Archaeology of a village in the Ottoman ruralscape: the case of Tell Zeyd

This paper presents evidence relating to the Ottoman period (sixteenth to early twentieth centuries) emerging from the ongoing Zeyd Archaeological Project. Launched in 2022 to investigate settlement patterns, land use, material culture, economy, and society in the hinterland of the historical province of Mosul across the Islamic period (seventh to early twentieth centuries), the project centres on archaeological research at the site of Tell Zeyd. Stratigraphic excavations are generating data on the occupational sequence, settlement organisation, production activities, agricultural and pastoral practices, dietary habits, and material culture. This article offers a synthesis of the Ottoman-period occupation, structured into four phases (E, D, C, and B), and briefly discusses a selection of glazed pottery types that may be regarded as diagnostically significant for this chronological framework.