This ancient
Mesopotamian city is located in the rolling wheat fields of Northern
Syria on the
Habur River, also spelled
Khabur. The river is a major tributary of the
Euphrates River, and Tell Brak sits about 200 km north of the Habur/Euphrates junction.
The site was excavated by Max Mallowan in the 1930’s. The vast site is currently being excavated a British team led by Joan Oates and her husband David Oates.
This site was an Uruk Colony during the Late Uruk Period, 3500-3100 BCE. However, unlike Habuba Kabira and Jebel Aruda, this was not established by the extending reach of the southern city of Uruk. Tell Brak existed well before the Late Uruk Period, but southern influence affected it starting around 3500 BCE. An interesting monument from this period is the Eye Temple. It showed much affinity for the southern culture, but maintained its independence. As the Late Uruk Period passed, Tell Brak remained a strong city but diverged in its culture and ways. The art of Tell Brak remained northern, much more geometric and stylized.