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Pre-Historic Tell Arpachiyah

Pottery Vessel From Arpachiyah A small Tell (Arabic : mound) of the Halafian Period near Mosul in Iraq excavated by Mallowan in the 1930s. The site appears to have been a specialized artisan village producing exceptionally fine polychrome pottery. The settlement had cobbled streets, rectangular buildings and other circular buildings with domed vaults inappropriately compared to Mycenaean Tholoi. Later examples had rectangular anterooms. The function of these buildings is unknown: both religious and secular usages have been suggested. In addition to the painted polychrome wares other finds include steatite pendants and small stone discs with incised designs interpreted as early stamp seals ..... (AHSFC)

Early in the chalcolithic period the potters of Arpachiyah in the Khabur Valley carried on the Tell Halaf tradition with a technical ability and with a sense of artistry far superior to that attained by the earlier masters; their polychrome designs, executed in lustrous paint, show a richness of invention and a painstaking skill in draughtsmanship which is unrivaled in the ancient world .....

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