  Shown within Iraq Show map of Iraq Ginnig (Near East) Show map of Near East | |
| Location | Nineveh Governorate,Iraq |
|---|---|
| Region | Upper Mesopotamia |
| Coordinates | 36°43′4.24819″N42°16′27.12868″E / 36.7178467194°N 42.2742024111°E /36.7178467194; 42.2742024111 |
| Type | tell |
| Diameter | 100 metre |
| Height | 0.5 metre |
| History | |
| Periods | Pre-Pottery Neolithic,Pottery Neolithic |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1987–1988 |
| Archaeologists | Stuart Campbell |
Ginnig is atell (archaeological settlement mound) inUpper Mesopotamia (modernNineveh Governorate,Iraq) that was occupied at the transition from thePPNB to thePottery Neolithic.
The site was discovered in 1986 during anarchaeological field survey directed byTony Wilkinson. It was excavated during a single season in 1987-1988 under the direction of Stuart Campbell, during which just over 80 m2 was excavated.[1]
Ginnig is located inNineveh Governorate (Iraq). The site measures some 80 by 100 m and extends ca. 50 cm above the surrounding plain. Excavation has shown that its depth is at least 2.2 m.[1]
A small excavation trench was dug down to virgin soil.Tauf walls were found in the deepest levels, but no pottery.[1]
The excavation revealed an almost complete building in the top-most, most recent level at Ginnig, with scant evidence for several other buildings. The complete building was constructed oftauf walls and consisted of multiple small, irregular rooms . It is possible that the building was built agglutinatively by adding rooms one at a time. Some of the walls may not have extended up to the roof. Small doorways gave access to the rooms and these are parallelled at other contemporary sites such as Sotto andYarim Tepe. Based on the artefacts that were recovered from the rooms, it has been suggested that each room may have been used for separate domestic activities. Animal bone and skull remains found at the bottom of the walls and in pits dug into the floors of the rooms have been interpreted as ritual deposits related to the "opening" and "closing" of the building. Small quantities of pottery were found in this level.[1]
The lithic material from the site seems to indicate that Ginnig was occupied from thePPNB to thePottery Neolithic.[1] The lithics are similar to those recovered from nearby sites such asQermez Dere andM'lefaat.[2] The pottery from the latest level has been described as a "monotone prototype version of the now well-knownproto-Hassuna assemblage".[2] The site is important as it one of only a few in Upper Mesopotamia where early ceramic material was excavated in combination with earlier, aceramic material.[3][4]