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Eski Mosul Dam Salvage Project Excavations of the Polish Center of Archaeology, University of WarsawReport on Polish excavations on Tell Rijim on the western bank of the Tigris. Middle Bronze Age layers are reported: architecture, with two houses, pottery kiln and various other structures; pottery is examined in detail with chapters on fabric, forms and decoration with a comprehensive catalogue; other small finds are described as well. The first structures date from the 18th century BC and belonged to an irregularly planned open village which, in 1600 BC underwent a decided transformation, with fortifications and a deep ravine, although the settlement itself remained small and was certainly not an administrative centre. It seems that the later settlement was a dimtu settlement, which, if true, would make Tell Rijim the oldest such settlement known from the archaeological record.

The author's objective in this study was to re-assess the available textual evidence on Mesopotamian dimâtu to present a new interpretation of its meaning. This included taking into consideration all the cuneiform texts of the second millennium BC from Mesopatamia, Syria and Elam, published prior to 2001, in which the term dimtu appeared. The first part of this study considers these references, and the presence of dimtu in other regions of the Near East. The second part of the book comprises a presentation of the archaeological evidence, starting with a chapter devoted to Tell Fahar. The third part discusses the origin of dimâtu and considers the role dimâtu played in the economy and administration of Greater Mesopotamia in the second millennium BC. In addition, the work contains 9 Appendices giving, amongst other details, lists of settlements, dates of tablets, scribes, finds, and family archives.