Tell el-Kerkh
تل الكرخ · el-Kerkh, Idlib · Kerkh Rouj basin
PPN to Ubaid (c.8500–4000 BCE; Neolithic floruit 8500–6600 BCE)·PPN → Pottery Neolithic → Halaf → Ubaid Rouj·🇸🇾 Idlib Governorate, Rouj basin, Orontes tributary, Syria
About
About Tell el-Kerkh
Three-mound Rouj basin cluster west of Idlib (Kerkh 1–3), excavated by Iwasaki and Tsuneki (Tsukuba). Deep aceramic PPN plastered village, earliest pottery (8500 BCE), Halaf-Ubaid painted continuum — reference for Orontes neolithisation inland from Amuq.
Why it matters8500–6600 BCE Neolithic sequence for Rouj/Idlib with earliest pottery and Dark-Faced Burnished Ware before Halaf.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why Rouj aceramic persists after Amuq pottery?
Theories
- 01Iwasaki Rouj basin local invention vs Amuq diffusion
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- PPN village c.8500 BCE
- Period
- PPN to Ubaid (c.8500–4000 BCE; Neolithic floruit 8500–6600 BCE)
- Culture
- PPN → Pottery Neolithic → Halaf → Ubaid Rouj
- Builders
- PPN communities
- Purpose
- Rouj basin aceramic to Halaf centre on Idlib intermontane plain
- Rediscovered
- Modern archaeological survey/ rescue
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c.8500 BCE
PPN aceramic plastered village
c.7000 BCE
Earliest dark-faced pottery
c.5600 BCE
Halaf painted tholos
1990
Tsuneki Tsukuba excavation
On the ground
Structures & features
35.7200° N · 36.4500° E · 450 m · 3 mapped features
Tell el-Kerkh — Storage quarter
structureKey sub-area of Tell el-Kerkh (PPN to Ubaid) showing PPN horizon
35.7193° N · 36.4495° ETell el-Kerkh — Cemetery area
cemeteryKey sub-area of Tell el-Kerkh (PPN to Ubaid) showing PPN horizon
35.7201° N · 36.4501° ETell el-Kerkh — Kiln field
templeKey sub-area of Tell el-Kerkh (PPN to Ubaid) showing PPN horizon
35.7209° N · 36.4507° E
Gallery