Tell al-Rimah (Qattara) High Temple and Ziggurat
Tell ar-Rimah · Tell er-Rimah · Qatara · Karana
Early Dynastic to Middle Assyrian (c.3000 BCE to 1100 BCE, peak Old Babylonian 1800–1500 BCE)·Assyrian / Mitanni / Old Babylonian (Qattara/Karana)·🇮🇶 Nineveh Governorate, Sinjar plain 80 km west of Mosul, south of Jebel Sinjar, Iraq
About
About Tell al-Rimah (Qattara) High Temple and Ziggurat
Major Assyrian mound Tell al-Rimah (ancient Qatara/Karana) on Sinjar plain: 600×400 m tell 30 m high with central high temple mound and Old Babylonian ziggurat stump 40×40 m, 15 m high with mudbrick core and baked-brick casing, palace of Samu-Addu (Shamshi-Adad layer) with cuneiform archive 400 tablets, and Ishtar temple. Mitanni–Middle Assyrian town. Excavated Seton Lloyd, Barbara Parker, David Oates 1964–71. Re-excavated after ISIS damage 2015. Key for Old Assyrian–Mitanni transition.
Why it mattersType-site for Old Assyrian Karana–Qattara debate; palace archive of Samu-Addu vassal to Shamshi-Adad I; Sinjar plain corridor control.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Qattara vs Karana identification
- 02Mitanni destruction layer
Theories
- 01Rimah as Qatara capital of Ila-Kabkabi dynasty predecessor to Shamshi-Adad
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.1800 BCE high temple-ziggurat phase (Shamshi-Adad / Samu-Addu palace contemporary)
- Period
- Early Dynastic to Middle Assyrian (c.3000 BCE to 1100 BCE, peak Old Babylonian 1800–1500 BCE)
- Culture
- Assyrian / Mitanni / Old Babylonian (Qattara/Karana)
- Purpose
- Provincial capital of Qattara (Karana) — high temple-ziggurat and palace of Shamshi-Adad vassal on Sinjar corridor
- Excavation
- Excavated
c.1800 BCE high temple-ziggurat phase (Shamshi-Adad / Samu-Addu palace contemporary)
Initial construction / foundation
c. 1200–600 BCE
Major use phase and refurbishment
20th century
Modern archaeological survey and excavation
On the ground
Structures & features
36.2571° N · 42.4493° E · 385 m · 3 mapped features
High Temple ziggurat
ziggurat40×40 m mudbrick ziggurat with baked-brick casing on citadel
36.2571° N · 42.4493° EPalace of Samu-Addu
palace80×50 m palace with tablet archive south of ziggurat
36.2568° N · 42.4490° EIshtar temple courtyard
templeTemple with altar and courtyard east of palace
36.2573° N · 42.4496° E
Gallery