Giricano Tepe South Lower Town
Giricano South · Grê Cano South Lower
Early Bronze to Middle Bronze (3000–1550 BCE)·Ninevite V → Hurrian → Old Babylonian → Mittani·🇹🇷 Diyarbakır Province, Bismil District, Upper Tigris Plain, Turkey
About
About Giricano Tepe South Lower Town
Giricano Tepe South Lower Town is the 4.2-ha south terrace below the main Early Bronze mound on the upper Tigris west of Ziyaret Tepe. Salvage trenches expose a Ninevite V burial field, Hurrian courtyard houses with Khabur ware, and an MBA Mittani storage building with Nuzi ware — documenting 1500 years of Tigris village continuity across the Hurrian–Mittani transition. Glyptic and botanical remains show sesame and barley cultivation in the Tigris floodplain, complementing Ziyaret's Assyrian archive.
Why it mattersTigris Hurrian–Mittani village continuity — Nuzi ware south lower town in Upper Tigris salvage zone
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01South lower town seasonal or permanent occupation?
- 02Mittani presence — garrison or traders?
Theories
- 01Schachner Tigris borderland continuity vs. Mittani influx
- 02Ilısu salvage diachrony Tigris villages
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.3000 BCE Ninevite V; Hurrian village 2300 BCE; MBA town 1900 BCE
- Period
- Early Bronze to Middle Bronze (3000–1550 BCE)
- Culture
- Ninevite V → Hurrian → Old Babylonian → Mittani
- Builders
- Hurrian villagers, Old Babylonian farmers, Mittani retainers
- Purpose
- South lower town of Giricano/Grê Cano — NA–MBA village 3km SE Giricano mound on Tigris terrace
- Abandoned
- c.1550 BCE Mittani contraction
- Rediscovered
- Excavated 2000–08 Schachner (Munich) as part of Ziyaret Tepe–Giricano salvage
- Excavation
- Buried
2000
Schachner opens Giricano south terrace, Ninevite V burials found
2005
Hurrian Khabur ware houses and Nuzi building published
2008
Ilısu salvage mapping completes south lower town 4.2 ha
On the ground
Structures & features
37.9200° N · 40.8000° E · 580 m · 3 mapped features
Ninevite V Burial Field (South)
necropolisNinevite V jar burials on south terrace 3000–2600 BCE
37.9208° N · 40.8006° EHurrian Courtyard Houses (Khabur ware)
settlementHurrian houses with Khabur painted ware south lower town
37.9193° N · 40.7991° EMittani Nuzi Storage Building
storageMittani Nuzi ware magazine with sealings 1500 BCE
37.9211° N · 40.8007° E