Kenan Tepe
Kenan Tepe · Kenantepe
Pottery Neolithic to Early Bronze (6000–3000 BCE; peak LCh–Uruk 4500–3100 BCE)·Halaf-Ubaid → Late Chalcolithic north Mesopotamian → Uruk fringe·🇹🇷 Diyarbakır Province, Bismil District, Upper Tigris, Turkey
About
About Kenan Tepe
Neighbourhood mound to Salat Tepe on the Upper Tigris T3 terrace, 4 ha, revealing elaborate Chalcolithic–Early Bronze communal architecture c.4500–3000 BCE: concentric stone-founded circular building complex with central courtyard, painted Halaf–Ubaid transitional ware, Late Chalcolithic workshop with copper and textile impressions, and Beveled Rim Bowls signalling Uruk contacts. Part of the Parker Upper Tigris survey, it anchors the village-to-town transition before Ilısu inundation, with Neolithic–Chalcolithic sequence better preserved than many Diyarbakır tells.
Why it mattersType-site for Upper Tigris Late Chalcolithic circular architecture; key to Uruk expansion northern limit.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Function of circles — plutocratic residence or communal granary?
Theories
- 01Pastoral–sedentary symbiosis node on Tigris ford
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. 6000 BCE (Pottery Neolithic)
- Period
- Pottery Neolithic to Early Bronze (6000–3000 BCE; peak LCh–Uruk 4500–3100 BCE)
- Culture
- Halaf-Ubaid → Late Chalcolithic north Mesopotamian → Uruk fringe
- Builders
- Upper Tigris villagers
- Purpose
- Communal storage and craft centre (textile, copper) on river terrace
- Abandoned
- c. 3000 BCE (EB I hiatus)
- Rediscovered
- 1998 Upper Tigris Archaeological Research Project (B. Parker); excavated 2000–2005
- Excavation
- Excavated
c.4500 BCE
Circular building complex built
c.3600 BCE
Uruk Bevelled Rim bowls appear
2005
Final season; site prepared for inundation
On the ground
Structures & features
37.8310° N · 41.1970° E · 525 m · 1 mapped feature
Circular building
buildingConcentric stone walls with central courtyard
37.8313° N · 41.1975° E