can be classified as sickle elements, there were many examples in which the
sickle sheen was very thin. I cannot determine whether the reason for this is the harvesting method
or if harvesting itself was not performed very often.
As far as obsidian is concerned, 15 blades and 296 microblades were counted, but only 2
obsidian cores and 4 core preparation flakes were found, making them rare. If obsidian production
took place in Charmo village, it was minimal, and most of the obsidian was probably brought tothe village in its product form. Tools included notches, drills, and scrapers; however, only a few
were found. Therefore, we can assume that obsidian tools were used as microblades. Two obsidianside-brow blade flakes were discovered.
Mats woven with reeds
Following last season’s excavations at J-II central, many fragments of mats woven with reeds
have been unearthed in this seasons’ investigation. If even the smallest fragments are counted, thenumber of pieces is in the dozens. However, approximately only 10 good and beautiful remaining
mats larger than 10 × 10 cm square exist in total. One mat each from Layers 7– 9 and seven from
Layer 10 were excavated. These mats are made by weaving reeds into a meshwork, which remains
carbonized (Fig. 6-9). In the Braidwood investigations, examples of “reed flooring” left covering
the floors of buildings have been identified, including J-I operation level 6 and J-II operation level 5[Braidwood et al. 1983: Fig. 41 and Fig. 51]. In our example, whether these are mats on the flooror part of the ceiling material is not clear, although they appear to be basically similar.
We can propose three candidates for the materials of these carbonized mats discovered at
Charmo. All are water reeds and straws that grow alongside of the kani water near Charmo. Theyare Hasir, Zhash, and Qamish (Fig. 6-10) in the local language. After comparing modern specimens
with carbonized mats, we temporally concluded that the mats were woven by loosening and beating
Qamish stems (Fig. 6-11). The scientific name of Qamish seems to be Phragmites karka (Retz.).
Qamish stems are often used as ceiling material in modern Kanisard village. As Qamish grows
relatively tall, it is often planted in the courtyards of houses in the Kanisard village to provide

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO) PREHISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS, 2023

29

shade. Qamish might have been also planted in Neolithic Charmo houses, and likely used as partof the building material.

Fig. 6-9

Fig. 6-10

Mats woven with reeds.

Candidates for the material of mats(left: Hasir, middle: Zhash, andright: Qamish).

Fig. 6-12 Set of quern and ground stone foundin Layer 10.

Fig. 6-11 A: Cross section of stem of modern Qamish,
B: Inside of stem of modern Qamish, C:
Mat fragment from Layer 7, D.F: Matfragments from Layer 8, E: No. 4 Mat from
Layer 10 (Photos by S. Tsuneki).

Querns and ground stones
In Layer 10, a large quern was unearthed, as well as a ground stone nearby (Fig. 6-12). Although
only a small number of these tools have been excavated, these tools were likely used to grind wheat
into flour.
(Akira Tsuneki)Akira TSUNEKI, Saber Ahmed SABER, Nobuya WATANABE, Ryo ANMA, Sari JAMMO, Mariko MAKINO,
30 Yuko MIYAUCHI, Kirsi O. LORENTZ, Yu ITAHASHI, Minoru YONEDA, Masanori KUROSAWA and Kei IKEHATA

7.

Obsidian stratigraphy of the Charmo J-II central square

To establish an obsidian stratigraphy from the Charmo site, we performed chemical compositional
analyses of the obsidian tools excavated from the J-II central square deepened during the springsummer 2023 season, based on in-situ X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF) data. We used an
Olympus VANTA VCR-CCC (Rh target, 4 W X-ray tube) portable XRF and allocated 30 s to
Beam 1 (at an accelerating voltage of 40 kV to measure the concentrations of Ti, V, Cr, Mn, and23 elements heavier than Fe) and 60 s to Beam 2 X-ray irradiations (to measure Mg, Al, Si, P, S,
K, Ca, Ti, and Mn at an acceleration voltage of 10 kV). The reliability of these measurements
was evaluated by measuring a set of standard rock-slab samples with known concentrations ofeach element (Anma et al., 2023). Based on repeated analyses of the rock-slab standards, theconcentrations of Al, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, Zn, Rb, Sr, Y, and Zr with good correlations between themeasured and recommended values were confirmed to be reliable and used for further consideration.
The average LE (total amount of elements lighter than Na) of 66 repeated measurements performedon the flat surfaces of standard Shirataki obsidian slabs was ~ 56%.
We analyzed 391 obsidian tools excavated from Layer 6 to Layer 11 of the J-II central
square NW area during the 2023 field season. To minimize the errors in the analytical values dueto thickness and surface conditions (e.g. surface irregularity and roughness) of the samples, theanalytical values were evaluated when LE fell within the range between 58% and 45%. In total,
297 obsidian data were within this range out of the total 391 data sets. Al and Ca data were notused for the current analyses because their measurements tended to be influenced by the thickness
and surface conditions when compared with heavier elements.
Together with 216 obsidian data collected during the 2022 field season from Layers 5 and 6of the J-II central square, 513 obsidian data were plotted on the Sr-Zr diagram (Fig. 7-1 left). In
the diagram, the measured obsidian tools can be broadly divided into three groups: Group I with Zr
concentrations of 200 to 300 ppm and Sr concentrations of approximately 50 ppm; Group II with
Zr concentrations of over 1,000 ppm and no Sr, with two exceptions from Layer 6, which contain a
few ppm Sr; and Group III, which contains ~ 15 ppm Sr and ~ 200 ppm Zr.
In the Rb/Zr-Fe/Mn diagram (Fig. 7-1 right), Group II obsidian samples can be divided into
Group II-1, with Rb/Zr ratios below 0.19 and Group II-2 above 0.19. When comparing the Fe /Mnratios of the J-II central square Group II-1 obsidian samples with those excavated from Layers 1 to
5 of the JT square of Charmo (Fig. 7-2) [Tsuneki et al., 2023], it appears that Group II-1 obsidian

Fig. 7-1

Sr-Zr plot (left) and Rb/Zr-Fe/Mn plot (right) for the obsidian tools excavated from
Layers 5 to 11 of the J-II central square during the 2022 and 2023 field seasons.

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO) PREHISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS, 2023

was more frequently used during the Layers 1 to
5 period of the JT square, whereas in the Layers
5 to 11 period of the J-II central square, Group
II-2 obsidian was mostly used. The comparison
further indicated that half of the J-II central
Group II-1 obsidian tools (Group II-1b) had Fe /Mn ratios higher than 48, whereas this component
was not significant in the JT square, and the
majority (Group II-1a) had a lower Fe/Mn ratio(42–47).
The relative frequencies of these obsidiangroups are listed in Table 7-1 for each stratigraphic
horizon of the J-II central square together withthe total number of appearances. The total numberof obsidian tool appearances decreased withincreasing depth from Layers 5 to 11. Table 7-1
and the relative frequency illustrated in Fig. 7-3

Fig. 7-2

31

Rb / Zr-Fe / Mn plot for the obsidian
tools excavated from Layers 1 to 5of the JT square during the 2022 fieldseason.

Table 7-1 Classification of J-II central square obsidian groups based on geochemistry and their relative
frequencies in % and number of appearances (in brackets) are indicated. Data from the 2022
and 2023 field seasons are included in the statistics.
JIIC trench
Layer 5Layer 6Layer 7Layer 8Layer 9Layer 10Layer 11

Group I
34% (35)
60% (86)
76% (78)40% (37)48% (10)92% (23)
96% (25)

Group II-1a
5% (5)
8% (11)
4% (4)
2% (2)
24% (5)
4% (1)
4% (1)

102

143

Layer 5Layer 6

Group II-1b
3% (3)
0% (0)
2% (2)
13% (12)
9% (2)
0% (0)
0% (0)

Group II-2
58% (59)
31% (45)
18% (19)
45% (42)
14% (3)
4% (1)
0% (0)JIIC obsidian
103

93

21

Layer 7Layer 8Layer 925

Group III0% (0)
1% (1)
0% (0)
0% (0)
5% (1)
0% (0)
0% (0)

26

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%

Group I

Fig. 7-3

Group II-1a

Group II-1b

Layer 10 Layer 11

Group II-2

Group III

Standard obsidian stratigraphy of the Charmo J-II central
square established using the data set collected during the2022 and 2023 field seasons.

total
102
143
103
93
21
25
26

Akira TSUNEKI, Saber Ahmed SABER, Nobuya WATANABE, Ryo ANMA, Sari JAMMO, Mariko MAKINO,
32 Yuko MIYAUCHI, Kirsi O. LORENTZ, Yu ITAHASHI, Minoru YONEDA, Masanori KUROSAWA and Kei IKEHATA

indicate that Group I obsidian was mostly used in the lowermost Layers 10 and 11, whereas Layers
9 to 5, Group II-2 obsidian became more frequently used. The use of Group II-1 obsidian was not
significant throughout these periods but did exist. Group III obsidian appeared only in Layers 6
and 9.
Previous studies by Maeda (2009), Frahm (2012), Chataigner and Gratuze (2014a, b), andCampbell and Healey (2016) showed that the Group I obsidian was most likely sourced at Bingöl
B obsidian site, whereas Group II-1 and Group II-2 obsidians may be correlated with Nemrut Dağand Bingöl A obsidian sites, respectively. Thus, throughout the late Pre-pottery Neolithic period,
Bingöl B (Group I obsidian) was a major supplier of obsidian to the Jarmo site. Over time, but
still during the PPN period, the Bingöl A (Group II-2 obsidian) producer won the position of the
primary producer. Nemrut Dağ (Group II-1 obsidian) supplied obsidian to the Charmo site from thevery beginning, but it was never a major supplier during the PPN period. Careful consideration of
producers in Groups II-1b and III is necessary.
(Ryo Anma)
8.

Ethnoarchaeological study on the tannor discovered during the 2022 season

During the 2021 excavation season, a very well preserved tannor (Str. 12) was detected externallyon the west wall of Str. 10 in Layer 6 of the J-II central. As previously reported, the floor surfaceof the tannor is made of beautiful, blackened mud plaster, with a hole on the northern side forsmoke exhaust or air vents (Fig. 8-1). Although parts of the walls of the tannor remained, it isunclear where the opening was located because the upper structure was not preserved. Braidwood[Braidwood et al. 1983] discovered a similar oven-like structure and tannors of this construction;
however, the original use of this type of structure was not specified. Although it was highly likely
a cooking facility, no carbonized material or other artifacts were recovered from tannor; therefore,
it is unclear what type of cooking method was used.
In recent years, microscopic observation of food remains (carbonized cereals and other foodproducts) has allowed us to establish a method for distinguishing cooking methods (e.g., bread andporridge) [Fuller and Gonzalez Carretero, 2018]. Although further analysis of botanical remains
and other artifacts discovered at the site is needed to make reasonable suggestions on the use of
these structures, we conducted an ethnographic survey on modern tandoor in Kanisard, a village
located near the site, to gather reference information. During the project period, we visited village
residents’ households to observe the structure
and use of tandoor.
Tandoor (known as also “Tannor”) is a
pot-shaped or cylindrical earthenware ovenwith an opening at the top, commonly found in
the countryside of the Middle East. Tandoor
is commonly used for baking thin, disc-shaped
loaves of bread that are eaten daily in theregion. The structure of the tandoor varies
regionally. They may be cylindrical, conical,
or jar-shaped, with an opening at the top, andsometimes accompanied by a ventilation holenear the bottom. Tandoors with ventilation
holes are common in modern Iraqi Kurdistan,
including Kanisard.
Fig. 8-1 3D image of tannor (Str. 12), discovered
In Kanisard village, each house has aon the western wall of the Str. 10 building.

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO) PREHISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS, 2023

33

Fig. 8-2 3D image of modern tandoor at Kanisard village near Charmo.

small room in the courtyard for tandoor to bake disc-shaped
flat thin bread for daily consumption. The tandoor that we
observed was embedded underground and had a jar shape(Fig. 8-2). The interior was composed of clay. A ventilation
tunnel used to adjust to the fire led to an opening hole in
the wall of the tandoor. The diameter of the opening of the
tandoor was 60 cm and the depth was approximately 85 cm.
Once the wood fuel placed at the bottom was heated, breaddough was quickly pasted onto the wall using a small cushion
made of fabric.
The bread eaten in Iraqi Kurdistan is relatively thin;
therefore, it takes only a few dozen seconds for one piece ofbread to be baked (Fig. 8-3). The fuel and ash are placed
inside and removed through the openings. The strength of
the fire is adjusted by opening and closing the ventilation
hole that emerges from the ground. Because the structure of
the tandoor room is not airtight and has vents on the wall,
it appears that the smoke from the tandoor does not fill theinside of the room.

Fig. 8-3

Baking bread.

Conclusion
Observations of tandoor in the village of Kanisard were useful for understanding the variations inancient and modern fireplaces and food preparation techniques. The use of Str. 12 at Charmo iscurrently unclear; however, future regional comparative studies with similar fireplaces from otherarchaeological sites will be carried out, and ethnographic data will be collected to determine thetype of consumed plants and animals, cooking-related activities, and tools excavated at Charmo.
(Mariko Makino)
9.

Survey and preliminary reconstruction of the Neolithic land use around Charmo

The field survey
A survey around Charmo was conducted to clarify the distribution of artifacts. The purpose of theAkira TSUNEKI, Saber Ahmed SABER, Nobuya WATANABE, Ryo ANMA, Sari JAMMO, Mariko MAKINO,
34 Yuko MIYAUCHI, Kirsi O. LORENTZ, Yu ITAHASHI, Minoru YONEDA, Masanori KUROSAWA and Kei IKEHATA

survey was to understand the spatial patterns of human activity and to identify areas with minimum
land surface erosion1). The survey was conducted on June 26, 27 and 29, 2023 by Watanabe andJammo. Each surveyor used a hand-held GPS device to record both the tracklogs and positionsof the artifacts. When several artifacts were continuously found within a certain spatial extent,
we recorded them as one “location” with a representative coordinate. Tracklogs were used to
distinguish the difference between the “no artifacts” and “haven’t been surveyed” for the place
where nothing was recorded. In addition, tracklogs were valuable in evaluating the probability offinding artifacts, as noted in the following section. The artifacts found in the survey were mostly
stone tools (Fig. 9-1). Not only the stone tools, but also artifacts such as bricks and pottery sherds
were found. Most stone tools seem to be from the Neolithic Period. It is noteworthy that no single
stone tools made from obsidian, which can be found in Chramo, were found in the survey. In
addition, a stone tool with sickle gloss was collected approximately 700 m north from the center ofCharmo (Fig. 9-2), which is considered in the following section.
Summarizing the results of the field survey
A grid consisting of squares with a resolution of 50 m was used to evaluate field survey results.
Tracklog points (recorded every 1 s) within a unit square were counted to roughly calculate
the amount of time spent inside the squares2)(Fig. 9-3). The results show that the survey
in 2023 covers a 1 km radius of Charmo whenaggregated with the survey conducted in 2022
(2022/9/3–9/6, 9/18). The stone tools foundin both surveys were integrated and counted
within square units, as shown in Fig. 9-4. Fig.
9-5 shows the overlay of “walkedness” (Fig.
9-3) and the index representing the chance ofstone tools to be detected (number of stone
tools / walkedness). This index is intended
to balance the detection of stone tools. For
example, even if many artifacts are found, if
Fig. 9-1 Example of the artifacts found in the survey.

Fig. 9-2
1)2)

Stone tool with sickle gloss (see Fig. 9-4 for the location of collection).

A location where artifacts are discovered can be regarded as land that has not undergone severe erosion and is expected to preserve
its original land surface. Of course, there can be an inflow of artifacts originating from higher lands. However, many of theartifacts were found near the ridge-shaped topography, which still can be close to the original position. This information is used forreconstructing the landscape, which is one of our future goals.
Time can increase not only by just searching for artifacts, but by packing collected artifacts or due to the steep topography that takes
longer time to walk through. However, staying time tends to be longer at the place where more artifacts are found.

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO) PREHISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS, 2023

Fig. 9-3 Tracklog of the surveys in 2022 and 2023
overlaid with the “walkedness” (Thetime spent within the square unit) for thesquare unit of 50 m resolution.

35

Fig. 9-4 Location of stone tools found, connection
among the found locations, and number ofthe stone tools within the square unit of
50 m resolution (from the 2022 and 2023
surveys). Several clusters of points wherestone tools were densely found can beassumed (i.e., “A” to “H” in the figure).

the time spent there is long, the calculated
value for this index will be lower. Thus,a mesh with “high walkedness” and “nofindings” implies that it is highly probablethat there are no artifacts in the area, whereas“low walkedness” and “many findings” imply
a concentration of artifacts in the area. The
bias was minimized by calculating the ratioof the number of stone tools to the timespent in the square unit. There seems to be
no considerable bias in Fig. 9-4 because thetendency in Fig. 9-4 and 9-5 is correlative(values in squares around area A are moderated
in Fig. 9-5, but still comparatively high). To
gain a basic idea of the connection between theFig. 9-5 Overlay of a probability of detection
points and the structure of their clusters, theof stone tools (Number of stone tools/
network and distances were calculated based
walkedness) and “walkedness”. This figureon the Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN)
comprehensively shows the concentration(“length” in Fig. 9-4). The scale of the cluster
and absence of stone tools around Charmo
with the correction of the “walkedness”.
differs according to the threshold length; thus,
this is only a preliminary attempt to consider
the grouping of the points. It was not clearly dividable but the points were roughly clustered anddivided into “A” to “H” (Fig. 9-4). The clustered areas were comparatively concentrated on thewestern side of Charmo. Especially, “A” can be most strongly related to Charmo, considering the
distance and the density of stone tools. However, it cannot be continuous with Charmo, because
obsidian tools were found only in Charmo. To understand the relation of “A” and Charmo, thecondition of Cham Gawra, the wadi flowing between them, needs to be considered as well. “B,”on the same bank of Cham Gawra, is also an area comparatively close to Charmo where stone tools
were densely found. However, there is a gap of absent area between “B” and Charmo, which again,
indicates that it is not a continuation of Charmo. “E,” “G,” and “H” are distanced from Charmo,

Akira TSUNEKI, Saber Ahmed SABER, Nobuya WATANABE, Ryo ANMA, Sari JAMMO, Mariko MAKINO,
36 Yuko MIYAUCHI, Kirsi O. LORENTZ, Yu ITAHASHI, Minoru YONEDA, Masanori KUROSAWA and Kei IKEHATA

which may not be directly related. Thus, the zone including “A” to “C” and “F” where the stone
tools were densely found and close to Charmo, could be an area actively used on a daily basis. In
summary, obsidian tools were not found outside Charmo; thus, these areas can be considered off-siteof Charmo. On the other hand, one stone tool with sickle gloss was found in the survey (Fig. 9-2).
However, this tool does not take the form of a typical sickle element. In addition, the glossy part isat the point of the tool and its area is small. Further analysis (e.g. confocal scanning microscopy [F.
Pichon et al. 2023]) can be conducted to understand its usage, but it is likely related to agriculturalactivity, perhaps for husking. The tool was found in an isolated place where the topography is flatand different from that of the zone mentioned above (Fig. 9-4). It is difficult to make a conclusionfrom a single stone tool, but perhaps, this can be related to the preference toward the selection ofagricultural land.
(Nobuya Watanabe)
10.

14

C data from the 2022 season

MethodCharcoal samples were pretreated using an acid / alkali / acid treatment [de Vries and Barendsen
1954]. Briefly, 2 mg of charcoal (containing 1 mg of carbon) was purified by chemical treatment
and combusted using an elemental analyzer (Vario ISOTOPE SELECT, Elementar) at the University
Museum, University of Tokyo [Omori et al. 2017]. Graphite was then produced by the catalytic
reduction of CO2 with iron powder [Kitagawa et al. 1993]. The radiocarbon content of the graphite
was measured using an accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) at the University Museum, Universityof Tokyo (Lab. code TKA-). Radiocarbon dates were statistically analyzed and calibrated using
OxCal [Bronk Ramsey 2009] and IntCal20 calibration data [Reimer et al. 2020].
Table 10-1 Results of the radiocarbon dating for charcoal samples from Charmo.
Area
JII central
JII central
JII central
JII central
JII central
JII central
JII central
JII central
JII central
JII central
JII central
JII central
JII central
JII central
JT
JT
JT
JT
JT
JT
JT

Sample
No.
No. 5
No. 6
No. 7
No. 8
No. 10No. 16
No. 23
No. 24
No. 26
No. 27
No. 28
No. 29No. 30No. 31
No. 9
No. 11
No. 13
No. 15
No. 17
No. 18
No. 21

Layer

δ13C

Layer 5Layer 5Layer 5Layer 5Layer 6Layer 6Layer 5Layer 5Layer 6Layer 6Layer 6Layer 6Layer 6Layer 6Layer 4Layer 5Layer 5Layer 4Layer 5Layer 5Layer 5–25.5 ± 0.2–25.9 ± 0.3–25.9 ± 0.2–26.4 ± 0.3–25.2 ± 0.3–25.9 ± 0.2–29.4 ± 0.2–26.1 ± 0.3–26.2 ± 0.3–26.7 ± 0.2–27.6 ± 0.3–24.3 ± 0.3–25.3 ± 0.2–26.4 ± 0.3–25.7 ± 0.2–26.1 ± 0.3–21.5 ± 0.3–24.7 ± 0.2–28.7 ± 0.2–24.2 ± 0.3–28.5 ± 0.3

calibration
curve
IntCal20
IntCal20
IntCal20
IntCal20
IntCal20
IntCal20
IntCal20
IntCal20
IntCal20
IntCal20
IntCal20
IntCal20
IntCal20
IntCal20
IntCal20
IntCal20
IntCal20
IntCal20
IntCal20
IntCal20

Lab. No.
TKA-26873
TKA-26874
TKA-26875
TKA-26876
TKA-26877
TKA-26878
TKA-26879
TKA-26880
TKA-26881
TKA-26882
TKA-26883
TKA-26884
TKA-26885
TKA-26886
TKA-26887
TKA-26888
TKA-26889
TKA-26890
TKA-26891
TKA-26892
TKA-26893

14

C age
(BP)
7970 ± 257930 ± 257945 ± 25
7890 ± 257940 ± 257965 ± 25
N.D.
7965 ± 257965 ± 25
8000 ± 257985 ± 257910 ± 258060 ± 2529500 ± 95
7750 ± 257650 ± 257800 ± 25
7790 ± 257730 ± 257760 ± 25
7700 ± 25

calibrated BC(1σ)
7035–6825
6910–6695
7025–6700
6775–6650
7025–6700
7035–6780
dead
7035–6780
7035–6780
7045–6830
7040–6830
6820–6690
7070–6865
32310–32035
6640–6510
6500–6450
6650–6600
6645–6595
6595–6505
6640–6540
6570–6475

calibrated BC(2σ)
7040–6700
7030–6655
7035–6695
7020–6645
7035–6690
7040–6700
dead
7040–6700
7040–6700
7050–6775
7045–6705
7025–6650
7130–6830
32410–31870
6645–6500
6570–6435
6690–6570
6685–6515
6640–6475
6645–6505
6595–6470

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO) PREHISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS, 2023

37

ResultTwenty-two charcoal samples from Charmo, 14 from the J-II central square, and 8 from theJT square were treated with AAA, of which 21 samples yielded the amount needed for AMS
measurement. These 21 samples were prepared for graphitization, and their radiocarbon isotope
ratios were determined (Table 10-1).
Twelve of the samples from J-II central were dated from 7070 cal BC to 6700 cal BC, giving
an overall date from the end of the eighth millennium BC to the first quarter of the seventh
millennium BC (Table 10-1, Fig. 10-1). In contrast, two objects from J-II central showed low
radiocarbon concentrations of ca. 30,000 BP or below the detection limits, suggesting that thesewere petroleum-composed materials with dead carbon. In a previous excavation of the site, somespecimens and pottery deposits that were likely bitumen were found, thus it is highly possible thatthese fragments were also bitumen.
The seven samples from the JT square showed dates from 6650 cal BC to 6450 cal BC,
representing the middle of the seventh millennium BC. Layers 4 and 5 of the JT square areconsidered to belong to a relatively newer occupation layer than Layers 5 and 6 of J-II central.

Fig. 10-1 Calibrated dates for charcoal samples from the J-II central
and JT squares in Charmo.

(Yu Itahashi and Minoru Yoneda)

Akira TSUNEKI, Saber Ahmed SABER, Nobuya WATANABE, Ryo ANMA, Sari JAMMO, Mariko MAKINO,
38 Yuko MIYAUCHI, Kirsi O. LORENTZ, Yu ITAHASHI, Minoru YONEDA, Masanori KUROSAWA and Kei IKEHATA

11.

Bitumen resources in Slemani area

Excavations in the Middle East have revealed that natural bitumen resources are widespread in the
Middle East. The population of this area, in particular, in the Zagros Mountains and its flanks andMesopotamia, starting from prehistoric Neanderthal people, used bitumen as hafting material to fix
handles of their flint tools. Natural bitumen and its role from the Neolithic period became more
important and served to waterproof containers (baskets, earthenware jars, storage pits), wooden
posts, palace grounds (e.g., in Mari and Haradum), reserves of lustral waters, bathrooms, palmroofs, mats, sarcophagi, coffins, and jars used for funeral practices. These objects were often
covered and sealed with bitumen. Bitumen was also a widespread adhesive in antiquity and served
to repair broken ceramics and fix eyes and horns on statues (e.g., at Tell al-Ubaid around 2500 BC).
Beautiful decorations with stones, shells, mothers of pearls, palm trees, cups, ostrich eggs, musicalinstruments, and other items such as rings, jewelry, and games were excavated from the royal tombs
in Ur [Connan 1999: 33].
Bitumen was unearthed during archaeological excavations in Mesopotamia, in sites such as
Tell al-Ubaid (around 2500 BC), royal tombs in Ur, Susa, and Tell el ’Oueili (5800 –3500 BC). In
antiquity, there were two ways to obtain bitumen from trade; the first was a close distance of lessthan 50 km, and the second was long-distance trade starting from 50 km.
In Charmo, we found many potsherds with traces of bitumen on them during the 2019 sounding
excavations (Fig. 11-1). For this reason, Prof. Akira Tsuneki asked me to conduct surveys to findbitumen resources in all Slemani regions, fromHalabja in the east to Chamchamal in the west.
The aim of the surveys was to identify bitumen
sources and compare them with ones Charmo
people used in their time. Accordingly, we
asked our guard-watchers in all regions of the
Slemani Directorate of Antiquities about thebitumen sources.
Finally, we were informed about the two
directions in which we could find sources. The
first is in the Chamchamal area, approximately
40 km northwest of Charmo, and the name ofthe source is Qirina (Fig. 11-2). The second
Fig. 11-1 Potsherds from Charmo with traces of asphalt.
one is in the south of the Halabje area in

GPS: 36°44′35″N 44°47′51″E 2330 feet asl.
Fig. 11-2 Qirina source near Tlian village (Qirina bitumen).

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO) PREHISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS, 2023

39

GPS: 35°8′42″N 45°51′12″E 2230 ft asl.
Fig. 11-3 Pirg source in Shahrizor and a piece of bitumen.

Shameran, and the source is located in a village called Pirg (Fig. 11-3)
The areas of the two sources are completely different in terms of topographical and bitumen
conditions. The Qirina source in Chamchamal has only a small mound with a wady valley and its
bitumen is more liquid than the Pirg bitumen. Pirg in the Shameran area is a mountainous and hilly
region covered with oak trees. The bitumen from this source is drier and harder (Fig. 11-3).
According to what we said above regarding trade distance, people from Charmo could obtain
their bitumen from the Qirina source or other sources in the Chamachamal area, where we could not
find it. Qirina is close to Charmo, at approximately 30 km, but Pirg in Halabja is far from Charmo,
at approximately 100 km.
(Saber Ahmed Saber)
12.

Insights into carbonaceous materials on pottery sherds: Raman spectroscopy at theCharmo archaeological site

Introduction
Carbonaceous materials within geological strata and rocks undergo various structural and chemicaltransformations during diagenesis and metamorphism, driven by variations in temperature andpressure. Raman spectroscopy emerges as a valuable tool for monitoring these structural changes,
allowing for the identification of substances based on characteristics such as functional groups,
chemical bonding, and structural order at the atomic scale [Jehlička et al. 2003]. Laser Raman
microscopic spectroscopy, in particular, enables non-destructive characterization of miniscule amountsof carbonaceous matter, even those less than 2 microns in size [Pironon et al. 1991]. Consequently,
this technique has found widespread application in the identification of kerogen, bitumen, graphite,diamond, and other constituents within rocks and geological formations. Moreover, it facilitates
the determination of intermediate states associated with material changes and plays a crucial role inassessing maturity of oil and natural gas [Orange et al. 1996; Beyssac et al. 2002, 2003; Jehlička
et al. 2003; Zhang et al. 2007].
In Raman measurements, a sample is irradiated with a monochromatic laser beam and thescattered Raman light is then separated and measured by wavelength. However, when analyzing
substances prone to fluorescence under laser irradiation, the measurement process can be challenging
due to the masking effect of the fluorescence background on the Raman scattered light [Pironon etal. 1991; Zhou et al. 2014]. In particular, organic samples containing aromatics are often difficult
to measure due to the generation of fluorescence [Pironon et al. 1991; Orange et al. 1996].
Photodegradation of the sample due to laser irradiation may be problematic (Jehlička et al. 2003).

Akira TSUNEKI, Saber Ahmed SABER, Nobuya WATANABE, Ryo ANMA, Sari JAMMO, Mariko MAKINO,
40 Yuko MIYAUCHI, Kirsi O. LORENTZ, Yu ITAHASHI, Minoru YONEDA, Masanori KUROSAWA and Kei IKEHATA

These challenges, however, can often be mitigated by significantly reducing the intensity of theirradiating laser beam or by carefully selecting the wavelength of the beam for measurement (Orange
et al. 1996), coupled with the implementation of a suitable background subtraction technique(Khatibi et al. 2019). In the context of this study, Raman measurements were conducted with a very
weak beam irradiation to identify carbonaceous materials adhering to the potsherds.
Sample and method
The samples under investigation consisted of black materials adhering to two pottery sherds (IRCM32-2 and 450) from Layer 6 of the J-II S trench at the Charmo site [Tsuneki et al. 2023]. The
potsherds themselves exhibit a light brown to white color and are relatively brittle in nature.
Notably, a thin layer of the black material was found adhering to the inner surface of the pottery(Fig. 12-1a). The surface of the black material displays grooves, resembling marks left by a thincomb (Fig. 12-1b). Upon examination, the cross sections of the black materials were found to
be dark brown, dry, brittle, and earthy in texture. A previous report suggested that these blackmaterials could be classified as a carbonaceous material with carbon-14 age exceeding 40,000 years,
possibly bitumen [Tsuneki et al. 2023]. Bitumen, a material with a history of use dating back to
40,000 B.C., has served various purposes such as a mortar for construction, waterproofing agent,adhesive, and more [Connan, 1999]. Moreover, it is abundantly distributed in the Kirkuk region
adjacent to the Charmo site [Connan, 1999]. In the present study, small portions (0.5 mm in size)of the black materials were collected from the two potsherds and subsequently mounted on slide
glass as specimens.
Raman spectra of the specimens were measured using a confocal inVia Raman spectrometer(Renishaw, Wotton – under – Edge, UK) at the University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan. The
measurements were performed at room temperature using a 532 nm (green) laser, which was focusedthrough a 100 × microscope objective. The laser boasts a spatial resolution of approximately 1
μm. The spectral range covered by the samples extended from 50 to 4280 cm − 1 wavenumber shift,with a spectral resolution of 4 cm − 1. The laser power was maintained at approximately 0.6 mW on
the sample surface, and each spectrum was obtained with a 1 s acquisition time, accumulating 60
times, resulting in a total energy deposition of 0.6 mW.s onto the sample surface. To ensure spectral
precision and consistent measurement conditions, calibration was performed before data acquisition
using the 520.5 cm − 1 Raman band of a silicon reference sample. In an effort to eliminate potential
fluorescence background effects in the Raman spectra, a fifth-order polynomial baseline curve wasfitted to the whole spectrum, and subsequently subtracted from the measured spectrum.

Fig. 12-1

Photographs of black materials adhering to potsherds from the Charmosite. (a) Sample IRCM-32-2. (b) Sample 450. Dark brown color
represents carbonaceous materials. Scale bars are 1 mm.

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO) PREHISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS, 2023

41

Results and discussion
The first-order Raman spectra of the two black materials revealed a broad band spanning from 1380
to 1410 cm − 1 and a wide band near 1600 cm − 1 (Fig. 12-2a, b). In this spectral range, vibration bands
associated with carbons within polyaromatic structures in carbonaceous materials become apparent[Beyssac et al. 2002, 2003]. Specifically, the band located at around 1580 cm-1 is assigned to thein-plane vibration of aromatic carbons in the polyaromatic structure, such as graphite, commonlyreferred to as the G (graphitic) band [Beyssac et al. 2002, 2003]. Concurrently, the band at around1350 cm − 1 is linked to defects or disordered structures within the polyaromatic framework and isdesignated as the D1 (defect or disordered) band [Beyssac et al. 2002, 2003]. The D1 band tends to
be intense and very wide in poorly ordered carbons, and the position and width of the D1 band beara close relationship to the degree of structural ordering within the carbonaceous material [Beyssac etal. 2002, 2003]. In perfectly crystalline carbonaceous materials such as graphite, only the G band isobserved [Beyssac et al. 2002, 2003]. However, most disordered carbonaceous materials, including
kerogen, bitumen, hydrocarbon fluid, coal, and disordered graphite, exhibit both the D1 and G
bands [Orange et al. 1996; Kelemen and Fang 2001; Jehlička et al. 2003; Schito et al. 2017]. In
the case of disordered materials like bitumen, the D1 band is assigned to the ring stretch of bicyclic
and higher aromatic hydrocarbons, while the broad G band is assigned to the C = C stretch of all
aromatic and other unsaturated species [Shoute et al. 2002]. The pronounced appearance of the Dband and the broad width of the G band in the spectra indicate a very weak structural organization[Jehlička et al. 2003]. These characteristics ofa disordered structure are clearly evident in thepresent spectra (Fig. 12-2a, b).
In the range of ~ 2800 – 3100 cm − 1,a distinct set of bands is observable (Fig.
12-2a, b). In this interval, overtone scattering(2 × 1405 cm − 1 = 2810 cm − 1 , 2 × 1601
cm − 1 = 3202 cm − 1) and combination scattering(1405 cm − 1 + 1601 cm − 1 = 3006 cm − 1) of
the D and G bands appear. Notably, thesebands exhibit considerable broadening with anincrease in structural disorder [Jehlička et al.,2003]. In addition, symmetric and asymmetricstretching vibrations of methyl and methylene
in alkanes and cycloalkanes manifest around2900 cm –1 (~ 2850 cm − 1 for CH2 symmetricof cycloalkanes and alkane; ~ 2920 cm − 1 forCH2 antisymmetric of alkane; ~ 2940 cm − 1 forCH2 antisymmetric of cycloalkanes and CH3
antisymmetric of alkane [Orange et al. 1996]).
An additional noteworthy feature is a prominent
peak at 3062 cm − 1, indicative of the presenceof aromatic hydrocarbons, including benzene
Fig. 12-2 Raman spectra of black materials
adhering to potsherds from the Charmo
and its derivatives [Orange et al. 1996].
site. The vertical axis represents intensity,
The aforementioned features, consistently
and the horizontal axis represents Raman
observed in the Raman spectra of naturalshift (cm – 1). (a) Sample IRCM-32-2.
bitumen (as exemplified in Fig. 12-2c), serve(b) Sample 450. (c) Natural bitumen
as reliable indicators for bitumen identificationin Cretaceous Torinosu limestone from
[Orange et al. 1996; Shoute et al. 2002;
Kochi, Japan [Kido et al., 2023].

Akira TSUNEKI, Saber Ahmed SABER, Nobuya WATANABE, Ryo ANMA, Sari JAMMO, Mariko MAKINO,
42 Yuko MIYAUCHI, Kirsi O. LORENTZ, Yu ITAHASHI, Minoru YONEDA, Masanori KUROSAWA and Kei IKEHATA

Jehlička et al. 2003]. Thus, the black materials presented in Fig. 12-2a, b are confidently identified
as bitumen. A comparison with natural bitumen found in Cretaceous limestone in Japan (Fig. 12-2c)
reveals a shift in the D band position towards lower wavenumbers, and the distance between the D
and G bands is wider compared to the black materials (Fig. 12-2a, b). The separation of the D-Gband positions is known to increase with the rising thermal cracking (maturity) of carbonaceous
materials [Kelemen and Fang 2001]. These shifts and changes are attributed to an increase inlarger aromatic clusters and a better ordered-structure of kerogen in terms of the existing organic
compounds [Schito et al. 2017]. Hence, the black materials under investigation are deemed lessmature than the Japanese bitumen. Changes in the position, width, and intensity of the D and G
bands due to the thermal maturity may provide important clues into distinguishing the origin andprovenance of bitumen. Future investigations aim to explore this further through a comparative
analysis with natural bitumen from surrounding areas.
(Masanori Kurosawa and Kei Ikehata)
13.

Conclusion

Our Charmo investigations could not be conducted in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19
pandemic, which prevented us from executing large-scale field investigations. However, we wereable to conduct full-scale field investigations in 2022 and 2023 and obtain significant results.
As previously mentioned, excavations had two main objectives. First, to determine thechronology of the Charmo village from its beginning to its end, and second, to elucidate its specificaspects. Regarding the first objective, a JT square investigation in 2022 revealed that the Charmo
village ended by the late 7th millennium BC. on an absolute date, whereas life in the village ended
at approximately the same time or earlier than the Proto-Hassuna period in northern Mesopotamia.
Regarding the beginning of the Charmo-framing village, this season’s investigations revealed thatthe village was established on the marl soil groundmass at an elevation of approximately 725 m asl,
providing considerable materials for absolute and relative dating. Thus, we should be able to obtaina complete picture of Charmo’s age and chronology in the next year.
We learned a great deal about the aspects of early farming villages in Charmo. During the2022 investigation, we detected a square-planned habitation building with a pisé wall and a wellpreserved tannor (bread oven) with a ventilation hole. Inside the habitation building, a small
clay platform was built in which three animal clay figurines were found, and some type of ritual
practice was performed. The locations of stone vessels and stone bowl production, as well as aset of beautiful marble bowls and spoons, were also discovered in the ash pit. During the 2023
excavations, pisé walls and many ash pits were detected, and several carbonized seed deposits were
found between them. In addition, as many as 20,000 snail shells were excavated, mainly from
Layer 9. Many animal bones were also discovered. These plant and animal bone remains willshed light on the type of livelihood practiced in the early farming villages at Charmo. Research
has already begun on flora and fauna approved for scientific analysis. We will obtain the results ofthese analyses in the near future to learn more about Charmo’s subsistence in detail. Of particularinterest to me is a series of carbonized mats that were unearthed in the excavations during both thelast season and this season. These mats were woven from a family comprising true grasses, suchas phragmites or typha, which were grown along the waterside. These plants were obtained fromthe Cham Gawra River or springs near Charmo village. These plants could also be planted arounddwellings, as we see today in the village of Kanisard near Charmo. In any case, plants certainly not
dry framing ones were used in the Neolithic village at Charmo. This would be expected to reinforce
that early farming at Charmo was not “simple rain-fed farming,” as Braidwood asserted, but “morecomplicated farming using springs in the water reservoir area,” which we claimed [Tsuneki et al.

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO) PREHISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS, 2023

43

2019].
The most notable artifacts recovered from the 2023 excavations were stone vessels and clay
objects. More than 40 stone vessels and 80 clay objects were discovered. The stone vessels arecomposed of marble, limestone, and sandstone. The shapes of the vessels differ according to thestone material; marble and limestone were made into bowls of various shapes, while sandstone wasoften dish-shaped. A very beautiful bone spoon and other bone awls are also remarkable artifacts.
No potsherds were discovered below Layer 6. The clay objects include human figurines, animal
figurines, small and large clay balls, other geometric forms, fragments of clay vessels, and othervarious forms. The number of unbaked clay objects is large; apparently, these were ubiquitous
objects within the village of Charmo. Unbaked clay objects were more abundant in the lower layers
up to Layer 6, and clay objects appear to have played a more important role in the ancient timesof Charmo.
In the 2023 season, the first distinct human grave was detected in Layer 11. This was acustomary pit grave during the Neolithic period. The deceased was an older adult, probably male,buried in a tightly flexed position on the left side. It was found near the pisé wall, and judging
from the partially remaining plaster floor surface, it was assumed that it might have been anunderfloor burial in a dwelling. The adult human skeleton and other excavated human remains
were authenticated by Ms. Yuko Miyauchi and Prof. Kirsi, O. Lorentz, who specialize in physicalanthropology.
The tannor found in the 2022 season (Str. 12) was scrutinized by Ms. Mariko Makino andcompared to ethnic cases such as Kanisard village. As a result, it is almost certain that the flue-likeventilation hole facility that continues to the north of the tannor is an oxygen intake facility.
Geomorphological and geochemical investigations around Charmo were conducted on an
ongoing basis by our geologist, Prof. Ryo Amma, during both the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The
purpose of these investigations was to reconstruct the paleoenvironment of Charmo at the time ofits occupation and identify the provenance of excavated artifacts. For the former purpose, Ryo
Amma set up several erosion measurement pins near the Charmo site to measure the rate of erosion
currently occurring at Cham Gawar. Regarding the degree of erosion since last year, he obtained
erosion rates ranging from none to ~ 1.5 mm/year. These steady efforts have been a major resource
for the restoration of Charmo’s paleoenvironment, dating back more than 9,000 years. Progress has
also been made in identifying the origins of excavated artifacts, particularly obsidian stone tools.
Prof. Nobuya Watanabe’s ongoing survey of off-sites around Charmo is also largely aimed
at reconstructing the paleo-topography of the Neolithic settlement of Charmo. He used the SfM
to make 3D measurements of Charmo to determine the topographic changes in recent years. In
addition, he started off-site surveys around Charmo in 2022. In 2023, southwest and northeast areas
were surveyed and 272 artifacts were found at 111 locations. Based on these data, he reconstructeda preliminary paleoenvironment around the Neolithic Charmo village. The most interesting aspectof his reconstruction of the paleo-topography of Charmo is that the difference in elevation between
Charmo village and the Cham Gawra River was much smaller in the Neolithic period than it istoday. Furthermore, numerous Neolithic artifacts from the northwest side of Cham Gawra wereidentified, strongly suggesting that the opposite bank of Cham Gawar was used for daily occupationin those days. In this season, one of such opposite bank off-sites produced a sickle element,
indicating that the opposite hills were also used for farming fields.
Our Charmo investigations have made significant progress over the past two years. The
absolute and relative chronology of the Charmo Neolithic village will be fully determinable basedon the large number of 14C samples collected during the 2022 and 2023 investigations. Considerable
flora and fauna data are also available on the transition of subsistence from the beginning to the endof the village, and the results may help reconstruct a more complicated subsistence strategy of theAkira TSUNEKI, Saber Ahmed SABER, Nobuya WATANABE, Ryo ANMA, Sari JAMMO, Mariko MAKINO,
44 Yuko MIYAUCHI, Kirsi O. LORENTZ, Yu ITAHASHI, Minoru YONEDA, Masanori KUROSAWA and Kei IKEHATA

Charmo people. We can, thus, add new insights into the village lives of the Charmo people. Paleotopography and paleo-environmental reconstructions explain why people chose Charmo as a site
for early farming village formation. The time for revealing the reality of Charmo’s early farming
villages and their historical significance is rapidly approaching.
(Akira Tsuneki)
Acknowledgments
For the execution of the archaeological research campaign in Slemani of Iraqi-Kurdistan, we are
deeply grateful to the General Director of Antiquities, Ministry of Municipality and Tourism,
Kurdistan Regional Government – Iraq. We express our special gratitude to Mr. Kaifi Mustafa
Ali, the General Director of Antiquities and Heritage, KRG, for his kind permission to conduct
our investigations at Charmo. We are deeply grateful to Mr. Hussein Hama Gharib Hussein,
the Director of the Slemani Antiquities and Heritage Directorate. He encouraged us to conduct
prehistoric investigations at Charmo, one of the most important prehistoric sites in Kurdistan. We
are also grateful to Mr. Nawshirwan Aziz Mohammed, the Director of the Archaeological Excavationof the Slemani Antiquities Directorate, for his consistent support of our work. We would like tothank Mr. Saber Ahmed Saber, a staff member of the Slemani Antiquities Directorate, for his kind
instructions and for accompanying us in the field as a representative dispatched from the Slemani
Antiquities Directorate. Mr. Fereidoun Fayaq supported our investigation as a driver sent by the
Directorate. We express our thanks to the staff at the Slemani Antiquities Directorate and Slemani
Museum, especially Mr. Hassim Hama Abdulla, Mr. Sami Jamil Aziz, Mrs. Niyan Nasir Hama
Hassan, and Mr. Akam Omar. At Chamchamal, Mr. Abdelrahman Saber Mohammad, a keeper of
Antiquities at Takia, ensured every convenience for us during our fieldwork at Charmo. We also
wish to express our special thanks to the people of Takia town and Kanisard village near Charmo
for their inestimable support of our research as workers and for their hospitality.
We received considerable support from the KRG and the Embassy of Japan in Iraq. I would
like to express my deepest appreciation to His Excellency Futoshi Matsumoto, Ambassador ofJapan, for visiting the Charmo site and for his encouragement. I would like to thank Mr. Tatsuoki
Miyakawa, First Secretary, for his attention during the Ambassador’s visit.
The identification of the plants and animals excavated at Charmo is being carried out withthe help of Prof. Dorian Fuller, Dr. Marjan Mashkour, Dr. Hitomi Hongo and others. For theidentification of the reed, we got the assistance of Dr. Shizuka Tsuneki. We would like our deepest
gratitude to them all.
The field expedition at Charmo was conducted from May 15 to July 5, and we continued
supplemental work in the field and material studies until July 14, 2023. Financial support for thisresearch came from grants of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Grant-in Aid
for Scientific Research (A) “Reconsideration of Jarmo: Neolithization in the Eastern Wing of the
Fertile Crescent” (20H00020).
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EVERYDAY LIFE IN BEIRUT-LEBANON FROM THE 12TH TO THE 19TH CENTURY AD:
THE POTTERY
AL-RĀFIDĀNANALYSIS
Vol. XLV(SFI.415)
2024

49

EVERYDAY LIFE IN BEIRUT-LEBANONFROM THE 12TH TO THE 19TH CENTURY AD:
THE POTTERY ANALYSIS (SFI.415)
Grace HOMSY-GOTTWALLES*

Abstract
This paper aims to present sixty-eight medieval and post-medieval ceramics uncovered in the
excavation undertaken in Beirut (Lebanon) sector SFI.415. The material covers a long period
between the 12th and the 19th century AD. In addition to the well-known medieval and postmedieval ceramics, European porcelain represents a newly discovered category in Beirut.
Introduction
The site Saifi 415 is located east of the Central District of modern Beirut (Fig. 1). The ceramics
unearthed from this site are well known from other excavations in Lebanon - Beirut, Anfeh,
Balamand and at Tell ‘Arqa [François et al. 2003: 334 – 335, fig. 11; Homsy-Gottwalles 2009: 1 – 13;
Homsy-Gottwalles 2010: 413–435; Homsy-Gottwalles 2011: 171 – 189; Homsy-Gottwalles 2016;
Homsy-Gottwalles 2017; Hakimian and Salamé-Sarkis 1988: 7, pl. II; Salamé-Sarkis 1980: 161 –
166, figs. 9–11; Masri 1997–1998: 109, fig. 9] - and the region Palestine/Israel, Egypt, Cyprus,
Syria, and Turkey [Avissar and Stern 2005: 52 – 56; Redford et al. 2001: 71, 103 – 110, figs. 14 – 21;
von Wartburg 1997: 328–329]. Although the porcelain wares unearthed in this excavation provide
new categories, especially for the European importation during modern time Beirut.

Fig. 1

Location of the site SFI415 in Beirut (Google Earth, 2023).

Medieval Ceramics
The medieval pottery collected from SFI.415 excavation, comprises 28 fragments of tableware,
kitchenware and pottery kiln elements, produced in Beirut, south Lebanon, or imported from theregion, currently Syria, Turkey, Greece, and from Cyprus (Table 1). They can be dated between the
12th and the 14th century AD.
*

Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Art and Archaeology, Faculty of Human Sciences-Lebanese
University [grace.homsy@ul.edu.lb]

50

Grace HOMSY-GOTTWALLES

Table 1 Ceramics of the medieval period.
SquareCxt

NbFabric

Type/Ware

Description
Base fragment of a bowl. 2.5YR 4 / 6 red, white slip
KIII
101 3 Earthenware Bowl
under green glaze from interior
Rim fragment of a bowl. 2.5YR 4 / 6 red, white slip
KIII
201 1 Earthenware Bowl
under green lead glaze from interior
Base fragment of a bowl. 2.5YR 4 / 8 red, incised
KIV
301 7 Earthenware Bowl
decoration under yellow glaze from interior
Base fragment of a bowl. 2.5YR 4/6 red, off white slip
KIV
309 2 Earthenware Bowl
under green glaze from interior
Base fragment of a bowl. 2.5YR 4/6 red, off white slip
KV
407 2 Earthenware Bowl
under green glaze from interior
Base fragment of a bowl. 2.5YR 4/6 red, off white slip
KV
407 3 Earthenware Bowl
under yellow glaze from interior
KV
407 4 Earthenware Cooking pot Handle fragment of a cooking pot. 2.5YR 4/6 red
KV
407 12 Earthenware Jug
Rim fragment of a jug 2.5YR 5/6 red
KV
407 14 Earthenware Jug
Rim fragment of a jug. 2.5YR 5/6 red.
KV
407 16 Earthenware Jug
Base fragment of a jug. 5YR 6/4 light reddish brown
KV
407 17 Earthenware Jug
Base fragment of a jug. 5YR 6/4 light reddish brown
KV
407 24 Earthenware Kiln rod
Kiln rod fragment. 2.5YR 5/6 red
Body fragment of a bowl. 10R 5/6 10R 6/8 Reddish
KV
407 26 Earthenware Bowl
yellow, incised decoration
Rim fragment of a bowl. 6/8 2.5YRreddish, green glaze
KV-KVI 412 1 Earthenware Bowl
from interior
Base fragment of a bowl. 2.5YR 4/6 red, green glaze
KV-KVI 412 2 Earthenware Bowl
from interior
Body fragment of a bowl. 7.5YR 7/4 pink, green glaze
KV
414 1 Earthenware Bowl
from interior and exterior
KVI
515 2 Earthenware Bowl
Rim fragment of a bowl. 7/4 7.5YR Pinkish
Body fragment of a Cooking pan. 2.5YR 4/6 red, brown
KVI
515 3 Earthenware Cooking pot
glaze from interior
KVI
516 3 Earthenware Jug
Rim fragment of a jug. 2.5YR 6/6 light red
KVI
516 7 Earthenware Jug
Base fragment of a jug. 2.5YR 6/6 light red
KVI
516 11 Earthenware Kiln rod
Kiln rod fragment. 2.5YR 4/6 red
Body fragment of a bowl. 10R 5 / 6 10R 6 / 8 reddish
KVI
517 3 Earthenware Bowl
yellow, incised motif
Rim fragment of a bowl. 2.5YR 5 / 6 red, white slip
KVI
519 1 Earthenware Bowl
under green glaze
Rim fragment of a bowl. 2.5YR 5 / 4 reddish brown,
KVI
537 1 Earthenware Bowl
brown lead glaze from interior
Base fragment of a bowl. Yellow fabric, blue glaze fromJI
602 1 Fritware
Bowlinterior
Base fragment of an oil lamp. Grayish fabric, blue glazeHI
1201 1 Fritware
Oil lamp
from exterior
Rim fragment of a bowl. 6/8 2.5YR reddish, white slip
FV
2601 1 Earthenware Bowl
under green glaze
EII
2705 1 Earthenware Cooking pot Body fragment of a cooking pot. 2.5YR 4/6 red

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51

Beirut tableware
The category 1 of tableware is of calcareous fabric and made in Beirut. This category comprises
one rim fragment of a bowl (Fig. 2–515.2). This type is usually a shallow, hemispherical form,
with a low ring or discoid base. It is painted in brown under a transparent alkaline glaze. Also,in this category, a bowl fragment (Fig. 2 – 414.1) with buff slip, under an opaque-green alkaline
glaze on the interior, known as pseudo-celadon type. This ware is dated from the mid-12th century[François et al. 2003: 334–335, fig. 11. 1 – 13; Homsy-Gottwalles 2011: 172, figs. 1 – 2].
The category 2 of tableware is also produced in Beirut but with sandy fabric. The excavationof SFI.415 revealed nine bowl fragments, which can be divided into three types. The first type canbe assigned to the Crusader period, and more precisely from the middle 12th-1st part of 13th century
AD (Fig. 2–537.1) [Avissar and Stern 2005: 8]; it is categorized with a hemispherical body andflaring rim. The second type has a rim in the extension of the body (Fig. 2 – 201.1; Fig. 2 – 519.1).

414.1

515.2

537.1

2601.1

101.3

519.1

201.1

412.2

407.2

309.2

407.3
0 1

Fig. 2 Beirut tableware production.

5 cm

52

Grace HOMSY-GOTTWALLESThe third and last type of this category, dated to the Mamluk period, is represented with an evertedrim (Fig. 2 – 2601.1) and has a carinated body [Avissar and Stern 2005: 13, type I.1.4]. Fivefragments of ring base (Fig. 2–101.3, 309.2, 407.2, 407.3, 412.2) are also uncovered a SFI415 andcan belong to one of the three types.
The third category of tableware comprises 6 jug fragments; including three base fragments(Fig. 3–407.16, 407.17, 516.7), and three rim and neck fragments (Fig. 3 – 407.12, 407.14, 516.3).
Nevertheless, one type can be identified, it corresponds to a high and narrow neck, table-jar form,
with a thick rim and ridge underneath. Two handles are placed from the neck to the shoulder. The
body is tapered with a low ring base. Identified for the first time at Acre [Stern 1997: 39 – 40, fig 4.
13, 14; Stern and Tatcher 2009: 137, fig 3.22, 12 – 14.], this type is dated to the 12th to 13th centuries[Avissar and Stern 2005: 107, fig 44: 3–5.]. Petrographic analyses have indicated that this type wasproduced in southern Lebanon [Goren 1997: 72.].

407.12407.17516.3

407.14516.7

407.16

0 1

Fig. 3

Southern Lebanon tableware production.

5 cm

EVERYDAY LIFE IN BEIRUT-LEBANON FROM THE 12TH TO THE 19TH CENTURY AD:
THE POTTERY ANALYSIS (SFI.415)

53

Besides Lebanese production, Beirut and south Lebanon, the site SFI.415 revealed an importproduction. Mainly from Syria, with one rim fragment of a bowl (Fig. 4 – 412.1). The shape ishemispheric with ring base and thickened rim, covered with green glaze and dates to the 13th
century AD [Rousset 1998: 173–174].
Also, from the region of present-day Turkey, two body fragment bowls of Port Saint Symeon
Ware type (Fig. 4–407.26, 517.3) were uncovered at SFI.415 site. The incised decoration consistsof linear patterns. This production is usually covered with a white slip under a transparent glaze,
shiny yellow with touches of green, brown, and yellow. This type dates from the 13th century[Blackman and Redford 2005: 101–103].
Furthermore, two software ceramics come from SFI.415. It comprises one ring base of a bowl
(Fig. 4–1201.2) and one incomplete oil lamp (Fig 4 – 1201.1) covered with blue alkaline glaze. The
fabric is gritty, with yellowish color. This production, known as Damascus Ware, can be dated tothe mid-12th century AD [Tonghini 1998: 50].
The Cypriot Sgrafitto production is represented at SFI.415 by one base of a bowl. The typeof SFI415 is a carinated bowl (Fig. 4–301.7) with concave vertical rim; the ring base is high withan out-turned, slightly interior. This category is dated from the 13th century [von Wartburg 1997:
328–329].

412.1

407.26517.3

1201.21201.1301.7
0 1

Fig. 4 Regional production: Turkey, Syria, and Cyprus.

5 cm

54

Grace HOMSY-GOTTWALLES

Beirut kitchenware
The Beirut kitchenware unearthed at SFI.415, may include more than one type, but given the
fragmentary material, it is difficult to identify them. Three cooking pot fragments are uncovered on
SFI 415, with one handle (Fig. 5–407.4) and two body fragments (515.3. 2705.1). This category
can be assigned to Beirut’s medieval period production, and dated to the 12 – 13th century AD[Homsy-Gottwalles 2011: 188–189, figs. 5 – 6].

407.4

2705.1516.11

515.3

407.24

Fig. 5 Beirut kitchenware and pottery kiln elements.

Pottery kiln elements
Two fragments of a kiln rod (Fig. 5– 407.24, 516.11) are discovered on this site. These clay rods
are usually fixed in rows of holes and adorned on the walls of the kiln, creating a set of shelves
where pottery was placed for firing. The existence of pottery workshops in Beirut is well attestedby the discovery of medieval kilns, rods, and waste [Aubert and Nicolaïdès 1997: 242; Arnaud,
Llopis and Bonifay 1996: 114–115; François et al. 2003: 326 – 327, 334 – 335, fig. 10.1 – 8; Saghieh
1996: 40]. This type of pottery kiln element is characteristic of Islamic world kilns, which wereprimarily used between the 11th and 12th century, but can be dated as far back as the 10th century
AD [Thiriot 1995: 31–32].
Post-medieval Ceramics
The post-medieval pottery collected from SFI.415 comprises 40 fragments of pottery, porcelaintableware, and smoking elements such as tobacco pipes and narghile burner heads (Table 2).
Tableware
Four bowl fragments have been unearthed at SFI.415 and belong to the category of Didymoteichon
Ware. Three rim fragments (Fig. 6–515.1, 517.5, 519.2), and one base fragment (Fig. 6 – 301.3).
This category of post-medieval pottery was produced in Didymoteicho in Thrace (northeastern
Greece). The shape of the bowl is hemispherical with an everted hooked rim and a straightdivergent wall. The decoration consists of white slip put on the rim by hand-dribbling starlike
shapes towards the interior of the vessel. The bowl is dated from the 19th to mid-20th centuries[François 1994: fig. 1, 10–13; Homsy-Gottwalles 2017: 246, fig. 3].

EVERYDAY LIFE IN BEIRUT-LEBANON FROM THE 12TH TO THE 19TH CENTURY AD:
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55

Table 2 Ceramics of the post-medieval period.
Square
GV
GV

Cxt
Clg
Clg

GV

Clg

GV
GV
GV
KII
KII

Clg
Clg
Clg
101
101

KII

101

KII
KIV
KV
KV
KVI

101
301
407
407
515

KVI

516

KVI

516

KVI

516

KVI

516

KVI
KVI
KVI
J1
HI-HII-GI-GII
HI-HII-GI-GII
HI-HII-GI-GII
HI-HII-GI-GII
HII
HII
HII
HIV
GII
GII
GII
GII
GII
GII
GV-GVI

517
519
537
601
1201
1201
1201
1201
1301
1301
1301
1504
1805
1805
1805
1805
1901
1909
2201

EI-EII

2708

CII
CII

3415
3506

Nb
Fabric
Type/Ware
Description/Comment
2 Earthenware Tobacco burner Tobacco burner fragment of a narghile. Orange slip
4 Earthenware Tobacco burner Tobacco burner fragment of a narghile. Orange slip
Tobacco burner fragment of a narghile. Off
5 Earthenware Tobacco burnerwhite slip
6 Earthenware Tobacco burner Tobacco burner fragment of a narghile. Orange slip
7 Earthenware Tobacco pipe
Tobacco pipe. Red slip
9 Earthenware Tobacco pipe
Bowl of a Tobacco pipe. Red slip
1 Earthenware Tobacco pipe
Shank fragment of a tobacco pipe. Orange slip.
2 Earthenware Tobacco pipe
Shank fragment of a tobacco pipe. 7.5YR 6/1 gray.
Rim fragment of a basin. 2.5YR 6/6 light red,
4 Earthenware Basingreen glaze on interior
5 Earthenware Basin
Rim fragment of a basin. 2.5YR 6/6 light red
3 Earthenware Bowl
Base fragment of a bowl. 5YR 5/8, yellowish red
1 Earthenware Bowl
Rim fragment of a bowl. 2.5YR 6/8, light red
8 Porcelain
Bowl
Base fragment of a bowl. White fabric.
1 Earthenware Bowl
Rim fragment of a bowl. 5YR 5/8 yellowish red
Tobacco burner fragment of a narghile. Orange
19 Earthenware Tobacco burnerslip on exterior
Tobacco burner fragment of a narghile. Orange
20 Earthenware Tobacco burnerslip on exterior
21 Earthenware Tobacco burner Tobacco burner fragment of a narghile.
Rim and body fragment of a bowl. 2.5YR 6/8
23 Earthenware Bowl
light red.
5 Earthenware Bowl
Rim fragment of a bowl. 5YR 5/8, yellowish red
2 Earthenware Bowl
Rim fragment of a bowl. 5YR 5/8 yellowish red
2 Porcelain
Bowl
Body fragment of a bowl. White fabric.
1 Porcelain
Bowl
Rim fragment of a bowl. White fabric.
4 Porcelain
Bowl
Rim fragments of a bowl. White fabric.
7 Porcelain
Bowl
Rim fragment of a bowl. White fabric.
19 Porcelain
Bowl
Rim fragment of a bowl. White fabric.
21 Porcelain
Bowl
Body fragment of a bowl. White fabric.
5 Porcelain
Bowl
Bowl, complete shape. White fabric.
8 Porcelain
Bowl
Rim fragment of a bowl. White fabric.
9 Porcelain
Bowl
Bowl, complete shape. White fabric.
1 Earthenware Bowl
Tobacco pipe. Orange slip on exterior
1 Porcelain
Bowl
Rim fragment of a bowl. White fabric
2 Porcelain
Bowl
Rim fragment of a bowl. White fabric
4 Porcelain
Bowl
Rim fragment of a bowl. White fabric
5 Porcelain
Bowl
Rim fragment of a bowl. White fabric
1 Earthenware Tobacco pipe
Tobacco pipe. Red slip on exterior (Tophane)
1 Earthenware Tobacco burner Tobacco burner of a narghile.
1 Earthenware Tobacco pipe
Tobacco pipe. Red slip on exterior (Tophane)
Rim fragment of a basin. 2.5YR 6/6 light red,
1 Earthenware Basingreen glaze on interior
1 Earthenware Tobacco burner Tobacco burner of a narghile.
1 Earthenware Tobacco pipe
Shank fragment of a tobacco pipe.

56

Grace HOMSY-GOTTWALLES

Another production is imported to Beirut from the Ottoman Turkey, probably from Smyrna(Aegean Sea) [François and Ersoy 2011: 386]. Two rim fragments (Fig. 6 – 407.1, 516.23) represent
this category of vessel. The type is of hemispherical body and a ledged rim, with ring base. The
vessel is covered with a thin layer of white slip under a green, lead glaze. This category is dated
to the 18th-19th centuries AD [François 2001: 102; Amouric, Richez, Vallauri 1999: 157, fig. 283;
Homsy-Gottwalles 2017: 249, fig. 4].

515.1

517.5

519.2

301.3

407.1

516.230 1

5 cm

Fig. 6 Didymoteichon Ware and Smyrna Ware.

Three basin fragments are unearthed from SFI.415 (Fig. 7). These containers were used forthe preparation of food. The rim fragments 101.4, 101.5, and 2708.1, are of Rachaya el-Fukhar
production. A thin layer of green glaze covers the surface from inside. This type of basin can bedated to the 18th century AD [François: 2001 – 2002: 163, fig. 1.9].

EVERYDAY LIFE IN BEIRUT-LEBANON FROM THE 12TH TO THE 19TH CENTURY AD:
THE POTTERY ANALYSIS (SFI.415)

57

2708.1

101.5

101.4

0 1

Fig. 75 cm

Basins of Rachaya el-Fukhar production.

European porcelain
The hard paste porcelain manufacturing appears in Europe in the beginning of the 18th century.
Factories opened all over Europe, and by the late 18th and 19th centuries porcelain spread throughout
Europe and beyond. In Beirut, the European porcelain arrive via the port of the city. The archivesof Beirut’s port illustrate the importance of the city as an international commercial center during
this period. Amongst the merchant’s imports, the port receives faience from England, Italy, Franceand Austria [Cuinet 1896: 68].
The European porcelain is represented in Beirut SFI.415 excavation. Among others, the“Transfer-Printed Decoration” category is presented with six rim fragments of plates (Fig. 8 – 537.2,
1201.7, 1805.1, 1805.2, 1805.4, 1805.5). They belong to a deep dish with ledge rim, decorated
with floral, vegetal, and geometric patterns in blue or brown. This technique emerges around 1753
in many factories throughout England, imitating the Chinese blue and white porcelain [Savage,
Newman 2000: 296]. This category can be dated to the Middle of the 19th century [Vincenz (de)2017b: 116].
Another category of English hard paste porcelain is unearthed at SFI.415 site. Known as the“Flow Blue” or “Band-and-Lines Decoration on the Rim”, this porcelain was produced for the firsttime around 1820 in English factories, and also in Holland. The SFI.415 ceramics is comprised ofledge rim fragment of a deep dish (Fig. 9 – 1201.19), with a dark blue line painted on the rim. This
category can be dated to the 19th -early 20th centuries [Vincenz (de) 2017b: 117].
The “Feather Edge Ware” category is represented in our material with four ledged rim fragments

58

Grace HOMSY-GOTTWALLES

537.2

1201.71805.21805.4

Fig. 81805.1

1805.5“Transfer-Printed Decoration” porcelain.

of dishes (Fig. 9–601.1, 1201.4, 1301.8, 1301.9). This category is also named Shell Edge Ware.
It was also produced in England, and had a molded border decoration. The edge was then coloredin blue. The “Feather Edge Ware” can be dated to the 19th century AD [Vincenz (de) 2017a: 27].
The “Grands dejeuners” is a category of hard paste porcelain, made in many European factories,
notably French, English, Scottish and Holland, that flourished in the 18th and the 19th century
and were exported widely [Vincenz (de) 2017b: 116 – 117]. In SFI.415, one body fragment (fig.
9–1201.21) is noticed. The exterior is decorated with a blueberry pattern in red and deep blue, andgreen for the leaves. These bowls, made for milk and coffee, were designed specifically for French
breakfast, are usually a set with a saucer.
Finally, the “Mocha Ware” known as banded creamware, is a hard-paste porcelain producedin the late 18th century in England and later in France [Savage, Newman 2000: 36]. The sector
SFI415 in Beirut yielded one complete shape bowl, and one body fragment with a ring base andhemispherical body (Fig. 9–407.8, 1301.5). The decoration consists of one horizontal large blue
band, and three brown bands bordering the blue, one from each side from the exterior.
Smoking elements
Six smoking tobacco pipe fragments, all of oriental origin, have been discovered at SFI415 site (Fig.
10). They date from the 17th to the 19th century [Gosse 2001 – 2003: 120]. These tobacco pipes
illustrate the evolution of the smoking element. Two types can be identified in our fragmentarymaterial. The rounded bowl (1504.1), and the disk-based bowl (1901.1, 2201.1, Clg. 7, Clg.
9). In the beginning of the 17th century, tobacco pipes are introduced to the Ottoman Empire by
English sailors and merchants [Simpson: 1999: 14]. This device was small, with a gray or whitecolor [Robinson: 1985: 151]. The oldest pipes in our materiel that have a long stem and a smallrounded bowl, (101.2), dates to the late 17th century. In the second half of the 17th century appeared
the larger red slip tobacco pipes. The tobacco pipes became very common in the 18th and the19th century and are covered with a shiny, polished red slip on exterior [Hayes 1992: 391 – 395;
Robinson 1985: 149–203].

EVERYDAY LIFE IN BEIRUT-LEBANON FROM THE 12TH TO THE 19TH CENTURY AD:
THE POTTERY ANALYSIS (SFI.415)

1201.19601.1

1301.81201.41301.9407.8

Fig. 91201.211301.5

European porcelain: Flow Blue, Feather Edge Ware, Grands dejeuners, and Mocha Ware.

101.2

101.1

3506.12201.1

Clg.7

1901.1

Clg 9

Fig. 10

Clg.1

Smoking tobacco pipes.

59

60

Grace HOMSY-GOTTWALLES

Another smoking device was found at SFI.415 site; the water pipe or narghile (Fig. 11).
The narghile have been invented in Persia [Simpson 1999: 15] or India [Bakla: 2007: 64] in the
17th century AD, but were hand-held. The shape of the narghile used to smoke a special kind of
tobacco, tombac, differs from one region to another. Generally, the narghile consists of a watercontainer, a stem with a ceramic head burner for tobacco, and a reed. The SFI.415 site revealednine narghile burner head fragments. They are dated to the middle 19th-20th centuries AD [François
2012: 491, fig. 6: 17–19].

1909.13415.1516.20516.19516.21

Clg.5

Clg.6

Clg.4

Clg.2

Fig. 11

Narghile burner heads.

Conclusion
The artifacts uncovered in Beirut, sector SFI.415, were found in the cleaning and in disturbed
layers of the excavation, and dated to the medieval and post-medieval periods. These categories ofceramic material initiate a socio-economic reflection, not only of the site’s daily life, but also for
Beirut during the Medieval and post-medieval period.
The findings reveal that the people of this port city used local table and kitchen utensils, andsmoking devices, alongside with regional (Cyprus, Syria, Turkey, and Greece), and as far away as
Europe. This article reinforces the older publication that shows the ceramics unearthed from othersectors in Beirut are similar to those found on other archaeological sites in Lebanon, Cyprus, Syria,
Palestine/Israel, Turkey, and Greece.
Bibliography
Amouric, H., Richez, F. and Vallauri, L.
1999
Vingt mille pots sous les mers, Le commerce de la céramique en Provence et Languedoc du X e au XIX e siècle,Catalogue d’exposition, 27 mai-28 novembre 1999, Musée d’Istres, Édisud, Aix-en-Provence.
Arnaud, P., Llopis, É. and Bonifay, M.
1996“Bey 027 Rapport préliminaire”, BAAL 1: 98–134.

EVERYDAY LIFE IN BEIRUT-LEBANON FROM THE 12TH TO THE 19TH CENTURY AD:
THE POTTERY ANALYSIS (SFI.415)

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Altun, A., Akalın, Ş., Demirsar, B. and Yılmaz, H.
1996
Çanakkale Seramikleri/Çanakkale Ceramics, Suna-İnan Kiraç Mediterranean Civilizations Research Institute,İstanbul.
Aubert, C. and Nicolaïdès, A.
1997“Céramiques byzantines et four à barres médiéval de la place des Martyrs à Beyrouth”, in La céramiquemédiévale en Méditerranée, Actes du VI e Congrès de l’AIECM 2, 13–18 novembre 1995, Aix-en-Provence:
239 – 242.
Avissar, M. and Stern, E.J.
2005
Pottery of the Crusader Ayyubid, and Mamluk Periods in Israel, IAA Reports 26, Jerusalem, Israel Antiquities
Authority.
Blackman, M.J. and Redford, S.
2005“Neutron Activation Analysis of Medieval Ceramics from Kinet, Turkey, especially Port Saint-Symeon Ware”,
ANES 42: 83 – 186.
Bakla, E.
2007

Tophane Lüleciliği: Tophane Creativity of the Ottomans in Design and Joy of Life, Istanbul (in Turkish).

Cuinet, V.
1896
Syrie, Liban et Palestine. Géographie administrative, statistique, descriptive et raisonnée. Fasc. 1, Paris :Ernest Leroux Éditeur.
François, V.
1994“La céramique à glaçure à Malia : Productions médiévales italiennes et productions ottomans”, Bulletin deCorrespondance Hellénique 118: 375 –387.
2001 – 2002 “Production et consommation de vaisselle à Damas, à l’époque ottomane”, Bulletin d’Études Orientales LIIILIV: 157 – 174.
2012
“Objets du quotidien à Damas à l’époque ottomane”, Bulletin d’Études Orientales LXI: 475–506.
François, V. and Ersoy, A.
2011“Fragments d’histoire : la vaisselle de terre dans une maison de Smyrne au XVIIIe siècle”, Bultein deCorrespondance Hellénique 135: 377 –419.
François, V., Nicolaïdès, A., Vallauri, L. and Waksman, S.Y.
2003
“Premiers éléments pour une caractérisation de production des céramiques de Beyrouth entre domination
franque et mamelouke”, in Actes du VII e Congrès International sur la Céramique Médiévale en Méditerranée,
Thessaloniki 11 – 16 octobre 1999, Athènes: 325–340.
Goren, Y.
1997“Excavation of the Courthouse Site at ‘Akko: Preliminary Petrographic Analyses of the Ceramic Assemblage”,
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Gosse, Ph.
2007“Les pipes de la quarantaine ; Fouilles du port antique de Pomègues (Marseille)”, in P. Davey (ed.), The
Archaeology of the Clay Tobacco Pipe, XIX, British Archaeological Reports (International Series 1590),
Oxford: 1 – 13.
Hakimian, S. and Salamé-Sarkis, H.
1988“Céramiques médiévales trouvées dans une citerne à Tell ‘Arqa”, Syria 65: 1–52.
Hayes, J.W.
1992
Excavations at Saraçhane, Istanbul, The Pottery, II, Princeton University Press, Princeton.
Homsy-Gottwalles, G.
2009
Recherches sur la céramique glaçurée de Beyrouth à la période médiévale (IX e-XV e siècle), thèse de doctorat,
Université de Poitiers-France.
2010“Note sur les céramiques du couvent Notre-Dame de Balamand”, in N. Panayot et al., BAAL 14: 413–435.
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“The Medieval and Ottoman Periods at Saydet el-Rih Anfeh (Lebanon): Ceramic Evidence”, Berytus LVI:
313 – 349.
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Glazed Pottery of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea Region, 10th – 18th Centuries, volume 2, Stratum
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1985
“Tobacco Pipes of Corinth and of the Athenian Agora”, Hesperia 54/2: 149–203.
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1980
Contribution à l’Histoire de Tripoli et de sa région à l’époque des croisades. Problèmes d’histoire,d’architecture et de céramique, Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, Paris.
Savage, G. and Newman, H.
2000
An Illustrated Dictionary of Ceramics, London, Thames and Hudson.
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1999“Vice or Virtue? Early Reactions to the Spread of Tobacco in Arabia”, Bulletin of the Society for ArabianStudies, Society Lecture Reports 1999, (lecture given to the Society for Arabian Studies) 1st December 1999:
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“Excavation of the Courthouse Site at Akko: the Pottery of the Crusader and Ottoman Periods”, Atiqot 31:
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2009“The Early Islamic, Crusader and Mamluk Pottery”, in N. Getzov, D. Avshalom-Gorni, Y. Gorin–Rosen, E.J.
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Tonghini, C.
1998
Qal’at Ja’abar Pottery. A Study of a Syrian Fortified Site of the Late 11th-14th Centuries, Oxford University
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A STUDY OF DUCK-SHAPED STONE WEIGHTS: WILD DUCKS
AL-RĀFIDĀN
OR DOMESTIC
Vol. XLV
DUCKS
2024

63

A STUDY OF DUCK-SHAPED STONE WEIGHTS:
WILD DUCKS OR DOMESTIC DUCKS
Mai TSUNEKI*

Introduction
In ancient Mesopotamia, merchants were engaged in active commerce. For instance, Assyrian
merchants circa 2000 BC imported tin and woolen goods from Ashur to Anatolia, while sending
silver and gold back to Ashur as profits [Orlin 1970]. During that era, the weight of goods held
significant importance in trade, with the value of commodities frequently assessed in terms of silver
weights. Additionally, it’s documented that merchants of that period carried specific weights tomeasure their trading goods.
The British Museum houses several animal-shaped weights originating from ancient
Mesopotamia. These shapes encompass frogs, ducks, and, less commonly, lion and boar heads[Melein 2018: p. 32]. Most are made of stone, but bronze weights have been found as early as the
1st millennium BC [The British Museum: Museum No. 91220]. This article discusses the duckshaped stone weights found among these artifacts. Duck weights were quite prevalent in ancient
Mesopotamia and were either carved or cast resembling a duck, often with its head positioned in the
middle of its back [The Van Egmond Collection of Near Eastern Seals and Related Artifacts 2023].
Weights of this form were utilized extensively throughout the Levant, specifically coordinated toguarantee equitable trade between merchants and their customers [ibid.]. These weights were also
designed to be both aesthetically pleasing and functional, implying that those employing weights
sought beauty in their commodities [ibid.]. Thus, while the weights served utilitarian purposes, it
is documented that certain pieces were transformed into artistically valuable items. Therefore, what
was the rationale behind employing duck motifs on these weights? Furthermore, were these weights
genuinely crafted in the form of domesticated ducks?
This study aims to determine whether stone weights, particularly those crafted from hematite andshaped like ducks, originating from the second millennium BC, depict ‘wild ducks’ or ‘domesticatedducks’.
Domestication of Ducks
Domestication occurs across millennia, encompassing human intervention and control over nonhuman animals to breed them with ‘desirable’ traits tailored for human purposes [Barnes 2020].
Multiple theories abound regarding the domestication of ducks, and while an exact date remains
elusive, prevailing belief posits its domestication in Mesopotamia approximately 3,000 years in
the past [Ashton 2014: p. 83]. The prevailing notion suggests that ducks trace their origins backto a species of wild mallard, known scientifically as Anas platyrhynchos [Griffler 2018; Laatsch2023]. The earliest documented instances of domestication took place in Egypt, China, and Europe
around 4000 BC [Laatsch 2023]. During the second millennium BC in ancient Mesopotamia, ducks
served as a dietary resource and were also employed as symbolic motifs for weights. Mallards*

Special Researcher of the Institute for Cultural Studies of Ancient Iraq, in the School of Asia 21, Kokushikan
University, Tokyo, Japan; Assistant Professor, Economics and Informatics Department, Tsukuba Gakuin University,
Tsukuba, Japan

64

Mai TSUNEKI

are recognized to have existed in their wild state across extensive regions spanning Europe, Asia,
North America, and North Africa [ibid.]1). Whereas wild ducks lay around 12 eggs a year, somedomesticated ducks have been bred to lay as many as 300 eggs a year [Griffler 2018]. And whereas
chickens lay 250–280 eggs per year, domesticated ducks can lay 300 – 350 eggs per year [Laatsch2023]. Moreover, domesticated ducks possess the ability to sustain themselves and reach maturity
through a comparatively straightforward diet comprised of locally accessible feed. Duck meat andeggs stand as exceptional reservoirs of high-quality protein, energy, various vitamins, and minerals.
Additionally, feathers serve alternative purposes, such as bedding material for warmth [Deanand Sandhu 2023]. These domesticated ducks have also been found to be more productive thanchickens [Laatsch 2023].
In addition, ducks are classified as waterfowl and inherently need to swim, but the majorityof domesticated ducks do not need to swim and have lost the ability to fly. Ducks’ feathers areusually not long enough to fly, their muscles are not developed to fly and they are not suitable for
escaping predators, making them vulnerable to predation [Griffler 2018]. Thus, as a result of thedomestication of ducks, they were modified to make them easier for humans to raise.
Duck-shaped Stone Weights
The avian sleeping positions are categorized as follows: 1. lying on its back or with the billpositioned beneath the shoulder blades, recognized as the classic sleeping posture; 2. bill forward
or resting sleep posture; and 3. head resting on the ground [Amlaner and Ball 1983]. Moreover,the stone duck weights found within the British Museum collection, referred to as ‘sleeping duck,’
distinctly portray a duck in a resting position. Ducks commonly sleep in a single-file formation,with the outer birds often keeping one eye open as a defensive measure against potential external
threats [Hackett 2020: p. 60]. A hematite weight originating from Ur in Southern Mesopotamia,
housed within the British Museum collection, aligns with this case. Its dimensions are recorded as
9 × 18 mm, with a weight of 4.9 grams [The British Museum Collection No. 118572].
An additional specimen is an Old Babylonian duck-shaped weight crafted from white stone,
part of The Van Egmond Collection [The Van Egmond Collection No. 156]. Dating back to theperiod between 1925 BC and 1595 BC, this weight exhibits a duck form with distinct features:
an elongated neck encircling the body, a head lying flat at the center of the back, and a flattened
underside. Measuring approximately 20 mm and weighing 2.2 grams, it is speculated to represent
one-third of the standard Paleo-Babylonian weight in shekels [The Van Egmond Collection of Near
Eastern Seals and Related Artifacts 2023]. Notably, similar duck-shaped artifacts from the PaleoBabylonian era, albeit varying in weights and sizes, have also been unearthed [The Van EgmondCollection of Near Eastern Seals and Related Artifacts 2023]. These items were discovered as aset of three, further indicating their potential use as weights [The Van Egmond Collection Nos.
146–148].
Conclusions
This study aims to address whether the stone weights dated to 2000 BC depict the motif of ‘wild
ducks’ or ‘domesticated ducks’. Considering that the commencement of domestication traces backapproximately 3,000 years in Mesopotamia [Ashton 2014: p. 83], the 2000 BC timeframe falls within
the intermediary phase of this process. Consequently, it is presumed that the motif likely derived
1)

On the other hand, recent zoological inquiries propose an alternative origin for domesticated ducks, positing that they might nothave derived from mallards or tin ducks, but potentially from an, as of yet, undefined or unexamined wild duck population [Guo et
al. 2021].

A STUDY OF DUCK-SHAPED STONE WEIGHTS: WILD DUCKS OR DOMESTIC DUCKS

65

inspiration from ‘wild ducks’. However, the inquiry persists regarding the merchants’ preference
for this motif, as ducks, before their domestication, lacked fertility and therefore couldn’t symbolize
prosperity akin to frogs. To advance this investigation, an examination of the significance of duck
motifs is imperative not only in the context of contemporaneous lifestyles but also within the realmsof beliefs and cultural customs.
Acknowledgment
This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP23K12511.
Bibliography
Amlaner, C.J. and Ball, N.J.
1983
A Synthesis of Sleep in Wild Birds, Behaviour vol. 87, no. 1/2, pp. 85–119, (online) http://www.jstor.org/
stable/4534296 (accessed on 31 Dec. 2023).
Ashton, C. and Ashton, M.
2014
The Domestic Duck, The Crowood Press, Wiltshire.
Barnes, A.
2020
Domesticated, Feral, Or Wild: What’s the Difference?, The Open Sanctuary Project, (online) https: / /opensanctuary.org /domestic-feral-or-wild-whats-the -difference/ (accessed on 31 Dec. 2023).
Dean, W.F. and Sandhu, T.S.
2023
Domestic Ducks, Duck Research Laboratory, (online) https://www.vet.cornell.edu/animal-health-diagnosticcenter/programs/duck-research-lab/domestic-ducks (accessed on 31 Dec. 2023).
Griffler, M.
2018
Domesticated Ducks: How We Got Here, The Open Sanctuary Project, (online) https://opensanctuary.org/
domestic-ducks-how-we-got-here/ (accessed on 31 Dec. 2023).
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2021
Revisiting the Evolutionary History of Domestic and Wild Ducks Based on Genomic Analyses, ZoologicalResearch vol. 42(1), pp. 43 – 50, (online) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7840458 / (accessedon 31 Dec. 2023).
Hackett, P.M.W.
2020
The Complexity of Bird Behaviour: A Facet Theory Approach, Springer International Publishing, Switzerland.
Laatsch, D.R.
2023
The Origin of Ducks, The Extension Livestock Program, (online) https://livestock.extension.wisc.edu/articles/
the-origin-of-ducks/ (accessed on 31 Dec. 2023).
Melein, M.M.
2018
Iron Oxide Rock Artefacts in Mesopotamia c. 2600–1200 BC, An Interdisciplinary Study of Hematite, Goethite
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1970
Assyrian Colonies in Cappadocia, Studies in Ancient History Vol. I, Mouton De Gruyter, The Hague andParis.
The Van Egmond Collection of Near Eastern Seals and Related Artifacts
2023
Duck Weights and Seals, The Van Egmond Collection of Near Eastern Seals and Related Artifacts, (online)
https://thevanegmondcollection.org /duck-weights/ (accessed on 31 Dec. 2023).
【Online Collections】
The British Museum
Explore the Collection, (online) https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1848-1104-66 (Museum

66

Mai TSUNEKI

No. 91220), and https://www.britishmuseum. org/collection/object/W_1927-0527-45 (Museum No. 118572),
accessed on 31 Dec. 2023.
The Van Egmond Collection
The Van Egmond Collection of Near Eastern Seals and Related Artifacts, Duck Weights and Seals, (online)
https://thevanegmondcollection.org /duck-weights/ (Nos. 146–148 and No. 156), accessed on 31 Dec. 2023.

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１１．投稿は随時受け付けますが，その年の巻の締切は前年の１0月末日とします。

8．本文中に引用文献を指示するときは，大括弧の中に，著者名，刊行年次，引用ページの順序で記載する。
例）〔松井 １960: 30 – １35〕
〔大岡 １987: fig. １2; Naharagha １98１: 45ff.〕

１2．原稿の送付先，連絡先は次のとおりです。
〒１95-8550

本文中の該当箇所に明示する。

東京都町田市広袴１-１-１

ただし同一著者による同年刊行物が複数ある場合は，年次にアルファベットを付して区別すること。

国士舘大学21世紀アジア学部附属9．引用文献の記載要領は下記のとおり。

イラク古代文化研究所（１）文献の配列は，著者名のアルファベット順とし，日本「ラーフィダーン」編集委員会
電話：042－736－2343
F a x : 042－736－5482
Mail : iraq_jimu@kokushikan.ac.jp

人やアラブ人などの名もラテン字で表記したと仮定して順序を決める。
（2）文献の記載は著者名，年号，論題，誌名，巻，号，発行者（地）の順，もしくは著者名，年号，書名，発行者の順で配列する。書名，雑誌名はイタリック体を用いて執筆要項
１．原稿は横書きとし，原稿用紙に青または黒のペン書き，もしくはワープロ印字とする。本文ほか文字原稿は，可明示すること。
１0．原稿の印刷に関しては，原則として初校のみを著者校正
とする。

68

“AL-RĀFIDĀN” EDITORIAL POLICY
Guideline to writing

This journal is of an annual issue, designed to covervarious studies of ancient Western Asia. It is an institute1.

journal, but any external contributor will be welcome.
The adoption of article shall be left to the discretion of theeditorial board. The deadline for submission is the end of

The manuscript should be typed on one side only of
A-4 size paper. To be accompanied with digital files isstrongly preferable.

2.

October.

On the front page, to the exclusion of the text, thetitle of article should be written as well as the name,address and position of author(s).

Notes to contributors
1.

2.

3.

The papers handled include unpublished theses, re-tables as Digital Files in the computer disc, or on sepa-

ports, book reviews, translations, brief notes, etc. All

rate papers one by one (less than 23.5×16.0 cm eacharticles must be written in either Japanese or English inin size of completion of printing), with explanations andprinciple.

consecutive numbers respectively, and compile themaside from the text. In addition, designate, in the text,

For translated articles, the contributor should makewhere each one should be inserted.

themselves responsible for completing necessary procedures, such as copyright and permission to translate,3.

4.

covered by a tracing paper. Photo typesetting of letters,

editorial board.

numbers, etc. in illustrations can be done by the editorial
board.

Contributors should clarify the literature cited in the5.

They shall also require explanations, consecutive numbers, etc. mentioned in item 3.

Any manuscript, together with photos, maps,
figures, etc., submitted to the editorial board shall not

6.

7.

the relevant sentence in the text.

If a resume in any language needs to be printed,
please send it with manuscript.

7.

pages are arranged in order, enclosed in brackets:

papers with the title translated into Japanese, otherwise[Childe 1956: 30 – 32]

please trust it to the editorial board.

[Annahar 1943: 123; Agha 1946: pl. 15]

No payment shall be made for your manuscript.

If those of the same writer are published in the same

Two original copies of the journal and a PDF version ofyear, classify them by additional alphabet to the publication year.

an offprint shall be distributed free of charge. In caseof a joint article, two original copies, as well as a PDF

8.

Put all the references that have been quoted in the
text and notes, and write them as follows: (1) The

offprint, shall be distributed to each author.
9.

In the text, specify the literature for reference as
below; writer’s name, publication year, and quoted

Tables of contents will be presented in both Japaneseand English. Contributors are required to submit the8.

Explanator y notes should be written on separate
papers, each with a consecutive number to be given to

be returned.
6.

As for photograph, digital file is preferable. Positive
films and clearly printed photo-papers are acceptable.

Notes and quotations should be limited to thoseindispensable to the discussion.

5.

The drawings which were inked over should bewith the original author before their submission to thearticle.
4.

Please be sure to prepare necessar y drawings andwriters’ names are to be listed in alphabetical order.

The following is the address of the editorial board for

The names of Japanese, Arabs, etc. must be arranged

correspondence:AL-RĀFIDĀN Editorial Board,among the European names based on the supposition of

The Institute for Cultural Studies of Ancient Iraq, in thetheir having been rewritten in Latin. (2) The writer’s

School of Asia 21, Kokushikan University,

name, issue year, title, volume name, volume number,

1-1-1 Hirohakama, Machida, Tokyo, 195-8550 JAPANissue number and publisher’s name (place) are to be

T e l : JAPAN (+81) 42-736-2343

filled in the references in regular sequence. The title ofF a x : JAPAN (+81) 42-736-5482

journals or independent publications should be specified,in Italic letters.

Mail: iraq_jim@kokushikan.ac.jp
9.

As a rule, the first proofreading shall be done by theoriginal author.

[Editorial postscript（編集後記）]
As a new institute attached to a faculty (i.e., the School of Asia 21), theInstitute for Cultural Studies of Ancient Iraq (ICSAI) is proceeding on
a new way at the moment. At this new institute, however, publishing
ICSAI's journal, al-Rāfidān, will be continued with the expectation thatmany contributions will be submitted not only from within Japan but
also from abroad; and the new institute itself is, needless to say, aiming
to come back to fieldwork in Iraq as it was before. We do hope thatthe resumption of our work in Iraq will be realized in the near future,inshallah.
（H. Oguchi）

ラーフィダーン

第 XLV 巻2024

2024年（令和 6 年） 3 月31日発行
編集
発行

国士舘大学21世紀アジア学部附属
イラク古代文化研究所
東京都町田市広袴 1-1-1

印刷
製本

レタープレス株式会社

広島市安佐北区上深川町 809-5

VOLUME XLV

2024

PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE CHARMO (JARMO)
PREHISTORIC INVESTIGATIONS, 2023
by Akira TSUNEKI, Saber Ahmed SABER, Nobuya WATANABE,
Ryo ANMA, Sari JAMMO, Mariko MAKINO, Yuko MIYAUCHI,
Kirsi O. LORENTZ, Yu ITAHASHI, Minoru YONEDA,
Masanori KUROSAWA and Kei IKEHATAEVERYDAY LIFE IN BEIRUT-LEBANON FROM THE 12TH TO THE 19TH
CENTURY AD: THE POTTERY ANALYSIS (SFI.415)
by Grace HOMSY-GOTTWALLESA STUDY OF DUCK-SHAPED STONE WEIGHTS:
WILD DUCKS OR DOMESTIC DUCKS
by Mai TSUNEKI

THE INSTITUTE FOR CULTURAL STUDIES OF ANCIENT IRAQ
IN THE SCHOOL OF ASIA 21, KOKUSHIKAN UNIVERSITY
TOKYO