The pottery repertoire at the end of the third millennium BC as chronological marker between southern Mesopotamia and the neighbouring regions. The case-study of the Syrian Jazirah

The end of the third millennium BC in Southern Mesopotamia is characterized by a series of political events that, apparently, determined marked changes in the social structure of the area. Archaeologically, this period is still poorly represented, and a general reassessment of the available data is necessary. In the present paper, the pottery repertoire is taken as a case study for the identification of chronological markers of this period. The analysis of key pottery sequences allowed the identification of a homogenous ceramic horizon that characterized the timespan between the late Akkadian to the end of the Ur III periods. Two sub-phases are well distinguished by the presence/absence of types. The cross-dating between southern contexts and the well-know Syrian Jazirah helped in the better definition of the chronological limits of the two sub-phases and the general pottery phase as a whole. Nippur, Tell Asmar, Tell Brak and Tell Mozan have been used as key-sites.