Qermez Dere
قرمز دره · Qermezdere · Kermez Dere · Germez Dere
Terminal Natufian / Khiamian to PPNA (12,200–10,500 BCE)·North Mesopotamian PPNA (Proto-Neolithic piedmont)·🇮🇶 Nineveh Governorate / Dohuk, Upper Tigris foothills (Mosul Dam piedmont), Iraq
About
About Qermez Dere
Earliest northern Iraqi PPN village (c.12,200–10,500 BCE, Terminal Natufian/Khiamian to PPNA Proto-Neolithic) excavated by T. Watkins (UEA 1984–89) on the Tigris foothill terrace above the Mosul Dam. Circular pisé houses 2–4 m diameter with radial wall spokes, indoor bench and stone-lined pits, Khiamian arrowheads and early cultivator sickles, plus ritual building with monolithic pillars that foreshadow Göbekli T-pillars in the north. Demonstrates north Mesopotamian sedentary transition predating Levantine PPNA mega-sites and documents rain-fed foothill farming's origins between Çayönü and Abu Hureyra.
Why it mattersNorthernmost PPNA pillar cult attestation, linking Zagros piedmont (Nemrik, Hallan Çemi) to upper Euphrates Göbekli tradition; proves north Iraqi sedentary origins.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Are Qermez pillar sockets ancestral to T-pillars?
Theories
- 01Foothill rain-fed farming niche alternative to Levantine valley corridor
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. 12,200 BCE (Proto-Neolithic)
- Period
- Terminal Natufian / Khiamian to PPNA (12,200–10,500 BCE)
- Culture
- North Mesopotamian PPNA (Proto-Neolithic piedmont)
- Builders
- Northern foothill forager–farmers
- Purpose
- Piedmont farming–ritual village with pillar cult hall
- Abandoned
- c.10500 BCE (reoccupation as Tell Afar plain villages)
- Rediscovered
- 1983 Mosul Dam survey; excavated 1984–89 Watkins
- Excavation
- Excavated
c.11500 BCE
Radial houses and pillar building erected
1984
Watkins opens radial house trench
1989
Pillar cult building recognised as Göbekli forerunner
On the ground
Structures & features
37.5870° N · 41.0230° E · 480 m · 2 mapped features
Radial house 1
housePisé circular house with spoke partitions
37.5872° N · 41.0233° EPillar cult building
shrineRectilinear building with two stone pillar bases
37.5868° N · 41.0228° E