Tell Mozan, located in northeast Syria in the Khabur River plain, is the site of ancient Urkesh, a place associated with the Hurrians, a Bronze Age people of Upper Mesopotamia. Its origins are lost in time, but are currently thought to extend to the early fourth millennium B.C. (...)
Tell Mozan, located in northeast Syria in the Khabur River plain, is the site of ancient Urkesh, a place associated with the Hurrians, a Bronze Age people of Upper Mesopotamia. Its origins are lost in time, but are currently thought to extend to the early fourth millennium B.C. An important religious site, the city drew its prosperity from the copper-rich highlands to the north, in modern-day Turkey. Excavations at Tell Mozan began in the 1980s, but it took almost a decade of work before the archaeologists were able to announce the discovery of Urkesh, in 1995. Hundreds of clay seals with depictions of the life and lore of the royal family, discovered during excavations, yielded precious information about the site’s history. Today, the uncovered remains of this fabled ancient city include a palace, a temple, an open plaza, and a large underground structure related to religious rituals.
