An Analyses of the Stone-Built Tombs in the IIIrd Millennium BC at the Tishrin Dam Area Syria

The rescue excavations in the Tishrin and Tabqa Dam areas, on the banks of the Euphrates, between 1964 and 2000 brought to light many urban centers dated to the 3 rd millennium BC, period of the rebirth of social complexity after the collapse of the Uruk system. The funerary traditions of the 3 rd millennium societies represent special performance embodying different rituals. Highlighting the existence of more than one inhumation method and tomb types in a single site, this papers focuses on the monumental stone-built chamber tombs, present in limited number in the middle Euphrates area. The architectural shapes and the social dimension of these funerary structures, as well as the funerary goods, are discussed.