Hassuna, Archaeological site near Mosul, Iraq
Tell Hassuna is an archaeological site near Mosul containing six distinct settlement layers stacked on top of each other. The site shows remains of houses, storage pits, and domed ovens where early residents baked bread and kept grain in clay vessels.
The site was settled between 5750 and 5350 BC during one of the earliest phases of human agriculture. Excavations between 1943 and 1944 by the Iraqi Directorate of Antiquities uncovered these successive settlement layers and revealed how people adapted their way of living over time.
Female figurines and burial jars filled with food discovered here reveal how early residents viewed the afterlife and spiritual practices. These objects show what mattered most to the people who lived in this settlement.
The site sits in a flat region and is best visited during dry weather when the layers of earth are clearly visible. Wear sturdy shoes as you will walk over uneven ground to explore different areas of excavation.
Pottery found here includes a distinctive large oval dish with a corrugated inner surface that spread across a wide region from Eridu to Ras Shamra. This particular vessel shape remained remarkably consistent over vast distances, suggesting early trade or cultural contact between distant communities.
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