Alexander Tamm

Gird-i Kazhaw is a small settlement mound in the Sharizor plain, which was probably already occupied in the Early Bronze Age. In the Middle Bronze Age a new settlement, connected to the so-called Shamlu culture, was founded just to the north of still existing and flourishing older Kazhaw. Both villages were abandoned soon after. After a hiatus of nearly 2000 years both mounds were resettled under Kavadh I (488–496; 499–531). A small fortress and a large building might be seen in the context of safeguarding trade routes and a nearby spring; some finds further suggest the presence of a Christian community.

This paper discusses several finds relating to agriculture. The material stems from the Early Bronze Age site of Tell Chuera located in the dry farming belt of North Syria. The finds, most of them unpublished, include six carved drawings of ploughs, five of them were found in the area of Chueras EBA palace. We also discuss one plaque showing a threshing scene which was found in Steinbau VI, a temple in antis near the center of the site in 2008. Further, two identical sealings from recent excavations in Chueras lower town are presented. The sealings, both impressed on storage jars, depict a ploughing scene. The carved drawings, the plaque, and the seal impressions can be dated to the mid to late 3rd millennium, i.e. local period Tell Chuera ID to IE (EBA IVa/b).

Besides the graphic representations of agricultural equipment and practices, we also introduce a group of lithic artifacts interpreted as agricultural tools: large blades which are often referred to as Canaanean Blades. These blades represent a specialized lithic industry and were, at least to some extent, produced locally from an imported lithic raw material. Local production is attested by some finds of cores and production debitage. The blades were usually segmented and used as sickles, reaping knives, and possibly also as inserts for the threshing sledge (tribulum). Cananean Blades from Chuera were found in early and mid to late 3rd millennium contexts, i.e. local periods Tell Chuera IA to IE (EBA I to EBA IVb).