During the twenty-eighth/twenty-seventh century, northern Mesopotamia and Syria experienced a new phase of urbanization. “Tell Leilan, Tell Mozan, and Hamoukar all grew from around 15 ha to 90–120 ha within a century (Pfälzner et al. 2004)” (Ur 2010: 405). Tell Brak expanded to 65–70 ha. In northern Iraq, major cities emerged at Tell al-Hawa, Tell Taya, and Tell Khoshi (Ur 2010: 405). The rise of the cities of Mari and Ebla within the same period resulted from a revival of contacts with southern Mesopotamia, and the development of networks in Anatolia and in the Aegean Sea – Crete being still marginal in these exchanges (Rahmstorf 2006a).