Tell Taya


Tell Taya is an archaeological site at a tell in Nineveh Province. It was occupied from the third to the first millennia BCE.

History of archaeological research

The site was first recorded by Seton Lloyd in 1938 during his survey of the region. Tell Taya was excavated by a team from the British School of Archaeology in Iraq led by J. E. Reade in 1967–1969 and 1972–1973. Numerous stone structures were investigated, and pottery, along with a few tablets and cylinder seals, were recovered in the 9 layers. One of the cyclider seals was
quite unusual, containing only cuneiform writing which has not yet been deciphered.

Tell Taya and its environment

Tell Taya lies about southwest of Mosul and Nineveh. The location controls a formerly rich agricultural area and an important trade route. It covers about and the central tell is around high.

Occupation history

The site was heavily occupied on and off during the second half of the 3rd millennium, with some re-use in the Old Babylonian period and the Neo-Assyrian period. There is some evidence of Early Dynastic occupation, but major building at Tell Taya began around the time that the Akkadian Empire emerges.