Location | Iraq |
---|---|
Coordinates | 35°31′10″N 45°21′34″E / 35.51944°N 45.35944°E |
Type | settlement |
History | |
Founded | c. 2300 BC |
Periods | Bronze Age |
Cultures | Akkadian, Ur III, Isin-Larsa |
Site notes | |
Excavation dates | 2012 to 2019 |
Archaeologists | C. Kepinski, Aline Tenu |
Condition | Ruined |
Ownership | Public |
Public access | Yes |
Tell Kunara is an ancient Near East archaeological site about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) southwest of Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. It lies on the Tanjaro River. The site was occupied from the Chalcolithic period to the early second millennium BC.[1]
The site was occupied in the Akkadian, Ur III, and Isin-Larsa periods. The excavators have speculated that the city, with its monumental buildings, was the capital of the Lullubi state. There were three occupational levels (levels 1 and 2 have been radiocarbon dated)
Epigraphic evidence shows the city had an ensi (governor) but under what auspices is unknown at present. [2][3][4]
Tell Kunara consists of two oval mounds, the western one higher than the eastern, separated by a modern road. The eastern mound is designated as the Lower Town. Overall the site extends to roughly 600 meters by 400 meters or about 10 hectares. The site was first visited in 1943 when Sabri Shukri of the Iraqi General Directorate of Antiquities in Baghdad conducted a survey, issuing a report dated November 10, 1943.[5][6]
The site was examined as part of a larger survey by C. Kepinski in 2011. A geomagnetic survey at Tell Kunara showed signs of a monumental (60 meters by 30 meters) building in the Lower Town[7] It has been excavated since 2012 by a French National Center for Scientific Research team led by Christine Kepinski and Aline Tenu. Work was then conducted in 2013 and again in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019. Since 2012 excavation has focused on the lower town.[8][9] A few 10 centimeter by 10 centimeter cuneiform tablets were found in 2015 (most concerning flour) and another group in 2018 (most concerning grain). Quantities were listed in a new type of gur (volume measure) not previously attested as opposed to the expected Akkadian Gur.[10][11][12][13][5][14]