tell

Tell Barri, northeastern Syria, from the west; this is 32 meters (105 feet) high, and its base covers 37 hectares (91 acres) Tel Be'er Sheva, Beersheva, Israel

In archaeology, a tell (from Arabic: تَلّ‎, tall 'mound, small hill') is an artificial topographical feature, a mound consisting of the accumulated and stratified debris of a succession of consecutive settlements at the same site, the refuse of generations of people who built and inhabited them, and natural sediment.