Located about five miles from the Iraqi border, just west of a major border crossing point called Yarubiyah, ancient Hamoukar lay on a major traffic artery from Nineveh to Aleppo. Over the years, several excavators have been interested in Hamoukar because it does have plenty of evidence for the Uruk period (c. 3200 B.C.), the time when the first cities were developed in southern Iraq and colonies were established in Syria. McGuire Gibson, of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, recounts a recent, systematic archaeological excavation of the site.\n\nExpedition Site\n