LANDSCAPE STUDIES IN UPPER MESOPOTAMIA 1992-93 Annual Report At
first sight the Jazira region of Upper Mesopotamia with its bare
rolling uplands and semi-arid plains seems a bleak prospect for
studies of the archaeological landscape. Although broken by
numerous tells of ancient settlements the terrain is otherwise
apparently featureless. It has therefore been my mission over
the last decade or so to try to describe and to analyze this
landscape in a manner that is useful not only to archaeologists
but also to anyone interested in the ancient Near East. Figure
1. Map showing the main mound, lower town, outer town, and
suburbs of Titris Höyük. The archaeological landscape of the
Jazira can be broken down into the following basic components:
(a) Archaeological sites, best represented by mounds or tells,
but also present as low or flat scatters of occupation debris.
(b) Extensive scatters of pottery, slag from kilns, and other
debris that probably resulted from the use of trash and organic
refuse hauled from neig