Life at the Edge of the Settlement. The MBA-LBA Transition at the Northern and Southern Slope of Tell Barri (NE Syria)

The very sparse archaeological evidence and the limited amount of textual data concerning the final phase of the MBA and the beginning of the LBA constitutes a serious obstacle in reconstructing the development of settlement patterns and cultural traditions in the Upper Khabur valley, the center of the Mittani state. In this respect, the stratified layers exposed in Tell Barri provide an opportunity to examine evidence from a continuously inhabited settlement, where changes can be evaluated based on modifications in the material assemblages of the site and in its architecture. Examining the development of spatial organization and changes in the pottery assemblage, issues about cultural traditions, regional links and chronology will be treated in an attempt to better understand the nature and meaning of the MBA-LBA transition as well as the changing status of the site during this obscure phase of its history.