Step trench A

A long sequence from the Early Bronze Age to the Hellenistic period   

The excavation of a stratigraphic trench on the southern slope of the mound uncovered a sequence of buildings and installations dating to the final phase of the Early Bronze Age (3rd millennium BCE), a series of structures from the Middle and Late Bronze Age (c. 1800-1300 BC), and an occupation from the Late Achaemenid/Early Hellenistic period (4th – 3rd century BCE) to the Seleucid period (end of  4th – mid 2nd century BCE) and Parthian (mid 2nd century BCE – mid 3rd century CE) on the top of the site. The Early Bronze Age settlement is located at the foot of the main hill, where remains of a building and a large industrial area characterized by ceramic production kilns have been uncovered. The industrial area was later reoccupied with the construction of a building, of which a room has been brought to light. This room features an earthen floor and is enclosed by mudbrick walls measuring 1.20 m in thickness.   The Early Bronze Age occupation is covered by a terracing operation, on which beaten earth floors are directly superimposed. Due to the presence of hearths, this is interpreted as part of an open-air working area dated to the second half of the 2nd millennium BCE (Late Bronze).     
General view of the excavations of Step Trench A on the southern slop of the Aliawa mound   
A bilobed kiln discovered during the excavation of Step Trench A   
Detail of a sector of the imposing building of the end of the 3rd millennium BC   
Subsequently, this slope of the hill was abandoned until the end of the 1st millennium BCE (Late Achaemenid/Early Hellenistic period), when an additional terrace was constructed, serving as the foundation for a domestic building. Excavations have revealed the remains of two adjacent rooms, which were used during multiple phases, as evidenced by the superposition of three successive floor levels. Under the latest floor plan, a rectangular trench burial was found, covered and lined with mudbricks, with an adult male individual lying curled up on his right side, accompanied by a single cornelian pearl.  
Open air working area with a bread oven (tannur) dated to the early Late Bronze Age 
Detail of an adult burial found underneath the floor of a building dated to the end of the 1st millennium BC   

Area A

Administration of Foodstuffs in the Early 3rd Millennium BC: The Occupation of the Ninevite Period 5 (Aliawa IVA) 

The second area of occupation corresponds to the oldest phase of the site and consists of an area used for storing agricultural products located at the foot of the southern slope of the mound. In the charred levels associated with installations for food storage, a large quantity of carbonized grain remains, mainly barley, was found. A series of tablet fragments with cylindrical seal impressions shows central control of these resources. This occupation of the settlement was identified at the end of the 2022 excavation season and it dates to the first half of the third millennium BC, to the so-called Ninevite 5 period, which is characterized by the appearance of a distinctive dark-on-light geometric and floral-patterned ceramic. In later developments, a fine, purified grey clay ceramic with incised geometric designs arranged on overlapping horizontal bands or with incised geometric designs on a plain surface appeared. This type of decorative technique was realized by removing part of the vessel’s outer surface and by then adding the incised patterns on the parts which remained in relief. The most recurrent vessel shapes belong to table ware and include cups, carinated bowls, high footed cups, and small jars.    It is precisely at the beginning of the Early Bronze Age that we begin to witness the development of regional urban centers. This period, which will prove to be crucial for northern Mesopotamia, has still been poorly investigated in the Erbil plain.   
General view of the Ninevite 5 storage area V 
Cretula with seal impression found during the excavation of a silos 
Ninevite 5 painted pottery 

A large public building and an industrial complex for pottery manufacturing from the second half of the 3rd millennium BC (Aliawa IVB) 

A large-scale pottery production area, dating to the late 3rd millennium BCE (Akkadian Age), occupies almost the entire extent of Step Trench A, partially overlapping with a storage area from the Ninevite V period. While the precise boundaries of this craft complex remain undetermined, its current known extent exceeds 300 m². Over fifty kilns, distributed across three distinct terraces and interconnected by brick platforms, have been identified and excavated.  The kilns exhibit advanced systems for gas and heat distribution, utilizing horizontal ducts and vertical chimneys. The firing chambers were discovered filled with ash, with several kilns having collapsed while still containing pottery awaiting firing. Among the most remarkable findings is a collapsed kiln with vessels in situ and arranged within. The collapse effectively sealed and preserved the pottery, enabling detailed study and, in some cases, complete restoration. Most of the recovered items consist of large storage vessels, hand-crafted and wheel finished, some of which are decorated with applied rope motifs. Additional finds include a jar lid, a pot stand with triangular openings, and decorative elements such as engraved wavy lines and applied rope motifs. Another kiln was found filled with debris, including some fragments of potter’s wheel and tools used for smoothing and finishing vessels before their firing. These finds are essential for reconstructing the artisanal activities that took place within the complex. 
Panoramic view of the 3rd Millennium BCE industrial area
Panoramic view of a collapsed kiln with vessels in situ
Some tools related to pottery production
A large storage jar found in the collapsed kiln and fully restored
Example of a pot stand with triangular openings
A storage jar with applied rope decoration
The levels associated with the extensive craft complex yielded a large quantity of ceramics and several terracotta animal figurines. There are numerous storage jars, often waterproofed with a layer of bitumen, decorated with applications and incisions, as well as many medium and small-sized vessels. A typical production of this period is the high-fired ware known as “Taya ceramics”(from the first site where they were found). This ware was used for making cups and glasses with incised band decorations.,    The discovery of this production workshop is of great importance, as only one other comparable case is known in northern Mesopotamia at the site of Logardan in the eastern area of the region near the Zagros Mountains. 
Bronze pins, an incised spindle whorl and ceramic quadrupeds found during the excavation of the industrial area
Potter’s implements for the manufacturing of ceramic vessels 

Area B

Area B – The defensive buildings of the Seleucid era and the late occupations on the top of the site (Aliawa IX-XII) 

On the summit of the mound of Aliawa, two adjacent rooms have been uncovered, featuring three distinct phases of beaten-earth floors and thick walls made by quadrangular mudbricks. The intermediate phase of the building’s use revealed traces of destruction, likely caused by fire, followed by the collapse of the structures, which sealed the rooms with pottery in situ. In the western room, jars and a cooking pot were found on the floor next to a hearth, while in the eastern room, a complete handled jug and fragments of storage jars were discovered on a mudbrick bench running along the partition wall. The architecture of the structure and the types of materials uncovered within these two rooms suggest a domestic function for the building.   Radiocarbon analyses conducted on organic remains from the floor of the western room, combined with the study of the ceramic materials in situ, dated the building to the second half of the 1st millennium BCE, likely corresponding to the transitional period between the Achaemenid and Seleucid control of the region (4th – 3rd century BCE). 
Panoramic view of the Area B on the top of the mound with the overlapping Late Achaemenid – Seleucid – Parthian phases 
Ash lenses in the Western Room 
Mudbrick bench with in situ vessels in the Eastern Room 
In chronological continuity, during a properly Seleucid phase (late 4th – early 3rd century BCE), the domestic structures were obliterated by a terrace composed of a thick layer of purified, compacted clay and mudbricks. This terrace served as the foundation for a fortified building, likely constructed for defensive purposes and to control the territory south of Arbela. The excavated sector revealed rectangular rooms were delimited by walls made of mudbricks and strengthened with mortar. The defensive structure follows the natural slope of the terrain and extends into what were probably defensive towers, unfortunately only partially preserved. Beneath the beaten-earth floor of the latest phase of the building, a vaulted tomb constructed with fired bricks was uncovered. Around the burial, traces of ritual celebrations in honor of the deceased were identified, suggesting that the individual was likely a prominent figure in Aliawa during the Seleucid period.  The building was likely founded at the beginning of Seleucid control over northern Mesopotamia (late 4th/early 3rd century BCE) and underwent multiple phases of reuse until the 2nd century BCE. Among the diagnostic types characteristic of the Hellenistic period in northern Mesopotamia are the fish-plates (wide-rimmed serving plates), out-turned plates and bowls, incurved rim bowls, and rolled-over rim jars.   A relevant discovery was made by the finding of a silver tetradrachm of Alexander the Great, a coin that spread throughout the vast Macedonian empire, widely coined and characterized by the image of Hercules on the obverse and the image of Zeus on the reverse. 
Panoramic view of the hellenistic structures at the top of the mound of Aliawa  
A silver Tetradrachm of Alessander the Great  
Room with the hellenistic tomb constructed with fired bricks 
Hellenistic pottery 
The building was then abandoned, and the phases of collapse were obliterated by a further structure, dating back to the Parthian period (2nd century BCE- 3rd century CE) and characterized by regular rectangular rooms with well-made plastered floors and walls made of mudbricks which were preserved to a maximum height of 1.20 meters. Installations were found in the corners of the rooms and with the general architectural configuration of the structure suggest that this building had a domestic function with productive activities taking place within its rooms. In a later phase, the two southernmost rooms of the building were abandoned to accommodate circular installations and kilns, likely used for ceramic production.  Despite the limited quantity of ceramic materials recovered, a few identifiable types—such as handled jars with incised wavy decorations and large holemouth jars—allowed for a chronological attribution to the Parthian period through comparisons with contemporary sites in northern Mesopotamia. Among these, Assur stands out, where a remarkably similar ceramic production complex has been uncovered. 
General view of the Parthian productive area 
General view of the eastern room 
In the medieval era, the entire sector was refurbished for the storage of food goods and for the carrying out of artisan activities, as indicated by the presence of various circular wells, silos and drain pits which were dug by cutting the levels of previous phases. Oval necked amphorae with vertical handles decorated with incised geometric motifs, were found inside several of the pits, some of which were lined internally with bitumen, indicating an Islamic date for this occupational phase (Aliawa XII). Several fragments of glass objects were also found, including some twisted bracelets made of glass paste. 
Detail of a pit with an Islamic jar in situ 
Islamic jar with incised decoration. 
Fragment of a glass bracelet.

Area C and D

A large settlement of the 2nd millennium BC. The Middle Bronze and Late Bronze occupations (Aliawa VB-VIA)  

A survey shows that in the Middle and Late Bronze Age (2000-1200 B.C.) Aliawa was a center that expanded over almost 30 hectares, although some of the areas around the main mound were sparsely occupied Geo-physical and geo-archaeological investigations suggest that the settlement’s organization was bound to its specific economic role in ceramic manufacturing, as evidenced by two test-trenches in the southern and eastern area of the site.
Mapping and positioning of the excavation areas and of the geoarchaeological soundings in the south-western area of the site
In Area C, two quite eroded phases were uncovered: they were furnished with nine circular, mudbrick installations (probably kilns) arranged with benches and accessory features, with scarce but homogenous associated materials dated to the final Middle Bronze/early Late Bronze Age period. These anthropic levels are directly associated with the virgin soil, which is characterized by a layer of sterile clay. The test-trench in Area D, on the other hand, has yielded the remains of a domestic structure dated to the Middle bronze Age, with two rooms and an open area equipped with installations. A very well-preserved drainpipe inlaid into the floor attests to the presence of a system for water convoy, perhaps related to a larger conduct nearby, connecting Aliawa to the nearby great urban center of Kurd Qaburstan. 
General view of the structures discovered in Area C   
General view of part of the Middle Bronze Age building in area D, with detail of the small darin coated with bricks and stones next to the adjacent floor
General view of the canal which runs south of the site connecting it to Kurd Qaburstan

Area E

A Production Area at the Base of the Mound 

Area E has been investigated since 2023 in the southwestern sector of the mound. In this area, a building characterized by pressed clay and mudbrick walls has been uncovered, featuring numerous productive installations, including a series of rectangular basins built against the walls, a hearth, and well-crafted floors made of purified and pressed clay, pierced by drainage channels. The nature of the complex can be interpreted as a production area, although the limited materials found in situ do not allow for a more precise definition of its function. The dating of this complex to the Parthian period is probable, though diagnostic ceramic materials associated with the floor phases are very scarce.  After the structure was emptied and deliberately abandoned, the area experienced reuse and interventions up to the Ottoman period, when large circular installations and deep pits were constructed. These features yielded several diagnostic ceramic fragments from the period as well as terracotta pipe fragments. 
View of Area E and the production building 
Details of rectangular basins from the production building