Article
French
ID: <
10.4000/syria.5664>
·
DOI: <
10.4000/syria.5664>
Abstract
In the Early Bronze Age of North Mesopotamia, so-called metallic Ware is produced in small quantity but is of exceptional quality. This article presents an unpublished series of this pottery, from a survey carried out in the Upper-Khabur area of the Syrian Jezirah. A morpho-typological classification enables comparison with other sites in the Jezirah and the middle Euphrates, indicating that the material dates to the periods Early Jezirah 2 to 4 (approximately 2700-2150 bc). The distribution of the surveyed sites shows that the Metallic Ware concentrates in the northern part of the Khabur area. This observation supports the hypothesis of a production zone located in south-east Anatolia, exploiting special clay sources. This pottery appears in a context marked by the emergence of bronze metallurgy and urbanization. However, a direct link between Metallic Ware and the foundation of the circular towns known as Kranzhügel seems unlikely, in the current state of knowledge of the geographical distribution of both phenomena.