This article summarizes two seasons of excavations at Tell al-Imsihly, a prehistoric site nearly 5 kilometers south of Assur. Archaeological excavations were conducted
by Iraq’s State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH) over a period of two seasons starting
in April 2000 and ending in late 2001. Iraqi archaeologists working at Assur were put in charge
of investigating the site. Due to damage and incursions on the site from plowing and
earthmoving activities, the goals of SBAH’s excavations were to obtain an idea of settlement
chronology and activity within and just outside of Tell al-Imsihly.
In 2006-2007, Dr. Altaweel collaborated with the Iraqi archaeologists who had excavated the
site in order to assist in interpreting some of the archaeological data as well as publication of the
excavations to a wide audience. Some original items and records from the excavations are not
currently available, and perhaps lost, but the archaeological report compiled by Mr. Hamza and
written in Arabic remains. In addition, many of the ceramic drawings and excavation
photographs have survived. The data presented by the Arabic report are the basis of the
presentation to follow, although some additional details have been provided by Altaweel
