Inarchaeology, a tell, or tel ( Hebrew: תֵּלArabic: تَل, tall, 'hill' or 'mound'),[1][2] is an artificial mound formed from the accumulated refuse or deposits of people living on the same site for hundreds or thousands of years. A classic tell looks like a low, truncated cone with sloping sides[3] and can be up to 30 metres high.[4]
Tells are most commonly associated with the archaeology of the ancient Near East, Southeast Europe (Bulgaria[5] and Greece[6][7]), also reaching Central Asia and West Africa.[8] Within the Near East, they are concentrated in less arid regions, including Upper Mesopotamia, the Southern Levant, Anatolia and Iran.[4]
