Tell Qraya is predominantly a late-fourth millennium B.C. archaeological
site astride a natural conglomerate rock promontory on the west bank of
the Euphrates River, just five kilometers north of the large second
millennium B.C. city of Tell Asharah (ancient Terqa). In 1981 systematic
excavation of a major square and test trenches uncovered three
Protoliterate building phases. This excavation report offers a
comprehensive record of the stratigraphy, features such as burials,
walls, heaths, and fire pits, and all categories of artifacts such as
pottery, other ceramic objects, chipped stones, bone tools, stone
objects, bitumen objects, and unbaked clay objects. In addition to an
abundance of classical Protoliterate material of all kinds, including
cylinder and stamp seals, are painted pottery and other atypical
findings that may be indicative of inter-cultural contacts rather than
being intrusion from an earlier Ubaid period. The excavations at Qraya
were undertaken in conjunction with the work being carried out at Terqa,
and under the same permit. This was not only because of logistics, but
also because the site of Qraya may plausibly be considered as the one
from which Terqa took its origin, given their close proximity in space
and their neat juxtaposition in time.