ARCHITECTURAL PATTERNS DURING NINEVITE V PERIOD “3000-2500 BC” IN THE KHABOUR BASIN

Abstract

The period extended between the end of the fourth millennium BC, i.e. Chalcolithic Age, and the beginning of the third millennium BC, i.e. Early Bronze Age, was characterized by the existence of a transitional period. That period is called Ninevite V, where radical changes had happened during it before shifting to build the big cities and the establishment of the Akkadian Empire around 2500 BC. After the settlement expansion across the last stage of the fourth millennium that is named LC 5 “Late Chalcolithic 5”, territories extended from the south of Iraq to the north of the Syrian Jazireh, we notice that a recess had occurred to that expansion and the number of inhabited sites, which were dwelled in high population density, had drastically decreased to only reach 30%, except of some small rural sites in north of Iraq and Khabour Basin in the north-east of Syrian Jazireh. This peri- od was marked - although it lasted for a short time - by several features, at top of them all, is its unique and dis- tinguished pottery that it had not been found anywhere before Ninevite V and which was characterized by its shape color and decoration. Distinctive pottery is not the only feature that characterized that period but also work specialization in Khabour Basin sites, and the architectural patterns which were simple and did not con- tain a lot of luxury aspects, and not too different from previous patterns.