تل غريفة | |
  Tell Ghoraifé Shown within Syria | |
| Location | 22 km (14 mi) east ofDamascus,Syria |
|---|---|
| Region | Damascus basin |
| Coordinates | 33°31′55″N36°31′52″E / 33.532°N 36.531°E /33.532; 36.531 |
| Type | tell |
| Part of | village |
| Area | 5 hectares (540,000 ft2) |
| History | |
| Material | clay, limestone |
| Founded | c. 7870–5840 BC |
| Periods | PPNB,Neolithic |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1974 |
| Archaeologists | Henri de Contenson |
| Condition | ruins |
| Management | Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums |
| Public access | Yes |
Tell Ghoraifé (Arabic:تل غريفة) is aprehistoric,Neolithictell, about 22 kilometres (14 mi) east ofDamascus,Syria. The tell was the site of a small village of 5 hectares (540,000 ft2), which was first settled in the early eighth millennium BC.[1][2]
A small, 2 square metres (22 ft2) excavation was made on the tell byHenri de Contenson in 1974.
Materials discovered, particularly the stylistic traits of thelithic tools, show similarities withSouthern LevantinePre-Pottery Neolithic A andPre-Pottery Neolithic B sites. Tell Ghoraifé is closely related otherNeolithic sites in the Damascus basin, likeTell Aswad andTell Ramad. Despite the similarities these sites share withEuphrates valley sites such as building materials, pre-potteryWhite Ware and burial rites, they represent a separate, distinct group from the Euphrates valley.[3]
Tell Ghoraifé is an important site to our understanding of the origin of agriculture. It is an example of a site with a long sequence over a millennium where the study of the evolution from wild to domesticated barley has taken place. Finds also included early domesticated wheat.[4][5]
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