Early Excavations
Tell Judaidah (Tell al-Judaidah, Tell Judeideh) is an archaeological site in south-eastern Turkey, in the province of Hatay. It is one of the largest excavated ancient sites in the Amuq valley, in the plain of Antioch. Settlement at this site ranges from the Neolithic (6000 BC) through the Byzantine Period. The first excavations at Tell Judaidah began in the 1930s, conducted by the American archaeologist James Breasted of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.
(Dr. Breasted)
(Dr. Swartz Dodd with her students)
Braidwood to Swartz Dodd
Excavations were continued by Robert Braidwood, and revealed the existence of human settlements in the Amuk valley in the Neolithic period as early as 6,000 BC. Rich discoveries of pottery helped to establish the sequence of successive ceramic shapes in the areas of the Eastern Mediterranean. Archaeological discoveries at Tell Judaidah included crucibles with tin rich copper encrustations, indicating a very early use of advanced metallurgical techniques around 4500 BC, including the use of metal alloys. Excavations in 1995 revealed the remains of a thick (1.5 m) wall of mud bricks on stone foundations, dating to the fourth millennium BC. Very early bronze statuettes known as "Amuq G figurines" were discovered dating to the period of 3400-2750 BC. Today the project is headed by Lynn Swartz Dodd of the University of Southern California.