(For descriptions of the Achaemenid/Hellenistic occupation of Hacinebi, see McMahon 1996 and 1997 - full citations are listed on the "publications" page of this website.)
The Achaemenid/Hellenistic (5th-2nd centuries BC) occupation of Hacinebi overlies a thick erosion deposit that seals off the Early Bronze Age I strata. The remains of this period are almost entirely concentrated in the eastern portion of the mound, in areas A and B. Excavations, geophysical survey, and controlled surface collections of ceramics suggest that the Hellenistic settlement extended over an area of about .8 ha. - i.e. about one quarter of the 3.3 ha. mound.
Resistivity survey conducted in 1993 by Dr. Lewis Somers of GeoScan Research identified stone architecture forming large scale NW-SE oriented rectangular compounds at 1-2 meters beneath the current ground surface of the site. Excavations revealed that this architecture dated to the Hellenistic period - probably the late 4th century BC.
The Achaemenid/Hellenistic occupation can be divided into three distinct subphases:
a) Achemenid burials - ca. 5th century BC
b) Large scale Hellenistic architecture - perhaps a fortified garrison - 4th-3rd centuries BC.
c) Late Hellenistic grain storage pits - later re-used for burial or trash disposal - 3rd-2nd centuries BC.
Area B: Op. 7 Achaemenid tomb locus 28. Area B: Op. 13 Achaemenid tomb locus 38. Two richly furnished 5th century Achaemenid burials in area B povide the earliest evidence for this occupation phase.
Op. 7 burial 28 was a stone and mud-brick walled single burial whose grave goods included ceramics, silver and bronze jewelry,bronze arrowheads, a bronze mirror, and Egyptian artifacts such as a scarab seal with a griffin motif and two alabastra. A Achaemenid style silver signet ring with a griffin motif helped date the burial to the fifth century BC.
Op. 13 burial 38 consisted of a single burial placed in an oval "bathtub-shaped" ceramic coffin, set inside a covered mudbrick chamber. The associated grave goods included ceramic vessels, a bronze mirror with pieces of leather still adhering to it, silver jewelry, alabastra, and assorted bronze artifacts.
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| Area B: Op. 7 - NW-SE oriented stone foundations of a large scale planned complex that extended over at least 400 m2 across ops. 7, 11, 12, and 13. | Area A: Op. 10 Large scale Hellenistic architecture with well preserved mudbrick superstructure built on stone foundations. |
The main part of the Hellenistic occupation consists of large scale planned architecture of mudbrick on stone foundations aligned NW-SE. Traces of a fortification wall were found in Area A Op. 6 at the northeast edge of the site. The scale, planning, and lay-out of the Hellenistic architecture suggest that it may have been a garrison intended to guard the southern approaches to the nearby city of Zeugma/Apamea.
Over time, the architecture was modified, becoming increasingly domestic in character as rooms were subdivided, and ovens constructed. Weaving tools and loom weights are common in this and the subsequent subphase.In the final stage of the Hellenistic occupation, a series of large, deep, straight sided pits were dug into the abandoned and infilled structures. The pits were often lined with mud plaster, and may have originally served as grain storage facilities. The pits were then re-used for burials or trash disposal. Ceramics and coins suggest a 3rd-2nd century date for this final subphase.
After the Hellenistic occupation, the site was largely abandoned except for a small Roman period farmstead located at the western edge of the site in area C (ops. 5 and 16).