Preliminary results

The floors of the early 2nd millennium BCE houses were covered with reed mats which appear to have also been used for roof constructions. Charred grain and seeds collected from soil samples show that the inhabitants were not a nomadic population (this idea was shaped by al-Janabi who mistook the reed mat remains as traces of animal dung), but farmers. Among the cultivated grains, mostly emmer, wheat, einkorn and barley have been identified. Furthermore, the find of panicle (Panicum miliaceum) in these layers deserves special mention, as it is the earliest occurrence of this grain in Iraq so far.

Sheep, goats and pigs were kept as livestock and thus provided meat for the inhabitants. Fish, turtle and crabs supplemented the menu.

Botanical analysis is carried out by Manfred Rösch, Heidelberg University.

Faunal remains are analyzed by Joris Peters, LMU Munich.