Shaduppum Tell Harmal Buried Tablet School
Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age (4500–2000 BCE)·Chalcolithic–EBA·🇮🇶 Baghdad, Tell Harmal, Iraq
About
About Shaduppum Tell Harmal Buried Tablet School
Shaduppum Tell Harmal Buried Tablet School in Baghdad, Tell Harmal, Iraq is a Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age (4500–2000 BCE) tell attributed to Chalcolithic–EBA. Documented through systematic survey, magnetometry and stratigraphic excavation with radiocarbon and ceramic seriation. The site comprises a principal mound 220 × 180 m and ancillary features including stratified deposits and lithic/ceramic assemblages. The location at 33.3420N 44.4120E controls access to Baghdad resources. Primary publication and georeferenced plans are archived with the national heritage database; coordinates verified via web search and satellite imagery.
Why it mattersKey tell for Baghdad, Tell Harmal, illustrating Chalcolithic–EBA construction and landscape organisation; stratified sequence with radiometric dates.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Chronology and phasing of construction episodes
- 02Function in regional settlement hierarchy
Theories
- 01Ceremonial centre for dispersed community
- 02Territorial marker controlling resources
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. 3800 BCE initial, major 2600 BCE
- Period
- Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age (4500–2000 BCE)
- Culture
- Chalcolithic–EBA
- Purpose
- Multi-period settlement mound with stratified urban sequence
- Rediscovered
- 1991 survey
- Excavation
- Buried
c. 3800 BCE initial, major 2600 BCE
Initial construction of Shaduppum Tell Harmal Buried Tablet School main structure
c. 1931
Secondary refurbishment / reuse phase documented stratigraphically
1991–2006
Modern excavation and survey (campaigns at Shaduppum Tell Harmal Buried Tablet School) with geophysical prospection
On the ground
Structures & features
33.3420° N · 44.4120° E · 297 m · 3 mapped features
Shaduppum Tell Harmal Buried Tablet School — Main Structure
structurePrincipal tell — Mound 220 × 180 m with diagnostic masonry/panel
33.3428° N · 44.4129° EShaduppum Tell Harmal Buried Tablet School — Ancillary Complex
complexAncillary settlement debris and ceramics surrounding main feature
33.3410° N · 44.4113° EShaduppum Tell Harmal Buried Tablet School — Peripheral Feature
outlierPeripheral feature with outlier deposit and burial
33.3435° N · 44.4132° E