Tell Tuneinir (Area 6 - Market)
Basic information
Sample name: Tell Tuneinir (Area 6 - Market)

Reference: M. A. Loyet. 1999. Small ungulate butchery in the Islamic period (AD 632-1260) at Tell Tuneinir, Syria. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 58(1):33-45 [ER 3750]
Geography
Country: Syria

State: Al-Hasakah



Coordinate: 36° 25' 18" N, 40° 51' 59" E
Coordinate basis: stated in text

Time interval: Holocene

Max Ma: 0.00077

Min Ma: 0.00069

Age basis: other

Geography comments: "Tell Tuneinir is situated on the eastern bank of the Khabur river, 15 km southeast of Al-Hasakah, northeastern Syria. It consists of a central mound, 18.2 metres high, surrounded by a lower city covering an area of 46 hectares".
"Use of the market falls between A.D. 1180 and A.D. 1260 based on mint dates of associated coins".

Environment
Lithology: not described

Taphonomic context: human accumulation,settlement

Archaeology: buildings,ceramics,other artifacts,other structures

Habitat comments: "Tuneinir is one of the largest tells in the area and at its highest point rises 20 meters above the surrounding plain. The ruins can be divided into three zones: the mound summit and the lower town, which are both located on the tell proper, and the suburban settlements, which are located on the plain surrounding the tell".
"A total of eight areas have been excavated, both on and off the tell: Area 1 consists of a step trench extending from the summit down the eastern edge of the tell; Area 2, near the summit of the tell, encompasses the remains of Ayyubid and Mamluk houses that belonged to the elite; Area 3 is a low mound situated on the eastern edge of the suburban settlement, off the tell proper, containing the remains of a Christian church; Area 4 is the south khan, or caravansary, which includes a small mosque; Area 5 is a bath complex; Area 6 is the market area; Area 7 is the north khan, which is much smaller than the south khan; and Area 8 consists of houses that belonged to the workers of the tell".

Methods
Life forms: ungulates

Sampling methods: quarry

Sample size: 318 specimens

Years: 1987 -

Sampling comments: The faunal remains below were obtained from the market area (Area 6), where butchery probably took place. "The market is one large building that consists of fifty rooms, all of which open onto the streets on each side of the building or the courtyard in the centre of the building".
"Forty-nine 5 x 5 metre squares were excavated. The faunal remains were hand collected and not screened".

Metadata
Sample number: 3998

Contributor: Benjamin Carter

Enterer: Benjamin Carter

Created: 2022-10-07 11:50:28

Modified: 2022-10-07 00:55:03

Abundance distribution
8 species
0 singletons
total count 318
geometric series index: 8.5
Fisher's α: 1.490
geometric series k: 0.6351
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.6815
Shannon's H: 1.5594
Good's u: 1.0000
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
Register
Ovis aries2441 kg
Capra aegagrus hircus2122 kg browser-grazer
also 1068 Caprinae indet.
Bos taurus168337 kg
Equus ferus caballus39422 kg
"Equus caballus"
Equus africanus asinus15287 kg
"Equus asinus"; also 31 Equus sp.
Sus scrofa domesticus2954 kg herbivore
Gazella sp.15
Camelus dromedarius7448 kg