Tell Umm al-Marra
تل أم المرى · Umm al-Marra · Tell Umm el-Marra
Early Bronze Age III–IV (c.2700–2000 BCE)·Syrian EBA (Ebla–Marra corridor)·🇸🇾 Aleppo Governorate, Jabbul Plain (south of Aleppo), Syria
About
About Tell Umm al-Marra
Jabbul Plain EB urban centre, 20 ha walled with acropolis and shaft tombs (c.2700–2000 BCE, EBIII–IV). Double-apsidal shaft-tomb mortuary complex with elite donkeys and gold-silver jewellery (reinterpreting Ebla-period elite), fortified citadel, Lower Town wall 1.2 km. Excavated 1994–2010 by Glenn Schwartz & Hans Curvers (Johns Hopkins/Amsterdam) shows EB IV post-Ebla urban fluorescence, archives, and donkey elite burial ridding. Later MB and Roman scatter.
Why it mattersOnly EB town with intact elite shaft tombs and equid equipes; post-Ebla EB IV urbanism.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Were donkeys sacrificed for chariotry?
Theories
- 01Jabbul pastoral elite model
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.2700 BCE EBIII foundations
- Period
- Early Bronze Age III–IV (c.2700–2000 BCE)
- Culture
- Syrian EBA (Ebla–Marra corridor)
- Builders
- Syrian EB urban elite
- Purpose
- Jabbul lake shore city, mortuary and trade centre between Ebla and Euphrates
- Abandoned
- c.2000 BCE EB IV end
- Rediscovered
- 1994 JHU survey
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c.2700 BCE
EBIII walled town founded
c.2300 BCE
EBIV shaft tombs with donkeys
c.2000 BCE
Abandoned
On the ground
Structures & features
36.1300° N · 37.6900° E · 380 m · 3 mapped features
Tell Umm al-Marra — Shaft tomb mortuary complex
tombEBIV double shaft tomb with 3 humans + 4 equids and jewellery
36.1305° N · 37.6900° ETell Umm al-Marra — Acropolis citadel
citadelFortified EB citadel with storage
36.1300° N · 37.6905° ETell Umm al-Marra — City wall east gate
gateEB town wall with gate and glacis
36.1295° N · 37.6895° E
Gallery