Proceedings of the 10th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (ICAANE) 25–29 April 2016, Vienna. Volume 2 3447109971, 9783447109970

Table of contents :
Cover
Title Pages
Imprint
Contents
PREHISTORIC AND HISTORICAL LANDSCAPES & SETTLEMENTPATTERNS (edited by R. Salisbury)
R. Koliński: An Archaeological Reconnaissance in the Greater Zab Area of the Iraqi Kurdistan (UGZAR) 2012–2015
J.S. Baldi: Chalcolithic Settlements and Ceramics in the Rania Plain and Beyond: Some Results of the French Archaeological Mission at the Governorate of Sulaymaniyah
R. Brancato: Settlement Patterns in the Upper Tigris River Region between the 4th and 1st Millennia BC
J. Ferguson: Across Space and Time: Results of the Wadi ath-Thamad Project Regional Survey
C. Coppini: The Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project: Preliminary Results from the Analysis of the Second Millennium BC Pottery
C. Verdellet: The Foothill of Zagros during the Bronze Age: SGAS Preliminary Results
J.-J. Herr: Neo-Assyrian Settlements in Rania, Peshdar and Bngird
M. Labbaf-Khaniki: Long Wall of Asia: The Backbone of Asian Defensive Landscape
C. del Cerro Linares: Landscape and Settlement Patterns on the Al Madam Plain (Sharjah, EAU) during the Iron Age
C. Castel – G. Mouamar: Third Millenium BC Cities in the Arid Zone of Inner Syria: Settlement Landscape, Material Culture and Interregional Interactions
S.A. Shobairi: Beyond the Palace: Some Perspective on Agriculture and Irrigation System in the Achaemenid Heartland
S. Döpper – C. Schmidt: Settlement Continuity and Discontinuity in Northern Central-Oman
J. Budka: The Urban Landscape of Upper Nubia (Northern Sudan) in the Second Millennium BC
A. Politopoulos: Creating Imperial Capitals: From Aššur to Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta
Y. Kanhoush: Tell Mishrifeh-Qatna (Syria), Area T: First Approach to a Middle Bronze Age Residential Area in the Upper Town
M. Sharifi: Archaeological Excavations and Studies in the Zard River Basin, Ramhormoz, Khuzestan, Iran
D.D. Boyer: Landscape Archaeology in the Jarash Valley in Northern Jordan: A Preliminary Analysis of Human Interaction in the Prehistoric and Historic Periods
ECONOMY & SOCIETY (edited by F. Höflmayer)
T. Adachi – S. Fujii: Shell Ornaments from the Bishri Cairn Fields: New Insights into the Middle Bronze Age Trade Network in Central Syria
J.S. Baldi: Between Specialized Productions and Hierarchical Social Organizations: New Data from Upper Mesopotamia and the Northern Levant
T. Bürge – P. M. Fischer: Ivory at the Transition from the Late Bronze to the Early Iron Age in Transjordan: Trade and Distribution
S. Caramello: Physicians on the Move! The Role of Medicine in the Late Bronze Age International Gift Exchange
E. Casadei: Linking the River and the Desert: The Early Bronze Age I Pottery Assemblage of the Wadi Zarqa Region
P. Charvát: Oriental Subtleties: Counter-marking of Archaic Ur Seals Again
A.C. Felici – A. Fusaro – A. Ibrahim – K. Lashari – N. Manassero – M. Piacentini – V. Piacentini Fiorani – A. Tilia: Banbhore, a Major Trade Centre on the Indus’ Delta: Notes on the Pakistani-Italian Excavations and Research
A. García-Suárez: Re-evaluating the Socioeconomic Role of Small Built Environments at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey
T. B.H. Helms: Fortress Communities of the 3rd Millennium BCE: The Example of Tell Chuera, NE Syria
L. Hulin – S. German: Up from the Sea: Mariner Networks in Ports across the Late Bronze Age Eastern Mediterranean
F. Marchand: Use-wear Analysis of Bronze Age Lithics in Tell Arqa (Akkar Plain, North Lebanon)
R. Matthews – A. Richardson – O. Maeda: ‘Behind all those Stones’: Activity and Society in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of the Eastern Fertile Crescent
V. Oselini: The Cultural Influence of Mesopotamian States in the Upper and Middle Course of the Diyala River during the Mid-2nd Millennium BC
W.J. Reade – K.L. Privat: Glass Vessels from Hellenistic Jebel Khalid on the Euphrates, Syria: An Indicator of Greek Influence in the East? Questions of Production
G. Tucci: Workshops in the Southern Levant: The Case of Jewellers during the Late Bronze Age
M. Yamafuji: Subsistence Systems in a Semi-Arid Zone: Late Early Bronze Age (EBA) Self-Sustenance of the Copper Production Centre in Faynan Region, Southern Jordan
EXCAVATION REPORTS & SUMMARIES (edited by T. Bürge)
D. Al Yaqoobi – M. Shepperson – J. MacGinnis: Excavations on the Fortifications of the Citadel of Erbil
V.W. Avrutis: Southern Levantine Interregional Interactions as Reflected by the Finds from an Early Bronze Age I Burial Ground at Nesher-Ramla Quarry (el-Hirbe), Israel
A. Chaaya: Results of the First Season of Excavation at the Medieval Castle of Gbail / Byblos
A. D’Agostino – V. Orsi: The 2013–2015 Excavation Seasons at Usakli Höyük (Central Turkey)
I. Gagoshidze – E. Rova: 2013–2015 Activities of the Georgian-Italian Shida Kartli Archaeological Project at Aradetis Orgora (Georgia)
A. Golani – S. R. Wolff: The Late Bronze I and Iron Age I Remains at Tel Dover in the Jordan Valley, Israel
V.R. Herrmann – D. Schloen: Zincirli Höyük, Ancient Sam’al: A Preliminary Report on the 2015 Excavation Season
M. Işıklı: A Pioneer Site in Urartian Archaeology: Rusahinili Eiduru-kai. A summary of twenty-five years of excavations at Ayanis castle in Van, Turkey
H. Koubková – Z. Wygnańska: Early Third Millennium BC Settlement in the Western Khabur Basin: Preliminary Results of the Pottery Analysis from the Khabur Basin Project Surveys
M. Makinson – Z. Wygnańska: A Spatial and Functional Analysis of ‘Building 4’ at EBA III Tell Fadous-Kfarabida (Lebanon)
M. Malekzadeh – A. Hasanpour – Z. Hashemi: Bronzes of Luristan in a Non-funerary Context: Sangtarashan, an Iron Age Site in Luristan (Iran)
A. Polcaro – J.R. Muñiz: Dolmen 534: A Megalithic Tomb of the Early Bronze Age II in Jebel al-Mutawwaq, Jordan: Preliminary results of the 2014 Spanish-Italian expedition in Area C South
G. Russo: The Iron Age Pottery from Tell Mishrifeh (Qaṭna): Preliminary Results from the German-Syrian Excavations
T.E. Serifoglu – N. MacSweeney – C. Colantoni: Before the Flood: The Lower Göksu Archaeological Salvage Survey Project: The results of three seasons of survey in the Göksu river valley of Mersin Province, Turkey
K. Shimogama: The Japanese Excavations at Tell Ali al-Hajj, Rumeilah, on the Euphrates: Settlement, Material Culture and Chronology
T.B.B. Skuldbøl – C. Colantoni: Culture Contact and Early Urban Development in Mesopotamia: Is Garbage the Key to Understanding the ‘Uruk Expansion’ in the Zagros Foothills of Northeastern Iraq?
A. Tenu: Excavations at Kunara (Iraqi Kurdistan): New Results

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Proceedings of the 10th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East Volume 2

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

Proceedings of the 10th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East 25–29 April 2016, Vienna Edited by Barbara Horejs, Christoph Schwall, Vera Müller, Marta Luciani, Markus Ritter, Mattia Guidetti, Roderick B. Salisbury, Felix Höflmayer and Teresa Bürge

2018

Harrassowitz Verlag · Wiesbaden

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

Proceedings of the 10th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East Volume 2 Prehistoric and Historical Landscapes & Settlement Patterns Edited by Roderick B. Salisbury Economy & Society Edited by Felix Höflmayer Excavation Reports & Summaries Edited by Teresa Bürge

2018

Harrassowitz Verlag · Wiesbaden

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.dnb.de abrufbar. Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the internet at http://dnb.dnb.de.

For further information about our publishing program consult our website http://www.harrassowitz-verlag.de © Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden 2018 This work, including all of its parts, is protected by copyright. Any use beyond the limits of copyright law without the permission of the publisher is forbidden and subject to penalty. This applies particularly to reproductions, translations, microfilms and storage and processing in electronic systems. Printed on permanent/durable paper. Printing and binding: Memminger MedienCentrum AG Printed in Germany ISBN 978-3-447-10997-0 e-ISBN PDF 978-3-447-19743-4

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Contents

Contents PREHISTORIC AND HISTORICAL LANDSCAPES & SETTLEMENT PATTERNS (edited by R. Salisbury) R. Koliński An Archaeological Reconnaissance in the Greater Zab Area of the Iraqi Kurdistan (UGZAR) 2012–2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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J. S. Baldi Chalcolithic Settlements and Ceramics in the Rania Plain and Beyond: Some Results of the French Archaeological Mission at the Governorate of Sulaymaniyah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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R. Brancato Settlement Patterns in the Upper Tigris River Region between the 4th and 1st Millennia BC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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J. Ferguson Across Space and Time: Results of the Wadi ath-Thamad Project Regional Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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C. Coppini The Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project: Preliminary Results from the Analysis of the Second Millennium BC Pottery . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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C. Verdellet The Foothill of Zagros during the Bronze Age: SGAS Preliminary Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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J.-J. Herr Neo-Assyrian Settlements in Rania, Peshdar and Bngird . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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M. Labbaf-Khaniki Long Wall of Asia: The Backbone of Asian Defensive Landscape . . . . . . . 113 C. del Cerro Linares Landscape and Settlement Patterns on the Al Madam Plain (Sharjah, EAU) during the Iron Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 C. Castel – G. Mouamar Third Millenium BC Cities in the Arid Zone of Inner Syria: Settlement Landscape, Material Culture and Interregional Interactions . . . 137 © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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S. A. Shobairi Beyond the Palace: Some Perspective on Agriculture and Irrigation System in the Achaemenid Heartland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 S. Döpper – C. Schmidt Settlement Continuity and Discontinuity in Northern Central-Oman . . . . . 163 J. Budka The Urban Landscape of Upper Nubia (Northern Sudan) in the Second Millennium BC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 A. Politopoulos Creating Imperial Capitals: From Aššur to Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta . . . . . . . . . 191 Y. Kanhoush Tell Mishrifeh-Qatna (Syria), Area T: First Approach to a Middle Bronze Age Residential Area in the Upper Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 M. Sharifi Archaeological Excavations and Studies in the Zard River Basin Ramhormoz, Khuzestan, Iran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 D. D. Boyer Landscape Archaeology in the Jarash Valley in Northern Jordan: A Preliminary Analysis of Human Interaction in the Prehistoric and Historic Periods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223 ECONOMY & SOCIETY (edited by F. Höflmayer) T. Adachi – S. Fujii Shell Ornaments from the Bishri Cairn Fields: New Insights into the Middle Bronze Age Trade Network in Central Syria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239 J. S. Baldi Between Specialized Productions and Hierarchical Social Organizations: New Data from Upper Mesopotamia and the Northern Levant . . . . . . . . . . 247 T. Bürge – P. M. Fischer Ivory at the Transition from the Late Bronze to the Early Iron Age in Transjordan: Trade and Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261 S. Caramello Physicians on the Move! The Role of Medicine in the Late Bronze Age International Gift Exchange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275 © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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E. Casadei Linking the River and the Desert: The Early Bronze Age I Pottery Assemblage of the Wadi Zarqa Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287 P. Charvát Oriental Subtleties: Counter-marking of Archaic Ur Seals Again . . . . . . . . 303 A. C. Felici – A. Fusaro – A. Ibrahim – K. Lashari – N. Manassero – M. Piacentini – V. Piacentini Fiorani – A. Tilia Banbhore, a Major Trade Centre on the Indus’ Delta: Notes on the Pakistani-Italian Excavations and Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315 A. García-Suárez Re-evaluating the Socioeconomic Role of Small Built Environments at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329 T. B. H. Helms Fortress Communities of the 3rd Millennium BCE: The Example of Tell Chuera, NE Syria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337 L. Hulin – S. German Up from the Sea: Mariner Networks in Ports across the Late Bronze Age Eastern Mediterranean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357 F. Marchand Use-wear Analysis of Bronze Age Lithics in Tell Arqa (Akkar Plain, North Lebanon) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369 R. Matthews – A. Richardson – O. Maeda ‘Behind all those Stones’: Activity and Society in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of the Eastern Fertile Crescent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377 V. Oselini The Cultural Influence of Mesopotamian States in the Upper and Middle Course of the Diyala River during the Mid-2nd Millennium BC . . . . . . . . . . 391 W. J. Reade – K. L. Privat Glass Vessels from Hellenistic Jebel Khalid on the Euphrates, Syria: An Indicator of Greek Influence in the East? Questions of Production . . . . 405 G. Tucci Workshops in the Southern Levant: The Case of Jewellers during the Late Bronze Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419 © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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M. Yamafuji Subsistence Systems in a Semi-Arid Zone: Late Early Bronze Age (EBA) Self-Sustenance of the Copper Production Centre in Faynan Region, Southern Jordan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431 EXCAVATION REPORTS & SUMMARIES (edited by T. Bürge) D. Al Yaqoobi – M. Shepperson – J. MacGinnis Excavations on the Fortifications of the Citadel of Erbil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447 V. W. Avrutis Southern Levantine Interregional Interactions as Reflected by the Finds from an Early Bronze Age I Burial Ground at Nesher-Ramla Quarry (el-Hirbe), Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461 A. Chaaya Results of the First Season of Excavation at the Medieval Castle of Gbail/Byblos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475 A. D’Agostino – V. Orsi The 2013–2015 Excavation Seasons at Uşaklı Höyük (Central Turkey) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485 I. Gagoshidze – E. Rova 2013–2015 Activities of the Georgian-Italian Shida Kartli Archaeological Project at Aradetis Orgora (Georgia) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 497 A. Golani – S. R. Wolff The Late Bronze I and Iron Age I Remains at Tel Dover in the Jordan Valley, Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511 V. R. Herrmann – D. Schloen Zincirli Höyük, Ancient Sam’al: A Preliminary Report on the 2015 Excavation Season . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521 M. Işıklı A Pioneer Site in Urartian Archaeology: Rusahinili Eiduru-kai . A summary of twenty-five years of excavations at Ayanis castle in Van, Turkey . . . . . . 535 H. Koubková – Z. Wygnańska Early Third Millennium BC Settlement in the Western Khabur Basin: Preliminary Results of the Pottery Analysis from the Khabur Basin Project Surveys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547 © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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M. Makinson – Z. Wygnańska A Spatial and Functional Analysis of ‘Building 4’ at EBA III Tell Fadous-Kfarabida (Lebanon) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563 M. Malekzadeh – A. Hasanpour – Z. Hashemi Bronzes of Luristan in a Non-funerary Context: Sangtarashan, an Iron Age Site in Luristan (Iran) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577 A. Polcaro – J. R. Muñiz Dolmen 534: A Megalithic Tomb of the Early Bronze Age II in Jebel al-Mutawwaq, Jordan: Preliminary results of the 2014 Spanish-Italian expedition in Area C South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589 G. Russo The Iron Age Pottery from Tell Mishrifeh (Qaṭna): Preliminary Results from the German-Syrian Excavations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601 T. E. Şerifoğlu – N. MacSweeney – C. Colantoni Before the Flood: The Lower Göksu Archaeological Salvage Survey Project: The results of three seasons of survey in the Göksu river valley of Mersin Province, Turkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613 K. Shimogama The Japanese Excavations at Tell Ali al-Hajj, Rumeilah, on the Euphrates: Settlement, Material Culture and Chronology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 627 T. B. B. Skuldbøl – C. Colantoni Culture Contact and Early Urban Development in Mesopotamia: Is Garbage the Key to Understanding the ‘Uruk Expansion’ in the Zagros Foothills of Northeastern Iraq? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 639 A. Tenu Excavations at Kunara (Iraqi Kurdistan): New Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 653

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

PREHISTORIC AND HISTORICAL LANDSCAPES & SETTLEMENT PATTERNS edited by R. Salisbury

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

An Archaeological Reconnaissance in the Greater Zab Area of the Iraqi Kurdistan

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An Archaeological Reconnaissance in the Greater Zab Area of the Iraqi Kurdistan (UGZAR) 2012–2015 Rafał Koliński 1 Abstract Three seasons of archaeological reconnaissance in an area of 3058km² located on both banks of the Greater Zab between Eski Kelek and Bêxmê were carried out within the framework of the ‘Settlement History of the Iraqi Kurdistan’ project from 2012–2015 . Fieldwork revealed the presence of 180 archaeological sites, 40 heritage monuments (structures), and 91 caves in an area of c . 2100km², located mainly on the western bank of the river. The fieldwork revealed varying settlement landscapes throughout the studied area. The most intensive settlement was evidenced in the eastern part of the alluvial Navkūr Plain (Ḫazīr-Gomel catchment area), where more than 40% of the registered sites were located. The Greater Zab valley, the northern bank of Bastora Çaĩ, and the mountain oases west of Akrê township revealed a moderate density of settlement, while the badlands between Akrê and the Greater Zab valley seem to have been sparsely colonized, with settlement only in the Parthian-Sasanian period.

1. Introduction The aim of the project ‘Settlement History of the Iraqi Kurdistan’ is to study the settlement development and dynamics in the area between Tigris River and Kurdistan Mountains from the Palaeolithic period to c. 1950 AD. The basis for this study is a dataset collected during archaeological reconnaissance (the Upper Greater Zab Archaeological Reconnaissance project – UGZAR) combined with a regular survey aimed at identifying, registering and dating ancient settlements and other heritage monuments . The 3058km² study area is located partly on the eastern and partly on the western bank of the Greater Zab River, south of the Şax-ĩ Akrê, Şax-ĩ Pĩrat and Şax-ĩ Harĩr mountain ranges (Fig. 1). Another focus of the project is to study the preservation of and potential threats to these archaeological sites and heritage monuments (Koliński 2016a). The activities of the UGZAR project constitute an element of an international effort to map archaeological sites within Iraqi Kurdistan, a part of Iraq which has long been neglected by archaeologists because of the difficult situation of Iraqi Kurdistan: first internal, and later international. Consequently, the only available sources of information on the settlement pattern in this part of the country were two publications of the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage of Iraq: a gazetteer of sites published (Salman 1970), and an atlas (Salman 1976). Deterioration of the situation in Syria beginning in the spring of 2011, and a high level of internal safety inside the Kurd-

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Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Rafał Koliński

istan Region of Iraq since 2007, sparked increased interest in this area, resulting in a rapid restoration of archaeological activities . This pioneering period was summarised during the Athens conference of 2013 and in two publications resulting from this convention (Kopanias et al. 2015; Kopanias and MacGinnis 2016). The UGZAR project is carried out in close cooperation with three other major survey projects conducted in the provinces of Duhok and Erbil, namely the Erbil Plain Archaeological Survey directed by Jason Ur (Harvard University), the Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project, directed by Daniele Morandi Bonacossi (University of Udine), and the Eastern Ḫabur Archaeological Survey, directed by Peter Pfälzner (Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen). All of these projects cooperate within the framework of the informal Assyrian Landscapes Research Group, sharing common methodology concerning the use of satellite imagery, similar site collection strategies, and the same comparative pottery catalogue used for chronological determinations (Ur 2013a) . 2. Project methodology The study of the settlement history of the Iraqi Kurdistan was structured in three subsequent stages, which have been repeated in subsequent years. These stages include: - setting up a tentative list of archaeological sites in the area of study, - verifying tentative identifications in the field and searching for sites that were not previously recorded, - studying settlement dynamics and heritage preservation on the basis of data collected in the field. The final phase of the project comprises the preparation of an exhaustive publication of the collected data . 2 .1 Tentative site determinations According to the methodology adopted by the Assyrian Landscapes Research Group, the UGZAR team prepared a tentative list of archaeological sites and other heritage objects before moving into the field. Two main datasets were used as the basis for this study . The more important one contained satellite imagery, both past and recent . The main source of historical satellite photographs of the area comes from various CORONA spy satellite missions. Images acquired in 1967 and 1968 were either consulted via the CORONA Atlas of the Middle East website (launched and maintained courtesy of the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies, University of Arkansas/U.S. Geological Survey), or were made available to the UGZAR team by Jason Ur. The CORONA footage was compared to relatively recent imagery available via Google Earth™ and BingMaps® platforms, the latter being much more useful due to higher resolution and © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

An Archaeological Reconnaissance in the Greater Zab Area of the Iraqi Kurdistan

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more recent imagery. Tentative identifications were usually based on soil marks, used to identify flat sites, and shadow marks in combination with soil marks to identify mound sites (Beck et al . 2007) . However, judging from a perspective derived from four field seasons, it must be stressed that this method, which is highly efficient in the North Mesopotamian Plain (Ur 2003; 2013b), is far from satisfactory in terms of its effectiveness in the highland and mountainous areas (Koliński 2016b). Tentative identifications were subsequently related to maps showing the distribution of archaeological sites on the territory of Iraqi, in the provinces of Erbil, Duhok and Ninawa (Salman 1976: especially maps 2, 7, and 51), and to a gazetteer of archaeological sites of Iraq (Salman 1970) . 2.2 The fieldwork Four field seasons (2012–2015) have allowed the collection of a huge data set of archaeological sites and other heritage monuments, composed of 180 archaeological sites, 91 caves, 40 architectural monuments and 4 rock reliefs. During this time, 10,082 pottery fragments and finds of other categories were collected, of which 3762 were identified in terms of a general chronology (Tab. 2). The survey has covered c. 2100km² (68%) of the work permit area. The sites and other monuments were identified in three ways: on the basis of tentative identifications done before moving into the field, on the basis of interviews with the local population, especially with the moxtars, or headmen, of villages, and by active prospection in the field (including transects) (Tab. 1). The verification of tentative satellite imagery based identifications revealed that this method has a limited efficiency in the study area. Its efficiency was satisfactory in the case of sites located on the Navkūr plain (along Karabak creek); that is, on an alluvial plain which does not show remarkable topographic features . Many of these sites were also known from the maps of the Atlas of Archaeological Sites in Iraq . Interviews with moxtars lead to discovery of numerous new sites, but usually the disclosed information referred to sites already known from the Atlas . Transects revealed a considerable number of small, typically flat sites, which were difficult to spot on the satellite imagery, and had not been known either to the authors of the Atlas, or to the local populatio1suring tape. Only the more significant structures were recorded using a total-station. As a rule, collection areas were created on the site, usually covering only part of its surface, as determined according to site morphology. Only at smallest or materially poorest sites was the entire site area considered as a collection area . Photographic documentation covered the site itself, its geographic context, features present on the site (destruction, modern activities of various kinds), as well as large archaeological objects, which, due to their large dimensions and weight made retrieval difficult (stone implements like querns, mortars, door-sockets, complete or nearly complete baked bricks, etc .) . Two other categories of sites – caves and architectural monuments – were identified primarily from interviews; only a few of them were listed in the gazetteer of © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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archaeological sites (Salman 1970). Architectural monuments were usually located within existing settlements, and if not, they were often too small to be observed on available satellite imagery (for instance gristmills). Caves could not be spotted on satellite imagery; the gazetteer provided a list of no less than 37 caves located in Şax-ĩ Akrê, providing names for all of them, but these names could not be confirmed by the present population of neighbouring villages, likely due to recent population movements. Again, field activities of the UGZAR project greatly increased the number of recorded caves; even more caves exist in the studied area, but these were difficult to access, due to their remote location or because they opened on a very steep slope or in rock cliffs, and therefore could not be entered . 2 .3 Study of the collected material Small finds and pottery sherds were documented by drawing, photography and technological description. The collected material was also characterized in terms of the Working Typology (Ur 2013a) to one of the 21 chronological periods . These determinations were used as the primary tool for dating settlements and, in combination with data on the distribution of particular types over collection areas, made the reconstruction of changes in size and usage of the settlements possible. The sites were plotted on the project map according to the collected GIS data. At the end of each season, basic data on the relation between the chronology of settlements and their temporal distribution were analysed for the purpose of an interim report on the fieldwork. More detailed studies were usually carried out between the field seasons. At the end of each season, an interim report, a site distribution map, and inventory cards of all sites, architectural monuments (and caves as well in 2015) were deposited both in the regional and in the central office of the Kurdistan Antiquities Directorate. The same set of data has typically been published with a few months’ delay on the website of the project (archeo.amu.edu.pl/ugzar/indexen.htm). 3. Interim results The studied area turned out to be highly diversified with respect to morphology and environmental conditions, forming at least seven sub-regions, each representing particular landscape, morphology, and environmental conditions . These regions are as follows: the Şax-ĩ Akrê valleys (designated 1 on Fig. 1), the eastern Ḫazīr catchments (2), the eastern Navkūr plain (3), the Greater Zab valley (4), the Bastora Çaĩ valley (5), the Zark Bardarĩş plain (6), and the Akrê badlands (7). Four years of fieldwork has revealed that the trajectory of settlement development varies in each of these regions . Site concentrations were observed in the Greater Zab valley, in the Bastora valley, and on the alluvial plain along Karabak creek, constituting the easternmost part of the Navkūr plain. Conversely, some regions were only sparsely © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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settled; for instance, the area between Akrê and the Greater Zab valley, which was settled only from the mid-1st millennium AD onwards. 3.1 Settlement dynamics in the UGZAR project area The Neolithic period in the UGZAR area is represented by the proto-Hassuna and Hassuna cultures (period 1). Proto-Hassuna was encountered exclusively at Gird-ĩ Alĩ Aǧa (S006), a site known from the pioneering research carried out in Kurdistan by Robert Braidwood (Braidwood and Howe 1960: 26, 37). The site, relatively well preserved, yielded an axe of polished stone. Hassuna was encountered at five sites, two of which yielded abundant evidence of settlement; a very small number of painted sherds were encountered . The aggregate settlement area for this period is a mere 4 .3ha (six settlements) . The Chalcolithic period reveals a trend of steady increase in the number of settlements, but without a significant change as to their size. The Halaf period (period 2) is evidenced at 18 sites, located nearly exclusively on the Eastern Navkūr plain. A relatively high number of settlements may reflect the high visibility of painted Halaf pottery . Period 3 (Ubaid) is known from only 13 sites . These are distributed in the same area as Halaf sites, although there seems to be a low continuity factor between these two periods. Late Chalcolithic 1–2 (Period 4) is represented at 23 sites, with an aggregate area of 21 .5 ha . This increase in the number of settlements is complemented by the settlement of new areas: the Greater Zab valley and the Bastora Çaĩ valley. The situation in the Late Chalcolithic 3–5 (period 5) is more interesting, as among 24 sites, there is a significant pattern regarding the presence and of absence of Southern Uruk material . Twenty sites located on the western bank of the Greater Zab represent local northern assemblages, with only a few southern Uruk sherds present. The only exception is site S146, located on a high cliff opposite of site S002, representing a nearly pure southern assemblage, located on the eastern bank of the river. Two more sites, one on the Greater Zab and one on Bastora Çaĩ, demonstrate that for some reason, the southerners penetrated exclusively the eastern bank of the Greater Zab (Fig . 2) . During the 3rd millennium BC, the first significant change in the settlement pattern of the region occurs. The earlier part of the millennium (period 6 – Ninevite 5 pottery) reveals a settlement pattern typical for the earlier periods, although sites become much more numerous (47 sites, aggregate area 43 .2ha) and are much more widely dispersed . The later part of the 3rd millennium brings about a significant change. The number of identified sites drops to 24, but among smaller villages there is one urban site (S074) of an area of over 30ha. No site of a similar size has been identified in the Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project (Morandi Bonacossi, pers. comm .), and thus it seems likely that the site contains the remains of an urban centre controlling the entire Navkūr plain. The pottery of period 7 (mid- and later 3rd millennium BC) mainly represents the later part of this period, corresponding to the Akkadian and Post-Akkadian period in historical terminology, and the establishment © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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of this urban centre can be tentatively dated towards the end of the early Jazireh III period, i .e . c . the 24th century BC (Middle Chronology). There is no evidence available at present allowing for the identification of the name of this city. The Middle and the Late Bronze Age are represented by a very similar settlement pattern, marking one of the peaks in the settlement density in the UGZAR project area. The Middle Bronze Age is represented by 49 sites, of an aggregate area of 98.6ha. No site of a size similar to the late 3rd millennium BC centre at S074 is present; instead, three townships of an area between 10 and 14ha were identified, all located on the eastern part of the Navkūr plain. It seems that during this period, the main centre is located outside of the survey area, and the sites in question (S074, S80, and S100) represent a local level of administration and economy. Also similar is the situation during the Late Bronze Age: 56 sites of an aggregate area of 145 ha include four medium size sites (S80, S100, S116 and S141), whose distribution demonstrates a significant degree of continuity with respect to the previous period . It can be remarked that at this level of analysis of the data, the Mitanni period has not been differentiated from the Middle Assyrian one. The Middle Bronze Age landscape in the UGZAR area corresponds closely to the one evidenced in the Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project (LoNAP) area during the corresponding periods (Morandi Bonacossi, pers . comm .) The Neo-Assyrian period brings a further intensification of settlement, with 68 sites adding up to an aggregate area of 168ha. However, the increase is based on development of an extensive settlement pattern, involving numerous small sites . Indeed, only two settlements extend over an area of more than 10ha, confirming the hypothesis of rural intensification during this period. This phenomenon has also been commented upon by previous studies (Wilkinson et al. 2005; Ur and Osborne 2016). Similar to the situation observed by surveys in other parts of Assyria, the Post-Assyrian/Achaemenid period brings about a collapse of settlement, although this may in part be due to the difficulty in recognizing pottery from this period (Gavagnin et al. 2016: 146–147). Only 20 sites belonging to this period are identified in the studied UGZAR project area, with a mere 29 sherds (Koliński, in press). The Hellenistic/Seleucid period brings a restoration of an extensive settlement landscape, as indicated by the presence of 53 settlements of an aggregate area of 137ha, including three larger settlements located in the Navkūr plain area. This settlement pattern is typical for the Parthian period as well . It features a steady growth of the settlement density (62 settlements covering an area of 162ha). The appearance of new settlements in this area is typical for this period, with examples from the Akrê-Zab badlands area and in the hilly plain north of the Bastora valley (Fig . 3) . Figures for the Sasanian period were comparable . The apex of settlement density falls to periods 16–17 (Late Sasanian/Early Islamic), corresponding most likely to the first two centuries after Hijrah. Eighty identified sites from this period included as many as six settlements larger than 10ha . These, however, were not cities, but rather extensive villages composed of loosely distributed households, as reflected by an uneven distribution of sherds on the surface, © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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forming a reoccurring pattern of more and less dense surface scatter . The overall area of settlement for this period rises to 219ha . The later Islamic period (periods 18 and 19) represents a drop in settlement density and area by about 50%. A similar situation is observed during the last of the predefined settlement periods – the Ottoman. However, the Working Typology distinguishes only a limited number of characteristic sherds for periods 18 and 19, which might influence the UGZAR chronological determinations. In summary, the settlement history of the studied area may be summarised in the following way: - The slow development of rural settlement (periods 1–6), - The beginning of the urban era and an intensification of settlement (periods 7–11), - Post-Assyrian collapse (period 12), - Later Iron Age recovery (periods 13–16), - Medieval – Post-Medieval decrease (periods 17–20) . The trajectory of the settlement history, as presented above, may be biased by the nature and extent of the collection of forms used for the chronological identifications (Ur 2013a) . The emerging general picture shows considerable similarities to the reconstruction of the settlement development recorded in neighbouring areas (Morandi Bonacossi and Iamoni 2015: fig. 8; Gavagnin et al. 2016, fig. 2; Ur et al. 2013: fig. 15). 3 .2 Palaeolithic survey The UGZAR study area is located only 45km away from the Shanidar Cave, where the most important discovery concerning the oldest presence of humans in Mesopotamia was made (Solecki 1963; 1971). In fact, when Robert Braidwood conducted a very superficial survey of caves in the Iraqi Kurdistan, he visited two caves located in the UGZAR area, finding traces of human presence dating to the Epipalaeolithic period (Braidwood and Howe 1960: 29, 59). Having this in mind, a survey of caves was undertaken in 2015 . During two months, 91 caves and rock shelters located between the western limit of the UGZAR work area and the break of the Greater Zab at Bêxmê were visited and documented. Thirty-five of these were rock shelters, 47 were single chamber caves, and 14 were multi-chambered caves . Most of these were located in the area close to the city of Akre and east of it (in the villages of Başqal Aḡa, Başqal Raūand and Cūna). Nearly all caves revealed evidence of recent use, mainly for keeping animals, but also for housing and storage (for a similar use of Shanidar Cave see Solecki 1979) . Therefore, in nearly all of the caves the expected archaeological deposits were covered by thick layer of animal dung . In this situation, it turned out that the discovery of any archaeological materials on the floor surface of the caves was simply impossible; in fact, most of the recovered finds came from the talus below © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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the cave openings (Tab. 3). Among the finds, there was a group of flint/stone objects that were documented, but still await classification, as well as pottery sherds, predominantly dating to the Late Ottoman period, thus evidencing the sub-recent use of these caves . The survey of caves will be continued in the eastern part of the UGZAR research area in the coming seasons . 3.3 Architecture and other heritage monuments During the UGZAR fieldwork, it became evident that the rural landscape of Iraqi Kurdistan is packed with various structures and monuments that cannot be adequately summarised under the broad term of ‘architecture’ . Some of them are located in villages (existing or abandoned), some of an industrial character (mills) both in and outside villages, and others, such as cemeteries, castles or monasteries typically were found at some distance from modern settlements. Altogether 40 various structures/ monuments were recorded (Tab. 4), in a varying state of preservation. As to their date, not much relevant information could be recorded; some churches and monasteries could be Medieval (7th–8th century AD; Fiey 1965: 236–82), and others were surely built from the 1930’s to the 1950’s . The decision to document them was taken because they were abandoned by Christian communities more than 50 years ago, and will probably be destroyed in the near future, unless if special measures of protecting them are introduced by local authorities . 3 .4 Rock reliefs Four rock reliefs were located within the working area of the UGZAR project, all previously known from literature. Consequently, the work of UGZAR team was limited to documenting them again with the aim of monitoring their state of preservation and general conditions . These turned out to be quite depressing . Three relief panels located in Gūnduk village (Layard 1853: 368; Bachmann 1927: 28–31; al-Amin 1948: 204–211; Börker-Klähn 1982: 75–76, 234; Reade and Anderson 2013: 77–96) suffered from the activities of treasure-hunters, who exploded Panel 2 and damaged Panel 1 of the relief in 1996 (or in 1994). The UGZAR team recovered two fragments of Panel 2, which testifies to the fact that only two of the illustrations depicting this panel (by Layard and by Amin) are trustworthy. A more thorough study of all three panels will be published in the future . The Batas relief was documented by Reinhard Boehmer in 1970 (Boehmer and van Gall 1973) . It shows a Parthian ruler of the 2nd century AD, possibly Abdissares of Adiabene (Grabowski 2011). A comparison of photographs executed by van Gall and those taken by UGZAR project in 2014 shows that the relief has been eroded considerably; several features that were clearly recognizable less than 50 years ago are now obscure . The progress of the erosion process is so rapid that the representation may vanish entirely in the course of the next several decades . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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3.5 Damage and threat assessment One of the primary aims of the UGZAR project was to document damages to archaeological sites and threats that may endanger their existence in the future . From the dataset collected, it seems obvious that archaeological sites were only occasionally subject to illicit excavations . The most serious threat is from the rapid development of settlement and infrastructure in the recent decade . This subject, too extensive to be elaborated upon in the present paper, will be thoroughly treated in a separate publication (Mardas, in press) . 4. Summary The four seasons of fieldwork carried out until now by the UGZAR project have revealed an amazing wealth of archaeological sites and other heritage monuments in the study area, evidence for a long settlement history of this part of Iraqi Kurdistan . During the 2016 season, 77 new settlement sites, 21 architectural objects and 20 caves were identified by October 18th, and work continued . The collected dataset will be intensively studied in 2017 and 2018 with the aim of preparing the final publication of the project, scheduled for December 2018. It will comprise five volumes including an atlas, three volumes of the catalogue of sites and monuments, and a volume on settlement pattern studies based on the recovered data . Acknowledgements The UGZAR project could not go on without the support of the authorities of the Kurdistan Regional Government, colleagues from the various offices of the Directorate of Antiquities of Kurdistan, many of whom joined us to work together during the field seasons, the authorities of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland, teams forming the Assyrian Landscapes Research Group and friends working in various projects in Kurdistan, all too numerous to be listed here by name . The project is financed by two subsequent grants of the National Science Centre of the Republic of Poland (no. 2011/03/B/HS3/01472 from 2012–2015, and 2014/13/B/HS3/04872 from 2015–2018) . Bibliography Al-Amin, M. 1948 Archaeological discoveries in the north of Iraq, Sumer 4/2, Arabic section, 180–219. Bachmann, W . 1927 Felsreliefs in Assyrian. Bawian – Maltai – Gundük. Wissenschaftliche Veröffentlichungen der Deutschen Orientgesellschaft 52. Leipzig. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Beck, A., Philip, G., Abdulkarim, M. and Donoghue, D. 2007 Evaluation of Corona and Ikonos high resolution satellite imagery for archaeological prospection in western Syria . Antiquity 81, 161–75. Boehmer, R . M . and van Gall, H . 1973 Das Felsrelief bei Batas-Herir. Baghdader Mitteilungen 6, 65–77. Börker-Klähn, J. 1982 Altvorderasiatische Bildstelen und vergleichbare Felsreliefs. Baghdader Forschungen 4. Mainz am Rhein . Braidwood, R . and Howe, B . 1960 Prehistoric Investigations in Iraqi Kurdistan. Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 31. Chicago . Fiey, J. M. 1965 Assyrie chrétienne . Volume 1. Beyrouth . Gavagnin, K ., Iamoni, M . and Palermo, R . 2016 The land of Nineveh archaeological project: The ceramic repertoire from the Early Pottery Neolithic to the Sasanian Period . Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research 375, 119–170 . Grabowski, M . 2011 Abdissares of Adiabene and the Batas-Herir Relief. Światowit . Annual of the Institute of Archaeology of the University of Warsaw 9, 117–140 . Koliński, R. 2016a Insights into the settlement history of Iraqi Kurdistan from the upper Greater Zab archaeological reconnaissance project. In: K. Kopanias and J. MacGinnis (eds.), The Archaeology of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Adjacent Regions, Oxford, 163–72. 2016b The use of satellite imagery in an archeological survey in Iraqi Kurdistan, Contributions in New World Archaeology 9, 113–22 . in press The Post-Assyrian period in the eastern Assyria. In: R. Koliński, J. Prostko-Prostyński and W . Tyborowski (eds .), Awīlum ša ana la mašê, ‘A Man not to be Forgotten’. Studies in Ancient Economy and Society Presented to Professor Stefan Zawadzki on the Occasion of his 70th Birthday. Alter Orient und Altes Testament. Münster. Kopanias, K. and MacGinnis, J. (eds.) 2016 The Archaeology of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Adjacent Regions. Oxford. Kopanias, K., MacGinnis, J. and Ur, J. (eds.) 2015 Archaeological Projects in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq. The Directorate of Antiquities of Kurdistan. . Layard, A. H. 1853 Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon. London. Mardas, J. in press The state of preservation and the damage assessment of archaeological sites in Iraqi Kurdistan . Preliminary results . Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 26/2. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Morandi Bonacossi, D. and Iamoni, M. 2015 Landscape and settlement in the eastern upper Iraqi Tigris and Navkur plains: The land of Nineveh archaeological project, seasons 2012–2013 . Iraq 77, 9–39 . Reade, J. E. and Anderson, J. R. 2013 Gunduk, Khanes, Gaugamela, Gali Zardak: notes on Navkur and nearby rock-cut sculptures in Kurdistan . Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 103, 68–122. Salman, I . 1970 Archaeological Sites in Iraq . Baghdad . 1976

Atlas of Archaeological Sites in Iraq . Baghdad .

Solecki, R . S . 1963 Prehistory in Shanidar valley, northern Iraq. Science 139, 179–193 . 1971

Shanidar, the first flower people . New York .

1979

Contemporary Kurdish winter-time inhabitants of Shanidar Cave, Iraq. World Archaeology 10/3, 318–30.

Ur, J. 2003 CORONA satellite photography and ancient road networks: A northern Mesopotamian case study . Antiquity 77, 102–115 . 2013a Working Ceramic Typology. 7th Edition. Assyrian Landscapes Research Group 2012–2013, unpublished manuscript . 2013b CORONA satellite photography and ancient Near Eastern landscapes, in: D. C. Comer and M. J. Harrower (eds.), Mapping Archaeological Landscapes from Space . New York, 19–29 . Ur, J., Jong, L. de, Giraud, J., Osborne, J. E. and MacGinnis J. 2013 Ancient cities and landscapes in the Kurdistan region of Iraq: The Erbil plain archaeological survey 2012 season . Iraq 75, 89–118 . Ur, J., Osborne J. E. 2016 The rural landscape of the Assyrian heartland: Recent results from Arbail and Kilizu provinces. In: J. MacGinnins, D. Wicke and T. Greenfield (eds.), The Provincial Archaeology of the Assyrian Empire. Cambridge, 163–176. Wilkinson, T. J., Wilkinson, E., Ur, J. and Altaweel, M. 2005 Landscape and settlement in the Neo-Assyrian empire. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 340, 23–56.

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Rafał Koliński Atlas of Archaeological Sites in Iraq 36 20 .0

Number Percentage

Interviews

Transects

Other

Total

Positive satellite imagery identifications

54 30 .0

86 47 .8

4 2 .2

180 100

43 23 .9

Table 1 Efficiency of site identification methods of archaeological sites (satellite imagery not included into total count)

1 2 3 4 5

Period Proto-Hassuna, Hassuna Halaf Ubaid Late Chalcolithic 1–2 Late Chalcolithic 3–4

6

Ninevite 5

7 8 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18–19 20

No . of sites 6 18 13 25 20 + 4

No . of sherds 25 98 45 116 180

47

212

43 .7

Middle- and Late 3 mill. BC Middle Bronze Age

24 49

228 611

64.0 98.6

Late Bronze Age (Mitanni/Middle Assyrian not differentiated)

56

564

145 .0

Neo-Assyrian Post-Assyrian/Achaemenid Seleucid Parthian Sasanian Late Sasanian/Early Islamic Early Islamic Middle Islamic Ottoman

68 20 53 62 54 80 46 45 41

312 29 182 197 176 322 151 118 96

175 .0 30 .0 137 .0 162.0 187 .0 219 .0 117 .5 106.0 79 .0

rd

Aggregate area 4 .3 10 .8 9 .0 21 .5 23 .2

Table 2 Evidence for the settlement history in the UGZAR working area

No . of caves Percentage

Pottery inside 35 38,5%

Pottery outside 10 11,0%

Stone/flint 19 20,9%

No finds 56 61,5%

Total 91 100%

Table 3 Distribution of finds collected inside and outside of caves

No . of objects Percentage

Church/ chapel 8 20%

Monastery

Mosque

Fort

Grave(s)

Grist mills

others

6 15%

5 12.5%

3 7.5%

4 10%

8 20%

7 17.5%

Table 4 Typology of recorded architectonical structures and monuments © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 1 Map of the UGZAR project research area with identified sites and morphologic zones plotted (© Joanna Mardas – UGZAR Project)

Fig. 2 Map of the distribution of the LC3-5 sites (period 5) showing occurrence of the Southern Uruk pottery in the studied UGZAR project area (© Joanna Mardas – UGZAR Project) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 3 Map of the distribution of Parthian sites (Period 14) in the studied UGZAR project area (© Joanna Mardas – UGZAR Project)

Fig. 4 Map of the distribution of Late Sasanian/Early Islamic sites (Period 15) in the studied UGZAR project area (© Joanna Mardas – UGZAR Project) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Chalcolithic Settlements and Ceramics in the Rania Plain and Beyond: Some Results of the French Archaeological Mission at the Governorate of Sulaymaniyah Johnny Samuele Baldi 1 Abstract Since 2012, the French archaeological mission at the Governorate of Sulaymaniyah (dir. J. Giraud) has intensively surveyed a region around the Dukan Lake. Concerning the Chalcolithic phase, significant results provide new information on the distribution of settlements and the evolution of diagnostic ceramic typologies. During the Hassuna, Halaf and Ubaid periods, human occupations present an even distribution, with small sites, homogeneous in size, dispersed across wide territories or aligned along rivers and wadis. However, starting from the late Ubaid, and above all in LC1–LC3 phases, aggregation seems to mark the evolution of some major proto-urban settlements. These have to be considered as centres of a progressive hierarchical organization of the historical landscape. Regionalized ceramic relationships oriented towards the Hamrin basin, are evident from the end of the 6th millennium BC, while later, during the LC1–5 phases, increasingly close connections with the Mosul area appear in the whole area. Despite some analogies with the settlement pattern of other northern-Mesopotamian regions, a question arises: can main local settlements really be considered as ‘meso-regional capitals’?

1. Introduction: evolutionary patterns known from other north-Mesopotamian areas Many archaeological works in recent years have focused on the modalities of the regionalized evolution in Chalcolithic Northern Mesopotamia. Since the Earliest Holocene, different meso-regions had level of interaction that changed over time in organisation and intensity (Stein 2010a; Stein 2010b, Stein 2012; Carter and Philip 2010; Baldi 2012; Campbell and Fletcher 2010). Information about North-Eastern Chalcolithic Iraq is not only fragmentary (being linked to specific sites such as Shemshara or Gawra (Mortensen 1970; Tobler 1950; Rothman 2002), but also affected by some hiatus (as at Nineveh between Halaf and Late Ubaid (Gut 1995), as well as by uncertainty regarding the chrono-cultural boundaries between the different ‘cultures’. Beyond the focus on the historical landscapes, a main goal of the French archaeological mission at the Governorate of Sulaymaniyah (MAFGS – dir. Dr. J. Giraud) since 2012 is to contextualize this area in relation to the other northMesopotamian meso-regions. For this purpose, all sherds have been described ac-

1

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cording to a protocol established 2 in order to integrate the ceramic information in the GIS database. Chalcolithic materials broadly confirm the picture we had from northern Syria and southern Anatolia (Baldi and Abu Jayyab 2012; Marro 2012). Once it was established that there is no aberrant ceramic feature in this area, compared to the rest of the Chalcolithic Upper Mesopotamia, the main interest has been the specificities of the regional typology. Before current surveys in Iraqi Kurdistan, some works focused on the evolution of the settlements in the Zammar region, Iraqi Jazeera and Western Khabur in northern Mesopotamia (Ball 2003; Wilkinson and Tucker 1995; Lyonnet 2000). In addition, some surveys have been carried-out in more restricted districts, such as in the catchment areas around some proto-urban major towns like Tell Hamoukar, Tell Brak or Tell Leilan (Ur 2010; Wright et al. 2006–2007; Stein and Wattenmaker 1990). All these studies between the Hassuna and Ubaid phases have shown an even distribution of small sites. Then, villages appear hierarchically organized in LC1–3, with smaller towns concentrating around the major centres, until the arrival of Uruk immigrants from the South and a decrease in number of the settlements in the second half of the 4th millennium BC. Even if this overall layout is respected in Rania, Peshdar and Bngrd districts, some specifics seem to be evident. 2. Ceramic local peculiarities and landscape evolution The ceramic horizon of the Early Chalcolithic (Hassuna and Samarra ‘cultures’– Fig. 1, upper) has been defined on the basis of a small quantity of combed and painted sherds from a few sites. Obviously, the rate of visibility of the ceramic material is inversely proportional to its antiquity (Altaweel et al. 2012: 20 and fig. 7). Nevertheless, despite the limited amount of collected samples, the region seems to be an area of reciprocal influences between different traditions, especially with regard to the painted wares. Typological parallels are evident with Shemshara, Hakemi Use or Yarim Tepe I (Mortensen 1970; Tekin 2005; Merpert and Munchaev 1993c). During the Middle Chalcolithic, Halaf ceramics are also poorly visible. The morphological and stylistic typology is close to the repertoire from Nineveh, Sabi Abyad, Tell Hassan, Tell Halaf and Yarim Tepe III (Gut 1995; Nieuwenhuyse 2007; Fiorina 1987; von Oppenheim 1943; Merpert and Munchaev 1993a, 1993b – Fig. 1, upper). Some samples from Bosken and Ibrahim Katshal (sites 60 and 13) belong to the transitional Halaf-Ubaid period (attested at Tell Zeidan and Tepe Gawra XX–XVII – Stein 2011: fig. 17; Tobler 1950: pls. LXVIII–LXX). The so called Halaf ‘cream’ bowls – carinated and sometimes red painted – become bell-shaped or in-turned rim bowls, often

2

The procedure to describe and date the sherds has been established especially by Dr. Cécile Verdellet and Dr. Jean-Jacques Herr. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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characterized by a black painted decoration on buff pastes, according to the evolutional modalities recently analysed at Tell Masaikh and Domuztepe (Robert et al. 2008; Campbell and Fletcher 2010: fig. 5.3.a, c, d). However, the Halaf-Ubaid transition is not the only interesting macro-interaction between ‘cultures’. Some early Ubaid sherds clearly show a mixed Samarra-Ubaid pattern, as in the Hamrin region at Tell Abada Level III (Jasim 1985 Part ii: figs. 108–112). ‘Choga Mami Transitional’ painted motifs, recognized for the first time at Choga Mami by Joan Oates (Oates 1969; Oates 1972) as a Samarra-Ubaid transitional style, seem to characterize the spread of the Ubaid culture in the Zagros piedmont between al-Habja and Rania plains (Altaweel et al. 2012: fig. 10.9). Later on, the Ubaid 3 phase continues to show close parallels with central Mesopotamia (Fig. 1, upper), with a repertoire closer to Tell Abada I (Jasim 1985) than to Tepe Gawra XVI–XIII (Tobler 1950). During the Early and Middle Chalcolithic, sites are quite scattered and their increase in number is very slow (Fig. 1, lower). This seems to indicate slow but continuous demographic growth in association with the proliferation of small sites. This process most likely should be interpreted as a slow but radical change in economy and subsistence strategies, with populations less and less mobile and, therefore, more visible in the archaeological record. Until recently, the Late Chalcolithic ceramic typology of north-eastern Mesopotamia during the LC1 (4600–4200 BC) was identified with the assemblages from the Mosul region and the Syrian Jazeera – fundamentally with Yarim Tepe III, Gawra, Leilan, Hamoukar and Tell Arpachiyah (Abu Jayyab 2012). The dramatic simplification of the decorative motifs and decrease in quantities of painted pottery show the decline of the Ubaid traditions: assemblages are poorly oxidized and increasingly homogeneous, and serially produced Coba bowls appear, as do ‘potter’s marks’ and chaff-faced wares, even if there is not yet standardization in pastes (Baldi and Abu Jayyab 2012). In this phase, it is for the first time possible to detect a tendency towards ceramic regionalization in northern Mesopotamia. At al-Hawa, Hamoukar, and in the Khabur basin, this process depended on the reorganization of a system of villages that were fairly homogeneous in size and devoid of spatial hierarchies, towards a more structured model, with some areas being under the influence of major centres (Wilkinson and Tucker 1995; Ur 2010). In the Rania district, the regionalization process can be recognized because of some ceramic peculiarities (Fig. 2, upper): there is no trace of ‘sprig ware’ or of animal painted motifs (e.g. birds or scorpions). Moreover, the only type of ‘Coba bowl’ is the V-shaped ‘Wide flower pot’, while at Gawra, another rounded type is also attested (Baldi 2012). The LC2 (4200–3800 BC) is characterized by the so-called ‘Gawra material culture’ in all of northern Mesopotamia. Different meso-regions tend to merge into two macro-regions. The Khabur basin, Upper Tigris and northern Iraq belong to one area. The assemblage around the Dukan Lake testifies to this north-eastern Mesopotamian koine (Fig. 2, upper), as seen at Gawra XIA–XI, Brak CH13, Nineveh period ‘Gawra A’, Khirbet Hatara, Musharifa, and Norşuntepe J/K 18/19 level 10 (Rothman 2002; © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Oates 1987; Gut 1995; Fiorina 2001; Numoto 1987; Gülçur 2000). Chaff-faced fabrics are by now ubiquitous, as are some common types (interior angled rim jars and inwards bevelled rim bowls) whose presence continues at the beginning of the LC3. Compared with the progressive increase in population and number of sites between the Hassuna and Ubaid periods, the beginning of the Late Chalcolithic represents a major quantitative discontinuity (Fig. 2, lower). The landscape is much more densely populated, with an important number of new settlements, for example at Waranga Saru, Sofian Kawlan and Dinka (respectively sites 15, 43 and 53). Nevertheless, virtually all the Ubaid sites continue to be occupied, and settlements appear to be more and more clustered in the plain. During the LC3–LC4 (3800–3300 BC), the tendency of the ceramic provinces to merge reaches its peak, and all of northern Mesopotamia constitutes a single, wide ceramic sphere. The districts of Rania, Peshdar and Bngrd reflect this trend. However, as observed by the LoNAP survey (Gavagnin et al. 2016) and by the French mission in the Qara Dagh (Vallet et al. forthcoming), carinated casseroles and hammerhead bowls – the main LC3–LC4 hallmarks in northern Syria 3 – are virtually absent east of the Tigris. Besides local materials in chaff-faced ware, some southern mineral-tempered types (bevelled rim bowls and some jars with irregular criss-cross incisions) show the first connections with southern Uruk people (Fig. 3, upper). Moreover, the so-called ‘grey ware’, typical of Nineveh ‘Nord Uruk Phase A’ (late LC2– LC3 period) is documented at Blil, Kolaga and Waranga Saru (sites 21, 18 and 15). This contradicts the generalized conviction (Abu al-Soof 1969; Gut 1995) that the Tigris River was the extreme oriental limit for the grey ware. The end of the Chalcolithic is represented by LC5, characterized by the peak of Uruk colonial presence in northern Mesopotamia and, at the same time, by the decline of the local ceramic traditions (Helwing 2002; Helwing2005; Oates 2002). Pastes show it very clearly. Chaff-faced wares represent a minority of the assemblage and many local shapes are manufactured with southern mineral fabrics. In addition to southern Uruk types attested since the LC3–4 (pierced lugs, bevelled rim bowls, everted rim jars with incised shoulders (Gut 1995: pls. 59–68), some Late Uruk ceramic features (such as drooping spouts and reserved slip decorations) are typical of this phase (Sürenhagen 1978: pl. 17, 102, 12.76). Connectiona with the southern Uruk are quite pervasive, probably because of the mountain passes towards northern Iran, with southern sherds identified even at several small sites (e.g. Salkis, Pirota Swr Bngrd, Sofian Kawlan, and Mwrad Rasu – sites 19, 37, 43, 72). However, there is no trace of entirely Uruk colonies or major centres. Even at Shemshara (site 90), the southern Uruk material represents a minority of the collected sherds. Moreover, LC5 typical ceramics are quite rare. This could be a consequence of a different organization of the southern Uruk presence, maybe

3

See for instance at Zeytinli Bahçe or Hacinebi B phase (Balossi Restelli 2006: fig. 9, 11–12; Pearce 2000: fig. 5.a–e, 6.c). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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more concentred in some distant enclaves (Nineveh?), rather than characterized by frequent contacts with small villages as occurred d the LC3–4 phase. Overall, LC1–5 ceramics are the most abundant amongst Chalcolithic materials and display different trends of regionalization between the end of a cultural kione (the Ubaid one) and the end of another broad cultural community (the Uruk one – Stein and Özbal 2007). If the Ubaid phase marks the beginning of a clustered pattern for settlements in the plain, the southern Uruk seems to have had a limited impact in this area. The large number of LC1–LC2 sites contrasts with their decrease during LC3–4–5 (Fig. 3, lower), as well as with the scarcity of southern Uruk materials. As recently suggested for the area around al-Habja (Altaweel et al. 2012: 24), the southern colonial presence in the Zagros piedmont shows a rather dispersed pattern and settlements continue to be clustered, especially in the plain. 3. Conclusion: open issues about the regional evolution Regarding regional ceramic typology, the so-called Samarra culture is an important topic. Despite the small quantity of sites having yielded Samarran sherds, some specimens display hybrid traits. These borrowings affect both the pastes and the stylistic decorations, and imply contacts with Hassuna, Halaf and Ubaid entities. It is not merely a clue to a culture-contact phenomenon, but rather is evidence that calls into question the very definition of the Samarra ‘culture’ and its relations with other ceramic traditions. Samarra decorated pottery was earlier considered a ‘luxury component’ of Hassuna assemblages (Leslie 1952). After the excavations at Choga Mami (Oates 1969; Oates 1972), it has been examined as a culture in itself, with many samples assumed to be imported products outside of the supposed Samarra ‘heartland’, for instance at Shemshara (Mortensen 1970: 119). But the hybridizations observed in Rania, Peshdar and Bngrd raise doubts on the relationships and chronology of Samarra, Halaf and Ubaid ‘cultures’, which may have had simultaneous relationships with local traditions of the Zagros area (as the so-called Dalma ware – Henrickson 1986). What is clear, however, is that for the area around Dukan Lake, all these ‘cultures’ maintained very close relations with the Hamrin region during the entire Early and Middle Chalcolithic (Fig. 4). In the same way, during LC1–2, some kind of relationship is evident with north-Iranian sites such as Pisdeli, Yanik and Geoy Tepe (in the Lake Urmia region, which is about 120 kilometres through the mountain passes (Dyson and Young 1960). Later on, during the LC3–4 and 5, the nature, intensity and general patterns of interactions with the southern Uruk have to be clarified over a wider territory. On the one hand, the decrease in the number of sites after the LC1–2 cannot be accounted for by an increase in the size of the LC3–4–5 settlements. On the other hand, even the biggest centres (such as Shemshara), which one could have imagined as regional ‘capitals’, do not seem to be predominant, and do not seem to have hosted very important Uruk communities. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Concerning Late Chalcolithic settlements characterized by local (i.e. ‘Chafffaced’) ceramic traditions, on the one hand data about the catchment area of Dinkha show the emergence of this town as a meso-regional main centre, surrounded by several secondary villages. Some of these sites are organized according to a ‘clustered’ spatial distribution (for instance at Zena Zewa, where two distinct installations can be recognized). Some sites were functionally linked to the mountain pass close to Dinka. This is the case for Dari Zewa, occupied since the Halaf until the LC2, and for Xrajo, occupied from the LC1 until the second half of the 4th millennium BC. Given the presence of southern Uruk immigrants in Xrajo, the abandonment of Dari Zewa in the LC2 does not seem fortuitous, but rather related to a reorganization of the networks with north-western Iran since the arrivals of southern Uruk people in the LC3. On the other hand, however, there is no trace in the surveyed area of southern Uruk major centres. In future campaigns, further investigations south of the Peshdar and Bngrd districts will elucidate whether, within the Uruk colonial sphere, the Dukan Lake meso-region was controlled by a so far unidentified proto-urban centre, or whether it was a quite rural area crossed by axes connecting Iran and the Mosul region. Acknowledgements I would like to thank all the members of the MAFSG, especially Cécile Verdellet, Jean-Jacques Herr, Rocco Palermo and Mustafa Ahmad, which set up the protocol for the description and dating of the sherds (including the Chalcolithic ones). Many thanks to the director of the MAFGS, J. Giraud, both for her permission to publish data from the mission and for having included me in the team, even if this has cost her considerable organizational efforts. Bibliography Abu al-Soof, B. 1969 Excavations at Tell Qalinj Agha (Erbil). Sumer 25, 3–42. Abu Jayyab, K. 2012 A ceramic chronology from Tell Hamoukar’s southern extention. In: C. Marro (ed.), After the Ubaid. Interpreting Change from the Caucasus to Mesopotamia at the Dawn of Urban Civilization (4500–3500 BC). Papers from The Post-Ubaid Horizon in the Fertile Crescent and Beyond. International Workshop held at Fosseuse 29th June–1st July 2009. Paris, 87–128. Altaweel, M., Marsh, A., Mühl, S., Nieuwenhuyse, O., Radner, K., Rasheed, K. and Ahmed Saber, S. 2012 New Investigations in the Environment, History and Archaeology of the Iraqi Hilly Flanks: Shahrizor Survey Project 2009–2011. Iraq 74, 1–35. Baldi, J. S. 2012 Coba bowls production, use and discard: A view from Tell Feres al-Sharqi. In: R. Matthews and J. Curtis (ed.), Proceedings of the 7th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Near East 12 April – 16 April 2010, the British Museum and UCL, London. Volume 1, MegaCities and Mega-Sites, The Archaeology of Consumption and Disposal, Landscape, Transport and Communication. Wiesbaden, 355–368. Baldi, J. S. and Abu Jayyab, K. 2012 A comparison of the ceramic assemblages from Tell Feres al-Sharqi and Hamoukar. In: C. Marro (ed.), After the Ubaid. Interpreting Change from the Caucasus to Mesopotamia at the Dawn of Urban Civilization (4500–3500 BC). Papers from The Post-Ubaid Horizon in the Fertile Crescent and Beyond. International Workshop held at Fosseuse 29th June–1st July 2009. Paris, 163–182. Ball, W. 2003 Ancient Settlement in the Zammar Region, Excavations by the British Archaeological Expedition to Iraq in the Saddam Dam Salvage Project, 1985–1986 Volume 2: Excavations at Tell Abu Dhahir. British Archaeological Reports International Series 1096, British School of Archaeology in Iraq, Department of Antiquities and Heritage. Baghdad – Oxford. Balossi Restelli, F. 2006 The local Late Chalcolithic (LC3) occupation at Zeytinli Bahçe (Birecik, Şanli-Urfa): the ceramic production. Anatolian Studies 56, 17–46. Campbell S. and Fletcher, A. 2010 Questioning the Halaf-Ubaid Transition. In: R. A. Carter and G. Philip (eds.), Beyond the Ubaid: Transformation and Integration in the Late Prehistoric Societies of the Middle East. Papers from: The Ubaid Expansion? Cultural Meaning, Identity and the Lead-up to Urbanism. International Workshop held at Grey College, University of Durham, 20–22 April 2006. Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 63. Ann Arbor, 69–84. Carter, R. A. and Philip, G. (eds.) 2010 Beyond the Ubaid: Transformation and Integration in the Late Prehistoric Societies of the Middle East. Papers from: The Ubaid Expansion? Cultural Meaning, Identity and the Lead-up to Urbanism. International Workshop held at Grey College, University of Durham, 20–22 April 2006. Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 63. Ann Arbor. Dyson, R. H. and Young Jr., T. C. 1960 The Solduz Valley, Iran: Pisdeli Tepe. Antiquity 34, 19–28. Fiorina, P. 1987 Tell Hassan: les couches Halafiennes et Obéidiennes et les relations entre les deux cultures. In: J.-L. Huot (ed.), Préhistoire de la Mésopotamie. Paris, 243–255. 2001

Khirbet Hatara. La ceramica del livello 1. Mesopotamia 36, 1–47.

Gavagnin, K., Iamoni, M. and Palermo, R. 2016 The land of Nineveh archaeological project: The ceramic repertoire from the Early Pottery Neolithic to the Sasanian Period. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 375, 2016. Gülçur, S. 2000 Norşuntepe: Die Chalkolithische Keramik (Elaziğ/Ostanatolien). In: C. Marro and H. Hauptmann (eds.), Chronologies des Pays du Caucase et de l’Euphrate aux IV–IIIe millénaires / From The Euphrates to the Caucasus: Chronologies for the 4th–3rd Millennium BC / Vom Euphrat in den Kaukasus: Vergleichende Chronologie des 4. und 3. Jahrtausends v. Ch. Istanbul – Paris, 375–418. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Gut, R. 1995 Das prähistorische Ninive. Zur relativen Chronologie der frühen Perioden Nordmesopotamiens, Baghdader Forschungen 19. Mainz / Rhein. Helwing, B. 2002 Hassek Höyük II. Die Spätchalcolithische Keramik. Istanbuler Forschungen 45. Tübingen. 2005

The Late Chalcolithic period in the Northern Zagros. A reappraisal of the current status of research. In: M. Azarnoush (ed.), Proceedings of the international Symposium on Iranian Archaeology: Northwestern Region. Teheran, 11–23.

Henrickson, E. F. 1986 Ceramic evidence for cultural interactions between Chalcolithic Mesopotamia and Western Iran. In: W. D. Kingery (ed.), Ceramics and Civilization, Technology and Style, Vol. 2. Columbus, 87–133. Jasim, S. A. 1985 The Ubaid Period in Iraq. Recent Excavations in the Hamrin region, British Archaeological Reports International Series 267/1–2. Oxford. Leslie, C. 1952 Style, Tradition and Change: an Analysis of Painted Pottery from North Iraq. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 1952, 56–68. Lyonnet, B. (ed.) 2000 Prospection archéologique du Haut Khabur Occidental (Syrie du N.E.), Volume I. Beyrouth. Marro, C. (ed.) 2012 After the Ubaid. Interpreting Change from the Caucasus to Mesopotamia at the Dawn of Urban Civilization (4500–3500 BC). Papers from The Post-Ubaid Horizon in the Fertile Crescent and Beyond. International Workshop held at Fosseuse 29th June–1st July 2009. Paris. Merpert, N. and Munchaev, R. M. 1993a Yarim Tepe III: Ubaid levels. In: N. Yoffee and J. Clark (eds.), Early Stages in the Evolution of Mesopotamian Civilization: Soviet Excavations in Northern Iraq. Tucson, 225–240. 1993b Yarim Tepe III: The Halaf levels. In: N. Yoffee and J. Clark (eds.), Early Stages in the Evolution of Mesopotamian Civilization: Soviet Excavations in Northern Iraq. Tucson, 206–228. 1993c Yarim Tepe I: The Lower Hassuna levels. In: N. Yoffee and J. Clark (eds.), Early Stages in the Evolution of Mesopotamian Civilization: Soviet Excavations in Northern Iraq. Tucson, 93–114. Mortensen, P. 1970 Tell Shimshara: the Hassuna Period. Copenhagen. Nieuwenhuyse, O. 2007 Plain and Painted Pottery: The Rise of Neolithic Ceramic Styles on the Syrian and Northern Mesopotamian Plains. Papers on Archaeology of the Leiden Museum of Antiquities 3. Brepols, Turnhout. Numoto, H. 1987 Tell Musharifa. In: H. Fuji (ed.), Working Report on First Season of Japanese Archaeological Excavation in Saddam Dam Salvage Project. Researches on the Antiquities of Saddam Dam Basin Salvage and Other Researches. Mosul, 49–54. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Oates, J. 1969 Choga Mami, 1967–1968: A Preliminary Report. Iraq 31, 115–152. 1972

A radiocarbon date from Choga Mami. Iraq 34, 49–53.

1987

A note on the Ubaid and Mitanni Pottery from Tell Brak. Iraq 49, 193–198.

2002

Tell Brak: The fourth millennium sequence and its implications. In: J. N. Postgate (ed.), Artefacts of Complexity: Tracking the Uruk in the Near East. Warminster, 111–148.

Pearce, J. 2000 The Late Chalcolithic sequence at Hacinebi Tepe, Turkey. In: C. Marro and H. Hauptmann (eds.), Chronologies des Pays du Caucase et de l’Euphrate aux IV–IIIe millénaires / From The Euphrates to the Caucasus: Chronologies for the 4th–3rd Millennium BC / Vom Euphrat in den Kaukasus: Vergleichende Chronologie des 4. und 3. Jahrtausends v. Ch. Istanbul – Paris, 115–144. Robert, B., Blanc, C., Chapoulie, R. and Masetti-Rouault, M.-G. 2008 Characterizing the Halaf-Ubaid transitional period by studying ceramic from Tell Masaikh, Syria. Archaeological data and archeometric investigations. In: H. Kühne, R.M. Czichon, F. J. Kreppner (eds.), 4th ICAANE. Proceedings of the 4thInternational Congress of the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. Vol. 2. Social and Cultural Transformation: The Archaeology of Transitional Periods and Dark Ages. Excavations Reports. Wiesbaden, 225–234. Rothman, M. S. 2002 Tepe Gawra: The Evolution of a Small Prehistoric Centre in Northern Iraq. Philadelphia. Stein, G. J. 2010a Tell Zeidan. In: G. J. Stein (ed.), 2009–2010 Annual Report of The Oriental Institute. Mattoon, 105–118. 2010b Local identities and interaction spheres: Modeling regional variation in the Ubaid horizon. In: R. A. Carter and G. Philip (eds.), Beyond the Ubaid: Transformation and Integration in the Late Prehistoric Societies of the Middle East. Papers from: The Ubaid Expansion? Cultural Meaning, Identity and the Lead-up to Urbanism. International Workshop held at Grey College, University of Durham, 20–22 April 2006. Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 63. Ann Arbor, 23–44. 2011

Tell Zeidan. In: G. J. Stein (ed.), 2010–2011 Annual Report of The Oriental Institute. Mattoon, 121–138.

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The development of the indigenous complexity in the Late Chalcolithic Upper Mesopotamia in the 5th and 4th millennia BC, An Initial Assessment. Origini XXIV, 125–152.

Stein, G. J. and Özbal, R. 2007 A tale of two Oikumenai: Variation in the expansionary dynamics of ‘Ubaid and Uruk Mesopotamia. In: E. C. Stone (ed.), Settlement and Society: Essays Dedicated to Robert McCormick Adams. Los Angeles, 329–342. Stein, G. J. and Wattenmaker, P. 1990 The 1987 Tell Leilan Region survey: preliminary report. In: N. F. Miller (ed.), Economy and Settlement in the Near East, MASCA Research Papers in Science and Archaeology, Supplement to Vol. 7. Philadelphia, 5–18. Sürenhagen, D. 1978 Keramikproduktion in Habuba Kabira-Süd: Untersuchungen zur Keramikproduktion innerhalb der Spät-urukzeitlichen Siedlung Habuba Kabira-Süd in Nordsyrien. Berlin. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Tekin, H. 2005 Hakemi use: A new discovery regarding the northern distribution of Hassunan/Samarran pottery in the Near East. Antiquity 79, Project Gallery Article 79008. Tobler, A. J. 1950 Excavations at Tepe Gawra II. Pennsylvania. Ur, J. A. 2010 Urbanism and Cultural Landscapes in Northeastern Syria: The Tell Hamoukar Survey, 1999– 2001. Oriental Institute Publications 137. Chicago. Vallet, R., Baldi, J. S. and Naccaro, H. forthcoming The Uruk presence in the western Qara Dagh region: First results from Gird-i Qalaa and Lgrdan. Paléorient. von Oppenheim M. (ed.) 1943 Tell Halaf Vol. I. Die Prähistorische Funde, Bearbeitet von Hubert Schmidt. Berlin. Wilkinson T. J. and Tucker, D. J. 1995 Settlement Development in the North Jazira, Iraq. A Study of the Archaeological Landscape. Warminster. Wright, H., Rupley, E. S. A., Ur, J., Oates, J. and Ganem, E. 2006–2007 Preliminary report on the 2002 and 2003 seasons of the Tell Brak sustaining area survey. Annales Archéologiques Arabes Syriennes 49–50, 7–22.

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Fig. 1 Early and Middle Chalcolithic sherds (upper); geographic distribution of the Early and Middle Chalcolithic settlements (lower) (map: © J. Giraud)

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Fig. 2 LC1 and LC2 sherds (upper); geographic distribution of the LC1–LC2 settlements (lower) (map: © J. Giraud)

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Fig. 3 LC3–4 and LC5 sherds (upper); geographic distribution of the LC3–4–5 settlements (lower) (map: © J. Giraud)

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Fig. 4 Technical borrowings between different “cultures” and Early-Middle Chalcolithic parallels with the Hamrin basin

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Settlement Patterns in the Upper Tigris River Region

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Settlement Patterns in the Upper Tigris River Region between the 4th and 1st Millennia BC Rodolfo Brancato 1 Abstract The upper Tigris river valley is located in southeastern Anatolia . Due to the planned construction of the Ilısu Dam, the region has been investigated since the late 1980’s by numerous Turkish and foreign archaeologists, detecting more than six hundred sites dated from Palaeolithic to Medieval periods. Since 2008, 30 rescue excavations have been carried out within the region. On the basis of the excavation data now available, it is possible to attempt a comparison with the initial survey data, focusing on the evolution of settlement patterns throughout the millennia.

The purpose of this paper is to offer an overview of the changes that occurred in the settlement pattern of the upper Tigris river valley from the Late Chalcolithic to the Late Iron Age, based on the results of surveys and excavations. 2 The study area will be either flooded or heavily affected by the realization of the Ilısu Dam to be built along the Tigris river near the Turkish-Iraqi border (Tuna 2011). In evaluating the current state of evidence, some difficulties were encountered, connected to both the research methods and the quality of the documentation: surveys and excavations considered in this analysis were undertaken in different periods, with the use of different methodological approaches and objectives. The survey projects carried out along the Tigris basin have been usually mound-site focused, with only a few exceptions. 3 Because of these limitations, this study is based on settlement site-centred data, collected from published works and then processed in a GIS database, where c. six hundred archaeological sites were stored (Fig. 1).

1 2

3

University of Catania. The area affected by the construction of the Ilısu Dam runs from the town of Bismil to the CizreSilopi plain. For an overview on the survey and excavation projects carried out within the Ilısu Dam Project see: Tuna and Öztürk 1999; Tuna 2001; Tuna et al. 2002; Tuna and Doonan 2011. This paper is an extract from my MA thesis. I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Dr. N. Laneri, for his excellent scientific guidance. I would also like to thank Prof. N. Tuna, Prof. H. Sağlamtimur and Prof. T. Ökse, for their scientific support in Turkey. Special thanks go to Prof. G. Algaze and Prof. E. Hammer, for their help during the early stages of my research. For the survey carried out in the surrounding area of Hirbemerdon Tepe see Laneri and Ur 2010; Ur and Hammer 2009; Hammer 2014. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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1. Late Chalcolithic (4th millennium BC) The first extensive human use of the valley occurred at the end of the Chalcolithic period (Fig. 2). Sixty-one sites dated to the 4th millennium BC were identified by the presence of Chaff-Faced Ware assemblages and, more rarely, of a limited repertoire of pottery of southern Mesopotamian (Middle-Late) Uruk derivation (Fig. 5a–f) (Algaze 1989: 244). The available excavation data from numerous sites of the region testifies to the significant development of local Late Chalcolithic communities (Parker and Dodd 2011: 737–738). On the other hand, the paucity of Uruk ceramics in the survey collections should be considered in the light of excavations carried out at Başur Höyük (Sağlamtimur and Kalkan 2015). The presence of Late Uruk finds on the surface of two sites located in the Cizre-Silopi plain – i.e. Rubaikale and Basorin Höyük – could involve a new set for the trajectories of interaction between the upper Tigris region and southern Mesopotamia in the last phase of the 4th millennium BC (Algaze et al. 2012: 19). 2. Early Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC) The Early Bronze Age seems characterized by a decrease in number of sites compared to the Late Chalcolithic: only fifty-two sites are recorded (Fig. 2). EBA I–II settlements are marked by the presence of Painted and Incised Ninivite 5 ceramic assemblages (Rova 2013: 107–110). During the EBA III–IV the local ceramic horizon consisted of Late Excised Ninivite 5, Metallic Ware and Dark Rimmed Orange Bowls (Fig. 5g–n) (Ökse 2011: 278–281). Surveys carried out within the upper Tigris river valley in 1989 and 1990 recognized a total lack of Ninivite V in the Bismil-Batman area, in the Botan and Garzan Su basin, as well as in the Cizre-Silopi plain (Algaze et al. 1991: 182–197). On the basis of further surveys and excavations carried out in the valley during recent decades it is not possible to depict the 3rd millennium as a period of abandonment (Ökse 2008: 17–20). In the Early Bronze Age period, the upper Tigris river region was characterized by an ephemeral settlement pattern: the Cizre-Silopi plain was even partially depopulated (Algaze et al. 2012: 25; Kozbe 2008: 327) (Fig. 3). In the last quarter of the 3rd millennium (EBA IV) it is possible to see an increase in the number of settlements as well as in the appearance of ceramic assemblages – Dark Rimmed Orange Bowls and early Red Brown Wash Ware – which show strong elements of similarity with northern Mesopotamian contexts during the Akkadian and post-Akkadian periods (Ökse and Laneri 2014: 68–69). The mid-to-late Early Bronze Age settlements apparently did not produce the extensive network of linear hollows and field systems that characterize the contemporary Syrian plains: the lack of this landscape feature could suggest a lower intensity of agricultural activity in the region compared to north-eastern Syria and northern Iraq (Hammer 2012: 219–220). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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3. Period 6: Middle Bronze Age (first half of the 2nd millennium BC) Seventy-three sites are recorded in survey reports as Middle Bronze Age settlements, representing an increase of 17.74% in comparison to the Early Bronze Age (Fig. 2). In terms of pottery categories, the area is marked by some distinctive local wares: the Red Brown Wash Ware and the Band Painted Ware pottery assemblages (Laneri and Schwartz 2011: 351–352) (Fig. 6a–f). In the first survey of the valley, a total lack of 2nd millennium BC occupation was recorded, due to inadequate knowledge of the local Middle Bronze Age pottery (Algaze et al. 1991: 182–183). Further surveys and excavations clearly demonstrated that, during the Middle Bronze Age, the upper Tigris valley was marked by the emergence of a dispersed settlement pattern showing forms of cultural continuity with the previous period (Fig. 3). In the 2nd millennium BC, settlements generally consisted of villages and small hamlets closely connected to the Tigris river itself or to its major perennial tributaries and wadis: in the area around Salat Tepe, five small sites spaced c. 4–5km apart have been identified (Ökse 2013: 190). The distance between Kavuşan Höyük and Ziyaret Tepe is similar at c. 5km, and two small settlements dated to the 2nd millennium BC have been identified in the area surrounding Hirbemerdon Tepe (Hammer 2012: 217–218). This data may demonstrate the existence of a stratified settlement pattern of farming communities in the Middle Bronze Age (Ökse 2014: 151). In fact, the distances (c. 4km) between the sites in the upper Tigris river valley can serve as evidence of the existence of self-sufficient Middle Bronze Age farming communities in the upper Tigris river valley, although still characterized by the lack of a major urban settlement (Laneri et al. 2015: 535). 4. Period 7: Late Bronze Age (second half of the 2nd millennium BC) The number of settlements in the Late Bronze Age decreased by 36.99% compared to the Middle Bronze Age (Fig. 2): only forty-six sites are recorded for the second half of the 2nd millennium BC (Fig. 3). At the beginning of the 16th century BC both texts and archaeological evidence suggest that the upper Tigris river valley was part of the Mitannian kingdom and was then incorporated into the Middle-Assyrian kingdom by the time of the 13th century BC expansion (D’Agostino 2014: 182). The Mitannian phase (LBA I) can be identified by the presence of Nuzi Ware. MiddleAssyrian occupations (LBA II) can be distinguished on the basis of the presence of wheel made pottery (D’Agostino 2011: 101) (Fig. 6g–n). In the first survey of the region, Late Bronze Age occupations were considered difficult to identify; in fact only one fragment of Nuzi Ware was found along the Tigris (Algaze et al. 1991: 183). The paucity of fine Mitannian material should probably not be interpreted strictly in demographic terms because such materials tend to break into many difficult-to-find small fragments easily missed by traditional extensive surveys (Algaze et al. 2012: 31). Further archaeological surveys and excava© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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tions seem to show a pattern of rural settlements with villages organized around a few main centres that maintain their importance throughout the Late Bronze Age (D’Agostino 2014: 183). Ziyaret Tepe was the Middle-Assyrian capital of the province named Tušhan (Radner and Schachner 2001: 754–757). At Giricano, a small archive of about fifteen tablets dated to the reign of Aššur-bel-kala was found. These texts indicate that the site functioned as a special type of settlement known as a dunnu in Middle Assyrian texts, and can be described as an agricultural production centre (Radner 2004: 52–53; see Schachner 2002). 5. Period 8a: Early Iron Age (1150–880 BC) At the beginning of the Iron Age, fifty sites were characterized by the presence of a new type of pottery, called Grooved Ware (Fig. 7a, b). Grooved Ware pottery appeared in the upper Tigris after the abandonment of Giricano (1068 BC), although it is possible that it arrived in the area in the final phase of the Middle-Assyrian occupation (D’Agostino 2011: 101). Grooved Ware was not recognized in the surveys carried out in the Cizre-Silopi plain (Fig. 4): as observed by G. Algaze, whether this absence is of chronological or geographical significance, or both, is still unclear (Algaze et al. 2012: 33–35; Kozbe 2008: 329). In the Early Iron Age, a significant change occurred in the region: settlements were restricted in extent and consisted mostly of small villages or hamlets (Fig. 2). After the collapse of the Middle Assyrian Empire, the occupation of Ziyaret Tepe appears to have been limited to a small village of less than two hectares characterized by the presence of Grooved Ware (Matney 2011: 450). In several sites, the paucity of mudbrick structures can be indicative of a seasonal use of the sites by nomadic groups; excavated features are mostly pits. (Matney 2013: 335–336). At Hirbemerdon Tepe (Phase IVA), stone buildings are considered a clear evidence of permanent habitation (Laneri et al. 2009: 218; D’Agostino 2011: 104). The ephemeral archaeological evidence for permanent occupation in the valley during the Early Iron Age may be related to the disappearance of the Middle Assyrian empire from the upper Tigris area, and the widespread distribution of Grooved Ware can be explained as an explicit rejection of ‘Assyrian forms of cultural and political domination’ by a largely Aramaean population (Szuchman 2009: 62). 6. Period 8b: Middle Iron Age, Neo-Assyrian (882–610 BC) One hundred and twenty-nine settlements date to the Middle Iron Age (Fig. 4), an increase higher than 158% compared to the number of settlements recorded in the Early Iron Age (Fig. 2). The transition from the Early to the Middle Iron Age in the valley is marked by the introduction of Neo-Assyrian material culture, consisting of standard wheel made ceramics (Fig. 7e–g); many settlements with a strong Neo© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Assyrian character have been excavated: e.g. Ziyaret Tepe (Matney 2013), Kavuşan Höyük (Kozbe 2013) and Müslüman Tepe (Kozbe 2013). The Neo-Assyrian occupation phase of the region was already identified in the survey carried out by G. Algaze in the late 1980s (Algaze 1989: 245; Algaze et al. 1991: 183). In his interpretation of the Middle Iron Age material from that survey, B. J. Parker recognized a clear distinction between the period prior to Neo-Assyrian influence in the Upper Tigris and the era of Neo-Assyrian annexation of the region. Moreover, he was able to make a second distinction between the uniform, well-fired ceramics characteristic of the centrally administered production facilities of the NeoAssyrian Empire and the low-fired, much more idiosyncratic ceramics of the indigenous communities (Parker 1997: 237–238). The exponential increase in the number of occupied sites from the Early Iron Age to the Neo-Assyrian period testifies to a radical change in settlement dynamics, from one pattern focused on the defence of the valley to one concentrated on the valley floor agricultural land during the imperial period (Fig. 4). 4 7. Period 9: Late Iron Age (612–350 BC) A significant decrease in number of settlements follows the Middle Iron Age, with only twenty-six sites dating to the so-called ‘Post Assyrian’ period (Wilkinson and Tucker 1995: 64) (Fig. 2). It is not easy to identify sites dated to the period immediately after the end of the Neo-Assyrian presence in the valley, but the paucity of Late Iron Age sites can be explained by inadequate familiarity with the ceramic indicators spanning this chronological range (Fig. 4). In fact, the analysis of ceramics from the Red House at Tall Sheikh Hamad – a site located in western Syria on the lower Khabur River – clearly demonstrated that the fall of the Neo-Assyrian empire did not cause a significant change of wares and forms and that pottery of Neo-Babylonian style was not introduced (Kreppner 2008: 155–156). The last phase of the Late Iron Age is easily traceable by the presence of Western Triangle Ware (Fig. 7 h–l), also known as Triangle and Festoon Ware, for its decoration consisting of wavy festoon motifs among horizontal bands and triangles (Matney 2011: 454; Kozbe 2013: 349). Western Triangle Ware is widely present in excavations carried out in the upper Tigris, for instance from Ziyaret Tepe (Matney et al. 2009; 53), Kavuşan Höyük (Kozbe 2013: 348–349), Hirbemerdon Tepe (Laneri 2016: 346, 352), and Gre Amer (Pulhan and Blaylock 2016: 335–337).

4

For the upper Tigris river valley as northern frontier of Assyria during the Middle Iron Age, see Parker 2001. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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8. Conclusions The cumulative results of surveys and excavations offer a vivid picture of settlement and landscape development throughout the millennia (Ur 2011: 844). Combining these heterogeneous evidences provides the greatest potential for highlighting regional trends over time. It is not possible to determine whether the current archaeological evidence from the upper Tigris region reflects true patterns of settlement and sociocultural development. However, if the valley until the 1980s was labelled as terra incognita, today an emerging picture of settlement dynamics during the Holocene is appearing. Thanks to the wide range of landscape approaches that the upper Tigris valley region has been subjected to in recent years, the results of the initial extensive surveys are being revised and integrated by intensive projects that have examined previously overlooked landscape elements, as demonstrated by the Hirbemerdon Tepe Survey Project (HMTS) (Ur 2011: 847). Moreover, the excavations carried out at sites such as Ziyaret Tepe, Giricano, Salat Tepe, Kenan Tepe and Hirbemerdon Tepe have provided fundamental evidence that contributed to delineating the evolution of local ancient cultures. Knowledge of the stratigraphic context of the pottery repertoires in excavated trenches makes it possible to use dated pottery assemblages as powerful tool to identify the occupation phases of sites recognized within survey projects (Figs. 5–7). In light of the available data for the upper Tigris river valley, two interesting moments in the settlement dynamics emerge between the Bronze and Iron Age. During the 2nd millennium BC, the local landscape was characterized by a homogeneous constellation of rural settlements (Fig. 3). In this settlement pattern, Hirbemerdon Tepe stands out not only for its key position at the confluence of the Tigris river with one of its tributaries, but also for the abundant evidence in the material culture and architecture for complex ritual activities (see Laneri et al. 2015). As proposed by N. Laneri, the clear lack of hierarchical differentiation between sites, the presence of identical traits of material culture, and the absence of clear evidence of administrative control suggest the possible presence of a ‘heterarchical’ form of social organization based on multicentricity of a network of distributed authority among different settlements in a regional territory (Laneri 2014: 119–120). In the Middle Iron Age, a complex settlement landscape emerges in the valley, characterized by a clear and strongly organized hierarchy: the wide literature about the mechanics of the imperial Neo-Assyrian power on its borders has already enlightened the pervasive strength used for the organization of the rural landscape (Parker 2001; Guarducci 2011). The local political landscape was radically transformed by a more centralized administration and based on a four tier hierarchical pattern that consisted of Ziyaret Tepe/Tušhan as the provincial capital where a governor was in charge; medium-sized centres held by the local chief who paid tribute to the Assyrian king, such as Gre Dimse; fortified farming settlements or dunnu, such as Giricano; and small rural hamlets or kapru such as Hirbemerdon Tepe (Guarducci and Laneri 2010: 22). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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There is another element necessary in order to understand the settlement dynamics that occurred in the upper Tigris river valley: nomadism. Traces left behind by non-sedentary pastoralist groups – whose presence characterized the region until the contemporary age – are today recognizable in the archaeological records. Their importance in the social and political history of upper Mesopotamia was already well known from ancient texts and ethnohistorical sources, but empirical evidence was lacking (Ur and Hammer 2009). The results of the HMTS have clearly demonstrated that there is a wide variety of elements helpful for identifying features of pastoral nomadic life in the archaeological context (Ur 2011: 848–849). As E. Hammer has observed, Near-Eastern archaeology must include an investigation of landscapes of pastoral nomads (see Hammer 2014). The survey methodology applied in the HMTS is an example of how to approach data collection at the missing ‘middle’ scale, i.e. data concerning how pre-modern pastoralists organized, used, and shaped the landscape in their seasonal pasture areas (Hammer 2014: 285). Bibliography Algaze, A. 1989 A new frontier: First results of the Tigris-Euphrates archaeological reconnaissance project. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 48, 241–281. Algaze, G., Breuninger, R., Lightfoot C. and Rosenberg, M. 1991 The Tigris-Euphrates rchaeological reconnaissance project: A preliminary report of the 1989– 1990 seasons. Anatolica 17, 176–240. Algaze A., Hammer, E. and Parker, B. J. 2012 The Tigris-Euphrates archaeological reconnaissance project: Final report of the Cizre-Silopi plain survey areas . Anatolica 38, 1–115. Ay, E., Ay, A, and Tarhan, C. M. 2013 Müslüman Tepe excavations 2005–2008. In: Diyarbakır Museum (ed.), The Ilısu Dam Project and HEP Project Excavations. Seasons 2004–2008. Diyarbakır, 286–289. D’Agostino, A. 2011 The upper Khabur and upper Tigris valleys between the end of the Late Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age: an assessment of the archaeological evidence (settlement patterns and pottery assemblages). In: K. Strobel (ed.), Empires after Empire. Anatolia, Syrian and Assyria after Suppiluliuma II (c. 1200 800/700 BC). Florence, 87–136. 2014

The Upper Khabur and the Upper Tigris Valleys during the Late Bronze Age: Settlements and Ceramic Horizons. In: D. Bonatz (ed.), The Archaeology of Political Spaces. The Upper Mesopotamiam Piedmont in the Second Millennium BC. Berlin – Boston, 169–200.

Guarducci, G. 2011 Facing an Empire: Hirbemerdon Tepe and the Upper Tigris Region During the Early Iron Age and Neo-Assyrian Period. Piscataway, New Jersey. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Guarducci, G. and Laneri, N. 2010 Hirbemerdon Tepe during the Iron Age period: A case study in the Upper Tigris River region. Anatolica 36, 17–65. Hammer, E. 2012 Local Landscapes of Pastoral Nomads in Southeastern Turkey. PhD thesis, Harvard University. 2014

Local landscape organization of mobile pastoralists in southeastern Turkey. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology 35, 269–288.

Kozbe, G. 2008 A new archaeological survey project in the South Eastern Anatolia: Report of the Cizre and Silopi region. In: J. M. Córdoba, M. Molist, C. P. Aparicio, I. Rubio de Miguel and S. Martìnez Lillo (eds.), Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. Madrid, 322–340. 2013

Excavations at Diyarbakır/Kavuşan Höyük 2005–2006. In: Diyarbakır Museum (ed.), The Ilısu Dam Project and HEP Project Excavations. Seasons 2004–2008. Diyarbakır, 356–400.

Kreppner, F. J. 2008 The collapse of the Assyrian Empire and the continuity of ceramic culture: The case of the Red House at Tall Sheikh Hamad. Ancient Near Eastern Studies 45, 147–165. Laneri, N. 2014 Ritual practices and the emergence of social complexity in the Upper Tigris region at the beginning of the second millennium BC. In: D. Bonatz (ed.), The Archaeology of Political Spaces. The Upper Mesopotamian Piedmont in the Second Millennium BC. Berlin – Boston, 119–131. Laneri, N. (ed.) 2016 Hirbemerdon Tepe Archaeological Project 2003–2013 Final Report: Chronology and Material Culture . Bologna . Laneri, N. and Ur, J. 2010 The Hirbemerdon Tepe archaeological project 2007: A preliminary report. Kazı Sonucları Toplantısı 30/3, 213–230. Laneri, N. and Schwartz, M. 2011 Southeastern and Eastern Anatolia: The Middle Bronze Age. In: S. R. Steadman and G. McMahon (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia (8000–323 BCE). Oxford, 337–360. Laneri, N., Schwartz, M., Valentini, S., D’Agostino, A. and Nannucci, S. 2009 The Hirbemerdon Tepe archaeological project: The first four seasons of archaeological work at a site in the Upper Tigris River valley, SE Turkey. Ancient Near Eastern Studies 46, 212–276. Laneri, N., Schwartz, M., Ur, J., Berthon, R., D’Agostino, A., Hald, M. M. and Marsh, H. 2015 Ritual and identity in rural Mesopotamia: Hirbemerdon Tepe and the Upper Tigris River valley in the Middle Bronze Age. American Journal of Archaeology 119, 533–564. Matney, T. 2011 The Iron Age of Southeastern Anatolia. In: S. R. Steadman and G. McMahon (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia (8000–323 BCE). Oxford, 443–463. 2013 The Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age transition: A perspective from the Upper Tigris River. In: A. Yener (ed.), Across the Border: Late Bronze-Iron Age Relations between Syria and Anatolia. Leuven, 329–348.

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Matney, T. and Rainville, L. with contributions by Demko, T., Kayser, S., Köroğlu, K., McDonald, H., MacGinnis, J., Nicoll, K., Parpola, S., Reimann, M., Roaf, M., Schmidt, P. and Szuchman, J. 2005 Archaeological Investigations at Ziyaret Tepe, 2003–2004, Anatolica 31, 19–68. Matney, T., Greenfield, T., Hartenberger, B., Keskin, A., Köroğlu, K., MacGinnis, J., Monroe, W., Rainville, L., Shepperson, M., Vorderstrasse, T. and Wicke, D. 2009 Excavations at Ziyaret Tepe 2007–2008. Anatolica 35, 37–84. Ökse, A. T. 2008 An archaeological view on the upper Tigris region to be flooded by the Ilisu-Dam: Focusing on the Early Bronze Age. In: D. Bonatz, R. M. Czichon and F. J. Kreppner (eds.), Fundstellen. Gesammelte Schriften zur Archäologie und Geschichte Altvorderasiens ad honorem Hartmut Kühne. Wiesbaden, 17–23. 2011

The Early Bronze Age in Southeastern Anatolia. In: S. R. Steadman and G. McMahon (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia (8000–323 BCE). Oxford, 260–289.

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Salat Tepe and its vicinity in the Middle Bronze Age: Stratigraphic sequence and ceramic assemblages. In: D. Bonatz (ed.), The Archaeology of Political Spaces. The Upper Mesopotamian Piedmont in the Second Millennium BC. Berlin – Boston, 151–168.

Ökse, A. T. and Laneri, N. 2014 Round table: Along the northern Mesopotamian frontier: The upper Tigris region and its surrounding regions during the Early Bronze Age (3100–2000 BCE). The European Archaeologist 43, 68–71. Parker, B. J. 1997 The northern frontier of Assyria: An archaeological perspective. In: S. Parpola and R. Whiting (eds.), Assyria 1995. Helsinki, 217–244. 2001

The Mechanics of Empire: The Northern Frontier of Assyria as a Case Study in Imperial Dynamics, Helsinki.

Parker, B. J. and Dodd, L. S. 2011 The Upper Tigris archaeological research project (UTARP): A preliminary report from the 2002 excavations at Kenan Tepe. In: N. Tuna and O. Doonan (eds.), Salvage Projects of the Archaeological Heritage of the Ilısu and Carchemish Dam Reservoirs. Activities in 2002. Ankara, 734–796. Pulhan, G. and Blaylock, S. 2016 Gre Amer, Batman, on the Upper Tigris: A rescue project in the Ilısu Dam reservoir in Turkey. In: K. Kopanias and J. MacGinnis (eds.), Archaeological Research in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the adjacent areas. Oxford, 321–339. Radner, K. 2004 Das mittelassyrische Tontafelarchiv von Giricano/Dunnu-sˇa-Uzibi. Ausgrabungen. Giricano 1. Subartu 14. Turnhout. Radner, K. and Schachner, A. 2001 From Tušhan to Amēdi: Topographical questions concerning the Upper Tigri region in the Assyrian period . In: N. Tuna, J. Öztürk and J. Velibeyoğlu (eds.), Salvage Project of the Archaeological Heritage of the Ilısu and Carchemish Dam Reservoirs. Activities in 1999. Ankara, 729–776.

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Rova, E., 2013 The Ninevite 5 period in northeast Syria. In: W. Orthmann, P. Matthiae and M. al-Maqdissi (eds.), Archéologie et Histoire de la Syrie I. La Syrie de l’époque néolithique à l’âge du fer . Wiesbaden, 107–118. Sağlamtimur, H. 2013 Siirt-Başur Höyük 2008 excavation season. In: Diyarbakır Museum (ed.), The Ilısu Dam Project and HEP Project Excavations. Seasons 2004–2008. Diyarbakır, 266–281. Sağlamtimur, H. and Kalkan, E. 2015 Late Chalcolithic pottery assemblage from Başur Höyük. Ege Ünı̇ versı̇ tesı̇ Edebı̇ yat Fakültesı̇ Yayinlari Arkeolojı̇ Dergı̇ sı̇ 20, 57–88. Sağlamtimur, H. and Ozan, A. 2012 Siirt-Başur Höyük 2011 Yılı Çalışmaları/Siirt-Başur Höyük 2011 Excavation Season Report. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı 34/2, 261–274. Schachner, A. 2002 Giricano Kaziları Ön Raporu. In: N. Tuna, J. Öztürk and J. Velibeyoğlu (eds.), Salvage Project of the Archaeological Heritage of the Ilısu and Carchemish Dam Reservoirs Activities in 2000. Ankara, 549–586. Szuchman, J. 2009 Bit Zamani and Assyria. Syria 36, 55–65. Tuna, N. 2011 The archaeological heritage management of Ilısu Salvage project. In: N. Tuna and O. Doonan (eds.), Salvage Project of the Archaeological Heritage of the Ilısu and Carchemish Dam Reservoirs Activities in 2002. Ankara, 265–320. Tuna, N. and Öztürk, J. (eds.) 1999 Salvage Project of the Archaeological Heritage of the Ilısu and Carchemish Dam Reservoirs. Activities in 1998. Ankara. Tuna, N., Öztürk, J. and Velibeyoğlu, J. (eds.), 2002 Salvage Project of the Archaeological Heritage of the Ilısu and Carchemish Dam Reservoirs. Activities in 1999. Ankara. Tuna, N. and Doonan, O. (eds.) 2011 Salvage Project of the Archaeological Heritage of the Ilısu and Carchemish Dam Reservoirs. Activities in 2002. Ankara. Ur, J. A. 2011 Ancient Landscapes in Southeastern Anatolia. In: S. R Steadman and G. McMahon (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolian Studies. Oxford, 836–857. Ur, J. A. and Hammer, E. 2009 Pastoral nomads of the 2nd and 3rd millennia AD on the Upper Tigris River, Turkey: archaeological evidence from the Hirbemerdon Tepe Survey. Journal of Field Archaeology 34, 37–56. Wilkinson, T. J. and Tucker, D. J. 1995 Settlement Development in the North Jazira, Iraq: A Study of the Archaeological Landscape. Iraq.

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Fig. 1 Excavated sites in the upper Tigris river valley region

Fig. 2 Upper Tigris river valley: demographic trends from the Late Chalcolithic to the Late Iron Age expressed in terms of total estimated occupied hectares and total number of sites © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 3 Upper Tigris river valley region phase maps from the Late Chalcolithic to the Late Bronze Age

Fig. 4 Upper Tigris river valley region phase maps from the Early to the Late Iron Age © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 5 Local Late Chalcolithic Ceramics from Kenan Tepe (a, after Parker and Dodd 2011), Hirbemerdon Tepe (b–d, after Laneri 2016); Bevelled Rim Bowls from Başur Höyük (e, f, after Sağlamtimur and Ozan 2012). Early Bronze Age Ceramics: Painted Ninevite 5 from Başur Höyük (g, after Sağlamtimur and Ozan 2012); Incised Ninevite 5 (h, i) and Metallic Ware (l) from Hirbemerdon Tepe (after Laneri 2016); Excised Ninevite 5 from Cizre-Silopi plain (n, after Algaze et al. 2012); Dark-Rimmed Orange Bowl from Hirbemerdon Tepe (n, after Laneri 2016)

Fig. 6 Red Brown Wash Ware (a–c) and Band Painted Ware (d–f) from Hirbemerdon Tepe (after Laneri 2016). Mitannian Ware from Kavuşan Höyük (g, l, after Kozbe 2013) and Middle-Assyrian ceramics from Üçtepe (c–e, modified from Guarducci 2011) and Giricano (m, modified from Guarducci 2011); Nuzi sherd from Hirbemerdon Tepe (n, after Laneri 2016) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 7 Grooved Ware from Ziyaret Tepe (a, after Matney et al. 2009) and Hirbemerdon Tepe (b, after Laneri 2016). Neo-Assyrian ceramics from Hirbemerdon Tepe (c, d, after Laneri 2016) and Ziyaret Tepe (e–g, modified from Matney et al. 2005). Western Triangle Ware from Hirbemerdon Tepe (h, l, from Laneri 2016), and Kavuşan Höyük (l, from Kozbe 2013)

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Across Space and Time: Results of the Wadi ath-Thamad Project Regional Survey Jonathan Ferguson 1 Abstract The international Wadi ath-Thamad Project has focused on the excavation of a fortified Iron Age town and a Nabataean residence at Khirbat al-Mudayna ath-Thamad in central Jordan. In addition, the project’s Regional Survey has explored and documented over 150 sites in the Wadi ath-Thamad and its adjoining watersheds. The human presence in the wadi system is attested from Palaeolithic lithic scatters to modern Bedouin camps, with homesteads, fortifications, cemeteries, field terraces and other sites marking the intervening millennia. Using Geographic Information Systems software and other data sets, these sites can be situated in the broader landscape and interpreted in their ancient spatial context in order to show how humans have occupied the Wadi ath-Thamad across space and time .

1. The Wadi ath-Thamad project The Wadi ath-Thamad Project is an international, collaborative archaeological program that studies the heritage of the Wadi ath-Thamad and the surrounding territory in central Jordan, about 40km south of the modern capital of Amman (see Fig. 1). Under the direction of P. M. Michèle Daviau of Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada, the project’s primary focus has been the excavation of a fortified Iron Age town and a Nabataean residence at the tall of Khirbat al-Mudayna ath-Thamad (Chadwick et al. 2000; Daviau et al. 2000; Daviau et al. 2006; Daviau et al. 2008; Daviau et al. 2012; Dolan 2008; Ferguson and Gohm 2012). However, the Wadi ath-Thamad Project’s Regional Survey has explored and documented 155 sites in the wadi and its adjoining watersheds. Some of these sites have been the focus of intensive surface studies or limited excavations, such as the Neolithic sites at Umm Meshrat (Cropper et al. 2003), an Iron Age wayside shrine (Daviau 2006; Dolan 2007), Nabataean farmsteads in the Wadi ash-Shabik (Lykke et al. 2011) and the Roman military castellum at Khirbat az-Zūna (Ferguson 2009; Ferguson and Nehmé 2014). Meanwhile, the landforms and geology of the landscape itself have also been subject to specialist study (Cordova et al. 2005). The study of many larger sites has included mapping architecture and other visible features by surveying wall vertices with a total station and then plotting these points with Computer Assisted Drafting (CAD) programs for importation into Geographic Information Systems (GIS) models. In some cases, like the towers at az-Za‘faran and the Roman fort at Khirbat az-Zūna, the surrounding topography was also surveyed in

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Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, University of Toronto. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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order to produce localized terrain surfaces to visualize the architecture in its immediate landscape (Ferguson 2009). The plans of these sites can also be exported as KML files and overlaid on the satellite imagery of the Google Earth terrain model (Fig. 2) to better visualize them on the landscape, and in a format ideal for sharing with colleagues. Most of the recorded sites, of course, cannot be the subject of such exhaustive study. The project’s survey territory, located 18km southeast of Madaba, measures approximately 8km north–south and 7km east–west and contains 155 identified sites, ranging from isolated palaeolithic lithic scatters to an early 20th century village. The documentation of these sites includes the description and photography of visible features, the collection of surface artefacts and recording their UTM coordinates using a total station or GPS receiver. It is this geospatial positioning that allows these sites to be examined in their landscape contexts by using GIS. This paper considers a few examples of this analytical potential . 2. The Wadi ath-Thamad regional survey sites The survey territory of the Wadi ath-Thamad Project includes highly incised topography, cut by seasonal watercourses or wadis that drain into the Wadi ath-Thamad . The landscape varies from open, rolling hills, to steep chalky cliffs and lush riverbeds. The survey’s sites range from the Palaeolithic period to the modern day. For the purposes of this study, the chronology used by the Wadi ath-Thamad Project has been combined into eight periods. This is largely because some sites are less securely dated due to the preliminary readings of survey artefacts and features. The fluctuation of site frequencies can clearly be seen in Fig. 3a. While some millennia, like the course of the Bronze Age, are underrepresented, other periods are very frequent. The 82 sites from the Classical period mean that over half of the 155 sites include at least one component from the six hundred years spanning the Hellenistic, Nabataean and Roman periods. Some of this variation is doubtlessly due to natural forces like erosion and overburdening or to the remains’ relatively low visibility or distinctiveness. However, the general trends seen here are consistent with the settlement patterns revealed by other archaeological surveys in central Jordan (e.g., LaBianca 1990: fig. 8.1). 3. GIS cartography Besides the local Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) surveyed around individual sites, a larger terrain model was needed to cover all the survey territory and the neighbouring landscape. The DEM used in this study was produced from the free and open source spatial data available on the website OpenDEM (Over 2016). For the territory of Jordan, OpenDEM carries topographic maps with 25m interval contours, digitized as vector lines in shapefiles and other formats. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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These shapefiles were analyzed using two GISs that are also both free and open source, primarily QGIS (QGIS Development Team 2016), supplemented when necessary for specific functions by MapWindow GIS (MapWindow GIS Team 2013). Using QGIS, the two shapefiles for latitude 31° N and both longitude 35° and 36° E were merged into one, stretching from the Judean Hills to the Eastern Desert (Fig. 4a). Interpolating the amount of data in this file was too large for the processors available, so it was necessary to crop the contour map to focus on the area if interest. With the survey territory at the centre, its dimensions were tripled to define an area nine times as large, measuring over 24km north-south by 21km east-west. The cropped vector contour map was then rasterized into a DEM using the Inverse Distance Weighting function in QGIS. This provided the terrain model needed to situate sites in their landscape (Fig. 4b). More than just another way of presenting the data, this new model can be used analytically. 4. Land use by period By looking at the three-dimensional location of sites on the landscape using GIS, we can begin to consider questions of how ancient peoples used the landscape across time and space in the Wadi ath-Thamad and its tributaries . The average elevations for sites from different periods reflect different settlement patterns that probably correlate with changes in land use (see Fig. 3b). Sites at higher elevations, for example, might be more common during periods of abatement when people depended less on crops and more on herding sheep and goats (LaBianca 1990). The earliest periods of the Palaeolithic and Epipalaeolithic are mostly represented by sites near the wadi bed. This perhaps reflects the needs of hunter and gatherers, who would focus on where resources were most abundant . This pattern holds true during the Neolithic period, when the priority might instead have been placed on wadi-side terraces for farming. Only two possible Chalcolithic or Early Bronze Age sites have been found, and while one lies near the wadi bed, the other (WT-145) is a stone circle on the upper flank of a tall hill that was possibly ceremonial in nature. Iron Age sites are dispersed across the landscape, including settlements and other structures near the wadi, like the fortified town of Khirbat al-Mudayna, but also on hilltops. Some of the hilltop sites appear to have been intended as watchtowers (see WT-6 below), although two are hilltop forts. Sites of the Classical period are rather evenly distributed, but include more on lower elevations than the periods immediately before or after. This probably reflects the common use at this time of water walls, aqueducts and other hydrological features to channel and retain water for irrigated agriculture (see e.g., Daviau and Foley 2007). In the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods, sites appear to have been located on the sides of hillcrests looking down into the wadis. In the following Medieval period, © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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sites reach their highest average elevation, almost 35m higher than in any of the other periods, despite one of the five Medieval sites being a dam in the wadi bed. As in Late Antiquity, sites in the Ottoman and modern periods tend to found along the edges of hills or uplands, although evidence for shepherds, like rock-carved graffiti, is found in the wadi beds . 5. Viewshed analysis: Rujm Muhammad (Site WT-6) One revealing operation that can be carried out with the DEM is viewshed analysis. This algorithm reveals which cells of the model are visible from any selected point and can be adjusted for the height of the observer and other factors. Viewshed analysis has a long history of use in archaeology, such as a study by the Madaba Plains Project at the nearby site of Tall al-‘Umayri (Christopherson and Guertin 1996). The Iron Age fortified town of Khirbat al-Mudayna sits on a short hill near the Wadi ath-Thamad, but its view is obstructed in many directions by taller hills. This led to the hypothesis that towers on nearby hills functioned as lookouts to artificially extend the town’s viewshed, as has been suggested at other Iron Age sites in Jordan . The site of Rujm Muhammad (Fig. 5) is a small Iron Age tower on an adjacent hilltop that has been suggested to fill the role of a watchtower for Khirbat al-Mudayna. Rujm Muhammad lies at the edge of the Iron Age town’s vision and the two sites would have just been visible from their respective heights. When performing viewshed analysis, the height of the observer is an important variable because increasing one’s height broadens the visible horizon. The default value in QGIS’s viewshed algorithm is 1.6m to approximate the height of an average person’s eyes. However, the original height of the tower at Rujm Muhammad is unknown. Multiplying the height of the observer twice to 3.2m, three times to 4.8m and four times to 6.4m increases the viewshed accordingly (see Fig. 5). The effect on viewshed by increasing the height of observer at Rujm Muhammad is seen to follow a more-or-less linear progression. However, the difference obtained by quadrupling the observer’s height makes a surprisingly small impact on the overall visibility. Subtracting the smaller viewshed with map algebra shows exactly what areas become visible by increasing the height of the observer . The areas shown on this map are those that became newly visible by increasing the height from 1.6 to 6.4m, and amounts to only 19.3km² being added to the observer’s vision . 6. Relocating a ‘lost’ site: WT-155 Umm Ruṣūm (Site WT-155) The village of Umm Ruṣūm was the only site in the Jordan Antiquities Database and Information System (JADIS) database within the Regional Survey’s territory that © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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had yet to be identified, so a concerted effort was made to locate it in the 2010 season. The entry in JADIS lists the site as a modern (1915–1950) village, but further states: “... no bibliography; no information ...” (Palumbo 1994: 2.133). This name appears at least as early as the 1949 topographic map of Kerak, although it was not recognized on the contemporary archaeological map as a historical site (Department of Lands and Surveys of the Jordan 1949; cf. 1950). The name of Umm Ruṣūm was unfamiliar to local acquaintances and even to those camped at Khirbat al-Hiri in the same general vicinity, so it was unclear whether the toponym had continued in current use. Georeferencing the 1949 topographic map allowed for UTM coordinates to be extracted from the map and compared with the data in JADIS (see Fig. 6). Using a GPS receiver, these coordinates were sought on foot, which led to a small farming settlement off the Nitl-Za‘faran road. Discussion with the inhabitants there clarified matters: that area north of Za‘faran was generally known as Umm Ruṣūm, but the old village was on the next hill to the south . In the end, the Regional Survey was able to document the early 20th century village of Umm Ruṣūm as Site WT-155, which includes at least three linear houses, two cave dwellings and a circular structure. While relocating a small ‘lost’ village may be an exceptional case, it shows the potential of GIS for confirming the identities of sites whose identities have been forgotten or confused by even their immediate neighbours. 7. Conclusions This brief overview of GIS initiatives of the Wadi ath-Thamad Project’s Regional Survey has outlined some of the possibilities of applying this technology to survey data. Approaching the Wadi ath-Thamad Project’s survey territory from the perspective of landscape archaeology permits a wider perspective, considering sites not in isolation but in their temporal and spatial contexts . This project has also demonstrated the potential of free, open source spatial data and software for archaeological research . Acknowledgements While this paper has focused on the Regional Survey, it forms part of the Wadi athThamad Project as a much larger whole. Thanks must be extended to the staff of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, especially the late Dr. Fawwaz Al-Khraysheh, former Director General, to Mr. Ali Al-Khayyat, former Antiquities Director of the Madaba District and to the department’s representatives who accompanied and assisted the Regional Survey in the field. The Regional Survey was further supported by the Jordanian workers, international staff and student volunteers of © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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the Wadi ath-Thamad Project, but especially by its Director, Dr. Michèle Daviau of Wilfrid Laurier University. Funding was provided by Wilfrid Laurier University, a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada grant, a Harris Grant from the American Schools of Oriental Research, private donations and the student volunteer program. The author would like to personally thank the Austrian Academy of Sciences and other organizers for convening the 10 ICAANE conference and to the editors for their efforts in producing these proceedings. Bibliography Chadwick, R., Daviau, P. M. M. and Steiner, M. 2000 Four seasons of excavations at Khirbat al-Mudayna on the Wadi ath-Thamad, 1996–1999. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 44, 257–270. Christopherson, G. L. and Guertin, P. D. 1996 Visibility analysis and ancient settlement strategies in the region of Tall al-Umayri, Jordan. Tuczon, AZ. (last access 22.04.2016). Cordova, C. E., Foley, C. M., Nowell, A. and Bisson, M. 2005 Landforms, sediments, soil development, and prehistoric site settings on the Madaba-Dhiban plateau, Jordan. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal 20, 29–56. Cropper, D., Foley, C. M. and Rollefson, G. O. 2003 Umm Meshrat I and II: Two new Late Neolithic sites along the Wadi ath-Thamad, Jordan. In: F. Ninow (ed.), Wort und Stein. Studien zur Theologie und Archäologie, Festschrift für Udo Worschech. Beiträge zur Erforschung der Antiken Moabitis (Arf el-Kerak) 4, Frankfurt am Main, 15–32. Daviau, P. M. M. 2006 Ḫirbet el-Mudēyine in its landscape. Iron Age towns, forts, and shrines. Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 122, 14–30. Daviau, P. M. M., Chadwick, R., Steiner, M., Weigl, M., Dolan, A. E., McQuinn, Z., Mulder-Hijmans, N., Judd, M. A. and Ferguson, J. 2006 Excavation and survey at Khirbat al-Mudayna and its surroundings: preliminary peport of the 2001, 2004 and 2005 seasons. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 50, 249–283. Daviau, P. M. M., Chadwick, R., Weigl, M., Johnston, E. K., Gohm, C. J., Edwards, S., Ladurner, M., Mulder-Hijmans, N. and Ferguson, J. 2012 Excavation at Khirbat al-Mudayna and survey in the Wādī ath-Thamad: preliminary report on the 2008, 2010 and 2011 seasons. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 56, 269–308. Daviau, P. M. M., Dolan, A. E., Ferguson, J., Foley, C. M., Foley, L., Gohm, C. J., Judd, M. A. and Weigl, M. 2008 Preliminary report of excavations and survey at Khirbat al-Mudayna ath-Thamad and in its surroundings (2004, 2006 and 2007). Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 52, 343–374. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Daviau, P. M. M. and Foley, C. M. 2007 Nabataean water management systems in the Wadi ath-Thamad. Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan IX. Amman, 357–365. Daviau, P. M. M., Mulder-Hymans, N., Foley, L. and Simpson, C. J. 2000 Preliminary report of excavations at Khirbet al-Mudayna on Wâdî ath-Thamad: The Nabataean buildings. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 44, 271–282. Department of Lands and Surveys of the Jordan 1949 Karak. Map. 1:250,000. The Hashemite Kingdom of the Jordan, Sheet 2, Amman. 1950

Karak. Map. 1:250,000. Archaeological Map of the Hashemite Kingdom of the Jordan, Sheet 2, Amman.

Dolan, A. E. 2007 Wadi ath-Thamad Site Wt-13, A Hermeneutical Approach to Moabite Religion. PhD thesis, University of Toronto. 2008

Khirbat el-Mudayna on the Wadi ath-Thamad. American Journal of Archaeology 112, 519–521.

Ferguson, J. 2009 Rediscovering Az-Za’faran and Az-Zuna: The Wadi ath-Thamad project regional survey. In: P. Bienkowski (ed.), Studies on Iron Age Moab and Neighbouring Areas in Honour of Michèle Daviau. Ancient Near Eastern Studies Supplement 29, Leuven, 227–243. Ferguson, J. and Gohm, C. J. 2012 Wadi ath-Thamad Project. American Journal of Archaeology 116, 719–721. Ferguson, J. and Nehmé, L. 2014 The Nabataean ‘Caesar’ inscription from Khirbat Az-Zūna. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 25, 37–42. Google 2016 Google Earth v7.1.7.2606. Mountain View, CA. (last access 06.10.2016). LaBianca, Ø. S. 1990 Sedentarization and Nomadization: Food System Cycles at Hesban and Vicinity in Transjordan. Hesban 1, Berrien Springs, MI. Lykke, A., Ladurner, M., Schipper, F., Feldbacher, R. and Fellsner, D. 2011 Neue Forschungen zur nabatäischen Besiedlung der Nördlichen Moabitis. Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 127, 162–174. MapWindow GIS Team 2013 Mapwindow GIS v4.8.8. (last access 18.11.2013). Over, M. 2016 Open Digital Elevation Model (Opendem): The Portal for Sharing the 3rd Dimension. Köln. (last access 16.04.2016). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Palumbo, G. (ed.) 1994 JADIS: The Jordan Antiquities Database and Information System, a Summary of the Data. Amman. QGIS Development Team 2016 Qgis: A Free and Open Source Geographic Information System v1.14.1 Essen. Beaverton, OR. (last access 17.04.2016).

Fig. 1 Location of the Wadi ath-Thamad Project regional survey in central Jordan © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 2 Google Earth satellite imagery of the eastern Wadi ath-Thamad, with the surveyed features of four sites superimposed in KMZ format (Google 2016)

Fig. 3 Site data of the Wadi ath-Thamad regional survey; a – frequency of sites by period; b – average elevation of sites for each period

Fig. 4 a – QGIS window with the merged contour shapefiles for latitude 31° N and longitudes 35° and 36° E from OpenDEM, with elevation contours at 25m intervals; b – close-up of the rasterized DEM, showing the regional survey’s limits and the 155 sites © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 5 The tower of Rujm Muhammad and its viewshed. Increasing the height of an observer, as on a tower, increases the territory visible along a roughly linear progression, with an additional 19.3km² becoming visible by raising a 1.6m tall viewer by 4.8m

Fig. 6 Relocating the ‘lost’ village of Umm Ruṣūm; a – the regional survey’s limits superimposed on the georeferenced 1949 topographic map of Kerak (Department of Lands and Surveys of the Jordan 1949) in QGIS; b – the village as seen from the east

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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The Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project: Preliminary Results from the Analysis of the Second Millennium BC Pottery Costanza Coppini 1 Abstract The ‘Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project’ covers a vast survey area in northern Iraqi Kurdistan, thus broadening and integrating data concerning settlement pattern and dynamics, and material culture that are known from adjacent regions, i .e . north-eastern Syria and south-eastern Turkey . In this frame, the ceramic material from the archaeological survey offers information and new hints concerning the 2nd millennium BC occupation of the area, focusing on the Middle and Late Bronze Age ceramic material, illustrating 1) the main diagnostic types in each period, and 2) their distribution in the settlements, with the final aim of pinpointing morphological characteristics of the Middle and Late Bronze Age ceramic assemblages from the region .

1. Introduction In recent years, archaeological research in Iraqi Kurdistan has resumed, and a new flourishing of field research has been witnessed since 2012 (Kopanias et al. 2015; Nováček 2008; van Ess et al. 2012). The northern part of Iraqi Kurdistan, which administratively corresponds to the governorates of Dohuk and Erbil is the field of operation of four research projects – the Erbil Plain Archaeological Project (EPAS), the Upper Greater Zab Archaeological Reconnaissance (UGZAR), the Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project (LoNAP), and the Eastern Habur Archaeological Project (EHAS).2 Together, these constitute the Assyrian Landscape Research Group . Among them, the LoNAP area (Fig. 1) is situated in the governorates of Ninawa and Dohuk, and territorially delimited by the plain of Dohuk and the Zagros foothills to the north, by the Jebel Maqloub, bordered by the Tigris Valley to the west and by the River al-Khazir valley and the Bardarash region to the east (Morandi Bonacossi and Iamoni 2015: 11). The project has been led since 2012 by Prof. Daniele Morandi Bonacossi (Italian Archaeological Mission to Assyria, University of Udine) and is characterized by an interdisciplinary approach to settlement patterns, land use, and material culture, and based on a regional archaeological surface survey combined with an open-area archaeological excavation and the geoarchaeological and bioar-

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Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici e del Patrimonio Culturale, Universitá degli Studi di Udine . They are respectively directed by: Jason Ur (Harvard University), Rafal Koliński (University of Poznan), Daniele Morandi Bonacossi (University of Udine), and Peter Pfälzner (University of Tübingen) . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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chaeological study of the paleo-environment (Morandi Bonacossi and Iamoni 2015: 11–12; Gavagnin et al. 2016). The survey area covers approximately 3000km2 and is investigated following two methodologies; a systematic analysis and interpretation of cartographic sources and aerial and satellite imagery, followed by extensive and intensive surface survey (Morandi Bonacossi and Iamoni 2015: 13). With the support of these methods, the number of identified sites amounts to more than 830, among which 440 are defined as habitation sites (Morandi Bonacossi, in press), classified on the base of various parameters (Morandi Bonacossi and Iamoni 2015: 14). The general aim of the project is to understand the formation and transformation of the natural and cultural landscape of northern Mesopotamia (Morandi Bonacossi and Iamoni 2015: 11), in a diachronic perspective, i .e . from prehistoric times to the Islamic period . Part of this general aim is the study of the region’s material culture, especially focusing on pottery, which is used as a means of dating and to estimate the size of each site and the pattern of occupation (Casana and Wilkinson 2005: 26; Stein and Wattenmaker 2003: 362). The methodology used in the LoNAP pottery studies consists of collecting diagnostic sherds (rims, bases, decorated body sherds) in all sites, whose surface has been previously subdivided into collection areas (Gavagnin et al. 2016: 119). The collected sherds are then processed at the expedition house (washing and numbering), and are chronologically determined to date the occupation of each settlement . This is the most important step, since it provides the relative distribution of each period in each settlement and the distribution of each period within the LoNAP survey area . The chronological determination of each sherd is accomplished with the aid of two main ‘tools’: 1) the Working Ceramic Typology, originally developed by for the Tell al-Hawa survey (Ball et al. 1989) and further developed by Wilkinson and Tucker (1995) and Ur (2010); 2) if shapes are unknown from the Ceramic Working Typology, comparisons are sought among ceramic material from other sites in neighbouring regions. The use of the Ceramic Working Typology is shared with the other projects of the Assyrian Landscape Research Group, allowing for a unified method that will enable a standardization of pottery classification and facilitate comparisons between each project’s results (Gavagnin et al. 2016: 121; Pfälzner and Sconzo 2015: 108). Within LoNAP, we refer to Northern Jazira and Syrian Jazira, and the Upper Tigris Valley . A further step in pottery processing is the description of pottery physical and morphological attributes, i .e . fabric, surface colour, metric measurements, and vessel shape . These attributes are determined using the LoNAP pottery database and with the support of the Ceramic Working Typology concerning morphological attributes (Gavagnin et al. 2016: 122). Analyses of the LoNAP ceramic sherd assemblage (Fig. 2) have indicated that the most represented period is the Islamic era (3645 sherds), followed by the Neo-Assyrian period (2958 sherds). The less represented periods are the prehistoric periods (Early Pottery Neolithic to Northern Ubaid, 860 sherds) and the Late Chalcolithic (1256 sherds) . The 3rd and 2nd millennia BC are well-represented (respectively 2012 and 4727 sherds). This last period, the 2nd millennium BC, is the focus of the present paper . The ceramic material dated to this period have been collected during two survey © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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campaigns (2012 and 2013) and the excavation of one small test-trench in Tell Gir-e Gomel during the 2013 campaign. The entire pottery assemblage has been reviewed during the 2015 study season by the author, while the pottery from the test-trench has been processed during the same study season by members of the LoNAP team . The material is here presented in a preliminary state, in anticipation of a more exhaustive and complete publication, with special attention to diagnostic 2nd millennium shapes and problematics involving both pottery and chronological determination . When focusing on the 2nd millennium BC, it is necessary to specify that it is subdivided into two main phases, the Middle Bronze Age (hereafter MBA) and Late Bronze Age (LBA). These chronological determinations correspond in terms of political history to the rule of the Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia, the rule of the Lims at Mari, and the rule of the First Dynasty of Babylon. These three powers, linked to an Amorite component, alternated during the Middle Bronze Age (2000–1595 BC).3 The subsequent period, the LBA, is characterized by the emergence of large territorial states, i.e. the Mitannian Kingdom and the Middle Assyrian state (15th–12th century BC) . It is evident that the alternation of different political powers has not to be linked to the material culture stricto sensu, although we have exceptions concerning the LBA in Northern Mesopotamia. We refer in this regard to the Middle-Assyrian pottery, which is a material evidence of the presence of the Middle-Assyrian government (Postgate 2010: 21), tightly related to the finding of administrative texts, product of a Middle-Assyrian bureaucracy system (Duistermaat 2008: 411; Pfälzner 1995: 259; Postgate 2010: 27). In any case, we do not tend to associate pots with people, but we use in the terminological definitions that recall the alternation of the above mentioned political powers . Concerning pottery dating to the early 2nd millennium, we define it as MBA pottery, with internal subdivision into MBA I, MBA IIA, and MBA IIB . Concerning the second part of the investigated period, we will use terms that are borrowed from the political history of the region, i.e. Mitannian – LBA I and Middle-Assyrian period – LBA II . The choice of this denomination for the second part of the 2nd millennium BC is due to the nature of the historical facts in which the region under study was involved . Although ceramic material from a surface survey is not adequate for detailed, fine chronology, it is unquestionable that it can give hints about a broader, ‘rough’ chronology . Therefore, we present here the 2nd millennium material from the LoNAP surface survey and from the test-trench from Tell Gir-e Gomel, although in a preliminary form, to give a chronological subdivision of ceramic material from the northeastern part of Greater Mesopotamia, through comparisons with sites in the broader geographic area, and give a reference through the presentation of material from the excavation . A further important point that we are going to discuss is the issue about the identification of MBA and LBA pottery among surface survey material, which

3

We decide to refer in this text to Middle Chronology dating, since we deal mostly with survey material and we do not have samples for absolute dating from the test-trench . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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has been extensively debated (Wilkinson and Tucker 1995: 97–99). Lastly, we have more issues and indices about it also concerning material published in the frame of new survey projects (Pfälzner and Sconzo 2015: 113). Especially significant is the distinction among LBA ceramic material into the so-called Mitannian and MiddleAssyrian period. We will show that LBA ceramic assemblages can be undoubtedly distinguished as belonging to the Mitannian period ceramic tradition or to the Middle Assyrian ceramic tradition, although this point has remained unsolved from other survey publications .4 The whole corpus of the LoNAP 2nd millennium ceramic material from the surface survey consists of 4,727 sherds, while the material from Tell Gir-e Gomel amounts to 1801 specimens. Among survey material, the 2nd millennium BC, subdivided into MBA and LBA, is represented by a total of 468 sites (Morandi Bonacossi and Iamoni 2015). 2. The Middle Bronze Age According to the analysis conducted during the LoNAP surface survey (Morandi Bonacossi and Iamoni 2015: 24), the MBA landscape is characterized by a florescence of settlements, with the presence of small- and medium-sized sites . They are mostly located in the Navkur Plain, but other settlements are located along the Zagros Piedmont, close to water sources . MBA sites do not show a high settled surface and are mostly located along the Gomel River and east of the Al-Khazir River and another relevant cluster of MBA settlements is located in the area around the site of Jerahiyeh, which is one of the major settlements in the LoNAP area . A cluster of sites occurs around Tell Gir-e Gomel, which is the largest inhabited settlement in this period . The ceramic assemblage amounts to 2684 sherds, among which the so-called Khabur Ware dominates (Fig. 3). This typical MBA ware is characterized by a black, brown, or dark red painting on the vessel surface and it is typical of the MBA ceramic assemblages from the Khabur basin and the Sinjar region 5 (Fig. 3j). Khabur

4

5

“ . . . The two periods are considered in tandem because they are almost impossible to differentiate in survey due to pervasive continuities in their most common ceramic types ...” (Algaze et al. 2012: 31); “... The continuity in common wares between the periods of Mitanni and Middle-Assyrian political control of the eastern basin render their distinction from surface materials problematic, despite recent advances in ceramic chronology ...” (Ur 2010: 161). The origin, distribution and dating of the Khabur Ware has been long debated and remains so. The very first definition of this category of pottery as a proper ware was made by Max Mallowan (Mallowan 1937: 103). Recent studies concern an attempted reconstruction of its origins (Oguchi 2001) and distribution (Oguchi 1997), trying to understand if the area of largest distribution, i.e. the Khabur Triangle, coincides with the area of origin . Nevertheless, the problem appears to remain unsolved, since new evidence from above mentioned surveys and excavations in Northern Iraq prove a wide distribution of Khabur Ware. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Ware is thus easily-recognizable and offers a high degree of comparisons with specimens from sites in neighbouring regions . Among the LoNAP material, it is possible to isolate diagnostic shapes for this period, on the basis of their occurrence in the various MBA occupied settlements . Among open shapes, the most diagnostic type is the bowl with convex or carinated wall and painted strokes on the rim (Fig. 3a–b), which is a typical MBA IIB shape . It is corroborated by comparisons from the site of Tell Brak (Oates et al. 1997: fig. 190.210–214), all from Area HH, levels 8 to 5; Tell Barri (Baccelli and Manuelli 2008: pl. 2.3, 5, 10), from Area G.A–D 1–6, Phase II; Tell Leilan (Frane 1996: fig. 38.1). Among closed shapes, two types are very diagnostic: the large storage jars with painted decoration on the rim and on the upper part of the body (Fig. 3h–j), which can be paralleled to evidence from Tell Brak Area HH, levels 8 (Oates et al. 1997: fig. 202.481); Tell Leilan (Frane 1996: fig. 64.2). The second most attested closed shapes type is the jar with long neck, decorated with painted bands. This is a widely-spread type, spanning the entire MBA: this is shown by its occurrence at Tell Brak, Area HH, level 8 to 4 (Oates et al. 1997: fig. 193.303, 305, 310–312), Tell Barri, Phase II (Baccelli and Manuelli 2008: pl. 5.6–7), Tell Leilan (Frane 1996: figs. 83.1, 87.2; Pulhan 2000: fig. 15.2–3), Tell Rijim (Koliński 2000: pl. 25.A, B), Chagar Bazar (McMahon et al. 2009: pl. 48). A diagnostic type, important for chronological purposes, is the shouldered beaker (Fig. 3d-f), which can be typologically characterized by a short or a slightly longer neck, and is generally decorated with painted bands (Coppini 2012). Parallels are traced at Tell Brak, HH level 8 to 5 (Oates et al. 1997: fig. 195.350–356), Tell Barri Phase II (Baccelli and Manuelli 2008: pl. 4.14–16), Tell Leilan (Frane 1996: fig. 55.1–2; Pulhan 2000: fig. 3.3–4, fig. 4.1), Tell Rimah (Postgate et al. 1997: pl. 75), Tell Chagar Bazar (McMahon et al. 2009: pl. 46). Another diagnostic ceramic cluster of the Middle Bronze Age is represented by Burnished Grey Ware (Fig. 4), characterized by a grey/greyish fabric with fine vegetal and mineral inclusions; its diagnostic shape is the carinated bowl with ridges on the upper parts of the walls (Fig. 4a–c, e). Grey Ware is widely expanded as well in the Khabur Basin and in Northern Iraq, as it shown by parallels found at Tell Brak, Area HH level 10 and 6 (Oates et al. 1997: fig. 179.176–178), Tell Leilan (Frane 1996: fig. 45), Tell Chagar Bazar (McMahon et al. 2009: pl. 29.13–16). Once the Khabur Ware and Grey Ware are analysed, which are optimal ceramic fossil-guides for the period, it is necessary to pinpoint that there is a body of material that does not belong to the aforementioned ceramic categories, and that we call here Common Ware (Fig. 5). It is nevertheless possible to date and classify it as belonging to the MBA ceramic horizon, as isolated types have been identified as diagnostic for the MBA on the basis of comparison with stratified material. We refer to the following diagnostic types: among open shapes, a very distinctive diagnostic type is the shallow bowl with inward bevelled and thickened rim (Fig. 5a). This type is very distinctive in Northern Iraq, as shown by parallels from Tell al-Rimah (Postgate et al. 1997: pl. 47 and 48), Tell Rijim (Koliński 2000: pl. 19.c), and Kurd Qaburstan (Schwartz 2016: fig. 16.12). Others include bowls with convex © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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walls and outside thickened, squared rim (Fig. 5b), carinated bowls with sinuous carination (Fig. 5b; for comparisons, see Schwartz 2016: fig. 16.5), large storage jars with ridges on the upper part of the body (Fig. 5f), and channel bases (Fig. 5g–h). 3. The Late Bronze Age While the MBA does not present problems in terms of unity of the period regarding chronological periodization of material culture, even if there are some nuances of changes in the ceramic material, the periodization of LBA is rather an issue . In fact, on the basis of pottery reconnaissance, we tend to divide this span of time into two distinct chronological periods, the Mitannian and Middle-Assyrian period .6 This is despite previous assertions that “ . . . the continuity in common wares between the periods of Mitanni and Middle-Assyrian political control of the eastern basin render their distinction from surface materials problematic, despite recent advances in ceramic chronology ...” (Ur 2010: 161). The aim of distinguishing the two ceramic traditions can be accomplished also thanks to the deeper knowledge and more exhaustive information that is now available from excavations and pottery studies . In fact, the Mitannian period is considered the most problematic phase of the LBA, in the ambit of survey material the “... most intriguing, albeit most elusive ...” (Ball et al. 2003: 15). It is intriguing indeed, but it should not be defined as elusive. In terms of settlements pattern, during the first phase of the LBA, i.e. the Mittani period, the inhabited sites in the LoNAP area amount to 122 settlements, thus witnessing a decrease compared to the MBA . They are sparsely distributed in the Navkur Plain, in an irregular pattern, very dispersed and located mainly along the Gomel River and the eastern part of the plain, east of the al-Khazir River . A relatively regular distribution pattern is attested at the Piedmont, where large sites like Jerahiyeh and Gir Kerkh are located . The ceramic assemblage for this period consists of 687 specimens. The problematic aspect of the reconnaissance of Mittani-period pottery mainly involves undecorated specimens, except for Burnished Grey Ware. Besides this difficulty concerning Mitannian pottery, there is the presence of ceramic wares and types that are undoubtedly dated to this period. We refer to Nuzi Ware, which occurs in the shapes of straight-side beakers, characterized by a geometric decoration (Fig. 6a, b); Red-Edged bowls, which occur in the shape of flat bowls with a red painted and burnished stripe on the rim (Fig. 7a, b); and Khabur Ware, which represents moreover a

6

This subdivision gets back to the historical periodization, made on the base of written and archaeological sources . Particularly concerning the Middle-Assyrian period, written sources are substantial, especially from important urban centres. For overview on them and a detailed analysis of the Assyrian provincial system, see Llop 2012. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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trait d’union with the MBA ceramic horizon (Fig. 9a–d). Burnished Grey Ware follows the same carinated bowls as Common Ware (Fig. 10a, b), while Khabur Ware specimens can be differentiated for example through the shape of large storage jars (Fig. 9b) and straight-side beakers (Fig. 9c, d). Turning to the problem of undecorated specimens, diagnostic types can be isolated using comparisons from stratified material. Among open shapes, carinated bowls with straight or vertical walls above the carination are the most commonly attested, and are characterized by a chaff-inclusions fabric and a carefully smoothed, or even burnished, surface (Fig. 8a–c, f): parallels are observed with Tell Brak HH level 3 (Oates et al. 1997: fig. 188.163), Tell Bderi Südhang level 3, Nordhang level 5 and 2b (Pfälzner 1995: Taf. 9.b; Taf. 10.a, b), Tell Barri, Area G stratum 23 (Coppini 2008b: fig. 3.f), Nemrik (Reiche 2014: pl. 2.9; pl. 3.1), Tell Rimah Level A2 (Postgate et al. 1997: pl. 33.96–98), and Kurd Qaburstan (Schwartz 2016: fig. 8.8). Among closed shapes, very indicative is the presence of large storage jars with outside-thickened squared rims, characterized by a chaff fabric (Fig. 8g and f). They are usually associated to the occurrence of the mentioned carinated bowls, and are attested at various sites: Tell Brak, HH level 2 (Oates et al. 1997: pl. 212.614–615); Tell Bderi, Nordhang level 4 (Pfälzner 1995: Taf. 28.a); Tell Barri (Coppini 2008a: fig. 6.c, d); Nemrik (Reiche 2014: pl. 10.3); Kurd Qaburstan (Schwartz 2016: fig. 8.14–15). Piecrust pot stands represent another important diagnostic type for the period (Fig. 8h–i). It must be stressed that piecrusts have also been found in Northern Iraq and in Iraqi Kurdistan in MBAstratified contexts; however, based on findings from stratified contexts in the Upper Khabur basin and at other Northern-Iraqi sites, we decided to attribute them to the Mitannian period. Comparisons are known from Tell Brak HH level 2 (Oates et al. 1997: fig. 215.666–669), Nemrik (Reiche 2014: pl. 5.8–9), Tell Rimah (Postgate et al. 1997: pl. 94). The ceramic horizon of the Mitanni period is then followed by a high standardization in the ceramic production during the Middle-Assyrian period, which can be traced and recognized even in surface survey material . The settlements increase to 314 sites – as already asserted by Morandi Bonacossi (2015), the number of settlements recognized in other survey projects shows the importance of our area for the establishment and development of the Assyrian territorial system . The spectrum of shapes mirrors the well-known Middle-Assyrian diagnostic types (Fig. 11o): sharp-carinated standard bowls (Fig. 11a–c), standard bottles (Fig. 11d–e), large storage jars with squared rim (Fig. 11f–h), and nipple bases belonging to goblets (Fig. 11k–n). Similar ceramic assemblages can be found in important Middle-Assyrian settlements and seats of rulers, such as Tell Sheikh Hamad (Pfälzner 1995: Taf. 69 and 85), Tell Fekheriye (Bonatz et al. 2008: Abb. 19), Tell Barri (D’Agostino 2014: fig. 2), and Tell Sabi Abyad (Duistermaat 2008: fig. IV.16, 30, 39, 79), as witnessed by written sources that allow a reliable chronology of the period. It is important to pinpoint that the same Middle-Assyrian ceramic assemblage has been found at Qasr Shemamok (Masetti-Rouault and Calini 2016: figs. 8–9). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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4. The Tell Gir-e Gomel ceramic assemblage The 2nd millennium ceramic assemblage that occurs from the surface survey is mirrored by the assemblage found in the excavation of the test trench at Tell Gire Gomel . The site lies in the Navkur Plain, on the left bank of the Gomel River, a tributary of the Al-Khazir River (Fig. 1). The site has been identified with the Assyrian Gammagara (Reade and Anderson 2013: 74) and the Gaugamela of the Alexander the Great battle (Fales and del Fabbro 2014: 78; Morandi Bonacossi and Iamoni 2015: 12), according to Sir Aurel Stein. The tell shows a consistent third and second millennium occupation, and probably more ancient periods, as witnessed by a whitestone stamp seal from the Ubaid period, now in the Oriental Institute Museum of Chicago (Morandi Bonacossi and Iamoni 2015: 12). The area of the artificial mound measures 16ha, but it is assumed that it must have been larger, since the western part of the tell has been eroded by the river and left place to an exposed 40m high section. Its size allows classification as the largest and probably the most important settlement in the Navkur Plain . The settled area consists of a lower city and a citadel . The LoNAP team carried out a test-trench in 2013 in Operation 2, in the middle of the River Gomel Basin, and in Operation 1, located in the lower city, on the western side of the hill, which will be discussed in the following part of this paper . The site provides evidence of long occupation spanning from the 3rd millennium (as witnessed by a grave) to the Parthian period, and even to the Islamic time . The most attested period in the stratigraphic sequence at Tell Gir-e Gomel is the Middle Bronze Age, while the Mitannian and Middle-Assyrian periods are attested at ca . 2–3% . The 2nd millennium stratigraphic sequence, traced in an area of 8 × 8m², is characterized by a series of deposits, with the presence of architectural features, and has been subdivided on the base of stratigraphic considerations into Phase VIII and Phase VII . In Phase VIII, which is dated to the MBA, barrel-vaulted graves are the most relevant feature . They are built with baked bricks and consist of one or two chambers. Their stratigraphic and architectural evaluation is difficult, due to their poor state of preservation and the erosion of this part of the tell . Despite this, it is possible to trace parallels for these structures . They represent a wide-spread grave type, which can be found in other MBA Northern-Mesopotamian sites such as those at Tell Barri (Valentini 2003), Tell Arbid (Koliński 2012: 542), Tell Mohammed Diyab (Bachelot and Castel 1992: 97–99), Tell Chagar Bazar (Mallowan 1937: 121–122, 127, fig. 8), and Assur (Hockmann 2010: 43, 89). The LBA sequence does not present evidence for architectural structures . Concerning the MBA ceramic assemblage, it can be subdivided into Khabur Ware, Common Ware, and Grey Ware, while a very small percentage of Cooking Ware is attested as well. Common Ware is characterized by the presence of shallow bowls and carinated bowls with sinuous walls (Fig. 12c). The shallow bowl type is particularly relevant as a diagnostic type (Fig. 12a), as it is peculiar to the MBA II, as comparisons from the Tell Leilan Qarni-Lim palace (Pulhan 2000: fig. 20:3) and Tell al-Rimah (Postgate et al. 1997: pls. 47, 48) show. Shouldered beakers, with or © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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without necks, represent another important diagnostic type . Among them, particularly relevant are the types with ridges on the shoulder (Fig. 12f–g, k–m), which can be compared to specimens from Tell Chagar Bazar (McMahon et al. 2009: pl. 37), MBA II. From the grave inventory, the small Khabur Ware shouldered beakers (Fig. 12h–i) show similarities to specimens from Tell Arbid Area P (Koliński 2013: fig. 4). As already shown in the frame of survey material, Grey Ware occurs at Tell Gir-e Gomel, and in considerable percentage. It is noteworthy that the fabric is much finer than on survey specimens, namely with finer vegetal and mineral inclusions, and the surface is very carefully burnished (Fig. 13a–c). The Mitannian period ceramic assemblage does not differ from the survey assemblage, although here we find more Common Ware than Khabur or Grey Ware. In the shapes spectrum, we isolated bowls, characterized by high carination (Fig. 14a, b), and those with straight wall above the carination (Fig. 14c) as diagnostic shapes. They find comparisons with specimens from Tell Barri Area G, stratum 24 (Coppini 2008b: fig. 3e–g), dated to the LBA Ia; and Mitannian levels at Tell Bderi and Tell Brak. Grey (Fig. 14a, b) and Khabur Ware (Fig. 15a) still occur. The Middle-Assyrian settlement on the tell is confirmed by the finding of standard, official Middle-Assyrian pottery, for example carinated bowls (Fig. 16a–d) and bottles (Fig. 16e, f). Noteworthy is the presence of clay objects, which have a circular section and one pointed end (Fig. 18a, b). Based on comparisons, these have been interpreted as terracotta nails, which were often used in palaces, or at least in important and representative buildings . As we know from Tell al-Rimah, they were used in temples such as those at site A, level 2, and site C, level 4 (Postgate et al. 1997: pl. 25e). 5. Conclusions The picture emerging from the preliminary analysis of the LoNAP 2nd millennium ceramic gives hints concerning many aspects. First, the difficulties of survey methods and settlements and pottery reconnaissance arise in the wide presence of 2nd millennium-dated settlements and related pottery. In the LoNAP survey, 468 2nd millennium sites were recognized, far more than the numbers identified in adjacent regions by previous survey projects (Algaze et al. 2012; Wilkinson and Tucker 1995). This is because MBA and LBA pottery can now be more easily recognized, thanks to the increasing number of excavations that have taken place in the last decades . This leads to the second point, which deals with ceramic reconnaissance. Concerning the MBA ceramic assemblage, Khabur Ware and Grey Ware have always been considered as the only diagnostic pottery for this period. From the LoNAP material, both from survey and from the Tell Gir-e Gomel excavation, it is evident that even Common Ware diagnostic types can be isolated (see plates and shouldered beakers) . Concerning the LBA, the reconnaissance and distinction of Mitanni and Middle-Assyrian pottery is widely demonstrated. Each of them has © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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its own ceramic tradition, as shown by the occurrence of well-defined diagnostic types, such as carinated bowls and jars with squared rim. However, we would prefer to refer to a LBA I ceramic tradition, instead of speaking of a Mitanni ceramic tradition, since it has not been proved yet that it is strictly connected to the Mitanni element . Meanwhile, the opposite can be asserted concerning the Middle-Assyrian period. This confirms the spreading of LBA I/Mitannian pottery to the east of the core territory of the Mitannian Kingdom, which has been proven to have been the Upper Khabur basin . From results concerning 2nd millennium Tell Gir-e Gomel, it is evident that the site held a certain importance in the MBA and LBA, besides what we know of the Hellenistic Gaugamela and Assyrian Gammagara. The occurrence of barrel-vault graves, the very well-made pottery, and the presence of wall cones all speak of the importance of the site, which is confirmed also by its size in comparison to other sites in the same area . The MBA and LBA ceramic assemblage from the surface survey and from Tell Gir-e Gomel supports the assertion of the importance of the Navkur Plain and the Zagros Piedmont during the 2nd millennium BC, thus attributing to this area of the Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project a crucial role in the succession of territorial powers and resource exploitation . Though they are preliminary, our results from this analysis of the ceramic assemblages undoubtedly pinpoint the unity in terms of material culture of this area of Iraqi Kurdistan to the western Northern-Iraqi settlements and to the Syrian Jezirah settlements . Although excavation results from this area are still preliminary and not fully published, it is possible to trace some parallels with sites such as Kurd Qaburstan (Schwartz 2016) for the MBA and the LBA, and for Qasr Shemamok (Masetti Rouault and Calini 2016) and Tell Baqrta and Nader (Kopanias et al. 2013: 27 and 38) for the LBA. It is now crucial, as a further step, to clarify the modalities of connection between these regions, and the role that the Navkur Plain and region of the Zagros Piedmont played in-between them and the region further south, i.e. the Erbil Plain. Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to the General Directorate of Antiquities of the Kurdistan Regional Government and its director Kak Abubakir Othman Zeineddin (Mala Awat), and to the Duhok Directorate of Antiquities and its director Dr Hassan Ahmad Qasim . A second but not less important thank is owed to the director of the LoNAP project, Daniele Morandi Bonacossi, and to the deputy director, Marco Iamoni (University of Udine), for the possibility of studying the here presented ceramic material . A huge thank to the staff of the project, particularly to my ceramic-specialist colleagues Katia Gavagnin (University of Udine), Marco Iamoni, and Rocco Palermo (University of Groningen), as well as to Alberto Savioli (University of Udine) for work on satellite imagery and maps . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Morandi Bonacossi, D . and Iamoni, M . 2015 Landscape and settlement in the Eastern Upper Iraqi Tigris and Navkur plains. The land of Nineveh archaeological project, seasons 2012–2013. Iraq 77, 9–39. Nováček, K. 2008 Research of the Arbil Citadel, Iraqi Kurdistan, first season. Památky Archeologické 99, 259– 302. Oates, D., MacDonald, H. and Oates, J. (eds.) 1997 Excavations at Tell Brak Volume 1. The Mitanni and Old Babylonian Periods, London . Oguchi, H. 1997 A reassessment of the distribution of Khabur ware: An approach from an aspect of its main phase . Al-Rafidan 18, 195–224. 2001

The origins of Khabur ware: A tentative note. Al-Rafidan 22, 71–87.

Pfälzner, P. 1995 Mittanische und mittelassyrische Keramik. Eine chronologische, funktionale und produktionsökonomische Analyse. Berichte der Ausgrabung Tall Šēḫ Ḥamad/Dūr-katlimmu 3. Berlin. Pfälzner, P. and Sconzo, P. 2015 First results of the Eastern Ḫabur archaeological survey in the Dohuk region of the Iraqi Kurdistan. The season 2013. Zeitschrift für Orient-Archäologie 8, 90–122. Postgate, C., Oates, D. and Oates, J. 1997 The Excavations at Tell al Rimah. The Pottery. Iraq Archaeological Reports 4. Warminster. Postgate, N . 2010 The debris of government. Reconstructing the Middle-Assyrian state apparatus from tablets and potsherds . Iraq 72, 19–37. Pulhan, G . 2000 On the Eve of the Dark Age. Qarni-Lim’s Palace at Tell Leilan. PhD thesis, Yale University, Yale. Reade, J. E. and Anderson, J. R. 2013 Gunduk, Khanes, Gaugamela, Gali Zardak. Notes on Navkur and nearby rock-cut sculptures in Kurdistan . Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 103/1, 68–122. Reiche, A . 2014 Late Bronze Age pottery from Nemrik (Northern Iraq). In: M. Luciani, A. Hausleiter and C. Beuger (eds.), Recent Trends in the Study of Late Bronze Age Ceramics in Syro-Mesopotamia and Neighbouring Regions. Proceedings of the International Workshop in Berlin, 2–5 November 2006. Berlin, 289–332. Schwartz, G . M . 2016 Kurd Qaburstan, a second millennium BC urban site: First results of the Johns Hopkins project. In: K. Kopanias and J. MacGinnis (eds.), The Archaeology of the Kurdistan Region, Oxford, 385–402. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Stein, G. and Wattenmaker, P. 2003 Settlement trends and the emergence of social complexity in the Leilan region of the Habur plains (Syria) from the fourth to the third millennium BC. In: E. Rova and H. Weiss (eds.), The Origins of North Mesopotamian Civilization. Ninivite 5 Chronology, Economy, Society. Subartu 9. Turnhout, 361–386. Ur, J . A . 2010 Urbanism and Cultural Landscapes in Northeastern Syria. The Tell Hamoukar Survey, 1999– 2001. Tell Hamoukar 1. Oriental Institute Publications 137. Chicago. Valentini, S . 2003 Le pratiche e l’ideologia funeraria a Tell Barri/Kahat durante il Bronzo Medio, in relazione all’area siro-mesopotamica settentrionale . Studi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici, 45/2, 273–305. van Ess, M., Hausleiter, A., Hussein, H. H., and Mohammed, N. B. 2012 Excavations in the city of Arbil, 2009–2011. The Neo-Assyrian tomb. Zeitschrift für OrientArchäologie 5, 104–165. Wilkinson, T. J. and Tucker, D. 1995 Settlement Development in the North Jazira, Iraq. A Study of the Archaeological Landscape . Iraq Archaeological Reports 3. Warminster.

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The Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project

Fig. 1 Map showing the LoNAP area and the sites: the star-symbol indicates Tell Gir-e Gomel (Map by A. Savioli; © LoNAP Archives) Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project 300

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Fig. 2 Histogram illustrating the number of sherds per each LoNAP period

Fig. 3 Middle Bronze Age Khabur Ware from the LoNAP area (© LoNAP Archives)

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Fig. 4 Middle Bronze Age Grey Ware from the LoNAP area (© LoNAP Archives)

Fig. 5 Middle Bronze Age Common Ware from the LoNAP area (© LoNAP Archives)

Fig. 6 Mitanni period: Nuzi Ware from the LoNAP area (© LoNAP Archives)

Fig. 7 Mitanni period: Red-Edged bowls from the LoNAP area (© LoNAP Archives)

Fig. 8 Mitanni period: Common Ware from the LoNAP area (© LoNAP Archives) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

The Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project

Fig. 9 Mitanni period: Khabur Ware from the LoNAP area (© LoNAP Archives)

Fig. 10 Mitanni period: Grey Ware from the LoNAP area (© LoNAP Archives)

Fig. 11 Middle-Assyrian pottery from the LoNAP area (© LoNAP Archives)

Fig. 12 Middle Bronze Age pottery Tell Gir-e Gomel, Operation 1 (© LoNAP Archives) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 13 Middle Bronze Age Grey Ware from Tell Gir-e Gomel, Operation 1 (© LoNAP Archives)

Fig. 14 Mitanni period: Common Ware from Tell Gir-e Gomel, Operation 1 (© LoNAP Archives)

Fig. 15 Mitanni period: Grey Ware from Tell Gir-e Gomel, Operationa 1 (© LoNAP Archives)

Fig. 16 Mitanni period: Khabur Ware from Tell Gir-e Gomel, Operation 1 (© LoNAP Archives)

Fig. 17 Middle-Assyrian pottery from Tell Gir-e Gomel, Operation 1 (© LoNAP Archives)

Fig. 18 Middle-Assyrian terracotta nails from Tell Gir-e Gomel, Operation 1 (© LoNAP Archives)

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The Foothill of Zagros during the Bronze Age: SGAS Preliminary Results Cécile Verdellet 1 Abstract The Suleymania Governorate Archaeological Survey (SGAS) aims to provide a diachronic perspective of the surveyed area. For the Bronze Age, settlements can be identified mainly based on the pottery known from all over the Upper Mesopotamia. The frame of reference is based on specific ceramic cultures and particular assemblages, and can be completed with stratified corpuses. During the five missions in the regions of Rania, Peshdar and Bingird (2012–2015), the SGAS identified at least 32 Bronze Age occupations, most of them located in the plain. Different kinds of settlements can be observed . According to the observation of the distribution of Bronze Age sites, it seems that the spatial organisation of the Rania, Peshdar and Bingird districts aimed to control the region, by distributing large cities regularly in the plain and smaller implantations in between and further up on the foothills . Isolated by high relief, but also one of the best ways to cross the Zagros Mountains, the studied area maintained control over its local natural resources but also kept contact with the surrounding regions, with privileged contacts with the Upper Tigris and the Jezireh during the Bronze Age .

The Suleymania Governorate Archaeological Survey (SGAS), supervised by Jessica Giraud in collaboration with the Department of Antiquities of Suleymania and its director Kamal Rasheed Raheem Zewe, aims to record the exact location of sites of the surveyed area and to give a first dating of their occupation, in order to provide a diachronic perspective of the area . The project combines several approaches; among them, ceramic analysis is used to separate the surface material chronologically . The interpretation of results is limited by the survey method . Indeed, the identification of settlements is based on material from the surface, even if a wellstratified local frame of reference is still lacking. In this context, settlements can be identified mainly on the basis of the pottery known from all across Upper Mesopotamia . Then, according to the results, the pottery analysis of the SGAS aims to correlate the field data with social and historical events of the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC in Mesopotamia . This paper presents the ceramic cultures, chronological markers, and stratified corpuses used to identify Bronze Age sites in the Rania, Peshdar and Bingird areas, as well as the first results of the SGAS’ fieldwork about local organisation and the relationships between this area and the surrounding regions .

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Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne; UMR 7041. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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1. Surveyed material: methodology of study 1.1 Historiographical context First exploration of Rania plain occurred in 1956, before the flooding of the Dunkan Dam, when Abu al-Soof first outlined the occupation and the associated pottery for this area (Abu al-Soof 1970). Since 2011, many archaeological projects have been undertaken in the Kurdistan region, opening new prospects and new frames of reference. Since 2012, the SGAS has focused on the Rania, Peshdar and Bingird districts, which are all located in the Suleymania governorate . Surrounded by the Zagros Mountains, these three areas are composed of plains and foothills. During the Bronze Age, this area sat at the crossroad between main ceramic cultures . 1.2 Ceramic cultures and chronological markers At the end of Chalcolithic and very beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, three distinctive ceramic cultures surrounded our region of study: The Kura Araks ware, Ninevite 5 ware, and Scarlet Ware. Kura-Araks ware is associated with the Early-Transcaucasian culture and occurred from approximately 3600 to 2000 BC (Gopnick and Rothman 2011: 142). It is divided in three main phases, which are KA I, dated from 3600 to 3300, KA II, from 3300 to 2400 and KA III, from 2400 to 2000 (Gopnick and Rothman 2011: 144; Sagona 1984: 125–127). This distinctive ceramic culture is attested in Georgia, Armenia, Central Asia, Turkey and Iran (Gopnick and Rothman 2011: 148, 156–158). It seems to be related to the mountain regions (Gopnick and Rothman 2011: 156– 158) and has been identified at least at Hasanlu or Godin Tepe in Iran (Gopnick and Rothman 2011: 141), as well as at Tell Brak in the Khabur area (Oates et al. 1997: 160–161). The corpus of the Kura-Araks II ware is relatively limited. Ceramics are handmade and burnished . The black or black and red colour of the surface is characteristic, although it can also be grey or dark buff (Marro 2000: 478; Gopnick and Rothman 2011: 141–142, 170–174). Decoration is mostly incised or raised with geometric designs like triangles or spirals and decorations in relief (Marro 2000: 478). Identified in the 1930s at Nineveh by Max Mallowan, Ninevite 5 ware is attested on many sites, particularly of the Khabur area, but also as far as Mari on the Euphrates (Grossman 2014: 83–84). To the north, the Tur Abdin seems to be a natural border, and the eastern limit remains poorly defined (Grossman 2014: 86–88). Abu Al-Soof mentioned Ninevite 5 in the Kurdistan region, noticing it is less evident in the provinces of Suleymania and Kirkuk than in the Mosul area (Abu Al-Soof 1964: 42; Grossman 2014: 84). The corpus of Ninevite 5 is well defined with several specific shapes. It consists mostly in bowls and cups with more or less carinated body and beaded rim. The most characteristics bases are ring or pedestal shapes, but flat, round and pointed bases are known (Grossman 2014: 85). Ninevite 5 wares are most recognisable according to their decoration, which is mostly painted and incised at © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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the beginning of the period (approximately from the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC to 2700 BC) and incised-excised at the end (approximately from 2700 BC to 2500 BC; Grossman 2014: 85–86, 89–90). It consists in geometric or animal patterns mostly located on the upper part of the pot but also on whole surfaces for some shapes, such as chalices (Grossman 2014: 85–86). Most of decorated shapes are also known without decoration . Scarlet ware seems to be limited to the Diyala area and the neighbour regions of Hamrin, Luristan, Deh Luran and Khuzestan (Delougaz 1952; Del Bravo 2014: 132–134). Moreover, it is known from the Sherizor Plain and probably further north, according to the recent work . It occurred at the early beginning of the 3rd millennium BC (3000–2800 BC; Del Bravo 2014: 131). Lugged and handled jars are the most characteristic shapes within the corpus . Scarlet ware is mostly recognisable by its polychrome painted decoration, consisting of geometric and animal patterns organised in triangular metopes, filled in different way and covering the complete surface of the pot (Del Bravo 2014: 135–139). From the 24th century BC onwards, the Akkadian Empire originated from Central Mesopotamia extended northwards and southwards. However, the type of relationship between Akkad and the surrounding region is still hard to define. According to the pottery, micro-regional ceramic cultures progressively disappeared in Mesopotamia, replaced by new assemblages, like the grey wares . As was proposed by the ARCANE project in 2014, we must separate the North Mesopotamian Metallic ware, from the North Mesopotamian Grey ware and the Jezirah Stone ware (Falb et al. 2014: 171). However, their similar appearance makes their macroscopic identification difficult. Grey wares seem to be located particularly in the Khabur Triangle area, limited by the Taurus foothills to the north, the Euphrates Valley to the south and west, and by the Tigris River to the east (Falb et al. 2014: 180–181, 185). They occurred during approximately the second half of the 3rd millennium, even if the North Mesopotamian Metallic ware seems to be slightly earlier (Falb et al. 2014: 180, 184–185). The main characteristic of these Grey wares is the smoothly and shiny aspect of the surface, accomplished by vitrification for the Metallic ware (Falb et al. 2014: 174) and by burnishing for the others (Falb et al. 2014: 184). The colour is mostly grey, although lighter colours are also known (Falb et al. 2014: 181, 184). Most of the Grey ware shapes also occur in Common Ware (Falb et al. 2014: 175) and some specific shapes like Syrian Bottles, dome-shaped and bellshaped bowls and small chalices provide good chronological data . The assemblage, characterised by specific shapes like the carinated, ridgedshoulder jars and the hearth-shape beakers and bottles, represents a good chronological marker for the second half of the 3rd millennium (Arrivabeni 2014; McMahon 2014). Identified on sites of central and south Mesopotamia, such as Ur, Uruk, Nippur or Umma and in the Diyala region, this corpus is also attested to the north along the Tigris River, for example at Assur (Arrivabeni 2014: 237; McMahon 2014: 245–246). Made in fine mineral fabric, the Hearth-shape Beakers are characterised by their sinuous body ending with a round or pointed base and their flaring neck as© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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sociated with a moulded rim. The Heath-shape Bottles have more or less the same appearance, with a more elongated body, made with fine to medium mineral fabric (Arrivabeni 2014: 237). The Carinated, Ridged-shoulder Jar is characterised by its particular body-shape, with a very sharp neck-to-shoulder angle and equally very sharp shoulder-to-body angle. Moreover, the horizontal ridged decoration is unique to this type (McMahon 2014: 245). According to the ARCANE Project, Snake Applied Decorations are attested in all Mesopotamia and Iran, including the Khabur and the Tigris areas, in particular in religious context (Quenet 2014: 253). This pattern appeared progressively in Mesopotamia from the beginning of the 3rd millennium onwards, and seems to gradually decrease during the first half of the 2nd millennium BC (Quenet 2014: 253). Examples were recently found on Kunara (directed by Aline Tenu), close to Suleymania, associated with scorpion-applied decoration (Tenu in press) . Usually found on large open vessels, the modelled applied motifs are known on the entire surface of the wall until the top of the rim (Quenet 2014: 262–263). After the fall of Akkad, the political situation in Mesopotamia seems to have been unstable. The Gutis, whose presence in Babylonia is attested through texts, progressively took control of important political centres . At the end of the 3rd millennium, Babylonia was reunified under the 3rd Dynasty of Ur. In north Mesopotamia, cities seem to regain their complete independence, but maintained contact with the south . The north Mesopotamian pottery is composed of both local pottery, like the combed decorated ware, and assemblages more or less common for all Mesopotamia . The combed decoration is well attested on sites like Nineveh, Assur, Hamoukar, Tell Taya and Tell Rimah in the Tigris area, and at Chagar Bazar, Tell Brak, Tell Beydar and Tell Mozan in the Jezireh area (Sconzo and Bianci 2014: 382) and recently Kunara (Tenu in press) in the Zagros foothills . Its use increased during the second half of the 3rd millennium BC (Sconzo and Bianci 2014: 383). Made with comb-like tools, different patterns are observed from horizontal combed lines to complex pattern with combed wavy lines, combed diagonal hatched lines, and impressed elements . These occur mostly on shoulders and necks of medium-sized to large pots, but can also be observed over entire bodies (Sconzo and Bianci 2014: 381, 382 fig. 2). Carinated bowls are attested all over the Near East from the Levant to Iran at the end of the 3rd millennium BC (Schmidt 2014: 412–413). Due to their dating, they are usually associated with the Ur III phase in Babylonia (Schmidt 2014: 414). Carination for open vessels persists during the Middle Bronze Age and the Middle Assyrian period, and shows a trend for continuity rather than drastic change at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamia. With a diameter of approximately 15 cm, these bowls are characterised by the angular carination of their body . They are usually made in common light buff ware with vegetal temper and few mineral inclusions . Traces of rotation were observed, emphasizing the potential for mass production . However, although the type seems to be homogeneous, a few regional differences are known (Schmidt 2014: 411). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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The transitional phase between the Early Bronze Age and the Middle Bronze Age in north Mesopotamia is still unclear . In Jezireh, the number of sites decreased, illustrating in any case a change in the spatial organisation of settlements. The texts from Shemshera and the written correspondence between Mari and Shemshera (Eidem and Lassoe 2001; Eidem 1992) indicate the integration of the Rania Plain into the geo-political system of the Upper Mesopotamian Kingdom . Khabur ware, which appeared at the beginning of the 2nd millennium, is today consider to be the best chronological marker of that period . The Khabur ware heartland seems to be the Khabur Triangle area itself (Faivre and Nicolle 2007: 191). However, Khabur ware is attested on sites of the Saddam Dam Project (Eski Mossul Dam) on the Tigris and along the Tigris River until Assur, the southern limit being approximately the Lower Zab. Indeed, it is attested at Shemshera and Basmusian (Abu Al-Soof 1970: 68), but absent from the Hamrin and the Diyala areas (Delougaz 1952: 150–151; Faivre and Nicolle 2007: 192; Gabutti 2002: 100). Its production period is divided into two main phases, which are the Old Khabur ware (1900–1700 BC) and the Late Khabur ware (1700 to the Mitanni period; Faivre and Nicolle 2007: 183). Khabur ware was first identified according to its horizontal painted bands located in the upper part of the pot . These bands can be associated with more complex patterns like triangles, hatched lines, or dots, but also ridges, grooves, incisions, or combed lines . All the shapes known with painted decoration are also known without paint, and vegetal and mineral tempers are recognized (Faivre and Nicolle 2007: 180, 188, 190). 1.3 Stratified frame of reference Stratified assemblages from sites excavated close to our study region complete this frame of reference based on supra-regional assemblages . Tell Yelkhi is the main site of the Hamrin area. An Italian mission directed by Antonio Invernizzi excavated it from 1978 to 1981 (Bergamini 2002: 5). The site was occupied from at least the Halaf-Ubaid period to the Sasanian period. Levels 10–9 are dated to the first half of the 3rd millennium BC, level 8 to the Akkadian phase, levels 7–6 to the end of the 3rd millennium/beginning of the 2nd millennium, levels 5–4 to the 20th/19th century, level 3 to the paleo-Babylonian phase, level 2 to the end of the first half of the 2nd millennium, and level 1 might be a Kassite level according to the pottery (Bergamini 2002: 5–8). The ceramics from Yelkhi 1, excavated from autumn 1977 to March 1980, gives a good frame of reference (Bergamini 2002). Indeed, even if it is difficult to identify such precise levels according to a survey sample, phases are characterised by particular and easy-to-recognised shapes . Tell Brak, first excavated by Mallowan in the 1930s, is located in the Khabur Triangle. The site has been occupied at least from the Halaf period to the end of the 2nd millennium BC (Middle Assyrian period; Oates et al. 1997: 35). During the first half of the 3rd millennium (phase L), which is characterised by the famous Ninevite 5 © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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ware, Tell Brak was a powerful centre of Upper Mesopotamia. According to the text from Ebla, during the Akkadian expansion (phase M), the Khabur area was under a direct Akkadian authority based at Brak. During the beginning of the 2nd millennium (phase N), Tell Brak seems to have been an important religious centre; Khabur ware occurred at that time. During the following phase, the palace of Tell Brak is one of the most impressive remains of Mitanian political power. In the 13th century, the city was taken and destroyed by Adad Nerari 1st and then belonged to the Assyrian empire (Oates et al. 1997; 2002). Godin Tepe is located in the Zagros Mountains in central western Iran . It was excavated by T. Cuyler Young Jr. from 1965 to 1973 (Gopnick and Rothman 2011: 1). The site provides long excavated sequences from the Early Chalcolithic period (6th millennium BC) to the mid-1st millennium BC. Period 4 dates to the Early Transcaucasian Culture at the beginning of the 3rd millennium. Period 3 attests to contacts with the Ur III state in Babylonia . The settlement seems to have been abandoned for a while in the mid-2nd millennium BC (Gopnick and Rothman 2011: 1–3). The pottery of period 4 is mostly Kura-Araks ware, although analyses that are more precise can distinguish at least eleven typological categories (Rothmann 2011: 167–174). The pottery of the period 3 consists of more or less carinated pots or jars, beakers and bowls . The decoration with painted geometric, vegetal, or animal patterns is specific; also are the short round handles (Henrickson 2011: 250–266). 2. First results of the SGAS (2012–2015) 2.1 Bronze Age pottery dating During the five missions in the regions of Rania, Peshdar and Bingird, the SGAS identified 240 sites from Palaeolithic to modern periods. To identify the Bronze Age sites, the SGAS uses the frame of reference developed above, taking into consideration the historical and material context. Ninevite 5 sherds were found in very low quantity (Fig.1). Their fine ware is mostly light in colour and compact without visible inclusions . The medium to coarse ware is more vegetal tempered, and can constitute a cooking assemblage . The shapes are small bowls with flat or pedestal bases, and a few sherds are decorated with geometric patterns in dark paint and some incised-excised motifs similar to those of Tell Brak . For the medium to coarse fabric, the shapes are mostly hole-mouth pots with crescent lug similar to those of Tell Billa . Different patterns of Combed Decoration have been recovered in the surveyed area. They consist mostly in association of horizontal and wavy lines of 3 to 7 incisions situated on the upper part of pots of medium ware . Carinated bowls were found during the survey. However, the particularity of fabrics makes us hesitant to ascribe a later dating . Indeed, the fabrics of the surveyed region are darker compare to the fabrics observed at Erbil, Dohuk or Suleymania. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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The absence for the moment of some ceramic cultures like Kura-Araks ware, Scarlet ware or Grey ware, along with chronological markers of the ‘Akkadian’ phase are noticeable . Independently of these well-known assemblages, the specificity of the pottery from the Rania, Peshdar and Bingird areas is remarkable. Even if few sherds useful as chronological and cultural markers were identified, the assemblage of the Bronze Age looks mostly local . Fabrics are different in colour and composition from the neighbour regions of Erbil, Suleymania or Dohuk, and easily recognizable shapes seem absent in our sample thus far . Nevertheless, the homogeneity of the sample and its parallels both with the Jezirah and the Diyala assemblages allow us to propose some dating . 2.2 Local organisation of the area during the Bronze Age Based on the identification of 963 sherds, at least 32 sites had a probable Bronze Age occupation (Fig. 2). Twenty-three sites were Early Bronze Age settlements, 20 sites had a Middle Bronze Age occupation, and 13 sites were probably inhabited during the Late Bronze Age. Most of the Bronze Age sites are located in the plain . Even if they are mostly tells, different kinds of settlements can be observed . Indeed, large tells measuring about 20 hectares and 30 meters high are regularly distributed all over the area. Medium tells, covering between 5 and 7ha and measuring between 8 and 11 meters in height, are distributed between the large tells, and few flat open sites are also known (Fig. 3). Among the 23 Early Bronze Age sites identified, 8 seem to be abandoned for a while at the end of the period, whereas 14 seem to be inhabited during the following phase of Middle Bronze Age; this concerns mainly large sites . Among the Middle Bronze Age sites, only five (Azmira Bardashan (44), Qala Diza (50), Qara Tepe Kun (71), Shemshera (90), and Gulak (17); see Fig. 2) seem to have an occupation during the Late Bronze Age. We must note the sites of Dlumar (75) and Salchi (137) (Fig. 2) where only Early Bronze and Late Bronze Age sherds were observed. It seems that the spatial organisation of the Rania, Peshdar and Bingird district during the Bronze Age aimed to control the region, distributing large cities regularly in the plain and establishing smaller settlements in between and further up on the foothills . 2.3 The mid-3rd millennium: a change of spatial organisation For the Early Bronze Age, it was possible to distinguish the settlements of the beginning of the 3rd millennium from those belonging to the second half of the 3rd millennium based on the pottery . If the large sites were occupied during all the 3rd millennium, some smaller sites show a shorter sequence. For example, while Ibrahim Katshal (13) and Xwadaw – Poke Saru (112) have material from the first half of the 3rd millennium, only material dating to the end of the 3rd millennium is attested at © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Quruja (16) and Qalat Raniah (59) (Fig. 2). These short-lived sites of the second half of the 3rd millennium are mainly located in the plain, sometimes very close to larger sites: Quruja (16) is a medium tell of about 6ha and less than 10 meters high. Located in the plain, it is less than 3km from Waranga Saru (15) and Gulak (17) (Fig. 2). Although limited by the survey method, these two kinds of settlement structure during the Early Bronze Age suggest, minimally, a change in the spatial organisation of the area in the mid-3rd millennium. The reason for this change cannot be explained yet, but it required that people move from old mid-level occupations to new ones. 2.4 The Middle Bronze Age: a controlled agricultural area On the plain, only the large sites provide Middle Bronze Age sherds. Most of them were probably also occupied during the Early Bronze Age, and additional similar sites identified by Abu- al-Soof are now under the lake. SGAS identified ten large sites in the three districts of Rania, Peshdar and Bingird. Each of them is located about 7 to 10km from each other and might have controlled their surrounding area. For example, Qara Tepe Kun (71, Fig. 2), located in the East bank of the Dukan Lake, covers 19.27ha and is more than 30 meters high. Pottery samples indicate a Bronze Age occupation from the 3rd millennium BC (Fig. 4) to the mid-2nd millennium BC (Fig. 5), at least. Tle Tell (26, Figs. 2, 3) measures 19.5ha and is more than 30 meters high. Occupied at least during the Middle Bronze Age, it is located in a marshland area on the bank of the Qshan River, surrounded by the Shakh-I Makok and Kew-I Sharband mountains . In parallel, specific areas could have a local organisation due to their particular localisation. For example, in the western part of the Rania Plain, south of Tle Tell are three medium size tells providing Bronze Age sherds, namely Salkis (19), Blil (21) and Saxima (22) (all Fig. 2). Measuring about 6ha and 10 meter high, they are concentrated on the Qshan River bank and might be associated with Kolaga (18, Figs. 2, 3), a 5.5ha flat open area, today partly covered by the Dukan Lake. During the Middle Bronze Age, the region was connected with the High Kingdom of Mesopotamia (Eidem and Laessoe 2001) and from a local perspective, the distribution of sites attests a spatial organisation based on the establishment of large settlements surrounded by smaller ones, controlling the agricultural areas and the water supply . 3. Conclusion In conclusion, the ceramic study on the material from the regions of Rania, Peshdar and Bingird shows the regional organization of this area . Isolated by high reliefs, but also one of the best locations to cross the Zagros Mountains, the studied area maintained control of its local natural resources while also maintaining contact with surrounding regions. The Ninevite 5 and Khabur ware sherds show more privileged © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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contacts with the Upper Tigris and the Jezireh than with central and south Mesopotamia during the Bronze Age . Keeping in mind that the lack of data recovery during a survey does not mean the absence of settlements, but rather the impossibility of identification, only new seasons of survey, soundings and excavations will bring new data and permit an increase in the quantity and precision of these results.

Bibliography Abu al-Soof, B . 1964 Uruk pottery from the Dokan and Shahrazur districts and the distribution of Ninevite V pottery as revealed by survey work in Iraq. Sumer 20, 37–44. 1970

Mounds in the Rania plain and excavations at Tell Basmusian (1956). Sumer 26, 65–104.

Arrivabeni, M . 2014 Hearth-shaped ‘Akkadian’ beakers and bottles. In: M. Lebeau (ed.), ARCANE Interregional Volume I. Ceramics. Brepols, 237–243. Bergamini, G . (ed .) 2002 La ceramica di Tell Yelkhi, Mesopotamia 37/38, Torino. Del Bravo, F. 2014 ‘Scarlet Ware’: origins, chronology and developments. In: M. Lebeau (ed.), ARCANE Interregional Volume I. Ceramics. Brepols, 131–147. Delougaz, P. 1952 Pottery from the Diyala Region, The University of Chicago Oriental Institute Publications 63. Chicago . Eidem, J . 1992 The Shemshera Archives 2: The Administrative Texts. Historisk-filosofiske Skrifter, 15. Copenhagen . Eidem, J. and Laessoe, J. 2001 The Shemshera Archives 1: The Letters. Historisk-filosofiske Skrifter, 23. Copenhagen. Faivre, X. and Nicolle, C. 2007 La Jézireh au Bronze moyen et la céramique du Khabur. In: M. Al-Maqdissi, V. Matoïan and C. Nicolle (eds .), Céramique de l’Âge du Bronze en Syrie, II. L’Euphrate et la region de Jézireh . Beirut, 179–229. Falb, C., Porter, A. and Pruss, A. 2014 North-Mesopotamian Metallic ware, Jezirah stone ware, North-Mesopotamian Grey ware and Euphrates Banded wares. In: M. Lebeau (ed.), ARCANE Interregional Volume I. Ceramics . Brepols, 171–199. Gabutti, A . 2002 La ceramica dei livelli VIb–III. In: G. Bergamini (ed.), La ceramica di Tell Yelkhi, Mesopotamia 37/38. Torino, 87–263. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Gopnick, H. and Rothman M. S. (eds.) 2011 On the High Road: The History of Godin Tepe, Iran, Bibliotheca Iranica 1. Costa Mesa. Grossman, K . 2014 Ninevite 5 Ceramics. In: M. Lebeau (ed.), ARCANE Interregional Volume I. Ceramics . Brepols, 83–100. Henrickson, R. C. 2011 The Godin period III town. In: H. Gopnick and M. S. Rothman (eds.), On the High Road: The History of Godin Tepe, Iran, Bibliotheca Iranica 1. Costa Mesa, 209–282. Marro, C . 2000 Vers une chronologie compare des pays du Caucase et de l’Euphrate aux IVe–IIIe millénaires. In: C. Marro and H. Hauptmann (eds.), Chronologies des pays du Caucase et de l’Euphrate aux IVe–IIIe millénaires, Actes du colloque d’Istanbul, 16–19 décembre 1998. Varia Anatolica 11, Institut Français d’Etude Anatolienne. Istanbul, 473–482. McMahon, A . 2014 Carinated, ridged-shoulder ‘Akkadian’ jars. In: M. Lebeau (ed.), ARCANE Interregional Volume I. Ceramics. Brepols, 245–252. Oates, D., Oates, J. and McDonald, H. 1997 Excavations at Tell Brak. 1. The Mitanni and Old Babylonian Periods. London – Cambridge. 2002

Excavations at Tell Brak. 2. Nagar in the Third Millennium BC. London – Cambridge.

Quenet, P. 2014 Snake applied decorations. In: M. Lebeau (ed.), ARCANE Interregional Volume I. Ceramics . Brepols, 253–269. Rothman, M. S. 2011 Migration and resettlement: Godin period IV. In: H. Gopnick and M. S. Rothman (eds.), On the High Road: The History of Godin Tepe, Iran, Bibliotheca Iranica 1. Costa Mesa, 139–206 Sagona, A . G . 1984 The Caucasian Region in the Early Bronze Age, Part I. British Archaeological Reports International Series 214/1. Oxford. Schmidt, C . 2014 Late 3rd millennium ‘Ur III’ carinated bowls. In: M. Lebeau (ed.), ARCANE Interregional Volume I. Ceramics. Brepols, 409–415. Sconzo, P. and Bianci, A. 2014 North Mesopotamian comb-incised and comb-impressed pottery. In: M. Lebeau (ed.), ARCANE Interregional Volume I. Ceramics. Brepols, 379–407. Tenu, A . (ed .) in press Kunara, une ville du IIIe millénaire dans les piémonts du Zagros. Rapport préliminaire sur la troisième campagne de fouilles (2015), Akkadica.

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Fig. 1 Ninevite V sherds collected during the SGAS fieldwork (2012–2015) ©SGAS-MAFGS

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Fig. 2 Map of the Bronze Age sites identified during the SGAS fieldwork (2012–2015) ©SGAS-MAFGS

Fig. 3 Bronze Age site categories: Large site (Tle Tell – 26), Medium site (Quruja – 16), Flat open area (Kolaga – 18) ©SGAS-MAFGS © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

The Foothill of Zagros during the Bronze Age: SGAS Preliminary Results

Fig. 4 Early Bronze Age sherds from Qara Tepe Kun (71) ©SGAS-MAFGS

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Fig. 5 Middle Bronze Age sherds from Qara Tepe Kun (71) ©SGAS-MAFGS

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Neo-Assyrian Settlements in Rania, Peshdar and Bngird Jean-Jacques Herr 1 Abstract Since 2012, the Sulaymaniyah Governorate Archaeological Survey (SGAS), an archaeological project headed by Jessica Giraud in the southeast of Iraqi Kurdistan, has provided a significant amount of geographic and archaeological data for the western foothills of the Zagros, particularly in the district of Rania, Peshdar, and the sub-district of Bngird. The preliminary results of the SGAS allow an assessment of the archaeological material of this eastern region of the Assyrian Empire. Our study is based mostly on the ceramic sampled by the SGAS on the surface of the archaeological sites. Various types of pottery and their morphological variants have been linked to the 8th and 7th centuries BC repertoire in the Assyrian heartland, therefore demonstrating a cultural orientation of the surveyed area towards the west for the first half of the 1st millennium BC. However, ceramic types similar to the ones recovered in the Iranian Zagros for this same period also occur in the region and might support the assumption that this surveyed area is a borderland.

1. Historical geography The historical geography of the Neo-Assyrian Empire in the Zagros region and its western foothills has been determined through the philological study of royal inscriptions of Assyrian rulers, relating their military campaigns, and state letters, which deal with bureaucratic control over imperial territory (Lanfranchi 1995; Lanfranchi 2003; Levine 1973; Liverani 1992; Medveskaya 2000; Radner 2003; Radner 2012). These studies, rarely based on direct field observations (Speiser 1926: 2; Levine 1973: 2.), allow us to associate the ancient names of political entities with geographic areas defined using topographic criteria (Reade 1995: 33). Thus, the region of the Rania Plain west of the Lower Zab, between the Kuh-i Resh anticlines and the Makook massif (Fig. 1), would seem to correspond to the kingdom of Tummu (also read Numme, see Levine 1973: 16, or Nimum beginning in the Ur III Period, see Fuchs 2014). Tummu was close to, or included in, the province of Zamua (Medveskaya 2000; Altaweel et al. 2012: 12–15), which was annexed into the Neo-Assyrian imperial territory in the 9th century BC, after the first military campaign of Assurnasirpal II (Liverani 1992: 19–20). On the other side of the Derband-i Ramakan Pass, the Peshdar Plain may have played a central role in the economy and geopolitics of this region, if one accepts Lanfranchi’s conclusions based on the royal correspondence of Sargon II and his

1

École Pratique des Hautes Études-Sorbonne, UMR 8167, Paris. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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officials Šulmubēli, the deputy of the palace herald, and ṬābšarAššūr, the palace herald (Lanfranchi 1995: 128–129). This region is significant because the tribute and goods acquired in the kingdoms of Ḫubuškia, located east of the Chaine Magistrale of mount Qandil / Kullar (Medveskaya 2000: 434) 2, and Mannea, near Lake Urmia in the northeast (Maniori et al. 2014: pl. 10), would have been transported through it on their way to the Assyrian capitals. Lanfranchi thinks the principal towns of the districts Anīsu and Ḫarrānia correspond to the modern towns of Qalladze (written ‘Pizdher’ by Lanfranchi 1995: 136) and Rania. The former might have been the administrative centre of a key official of the Empire. They would have thus been linked as part of the hierarchical settlement pattern in the territory under imperial administration. Soon after it was included in the Empire, this region, which specialized in goat, sheep, and especially horse breeding (Radner 2003), held a strategic position in the diplomatic balance of power between the Assyrian Empire, the neighbouring kingdoms of the Zagros, and Median political entities. Authority over the buffer states (Radner 2012) of Muṣāṣir to the north, Mannea to the northeast, Ḫubuškia to the east, and Ellipi to the southeast would have secured a hegemonic place for the Empire in competition with other regional powers, in particular Urarṭu in the north and the Elam in the south (Lanfranchi 2003: 103–104). 2. Previous archaeological studies Prior to the undertakings of the Sulaymaniyah Governorate Archaeological Survey (SGAS) in the districts of Rania, Peshdar and Bngird, an Iraqi team had identified around 30 sites during the 1950s, most of which included so-called ‘Assyrian’ and ‘Median’ settlements (Al-Soof 1970). This initial estimation is difficult to verify since most of these sites are now submerged beneath Lake Dukan and little material was published to support such hypotheses, with the exception of the sites of EdDeim and Basmusian. The site of Ed-Deim, situated south of Dokan Lake and excavated between 1955 and 1957, provides relevant comparative data for 8th and 6th centuries BC material culture in Levels 2 and 3 (Al-Tikriti 1960). In other sites in the region, it is possible to find good parallels with the reddish carinated bowls and necked jars recovered in Level 3, but no sherds identical to the well-known Palace Ware beaker with digital impression have been identified (Al-Tikriti 1960: pl. 6 nos. 35, 27; pl. 5 n. 20).3 On the basis of the ceramic material recovered in the region, particularly at the site of Gird-i Bazar, we can identify Level 3 of Ed-Deim as belonging to the 8th and 7th centuries BC, during the Neo-Assyrian period.

2 3

L. Levine (1973: 18) locates Mount Kullar near the current Bazian Pass. I am very grateful to G. Damoun for having translated the article written in Arabic by Al-Tikriti. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Excavation at Basmusian provided material in Levels II and III concerning the Late Bronze Age, approximately from the second half of the 2nd millennium BC and the beginning of the 1st millennium BC (Al-Soof 1970: pl. XXX nos. 2, 3, 7, 10; pl. XXXI nos. 7, 10). We are now able to compare them to the northwest Iranian Middle Bronze Age III and Iron Age I, at Dinkha Tepe and Hasanlu Level VIa (1600–1450 BC) and Hasanlu Level IV (1250–1050 BC) (Danti and Cifarelli 2013: 16–17) – especially as pertains to necked pots with a cylindrical or straight spout (Young 1965: 65, fig. 7 n. 10; Danti and Cifarelli 2013: 173–175, ‘Holmouth jar type 15’ fig. 4.16K) – and to the Urmia Middle Bronze Age II, level VIb at Hasanlu around 1700–1600 BC, in particular the conical concave beaker of the so-called ‘istikhan’ type (Danti and Cifarelli 2013: 285, fig. 5.2G; 289–290, fig. 5.5B and 5.6A). In the 1960s and 70s, different ceramic assemblages were identified in the Iranian Zagros to the west, at the site of Hasanlu, and in the so-called ‘Median territories’ in the Kangavar valley, at the sites of Godin Tepe, Tepe Nush-i Jan, and in the Pish-i Kuh at Bab-Jan (Gopnik 2003). After the preliminary survey carried out by Stein (1940) and Kleiss (1977) in the valley stretching north-south from Piranshahr to Sardasht (see Kroll 2005 for regional synthesis), Iranian archaeologists have recently discovered so-called ‘Mannean’ sites such as Rabat Tepe. Farther east, the settlement of Qalaichi Tepe, possibly ancient Izirtu, is well known for its glazed baked bricks decorated with a delicate polychrome iconography (Kargar and Binandeh 2009; Afifi 2010; Heidari 2010; Hassanzadeh and Mollasalehi 2011). An archaeological approach to the Zagros region has developed over the last 20 years or so, offering a more nuanced view of the first half of the 1st millennium BC than the one provided by the Neo-Assyrian capitals and the Mesopotamian plain (Reade 1995: 39). 3. The ceramic assemblage Over four field seasons carried out at 77 sites by SGAS, various types of pottery have been compared to those from Shahrazor, north-western and western Iran, and the Assyrian heartland, as well as the Eski Mosul region. Out of a total of 7378 sherds, 1215 have been dated to the first half of the 1st millennium BC. This work has allowed us to identify a preliminary settlement distribution of the region during this period. In addition, the assemblage from Neo-Assyrian levels at the site of Bestansur provided the highest number of typological similarities with the region to the west of the Zagros, at least for the better-known periods of the 8th and 7th centuries BC. These are, respectively, NAIIa and NAIIb following Hausleiter’s periodization (Hausleiter 2010: 12–15) or Iron Age II according to Anastasio’s periodization (Anastasio 2010: 4–5). The ceramic assemblages of the Neo-Assyrian Period are characterized by a high proportion of bowls and carinated cups with a rim diameter of around 30cm. The rims are generally round, folded or thickened with a coil on the outside and sometimes characterized by a triangular section (Fig. 2.1–6; for similar types see Beuger 2005: KII, Taf. 31.5, 7–8). Above the carination, the wall appears generally concave. The carina© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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tion itself is often well marked and protruding (Fig. 2.2b; Fig. 3; for similar samples see Hausleiter 2010: Taf. 63, SF 27.5). Quite close parallels have been found for these types among the vessels recovered at the site of Bestansur (Cooper and Gardner 2013: 5.18.11–13; 5.21.5,13). Alongside these forms, we found fragments of small hemispherical bowls (Fig.2.10a–e), belonging to a rather uncommon Neo-Assyrian type (for similar samples see Hausleiter 2010: Taf. 52, SF 7.1). These round inverted rim are more frequently attested during the Seleucid era (Oates 1968: 130, figs. 15, 31). These hemispherical bowls, burnished inside and outside, are comparable with forms recovered in north-western and western Iran (Young 1965: 54, fig. 1.1; Kroll 1976: 111–112, Typ1-2b; Stronach 1978: fig. 6.1–10; Goff 1985: 13, fig. 2.19–21.4, 3–4; Gopnik 2003: 261, fig. 2; 263, fig. 4; 264, fig. 5; 266, fig. 7) as well as at Bestansur and Bakr Awa (Cooper and Gardner 2013: fig. 5.18.3; Miglus et al. 2013: 48, fig. 7, BA 1061/9–6). Danti argues for the longevity for this type in the Ushnu Soludz area, extending from the Late Bronze Age through the Iron Age. (Danti and Cifarelli 2013: 272). Rare sherds of pots or deep carinated pots with a strap handle (Fig. 2.5) have also been recovered and can be compared with ones found at Gird-i Bazar (Radner et al. 2016: 363, fig. 5. PPP269929:005:014:054). Variants of large pots with short tapered necks (Fig. 2.7–8) and mouth diameters of between 20 and 40cm have also been identified at sites attributed to the Neo-Assyrian Period (Hausleiter 2010: Taf. 117, TG 1 R3) as well as at Godin Tepe, Level II (Gopnik et al. 2011: 360, fig. 7.58 n 114). Sherds probably belonging to cooking pots with highly burnished internal and external surfaces and folded rims are also documented in this assemblage (Fig. 2.9; for similar specimens see Curtis and Green 1997: fig. 53, 312). An equivalent proportion of sherds from jars with concave cylindrical necks (Fig. 2.12–13 and 2.15–16) and 15–20cm rim diameters also characterize the range of forms, with significant variability in jar types. Rim sections are round (Fig. 2.12–13) to triangular, or concave toward the interior (Fig. 2.14, 16; for a similar type see Hausleiter 2010: Taf. 111, FV 2.3; Taf. 114, FV 7.2; FV 7 R1 and also at Hasanlu level IVc, Danti and Cifarelli: 236, fig. 4.43 H–I and Curtis 1989: fig. 34 no. 193). Burnished jars with quasi-rectangular shaped rims also occur (Fig. 2.17) and have comparisons in the west, along the Tigris (e.g. Hausleiter 2010: Taf. 107, FG 5.5; FG 5 R1, pl. 111; Curtis 1989: fig. 37 no. 235). Very few fragments of ‘Palace Ware’ forms were found at sites in the Rania region. Some samples of probable Neo-Assyrian ‘istikhans’ (Hausleiter 2010: Taf. 77, BZ. 2.2–4) type (Fig. 2.11) were found at the sites of Sofian Kawlan and Gulak (Fig. 4, sites 43 and 17, respectively). The common ware is well represented with burnishing surface treatment (Fig. 3). This technique is characterized by a compact and lustrous surface of the sherd with thick sub-parallel 1 to 5mm width striations horizontally oriented on the rim and on the upper part of the body, and vertically oriented on the lower part. Many parallels of this technique have been found in Urartian sites (Kroll 1976: 107) in northwestern Iran and in the whole of western Iran for the first half of the 1st millennium BC (Kroll 2015: 115, fig. 6). Firing is generally oxidizing to semi-oxidizing for the best quality vessels. The colour is usually buff and reddish. Temper includes fine white mineral particles re© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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flecting golden hues, which are biotite mica to which very fine organic fragments, perhaps chaff, were added. 4. Distribution of sites for the Neo-Assyrian period Although we have noticed a peak in the settlement density of the region in the first half of the 1st millennium BC (Fig. 4), very few sites have only Neo-Assyrian occupations. This makes it difficult to establish a general ceramic typology for the region (cf. Bernbeck 1989: 153), and further difficulty arises in the lack of information from excavations. According to Tsuneki, recent excavations conducted by the University of Tsukuba have provided stratified levels for this period at the site of Qalat Saïd Ahmadan (Fig. 4, site 32) (Tsuneki et al. 2015; Tsuneki et al. 2016). We are awaiting further publication of the material in order to find stratified comparanda at this multi-period site. Meanwhile, survey materials collected at the site of Gird-i Bazar (Fig. 4, site 54) in the Peshdar Plain provide evidence of a Neo-Assyrian presence in the area. The exceptional sedimentary context of this site, only few meters high across an area of 1.5 hectares in the Bora Plain, enables the recognition of Neo-Assyrian forms for 100% of the 88 collected sherds. Wares and morphological variants, very well preserved at this site, could also be identified at 46 other Peshdar sites and particularly at the sites of Dinka (53), Dlumar (75), Qalladze (50), Kona Qalat/Qalat-i Bodin (236/237), Gird-i Spian (228), Gawr Miran (190), and Laxaryan (205), where 25–50 sherds have been attributed to the Neo-Assyrian Period (Fig. 4). This first element seems to suggest synchronic developments for many sites in the dasht-i Bora microregion. The similarity of the ceramics at Gird-i Bazar (54) and Dinka (53), their geographical proximity to one another (c. 700m), and the presence of an ancient canal and karez/qanat system (Altaweel and Marsh 2016: 25), may suggest that these sites were part of a single settlement dating back to the 8th–7th centuries BC. 4.1 The site of Gird-i Bazar/Dinka During a visit to the Rania Plain in February 2015, K. Radner was informed by a farmer about the discovery of a secondarily fired cuneiform tablet at Dinka (Fig. 4, site 53). The tablet, a Neo-Assyrian legal document from the year 725 BC, mentions the province of the Palace Herald (Radner 2015: 192–197). This important discovery prompted an international team to carry out a salvage excavation at the site of Gird-i Bazar within the Peshdar Plain Project (PPP) headed by Radner (Radner et al. 2016), as the erection of an industrialized chicken farm had destroyed more than half of the surface the SGAS team had surveyed in 2013. Radner kindly allowed me to join the PPP, the excavations of which were directed by F. J. Kreppner. The preliminary report of the first campaign provides an insight into the assemblage of this site (Radner et al. 2016: 363, fig. 5; Herr 2016: © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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98, fig. D2.9). Clear morphological links have been established with the assemblage recovered in the Neo-Assyrian level at Bestansur excavated by Matthews and Cooper (Cooper and Gardner 2013). We found parallels between these sherds and some of the morphological types presented by Anastasio and Hausleiter for the Assyrian heartland, as well as with northwestern and western Iran, namely at Hasanlu IV and IIIB (Young 1965), Godin Tepe level II (Gopnik 2003), Tepe Nush-i Jan level I, and Bab Jan level I and II (Goff 1985). 4.2 The sites around the Shakh-i Asos Outside Dasht-i Bora, on the opposite bank of the Zab, in the Nawdasht zone, where the site of Kawlan 1 (Fig. 4, site 158) has provided Neo-Assyrian material, a road that has been blocked due to mining activity leads to the Kongra Serchia Pass (Fig. 4, site 73) situated high above the Shakh-i Asos. This site, with small forts and a long wall built of rubble and dressed stones, did not yield any material that could be dated. It offers an open view over the Bora Plain and the rocky promontory, as well as of Dinka. This pass is the only east-west access to the Bngird sub-district next to Derband-i Ramakan, which is located around 20km to the north. Downhill from site 73, examinations of sherds from Azmira Bardashan (Fig. 4, site 44) indicate a Neo-Assyrian settlement. In contrast, evidence for Neo-Assyrian settlements in the mountain valley of Sofian is on average 20–40 diagnostic sherds, coming from the area between Merga and Kani Lu, at the sites of Sofian Kawlan, Lotar 1, and Lotar 2 (Fig. 4, sites 43, 41 and 42). 4.3 The sites in the Rania Plain For the Rania Plain, the SGAS team identified more than 40 Neo-Assyrian sherds at the multi-period sites of Salchi (Fig. 4, site 137) and Waranga Saru (Fig. 4, site 15), though these will require further study. Parallels may be drawn between types found at those sites and the ones recovered in Level II at Ed-Deim, between the upper Achaemenid Level I and the Neo-Assyrian Level III, particularly for the large incurved rim bowls (Al-Tikriti 1960: pl. 6.21). Seventeen sites have been identified in the Rania Plain near the village of Saruchaw, including Tle Tell (26) and Kani Maran (129). Two sites were found in the mountains near Betwata (138 and 139), as well as one in the Serkapkan Mountains (25), located close to the aforementioned fortified sites on the hill crest (23), for which no dates could be obtained. 5. Conclusion In the current state of knowledge, the settlement pattern for Rania, Peshdar, and Bngird shows extensive occupation in the plains and valleys during the Neo-Assyrian Period, along principal axes of communication, such as rivers and passes. While our results are preliminary, we can compare the density of the Neo-Assyrian Period set© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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tlements in this region with other areas in Upper Mesopotamia, including the Khabur valleys in Syria (Morandi Bonacossi 1996) and Wadi Ajij (Bernbeck and Pfälzner 1993), as well as with the plains around Tell el Hawa (Wilkinson and Tucker 1995) and Erbil (Ur et al. 2013). The foundation of sites in the plains and in the mountains near fortified hill installations (Fig. 4, sites 23 and 73) seems to match the scenarios described in Neo-Assyrian royal inscriptions, which relate the pursuit of fugitives by Assurnasirpal II in inaccessible places following transhumance routes (Liverani 1992: 149–150). It might be argued, as suggested by Radner, that we face fortified installations or birtu (Radner et al. 2016: 360) controlling strategic communication routes. Indeed Qalat Said Ahmadan has a clear view of the Derband-i Ramakan and is located on the road leading into Iran, giving access to the uppermost valley of the Zab, on the way to the Urmia lake. Dinka/Gird-i Bazar might be visually connected to many other sites and important passes such as site 73, and has a clear view of the Zab River and across the plain, as it is also visually linked to site 190. Site 72 is close to the major Derband-i Ramakan and overlooks an earlier riverbed of the Zab. Site 44 is at a crossing point between the Rania Plain, the narrow valley of Merga Lu and downhill from site 73. There is a certain pragmatism for this period in not leaving any blind spots in the region. Connection is possible between the two plains separated by the anticlines. We now need a better understanding of the synchrony of all these sites. The local ceramic tradition of the first half of the 1st millennium BC demonstrates that the region was oriented towards the heartland of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, thus towards the west and southwest, but also towards the east, towards a geographic area considered as the kingdom of Mannea, as well as towards the so-called Median political entities. Moreover, Cooper and Gardner have convincingly argued that the pottery of Bestansur has a ‘local’ or ‘regional’ character (Cooper and Gardner 2013: ‘Trench 14 Pottery Conclusion’). Thanks to the SGAS survey and the Gird-i Bazar excavation, we may expand this corpus of material to include the Rania and Peshdar Plains. This situation could indicate an economic and political margin (Mazzoni 2000: 148) of Neo-Assyrian imperial influence in the Rania and Peshdar plains. The ‘ephemeral’ characteristic of this ‘frontier’, geographically marked by both the Chaine Magistrale and the Zab, can be understood within the context of military interactions and increasing economic and diplomatic relationships fostered by the imperial administration of the Assyrian heartland with the buffer states of Mannea, Ḫubuškia and the Median tribes. 4 The common occurrence of ceramic traditions from the Upper Mesopotamian Plain and the Iranian Zagros provides an additional argument for the preliminary assumption that this is a borderland.

4

K. Radner underlines the increasing economical interactions between the provinces in Media and the Assyrian Empire thanks to the bet kari, ‘House of Trade’, settled at the time of Sargon II: Radner 2003: 51–52; Radner 2014: 109. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Acknowledgements I would like to thank J. Giraud, all the SGAS’ team and the PPP’s team. I am very grateful to the archaeologists of the Governorate of Sulaymaniyah who helped me so much. I also thank K. Radner and K. Burge for correcting my English. Bibliography Afifi, R. 2010 Urartian engravings in glazed bricks found during the excavations of Rabat-Tepe, Sardasht, Iran. Aramazd 5/2, 152–187. Al-Soof, B. 1970 Mounds in the Rania plain and excavations at Tell Basmusian (1956). Sumer 26, 65–104. Altaweel, M. and Marsh, A. 2016 Landscape and geoarchaeology of the Bora plain. In: K. Radner, F. J. Kreppner and A. Squitieri (eds.), Exploring the Neo-Assyrian Frontier with Western Iran. The 2015 Season at Gird-i Bazar and Qalat-i Dinka. Peshdar Plain Project Publications 1. Gladbeck, 23–28. Altaweel, M., Marsh, A., Mühl, S., Nieuwenhuyse, O., Radner, K., Rasheed, K. and Saber, A. 2012 New investigations in the environment, history, and archaeology of the Iraqi hilly flanks: Shahrizor survey project 2009–2011. Iraq 74, 1–35. Al-Tikriti, A. Q. 1960 Excavations at Tell ed-Deim in the Dokan Lake. Sumer 16, 93–109 [in Arabic]. Anastasio, S. 2010 Atlas of the Assyrian Pottery of the Iron Age. Subartu 24. Turnhout. Bernbeck, R. 1989 Die neolithische Keramik aus Qale Rostam Bakhtiyari-Gebiet (Iran): Klassifikation, Produktionanalyse und Datierungspotential. Volume 1. Freiburg im Breisgau. Bernbeck, R. and Pfälzner, P. 1993 Steppe als Kulturlandschaft: das ’Aǧīǧ-Gebiet Ostsyriens vom Neolithikum bis zur islamischen Zeit, Berliner Beiträge zum Vorderen Orient. Ausgrabungen 1. Heidelberg. Beuger, C. 2005 Keramik der spätfrühdynastischen bis spätassyrischen Zeit aus Assur. Eine Bearbeitung unter chronologischen Gesichtspunkten. PhD thesis, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin. Cooper, L. and Gardner, C. 2013 Excavations in Trench 14 (Bestansur). In: R. Matthews and W. Matthews (eds.), Central Zagros Archaeological Project: Excavations at Bestansur, Archive Report, 2013, Reading, 35–55. Curtis, J. 1989 Excavations at Qasrij Cliff and Khirbet Qasrij. London. Curtis, J. and Green, A. 1997 Excavations at Khirbet Khatuniyeh. Saddam Dam Report 11. London. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Between a rock and a hard place: Muṣaṣir, Kumme, Ukku and Subria – the buffer states between Assyria and Urartu. In: S. Kroll, C. Gruber, U. Hellwag, M. Roaf and P. Zimansky (eds.), Biainili-Urartu. Acta Iranica 51. Leuven, 243–264.

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Radner, K., Ašandulesei, A., Fassbinder, J., Herr, J.-J., Kreppner, J. and Squitieri, A. 2016 In the Neo-Assyrian border march of the palace herald: Geophysical survey and salvage excavations at Gird-i Bazar and Qalat-i Dinka (Peshdar plain project 2015). In: J. MacGinnis and K. Kopanias (eds.), The Archaeology of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Adjacent Regions. Oxford, 353–367. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Reade, J. E. 1995 Iran in the Neo-Assyrian period. In: M. Liverani (ed.), Neo-Assyrian Geography, Quaderni di Geografia Storica 5, 31–42. Speiser, E. A. 1926–1927 Southern Kurdistan in the annals of Ashurnasirpal and today. The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 8, 1–41. Stein, A. 1940 Old Routes of Western Iran. London. Stronach, R. 1978 Excavations at Tepe Nush-i Jan, part 2: Median pottery from the fallen floor in the fort. Iraq 16, 11–28. Tsuneki, A., Rasheed, K., Saber, S. A., Nishiyama, S., Anma, R., Ismail, B. B., Hasegawa, A., Tatsumi, Y., Miyauchi, Y., Jammo, S., Makino, M. and Kudo, Y. 2015 Excavations at Qalat Said Ahmadan, Slemani, Iraq-Kurdistan: first interim report (2014 season). Al-Rāfidān: Journal of Western Asiatic Studies 36, 1–63. Tsuneki, A., Rasheed, K., Saber, S. A., Nishiyama, Watanabe, N., Greenfield, T., Ismail, B. B, Tatsumi, Y. and Minami, M. 2016 Excavations at Qalat Said Ahmadan, Qaladizah, Iraqi-Kurdistan: Second interim report (2015 season). Al-Rāfidān: Journal of Western Asiatic Studies 37, 89–142. Ur, J.A., de Jong, L., Giraud, J., Osborne, J.F. and MacGinnis J. 2013 Ancient cities and landscapes in the Kurdistan region of Iraq: The Erbil plain archaeological survey 2012 season. Iraq 75, 89–117. Wilkinson, T. J. and Tucker, D. J. 1995 Settlement Development in the North Jazira, Iraq: A Study of the Archaeological Landscape. Iraq Archaeological Reports 3. Warminster. Young, T. C. 1965 A comparative ceramic chronology for Western Iran, 1500–500 BC. Iran 3, 53–86.

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Fig. 1 Location of the districts of Rania, Peshdar and the sub-district of Bngird with the hypothetical ancient roads

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Fig. 2 Ceramic assemblage of the first half of the 1st millennium BC in the SGAS Area © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 3 Macro-traces of burnishing on the surface of ceramics

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Fig. 4 Quantity of sherds per sites dated to the Neo-Assyrian period in Rania, Peshdar and Bngird

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Long Wall of Asia: The Backbone of Asian Defensive Landscape Meysam Labbaf-Khaniki 1 Abstract Based on the archaeological evidence, the southern part of Asia, including fertile regions of Anatolia, Mesopotamia, Iran, India, and China, cradles of the great civilizations, was the ideal destination for northern emigrants from the 3rd millennium BC to the early 20th century AD . The emigrants were mostly nomads of the northern part of Asia, an area covered with vast rainless deserts and steppes . During severe famine, which resulted from the dominant climatic conditions of the region, the nomads had to invade the wealthy southern settlements, and therefore the populations of villages or cities of southern Asia fortified their settlements with defensive installations, including ramparts, towers, ditches, etc. The defensive walls were the most important defensive structures that separated the southern settlements from the northern invaders, and were constructed whenever and wherever in Asia the differences between geographic advantages led to struggles between the north and south . This paper introduces the concept of a Long Wall of Asia; that walls, in combination with the natural barriers, formed a long and formidable defensive barrier extending from the east to the west of Asia . The Long Wall of Asia is over 10,000km in length and represents the close interaction between history, geography, and material culture in the formation of the defensive landscape of southern Asia .

1. Introduction A defensive landscape, like other products of human activity, can be considered as material culture that has been created to provide suitable conditions for human life . Geography and history are two essential factors that determine the characteristics of a landscape, and both are determined by human needs and activities . The permanent interaction between human and environment leads to the continuous changes in the appearance and essence of the landscape . Thus, in order to study the defensive landscape and the defensive constructions of Asia as one cultural element of the landscape, it is first necessary to become familiar with the geography and history of the region . In general, the landscape of Asia is divided into two main areas from a geographical point of view: First are the vast regions of arid deserts, steppes, and the lands with a relatively short annual growing season for grass and plants . Environmental conditions in this area have been temporarily favourable for human habitation . Second is the southern area, including mountains, river valleys, and fertile plains providing appropriate conditions for permanent livestock herding and cultivation . Based on the natural and ecological conditions of Asia, the first area covered the northern portion of

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Department of Archaeology, University of Tehran . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Asia and the second one concentrated in the southern regions of the continent (Fig . 1) . Thus, affected by the respective ecological conditions, two different life styles came into existence and developed across the two areas: nomadism occurred in the northern area and sedentism and related agriculture began in the southern area. The first villages and well-developed civilizations in the Near East, Middle East, South Asia, and Southwest Asia bear witness to the favourable conditions over a vast region (see e .g ., Abdi and Miller 2003; Maisels 1998; Bellwood 2005; Murphey 2005; Chang 2006) . 2. Historical summary The climate of northern and central Asia became gradually drier during the Bronze Age, and aridity and xerothermic conditions climaxed in the late 3rd and early 2nd millennia BC (Masson 1996a: 43). These conditions affected Asian flora and fauna, leading to a decrease in vital resources and initiating mass migrations that began during the 3rd millennium BC . These migrants were the northern peoples who could not tolerate the increasingly unfavourable conditions of the steppes, and therefore moved toward the fertile southern lands searching for better living conditions (Grousset 1988) . As a reaction to the prolonged and expanding migrations, which were usually accompanied by plundering and looting, the southern inhabitants constructed great fortifications around their settlement. Examples of such fortified settlements in 3rd millennium BC Central Asia include Altyn-depe (Masson 1996b: 238), Kelleli I (Masson 1996b: 243), Gonour (Masson 1996c: 342), and Togolok I (Hiebert and Shishlina 1996: 9) . The immigration process from the northern lands to the south continued steadily from the 3rd to the 1st millennium BC and caused a revolution in the culture of the southern peoples as evidenced by the Iron Age material culture of the Iranian plateau (Anthony 1991; Mousavi 1999). The name of the migrants and their specifications appeared on the written sources in the second half of the 1st millennium BC . In the sources, the migration routes across the Asia were also mentioned and the southern states confronting the northern migrants were described (see below) . According to the Chinese sources, from 3rd century BC on, the nomadic tribal confederations of the Eurasian steppes, called Xiongnu, began to raid the northern frontiers of China (Di Cosmo 1994: 1095) . In the 2nd century BC, the Xiongnu put pressure on the Yuezhi tribes who used to dwell in western China and compelled them to migrate towards north-eastern Iran (Hulsewé 1979: 214–15) . The Yuezhi then drove the Saka southward, and in the late 2nd century and early 1st century BC, the Saka traversed the eastern regions of the Iranian plateau (Hulsewé 1979: 144; Yu Taishan 2010: 13) . In the early centuries of the 1st millennium AD, the Xiongnu (or Huns based on the Roman sources) became more powerful and their invasion of northern China peaked . In the 5th century AD, a branch of the Huns began to move toward the west . This migration led to the consecutive invasions from the North toward the South (Schottky 2004) . A group of the Huns called Hephthalites (White Huns) invaded north-eastern Iran in the 5th century (Altheim 1961: 7), and another group © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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invaded the provinces of Transcaucasia and north-western Iran through the Caucasus Mountain passes (Aliev et al. 2006: 143) . The main branch of Huns, headed by Attila, attacked eastern Europe in the 5th century (Maenchen-Helfen 1973: 444–455), and some Huns, as well as the Bulgars during the same century, threatened the capital city of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople (Williams and Friell 1999: 206) . The culmination of the Hunnish invasions coincides with the formation of the great empires of southern Asia: the Qin and Han empires in China; the Gupta Empire in India; the Sasanian Empire in Iran; and the Byzantine Empire in Anatolia . 3. Defensive constructions and natural barriers The coincidence of the northern invasions with the heyday of the southern states led to the creation of a range of impressive fortifications supported by the power and wealth of the great empires (Harmatta 1996: 80). The Hans improved the fortifications of northern China against the raids of the Huns (Di Cosmo 2009: 204) . The Sasanians constructed long walls in the northern frontiers of Iran, which included the walls of Transoxiana, a wall circa 300km long in Khujand (Beyzavi 2003: 46), a barrier in Hashemgerd called the Iron Gate (Ibn-e Faqih 1962: 177; Maqdasi 1982: 502; Hamavi Baqdadi 2004: 609), some sporadic walls recently discovered in the northern Khorasan in Aq Darband, Mozduran, and Kalat (Labbaf-Khaniki 2014: 80), the Gorgan wall stretching from the Caspian sea to the western Kopet Dagh ranges (Nokandeh et al. 2006), and the wall of Darband stretching over 40km from the western coasts of the Caspian Sea to the Caucasian Mountains (Gadjiev 2008; Gropp 1977) . Moreover, the Romans built a wall, called the Anastasian Wall, which began on the south-western coast of the Black Sea and extended over 56km up to the northeastern coast of the Sea of Marmara (Crow 2007) . Nevertheless, the Guptas were secured under the protection of the natural walls of the Pamir and Tibetan Plateau and Himalaya ranges, and therefore did not need to construct any long walls . Natural obstacles not only protected the Indians, but also provided an impenetrable barrier for other southern lands . For Iranians, the Hindu Kush ranges, Kopet Dagh, the Caucasus Mountains, and the Caspian Sea provided protection, and the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea worked similarly for the Romans . In fact, the walls and the other defensive installations were built at more penetrable locations between the natural barriers in order to complete the fortification system of the Asian landscape . The walls were not alone in the defensive landscape of Asia, but were equipped with an impressive array of adjoining fortresses, watchtowers, and fortified gates. The long walls were also supported by the castles, fortresses, and even other walls that blocked mountain passes or enclosed oases . For example, the oases of Bukhara (Stark and Mizraahmedov 2015), Balkh (Young 1955), and Margiana (Vyazigin 1949) were enclosed by the long walls . In the Gorgan plain, over 40 fortresses such as Qale Kharabeh supported the Gorgan Wall (Sauer et al. 2013: 178–234) . The © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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wall of Tammishe in Gorgān barred the coastal corridor at the southeast corner of the Caspian Sea (Bivar and Fehérvári 1966), while various fortifications in the Darial Pass (Bosworth 1977: 226–227), as well as the Ghilghilchay wall, or so-called Apzut Kavat Wall, in conjunction with the Darband Wall (Aliev et al. 2006), blocked the Caucasian passes . Finally, the walls of Constantinople (Whitby 1985) and Thrace (Wiewiorowski 2012) protected Anatolia and the eastern Balkans against attack from both sea and land . The southern dynasties reigning during the late 1st and 2nd millennium continued to construct, reconstruct and reinforced these fortifications against the northern invaders, who were known generally as the Turko-Mongol tribes . The Three Kingdoms of China (states of Wei, Shu, and Wu) as well as the powerful dynasty of Ming constructed new walls along the northern frontier of China and built the major walls around cities, such as that in Xingcheng and Beijing (Lovell 2006: 105–107) . The Muslim commanders also began to create walls blocking the passes, such as a long wall in Rast (Ibn-e Khordadbeh 1991: 30–31) near modern-day Dushanbe, and enclosing the fertile oases in north-eastern Iran (e .g ., the Kanpirak wall (Mukhamejanov 2000: 290) around the Bukhara) . They also constructed huge ramparts enclosing metropolises such as Vashgerd (near Termez; Ya’qubi 2008: 56), Herat (Khafi 1991: 11), and Nishapur (Bulliet 1976) and built the fortifications overlooking the gorges of Caucasus Mountains in north-western Iran and north-eastern Anatolia (e .g . Edwards 1986; Peacock 2005) . In order to avert the invasions of the nomadic peoples, which persisted until recent centuries, the construction of the fortifications continued into the late 19th century (e .g . see Curzon 1966: 276; Hedayat 1977: 25–36) with constant improvement of the defensive landscape of Asia . 4. Conclusion Based on the climatic variability of Asia, we can divide the continent into two different areas: a northern arid area and a southern fertile area . The ecological differences between the two areas led to the establishment of two different Asian ways of making a living: nomadism in the north and sedentism in the south. The significant differences in vital resources between northern and southern areas of Asia forced the northern nomads to plunder the southern peoples . Although the northern nomads were varied and called by different names, they had a common intention to invade the south . On the other hand, the southern area was settled by highly developed urban civilizations, which had reached a similar level of complexity in social, political, and economic organization . Therefore, we can suppose a similar identity for the northern peoples as the invader nomads and for the southern people as the sedentary civilizations . The similar identity led to establishing a similar interrelation between north and south: invading from the north, defending from the south . The interrelation as a historical process continued permanently and led to the creation and development of an extensive fortification system stretching from as far © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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west as the Mediterranean Sea to the Yellow Sea in the east . This includes the Bohai Sea, the Wall of China, the Pamir and Tibetan Mountains, the walls of Central Asia, the Hindu Kush ranges, the defensive walls of Khurasan, the Kopet Dagh ranges, the Gorgan wall, the Caspian Sea, the wall of Darband, the Caucasus Mountains, the Black Sea, and the Anastasian wall, which joins to the Marmara Sea (Fig . 2) . This defensive system, made up of natural frontiers and man-made barriers, defines an integrated phenomenon determining the nature of the Asian defensive landscape . The phenomenon can be thought of as a linear wall extending about 10000 km along the middle belt of Asia: The Long Wall of Asia . Bibliography Abdi, K . and Miller, N . (eds .) 2003 Yeki bud, Yeki nabud: Essays on the Archaeology of Iran in Honor of William M. Sumner . Los Angeles . Aliev, A . A ., Gadjiev, M . S ., Gaither, M . G ., Kohl, P . L ., Magomedov, R . M . and Aliev, I . N . 2006 The Ghilghilchay Defensive Long Wall: New Investigation . Ancient West and East 5/1–2, 143– 177 . Altheim, F . 1961 Geschichte der Hunnen, Vol . 3 . Berlin . Anthony, D . W . 1991 The archaeology of Indo-European origins . Journal of Indo-European Studies 19, 193–221 . Bellwood, P . S . 2005 First Farmers: The Origins of Agricultural Societies . Malden . Beyzavi, N . 2003 Nezam al-Tavarikh . M . H . Mohaddeth (ed .), Tehran [in Persian] . Bivar, A . D . H . and Fehérvári, G . 1966 The walls of Tammisha . Iran 4, 35–50 . Bosworth, A . B . 1977 Arrian and the Alani . Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 81, 217–255 . Bulliet, R . 1976 Medieval Nishapur: A topographic and demographic reconstruction . Studia Iranica 5, 67–89 . Celis, D ., De Pauw, E . and Geerken, R . 2007 Assessment of Land Cover and Land Use in the CWANA Region Using AVHRR and Agroclimatic Data. Part 2. Land Cover/Land Use – Base Year 1993 . Aleppo . Chang, Ch . 2006 The Rise of the Chinese Empire: Frontier, Immigration, and Empire in Han China, 129 B.C. –A.D. 107 . Ann Arbor . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Khafi, Sh. 1991 Joghrafia-ye Tarikhi-ye Khurasan dar Tarikh-e Hafez-e Abro . Gh . R . Varahram (ed .), Tehran [in Persian] . Labbaf-Khaniki, M . 2014 Divarha-ye Defaei-ye Khurasan . In: M . H . Azizi-Kharanaqi, M . Khanipour and R . Naseri (eds .), Proceedings of the International Congress of Young Archaeologists . Tehran, 437–446 [in Persian] . Lovell, J . 2006 The Great Wall: China Against the World 1000 BC–2000 AD . Sydney . Maenchen-Helfen, O . 1973 The World of the Huns: Studies in Their History and Culture . Berkeley . Maisels, C . K . 1998 The Near East Archaeology in the ‘Cradle of Civilization’ . London . Maqdasi, A . A . M . 1982 Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Ma’refat al-Aqalim, Vol . 2 . Translated by A . N . Monzavi, Tehran [in Persian] . Masson, V . M . 1996a The environment . In: A . H . Dani and V . M . Masson (eds .), History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume 1: The Dawn of Civilization. Earliest Times to 700 BC . Paris, 29–44 . 1996b The Bronze Age in Khorasan and Transoxania . In: A . H . Dani and V . M . Masson (eds .), History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume 1: The Dawn of Civilization. Earliest Times to 700 BC . Paris, 225–246 . 1996c The Decline of the Bronze Age Civilization and Movements of the Tribes . In: A . H . Dani and V . M . Masson (eds .), History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume 1: The Dawn of Civilization. Earliest Times to 700 BC . Paris, 337–356 . Mousavi, A . 1999 Indo-Europeans in Iran . Bastanshenasi va Tarikh 26, 12–21 [in Persian] . Mukhamejanov, A . R . 2000 Natural life and the manmade habitat in Central Asia . In: C . E . Bosworth and M . S . Asimov (eds .), History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume 4. The Age of Achievement: AD 750 to the End of the Fifteenth Century . Paris, 275–298 . Murphey, R . 2005 A History of Asia . New York . Nokandeh, J ., Sauer, E ., Omrani Rekavandi, H ., Wilkinson, T ., Abbasi, G . A ., Schwenninger, J . L ., Mahmoudi, M ., Parker, D ., Fattahi, M ., Usher-Wilson, L . S ., Ershadi, M ., Ratcliffe, J . and Gale, R . 2006 Linear barriers of northern Iran: the Great Wall of Gorgan and the wall of Tammishe . Iran 44, 121–173 . Peacock, A . C . S . 2005 Nomadic society and the Seljūq campaigns in Caucasia. Iran and the Caucasus 9, 205–230 . Sauer, E . W ., Omrani Rekavandi, H ., Wilkinson, T . J . and Nokandeh, J . 2013 Persia’s Imperial Power in Late Antiquity: the Great Wall of Gorgan and the Frontier Landscapes of Sasanian Iran . Oakville . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Schottky, M . 2004 Huns . Encyclopedia Iranica, Volume 12, 575–577 . Stark, S . and Mirzaahmedov, D . K . 2015 The preliminary results of the new studies on the oasis wall Bukhara Sogd: Divar-e Kampirak . In: A . V . Omelchenko and D . K . Mirzaahmedov (eds .), Bukhara Oasis and its Neighbors in Ancient and Medieval Times . Saint Petersburg, 77–99 [in Russian] . Vyazigin, S . A . 1949 Stena Antiokha Sotera vokrug Drevnei Margiany, Trudy YuTAKE, Volume 1. Ashkhabad, 260– 275 . Whitby, L . M . 1985 The long walls of Constantinople . Byzantion 55, 560–583 . Wiewiorowski, J . 2012 The defence of the long walls of Thrace under Justinian the Great (527–565 A .D .) . Studia Ceranea 2, 181–194 . Williams, S . and Friell, G . 1999 The Rome that Did Not Fall: The Survival of the East in the Fifth Century . London – New York . Ya’qubi, A . 2008 Al-Boldan . Translated by M . I . Ayati, Tehran [in Persian] . Young, R . S . 1955 The south wall of Balkh-Bactra . American Journal of Archaeology 59/4, 267–276 . Yu Taishan 2010 The earliest Tocharians in China . In: V . H . Mair (ed .), Sino-Platonic Papers . Philadelphia, 1–78 .

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Fig . 1 Major land use/land cover types in West Asia, period 1982–1999 (redrawn by author according to Celis et al. 2007, 66; © M . Labbaf-Khaniki)

Fig . 2 The main features along the belt of Asia organizing the Long Wall of Asia (© M . Labbaf-Khaniki)

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Landscape and Settlement Patterns on the Al Madam Plain (Sharjah, EAU) during the Iron Age Carmen del Cerro Linares 1 Abstract The Al Madam region (Sharjah, UAE) is situated in Oman Peninsula covering a surface of fifty square kilometres . Al Madam has been studied from different archaeological perspectives due to the presence in the region of a local archaeological team and Spanish Team from Autonomous University of Madrid. After several years of work focused especially on Iron Age, we can distinguish not only different settlements patterns in the 1st millennium BC, but also a direct anthropic intervention in the Landscape closest to the al Madam 1 settlement

1. Introduction The region of Mleiha-al Madam is located in the interior of the Oman Peninsula and belongs to the emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (Fig. 1). It is formed by an elongated network of villages, palm groves, cultivated fields, farms, and dunes, covering an area that is ten kilometres long and five kilometres wide. To the east, it is bounded by the Oman (Hajar) Mountains, and to the west and northwest by several rock formations (jibal, or yibal) that are massive enough to hide the sands of the Rub al Khali from anyone travelling through the region (Fig. 2). Today, the al Madam oasis is a little larger than in Antiquity, due to the intensive use of hydraulic pumps to extract water from the subsurface aquifer. In the Bronze Age, the region was surely inhabited, but to a lesser extent than today. From the 3rd millennium BC onwards, four factors came together that guaranteed the productivity of this area that, at first glance, lies in a very vulnerable environment. First, the jibal Buhais, Enmalah and Fayah protect the al Madam region lengthways from the advance of the enormous dunes of the desert, although at some points this desert expands itself and manages to surpass these natural barriers . When this happens, the second factor is of invaluable aid: the flooding of the wadian during the rainy season sweeps the sand back to where it came from. The third factor has already been mentioned: a very high water table, already known in Antiquity. Fourth is the proximity of the al Hayyar mountain range (the Oman Mountains), and its seasonal rainfalls, that are more frequent on the al Madam plain than in the rest of the Oman Peninsula, and easily replenish the aquifer. The combination of these four factors (shelter, flooding, ground water, and rain) has allowed al Madam to become one of the main agricultural and stockbreeding regions in Sharjah. From Antiquity until today, fifty square kilometres have been the

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habitation area of various human groups with different settlement patterns that were already clearly defined in the Iron Age. Archaeological surveys in this area go back to 1973, when a pioneer Iraqi team pointed out some architectonic remains near the jebel Buhais, as well as a possible mudbrick village near the ancient hamlet of al Thuqeibah, which has been dismantled by the authorities of the emirate in order to resettle the population nearer to the road that goes through the region from north to south (al Khalifa 1999: 387). An archaeological team from the CNRS, Lyon, worked in the area from 1993 to 1995. They went further, dividing the al Madam region into 54 sectors marking out fifty-four places with archaeological remains on the plain, as well as an enormous necropolis situated at the foot of the jebel Buhais (sector 32), the north-western limit of the region (Boucharlat and Mouton 1991: 23–33; Mouton 1992: 3–10; Benoist and Mouton 1994a: 1–12). The archaeological sector called al Madam 1–Thuqeibah (Córdoba and Mañé 2000: 251–265) has finally revealed itself as the first stable settlement of the whole region, being inhabited as early as the beginning of the 1st millennium BC (Fig . 3) . In the mid 1990s, a French-Spanish team was able to detect three different types of settlement patterns in the region. There were remains of campsites all over the plain and a permanent settlement in sector 1 (both connected to the large burial area of the jebel Buhais) (Fig. 4). If we add to these two facts the foreign raw materials that we find at the excavations and the varied diet we have documented at the village of Thuqeibah (that includes an amazing amount of marine resources), we could suggest that the al Madam region was also visited by various human groups during the Iron Age. Those groups would have roamed the region or crossed it, at least seasonally, for a variety of reasons, depending on their lifestyle. Therefore, evidence suggests that, since the beginning of the 1st millennium BC, the plain of al Madam was inhabited at least by three human groups, whose lifestyles successfully complemented each other. First, nomads or semi-nomads camped mainly in the area of Um Safah, Fili and the jebel Buhais in the North and northwest of the region. Second, a sedentary population cultivated crops, raised livestock and set up a social organization sufficiently complex as to build a mudbrick village at al Madam 1 and at least one falaj (water catchment gallery), as well as a large area of big and small irrigation channels that permitted the creation of an agricultural zone at al Madam 2. Finally, other human groups used this central region of the peninsula as a place for exchange. This latter is because al Madam is located halfway between the coasts of the Indian Ocean and the Gulf, as well as between the oases of Ras al Khaimah to the North and al Ain - Buraimi to the South, and many of the roads running through the peninsula passed across or near the region. These human groups would undoubtedly make out already from afar the large settlement of al Madam and its enormous artificial palm grove, created thanks to its complex water collecting system by those who, already settled in the region, developed a prosperous peasant culture and particular funerary rites and would demand artefacts coming from the mountains and the coast. Overall, a settlement pattern that was certainly innovative in this region and implied a transformation of the landscape, as in the middle of the wooded steppe of al Madam, there would appear a palm grove. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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2. Seasonal settlers at AM-North area The areas that showed a semi nomadic population have been documented by the French-Spanish mission during our first fieldwork campaign (Córdoba et al. 1998). Intensive surveys were carried out in Fili, Um Safah and the north of al Madam. These provided the basis for opening several soundings, which showed systematically the remains of dwellings that looked like campsites, with huts made of palms, leaves, and branches. Connected with them, we always documented Iron Age pottery, shells, flint and ashes, but never a permanent structure. This early fieldwork in the north of the al Madam region did not corroborate the impression we had gained by the first surveys (Benoist and Mouton 1994b: 45). The region seemed much less populated than was suggested by the material that we had collected so carefully. However, it was evident that in our soundings there were no walls or mudbrick structures, but rather postholes, pits, silos, and layers of sand or ashes. The postholes to sustain tents and the materials left inside what seemed to be silos, only suggested a temporary use of the structures. 3. The al Buhais mountain The Jebel al Buhais was, and still is, much more than just a mountain: it is a barrier that marks the beginning of an enormous extent of desert sand that seems to have no end. In addition, it undoubtedly was such a barrier, because it sheltered the tombs of the inhabitants of the region from 5000 BC until the 3rd century AD (Jasim 2012). The inhabitants of al Madam (nomads and sedentary people) knew the existence of this ancient necropolis and buried their deceased there, because they seemed to want to leave them near the very edge of the sands. At the present time, no tomb has been connected with the permanent village of al Madam . At the same time, the jebel Buhais holds dozens of tombs belonging to the Iron Age, as well as an offering area of the same period (Córdoba 2016: 172–173), which lies at the foot of a stone building located on top of a rocky outcrop of the jebel, which can be seen from afar. Although the remains of the burials belonging to the 5th, 3rd and 2nd millennia consist of amazing collective graves, the majority of the burials at the jebel Buhais belong to Iron Age II–III. Jasim (2012: 294) has noted that the “... highpoint of the Buhais ceramic industry may therefore be assigned to the Iron Age II Period (circa 1100–600 BCE) – this is further substantiated by the discovery of diagnostic items such as metal objects, weaponry and stamp seals among others”. This accounts for about 80% of the whole, and we must consider that the campsites that have been found, as well as the permanent village of al Madam1, are situated very close by. The extraordinary construction technique of the houses at al Madam1 and the innovative water collecting techniques documented there, that would lead to the creation of the first sedentary and complex society of the region, do not seem to fit with the small shaft graves (Mañé 1999: 368) that the Buhais shows since the beginning of the Iron Age, and that in many cases are individual graves (e.g. Buhais 5, Fig. 5). At © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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this moment, as has been demonstrated by the team of S. A. Jasim, the population of the Iron Age re-used the collective graves of the 2nd and 3rd millennia BC, or opened rock shelters in the slopes of the mountain, taking advantage of their protection for their burials (e.g. Buhais 10, Fig. 5). Following the Jasim (2012) catalogue, 13 of the Iron Age tombs are pits, 11 are reused from the 3rd and 2nd millennia, and 37 are rock shelters at the foot or slope of the mountain . Nevertheless, although the tombs of the Iron Age are simple, the great number of funerary artefacts found mainly in the shelters, as well as their quality, shows the high skill of the al Madam craftsmen (Jasim et al. 2016: 71). The Spanish surveys under J. M. Córdoba and the local excavations undertaken by S. A. Jasim around the rocky outcrop crowned by a stone building, suggested seasonal use of the foothill, where the population came regularly to bury their dead and to prepare and repair the graves. The intensive seasonal occupation of the lower part of the Buhais slopes implies the existence of at least one medium-sized community near the mountain during the Iron Age (Jasim 2000: 680). This population could have lived near the jebel, collecting water from its streams in small tanks, as the local team of Sharjah has been able to document . Nevertheless, no clear function has been assigned to one of the standing structures. It could have been an enclosure for the animals that accompanied the people, or a place devoted to the celebration of some kind of ritual . We must not forget that these structures are surrounded by dozens of tombs. 4. The population settled at al Madam The group of people that finally chose to settle down in the sector we know today as al Madam1–Thuqeibah at the beginning of Iron Age II built structures made of big and extraordinary hard mud bricks, modelled with rocky materials and gravel extracted of the underlying natural soil (Córdoba and Mañé, 2000: 225–260). This population surprised us by showing an exhaustive knowledge of the local environment, including that lying under their feet, and, relying on it, applied building, hydraulic and agricultural techniques that in part were being developed very quickly at that moment and in part had been already known since the end of the late Bronze Age. In any case, activity at the beginning of the Iron Age in the village of al Madam allows us to see an adaptation to the environment, leading to its transformation that seems not to be just starting. This permanent village has been studied using an interdisciplinary approach by different teams of the Autonomous University of Madrid, belonging to the departments of Ancient History, Biology, and Geochemistry. According to evidence collected up to the last excavation undertaken in 2015, the village consists of six houses (some connected by an enclosure wall), a communal well, and an area devoted to the elaboration of mudbricks and other construction materials (mortar, plaster), described in the catalogue dedicated to the site structures as Mudbrick Working Area 1 (MWA1), and includes a second well. The enclosure walls that connect the houses H0, H1 and H2, showed us the existence of a wide space connecting the three structures, which shared © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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access through a common entrance located to the northeast of the three dwellings. The houses are not big, but the domestic space that was clearly formed by the area enclosed by the walls amounts to 1371m². That this space was used daily and had a domestic function is undeniable, because inside the enclosure walls people cooked, tended their livestock and made handicrafts, so that Thuqeibah shows the largest domestic area of all mudbrick villages of the Oman Peninsula during the Iron Age. Adjacent to House H6, one of the most startling sectors of all al Madam has been studied, with a special focus on the interdisciplinary approach that has always been our aim. Thanks to this, we have been able to understand how the settlement was built and the environment transformed for that purpose. While excavating House H6 and clearing its western outer wall, we found an area dedicated to the elaboration of construction material for the houses (MWA1) that had been entirely dug into the natural soil (Córdoba 2006: 95–110; del Cerro 2008: 43–49). This working area consists of a space, where the raw material was extracted, another where it was stored, a well, at least three canals that distribute the water into more than 63 basins, three sinks and three pits, as well as areas where the mudbricks were left to dry (del Cerro 2015: 249–256). The whole process of construction material elaboration could be completed in this area. Here, the raw material was extracted, mixed with water, gravel and some straw, and the mudbricks were shaped and left to dry in the sun (Fig. 7). The hardness of the mudbricks at al Madam was therefore due to the material of which they were made: natural rock and gravel. This facility was abandoned while still in use. The reasons why the inhabitants of al Madam left may have been several, but one would have been decisive for abandoning the whole village: the wells ceased to provide any water. As the water stopped flowing through the channels, it also ceased flooding the basins, and the sand of the nearby desert accumulated there. The imprints of the feet and hands of those last ones who had been working hard modelling the future mudbricks remained preserved in the silt, as did the traces of the tools used (mainly hoes and picks). There are hundreds of human footprints and handprints, sometimes incomplete or deformed, but on most occasions preserved unaltered. Apart from some imprints left by adults, most of them are 18 to 23cm long, what means, that those, who left those footprints, were mainly 5 to 11 year old children, who would have been employed helping the adults in the mudbrick production or maybe were just playing (González 2016: 170–171). 4 .1 The Falaj It is apparent that the establishment of a sedentary population at al Madam and its growth owed to the knowledge its inhabitants had gained about their environment and subsoil. All sectors of al Madam confirm this, because in all of them there is a search for the same resource: water. Apart from the most simple system to obtain it, the well (we have documented several inside the village), the inhabitants of al Madam used the falaj as the most efficient way to bring the water from the aquifer to the village, and especially to the agricultural areas on its outskirts. One of the five water catchment gal© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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leries recorded in sector 2 during the general survey of the al Madam Region has been excavated (Córdoba and del Cerro 2005: 522). The gallery through which the water flowed had been completely dug into the natural soil, showed a zigzag layout and was at least 500 m long. This form of gallery that we find at al Madam allowed collection of a larger quantity of water along the water table, as “... it refilled itself like a well would do, only lengthwise, catching the water of the stratum not only at one point, but along a certain distance ...” (Córdoba 2016: 135). It proves the existence of a water table that lay only 3m under the surface at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC . After that 500 m long gallery (that collected the water), the underground canal came to light and became an opencast one, that covered another 200m (now advancing in a straight line) until it began to divide, creating a cultivation area formed by secondary channels, treepits and ponds (Córdoba 2016: 137). Topographic field studies permit us guess that this Irrigation Channel Network Area (ICNA; the cultivation area developed on both sides of the main canal) would cover a zone of 600 × 300m, approximately 15 hectares. This whole space had been previously flattened to allow a smooth and regular water flow, that is, the landscape had been modified to create an artificial plain before digging the irrigation channels. Later, dozens of canals and basins were opened on this plain, and the palm grove was erected between them (Fig. 8). Overall, the falaj of al Madam is 1500m long, if we add up the underground gallery, the opencast canal outside the farming area and the channel that crosses the plain where the cultivated fields lay. From these fields to the village of al Madam 1-Thuqeibah is only 1km. Therefore, the distance between the spot where the water is collected and the village, would be 2.5km. From this, it may be deduced that the inhabitants had, at least, thoroughly known and exploited this part of their surroundings. 5. Non-permanent population The existence of a non-permanent population in the region can be traced thanks to the archaeological remains found and the foreign materials gathered in all sectors . Through the architectonic remains of the village and the faunal remains analyzed, we realize that the inhabitants of al Madam developed an agro-pastoralist lifestyle, showing great interest in their livestock. If we take into account the great number of bronze arrowheads, that are typical for the Iron Age in Oman (Magee 1998: 1–12), found in the village, hunting was also an important activity. Livestock breeding and hunting imply people roaming around on the plain. However, we must not forget that, as farmers, the inhabitants of the village of Thuqeibah had applied the falaj technique, and that this implied a good knowledge and an intensive exploration of the surrounding terrain, from the village to the places where the water almost appeared on the surface, to the east, towards the Hajar Mountains. Apart from this, the archaeological record of al Madam yields to us resources that came from outside the region. The most striking are, beyond doubt, marine resources. The remains of ichthyofauna are not abundant, although Common Pandora and Red © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Sea Bream have been documented. If we remember that al Madam lies 50km from the coasts of the Oman Sea, and 70km from the Persian Gulf coast (as the crow flies), the very existence of fish remains in the diet is important by itself. What is most amazing, however, is the quantity and variety of molluscs found at the site (del Cerro 2013: table 2), with fifty-two marine species (belonging to different biotopes) already classified. Among them, the giant mangrove whelk (terebralia palustris) is the most common. It only could have been gathered 60km away from the site. There are also species coming from cliffs even farther away, in the north of the Peninsula (del Cerro 2013: 26). The marine resources at al Madam have been a great surprise. They seem more appropriate of a place nearer the coast, while al Madam lies in the centre of the Peninsula, and furthermore its access to the coast is not easy. To the east, the Oman Mountains oblige the traveller to find passes to cross, while the sands of the Arabian Desert to the west would force one to make a detour of more than 50km. Because of this, the real distance to the Gulf coast would be more than 130km. The bronze objects found at the site (arrowheads, blades, needles, awls, tweezers and punches that may have been used to sew garments or weave mats, along with ornaments such as bracelets, rings, earrings and beads) were crafted with the copper of the Oman Mountains and tin that possibly came from Iran. Objects made of stone (more than 30 millstones and a great variety of grinding stones and crushers) are mostly worked of igneous rocks like gabbro, peridotite, olivine, or diorite (Pozo et al. 1999: 612). These all come from the Oman Mountains too (Pozo and Córdoba 2002: 68–70). The softstone fragments documented over the whole village seem to belong to small, light grey to black bowls. They are of serpentine, chlorite, or steatite, which also come from the Oman Mountains. The door sockets and slabs, as well as the flood-stones found in the cultivation area, are made of limestone, which comes from the jebel Buhais or the jebel Emalah (Pozo and Córdoba 2002: 68–70), as does the flint found in all sectors of the village . 6. Conclusions It becomes apparent, when we examine the structures of al Madam1–Thuqeibah, that even though its inhabitants constructed a permanent village, the open spaces between the houses, used daily, as well as the importance of stockbreeding and hunting, show that the people at al Madam longed for a semi nomadic way of life, or at least were aquatinted with it. In fact, a part of the population retained that semi nomadic lifestyle to a certain extent, while another part probably continued living that way. The environment of al Madam is so fragile and harsh that in spite of all efforts to gain water from the subsoil and the creation of a palm grove that must be considered enormous (if we remember that it owes its existence to human intervention), it is possible that to subsist, the community had to rely to a great extent on herding, hunting and exchange. Archaeological remains hint at this. While people at Thuqeibah were settled, the situation is different in the rest of the region, where a nomadic population continued roaming about the © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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area . These nomadic groups could have taken part in an interregional commerce based on roads that met in the centre of the Oman Peninsula . Evidence of this is found in the village, where we find stones from the Oman Mountains and marine resources. When talking about people moving about the region, however, we cannot forget the nearby jebel al Buhais and its remains from the Iron Age. The pottery found in the tombs, as well as the bronze and soft-stone artefacts, are very similar to those found in the settlement of al Madam1–Thuqeibah, although the pottery ware is more sandy than that found in the village (Benoist and del Cerro, 1998). This should not surprise us, as mountain and village are only 5km apart. A family could have walked that distance, accompanying those who would never come back, and could have stayed at the foot of the hills, occupied with preparing or repairing a grave, finishing the grave goods or celebrating funerary rituals, that, as far as we know, implied offering pottery, objects made of bronze, shells and soft-stone, as well as bones of sheep and goats (del Cerro 2010: 41–45). Al Buhais could share the presence of two communities: settlers from mudbrick village and semi-nomads, both of them involved in the same activity, burying their deceased (Mañé 1999: 372). 2 During the time these people stayed at the foot of the jebel, hunting would be an important activity, judging from the arrowheads found by the team of Sharjah outside the funerary context. While graves were prepared and tended and rituals celebrated in the offering area, people had to eat, drink and tend their livestock, as well as prepare animals for the funerary rites. In this large necropolis, the living sometimes ‘lived together’ with the dead. Near the tombs, people camped, worked, and looked for water and food. The habit of moving herds seasonally from one place to another has been explicitly documented at al Madam since the middle of the 19th century AD. Local people at al Madam tell us that until some decades ago, there had always been open exchanges that widened the prospects of the people of the region. Therefore, before petroleum was found, al Madam received rice from Iran, coffee from Yemen, clothes from India, spices from Oman and Bahrein, and incense from Oman . Their ancestors told them about caravans of camels crossing the region towards al Ain or the coasts (al Khalifa 2000: 141–142). Families living at al Madam parted at the beginning of summer, although they lived in permanent houses. Some of them settled down in the enormous palm grove of al Ain, others temporally established their residence in the stone villages in the Oman Mountains. All came back again at the beginning of winter. People living at al Madam today cannot remember almost three thousand years of history, but the archaeological record does. During the Iron Age people must have

2

“Es más que posible, y a ello apuntamos con este trabajo, que también los nómadas tengan parte importante en el modo de enterrar a los muertos en el interior de Omán. No obstante, la cuestión de la cercanía o no de las áreas funerarias a asentamientos, los dos tipos de tumbas excavados hasta el momento y la presencia del ajuar, visiblemente rico por lo abundante en ocasiones, hacen pensar en la convivencia de dos modos de vida muy cercanos entre sí.” © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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lived a situation that probably was not very different from the one described by our informers, and the plain of al Madam, with its 50km², saw different ways of life and experienced the transformation of its landscape. Bibliography al Khalifa, W . S . 1999 Una primera aproximación a la etnología y la naturaleza actual en al Madam (Emiratos Árabes Unidos) I. Isimu 2, 383–389. 2000

Una primera aproximación a la etnología y la naturaleza actual en al Madam (Emiratos Árabes Unidos) II. Isimu 3, 141–144.

Benoist, A . and del Cerro, C . 1998 La céramique de l’Age du Fer à al Madam (Émirat de Sharjah). DAA 1. In: M. Mouton (ed.), Assemblages céramique des sites de l’Age du Fer de la péninsule d’Oman . Maison de l’Orient/ Groupe de recherches et d’études sur la Méditerranée et le Moyen Orient, Lyon. Benoist, A . and Mouton, M . 1994a L’Age du Fer dans le Plaine d’Al-Madam (Sharjah EAU): Prospection et fouilles récentes. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 24, 1–12. 1994b Archaeological investigations in the al-Madam area. In: M. Mouton (ed.), Archaeological Surveys and Excavations in the Sharjah Emirate, 1993 and 1994. A Seventh Interim Report, Lyon, 43–49. Boucharlat, R . and Mouton, M . 1991 Cultural change in the Oman Peninsula during the late 1st Millennium BC as seen from Mleiha Sharjah Emirate (U .A .E .) . Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 21, 23–33. Córdoba, J . M . 2006 The mudbrick architecture of the Iron Age in the Oman Peninsula. A mudbrick working area in al Madam (Sharjah, U.A.E.). In: F. Baffi, R. Dolce, S. Mazzoni and F. Pinnock (eds.), Ina kibrati erbetti. Studi di Archeologia orientale dedicati a Paolo Matthiae. Universitá La Sapienza, Roma, 95–110. 2016

Una misión española en Sharjah: en el corazón de Magán. De la tierra y el agua. In: J. Córdoba (ed .), En los confines del Oriente Próximo. El hallazgo moderno del País de Magán, Madrid, 132–151.

Córdoba, J . M . and del Cerro, C . 2005 Archéologie de l’eau dans al Madam (Sharjah, Emirats Arabes Unies). Puits, aflaj et sécheresse pendant l’âge de Fer . Iranica Antiqua 40, 515–532. Córdoba, J. M. and Mañé, M. 2000 Spazio architettonico e società in al-Madam (Sharjah, EAU) durante l’Età del Ferro. In: P. Matthiae, A. Enea, L. Peyronel and F. Pinnock (eds.), Proceedings of the First International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East: Rome, May 18th–23rd 1998. Rome, 251–265. Córdoba, J.M., del Cerro, C., García, J.. and Mañé, M. 1998 Cultura y entorno en un poblado de la Edad del Hierro en la Península de Omán: Cuatro campañas en Al-Madam (Sharyah, E.A.U.). Sapanu, publicaciones en Internet II. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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del Cerro, C . 2008 Grundgestein und Baustoffe in AM 1 Thuqeibah (Sharjah, VAE) in der Eisenzeit. Eine intakte Anlage zur Herstellung von «Lehmziegeln». In: H. Kühne, R. M. Czichon, F. J. Kreppner (eds .), Proceedings of the 4th International Congress of the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, 29 March–3 April 2004, Freie Universität Berlin. Volume 1. Wiesbaden, 43–49. 2010

Sharjah’s Archaeological Heritage. A Model for the integration of the Past into the Historical Identity. Contributions from al Madam. In: P. Matthiae, F. Pinnock, L. Nigro and N. Marchetti (eds .), Proceedings of the 6th International Congress of the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, 5 May–10 May 2009, “Sapienza”, Università di Roma. Volume 1. Wiesbaden, 39–54.

2013

Biological remains at al-Madam (Sharjah, UAE) Archaeological, archaeobotanical and archaeozoological studies in an Iron Age farming-stockbreeding village. Bioarchaeology of the Near East 7, 21–32.

2015

Iron Age water supply systems regarding agriculture at al Madam, Sharjah (U.A.E.). In: G. Affanni, C. Baccarin, L. Cordera, A. Di Michele, K. Gavagnin (eds.), Broadening Horizons 4. Conference of Young Researchers Working in the Ancient Near East, Egypt and Central Asia, University of Torino, October 2011. British Archaeological Reports 2698, 249–256.

González, A. 2016 Antropología física de las huellas humanas. In: J. Córdoba (ed.), En los confines del Oriente Próximo. El hallazgo moderno del País de Magán, Madrid, 170–171. Jasim, S . A . 2000 Recent excavations in the Emirate of Sharjah (UAE). The graveyard at Jebel al Buhais. In: P. Matthiae, A. Enea, L. Peyronel and F. Pinnock (eds.), Proceedings of the First International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East: Rome, May 18th–23rd 1998 . Rome, 677–680. 2012

The Necropolis of Jebel al-Buhais. Prehistoric Discoveries in the Emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates . Sharjah .

Jasim, S.A., Uerpmann, M. and Uerpmann, H.-P. 2016 Mleiha. The Unwritten History. Dubai. Magee, P . 1998 The chronological and regional context of late prehistoric incised arrowheads in southeastern Arabia . Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 9, 1–12. Mañé, M. 1999 Concepciones religiosas del más allá en la edad del hierro de la península de Omán: una visión aproximativa desde las arenas del ‘Rub’ al- Khali’. Isimu 2, 365–381. 2005

Hallado un incensario en Thuqaibah (Sharjah, Emiratos árabes Unidos). Interpretaciones de una forma singular en determinadas estructuras de la Edad del Hierro. Isimu 8, 253–270.

Mouton, M . 1992 Archaeological survey of the region of al-Madam. Preliminary results 1992. In: R. Boucharlat (ed .), Archaeological Surveys and Excavations in the Sharjah Emirate, 1990–1992. A Sixth Interim Report, Sharjah, 3–10. Pozo, M. and Córdoba, J. M. 2002 Architecture, implements, and geological constraints: a provenance study and archaeological investigation of the uses of materials of an Iron Age village (AM1-Thuqaybah, Emirate of Sharjah, UAE) . Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 32, 63–74. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Pozo M., Casas, J. and Martín Rubí, J. A. 1999 Estudio mineralógico, químico y textual de materiales y elementos arqueológicos en asentamientos de la Edad del Hierro del Oasis de Omán (Emirato de Sharyah, EE:AA.UU.) Isimu 2, 605–634.

Fig. 1 Oman Peninsula showing the most important sites from Iron Age (Mañé 2005: 263)

Fig . 2 Schematic section trough Mleiha-al Madam Basin from Sharjah to Kalba (Jasim et al. 2016: 12) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 3 Map showing the inland basin (Meliha-al Madam region) with major archaeological sites (Jasim et al. 2016: 11)

Fig. 4 Schematic plan of al Madam Plain (based on Pozo et al. 1999: 267c) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 5 Typical Iron Age tomb (T 5) at Jebel al Buhais (Jasim 2012: 194)

Fig. 6 Rock shelter grave at Buhais 10 (Jasim 2012: 248) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 7 Hypothetical reconstruction of Mudbrick Working Area based on excavation data (grafics: M. Nuñez, based on Córdoba 2016: 164)

Fig. 8 Aerial view of al Madam showing the archaeological sectors (Spanish archaeological team, 2014) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Third Millennium BC Cities in the Arid Zone of Inner Syria: Settlement Landscape, Material Culture and Interregional Interactions Corinne Castel 1 and Georges Mouamar 2 Abstract The recent discovery and excavations of the mid/late 3rd millennium BC cities of Tell Al-Rawda and Tell Shʻaīrat, and the surveys conducted around them, unexpectedly highlighted the arid zone of inner Syria, to the north of Palmyra (in the so called ‘Shamiyah region’). In this article, the coauthors, who are also respectively co-directors of the two archaeological expeditions, demonstrate that Tell Al-Rawda and Tell Shʻaīrat have a common regular and geometric urban pattern, which indicates the cities are pre-planned ‘new cities’. This reveals the discovery of an urban model, also recognized in northern Syria and largely diffused in the steppe land. Both sites appear as key to understanding the dynamic of urbanization in Syria. They certainly illustrate the birth of a precocious territorial state, possibly connected to the ‘Very Long Wall’, onto the desert margins of Syria in a context of territorial conquest. This event took place around 2500 BC, before the construction of Palace G of Ebla. The paper also offers a comparison between different items of material culture from the two sites.

1. General presentation of both archaeological sites Tell Al-Rawda 3 and Tell Shʻaīrat 4 are located in the arid steppe of inner Syria (the ‘Shamiyah region’), on the fluctuating limit of the 250mm isohyet (Fig. 1). They share the peculiarity of being nearly flat and circular tells surrounded by a rampart. The study of the artefacts and architecture in conjunction with radiocarbon dating results indicate that both sites were founded around the mid-3rd millennium BC and abandoned around 2200 BC. The Early Bronze IVB levels extend over the whole of the tells. Tell Shʻaīrat is located 34km southeast of Homs and approximatively 40km from the Orontes river. The circular tell covers approximately 25 hectares with an extension in the eastern lower town (Fig. 2). Excavations were conducted under the direction of Michel Al-Maqdissi and Georges Mouamar between 2007 and 2010.

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CNRS-University Lyon 2. Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée, Laboratory ‘Archéorient’, Lyon, France. French Director of the Franco-Syrian Archaeological Expedition at Tell Al-Rawda (Syria). The co-director of the Mission is Nazir Awad (DGAMS). Damascus University and Post-Doctorant, University Lyon 2. Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée, Laboratory ‘Archéorient’, Lyon, France. Co-Director of the Syrian Archaeological Expedition at Tell Shʻaīrat (Syria). For a synthesis in English about Tell Al-Rawda in the context of 3rd millennium Syria, cf. Castel 2018. For a shorter presentation of the site: Castel and Awad 2016. For a more detailed presentation and synthesis about Tell Shʻaīrat, cf. Mouamar 2016. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Furthermore, magnetic survey was done with the collaboration of the Al-Rawda Mission. Two sectors of excavations were dug in the middle of the upper town and on the eastern part of the rampart. The virgin soil was reached 7 m below the surface in the middle of the upper town. In this sector, six silos and different rooms of a monumental building were discovered, revealing activities devoted to storage and cooking (Mouamar 2016: 81–82). Tell Al-Rawda is located 70 km as the crow flies northeast of Qatna, to the north of Palmyrenian mountain. The circular tell is 3–4m high and covers nearly 16 hectares, including the four lines of defence: a rampart, a fore-wall and two ditches (Fig. 2). The excavations were conducted between 2002 and 2010 by Corinne Castel and Nazir Awad of the Direction of Antiquities of Damascus. A multidisciplinary team explored the site itself and a region of 200km² around. Habitation sectors (sectors 4, 5 and 6), different parts of the rampart (sectors 2a, 2b, 2c and 4), two monumental gates (sectors 2b and 2c), and a complete sanctuary (sector 1) were excavated on the tell. Certain sectors were explored in depth, down to virgin soil: sectors 1, 2a, 2c and 4. 5 Differences in the topography and in the situation of the two sites can be observed: Tell Shʻaīrat is located in a vast plain whereas Tell Al-Rawda is a very low and flat tell located in an enlargement of a valley floor at the foot of a plateau. 2. Urban structure of both sites The nearly flat surface of the sites, the presence of the Early Bronze IVB levels outcropping at the surface, their weak perturbation by later occupations, and the absence of vegetation allowed us to conduct geomagnetic surveys on both tells. The magnetic maps obtained provide an image of the whole of the constructed sites, exceptional for the Bronze Age (Gondet and Castel 2005; Mouamar 2016). These document the last levels of occupation around 2200 BC. The high densities of buildings within the enclosed areas clearly indicate the residential function of the sites. Intra muros, the urban fabric is regularly organized around a radial and concentric street network (Figs. 3, 4). The principal radial streets, four to five m wide at Al-Rawda and four to nine m wide at Shʻaīrat, lead to the gates of the cities. At least nine gates give access to the city of Shʻaīrat (Mouamar 2016: 78); probably five gates to Al-Rawda. A network of concentric streets crosses these radial streets. Four main concentric roads four meters wide were observed at Shʻaīrat (Fig. 3; see also Mouamar 2016: 74–79); three main roads between three and five meters wide at Al-Rawda (Fig. 4; see also Gondet and Castel 2005). The ordinary buildings, as well as the monumental ones, respect the general organization of the city. This plan is clearly the result of a true operation of urban planning (Gondet and Castel 2005; Mouamar 2016).

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The preliminary reports have been published in Akkadica (in 2004: n°125; 2005: n°126; 2008: n°129/1; 2014: n°135/1 and n°135/2). The first volume of the final publication is in press. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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2.1 The dwellings Concerning the habitation sectors, evidence indicates that the rooms were standardized and tended to be organized in blocks of the same width along the radial and concentric streets (Castel and Awad 2016: 31). This regularity in the architectural data suggests that there was an operation of allotment of parcels on both sites. 2.2 The sanctuaries The excavations and the study of the geomagnetic maps enabled us to discover temples in antis on both sites. At Al-Rawda, one sanctuary was excavated in sector 1 and two others were identified in the magnetic map (Castel 2010). 6 These sanctuaries were quite regularly distributed in the urban structure. At Shʻaīrat, two temples in antis were discovered before excavations, one in the upper town, the other one to the south-southwest of the site, in the lower town (Mouamar 2016: 79). All these sanctuaries were composed of temples in antis and sacred areas. The sanctuary that has been excavated to the northeast of Al-Rawda contained two temples inside the sacred area, one of which was not a temple in antis (Castel 2010). In this sanctuary, the enclosed area extended to the front of the temples. In all the other cases, the sacred enclosure surrounded the temples in antis. 3. Two archaeological sites versus one urban model Everywhere, the sanctuaries, like the houses, are included in the general organization of the regular urban fabric. At Al-Rawda, it has been possible to show that this has been true since the foundation of the city. The three superimposed excavated temples in antis of sector 1, with the first one lying on the virgin soil, respect the layout of the street network, whereas the main excavated radial and concentric streets are located at the same place since the first levels of occupation inside the fortification, as observed in sectors 2c, 4, and 6. Thus Al-Rawda and Shʻaīrat were constructed according to a pre-conceived design resulting from an operation of allotment of parcels which were regularly distributed along the main radial and concentric streets inside the fortifications. These circular and fortified sites, where the urban layout is organized around a radioconcentric street network, reflect the same ‘urban model’. They are ‘new cities’ founded according a pre-established geometric plan at the mid-3rd millennium BC. 7

6 7

Only one of the two temples identified in the geophysics has been confirmed. Jean-Claude Margueron (2013) identifies a large number of other circular urban settlements in Mesopotamia up to Sumer. However, we cannot confuse a simple urban circular envelope with our geometric cities (cf. Castel in press a). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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3.1 The material culture of Tell Shʻaīrat and Tell Al-Rawda Both sites belong to the same cultural area. We have noticed that the pottery (Mouamar 2016: 82–85; Babour in Castel et al. 2014a), the baked clay figurines, and some specific stone tools (Castel in press b and Mouamar 2016: 86) are very comparable (Figs. 5, 6). The coroplasty is typical of the region comprised between Hama to the West, Sh’airat to the south-west and Al-Rawda to the east. Most of the anthropomorphic figurines have a very schematic body. The legs are in form of column and cannot be distinguished; the arms are referred to only by a short and rounded stretching of the ceramic paste (Figs. 5, 6). Furthermore, Corinne Castel has identified a peculiar set of the stone artefacts as agricultural tools and, more specifically, as stone plough heads used to prepare the fields (Castel in press b). These heavy objects, most often made of basalt or limestone, have a symmetric form (often triangular), two relatively flat faces and a lug (Figs. 5 and 6), and their weight leads us to consider that they were used by sedentary populations. These are attested only in an area limited to the Orontes region to the west and to the western border of steppe land Syria to the east. All of them have been discovered in Early Bronze IV contexts (except one discovered at Qatna and dated to Middle Bronze by the excavators). Their discovery in varied contexts indicates that the field work was organized at both official institutional levels and at a familial scale, for regional production dated to the Early Bronze IV (Castel in press b and Mouamar 2016: 86 and fig. 11). Concerning the pottery, both assemblages belong to the so called ‘caliciform culture’ (Welton and Cooper 2014, Boudier 2007). However, we can go further and provide results that are more precise. The morpho-stylistic, technological, chemical, and petrographic analyses, especially of the ‘Hama gobelets’, have supplied evidence that at least 40% of the pottery of Shʻaīrat and Al-Rawda have been manufactured in the same workshop (Mouamar unpublished). We can note that there is a perfect continuity of the ceramic material between the mid-3rd millennium until the end of the occupation of both sites, around 2200 BC (Mouamar 2016: 82–85; Mouamar 2015; Babour in Castel et al. 2014a). 4. A network of circular ‘cities of the steppe’ along the ‘Very Long Wall’ All these urban, architectural, and material features indicate that, within the western inland Syria sphere of interactions, the ‘Shamiyah region’ was culturally unified during the Early Bronze IV period. In this same region, Tell Al-Ṣūr (Mouamar 2014), Khirbet Al-Qasr (Castel et al. 2014b: 26–31), and other sites belong to the same unit. All these cities were founded around the mid-3rd millennium. They were abandoned around 2200 BC, without any trace of brutal destruction at Tell Al-Rawda (Castel 2007) or at Tell Shʻaīrat. These sites, all located along the western margins of the Syrian desert, can be considered as ‘cities of the steppe’ and not only ‘cities in the steppe’ (Castel © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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2018 and Castel unpublished). These cities were characterised by their multiple functions. The excavations and multidisciplinary studies at Tell Al-Rawda also demonstrate that the 3rd millennium BC urban community was adaptable and had flexible economic strategies according to the seasons, climatic conditions, and the age and gender of individuals (Castel and Peltenburg 2007: 612), as do modern settlers of arid zones in the region (Métral 2006: 100). A part of this community was engaged in pastoralism with more or less important mobility that varied according to period. Other inhabitants, however, lived in the city year-round, as proven for example by the discovery of archaeozoological remains of pigs and ox (Vila and El-Besso 2005: 117). These ‘cities of the steppe’ constituted a network of fortified, circular, and contemporary cities established in a regular manner at the very edge of sedentary occupation of the steppe in the Early Bronze, as shown by the ‘Arid Margins Survey’ (Geyer and Calvet 2001: 59 and fig. 2) and our own work (Castel et al. 2014b: 7–8 and fig. 41; Mouamar 2014: 102–105 and pl. II; 2016: 86–89 and fig. 13). This edge coincides within 10 km with what Bernard Geyer has called the ‘Very Long Wall’ (Fig. 7), a 220km wall discovered by the ‘Arid Margins Survey’ (Geyer et al. 2010). Too modest to be considered truly defensive, in spite of its remarkable length, the wall constituted rather a symbolic frontier, a wall that could define the boundary of a political territory. Although difficult to date, several elements of this wall suggest that it could date back to Early Bronze IV (Geyer et al. 2010: 64), and probably to the beginning of the period, the mid-3rd millennium, when the cities of Al-Rawda and Shʻaīrat were founded (Barge et al 2014: 181–183; Castel and Peltenburg 2007: 613; Castel 2018; Mouamar 2014: 104; 2016: 87). Tell Al-Rawda, Tell Shʻaīrat, and Tell Al-Ṣūr (Mouamar 2014) are the most eastern sites of the network and are located between 10 and 17km from the Very Long Wall. They are pre-planned cities, and the result of a voluntary operation of urban planning (Gondet and Castel 2005; Mouamar 2016). They certainly testify to the birth of an advanced territorial state in the desert margins of Syria in a context of territorial conquest (Barge et al. 2014). As no sedentary site in this marginal zone is known to exist before Early Bronze IV, this leads us to see these ‘new cities’ as peripheral outposts of a distant culturally and politically important centre, and to suppose a migration of people to the fringes (Castel 2018 and Castel unpublished). We have proposed different hypotheses to explain the existence of this urban system far from the main capitals of the period. These circular cities could have been founded by Ebla (Barge et al. 2014: 182–183; Castel 2018) or Hama or another still unknown capital (Mouamar 2014: 104–105; 2016: 87–89). In any case, they document a precocious expansion of the urban dynamic in marginal zones (Castel 2018).

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Mishrifeh au troisième millénaire av. J.-C. Bilan provisoire des travaux du Chantier (R) ‘cour du trône’. In: P. Pfälzner and M. Al-Maqdissi (eds.), Qaṭna and the Networks of Bronze Age Globalism, Proceedings of an International Conference is Stuttgart and Tübingen in Octobre 2009. Qaṭna-Studien. Supplementa 2 . Wiesbaden, 399–406.

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Tell Shʻaīrat : une ville circulaire majeure du IIIe millénaire av. J.-C. du territoire de la confédération des Ib᾽al. Studia Eblaitica 2, 71–101.

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La production céramique du Bronze ancien IV en Syrie occidentale. Étude typologique et archéométrique. PhD thesis, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Lyon.

Vila, E. and El Besso, M. 2005 Résultats préliminaires de l’étude de la faune d’Al-Rawda (Campagnes 2002 à 2004). Akkadica 126/2, 111–119. Welton, L. and Cooper, L. 2014 Caliciform ware. In: M. Lebeau (ed.), ARCANE Interregional I. Ceramics. Turnhout, 293–321.

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Khirbet Al-Qasr

Tell Mishrifeh (Qatna) Tell Al-Ṣūr Tell Nebi Mend

Fig. 1 Map of Syria with sites mentioned and the location of the isohyets

Fig. 2 a – Vertical aerial photographs of Tell Shʻaīrat (© Mission archéologique syrienne de Tell Shʻaīrat 2015, O. Barge); b – Tell Al-Rawda (© Mission archéologique franco-syrienne d’Al-Rawda, O. Barge)

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Third Millennium BC Cities in the Arid Zone of Inner Syria

Fig. 3 Hypothetical reconstitution of the street network of Tell Shʻaīrat, founded on the basis of the excavations and the magnetic map (after: Mouamar 2016: 95, fig. 5)

Fig. 4 Hypothetical reconstitution of the street network of Tell AlRawda, founded on the basis of the excavations and the magnetic map (© Mission archéologique franco-syrienne d’Al-Rawda, C. Castel)

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Fig. 5 Early Bronze IVB ceramic, stone head of swing plough and terracotta figurines discovered at Tell Shʻaīrat (after: Mouamar 2016: figs. 8, 10–11)

Fig. 6 Early Bronze IVB ceramic, stone head of swing plough and terracotta figurines discovered at Tell Al-Rawda (©Mission archéologique franco-syrienne d’Al-Rawda) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

Third Millennium BC Cities in the Arid Zone of Inner Syria

Fig. 7 The network of Early Bronze IV circular cities and the ‘Very Long Wall’ (Location of TLM: Geyer et al. 2010: 68 and fig. 10; infographics: G. Mouamar and C. Castel, Tell Shʻaīrat and Tell Al-Rawda Expeditions)

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Beyond the Palace: Some Perspective on Agriculture and Irrigation Systems in the Achaemenid Heartland Seyed Abazar Shobairi 1 Abstract The Achaemenid heartland (Parsa and Pasargadae Plains) is one of the most vital areas in southwestern Iran . These wide regions are watery and have rich lands suitable for farming . Most likely, the formation of the Achaemenid capitals, Pasargadae and Persepolis, by the Sivand and Kur rivers in Fars was neither arbitrary nor did it occur suddenly . Considerable remains of large earthen channel networks branch out from these rivers and are located close to the main Achaemenid sites . In addition, existing qanat systems and the remains of several dams in the Persepolis and Pasargadae plains represent a development and progress in irrigation systems and agriculture in the Achaemenid period . It seems probable that one of the economic aims of the Achaemenids was the development of agriculture as well as increased production. Some of the Persepolis Fortification Tablets attest to the importance of rivers as well as crop farming in Achaemenid era . The broader scope of my research is to arrive at a much more substantial understanding of water supply and management practices in the Persian Achaemenid period .

1. Introduction The Pasargadae and Persepolis plains are located in the Marvdasht region in northwestern Fars province, in southwestern Iran (Fig . 1) . This area lies at the heart of the Achaemenid Empire (c . 6th–4th centuries BC) and is home to the royal foundations of Pasargadae, built by the empire’s founder, Cyrus the Great, and Persepolis, built by his successor, Darius I . The Kur River basin in Marvdasht has broad, fertile lands for cultivation . Agriculture in the Kur basin has a relatively long history . In cultivation, crop yield refers to the measure of the yield of a crop per unit area of land . Based on anthropological studies of land-use in the district during the 1966 census data, 34,000 hectares including fallow fields, were under cultivation (see Kortum 1976: table 28). The region still depends on agriculture . One of the reasons we are interested in exploring the Achaemenid heartland, (the Persepolis and Pasargadae regions) is its geographical situation . In the wider context of the Achaemenid heartland, archaeological surveys have tended to focus predominantly on the Achaemenid period, with rather less attention on pre-Achaemenid occupation episodes . This paper will focus on the landscape role of the irrigation works, their location, possible impact and logical concept .

1

University of Athens . My thanks are due to Prof . R . Boucharlat, and to the editor(s) of this volume; their comments and suggestions have helped to improve the article, though the responsibility for any remaining errors and omissions remains my own . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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The natural topography could be used to further define an area from which a complete regional sample of settlement could be acquired . Initial archaeological studies of this large area of southwest Iran, particularly in Fars province, began in the early 20th century (Herzfeld 1908; Stein 1936; Vanden Berghe 1959: 20–58; Sumner 1990; Alizadeh 2003, 86–97). From the archaeological material and diverse sources, it appears that many mounds attest to the region’s occupation from the earliest settled Neolithic periods continuing into the Islamic era . Most of the investigations and archaeological surveys were undertaken to obtain evidence of long-term settlement systems (Voigt and Dyson 1989: 135–143). Likewise, the last decade has brought new knowledge of the Achaemenid settlements in southwest Iran, particularly in the Parse Pasargadae district. Intensive field surveys were applied to study the impact of landscape on the irrigation and water management in the hinterlands of Fars (Boucharlat et al. 2012: 269–280). Generally, this study used the available archaeological remains, as well as textual and historical accounts, which allowed a review of all the physical remains and historically documentation to better demonstrate the context of agriculture and irrigation . In addition, a social landscape reconstruction can be examined from the material found in the Achaemenid heartland . 2. An overview of irrigation systems in the Achaemenid period Irrigation systems are the most difficult feature to define from geographical landscapes and surrounding topography . Mainly this effect is enhanced by local government activities and large-scale human actions . The landscape of the region has been changed, particularly in the adjacent villages and cities . From these facts, recognition of the exact irrigation works will be confronted with various problems . The study of the past water management system should utilize past satellite images and aerial photographs as much as possible . Structures that related to water management, such as dam and canals, are often overlooked by large-scale archaeological investigation and may quickly be destroyed by local activities . In addition to this, some earthen canals may have been used for a long time, possibly in several periods over several millennia. For these reasons, it can be difficult to understand and study irrigation systems in only one period . Likewise, a meticulous chronology of the ancient canal only can be achieved through Optical Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) or Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) radiocarbon dating . The complex regional irrigation system and canal networks developed in both large and small scales in order to optimize agricultural production . For instance, these projects were expanded in the 1st millennium BC by great empires in the Near East . Some significant settlement patterns based on water resources and irrigation systems and significant canal networks are recognized from the Neo-Babylonian (e.g. Van Driel 1988; 1990) and Achaemenid Persian periods between the rivers of Tigris and Euphrates in the Mesopotamia . In this regard the Neo-Babylonian irrigation work and agriculture (Jursa 2006: 137–222, 2007: 225–227; Hruska 2007: 56–58) and the Achaemenid Babylo© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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nian irrigation and royal canal networks have been studies by scholars (Stolper 1985: 36–51) . Assyrian has great contribution with landscape and management of the water utilization projects. Significant canal and irrigation systems indicated in the Northern of Mesopotamia (Bagg 2000a: 301–324, Bagg 2000b: 156–224). Moreover, studies of the Achaemenid irrigation system have partly been the subject of much research in past decades . Since the introduction of Adams’s concept of the Heartland (Adams 1981), the study of Neo-Babylonian agriculture has become an important subject . He suggests a regular noteworthy growth up to the end of the Sassanid period (Adams 1981: 179–185, figs. 44–46), which seems to begin from the early 1st millennium BC (Adams 1981: 185– 190, fig. 40), at the very moment at which texts become available. If the maps are trustworthy, the Neo-Babylonian-Achaemenid period set the foundations for a period of extraordinary economic development in Southern Mesopotamia (Adams 1981: 185–192, figs. 39, 41). There are numerous ancient texts for reconstruction of the Neo-Babylonian – Early Achaemenid irrigation systems . This royal administration had a unique role in the upkeep of the main arteries of Neo-Babylonian irrigation system. Vulnerable though their individual situation was, they no doubt played a vital role in the development of agricultural economies (Van Driel 1988: 144–146). According to Strabo’s remark that rice was cultivated in Khuzestan (Strabo XV.1.18) and bases of Diodorus in Susiana (Diodorus XIX . 13 . 6) by the late 4th century BC, it has been suggested that the increase was in fact accompanied by the construction of large canals and irrigation . In addition to the notes listed above, specific irrigation systems have been documented in Central Asia (Francfort and Lecomte 2002: 648–649; Francfort 2005: 324–325). Moreover, archaeological survey indicates significant irrigation systems related to the Achaemenid period in the Sistan and Baluchistan regions of southeast Iran (Francfort and Lecomte 2002: 649–650, n. 81; Mohamadkhani 2014: 190). A small number of Achaemenid sites and two large towns Tappeh Patak (Miroschedji 1981: 172–173, pl. XX.3) and Tappeh Gārān, were recognized during archaeological surveys in the Deh Loran plain, in southwest Iran (Neely and Wright 2010: 95–104). Most likely, both towns, which seem to have been occupied in the Neo-Elamite period (Miroschedji 1981: 169–192), were served by a system of canals and perhaps qanats (Neely and Wright 2010: fig. 6.5, 6). A qanat is an underground water channel for bringing water from an aquifer to the land (e.g. Wilkinson 2012: 16–19; Boucharlat 2016: 294–297.). 3. Archaeological evidence It is seems to be that specialized labour in an area was primarily devoted to agricultural activities . Agriculture was widely practiced by several of farming methods, such as dry farming and sophisticated irrigation systems . For instance, in the 1st century BC Strabo described Karmania (modern Kerman, Iran) as a producer of all type of fruits, and full of large trees except the olive (Strab. 15.2.14, cf., 15.3.6; Tuplin 1996: 135) . In this regard, it is worth noting the regional economic communication (Aperghis © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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1997: 278–283) and geographical context (Arfaee 2008: 19–145) largely reflected in the Persepolis clay tablets . Recent studies of pollen evidence from two sites in the south-central Zagros around Lake Maharlou, near the modern Shiraz, demonstrate tree cultivation since the 3rd and 2rd millennia, and agriculture activities during the Achaemenid period (Djamali et al. 2010: 177–179). Moreover, around Lake Parishan, west of Kazeroun, archaeological and historical accounts indicate development of olive tree cultivation . Pollen evidence strongly shows an important stage of oleo-culture during the Achaemenid and Seleucid periods (Djamali et al. 2016: 264–267). 4. Achaemenid irrigation works in Abarj and Rāmjerd The Rāmjerd and Abarj plains, surrounded by mountains, lie to the north and west of the town of Marvdasht, in northwest Fars . The area is bounded on the north by the Dashtak and Shahrak, on the south by the Ayoub and Kuh Sabz, on the west by the Dorūdzan Mountains, and on the east by Pulvār River (Fig. 1). The initial study on irrigation systems was carried out by Houtum-Schindler in the Kur River basin in 1891. His work was based on Fārs-nāma of Ebni- Balkhi, which is a local history and geography of the Fars province, written in Persian (HoutumSchindler 1891: 287–291). In the 1930s, Bergner discovered two Achaemenid structures close to the Kur River. He assumed that the Band-e Doḵtar and Bard Buride must be Achaemenid hydraulic works (Bergner 1937: 1–4) (Figs. 2, 8). In November 1965, a new project of the Sad-e Darious Kabir (Darius the Great Dam) instigated the re-surveying and undertaking of rescue excavations on Achaemenid irrigation works . During three seasons of this project, Nicol excavated the two hydraulics monuments Band-e Doḵtar (Sange-Doukhtar) and Bard-e bourideh (Nicol 1970: 245–247). A significant portion of this configuration is wall A, or canal head, with remarkable architectural features that are constructed of local semi-crystal limestone . At the base of the wall are two irregular pointed arches of this structure, which have been carved into the Dorūdzan Mountain. I am not going to describe physical feature of the structure, it has fully discussed by Nicol (1970; cf. Boucharlat et al. 2012: 271–275). Nicol suggested that water from the Band-e Doḵtar were utilized for the two large irrigation systems used predominantly for cultivation through basin northeast of Dorūdzan or the northeast of Kuh Shahrak districts (Nicol 1970: 264–265). Sumner had an astonishing proposal regarding the Band-e Doḵtar and neighbouring canals. In his view, the canal of Band-e Doḵtar was constructed to serve regional water supply over a long distance (c. 50km), flowing to the canal of Bard-e Boride I (Bergner 1937: Taf. V), and after crossing the southeast cliff of Kuh-e Shahrak, bringing water into the ancient canals (Sumner 1986: 13) that Nicol had observed on aerial images. However, Nicol believed that “... Band-e Doḵtar would have provided irrigation to the Dashtak plain and Abarj ...” in Rāmjerd district. Sumner’s later observation was different from Nicol’s suggestion, which Sumner finally could not accept (Sumner © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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1986: 13–14, ill 3; cf. Nicol 1970: 264–265). In brief, Sumner believed that the canal of Band-e Doḵtar was created by royal authority for irrigating a small amount of land located “ . . . on the right bank of the Sivand River opposite Matezziš and west of Naqshe Rustam ...”, perhaps with several aqueducts (Sumner 1986: 27; Boucharlat et al. 2012: 274–275). Atayi (2013) has recently contributed to the Band-e Doḵtar problem. He followed Nicol’s first observation that the land “... from the village of Dorūdzan between the Kur River to west of the Bidun River . . .” was probably cultivated as a royal or official domain during the Achaemenid period. No Achaemenid settlement has yet been recognized in this region (Atayi 2013: 101). From my point of view, this explanation is very unlikely . There is remarkable evidence for different aspects of irrigation and water supply for the Matezziš and the land opposite the Persepolis terrace. Around 170 years ago, Eugène Flandin and Pascal Coste made many significant illustrations during their travels in Persia from 1839–1841. Some of these illustrations related to the Persepolis and adjacent area, and mapped many tributary waterways from the Sivand River and flowing in to the Persepolis plain (e.g. Flandin and Coste 1851: pls. 57, 64). Even now, after many centuries, theses waterways are used to irrigate land in the Marvdasht plain . It should be noted that, due to modern activities, some of these canals were completely removed, such as a canal crossing in front of the Persepolis platform (cf. Flandin and Coste 1851: pls. 57, 64). However, large earthen canals associated with the adjacent peripheral land in the Persepolis plain, mostly linked to Persepolis west and Firūzi, can still be recognized. From the eastern side of the city of Estakhr, a large earthen canal connecting to the Sivand River, after passing through the Takht-e Rostam canal, brings water to the Persepolis plain: this canal is still in operation (Fig. 3). About 3 km to the west of the Persepolis terrace there are 12 important Achaemenid sites, well known as Firūzi complex (Tadjvidi 1976: 9–14, fig. 1; cf. Sumner 1986: 8, fig. 4). From this, Sumner proposed that the Band-e Doḵtar supplied water to Matezziš city Firūzi site (Sumner 1986: 13–14, 27; cf. Boucharlat et al. 2012: 272–275). However, distance between these two places is at least 50km as the crow flies, so conveying water across this distance by earthen canals would require astonishing organization . First, over this distance, much of the water will evaporate and be lost (for similar observations see Atayi 2013: 101). Additionally, in my opinion, attempting to move water from the Sivand River into uplands is highly unlikely, because the difference in elevation between the Sivand water level and Firūzi (Matezziš) is at least 20 metres, and water would have to be somehow lifted up to Firūzi. Meanwhile, there is no archaeological evidence for a possible aqueduct to transfer water to the uplands; therefore, this proposal is incredibly difficult to accept. The arguments mentioned above suggest that water for western Persepolis and the Firūzi complex came through the Estakhr city canal, which flows into the Takht-e Rostam and then to the Persepolis plain, finally reaching the Firūzi complex (Fig. 4). Moreover, the other important note concerning the water supply in the region is the availability of natural resources . About 1 km away on the north side of Persepolis is a spring, the so-called ‘Ali Abad’ (Fig . 5) . Traces of the canal can be seen going in a © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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direct line toward Persepolis west and the Firūzi complex (Flandin and Coste 1851: pls. 57, 64). In sum, it could be suggested that Ali Abad spring water was used for daily activities, and perhaps the surplus may have been used for irrigating the land in the Persepolis region . In addition, we must remember that water from the Sivand River was diverted to the Persepolis region through several earthen canals (Fig . 6) . In the 1980s, Wolfram Kleiss identified at least eight Achaemenid dams in the north of Pasargadae, which are classified into types of earthen and stone investments (Fig. 7). His survey also demonstrated that these hydraulic works related to the Achaemenid period. Some of them aimed at regulating the water flow, particularly in spring. Recently, one of these dams, called Shahid Abad, was excavated by an Iranian-French joint expedition . This work demonstrated that Shahid Abad Dam was not intended to provide irrigation water, but rather to control the water flow. Perhaps other dams closer to the Pasargadae site could be reservoirs for irrigating the lands . Certain of these hydraulic investments are connected to the large canals (De Schacht et al. 2012: 91–108). In addition, recent archaeological studies demonstrate remarkable irrigation works in Dasht-e Kamin (Kamin Plain, see Fig . 1) . This investment appears to have had a strong agricultural organization (Karami and Talebiab 2014: 216–242). In closing, it is obvious that water management systems in the Achaemenid heartland (Parse-Pasargadae Plains) consisted largely of investments of canal and dams (Boucharlat et al. 2012: 269–280). Overall, the focus of the irrigation and hydraulic structures in the Achaemenid heartland could be classified into three main important parts: Persepolis, Pasargadae, and Abarj with the Rāmjerd districts. This means that based on the availability of water three different geographical zones can be defined for Achaemenid heartland agriculture, each with its own characteristic (Fig. 8). 5. Discussion We know that the dry farming was important in ancient civilizations . Nevertheless, a large part of Iran’s agriculture has always depended on irrigation. In the Persepolis region, due to sufficient water resources and fertile plains, people in the Achaemenid period have taken advantage of the region . The archaeological and ancient textual evidence demonstrate that agricultural activities around Persepolis flourished, and were carried out in several forms during the Achaemenid period . From the Persepolis treasury tablets (PTT) and Persepolis fortification tablets (PFT), written in Elamite and a few tablets written in Old Persian, Greek, Neo-Babylonian and Phrygian (Stolper and Tavernier 2007), the royal Achaemenid economy can be reconstructed. For example, some of these texts suggest a significant number of activities in the region, including agriculture (e.g. Cameron 1948: PT 14, 31) and irrigation (e.g. Hallock 1969: PF 1124, 1842, 1843, 1853, 1946, 1947), among others. The fortification archive allows us to catch a glimpse of how a recording system using textual and figurative mechanisms actually might have worked in its documentation of communications at dispersed locales relating to a wide variety of agricultural © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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products. There are at least 400 geographical names in the Persepolis fortification and treasury texts. About 108 of these names related to villages and sites in Fars province (Dandamayev 1975: 71–73; cf. Arfaee 2008). In addition, there are a number of geographical names that occur in association with central Fars . In many of the PFT are accounts indicating that agricultural products came from different region in Fars (Hallock 1969; Arfaee 2008). Historical sources offer a distinct picture of what Persia was like . For example, a significant description of the Persepolis landscape by Curtius Rufus (V.4.6–9) points to fertile plains behind the continuous wall of the Zagros, with various species of flowers and trees watered by the Araxes (Kur) and Medos (Pulvār) rivers. Occupied by many villages and cities, this was a very healthful region because of its moderation in respect to heat . Diodrous’ description of the land of Persepolis is in the same mould (Tuplin 1996: 136–138). Nonetheless, our information on the irrigation system in the Achaemenid period remains insufficient. Irrigation was not absent during the Achaemenid period, but we suffer from a lack of archaeological evidence . Mainly, the archaeological material comprises pottery, and sometimes the greater part is unpublished . Above, we observed that there have been complex agricultural irrigation systems throughout southern Mesopotamia . This was the focus of the discussion regarding criteria for evaluation, and I think, for the moment, that closer examination of the texts would be more fruitful than with archaeological attempts to combine all current evidence on the nature of Achaemenid irrigation . The same situation holds for the subject of irrigation systems in the Persepolis and Pasargadae plains (Fig. 8). 6. Conclusion The archaeology of irrigation and agriculture has been always a major topic in ancient Near Eastern studies, not only for the Achaemenid period . This topic has gained further momentum in recent years . The control of water resources plays an important role in development of urban and rural communities . Studies on agriculture and irrigation systems could shed light on several aspects of human life in the past . Irrigation, therefore, constitutes a focus in which we can observe the interaction between demographic, geographic, political and other factors . Irrigation was not only necessary precondition for human habitation in southwest Iran; it was also a key for agriculture and economy of rural and urban settlements . Most likely, in the Achaemenid period, Agriculture production has been considered the most important economic activities stressed by ancient historians and one must effort to relate it to population and royal income . for the other parts of ancient Fars we have to think anew, engage in more surveys, or at least discuss more intensely what parts of archaeological and textual evidence are likely to apply both irrigation and agricultural activities . Perhaps, archaeological data together with written sources could direct this problem to a logic solution . There are several sorts of evidence . A part from the historical accounts, there is also, two prominent economic archives from Persepolis PFT and PTT . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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The Babylonian economy in the first millennium BC. In: G. Leick (ed.), The Babylonia World . London – New York, 224–235.

Karami, H . R . and Talebian, H . 2014 Water control system of Pasargad during Achaemenid period. Modares Archeological Research 5/10–11, 216–242. [in Persian] Kortum, G . 1976 Die Marvdasht-Ebene in Fars: Grundlagen und Entwicklung einer alten iranischen Bewässerungslandschaft . Kiel . Miroschedji, P . de 1981 Prospections archéologiques au Khuzistan en 1977. Délégation archéologique français en Iran 12, 169–192. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Mohamadkhani, K . 2014 Étude de l’urbanisme des villes achéménides: reconnaissances de surface et prospection géophysique à Dahaneh-e Gholaman (Sistan, Iran). Ph .D . thesis, University of Lyon, Lyon . Neely, J . A . and Wright, H . T . (eds .) 2010 Elamite and Achaemenid Settlement on the Deh Luran Plain: Towns and Villages of the Early Empires in Southwestern Iran . Michigan . Nicol, M . B . 1970 Rescue Excavation near Dorūdzan. East and West 20/3, 245–284. Stein, A . 1936 An Archaeological Tour in Ancient Persis . Iraq 3/2, 111–225. Stolper, M . W . 1985 Entrepreneurs and Empire: The Murašû Archive, the Murašû Firm, and Persian Rule in Babylonia . Leiden . Stolper, M . W . and Tavernier, J . 2007 From the Persepolis fortification archive project, 1: An Old Persian administrative tablet from the Persepolis fortification. Achaemenid Research on Texts and Archaeology 2007.001: 1–28. < http://www.achemenet.com/document/2007.001-Stolper-Tavernier.pdf> (last access 4.1.2018). Sumner, W . M . 1986 Achaemenid Settlement in the Persepolis Plain. American Journal of Archaeology 90/1, 3–31. 1990

Full-coverage regional archaeological survey in the Near East: an example from Iran. In: S . K . Fish and S . A . Kowalewski (eds .), The Archaeology of Regions: A Case for Full-Coverage Survey. Washington DC, 87–113.

Tadjvidi, A . 1976 New Knowledge about the Art and Archaeology of the Achaemenid Period on the Basis of Five Years of Excavations at Takht-e Jamshid . Tehran (in Persian) . Tuplin, C . 1996 Achaemenid Studies . Stuttgart . Vanden Berghe, L. 1959 Archéologie de l’Iran ancien . Leiden . Van Driel, G. 1988 Neo-Babylonian agriculture. Bulletin on Sumerian Agriculture 4, 121–159. 1990

Neo-Babylonian agriculture, part III: cultivation. Bulletin on Sumerian Agriculture 5, 219–266.

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Beyond the Palace

Fig . 1 Map of the Parse Pasargadae plains SW Iran (drawing by the author)

Fig. 2 Southern view of Band-e Doḵtar on the left bank of Kur River (photo by the author) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig . 3 Aerial photography of north-western Persepolis and peripheral area (courtesy of the Persepolis archive, modified by the author)

Fig . 4 Location of the Achaemenid site of Takht-e Rostam and a large earthen canal (courtesy of the Persepolis archive, modified by the author) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

Beyond the Palace

Fig . 5 Location of the Ali Abad spring in the wide Persepolis area (photo by the author)

Fig . 6 Remains of Achaemenid dam of Didegan (photo courtesy of H . Karami) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 7 Large canal irrigation and agriculture land in the margin of Sivand River

Fig. 8 The Achaemenid hydraulic and irrigation works (Google earth, modified by the author) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Settlement Continuity and Discontinuity in Northern Central-Oman Stephanie Döpper 1 and Conrad Schmidt 2 Abstract Two seasons of archaeological investigations at Al-Khashbah in northern Inner-Oman have provided crucial insights into the continuity and discontinuity of settlement patterns in this region, with a longterm perspective extending from the end of the 4th millennium BC to the Late Islamic period . The main phase of occupation of the site was during the 3rd millennium BC, to which numerous tombs and monumental tower structures date. Interestingly, the towers of the Hafit period (first half of the 3rd millennium BC) show clear traces of copper processing activities, while towers from the Umm an-Nar period (second half of the 3rd millennium BC) do not . Aside from some scant remains of the 2nd millennium BC, the site was not occupied further until the Late Islamic Period, from which period there is evidence for two small farming communities with irrigation channels . In conclusion, AlKhashbah was one of the most important sites of the 3rd millennium BC in Oman and never regained this status in any subsequent period . The reasons for this site preference in the 3rd millennium BC remain poorly understood .

1. Introduction In 2015, an ongoing archaeological research project was started by the University of Tübingen at Al-Khashbah in the Sultanate of Oman. The aim of the project is to record changes in the settlement pattern of this region from a long-term perspective, with a special focus given to the development of complex societies in the 3rd millennium BC . The site of Al-Khashbah is located south of the Al-Hajar mountain range in the Ash-Sharqiyah province, about 18km north of the modern town of Sinaw . It lies between two large wadi systems, the Wadi Indam in the west and the Wadi Samad in the east . The site is considered one of the most important 3rd millennium sites on the Omani peninsula, as it features one of the largest quantities of so-called tower structures of this period. The site is approximately 2 × 5km and is often mentioned in previous literature because of its unique square tower (Potts 1990: 102; Orchard and Stanger 1994: 82; Cable and Thornton 2013), but beyond surface surveys (Weisgerber 1980: 99–100; Yule 2001: 384; Al-Jahwari 2013), no excavations were conducted here prior to 2015.

1 2

Leiden University, Faculty of Archaeology . Tübingen University, Institute for Ancient Near Eastern Studies (IANES). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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2. Methods Within the University of Tübingen project, geophysical surveys, intensive field surveys, excavations, and large-scale aerial photography survey with different sized drones were carried out in order to document the archaeological remains at AlKhashbah. Remote sensing using open-source satellite images (Google Earth) was applied in order to map all features visible at ground level in a GIS system (QGIS). These recognized features were then physically visited for ground truthing and to gather information about their possible function and date . Photographic recording of all features was carried out and entered into the project’s database. As a result, 256 tombs of various periods, 9 Islamic cemeteries, 8 stone towers from the 3rd millennium, 28 Islamic mudbrick structures, 3 Islamic irrigation channels, and 5 unspecified structures were identified within the survey area, adding up to 310 archaeological features in total . In addition to the remote sensing, intensive surface surveys were conducted in selected areas. The intention was to identify accumulations of finds in areas where no features were detected through remote sensing, and at the same time to give more information about the function and date of identified archaeological structures. With this premise, 22 plots of 100 × 100m were chosen for intensive surface collection. The coordinates of every object found in the survey were measured with a hand-held GPS device (Garmin eTrex10). In total, 18,000 finds were made, consisting mainly of pottery, stone tools, slag, and furnace fragments . Geomagnetic and ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys were carried out by Jason Herrmann from the University of Tübingen, and Dominique Ngan-Tillard and Martijn Warnaar from the Technical University Delft. The geomagnetic survey was conducted using a Grad601 Magnetic Gradiometer, and the GPR survey using a Sensors and Software Pulse EKKO PRO with 250 and 500MHz antennas. These surveys covered five areas of different sizes, selected because of their surface finds or proximity to archaeological features . Furthermore, archaeological excavations were undertaken at three selected sites: the two tower structures Building II and Building V, and at Area B, a small hillock in the western part of Al-Khashbah . In order to assess aspects of continuity and discontinuity in the settlement pattern of Al-Khasbah, the archaeological evidence for each period are presented separately below . 3. Continuity and discontinuity of settlement patterns at Al-Khashbah 3.1 The Hafit period The earliest and most abundant archaeological remains at Al-Khashbah date to the Hafit period (3100–2700 BC). More than 200 tombs from this period were built on the ridges of a row of small hills that stretch from east to west through the site . Though they are in various states of preservation, these single chambered, above ground, stone-built tombs form a truncated cone or beehive shape in section . A group © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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of eleven tombs in the north of the site could not be identified as clearly belonging to the Hafit or the Umm an-Nar period without excavation. Their location in the plain argues for a connection to the Umm an-Nar period while their small size suggests them being of a Hafit period date. The most interesting area for the Hafit period is the small hillock in Area B where geophysical surveys were conducted . Those surveys revealed at least three large, approximately 20 × 20m structures that are nearly square in shape with rounded corners. Excavations proved them to be ditches of up to 3m in depth that were dug into the virgin soil just under the modern surface. Within the structures, the remains of mud-brick architecture were encountered (Schmidt and Döpper 2017: 5–7). The intensive surface collection of finds at this area produced minimal amounts of pottery that dated exclusively from the 18th to 20th century AD. However, 6400g of metal slag and 37 furnace fragments indicate that copper processing was one of the main activities at this site (Fig. 1). In addition, 484 stone artefacts were found. Most of them were debris and blade fragments, but some piercers, burins, scrapers, backed blades and points were identified (Fig. 2). Investigations were also undertaken at Building V, a round stone-built tower with a diameter of approximately 25m that is located directly next to one branch of the Wadi Samad. This tower was already mentioned by Weisgerber (1980: 99–100), and later on by Al-Jahwari and Kennet (2010) who referred to it as Structure 3. They emphasize the low quantities of Umm an-Nar pottery sherds found here . The University of Tübingen 2015 pedestrian survey revealed 995 furnace fragments, 4239g of slag and prills, 350g of copper ore and 96 Umm an-Nar period pottery sherds, and only 8 stone artefacts (Fig. 3). Excavations to the south of the building revealed additional walls and provided radiocarbon dates indicating the end of the 4th millennium BC (Schmidt and Döpper 2017: 10 fig. 14), making it one of the oldest towers discovered in Eastern Arabia so far. Within the excavations, no pottery was found. The pottery from the surface, however, is a clear indicator that this tower was also used in the Umm an-Nar period . 3.2 The Umm an-Nar period Many archaeological remains from the Umm an-Nar period (2700–2000 BC) were discovered at Al-Khashbah. These include 21 tombs situated in the plain to the south of Al-Khashbah. As in the Hafit period, these tombs are stone tombs built above ground, but in contrast to their earlier counterparts, they are larger and consist of several chambers . At least one of the tombs features a façade of white stone, so-called sugar lumps (Fig. 4). Six towers of the Umm an-Nar period are known, although two of them, Building III (no previous name) and Building VI (also called Tamr Hansel, Tauer Ḥanthel, or Structure 4), were destroyed by modern building activities . Therefore, their attribution to the Umm an-Nar period is supported only by earlier literature (Weisgerber 1980: 99–100; Yule 2001: 384; Al-Jahwari and Kennet 2010: 206). It is possible that © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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they could also be from an earlier date, as excavations were not carried out before their destruction . Among the still preserved towers is Building II . It is situated on a prominent hill overlooking the Wadi Samad. In contrast to the Hafit period towers, the intensive surface collection survey carried out here in 2015 revealed no slag or furnace fragments, but large quantities of typical Umm an-Nar period pottery (Fig. 5). This included one sherd of incised grey-ware imported from present day eastern Iran or western Pakistan . Small-scale excavations at the northeastern parts of its ring-wall provided evidence for a blocked entrance with small projections at either side, and radiocarbon analyses date the tower to around 2600 BC. The unique square structure Building IV (also called Al-Hind or Structure 1), stands in sharp contrast to the layout of all other known Umm an-Nar period towers (Weisgerber 1980: 99–100; Yule 2001: 384; Al-Jahwari and Kennet 2010: 203–205). Due to its special layout, a ritual function has been suggested for the building (Orchard and Orchard 2002: 230–232; Al-Jahwari and Kennet 2010: 205). During the 2015 pedestrian survey conducted by the University of Tübingen, large quantities of typical black on buff domestic Umm an-Nar period pottery were found, but almost no slag or furnace fragments (Fig. 6). Most of the pottery was found outside of the building . 3 .3 The Wadi Suq period Evidence is surprisingly scarce at Al-Khashbah for the subsequent Wadi Suq period (2000–1600 BC). No large monumental buildings such as the towers are known, and only six tombs were discovered during the surveys . Those tombs are elongated, below ground structures that are lined with stones on the surface . They seem to belong to Carter’s Type 5 of collective subterranean or semi-subterranean long burials (Carter 1997: 37–38). It is interesting to note that according to Carter, the southernmost examples of this type of tomb are found in the region of Hili and Mazyad/Hafit (Carter 1997: 53). However, as no excavations have been conducted at Al-Khashbah so far, the date of the structures can only be deduced from their layout . No pottery or other datable objects of the Wadi Suq period were found on the surface. After the Wadi Suq period, a long hiatus followed in the 1st millennia BC and AD. Iron Age structures that are so common in other regions of Oman were not discovered here . 3 .4 The Late Islamic period During the Late Islamic period, a substantial reoccupation of the site occurred. Nine Islamic cemeteries and 28 mudbrick structures were recorded. Most of the latter are located to the east of the modern oasis of Al-Khashbah, in the small settlement of Safrat al-Khashbah, and in the oasis itself, the settlement of Al-Khashbah proper . Connected to the Late Islamic structures are irrigation systems – the so called falaj– that continue to provide water for the oasis today . Other Late Islamic activities are visible in the pottery scatters encountered at various parts of the site . Often, they are © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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associated with shallow hills that feature a central depression . These might be interpreted as wells . The pottery from those scatters is mainly handmade and features a comb decoration (Fig. 7). This type of pottery is referred to as Coarse White Ware (WHT.CRS) by Power and can be dated to the 18th–20th century AD (Power 2015). It is found commonly throughout southeastern Arabia . Further activities from the last few centuries are visible in the archaeological record of Al-Khashbah, such as the petroglyphs on the Umm an-Nar tower Building IV. A variety of animal and human figures, including horsemen and camels, as well as geometric motifs, has been picked into the stones, especially on its northeastern corner. Although some of them were known from earlier reports (Al-Jahwari and Kennet 2010: 205; Fossati 2015), a comprehensive study of the more than 100 petroglyphs was conducted first during the 2016 field season. 4. Summary and discussion Concerning changes in the settlement pattern of the region in a long-term perspective, we can first of all see that the settlement as well as the funerary landscape of Al-Khashbah changes considerably over time . In the 3rd millennium, tombs from the Hafit period can be found stretching over the whole area of Al-Khashbah, nearly exclusively on top of small hills . Only one group of tombs can be found in the plain to the north of the site, and these might be either from the Hafit or Umm an-Nar period. The towers and other settlement remains of the Hafit period are located in the centre of the site . In the following Umm an-Nar period, towers still can be found in roughly the same area, with some of the structures built during the Hafit period continuing to be in use, like Building V. The funerary landscape, however, presents a different picture . Tombs are no longer placed on the hills but in the plain, and they concentrate in a small area west of Building IV rather than being spread over the entire site . Their number is also much lower than in the preceding period. For the Hafit period, 205 tombs were recorded, while only 21 for the Umm an-Nar period . This should not be equated with a decrease in population size, however, but rather with a change in funerary practices. While Hafit tombs were normally built to hold only one to a few individuals, those from the Umm anNar period are collective tombs, capable of holding several dozen people . Nevertheless, it shows a concentration of structures in the centre of the site instead of the widespread distribution of archaeological remains during the Hafit period. Thus, we can see a clear continuity in the location and size of the towers from the Hafit to the Umm an-Nar period, while there is a clear discontinuity in the pattern of funerary landscape, indicating changes in ideology and beliefs. Generally, the 3rd millennium was the major phase of occupation for Al-Khashbah. The 2nd millennium, with only six identified tombs and no other archaeological remains, shows a drastic decrease in site occupation . There are no archaeological remains known so far for all subsequent centuries until the Late Islamic Period . These structures can be © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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encountered nearly everywhere at Al-Khashbah, albeit on a humble scale . Thus, although most of the site is populated during the Late Islamic period, it is not a major site compared to the 3rd millennium BC . Pottery clusters connected to wells or falaj irrigation systems are located all over the site, as are small Late Islamic cemeteries . The two Late Islamic mud-brick settlements are in the eastern part of the site, one in the modern oasis and one close to the Jebel Khashbah. Secondly, the resources consumed at Al-Khashbah and which attracted people to the site changed over time . The pedestrian surveys show that the towers dating to the Hafit period, such as Area B and Building V, feature large amounts of slag, prills and furnace fragments, which indicate large-scale copper processing during that period . Towers that date exclusively to the Umm an-Nar period like Building II and Building IV, on the other hand, do not show signs of this activity. Therefore, it can be concluded that copper processing ended in Al-Khashbah in the second half of the 3rd millennium BC . This contrasts with the current state of research, in which copper production is thought to have existed only in limited quantities during the Hafit period, and prospered during the Umm an-Nar period (Magee 2014; Weeks 2003; Hauptmann 1985; Weisgerber 1981). Why copper processing stopped in Al-Khashbah in the Umm an-Nar period is still unclear. Yet without copper, Al-Khashbah ceased to be of interest to people . There is no evidence of irrigation or agriculture found so far for the entire 3rd millennium BC, although the Umm an-Nar period is generally seen as the time when agriculture became prevalent in Eastern Arabia (Cleuziou and Tosi 2007; Al-Jahwari 2009; Magee 2014), notwithstanding that this view is not unchallenged (Schmidt forthcoming). Consequently, the people at Al-Khashbah were most likely mobile pastoralists that seasonally settled at Al-Khashbah, a site that doubtlessly served multiple purposes, one of which included copper processing . In the Late Islamic period, when Al-Khashbah was resettled after a long hiatus, agriculture clearly became the dominant exploited resource . This became possible with the invention of the falaj in the 1st millennium BC . This irrigation system consists of gently sloping underground channels with a series of vertical access shafts, used to transport water from an aquifer. Different falaj systems are visible at the site dating to the Late Islamic period. As rainfall is not sufficient in this region to support rain-fed agriculture, artificial irrigation was the only way to practice yearround agriculture . Copper processing, as known from the 3rd millennium BC, is not in evidence at all . In summary, Al-Khashbah was of great interest to people during the 3rd millennium BC, when they invested large amounts of manpower and resources in the building of monumental tower structures . These are linked to copper processing although this is surely not their only function . This was done by a society in which agriculture and sedentism seem not to have played a major role. In no period thereafter did AlKhashbah reach the same level of development, being mainly unoccupied until the Late Islamic period . The factors that made Al-Khashbah so favourable for people in the 3rd millennium BC are, however, still poorly understood and are a subject for future research . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Acknowledgements This article was written during a Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt foundation (Stephanie Döpper) and a German Research Foundation individual research grand (Conrad Schmidt). The archaeological program for this research was conducted under the auspices of the Ministry of Heritage and Culture of the Sultanate of Oman, and made possible through funds from the German Research Foundation and the Future Concept of the University of Tübingen, Platform 4 ‘Education – Society – Norms – Ethical Reflection’, within the framework of the Excellence Initiative. The authors would like to thank Mr. Sultan al-Bakri, Director General for Archaeology and Museums, and Mr. Othman al-Wardi and Mr. Walid Hamed, local representatives of the Ministry in Al-Khashbah . Further thanks go to Jason Herrmann from the University of Tübingen and Dominique Ngan-Tillard and Martijn Warnaar from TU Delft for conducting the geomagnetic and GPR survey, to Philippe Kluge from Anhalt University, Matthias Lang, Dieta-Frauke Svoboda, Andrej Girod and Luca Brunke from the eScience centre at the University of Tübingen for planning and operating the drone flights as well as processing the aerial photographs. Thanks also go to all team members that participated in the 2015 and 2016 field seasons.

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Fossati, A. E. 2015 Rock Art Mission Report. Bat (Kasr al-Sleme) – Khadal, Safri 1, Khasbah, and Rock Art Sites in Adh Dhahirah Region (Ibri, Yanqul and Dank) (15 November–9 December 2015) . Unpublished report prepared for the Ministry of Heritage and Culture . Sultanate of Oman . Hauptmann, A . 1985 5000 Jahre Kupfer in Oman. Der Anschnitt, Beiheft 4. Bochum. Magee, P . 2014 The Archaeology of Prehistoric Arabia Adaptation and Social Formation from the Neolithic to the Iron Age. New York. Orchard, J. and Stanger, G. 1994 Third millennium oasis towns and environmental constraints on settlement in the al-Hajar region . Iraq 56, 63–100. Orchard, J. and Orchard, J. 2002. The work of the Al Hajar project in Oman. Journal of Oman Studies 12, 227–234. Potts, D. T. 1990 The Arabian Gulf in Antiquity. Vol. 1. From Prehistory to the Fall of the Achaemenid Empire . Oxford . Power, T . 2015 A first ceramic chronology for the Late Islamic Arabian Gulf. Journal of Islamic Archaeology 2/1, 1–33. Schmidt, C . forthcoming Pastoral Nomadism in 3rd Millennium BC Eastern Arabia . Schmidt, C. and Döpper, S. 2017 The development of complexity at 3rd millennium BC al-Khashbah, Sultanate of Oman: results of the first two seasons. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 47, 1–16. Weeks, L . 2003 Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf: Technology, Trade, and the Bronze Age World. American School of Prehistoric Research Monograph Series . Boston . Weisgerber, G. 1980 „... und Kupfer in Oman“ – Das Oman-Projekt des Deutschen Bergbau-Museums. Der Anschnitt 32/2–3, 62–110. 1981

Mehr als Kupfer in Oman: Ergebnisse der Expedition 1981. Der Anschnitt 33/5–6, 174–263.

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Fig . 1 Results of the intensive surface survey at the small hillock in Area B

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Fig. 3 Results of the intensive surface survey at Building V

Fig . 4 Umm an-Nar period tomb with façade of white sugar lumps © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 5 Results of the intensive surface survey at Building II

Fig . 6 Results of the intensive surface survey at Building IV © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 7 Coarse White Ware found at Al-Khashbah

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The Urban Landscape of Upper Nubia (Northern Sudan) in the Second Millennium BC Julia Budka 1 Abstract The region of Northern Sudan referred to as Upper Nubia (Kush) is rich in archaeological remains and monuments datable to the 2nd millennium BC . These Upper Nubian monuments are mostly stone temples of the Egyptian New Kingdom, originally integrated into settlements and fortified towns that are not fully explored at present. Little is known about the domestic architecture, structure, social stratification and material culture of Pharaonic settlements in Nubia from this period . As one of the most important New Kingdom settlement sites in Upper Nubia, Sai Island has been the focus of the European Research Council project AcrossBorders since 2012 . Based on the fresh data from AcrossBorders’ ongoing excavations, this paper presents the current state of knowledge regarding the evolution of the Pharaonic town on Sai Island and its role in the urban landscape of New Kingdom Kush . The question of whether Upper Nubian sites contribute to our understanding of Egyptian urbanism in general will also be addressed .

1. Introduction The area between the Second and the Third Nile Cataract, Upper Nubia (Kush), is rich in archaeological remains and monuments datable to the New Kingdom (c. 1550‒1077 BC), testifying to intense Egyptian involvement in Nubia during this period (Zibelius-Chen 2013: 135–155) . The still-standing remains are primarily stone temples, which used to be part of fortresses and fortified towns built in mud brick and therefore often now vanished or unexplored . Within their former context of settlement sites, these temples allow tracing general aspects of settlement patterns along the Middle Nile . The dense cluster of Egyptian sites between the Second and Third Cataract was recently highlighted as not only a general zone of political influence and the Egyptian ‘re-conquest’ of Kush, but also as a region along the Nile rich in gold (Klemm and Klemm 2013: 569–570) . Gold and sandstone were the prime resources in the Upper Nubian area exploited by the Egyptians during the New Kingdom (Spence and Rose 2009) . Thus, the Egyptian sites in the region of Kush can serve as a case study to explore relations between the environment, topographical particulars, economic aspects and the specific forms and organisation of the towns .

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Ludwig Maximilians Universität München . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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2. The Nubian temple towns of the New Kingdom As in Egypt, New Kingdom rural occupation and the smaller villages of Kush are difficult to trace (Edwards 2012: 66–74). The better-understood settlements fall into the category of temple towns, displaying common features despite a strong local individuality possibly reflective of the topographic situation. Following Kemp, temple towns are purpose built fortified towns with an enclosure wall and a prominent stone temple within the settlement area (Kemp 1972: 651–656; Morris 2005: 5) . In most of the major Egyptian centres, including Soleb, only the temples have been properly investigated and the urban remains are still largely unknown . According to our present understanding, the temple towns of Kush can be considered as ‘elite residential, administrative and cult centres’ (Morkot 1995: 176) . Sites like Sai consist of an enclosure wall with towers/buttresses and main gates, a stone temple for an Egyptian deity, large magazines, administrative buildings and typical Egyptian houses . An orthogonal layout is often traceable for these features and reflects urban planning. 3. Current state of research The general pattern of Egyptian organisation/administration in Northern Sudan is quite well understood and most studies have focused on economic and strategic aspects. However, the specific microhistories of the major sites are still unclear and aspects like the character and density of occupation remain open questions (Budka 2015c: 41). There is also no common understanding regarding the social interconnections and power hierarchies of Egyptians and Nubians in the temple towns . Entanglement and appropriation are thought to be highly relevant phenomena, and most scholars today believe in a significant impact by indigenous elements (van Pelt 2013: 523–550; Spencer 2014: 42–61). The projects most important for New Kingdom settlement archaeology in Upper Nubia are the missions currently working at Amara West (Spencer 2014), Sai (Doyen 2009, 2014; Budka 2011, 2015a, 2015b, 2015c) and Sesebi (Spence and Rose 2009; Spence et al. 2011) . The environmental settings of these sites are being explored (e .g . Spencer et al . 2012) and various aspects of archaeometry conducted . Geoarchaeological and interdisciplinary applications like soil sampling, micromorphology and isotope analysis are especially common (Spencer et al . 2012; Budka 2015c; Spataro et al . 2015; Woodward et al . 2015) . 4. The case study of Sai Island As one of the most important New Kingdom settlement sites in Upper Nubia, Sai Island has been the focus of the European Research Council project AcrossBorders since 2012 (Fig. 1). The site can be understood as the prime example for settlement © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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policy of New Kingdom Egypt in Upper Nubia from the early 18th dynasty onwards . The prominence of Sai for understanding the 18th dynasty activities in Nubia is connected with the strong Kerma presence on the island . Prior to the New Kingdom, extensive Kerma cemeteries illustrate the importance of the site (Gratien 1986; Budka and Doyen 2013: 170) . The common view in Egyptology is that Sai was founded by King Ahmose Nebpehtyra to act as ‘bridgehead’ (Davies 2005: 51) towards the south, and for campaigns against Kerma . AcrossBorders has opened new excavation areas within the town, adding important knowledge concerning the layout of the town, its evolution and changing character . Together with resumed work in the pyramid cemetery SAC5, fresh evidence for reconstructing the establishment of Pharaonic administration in Upper Nubia was discovered (see Budka 2015c) . 4.1 Geoarchaeology and landscape: the setting of the New Kingdom town The fortified Pharaonic town was built on the eastern bank of the large island of Sai (Fig. 1). The geology of Sai comprises several types of metamorphic Precambrian rocks and Nubian sandstone, largely covered by thin layers of comparably much younger Nile sediments (Garcea and Hildebrand 2009: 305, fig. 1; Draganits 2014: 20) . Little is known about the eastern part of the New Kingdom town, and it was usually assumed that the eastern perimeter wall had collapsed into the Nile (Geus 2004: 115, fig. 89, based on Azim 1975: 94, pl. II). Recent fieldwork and geological surveys of the sandstone cliff allowed a modification of this assessment.2 From the geoarchaeological point of view, severe erosion in this part of the island is unlikely, based on the observation of the low incision rate of the Nile (Draganits 2014: 22). Additional arguments against the collapse include the existence of a broad Nile terrace east of the Pharaonic site and the presence below the town of Nubian sandstone without indications for slope failure . The nature of the riverine alluvial platform and the sandstone cliff suggest that there was a simple landing ground, maybe sheltered by the steep cliff just east of the temple or at the north-eastern corner of the town . The latter, site 8-B-522, clearly functioned as mooring area in Christian times, as is well attested by Medieval graffiti and buoys for tying ship ropes at a very high level of the cliff (see Hafsaas-Tsakos and Tsakos 2012: 85–87) . Kite aerial photography on Sai has resulted in high-resolution orthophotos and a digital surface model created by Martin Fera (Fig. 2; Fera and Budka 2016: 20). The surface model allows for understanding the layout and setting of the town in relation to the basic landscape features like terrain, vegetation and water . This is especially

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AcrossBorders’ geoarchaeological research was conducted by Erich Draganits in 2014 and by Sayantani Neogi in 2015 . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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relevant for reconstructing the exact location of the town walls, as well as for ideas about the internal structure of the site . To test the hypothesis that the eastern town wall ran along the cliff, a 15 × 3m trench was opened in the north-eastern corner of the site in 2016 . Despite a high degree of erosion and Post-Pharaonic remains close to the surface, some mud brick remains of the 18th dynasty were documented . The outline of the enclosure wall was found, allowing the reconstruction of the eastern side . This discovery is highly relevant for establishing the general size of the town (Fig. 3): the fortified New Kingdom settlement measures 238m north‒south and 118m east‒west, for a total of 27,600m² (2 .76ha) (Adenstedt 2016) . 4.2 The inner structure and layout of the New Kingdom town In order to achieve a more complete understanding of the layout of the 18th dynasty occupation, the new excavation area SAV1 East was opened in 2013, 30‒50m north of Temple A at the eastern edge of the town (Fig. 3). The new squares were placed where the outline of an orthogonal building was visible on the geophysical survey map from 2011 .3 The structure is aligned with Temple A and the main north-south road, thus following the orientation of the buildings in the southern part of the town (SAV1), and therefore suggesting a 18th dynasty date (Budka 2013: 80–81) . Linear outlines filled with sand were revealed just below the surface, representing the negative outlines of the walls visible as anomalies on the magnetometer survey map . The Pharaonic building material, once forming these walls, had been almost completely removed during Medieval and Ottoman times. Excavations confirmed the orthogonal outline, alignment and date of a large mid-18th dynasty structure, labelled Building A (Budka 2015c: 43–45). 4.3 Building A at SAV1 East Building A was constructed on terraces, with the lowest part in the east and much higher levels in the west . The key element of Building A is a large central courtyard (12.4 × 16.2m). Although the state of preservation is very fragmentary, the outline of Building A is similar to SAF2, the governor’s residence in the southern part of the town (Fig. 3; Budka 2013: 85, fig. 12). Based on ceramics from the foundation trench, Building A belongs to the major remodelling of Sai during the reign of Thutmose III, making it contemporaneous with Temple A and the structures in the southern part of the town . One of the most important finds in SAV1 East is Feature 15, a subterranean room located in the central courtyard of Building A . Dug into the natural gravel deposit,

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Feature 15 (5.6 × 2.2 × 1.2m) represents a storage installation with a (now missing) vaulted roof . Its inner part is lined with red bricks, which also form the pavement of the structure (see Budka 2015a: 62) . Based on the number of ashy deposits, large amounts of charcoal, hundreds of doum palm (Hyphaene thebaica) fruits and abundant animal bones with traces of burning, Feature 15 was probably used as a room for food preparation . The discovery of more than 80 almost intact vessels (plates, dishes, beakers, storage jars, zir vessels and pot stands) also supports a connection with food serving. Furthermore, more than 200 remains of scarab seals on clay sealings were documented, comprising a large number with royal names (Amenhotep I, Hatshepsut and Thutmose III) and various floral decorations in a style typical for the Second Intermediate Period (see Budka 2015c: 45). Thanks to a stratigraphic sequence, several phases of use can be reconstructed for Feature 15 (Budka 2015c: Table 1) which mirror the building phases of Temple A and its surroundings (Azim and Carlotti 2011–2012: 39–46). Overall, Feature 15 contributes significantly to the understanding of the function of Building A . The large number of seal impressions, presumably used to seal boxes and chests containing diverse materials, indicate that Building A was used for the storage and distribution of products, possibly in close connection with the nearby temple. The early phase of Feature 15 might be directly related to the assumed landing place on Sai and therefore relevant for understanding the nature of the Egyptian presence in the first half of the 18th dynasty (see below) . 4.4 The enclosure wall at SAV1 West In 2014, the new site SAV1 West was opened in line with the western town gate in order to search for the town enclosure, its date, structure and stratigraphic position (Budka 2015a: 63–65) . Both the New Kingdom town enclosure and the contemporaneous remains on the inner side of this wall were investigated . Despite much ancient destruction, the complete thickness of the town wall is now visible (4.3–4.5m) and in some parts, the foundation level has been reached . The alignment of the enclosure wall follows exactly the plan as assumed by previous surveying (Azim 1975: 94, pl . II, 120–122) . West of the newly exposed section of the western town wall, a ditch was observed similar to findings by Azim at the main city gate (Azim 1975: 121–122). A sequence of augering transects was conducted in 2016 by Sayantani Neogi and Sean Taylor in order to investigate the area. These transects indicate that this feature is a sand-filled depression within the alluvium of at least 3.4m in depth and is likely to be the source of raw material for the mud bricks used for the architecture of the town . The creation of the deep ditch through the extraction of this material raises a number of additional questions, since temple towns in Nubia are not known to have any defensive character (see below) . The most significant results from SAV1 West are: (1) The confirmed position of the western town wall (Fig. 3) and its Thutmoside date; (2) the lack of evidence © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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of early 18th dynasty activity at SAV1 West, contrasting with the excavation results from sectors SAV1 North and SAV1 East; (3) the in situ New Kingdom structures east of the town wall show several phases and span from the mid-18th dynasty to the early 19th dynasty . 4.5 Outer settlement structure at Sai Fresh fieldwork by AcrossBorders underscored the role of Sai Island as administrative centre of Kush during the Thutmoside Period (Budka 2015a: 57; Budka 2015b: 74–81). From a strategic perspective, it seems that the New Kingdom town of Sai was founded at the perfect place on the island . Its location was not chosen because of the potential for adjacent cultivation and agricultural lands, but rather in order to control river traffic and to facilitate the mooring and loading of ships. The New Kingdom town’s strategic position depended on topographic features that were used for the same purpose until the medieval era (Hafsaas-Tsakos and Tsakos 2012: 85– 87) . Besides the importance of acquiring Sai as the northern stronghold of the Kerma state empire, the Egyptians seem to have also preferred the site due to the natural resources of the area . Egypt’s interest in gold and sandstone is well known, and both materials are available in the region of Sai; Nubian gold was a major economic interest for a long span of Egyptian history (Müller 2013: 74–79). Several quarry remains between the New Kingdom town and cemetery (including chisel marks and a cut-out for a column base) illustrate that the ‘white sandstone’ from Sai, used for building projects further north, such as at Kumma and Semna, and attested in hieroglyphic texts (Caminos 1998: 51, nr. 37, 74–75, nr. 59 and 61, 76–77, nr . 63), was actually coming from the island .4 To understand the outer settlement structure, possible cemeteries associated with the town also have to be taken into account . On Sai, the most important Egyptian cemetery lies approximately 800m south of the Pharaonic town . SAC5 was partly excavated by the French mission and recently published (Minault-Gout and Thill 2012) . Similar to other Egyptian sites in Nubia such as Aniba, Amara West and Tombos, Pharaonic style tombs with mud-brick chapels and pyramid superstructures had been built at SAC5 (Budka 2015d) . In 2015, AcrossBorders resumed work in SAC5 . A new shaft tomb with very scarce remains of a superstructure was discovered and christened Tomb 26 . The rectangular shaft is aligned north‒south and measures approximately 2.6 × 1.8m, with a depth of more than 5.2m. The most important objects from the shaft fill are three sandstone fragments giving the name and title of the deputy of Kush Hornakht, an official active during the reign of Ramesses II. A pyramidion inscribed with Hornakht’s name and title (SAC5 215) provides clear proof that the highest official of

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For unclear reasons, Sai is not listed in a recent article about sandstone resources in Nubia (Harrell 2016) . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Kush was buried somewhere in SAC5, if not in Tomb 26 itself . This evidence for the use of SAC5 by high-ranking officials of the early 19th dynasty Egyptian administration is of great importance because it is well established that Amara West was the administrative centre of Kush from the reign of Seti I until the end of the New Kingdom . Obviously, there were strong links between Sai and Amara West during this period that we still do not completely understand (Budka 2015c: 48). 5. The urban landscape of New Kingdom Kush Based on AcrossBorders’ fieldwork in both the town and the cemetery, the following three main phases can be proposed for the development of New Kingdom Sai (Budka 2015c): • Phase A . In the early 18th dynasty, Sai was probably little more than a simple landing place and supply base for the Egyptians during the reigns of Ahmose Nebpehtyra, Amenhotep I and Thutmose I . The size and internal structure of the town at this early stage remains unclear and there is no sign of an enclosure wall . • Phase B . The walled settlement was established during the time of Thutmose III, and became an important administrative centre with an Amun-Re temple, a governor’s residence, and Building A as a substantial administrative building . The enlargement of the site goes hand in hand with increasing complexity, and varied lifestyles amongst the inhabitants suggest a complex social stratification. Sai Island was now the administrative headquarter of Upper Nubia and continued to flourish until the reign of Amenhotep III. • Phase C. New finds from both the town site and cemetery SAC5 stress the continued importance of Sai during the 19th dynasty . The island was still used by high officials as burial place, including the deputy of Kush. The new information from Sai seems to be highly relevant for understanding distinct phases of the Egyptian occupation in Upper Nubia . Evidence from Sai suggests that the Egyptian sites were largely dependent on Egypt in the early 18th dynasty – the region was centrally administered and supplies were brought from Egypt, including ceramics (Budka 2017) . Evidence for greater independence of the temple towns in Nubia only appeared during the reigns of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III, as reflected by the new system of administration, introducing the deputy of Kush. This new phasing for the evolution of Sai allows us to associate the city walls and temples in New Kingdom sites in Nubia primarily with the representation of ‘symbolic authority’ (Emberling et al. 2015: 306–307) . Other than being real strategic and military features, the demonstration of authority by the mayor, the deputy, but first of all of the Egyptian state, was of prime importance. The temple towns flourished and dominated the landscape of Upper Nubia only after the defeat of the Kerma kingdom . At Sai, the aspect of the Egyptian architecture to symbolise © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Pharaonic authority was perhaps further enhanced by the ditch in front of the western town wall . 6. Discussion: New input for Egyptian urbanism? Whether Upper Nubian sites contribute to our understanding of Egyptian urbanism and cities in New Kingdom Egypt in general shall be discussed briefly. A new study by Snape includes a checklist for the ‘citiness’ of Egyptian sites and is in this respect relevant – with the presence of elite officials, participation in trade/exchange/harbours, concentrations of crafts, and administrative functions over a territory larger than the city itself, Sai fulfils most of his city criteria (Snape 2014: 22). Furthermore, a recent update by Moeller about settlement archaeology in Egypt is also noteworthy, in that the results from Sai tie in nicely with the general new stage of Egyptian settlement archaeology, thanks to a broad set of multiple data (Moeller 2016: 38–41).5 All in all, despite the common comparative approach to studying urbanism in ancient Egypt (Trigger 2003; Pedersén et al. 2010 with further literature), a site-specific approach seems necessary to reconstruct the urban landscape during the New Kingdom . The case study of Sai Island illustrates that much information for the evolution of a Pharaonic town can be achieved through combining diverse analytical methods and extended fieldwork. The reconstructed occupation phases and the evidence from Sai are relevant in a broader context and will help us understand the process of ‘colonizing’ Nubia during the 18th dynasty . The changing relevance of raw materials, trade routes and general administrative patterns strongly illustrates the high potential of a bottom-up approach for urban patterns. Finally, the solid economic interest based on sandstone and gold, which was relevant for the foundation and distribution of New Kingdom towns in Nubia, is of historical importance to understand Egyptian settlement policy in the 2nd millennium BC . Acknowledgements Funds for fieldwork on Sai Island were granted to Julia Budka by the European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant no. 313668) and the Austrian Science Fund (FWF START project Y615–G19). AcrossBorders’ fieldwork is conducted with the approval and in cooperation with the former (Didier Devauchelle; UMR 8164 HALMA-IPEL, University Charles-de-Gaulle Lille 3, France) and current concession

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Moeller only tackles the time from the Predynastic period to the end of the Middle Kingdom; especially relevant is her summary of the history of research and status of settlement archaeology in Egypt, see Moeller 2016, 31–41. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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holders (Vincent Francigny; SFDAS, Khartoum). Permission to work in the field is kindly granted by the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums of Sudan (NCAM) and sincere thanks go in particular to Abdelrahman Ali Mohamed (Director General), El-Hassan Ahmed Mohamed (Director of Fieldwork) and Huda Magzoub (NCAM inspector) . The 2016 assessment of the mooring area and the sandstone quarries on Sai would not have been possible without the expertise of Dietrich and Rosemarie Klemm and their on-site visit . Many thanks for the illustrations of this paper go to Ingrid Adenstedt and Martin Fera. The written English of this paper was kindly improved by Meg Gundlach .

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Spencer, N., Macklin, M. and Woodward, J. 2012 Re-assessing the abandonment of Amara West: The impact of a changing Nile? Sudan and Nubia 16, 37–47. Trigger, B . G . 2003 Understanding Early Civilizations: A Comparative Study . Cambridge . Woodward, J., Macklin, M., Fielding, L., Millar, I., Spencer, N., Welsby, D. and Williams, M. 2015 Shifting sediment sources in the world’s longest river: A strontium isotope record for the Holocene Nile, Quaternary Science Reviews 130, 124–140. Zibelius-Chen, K . 2013 Nubien wird ägyptische Kolonie . In: S . Wenig and K . Zibelius-Chen (eds .), Die Kulturen Nubiens – ein afrikanisches Vermächtnis . Dettelbach, 135–155 .

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Fig. 1 Country map of Sudan in Africa, with location of Sai Island

The Urban Landscape of Upper Nubia (Northern Sudan) in the Second Millennium BC

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Fig. 2 Digital Surface Model (shaded relief) of the New Kingdom town of Sai (©AcrossBorders, Martin Fera 2016)

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The Urban Landscape of Upper Nubia (Northern Sudan) in the Second Millennium BC

Fig. 3 Map of the New Kingdom town of Sai with reconstructed town walls (©AcrossBorders, Ingrid Adenstedt 2016)

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Creating Imperial Capitals: From Aššur to Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta Aris Politopoulos 1 Abstract In the Late Bronze Age, the Near East witnessed an unprecedented growth of imperial states . From the Mitanni empire to the Middle Assyrian empire, and from the Hittite empire to that in Egypt, several states developed into imperial political entities with considerable territorial extent and comprising of various politically distinct societies . One of the main developments in these empires was the creation of an imperial capital as the administrative center of the state . Many of these capitals were new foundations: Dūr-Kurigalzu in Babylon, Tarhuntašša in the Hittite empire, el-Amarna in Egypt, and KārTukultī-Ninurta in the Assyrian empire. In this paper, I will investigate the reasons behind the foundation of new capital cities through the case of Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta. This study is part of an ongoing PhD project that aims to address the concept of imperial capital creation in the Late Bronze Age (LBA) and Early Iron Age (EIA) Near East by focusing on the Assyrian empire . I will also discuss some of the methodological and theoretical issues that pertain to this research .

1. Capital creation in context The construction of new capital cities is a phenomenon that occurs throughout the history of empires and states . For the description of this phenomenon, I use the term ‘capital creation’. That term defines the construction of a monumental capital often at a new location or through the transformation of a pre-existing settlement . It is a practice connected to nation and empire building and usually happens in association with the articulation and consolidation of new political and territorial aspirations . In Tables 1 and 2, one can observe the historicity of the phenomenon both in synchronic as well as diachronic terms . The roots of this phenomenon can be traced back to the earliest imperial states of the ancient Near East. This began with the elevation of Akkad to an ‘imperial’ capital during the Sargonic period . Later instances include the capital of el-Amarna in Egypt and Kassite Dūr-Kurigalzu. My PhD project focuses on a comparative overview and study of all the Assyrian capital cities (Aššur, Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta, Kalḫu, Dur-Šarrukēn and Nineveh). The aim of the project is the identification and comprehension, through the examination of material evidence, of the phenomenon of capital creation in the Assyrian empire and its connection to imperial formation, control and consolidation. In the final stage,

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it aims to contribute to broader discussions revolving around the foundation of capital cities as a practice of statecraft by exploring those concepts and ideas that first sparked the practice . While each individual city has been studied extensively in isolation, comprehensive archaeological research on this phenomenon is absent . One of the few existing concepts is the idea of ‘disembedded capitals’, introduced by Joffe in 1998. He defined disembedded capitals as “ . . . urban sites founded de novo and designed to supplant existing patterns of authority and administration [ . . .] Disembedded capitals were typically founded by new elites [ . . .] as part of innovations designed to simultaneously undercut competing factions and create new patterns of allegiance and authority . . .” (Joffe 1998: 549) . The concept has been criticized (Yoffee 2005: 22–38) and is no longer used much. This is in part because it approaches the phenomenon of capital creation from a checklist approach that oversimplifies the complexities at stake (Joffe 1998: 551). Moreover, the model suggests that elites initiate capital creation in order to undermine existing power structures, and does not take into account broader historical processes that might be at play, nor does it account for the risks and investments required for the undertaking of such a massive project. In that sense, focusing only on the (motivations of) leaders and authoritarian governments can also have a negative impact on the perception of the phenomenon . Quite often, grandiose projects such as capital creation are attributed exclusively to their respective kings, viewing them as ‘creators’. A modern example for such an approach comes from the relocation of the capital of Malawi from Zomba to Liliongwe (Table 1). Potts, in her paper on the topic, argues that the most important factor in the relocation of the capital was the desire and the ‘unique decision-making’ power of President Banda (Potts 1985: 188). She considers that the regional planning needs of Malawi were not a primary objective but rather were a post-hoc rationalization to make the project a matter of personal prestige rather than as a rational initiative to restructure the country’s space and economy . Similarly, several ancient capitals have been directly associated with the authoritarian power or the charismatic personalities of specific kings. Such an example is the case study of Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta, which will be examined below. I am not arguing that personal traits of an authoritarian ruler could not be potential factors . However, “ . . . to focus on the idiosyncrasies of character may obscure common themes; outcomes should not be reduced to ruler’s preferences ...” (Schatz 2004: 117). I argue that focusing only on personality traits, literally ‘disembeds’ capital creation from its culture-historical context by privileging abstract notions of charismatic leaders who single-handedly impacted and changed history . My PhD project, therefore, takes a more systematic and synthetic approach by asking: How can we understand capital creation in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Near East? Through the investigation of Assyrian capital cities, it aims to answer i) why capital creation was deemed necessary, ii) how were new capital cities constructed and iii) what were the social, political, administrative and economic functions of the capital . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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2. Case study of the paper This paper investigates the relocation of the Assyrian capital from Aššur to KārTukultī-Ninurta. Joffe (1998: 557) includes Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta in his examples of disembedded capitals. Starting with Aššur, I will argue that the creation of the new capital by Tukultī-Ninurta can be directly connected with the evolution of the Assyrian state to an empire . 2.1 Aššur The city of Aššur has a unique role among the capitals of Assyria. Considerable archaeological excavation conducted over 150 years offers a large amount of evidence for investigating the urban and ideological development of the city (Hausleiter 2011: 59–60). For the purposes of this paper, I am interested in the building activity that took place between the independence of Assyria from the Mitanni empire until the death of Tukultī-Ninurta I. In historical terms, I suggest reconstructing the expansion of the Middle Assyrian empire in four phases (see Table 3). The first phase corresponds with the beginnings of the independent Assyrian kingdom, followed by a large expansion phase during the reign of the kings Adad-nērārī I (1307–1275 BCE) and Shalmaneser I (1274– 1244 BCE). Phase 3 begins with the reign of Tukultī-Ninurta I (1243–1207 BCE), which I describe as an ‘imperial leap’ (see following section) and finally phase 4, with a recession and a brief re-expansion of the empire . During phase 2 and 3, the Middle Assyrian state witnessed an unprecedented expansion and period of consolidation, giving it a unique status among other imperial formations of the LBA Near East (Düring 2015: 303–304). The continuous military and territorial growth went hand in hand with the development of an imperial core with associated massive building projects (Table 4). The building activity on the citadel of Aššur reflects this point. The royal inscriptions of both Adad-nērārī I and Shalmaneser I inform us about several reconstructions and restorations of important buildings (Grayson 1987). The largest development projects however were conducted during the reign of Tukultī-Ninurta I. Renovation activities can be seen on the city walls, with the incorporation of a moat at the end of the king’s reign (Grayson 1987: A.0.78.19), the Old Palace (Pedde and Lundström 2008: 163–165), the Aššur Temple (Schmitt in press), and the Temple of Sîn-Šamaš (Werner 2009). More importantly, however, two ex-novo projects were undertaken: the construction of the New Palace and the reconstruction of the Temple of Ištar at a new location (Schmitt 2012). The first of these new projects had a profound impact on the urban fabric of the city. The palace was probably constructed during the beginning of the king’s reign, on top of a massive terrace covering an area of approximately 29,000m2 (Andrae 1977: 162–163). In order to create this platform, a number of residential buildings had to be destroyed. There are only limited archaeological traces of the palace, © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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since the area was redeveloped once again during the Neo Assyrian period (Miglus 1996: 89–93). This period of dynamic changes to the city peaks with the remodelling projects undertaken during the reign of Tukultī-Ninurta, and they reflect the changing perspective of the state itself . It was precisely at this moment when the empire decided to create a new city, close to Aššur, the role of which will be discussed. 2.2 Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta is located roughly 3–4 km north of Aššur. The site was identified as modern Tulul al-Aqar in 1911 (Sarre et al. 1911: 1:212, 4:2), and was first excavated by Andrae and Bachmann in 1913–1914 (Eickhoff 1985). More comprehensive and systematic fieldwork and survey was undertaken by Reinhard Dittman in campaigns in 1986 and 1989 (Dittmann et al. 1988; Dittmann 1990; Dittmann 2011; Dittmann forthcoming). In terms of size, the city itself can easily be characterized as monumental . During Dittmann’s survey seasons, its southern and western limits were identified as covering an area of more than 240ha. Dittmann (1997: 296) has speculated that this could extend to 500ha, since the eastern and northern boundaries have yet to be found. Several earlier researchers attempted to identify the issues surrounding the relocation of the capital, and debated if, indeed, the city can be characterized as a capital . Gilibert (2008: 179) summarizes the arguments for associating the foundation of the city with the military achievements of the king. This suggestion was made based on textual evidence and the analysis of the royal inscriptions of the king, and argued that the city was constructed as a way to commemorate the military achievements of Tukultī-Ninurta (Eickhoff 1985: 49; Liverani 1988: 587), most notably his conquest of Babylon (Machinist 1978: 520–521; Harrak 1987: 256–257). This dating would place the construction of the city between the 13th and 19th year of the king’s reign. Gilibert (2008: 183) convincingly argues that this is not the case, and that the beginning of construction should be dated as early as the 4th year of the reign . Several scholars have suggested that his ambitious and, in a sense, provocatively innovative decisions indicate that the king tried to distance himself from existing power structures (Machinist 1978: 529; Liverani 1988: 587–588). However, as recent textual studies have shown, there is no evidence placing the king in opposition to his court, either contemporary with, or later than his actions (Gilibert 2008: 180–182; Schmitt in press). The history and archaeology of Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta is faced with a number of issues in terms of its dataset . As mentioned above, only limited excavations have taken place within the city, and while these have been revealing in many ways, there is need for further documentation and study to create a clearer picture of its urban fabric. Remote sensing could certainly help in that direction (Ur 2013), but on-site work is also required. Additionally, there are a number of issues regarding the both chronology of urban building projects as well as the internal dates of © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Tukultī-Ninurta’s reign. Taken together, these factors hamper research into the city and its complex history . On the basis of this limited dataset, there are two main arguments that posit the reasons behind the construction of the new capital. The first one is related to the legitimization of the king and the establishment of his authority, as discussed above; the second one, proposed by Gilibert (2008: 183) is related to the use of the surrounding agricultural land. She suggests that the projects must be related to the need for intensified agricultural production (Mühl 2015: 55). This is supported by a number of written sources related to agriculture that were analyzed by Freydank (2009). He suggests that the main reason for the construction of Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta is the king’s desire for a new residence (Freydank 2009: 59–60). I would argue that the reasons for the relocation of the capital, as well as the establishment of a new administrative and agricultural centre should not be sought in a regal-centric approach, where the king is the main, and sometimes even the only, agent behind the decisions of the empire. It would be more profitable, especially considering the lack of available data, to try to embed the construction of the new city within the transformation of the Assyrian state to an empire . 3. The concept of the ‘imperial leap’ As discussed in the previous section, it is very hard to justify a disembedded capital scenario. The textual evidence, the proximity of the two cities, as well as the continuous use of several buildings in Aššur do not clearly indicate an attempt to undermine the traditional capital . On the contrary, the infrastructural development at the core of the empire indicates a continuous cultivation of a broader imperial culture . As Düring (2015) Assyria developed a ‘culture of empire’ discussed, during the expansion phase of the Middle Assyrian empire. This culture of empire is reflected through a number of hegemonic practices . One of these practices is the development of the imperial core “ . . . through policies of agricultural development, settlement of populations and the creation of monumental capitals ...” (Düring 2015: 304). I suggest that the transformation of a state into a consolidated empire is a process that includes the evolution and development of imperial practices together with an expansive and cohesive policy. To describe this transformation I use the term ‘imperial leap’. This term defines the transitional process through which a state becomes an empire, or by which an empire undergoes a massive transformation. The imperial leap should not be considered as a fixed moment in history but rather a dynamic process through which a large political entity transforms into an empire . 3.1 The Necessity of a new capital The period of Tukultī-Ninurta’s kingship marked the largest expansion of the Middle Assyrian empire and was tied to a number of major military achievements, in© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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cluding the conquest of Babylon. Evidence for these campaigns are mostly literary, but the Assyrian presence in the region of Hanigalbat and elsewhere has also been documented archaeologically (Jakob 2015: 178). As already argued, the construction projects of the era should not be connected to a commemoration of military achievements. On the contrary, I would argue that the extensive building projects occurred hand in hand with the military expeditions and were interdependent . It is not easy to make a clear association between these events, but the fact that the city’s construction began so early in the reign hints at such a possibility . A question remains, however; why construct a new city at all? What are the reasons that reconstruction projects in Aššur were insufficient, and what necessitated a new capital? I suggest that the answer to this set of questions can be summarized by a core argument . This main argument is related to the transformation of the Assyrian state into an empire. This is connected to the broader development of an imperial culture and ideology (Düring 2015; Pongratz-Leisten 2015). With the growth of the empire, its core also had to grow to reflect its new status. The construction of a new capital fulfils this need in a very effective way. The large palatial structures, the number of temples, and the two walls of the city (external and internal) created a large monumental centre, much larger than Aššur, which would reflect the size and power of the empire. This argument is corroborated through three points. The first one is connected to a perceived inadequacy of Aššur to fulfil the role of a monumental capital. This inadequacy is mainly focused on Aššur’s geographical limitations for urban expansion and the difficulty in cultivating the land south and south-west of the city. Secondly, there was a need for a structured, self-sufficient core for the stability of the imperial state. Reculeau (2011: 205) has argued that regional climatic conditions had declined over the decades of Tukultī-Ninurta’s reign. At the same time, the continuous military expeditions, population growth and the extensive territory of the empire would require increased and standardized production (Novák 1999: 122). The location of Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta is the most favourable geographical and agricultural location in close proximity to Aššur, which could ensure sustainable agricultural production. The latter required an elaborate system of irrigation canals, which are described in the royal inscriptions (Grayson 1987: A.0.78.23, 105–106). A large irrigation system diverted the waters of the Tigris and facilitated the redevelopment of hundreds of hectares of land (Bagg 2000: 36–44). This massive restructuring of the land required a large labour force. This leads to the final point regarding the necessity of a new city. One of the main imperial practices of the Middle Assyrian empire is the deportation of populations all around their empire and the subsequent exploitation of deportees for large building projects (Düring 2015: 304). These people had to be settled and fed in a way that would not cause problems for the imperial core. The deportees would be settled in specific districts of Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta in which other deportees of the same culture were settled, and an Assyrian official was put in charge of that group (Dittmann 2011: 168–169). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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3.2 The Process of construction The urbanization process of Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta has been poorly investigated. Only a few texts specify deportees working in the new city in terms of numbers and the specific type of labour (Harrak 1987: 219–229). In one text, we read of more than 7,000 prisoners, although it is not clear whether they settled or worked in the construction of the city (Harrak 1987: 271). It is very difficult to estimate the number of workers required for the realization of the new capital, or even for different parts of the city, such as its wall, since neither its full perimeter nor its height is known. What can be certain is that thousands of deportees were brought in and were involved in both the construction process and the agricultural production of the city . Additionally, the fact that the construction begun so early in the kingship and was developed alongside other large building projects indicates that Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta was not built in one monumental architectural phase, but was rather a slow and planned process . The magnitude of this project is in line with the argument about the imperial leap and its connection to capital creation. Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta is comparable in size with the neo-Assyrian capitals (since it can be estimated between 240 and 500ha), and the same is probably true for the labour required for its construction. In order to achieve the relocation of the capital, the state had to transport massive numbers of people from conquered territories. 3.3 Function and demise The first years of the city’s function were quite successful in the production of agricultural surplus. This surplus was probably enough to even support the previous capital, as we will see later . At a certain point there are years of crisis in which the agricultural production gradually declines; it is not clear exactly when this occurred chronologically, but it is probably connected with the loss of control over Babylon, and lasts until the violent death of the king (Freydank 2009: 78). This crisis is also reflected in some of the prayers of the king that have been preserved in clay tablets (Foster 1996: 230–2). After Tukultī-Ninurta’s death, the city is abandoned as an agricultural and administrative centre . The short urban lifespan of the city is one of the main arguments for connecting the construction of the city with the personal aspirations of the king. Adding to that line of thought, ‘Chronicle P’, a Babylonian text written in the 7th century BC, informs us that the king was killed in his own city by his son (Grayson 1975: 176). Finally, several scholars have argued that the construction of a temple of Aššur in the new city, the only time that such a temple was constructed outside of Aššur itself, was perceived by the court and the priesthood as a major sacrilege (Eickhoff 1985: 49). Recent studies, however, have demonstrated that there are no concrete data to support such a thesis (Gilibert 2008; Schmitt in press). The king’s name was never undermined in later textual documentation and there does not seem to be a ‘damnatio memoriae’ imposed on him (Schmitt in press) . Additionally, there is © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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no evidence that would imply that the new temple of Aššur in Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta undermined the importance and centrality of its counterpart in Aššur. I would not go as far as to call the temple simply a ‘branch’ of the original, as Gilibert suggests (2008: 182), but its role certainly requires closer study. I would propose to connect the ‘demise’ of the city with the decline the Assyrian empire experienced at that time (Phase 4 on Table 3) rather than a will to remove a provocative king from the throne. It is beyond the scope of this paper to investigate the reasons behind the decline of the Assyrian empire in the 12th century. The fact, however, that the city is abandoned, as a capital, at a time when Assyria cannot function as an empire speaks in favour of its embeddedness in the imperial image of the state. There is no reason for subsequent kings and courts to maintain a large centre that cannot sustain the empire or, in fact, even itself . 4. Conclusion Through an analysis of a variety of data, it is possible to embed regal-centric explanations of the construction of new capitals in their broader historical contexts . Such is the case with Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta. Available archaeological data in conjunction with textual evidence reveal a slow and planned process of construction. This process is connected to development of the state into an empire, the ‘imperial leap’, and the construction of an imperial core, rather than simply the aspirations of an emperor . The city functioned as both an administrative as well as an economic centre. Broader concepts, such as the one presented in this paper, alongside holistic methodologies, allow for a better understanding of the phenomenon of capital creation . This PhD project aims to generate more such concepts in an attempt to contribute to the understanding of capital creation in both the past as well as the present . Bibliography Andrae, W . 1977 Das wiedererstandene Assur. 2nd revised edition . Munich . Bagg, A . M . 2000 Irrigation in northern Mesopotamia. Water for the Assyrian capitals (12th–7th centuries BC). Irrigation and Drainage Systems 14, 301–324. Dittmann, R. 1990 Ausgrabungen der Freien Universität Berlin in Assur and Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta in den Jahren 1986–89. Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 122, 157–171. 1997

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Werner, P. 2009 Der Sîn-Šamaš-Tempel in Assur. Wissenschaftliche Veröffentlichung der deutschen OrientGesellschaft 122. Wiesbaden. Yoffee, N. 2005 Myths of the Archaic State. Evolution of the Earliest Cities, States, and Civilizations. Cambridge .

Year

Country

New Capital

Former Capital

1956

Brazil

Brazilia

Rio de Janeiro

1959

Pakistan

Islamabad

Karachi

1961

Botswana

Gaberone

Mafeking

1965

Malawi

Liliongwe

Zomba

1973

Tanzania

Dodoma

Dar es Salaam

1975

Nigeria

Abuja

Lagos

1983

Ivory Coast

Yamoussoukro

Abidjan

1987

Argentina

Viedman/Carmen de Patagones

Buenos Aires

1997

Kazakhstan

Astana

Almaty

1999

Malaysia

Putrajaya

Kuala Lumpur

Table 1 New capital cities in Africa, Asia and Latin America since 1950 (after Hall 1993: 82 table 1 with additions)

Year (approx.)

State / Empire

New Capital

Former Capital

1346–1341 BCE

Egypt

El-Amarna

Thebes

13 century BCE Hittite empire

Tarhuntašša

Hatušša

879 BCE

Assyrian empire

Kalḫu

Aššur

324

Roman/Byzantine empire

Constantinople

Rome

794

Japan (Heian period)

Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto)

Nagaoka-kyō

1153

Jin Dynasty (Northern China)

Beijing (as Zhongdu)

Shangjing

1356–1357

Vijayanagara empire (Southern India)

Vijayanagara

Anegondi

th

Table 2 Examples of capital relocation around the globe and through time (by author) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Aris Politopoulos

Phase #

Middle Assyrian Kings

Phase I: Independence

Aššur-nādin-aḫḫe II, Eriba-Adad I, Aššur-Uballit, Adik-dēn-ili

Phase II: Expansion

Adad-nērārī I, Shalmaneser

Phase III: Imperial Leap

Tukultī-Ninurta I

Phase IV: Recession and brief expansion

Aššur-nādin-apli I, Aššur-dān I, Aššur-rēsa-isi I, Tiglath-Pileser I, Aššur-bēl-kala, Aššur-nāsir-apli I

Table 3 The Middle Assyrian state in 4 phases (by author)

Early Dynastic III, Akkad and Ur III period

Evidence in the Old Palace and the Temple of Ištar

Old Assyrian Period

Wall, Temple of Ištar, Temple of Aššur, Palace, Temple of Sin and Samaš

Mitanni occupation

Limited building activity

Middle Assyrian Period Phase I Phase II Phase III Phase IV Neo Assyrian Period Phase I Phase II

Independence Expansion: Major constructions in Aššur Imperial leap: Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta Recession and brief expansion: Constructions mainly during expansion instances

10th–9th cent . Shalmaneser III–612 BC

Table 4 Assyrian chronology in comparison to building activity (by author)

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Tell Mishrifeh-Qatna (Syria), Area T: First Approach to a Middle Bronze Age Residential Area in the Upper Town Yasmin Kanhoush 1 Abstract This paper presents a general review of archaeological investigations that have been carried out on the identified residential area in Area T in the upper town of Tell Mishrifeh-Qatna in the Middle Orontes Valley . It is a preliminary result related to my ongoing PhD research regarding the urban dwellings during the first half of the 2nd millennium BC in Syria . The domestic houses are the result of specialized architectural work, but they reflect the living environment of people, their technical knowledge, their comfort requirements, their local ways of life, and their relationship with death . These analyses will focus on our recent unpublished excavation of Qatna. I will first introduce the Quarter while analysing its position within the urban layout of the city, as well as the several construction techniques and methods used by the builders . Finally, I will present a preliminary approach of various architectural types of Qatna’s Middle Bronze Age houses.

1. Introduction From the time of Robert Du Mesnil du Buisson’s excavation in 1924 to today, archaeological research on the site of Mishrifeh/Qatna has produced a wealth of data about the history of the city . Several discoveries enabled archaeologists to highlight the topographic and architectural organization of Qatna, particularly for the second half of the 2nd millennium BC . At that time, Qatna was a local kingdom consisting of a complex system of official buildings providing a palatial function around a palace. A royal palace, ‘Areas G, H and R’ (Pfälzner 2007: 29–64; Barro 2004: 121–132), was discovered on the upper town of the city, surrounded by several public buildings; from the north, ‘The Palace of the Lower Town/Area K’ (Morandi Bonacossi 2015: 359–376) and from the south, ‘The Southern Palace/Area C’ (Al-Maqdissi 2003: 1500–1505). Along with the latter, two residential areas were located: ‘Area Q’ discovered in the lower town on the ‘Coupole de Loth’ to the southwest of the town’s eastern gate (Shabo 2015: 407–413) and ‘Area T1’ on the upper town (Da Ros 2012: 224–234). In addition, there were several other discoveries that have enabled a considerable understanding of the Late Bronze Age city.

1

Archéorient laboratory UMR-5133, CNRS. Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée. Lumière Lyon 2 University. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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2. Qatna in the Middle Bronze Age Qatna’s first mention in written sources dates back to the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age. This city has been described as an urban commercial centre and a major Syrian kingdom of very high political importance, alongside Aleppo and Mari. All of this is supported by the location of Qatna at the crossroads between the main trade routes crossing the region (Durand 1987: 159–167). At the dawn of the 2nd millennium BC, a new geo-political situation occurred in Syria, wherein Qatna played a new role, becoming a regional and supra-regional force. This was reflected by a major change in the urban layout of the city and its internal organisation (Morandi Bonacossi 2009: 56–68). The small circular plan of the Early Bronze Age city was transformed into a larger square plan, with the construction of a great fortification system with ramparts, chambered city gates, and several additional gates surrounding a vast area of 110 hectares (Fig. 1). From 2006 to 2010, I excavated ‘Area T’ within the Syrian expedition. This area is located at the top of the upper town approximately 50m to the east of the Late Bronze Age Royal Palace (Fig. 2). The five field campaigns have revealed several occupation phases, extending from the Iron Age into the second half of the 2nd millennium BC (see the stratigraphic sequence in Kanhoush 2015: tab. 1). These excavations allowed us to fill many gaps and collect more information about the occupation, especially from the Middle Bronze Age in this part of the site. In reality, the architectural organization and the urban layout of the Middle Bronze Age city were not previously well known, with the exception of some dispersed discoveries (for more information see Morandi Bonacossi 2014). One can point out the fortification system of the city’s four main gates (Du Mesnil du Buisson 1926: 294–303; Du Mesnil du Buisson 1927: 279–286), as well as the northeast corner of the ramparts, where a secondary passage has been located ‘Ouvrage Clermont-Ganneau’ (Du Mesnil du Buisson 1935: 48–55) and the discovery of a poorly preserved monumental building located on the top of the central hill of the acropolis ‘Operation J’ (Morandi Bonacossi 2008: 55–127). 3. Area T – Middle Bronze Age phases Taking into consideration the very limited extension of the areas so far brought to light in the Middle Bronze Age urban layout of Qatna, the urban remains that might be classified as private houses are extraordinarily limited. Only in Area T, located on the acropolis, have remains been uncovered of private houses dating back to the Middle Bronze Age II (1800–1600/1550 BC). In addition to the domestic quarter in Area T, we also exposed a monumental building named, according to its palatial features, the ‘Eastern Palace’ (Fig. 3). Both the Syrian and the Italian teams conducted excavation work on this palace (Morandi Bonacossi et al. 2009: 61–112; Iamoni 2015: 451–466; Iamoni and Kan© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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housh 2009: 161–163; Kanhoush 2015: 441–449). A north-south oriented street separated the residential area from the ‘Eastern Palace’. This street consists of a layer of compacted soil paved with cobbles and potsherds. After the abandonment of the quarter, this place served as a graveyard from the end of the Middle Bronze Age II to the Late Bronze Age I. It was then reoccupied by a second residential area dating to the Late Bronze Age II. It should be noted that the graveyard, spreading all over Area T, has so far revealed 54 well preserved burials, mostly individual tombs and a wealthy variety of grave goods (Al-Maqdissi et al. 2008: figs. 7–10). 4. Middle Bronze Age quarter (area T) Before discussing the analysis of the residential area, it is important to note the difficulty of isolating each housing unit and distinguishing between the different architectural levels that have been so far brought to light . There are several reasons for this difficulty. First, the excavated area of this quarter is restricted in space; second, the houses were built side by side, nested within each other and revealing several phases of occupation and construction; and finally, the houses were damaged and disrupted by the graveyard and by the subsequent occupation of the Late Bronze Age as well as by the modern village that occupied the site in the 20th century AD. In the following section, I will present the preliminary analysis of the quarter’s north-eastern part where several houses were discovered (T. 1–T. 8; Fig. 4). All these houses are built using the same materials: stone for the foundations and the base of the walls, and mud brick for the upper parts of the walls, with a thickness equal to a brick and a half for exterior walls, whereas the partition walls were restricted to a single brick . The interior face of the walls was covered with a thin layer of white plaster. The floors of the enclosed rooms and courtyard were made out of mud, in some cases covered by a thin coating layer of gypsum. No precise distinction was observed concerning the main entrance or passages between different rooms . The door jambs were demarcated by a simple interruption in the mud brick wall as well as by a white coating . The thresholds were made out of simple clay, sometimes out of stone or, rarely, out of mud brick . 4.1 Implantation of the Area T quarter within the urban layout of Qatna As mentioned, the residential area was found on Qatna’s acropolis. This part of the city, devoted to domestic construction, probably developed in the empty spaces between important public buildings on the Acropolis. Therefore, the quarter where the space for the construction of houses was quite limited probably expanded, and that may explain the fact that the houses are small in size, juxtaposed and intertwined within or adjoining each other . We can also observe a total absence of open spaces, at least with regards to the area that has been exposed so far . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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To the west side, the residential area is limited by a street separating it from the ‘Eastern Palace’, therefore the quarter’s expansion in this direction was not an option. Moreover, during reoccupation of the quarter in the second half of the 2nd millennium BC where the street was still in use, a second parallel street was found delimiting the houses of the Late Bronze Age on the opposite eastern side. Reuse of a street is a very common occurrence during different periods; the case of this street is probably very similar to the other parallel one, and very likely to occur. All of the new Late Bronze Age houses are oriented in the same direction as those of the Middle Bronze Age, as well as the Royal Palace and other buildings surrounding it . However, we have not yet excavated beyond this street and it is still unclear whether the area continues eastward or not . During the occupation of this quarter, houses were not used according to the same principles . Indeed, almost all of houses exhibited several occupation phases, sometimes with changes in their initial plans in order to adapt to different needs . In some habitation units, I identified a change in their floor plan. This is the case of House T. 5, for example, where one room was divided into two parts by the addition of a partition wall . Its western side was cut off by the building of two granary rooms (T. 6–T. 7), yet the residential occupation of this house continued. The western external facing granary wall of room T . 7 has a white coating, which indicates that it was a shared wall between the two constructions, and also that the occupation of the House T. 5 had continued. At Qatna, one can observe the two cases of decreasing or increasing the house space . These phenomena are very common, especially when it comes to the construction of domestic structures . Several questions are posed regarding whether such a choice reflects an expansion of a family unit and a sharing of the house, or whether it can be explained by a new owner settling in the newly divided areas . One of the most important discoveries in the quarter is a cuneiform tablet that unfortunately was not found in situ. A proposed reading, carried out by Professor Antoine Cavigneaux of the University of Geneva, shows that this was a purchase contract belonging to a lady who had, in the presence of witnesses, bought a common wall between her house and that of her neighbour for a certain sum (Fig. 5). This document reflects the sector’s condition where all of the walls that have the same structure were embedded within each other . It also shows the high social status of the quarter’s inhabitants, which is marked by some other valuable objects such as a Hyksos type beetle found on the floor of one of the houses (Fig. 6). All of this is supported by the location of the area in the upper town next to a large building of an official character. 4.2 Functional and typological analysis It is quite difficult to study the functional aspects of the different excavated rooms. All the spaces were practically emptied of any kind of furniture when the quarter was abandoned . However, a small number of discoveries, such as storage jars, mortars © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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and grinding stones on the floors of some of the houses, allowed us to detect very limited activities related to food preparation and short term storage . In addition, it is important to note the limited extension and the simple plan of the houses themselves as well as the absence of any hosted manufacturing or exchange activities . With regards to the typological analyses of Qatna’s Middle Bronze Age houses, and taking into consideration the evolution of the buildings and the frequent modifications in the original plans, determining a factual classification of Qatna’s houses floor plan’s types is challenging. However, the quarter excavated in Area T revealed houses with a complete plan or houses for which reconstructing the plan is more or less possible (Fig. 7). On the basis of a preliminary comparative study carried out on several archaeological sites located in Northern Levant, which have delivered domestic architecture dating back to the Middle Bronze Age, three basic quadrilateral models were established for domestic houses in Qatna, generally articulated in different ways . It is likely that the private houses in the upper town of Qatna were designed according to a first rather simple plan that could accommodate certain expansions . The first and the simplest scheme is comprised of a single, covered room, very narrow in size (leaving area of 7m² to 10m²) with an entrance often from the shortest side (e.g. house T. 8). This type was also attested in Hama in level H4 (Fugmann 1958: fig. 116) in the Middle Orontes Valley as well as in the Syrian Djezireh in Area G – Phase II/2 at Tell Chagar Bazar (Colantoni and McMahon 2009: fig. 24) and in Area G. A–D 1–6 – Phase M – Layer 32 at Tell Barri (Pecorella 2003: 18). It should be noted that the living surface of these houses is superior to that of the single-celled construction in Qatna. The second pattern includes two linear rooms connected by a passage with a living area ranging from 12m² to 16m² (e.g. house T. 1). The same plan type was also recognized in the houses of Tell Halawa A – Phase 2 (Orthmann 1989: abb. 6) in the Middle Euphrates Valley, and in the Syrian Djezireh in Area A – Phase 2 at Tell Chagar Bazar (MacMahon 2009: fig. 9) and in Area 5b – Level 8 – Phase a at Tell Mohammad Diyab (Nicolle 2006: fig. 5.1). Another and unique example was noticed at Tell Mardikh/Ebla in Northern Syria in Area B: the plan of House B6 during its second occupation phase (Peyronel 2008: fig. 5). The last schematic plan which was recognised in the north-eastern part of Area T’s quarter included a front or rear larger space, probably in the open air, and two covered smaller rooms with a living area ranging from 28m² to 30m². The main entrance gives access to the court (e.g. house T. 5) or to one of the smaller rooms (e.g. House T. 2). This plan was confirmed in Tell Halawa A – Phase 2 (Orthmann 1989: Abb. 6) and Terqa in Area C (Buccellati 1984: fig. 1) in the Middle Euphrates Valley, in Tell Brak in Area HN – Level 2 (McDonald and Jackson 2003: fig. 7.7) in the Syrian Djezireh, and also in Tell Mardikh/Ebla in Northern Syria. We noticed the addition of a vestibule at Ebla’s houses, which gives access to the court, as in the case of houses B4, B13 and B6 excavated in Area B (Matthiae 1997: figs. 4, 7) or access to one of the smaller rooms like house A3 uncovered in Area A (Baffi 2006: fig. 2). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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5. Conclusion Archaeological investigations carried out in Area T on the upper town from 2006 to 2010 delivered important data for a better comprehension of the history of the occupation of this part of the city site during the first half in the 2nd millennium BC . A monumental building, the ‘Eastern Palace’, a necropolis, and a residential area of the Middle Bronze Age were the only well-preserved remains that date back to that time on the site. The study of this area in Qatna is as important as the study of the domestic architecture during the Middle Bronze Age, still largely unknown in the region . It forms an excellent way to understand this crucial period in the history of urban development . Our incomplete understanding of the residential area of Qatna makes it harder to compare the houses with other Middle Bronze Age known houses from Syria. However, several more or less complete houses so far brought to light seem to bear some similarities with other common house types known from Western Syria, Middle Euphrates Valley or beyond in the Syrian Djezireh during the Middle Bronze Age. Further archaeological research is required for a better understanding of the quarter especially regarding its architectural features, the different functional aspects of the houses, the analyse of the social level of its inhabitants and its place within the framework of Middle Bronze Age Syrian domestic architecture. Bibliography Al-Maqdissi, M. 2003 Recherches archéologiques syriennes à Mishrifeh-Qatna au nord-est de Homs (Émèse). Comptes rendus des séances de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres 147/4, 1487–1515. Al-Maqdissi, M., Kanhoush, Y., Cremaschi, M. and Morandi Bonacossi, D. 2008 Présentation sommaire des travaux archéologiques de la mission syro-italienne: Les fouilles archéologiques à Mishrifeh-Qatna et la prospection de la Palmyrène occidentale. Studia Orontica I, 5–20. Baffi, F. 2006 House hunting: I am an archaeologist. In: F. Baffi, R. Dolce. S. Mazzoni and F. Pinnock (eds.), Ina Kirbrāt Erbetti. Studi di Archeologia orientale dedicati a Paolo Matthiae. Rome, 73–93. Barro, A. 2004 Il palazzo di Qatna : gli scavi italiani (cantiere H). In: A. Guidi and S. Ponchia (eds.), Ricerche Archeologiche in Italia e in Siria. Giornate di Studio, Università di Verona, 6–7 Maggio 2002. Padova, 121–132. Buccellati, G . 1984 Introduction. In: O. Rouault (ed.), Terqa Final Reports, No. 1, L’archive de Puzurum . Bibliotheca Mesopotamica. Primary Sources and Interpretive Analyses for the Study of Mesopatamian Civilization and Its Influences from Late Prehistory to the End of the Cuneiform Tradition 16. Malibu, VII–XVIII. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Colantoni, C. and McMahon, A. 2009 Neighbourhood dynamics: Area G and Mallowan’s Area BD. In: A. McMahon (ed.), Once There was a Palace. Settlement Archaeology at Chagar Bazar, 1999–2002. London, 63–108. Da Ros, M. 2012 Late Bronze Age II residential architecture at Qatna. Proceedings of the 7th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. 12 April–16 April 2010, the British Museum and University College London, London, Volume 3. Wiesbaden, 223–234. Du Mesnil du Buisson, R. 1926 Les ruines d’El-Mishrifé au Nord-Est de Homs (Emèse). Syria 7, 289–325. 1927

L’ancienne Qatna ou les ruines d’El-Mishrifé au Nord-Est de Homs (Emèse), deuxième campagne de fouilles, 1927. Syria 8, 277–301.

1935

Le site archéologique de Mishrifé-Qatna . Paris .

Durant, J. M. 1987 Document pour l’histoire du royaume de haute-mésopotamie, I. Mari, Annales de Recherche Interdisciplinaires 5, 155–198. Fugmann, E . 1958 Hama II: L’architecture des periodes pré-hellénistiques. Copenhague . Iamoni, M. 2015 The Eastern Palace of Qatna and the Middle Bronze Age architectural tradition of Western Syria. In: P. Pfälzner and M. Al-Maqdissi (eds.), Qatna and the Networks of Bronze Age Globalism. Qatna Studien Supplementa 2. Wiesbaden, 451–466. Iamoni, M. and Kanhoush, Y. 2009 Der Ostpalast. In: M. Al-Maqdissi, D. Morandi-Bonacossi and P. Pfälzner (eds.), Schätze des Alten Syrien. Die Entdeckung des Königreichs Qatna, Landesmuseum Württemberg. Stuttgart, 161–163. Kanhoush, Y. 2015 Rapport préliminaire des résultats des campagnes des fouilles syriennes 2006–2009. Le Palais Est du chantier T sur l’acropole de Mishrifeh-Qatna. In: P. Pfälzner and M. Al-Maqdissi (eds.), Qatna and the Networks of Bronze Age Globalism. Qatna Studien Supplementa 2. Wiesbaden, 441–449. Peyronel, L . 2008 Domestic quarters, refuse pits and working areas . Reconstructing human landscape and environment at Tell Mardikh-Ebla during the Old Syrian period (c. 2000–1600 BC). In: H. Kühne, R. M. Czichon and F. J. Kreppner (eds.), Proceedings of the 4th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. 29 March–3 April 2008, Freie Universität, Berlin, Volume 1. Wiesbaden, 177–187. Matthiae, P. 1997 Typologies and functions in the palaces and houses of Middle Bronze II Ebla. In: C. Castel, M. Al-Maqdissi and F. Villeneuve (eds.), Les maisons dans la Syrie antique du IIIe millénaire au début de l’Islam. Pratiques et représentations de l’espace domestique . Actes du Colloque international, Damas 27–30 June 1992. Bibliothèque archéologique et historique 40. Beyrouth, 125–134. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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McDonald, H. and Jackson, N. 2003 A house on the hill. Second-millennium investigations: The Middle Bronze Age. In: R. Matthews (ed.), Excavation at Tell Brak, Volume 4. Exploring an Upper Mesopotamian Regional Centre, 1994–1996. McDonald Institute Monographs. Cambridge, 271–319. McMahon, A. 2009 Community buildings: architecture in Area A. In: A. McMahon (ed.), Once There was a Palace. Settlement Archaeology at Chagar Bazar, 1999–2002. London, 29–62. Morandi Bonacossi, D. 2008 Excavation on the acropolis of Mishrifeh, operation J. A new Early Bronze Age III – Iron Age III sequence for central inner Syria, Part 1: Stratigraphy, chronology and architecture. Akkadica 129/1, 55–127. 2009

Tell Mishrifeh and its region during the EBA IV and the EBA–MBA transition. A first assessment. In: P. J. Parr (ed.), The Levant in Transition, Annual of the Palestine Exploration Fund 9. London – Leeds, 56–68.

2014

Some considerations on the urban layout of second millennium BC Qatna. In: F. Baffi, R. Fiorentino and L. Peyronel (eds.), Tell Tuqan Excavations and Regional Perspectives . Lecce, 275–296 and pl. III.

2015

The lower City Palace at Qatna. In: P. Pfälzner and M. Al-Maqdissi (eds.), Qatna and the Networks of Bronze Age Globalism, Qatna Studien Supplementa 2. Wiesbaden, 407–413.

Morandi Bonacossi, D., Da Ros, M., Iamoni, M. and Merlino, M. 2009 The ‘Eastern Palace’ and the residential architecture of Area T at Mishrifeh/Qatna: Preliminary report on the 2006–2008 excavation campaigns of the Italiancomponent of the Syro-Italian archaeological project . Mesopotamia 44, 61–112. Nicolle, Ch. 2006 Tell Mohammed Diyab 3. Travaux de 1992–2000 sur les buttes A et B . Paris . Orthmann W. 1989 Halawa 1980 bis 1986. Vorläufiger Bericht über die 4.– 9. Grabungskampagne. Saarbrücker Beiträge zur Altertumskunde 52. Bonn. Pecorella, P . E . 2003 Tell Barri / Kahat. La Campagna dell 2000: Relazione Preliminare . Florence . Pfälzner, P. 2007 Archaeological investigations in the Royal Palace of Qatna. In: D. Morandi Bonacossi (ed.), Urban and Natural Landscapes of an Ancient Syrian Capital, Settlement and Environment at Tell Mishrifeh/Qatna in Central-Western Syria. Studi archeologici su Qatna 1, Documents d’archéologie syrienne 12. Udine, 29–64. Shabo, Sh . 2015 Le quartier d’habitation dans le chantier de la Coupole de Loth à Qatna. In: P. Pfälzner and M. Al-Maqdissi (eds.), Qatna and the Networks of Bronze Age Globalism, Qatna Studien Supplementa 2. Wiesbaden, 407–413.

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Tell Mishrifeh-Qatna (Syria) Area T

Fig. 1 Aerial view of Tell Mishrifeh-Qatna site (© Syrian Archaeological Mission)

Fig. 2 Topographic plan of Mishrifeh-Qatna with the localisation of Area T © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 3 Schematic plan of the Eastern Palace (© Field survey and computer graphics A. Savioli and E. Zidan / Syrian-Italian Archaeological Mission)

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Tell Mishrifeh-Qatna (Syria) Area T

Fig. 4 View of the quarter in Area T from the north (© photo Y. Kanhoush / Syrian Archaeological Mission)

Fig. 5 Cuneiform tablet found in the residential area in Area T (© Syrian Archaeological Mission) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 6 Hyksos type beetle found on the floor of one of the houses in Area T (© Y. Kanhoush / Syrian Archaeological Mission)

Fig. 7 Plan of the north-eastern part of Qatna’s upper town quarter (© Field survey and computer graphics E. Zidan / Syrian Archaeological Mission) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Archaeological Excavations and Studies in the Zard River Basin, Ramhormoz, Khuzestan, Iran Mahnaz Sharifi 1 Abstract A research project in the area of the Jareh Dam, northeast of the city of Ramhormoz, was conducted under my supervision in Khuzestan province, Iran. At this stage of the field research, the dam extends to a height of about 500 meters above sea level and the pond covers an area of about 14km². This area was subjected to Archaeological surface survey. Several settlements were observed in the dam area, mostly belonging to historic and Islamic periods with glazed or painted pottery. One site, Kalge Tepe, belongs to the Susiana period. These have mainly been identified near border of villages and in the current settlements that represent the displacement and restriction on the location of settlements. The main goals of exploring this area, in addition to locating and preserving the sites as defined for the entire Jareh Dam project area, were to determine the residential context and understand its architecture spaces, reconstruct settlement patterns in different historical periods, and identify cultural interactions between the cultures of the region. According to relative chronology, the architecture shows three residential phases, with Phase 1 and 2 belonging to the Sassanian to Islamic period (Ilkhani period), and the third phase belonging to the Nomadic tribes of recent decades.

1. Introduction The numerous Archaeological studies conducted in the Ramhormoz plain have yielded comprehensive information about the region, and a study of Zard river basin is among them. This current study, which was a part of rescue excavations carried out by the author, includes a review of the Zard river basin and the Jareh village. Following the methodical surveys, a section of the Jareh village precinct had been explored with a goal of reconstructing historical and cultural monuments. 1 .1 Jareh Dam The Jareh Dam was constructed exactly across the Zard River, and seems to belong to the Sassanian period (AD 224–651). Building material used for the dam was a mixture of pebbles and mortar (Figs. 9–10). Most of the dam remained intact into the 21st century AD. Now, however, the catchment of a new dam constructed for hydroelectric energy resulted in the old Jareh Dam and the associated historic Jareh village and other existing archaeological works being flooded. Therefore, with a goal of reconstructing historical monuments, exploration and study of settlements in the Jareh Zard River precinct was conducted.

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2. History of archaeological work in the region Archaeological excavations of prehistoric and historic periods in Khuzestan include the Chogha Mish excavation (Delougaz and Kantor 1996), Susa (Carter 1980), Jafarabad (Dollfus 1971), Chogha Bonut (Alizadeh 1984), Telle-Geser in the Ramhormoz plain (Alizadeh et al. 2014), and research in the Deh Luran Plain (Hole et al. 1969). Survey archaeology in Tepe Sabz (Sharifi 2009a), and excavations at Elhaie (Sharifi 2005) and Jobaji Ramhormoz (Shishegar 2015) are other projects in Khuzestan. Other archaeological excavations have also been undertaken in the Ramhormoz plain in the Jare region (Sharifi 2007, 2009b, 2012). 3. The Jare project Several settlements mainly belonging to the prehistoric, historic, and Islamic eras were observed and recorded in the catchment area of the dam. Prospection survey resulted in seven sites being attributed to prehistoric and historic periods. Archaeological excavations were limited to the Zard river basin (Figs. 1–2). After the surveying and gridding operations at the Zard river, seven trenches of different dimensions were excavated. As a result of exploration of a part of the Zard river basin, various phases of architecture related to historical and then Islamic periods became clear (Figs. 3–4). Major pottery from excavations includes types of domestic and daily pottery used by the lower classes of society, with forms such as bowls, cauldrons, plates, crocks, and jugs. Much of the tiles are simple and without decoration, but in some instances geometric designs and incisions can be seen . Temper for the pottery varies: in some cases, mineral temper was used, and in some other cases, vegetal temper like straw was used. The pottery firing of this precinct often was good and of sufficient temperature, but in some cases was inadequate. The form of samples of pottery in the Jareh Dam basin are open containers, and in some rare cases the openings are closed, and consist of simple rounded edges, sharp edges and tabulate edges (Figs. 5–6). 4. The crypt of the catchment area of the Jareh dam In the aftermath of archaeological research in the Jareh Dam basin, a crypt was observed on the sunny western side of the mountains in the wall of a mountain at an altitude of 33 meters from the current bed of the Zard River. The exterior of the crypt is in the form of a rectangular window with a width of 65cm and height of 90cm, located 1m from the cliff face. Located in the mountains with mostly gypsum deposits, the crypt is located in an area with stones of different textures and types, similar to pumice (Figs. 7–8). In the inner part of this crypt, a space was created with a width between 85–65cm and a height of 1.7m. The crypt is composed of two parts. In the first part, immediately after the entrance level, the surface is divided into four parts. The deepest and widest part of crypt is a space 53cm wide and 50cm long in the central part of the crypt, © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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under the entrance. This section is probably the most important part of the crypt, and the location for the original bones. On the left side of this section and 22cm above it, is a platform 40cm wide and 50cm long. On the opposite side and about 15cm below the central section, is a platform created with a width of 22cm and a length of 50cm. This section was separated with a 12cm rim from another part that is almost flush with the left platform (2cm difference) and has a width of 25cm. Behind all these sectors, there is a flat space with a width of 82cm. It seems that deep and central depressions that were located at the entrance of crypt were the main location for bones, and the lateral platform was used to put the older bones at the time of new burial transfer to this section. The flat and platform-like end was a place where all the bones were stored (Sharifi 2009b). 5. Conclusion Generally, this area has been considered as an area of distribution of nomads and their interactions with the residents. It seems likely that this is a nomad campsite, perhaps similar to Tepe Tula’i (Hole 1974). The existence of simple stone pleat architecture, as well as the distribution of pottery types in different layers, must be related to nomadic communities. The architectural results obtained show that of the three residential phases, phases 1 and 2 belong to historic-Islamic era, and the third phase is owned by nomadic tribes. According to the architectural remains of the first phase, establishments with a specific architecture and variety of designs and drawings of rubble stone and plaster mixture in this area represents a flourishing settlement in this area. The second phase of the occupation and culture in this area consists of houses with a simple plan, composed of a rectangular chamber made of rubble stone and river cobblestone. It seems that in this era, habitation scope was limited, and the extent and complexity of the mentioned establishment has been reduced and has a local and rural form. The third cultural period of this area was nomadic and recent establishment of this section . Basically, with regard to what is specified in the field and local surveys and in excavations till now, is that establishment of settlements are mainly in the margin of the Zard River, and scattered residential remains seem to be in different places. Because of the impassable land and inherent restrictions of the landscape for agriculture, the economy of the inhabitants of the region was provided by these seasonal settlements and livestock herding. On the other hand, the evidence for channelling and the structures constructed for irrigation, as well as for using the Zard River for irrigating marginal lands along the course of the river (e.g. Alizadeh et al. 2004), especially on the periphery of the old Jareh Dam, were destroyed during construction of the new dam. Some pieces of glazed pottery or sherds with an engraving beneath glaze that probably belong to the Ilkhanate era are scattered about. Furthermore, it is possible that the aforementioned structures belong to the age of Ilkhanate and were simultaneous with the first phase of the architecture of the place. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Bibliography Alizadeh, A. 1984 Excavations at the Prehistoric Mound of Chogha Bonut, Khuzestan, Iran. Oriental Institute Publications 120, Chicago. .

Alizadeh, A., Kouchoukos, N., Wilkinson, T. J., Bauer, A. M. and Mashkour, M. 2004 Human-environment interactions on the upper Khuzestan plains, southwest Iran. Recent investigations . Paléorient 30/1, 69–88. Alizadeh, A., Ahmadzadeh, L., Omidfar, M. and Alden, J. R. 2014 Ancient Settlement Systems and Cultures in the Ram Hormuz Plain, Southwestern Iran: Excavations at Tall-e Geser and Regional Survey of the Ram Hormuz Area . Chicago . Carter, E. 1980 Excavations in Ville Royale I at Susa: The third millennium BC occupation. Cahiers de la Délégation Archéologique Francaise en Iran 11, 7–134. Delougaz, P. and Kantor, H. 1996 Chogha Mish, Volume 1. The First Five Seasons of Excavations, 1961–1971, edited by A. Alizadeh. Oriental Institute Publications 101. Chicago. Dollfus, G. 1971 Les fouilles de Djaffarabad de 1969 à 1971. Cahiers de la Délegation Archéologique Française en Iran 1, 17–161. Hole, F. 1974 Tepe Tula’i, an early campsite in Khuzistan, Iran. Paléorient 2/2, 219–242. Hole, F., Flannery, K. V. and Neely, J. A. 1969 Prehistory and Human Ecology of the Deh Luran Plain: an Early Village Sequence from Khuzistan, Iran. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan 1. Ann Arbor. Shishegar, A. 2015 Tomb of the Two Elamite Princesses Of The House of King Shutur-Nahunte Son of Indada, NeoElamite Period, Phase IIIB (ca. 585–539 BC), Iranian Center for Archaeological Research, Tehran (in Persian). Sharifi, M. 2005 Archaeological excavations in Elhaiee. Iranian Center for Archaeological Research Journal 4, 227–252 (in Persian). 2007

Archaeological discovery in the Jare basin (Ramhormoz Khuzestan). In: 9th Conference on the Archaeology of Iran 4, 40–67 (in Persian).

2009a The Middle Susiana based on potteries (based on survey of Tepe Sabz). Journal of Archaeological Studies 1/1, 45–64 (in Persian). 2009b New discovery of a crypt in Jareh Ramhormoz. Iranian Center for Archaeology Research Journal 44, 48–56 (in Persian).

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Fig. 1 Topographic map of the new dam basin along the Zard River, Khuzestan, Iran

Fig. 2 Archaeological map of the study area © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 3 Residential space, T:I, structure 1002–1008, Sassanian period

Fig. 4 Residential space T:IV, structure 1008, Sassanian period © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 5 Pottery from excavations, T:I, Loc: 205, historic period

Fig. 6 Susiana pottery from excavations, Kalge tepe

Fig. 7 Exterior view of the crypt © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 8 Interior view of the crypt

Fig. 9 View of the old Jareh Dam

Fig. 10 Three-dimensional reconstruction of the Jareh Dam © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Landscape Archaeology in the Jarash Valley in Northern Jordan: A Preliminary Analysis of Human Interaction in the Prehistoric and Historic Periods David D. Boyer 1 Abstract The Decapolis city of Gerasa is located in the Jarash valley in northern Jordan . The city rose to prominence as a provincial centre in the Roman-Byzantine period, although the first traces of human occupation in the valley date to the Lower Palaeolithic . There was a more permanent occupation in the valley during the Chalcolithic to Iron Age periods, with apparently continuous occupation in the Hellenistic to Early Islamic periods . This paper discusses the possible reasons for this extended period of occupation in the context of what is known of the palaeoenvironment and the archaeological record .

1. Introduction The Jarash valley in northern Jordan is well known as the location of the well-preserved ruins of the ancient city of Gerasa (modern Jarash) . These ruins mainly relate to the early centuries of the Christian era when, as with its sister cities of the Hellenistic Decapolis, Gerasa became an important provincial centre that flourished under Roman hegemony (Fig . 1) . After a lull in the 3rd and 4th centuries, the city entered a period of renewal in the early fifth century as a vigorous Christian community.2 Gerasa continued as an urban centre into the ensuing Early Islamic period but was devastated by the AD 749 earthquake and was reduced to a much smaller community by the 10th century . Hellenistic Gerasa was established on the site of earlier communities dating to the Early Bronze Age (EBA) and Iron Age (IA), although the boundaries of these earlier settlements are uncertain . The archaeological history of the Jarash valley begins even earlier at Abu Suwwan, just south of the city, where Acheulian lithics were recovered in the 1940s (Kirkbride 1958) . Abu Suwwan is better known as the location of a later Neolithic ‘mega-site’ with an occupational history spanning the period 7450–5250 BC (Al-Nahar 2010) . Evidence of such a long occupation history – even if periodically interrupted – clearly implies a benign living environment . The availability of water in the area has long been seen as a factor determining settlement size and location but a more detailed understanding has been lacking until now .

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Classics and Ancient History, The University of Western Australia . Michel 2001: 224–274, listed 19 churches and chapels and another church, the so-called ‘Cross’ church, was excavated in 2011 (Shiyyab 2013) . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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2. The physical landscape A study into the ancient water management system of the Jarash valley and the adjacent Majarr-Tannur valley has yielded information that adds to our understanding of the area’s occupational history in the context of its environmental setting . It also allows a comparison to be drawn between the wholly rural occupational history of the Majarr-Tannur valley and the history of neighbouring Jarash valley that included the provincial urban centre of Gerasa in the Early Roman to Early Islamic period . Gerasa is centrally located in the 20km long Jarash valley whose headwaters rise in the Ajlun mountains at an elevation of 1200m . The valley is quite narrow for the most part but widens to the north of the city where the deep, rich, soils covering the valley floor have been cultivated since the Early Bronze Age. Climatically, the study area straddles the boundary between the temperate-dry summer Mediterranean zone that typifies the Ajlun Highlands to the west and the arid-steppe-hot summer zone to the east under the modified Köppen-Geiger climatic classification (Peel et al. 2007) . It lies in the lee of the Ajlun Highlands at a critical point on the rainfall gradient . Rainfall records from Kitta, 5km west of Jarash (543 .35mm) and Medwar, 10km east of Jarash (220 .47 mm), show that average annual rainfall for the period 1950–2008 decreased eastwards at the rate of 21mm per km across the study area (Al-Qaisi 2010: table 11 .1) . The main soil types in the study area were referred to as ‘Terra Rossa’ or ‘Red Mediterranean Soil’ under older classifications, but are now included in the ‘Xerochrept’ USDA category (Lucke et al. 2013: table I-17; USDA 1990). Typic Xerochrept colluvial soils predominate in the Jarash Valley, whereas Lithic Xerochrepts predominate in the Majarr-Tannur Valley (Ministry of Agriculture 1995) . Thicker soils have developed on valley floors and valley terraces (Fig. 2a), whereas hilltop soils are generally either thin or have been removed by erosion, exposing ‘pavements’ of bare karst limestone . Agricultural productivity is related to the amount of water available . Average annual rainfall of between 300mm and 500mm supports rain-fed agriculture; however, there are many springs and the strongest still supply irrigation systems in the lower Jarash and Tannur valleys after good winter rains . The large number of springs is a function of the existence of (mainly) limestone aquifers, rapid water infiltration in the karst terrain and direct aquifer recharge from annual rainfall . The springs respond rapidly to winter rainfall events, demonstrating high aquifer transmissivity, but flow rates diminish rapidly after winter and often cease before the onset of the following wet season . Preliminary analysis has to date identified 312 springs in the study area, of which 266 are ‘modern’ springs (defined as having evidence of activity since the early 19th century) and 46 are relict springs (whose activity predated the modern era): their locations are shown in the context of soil distribution in Fig . 2a . As published measured flow data are not available for most springs, the relative strength of spring flow has been categorised based on a simple matrix that looks at the interpreted scale © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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of water use for each spring (Table 1) . Eighty percent of strong modern springs lie in the upper-central Jarash valley: the concentration in the upper Jarash valley can be attributed to higher rainfall and direct aquifer recharge, but the reasons for the concentration closer to Jarash are more complex . Abdelhamid (1995) interpreted the geological and physiographic landscape of the Jarash valley to be one where the valley was incised into a basement of gently dipping Cretaceous limestones and sandstones that had been periodically uplifted by seismic activity . The present study has shown that the palaeo-Jarash valley and the neighbouring palaeo-Majarr-Tannur valley were partially infilled with waterborne debris flows sourced from the north that deposited a variable thickness of conglomeratic material onto the weathered Cretaceous palaeosurface . This wadi-fill deposit – informally named the Jarash Conglomerate (Boyer forthcoming) – has to date been traced over an area of 5km² within the central Jarash Valley (Fig . 2b) and an as-yet unknown extent in the Majarr-Tannur valley: its full extent remains to be established . The dating of the formation is uncertain but it may be analogous to the Pleistocene Dauqara Conglomerate in the Upper Zarqa valley (Cordova 2007: 26) . The formation underlies much of the ancient walled city . Jarash Conglomerate exposures within the city include the type section at Qairawan cave spring, 60m north of Qairawan spring (Fig . 3), and the low hill east of the Hippodrome at Bab Amman (Fig . 4a) . 3. Evidence of past pluvial events Major relict spring sites in the central Jarash valley are evidence of past pluvial climatic events . Two sites exist within the modern town on the east bank of Wadi Jarash. At the first site, Qairawan cave spring shown in Fig. 2a, multiple relict spring outlets occur at the geological contact between the Jarash Conglomerate and the underlying Upper Cretaceous Naur Limestone . One outlet was monumentalised with a plaster facade that is poorly preserved . The site may have had cultic significance at some point, and rock-cut canals of unknown date indicate that its waters were directed for use elsewhere . The second site lies to the south on the same bank of the wadi and takes the form of a relict tufa cascade or waterfall approximately 12–15m high and at least 200m long (Fig . 4b) . The spring source now lies beneath the modern town to the east and may have been on the same geological contact as the Qairawan cave spring . A tunnel aqueduct was cut behind the face of the waterfall, probably in the Roman-Byzantine period . In both cases, the relict springs were sourced by aquifers in Jarash Conglomerate that may have also been connected to shallow aquifers in the adjacent Naur Limestone upslope . Jarash Conglomerate aquifers are also probably the source of strong modern springs in the Birketein area that, based on archaeological evidence, were also important in the Roman-Byzantine period, highlighting the importance of the formation and its aquifers in the history of the Jarash valley . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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4. Settlement history patterns Information on the occupational history of the study area comes mainly from archaeological excavation and surface surveys . However, even when combined, these sources provide incomplete coverage of a landscape with a long and poorly documented occupational history . Excavation evidence is limited to the Jarash valley, notably Gerasa, where there has been intense archaeological activity since the 1920s (for example Andrade 2013: 160–169; Kraeling 1938) . Only a handful of publications cover important excavations in the Jarash valley outside of the city, for example at Birketein (McCown 1938), the monastery at Khirbet Munya (Piccirillo 1983), and the Tell Faysal Roman fortlet (Palumbo et al . 1993) . Information from surface surveys is much more extensive . A number of regionalscale archaeological surface surveys have been conducted in north-western Jordan since the late 19th century, and some partially cover the study area (Table 2) . In the present study they have been divided into two groups based on the level of survey intensity and recording detail: older, wide-ranging regional studies, and (generally) more recent local surveys . This grouping differs from the grouping of surface surveys in north-west Jordan adopted by Kennedy (2004: Table 1) into ‘Wide-ranging, purposive’, ‘Systematic’ and ‘Intensive’ surveys to take account of the smaller project area, and the inclusion of surveys by Schumacher 1902: 109–177 (Steuernagel 1924–1926) and Sapin (1998) . It is also argued that the contextualisation of local surveys based on their selectivity, as well as intensity, more accurately identifies the bias of individual surveys and, hence, their relevance in determining settlement distribution . The surface surveys all collected valuable data that has been used to assess settlement distribution; however, the biases in the data need to be recognised when interpreting the results . As noted by Philip (2008), the information gathered from each site varied considerably in detail and accuracy according to the survey method used . In many cases, site dating was based on interpretation of surface sherd scatters, and the results of several earlier surveys have been questioned in light of recent advances in ceramic typology (Bourke 2008; Bradbury et al. 2014 3) . The lack of purposive excavations of settlement sites means that archaeological evidence for earlier periods of occupation will often be hidden beneath the evidence from later periods . The uneven coverage of the wide-ranging regional surveys also introduces a bias and raises the question as to whether the surveys were comprehensive and/or representative enough to support the conclusions made by their authors . Recent detailed surveys (for example Baker and Kennedy 2010; Baker and Kennedy 2011) and aerial photographic analysis (Sapin 1998; Kennedy 2004; the current study) reveal evidence of many more ancient settlement sites than are accounted for in the earlier regional surveys .

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Their paper focused on the survey results of Hanbury-Tenison (1987) and Sapin (1992), together with a re-analysis of Sapin’s original survey material . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Previous assessments of the area’s settlement history have typically sought to analyse the data in the broad context of the topographic landscape (for example HanburyTenison 1987) . Sapin pioneered the use of a geoarchaeological approach in the district; firstly in his geoarchaeological study of the Ajlun-Jarash area (1985) and later in his detailed study east of Jarash that included the Majarr-Tannur valley (1998) . Sapin (1985: fig. 2) divided his regional study area into 19 sectors: Sector VII is almost identical with the boundary of the Jarash valley used in this paper and Sector XI broadly coincides with the Majarr-Tannur valley . The present preliminary study analyzes the settlement history in the study area in the context of the water supply and the distribution of deeper soils, based on newly acquired spring and soil data and a 5m digital surface model obtained from Alos World 3D topographic data (AW3D) . The available data suggest only a sparse human presence in the pre-EBA I period . Aside from the Neolithic ‘mega-site’ at Abu Suwwan, located on a large natural terrace above a major relict spring in Wadi Jarash, the only other known Neolithic sites lie close to Riyashi spring in the lower Majarr-Tannur valley . Occupancy of the lower Majarr-Tannur valley continued in the Chalcolithic and EBA I periods . The few confirmed Chalcolithic settlements occupy two different positions in the landscape: either adjacent to strong springs close to the valley floor (as at umm Qantarah and Tannur), or on the hilltop watershed between the Jarash and Majarr-Tannur valleys north of Jarash . The EBA I period saw an expansion of habitation sites concentrated near strong springs close to wadi floors in both valleys, with only two confirmed sites located in hilltop defensive positions. Dolmen fields were established over a 5km² area in the lower Majarr-Tannur valley (Sapin 1992: figs. 2, 3). New settlements were established for the first time near strong springs and soil-rich areas in the northern Jarash valley in EBA I (Fig . 5a) . The absence of EBA I settlements in the southern half of the Jarash valley is anomalous, given the context of rich soils and many strong springs, and is probably a function of the large ‘gap’ that exists in the regional survey coverage . There was a contraction in the number of settlements in EBA II, with evidence of only one settlement in the Jarash valley; however, occupancy of sites close to strong springs in the upper Jarash valley resumes in EBA IV (Fig . 5b) and continued into the Middle Bronze Age . Evidence from elevated Dead Sea water levels (Enzel et al. 2003) and other palaeoclimate proxy data (Rambeau and Black 2011: 95–98) shows that the onset of EBA I coincided with markedly humid climatic conditions . These humid conditions continued into the Middle Bronze Age, which implies that the contraction in the number of settlements in the EBA II to EBA IV period was probably related to factors other than climate change . Settlement expansion followed by a marked contraction was repeated in IA I and IA II, respectively, with the settlement pattern in IA I resembling the EBA I pattern but with the addition of more defensive hilltop sites (Fig . 6a) . Palaeoclimate proxy data and archaeological evidence of low Dead Sea Levels (Rambeau and Black 2011: 99) suggest that the start of IA II coincided with an arid period . The archaeological record points to the abandonment of occupation sites close to the normally strong springs in the lower Majarr-Tannur valley, and a significant contraction of settlements in the Jar© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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ash valley . There is a gap in the occupational record of the Jarash area between the late IA II period (8th century BC) and the 2nd century BC (Braemer 1989: 318) . The few confirmed settlement sites from the Hellenistic period (332–64 BC) are again concentrated in the Jarash Valley (Fig . 6b), followed by a general increase in sites in both valleys during the Roman period (Fig . 7a) . This trend continued into the Byzantine period, especially in the Jarash valley, which is attributed to the number of strong springs, extensive areas of deeper cultivable soil and wider availability of spring-fed irrigation water (Fig . 7b) . There is an apparent absence of settlements in the central Majarr valley, despite this area having one of the largest concentrations of deep soil development in the study area, which may be at least partially explained by the almost total absence of springs . The lack of irrigation water would have limited agricultural production in the central valley area, but rain-fed farming could have been practised as it is today . Records from the 1597 early Ottoman census provide the first reliable estimate of population in the study area (Hütteroth and Abdulfattah 1977) . It shows a slight reduction in the number of settlements from the Mamluk period (Fig . 8a) to nine villages (260 families or approximately 1300 persons), although they may not all have been occupied . The largest villages were concentrated in the upper Jarash valley close to strong springs (Figs . 8b) . The virtual abandonment of the lower Tannur valley is interesting, given the strength of the springs, and implies the importance of non-climatic factors . 5. Seismic impacts The study area lies just 30km east of the Dead Sea Rift . There is substantial archaeological evidence of seismic impacts to buildings within the ancient city, particularly evidence related to the AD 749 event (for example Crowfoot 1938: 242–244; Parapetti 1989: 10; Walmsley 2007: 259), which devastated the entire Decapolis region . Outside the city, however, there is evidence of a different kind that points to the effects of seismic activity in the valley more broadly . On a regional scale, uplift of the region east of the Jordan has resulted in changes to the base level of the valley floors, affecting the rate of headward erosion within each. Locally there is abundant evidence of landslides; the result of a combination of lithological, topographic, seismic and in some cases climatic factors . There is evidence of many smaller scale but still damaging seismic effects to buildings and infrastructure . Aqueducts and other water-related installations were often damaged due to the unfortunate preference for constructing these installations on the edge of rock terraces, where they were prone to damage resulting from rock falls and toppling failure (Fig . 9a, b) . Slope analysis of AW3D topographic data shows that slopes over the area are generally 5–10 degrees; however, slopes of 20–25 degrees are common in the lower Jarash and the lower Tannur valley where there is a long history of landslide development (Fig . 10a) . These landslides not only caused dislocation of soil-covered © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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slopes but also resulted in the detachment of rock surfaces over considerable distances (Fig . 10b) . Landslide impacts include the reduced availability of land for farming and changes to access routes (roads) and the path of wadis . 6. Preliminary conclusions There is evidence that the climate and landscape in the Jarash valley have changed and evolved over the past million years or so, and that the settlement history reflects responses to these changes. Before the first humans came to the valley in the Lower Palaeolithic, the proto-Jarash valley was partially filled with debris-flow deposits. This formation, the Jarash Conglomerate, was subsequently calcretised and eroded, and eventually formed the surface upon which the prehistoric and historic settlements near Gerasa were built . Far from being a geological curiosity, this formation played an important role in the city’s history . Its aquifers supplied strong springs in the prehistoric, and perhaps early historic, periods and the combination of a hard surface crust and softer underlying material provided cave-shelters and ideal conditions for the construction of necropoleis on the outskirts of various settlements by Iron Age and later inhabitants . Relict springs and a substantial relict tufa cascade in the heart of the city are evidence of one or more pluvial periods that pre-dated the Roman-Byzantine period . The tufa terrace on the east bank also provided a suitable area on which to establish a settlement . The prevailing climate determined the amount of water available for both rain-fed and spring-fed agriculture, and it is likely that agriculture beyond subsistence in the Roman-Early Islamic period depended on the availability of spring-fed irrigation water . Both the Jarash and the adjacent Majarr-Tannur valleys contain rich soils but their settlement histories differ noticeably, with the larger irrigation systems in the Roman-Byzantine period being restricted to the Jarash valley and the lower Tannur valley . The greater settlement density in the Jarash valley from the Iron Age, and the subsequent establishment of the provincial urban centre of Gerasa, reflects the importance of higher rainfall, stronger springs and deeper soils . Jarash lies at a sensitive point on the rainfall gradient east of the Ajlun highlands, and the microclimatic oscillations that would have resulted from periodic regional climate change at least partly explain the changes in settlement patterns evident in the prehistoric and Medieval periods . However, it is unlikely that climate change accounts for population declines over the study area in the EBA II–Late Bronze Age period, and in the lower MajarrTannur valley in the early Ottoman period . The region is subject to periodic seismic events . Although the archaeological evidence for these mainly comes from structural damage from within the city, the effects of major events would also have been felt in the countryside where they are attested by landslides and rock falls . This affected access but also had a dramatic impact on the aqueduct network, which was particularly sensitive to such damage . Aqueduct networks are expensive to build and maintain, and difficulties in maintaining the system would have exacerbated the changes and difficulties brought by a changing climate. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Bibliography Abdelhamid, G . 1995 The Geology of Jarash Area, Map Sheet No. 3154–I . Bulletin 30 . Amman . Al-Nahar, M . 2010 Tell Abu Suwwan, a Neolithic Site in Jordan: Preliminary report on the 2005 and 2006 field seasons . Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 357, 1–18. Al-Qaisi, B . M . 2010 Climate change Effects on water resources in Amman Zarqa Basin – Jordan . In: Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation: Advanced International Training Programme in Norrkoping – Sweden October 25–November 19, 2010 . Stockholm, 1–39 . Andrade, N . J . 2013 Syrian Identity in the Greco-Roman World. Greek Culture in the Roman World . Cambridge . Baker, F . M . C . and Kennedy, D . L . 2010 Report on the Jarash Hinterland Survey 2005 and 2008 . American Journal of Archaeology 114, 519–521 . Baker, F . M . C . and Kennedy, D . L . 2011 Jarash Hinterland Survey 2010 – An overview of results . Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 55, 451–466 . Boyer, D . D . forthcoming Jarash water project: Report on 2014 field season. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan. Bourke, S . J . 2008 The Chalcolithic period . In: R . B . Adams (ed .), Jordan: An Archaeological Reader . London, 109–160 . Bradbury, J ., Braemer, F . and Sala, M . 2014 Fitting upland, steppe, and desert into a ‘Big Picture’ perspective: A case study from Northern Jordan . Levant 46, 206–229 . Braemer, F . 1989 History of exploration at Jerash . In: I . D . Homès-Fredericq and J . B . Hennessy (eds .), Archaeology of Jordan II, Volume 1, Field Reports, Surveys and Sites (A–K) . Leuven, 316–319 . Cordova, C . E . 2007 Millennial Landscape Change in Jordan. Geoarchaeology and Cultural Ecology. Tucson . Crowfoot, J . W . 1938 The Christian churches (Jerash) . In: C . H . Kraeling (ed .), Gerasa: City of the Decapolis . New Haven, 171–262 . Enzel, Y ., Bookman, R ., Sharon, D ., Gvirtzman, H ., Dayan, U ., Ziv, B . and Stein . M . 2003 Late Holocene climates of the Near East deduced from Dead Sea level variations and modern regional rainfall . Quaternary Research 60, 263–273 . Hanbury-Tenison, J . W . 1987 Jarash region survey 1984 . Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 31, 129–157, 555–556 . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Hütteroth, W . and Abdulfattah, K . 1977 Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century. Nürnberg . Kennedy, D . L . 2004 Settlement in the Jarash basin and its wider context: A proposal for fieldwork and a research project to interpret and explain settlement and landuse in North-West Jordan . In: F . al-Khraysheh (ed .), Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan 8, 197–215 . Kirkbride, D . 1958 Notes on a survey of pre-Roman archaeological sites near Jerash . Bulletin of the Institute of Archaeology of the University of London 1, 9–20 . Kraeling, C . H . 1938 Gerasa: City of the Decapolis. New Haven . Lucke, B ., Ziadat, F . and Taimeh, A . 2013 The soils of Jordan . In: M . Ababsa (ed .), Atlas of Jordan: History, Territories and Society . Beirut, 72–76 . McCown, C . C . 1938 The festival theatre at the Birketein . In: C . H . Kraeling (ed .), Gerasa: City of the Decapolis . New Haven, 159–167 . Michel, A . 2001 Les églises d’époque byzantine et umayyade de Jordanie (provinces d’Arabie et de Palestine), Ve–VIIIe siècle. Typologie architecturale et aménagements liturgiques, (avec catalogue des monuments) . Bibliothèque de l’Antiquité Tardive 2 . Turnhout . Ministry of Agriculture 1995 National Soil Map and Land Use Project: Semi Detailed Soil Map Jarash Sheet No. 4 Scale 1:50,000 . Commission of the European Communities SEM/03/628/005 . Amman . Palumbo, G ., ‘Amr, K ., Musa, A . and Rasson-Seigne, M . 1993 The cultural resources management project in Jordan: Salvage Excavations at ‘Tell Faysal’, Jarash . Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 37, 89–117 . Parapetti, R . 1989 Scavi e restauri italiani nel santuario di Artemide, 1984–1987 (Jerash) . Syria 66, 1–39 . Peel, M . C ., Finlayson, B . L . and McMahon, T . A . 2007 Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 11, 1633–1644 . Philip, G . 2008 The Early Bronze Age I–III . In: R . A . Adams (ed .), Jordan: An Archaeological Reader. London, 161–226 . Piccirillo, M . 1983 Il complesso monastico di Khirbet Munya . Rivista di Archeologia Cristiana 59, 349–362 . Rambeau, C . M . C . and Black, S . 2011 Palaeoenvironments of the Southern Levant 5,000 BP to present: Linking the geological and archaeological records . In: S . Mithen and E . Black (eds .), Water Life and Civilisation: Climate, Environment and Society in the Jordan Valley . Cambridge, 94–104 . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Sapin, J . 1985 Prospection géo-archéologique de l’Ajlûn 1981–82, Exemple de recherche intégrante . In: A . Hadidi (ed .), Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan 2, 217–227 . 1992

De l’occupation à l’utilisation de l’espace à l’aube de l’age du bronze dans la région de Jérash et sa périphérie orientale . In: S . Tell (ed .), Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan 4, 169–174 .

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A l’est de Gerasa . Aménagement rural et reseau de communications . Syria 75, 107–136 .

Schumacher, G . 1902 Dscherasch . Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 25, 109–177 . Shiyyab, A . 2013 The Cross Church: A New Archaeological Discovery in Jerash, Jordan . Journal for History and Archaeology 7, 153–172 [in Arabic] . Steuernagel . C . 1924 Der ‘Adschlun . Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 47, 191–240 . 1925

Der ‘Adschlun . Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 48, 201–392 .

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USDA 1990 Keys to Soil Taxonomy . SMSS Technical Monographs 19 . Blackburg, Virginia . Walmsley, A . 2007 Households at Pella, Jordan: Domestic destruction deposits of the mid-8th century . In: L . Lavan, E . Swift and T . Putzeys (eds .), Objects in Context, Objects in Use: Material Spatiality in Late Antiquity . Late Antique Archaeology 5 . Leiden, 239–272 .

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Table 1 Spring flow categorisation matrix based on interpreted scale of us

Table 2 List of published surveys in study are

Fig . 1 Plan showing study area and catchment boundaries on 5m digital surface model from AW3D (©NTT Data, RESTEC/Image ©2016 CNES/Astrium © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig . 2 a – Distribution of springs and areas of deeper soil (Image ©2016 CNES/Astrium) b – Distribution of Jarash Conglomerate in Jarash valley (Image ©2016 CNES/Astrium)

Fig . 3 Qairawan cave spring, central Jarash, showing relict spring outlets at contact between Jarash Conglomerate and underlying Upper Cretaceous Naur Limestone and ancient canal

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Fig . 4 a – Jarash Conglomerate exposed in cave-shelter, Bab Amman, b – 12m high tufa cascade and entrance to aqueduct tunnel, central Jaras © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig . 5 Major springs (dots) and soil areas (Image ©2016 CNES/Astrium) (a) EB I settlement sites (Bradbury et al. 2014) (b) EB IV settlement sites (Bradbury et al. 2014)

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b Fig . 6 Major springs (dots) and soil areas (Image ©2016 CNES/Astrium) a – IA I settlement sites; b – Hellenistic settlement sites

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b Fig . 7 Major springs (dots) and soil areas (Image ©2016 CNES/Astrium) a – Roman settlement sites; b – Byzantine settlement sites © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig . 8 Major springs (dots) and soil areas (Image ©2016 CNES/Astrium) a – Mamluk settlement sites; b – Villages recorded in 1597 Ottoman census (Hütteroth and Abdulfattah 1977)

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b Fig . 9 Earthquake damage to aqueducts a – Bab Amman; b – West Jarash

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Fig . 10 Landslip back scarps: a – Lower Jarash valley low angle oblique view (looking south) (Aerial photograph APAAME_19530000_HAS-6–111 courtesy of APAAME; Image © CNES/Astrium); b – Bab Amman aqueducts removed by landslip (Photo courtesy of APAAME, APAAME_20140428_ DDB-0326; photographer D . Boyer) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

ECONOMY & SOCIETY edited by F. Höflmayer

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Shell Ornaments from the Bishri Cairn Fields

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Shell Ornaments from the Bishri Cairn Fields: New Insights into the Middle Bronze Age Trade Network in Central Syria Takuro Adachi 1 – Sumio Fujii 1 Abstract A large number of Middle Bronze Age cairn fields have been discovered at Mount Bishri in central Syria. Based on analyses of 14C-data and unearthed objects, we can consider that the cairn fields were built by Middle Bronze Age pastoral groups during a short period. Quite a few shell ornaments have been recovered from these cairn fields. Based on the biological classifications of these shell ornaments, the cairn fields can be divided into two groups: northern and southern. Moreover, these biological classifications can be used to examine Early and Middle Bronze Age sites in northern Syria. As a result, we suggest that the shell ornament association of the northern group corresponds to Early and Middle Bronze Age sites located in the northernmost part of Syria.

1. Introduction We previously investigated the northwestern flank of the Mount Bishri area to obtain archaeological evidence of Bronze Age pastoral nomad groups (Figs. 1 and 2). We eventually surveyed 396 cairns and 36 cairn fields, and we excavated 52 cairns (Fujii and Adachi 2010). In this paper, we will discuss marine shell ornaments recovered from the cairn fields. Such ornaments were prevalent among all artifacts from the Bishri cairn fields. In particular, we focus on cowry, Nassa mud snail, cone snail, and ring-shaped shell ornaments to classify the cairn fields into certain groups. Although we found a large number of cairn fields, we will restrict our focus to four areas: Wadi Jar al-Tyur, Wadi Hedaja, Wadi Hayuz, and Tor Rahum (Fig. 2). This is because shell ornaments were unearthed from all four of those areas. We have eight 14C-data from Tor Rahum 1. These data range from approximately 1900 calBC to 1650 calBC (Nakamura 2010). Apart from those data, an unearthed bronze dagger dates from 2000 BC to 1750 BC (Adachi and Fujii 2010a). An unearthed disc-headed toggle pin and bird-shaped amulet similarly date from 2000 BC to 1500 BC (Adachi and Fujii 2010b; Adachi and Fujii 2010c), and a small jar with a straight neck dates from 1800 BC to 1600 BC (Adachi 2013). The 14C-data, therefore, correspond to the dating of bronze objects and pottery.

1

Institute of Human and Social Sciences, Kanazawa University, Japan. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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A further important point is that a disc-headed toggle pin and a small jar with a straight neck from Tor Rahum 1 have morphological features that are similar to those from Hammam et-Turkman and Chagar Bazar. We can assume, therefore, that some type of relations existed between the Mount Bishri area and the northernmost part of Syria . 2. Analysis of marine shell ornaments Twenty-seven marine shell ornaments were unearthed from the Bishri cairn fields. Although a shell biologist, Taiji Kurozumi, classified some specimens based on photos, we have not yet investigated all specimens. Since all archaeological objects from the Bishri cairn fields are stored in ar-Raqqa, it is currently very difficult for us to observe them. Here, we will analyze four types of marine shell ornaments: cowry, Nassa mud snail, cone snail, and ring-shaped shell ornaments. This is because there is a relatively a large number of these four types, and they were easily identified through photos. Among the cowry shell ornaments that were recovered (Fig. 3.1, 2), we can observe artificial perforations and cuttings on their dorsal bodies. These shells can be identified as honey cowry (Erosaria helvola helvola). Honey cowry are known as a type of Red Sea snail. Cowry shell ornaments were only unearthed from the Wadi Hedaja and Wadi Jar al-Tyur areas, which are in the northern part of the research area. Nassa mud snail (Nassarius gibbosulus) ornaments were found only in the Wadi Hedaja area (Fig. 3.3, 4). These snails were commonly used for ornamental material in ancient West Asia. The cowry and Nassa mud snail ornaments were found only in the northern part of the research area: Wadi Hedaja and Wadi Jar al-Tyur. The cone snail ornaments can be morphologically classified into two types: circular and square (Fig. 3.5–8). It is not possible, however, to biologically classify them in detail since their whole bodies were processed to a significant extent. These ornaments were produced by cutting vertically on the long axis. They were only unearthed from the Wadi Hayuz and Tor Rahum areas, which are in the southern part of the research area. The ring-shaped shell ornaments have the same morphological features as the circular cone ornaments and were likely produced from cone snails (Fig. 3.9). As with the cone snail ornaments, these were only unearthed from Wadi Hayuz and Tor Rahum areas. To summarize the above, we found that the distribution of shell ornaments can be divided into two groups: the northern group, which includes the cowry and Nassa mud snail ornaments, and the southern group, which includes the cone snail and ringshaped shell ornaments. 3. Early and Middle Bronze Age shell ornaments in northern Syria Figure 4 shows the quantities of shell ornaments unearthed from the Bishri survey area (Fig. 4.1, 2). Based on the results, we can suggest that in the northern group the © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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cowry and Nassa mud snail ornaments are associated, and in the southern group the cone snail and ring-shaped shell ornaments are associated. In this section, we examine shell ornaments unearthed from Early and Middle Bronze Age sites in northern Syria. Eight sites are analyzed: Tell Ali al-Hajj (Ishida et al. 2014), Munbāqa (Czichon and Werner 1998), es-Sweyhat (Holland et al. 2006), Tell Bi‘a (Strommenger and Kohlmeyer 1998), Wadi Shabout (Kume and Numoto 2009), Abu Hamad (Falb et al. 2005), Chagar Bazar (McMahon et al . 2009), and Baghouz (Du Mesnil du Buisson 1948). The shell ornaments unearthed from these sites are examined in relation to the two shell ornament associations identified above: the cowry and Nassa mud snail ornaments, and the cone snail and ring-shaped shell ornaments. The cowry and Nassa mud snail associations were only unearthed from Tell Ali al-Hajj and Chagar Bazar (Fig. 4.3, 4). Tell Ali al-Hajj is located in the middle basin of the Euphrates, and Chagar Bazar is located in the Khabur River basin in the northernmost part of Syria. The cone and ring-shaped shell ornament associations were unearthed from Tell Bi‘a, Abu Hamad, and Wadi Shabout (Fig. 4.5–7); however, only three objects were found in Wadi Shabout. Tell Bi‘a, Abu Hamad, and Wadi Shabout are located in the middle basin of the Euphrates River and in the neighboring regions of the Bishri area. We did not find the two associations in es-Sweyhat, Munbāqa, or Baghouz (Fig. 4.8–10). 4. Conclusion We now know that the cowry and Nassa mud snail ornament associations exist in the northern Bishri group and the northernmost part of Syria – specifically, Tell Ali alHajj and Chagar Bazar. Likewise, we know that the cone snail and ring-shaped shell ornament associations exist in the southern Bishri group and the southern part of the examined sites – namely, Tell Bi‘a, Abu Hamad, and Wadi Shabout. In the examinations of bronze objects and pottery mentioned in Section 1, we assumed some kind of relation existed between the Mount Bishri area and the northernmost part of Syria. In this paper, we have suggested that the cowry and Nassa mud snail ornament association exists in both the Bishri area and the northernmost part of Syria. Since this hypothesis is based on the analysis of a few types of unearthed specimens, more objects unearthed from the Bishri area need to be considered. Given the current situation in Syria, it is very difficult to investigate the cairn fields in the Bishri area. At this stage, we can assume that a large number of those cairn fields are divided into the two groups (northern and southern). Moreover, we can suggest that the shell ornament association of the northern group corresponds to that of a few sites in the northernmost part of Syria and that the shell ornament association of the southern group corresponds to that of some sites in the neighboring regions of the Bishri area. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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An important point is that the northern group had relations with areas further away than the southern group did. In addition, since the cowry snail ornaments from the northern group were brought from the Red Sea, we can hypothesize that Bishri ancient pastoral nomad groups carried these cowries to the northernmost part of Syria. In the future, this hypothesis must be examined by considering the biological classifications of unearthed marine shell objects from Early and Middle Bronze Age sites in Syria. Acknowledgements This work was supported by JPS KAKEN Grant Numbers JP15K02974 and JP25220402. Bibliography Adachi, T. 2013 Dating of Small Jar with a Straight Neck from the Bishri Cairn Fields. In: K. Onuma (ed.), Farmers and Herders in the Eurasian Arid Area. Rokuichi-shobo. Tokyo, 159–169 (in Japanese). 2016

Shell Ornament Processing Methods in Northern Syria during the Early and Middle Bronze Ages. Bulletin of the Ancient Orient Museum 35, 31–44.

Adachi, T. and Fujii, S. 2010a Dating of a Dagger from a Bronze Age Cairn Field in the Northwestern Flank of Mt. Bishri, Central Syria. Journal of West Asian Archaeology 11, 119–127 (in Japanese). 2010b Dating of a Bird-shaped Faience Amulet from Wadi Hedaja 1 Cairn Field in the Northwestern Flank of Mt. Bishri, Central Syria. Bulletin of the Okayama Orient Museum 24, 109–119 (in Japanese). 2010c Bronze Objects from Wadi Hedaja 1. Newsletter: Integrated Research in the Bishri Mountains on the Middle Euphrates 11, 7–13 (in Japanese). Czichon, R. M. and Werner, P. 1998 Tall Munbāqa-Ekalte I: Die bronzezeitlichen Kleinfunde. Wissenschaftliche Veröffentlichung der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 97. Ausgrabungen in Tall Munbāqa-Ekalte 1. Saarbrücken. Du Mesnil du Buisson, R. 1948 Baghouz, l’ancienne Corsôtê: Le tell archaïque et la Nécropole de l’âge du bronze. Documenta et monumenta orientis antiqui 3. Leiden. Falb, C., Krasnik, K., Meyer, J-W. and Vila, E. 2005 Gräber des 3. Jahrtausends v. Chr. im syrischen Euphrattal. 4. Der Friedhof von Abu Hamad . Schriften zur Vorderasiatischen Archäologie 8. Saarwellingen. Fujii, S. and Adachi, T. 2010 Archaeological Investigations of Bronze Age Cairn Fields on the Northwestern Flank of Mt. Bishri. Al-Rafidan Special Issue 2010, 61–77. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Holland, T. A., Goodway, M. and Roaf, M. 2006 Excavations at Tell es-Sweyhat, Syria, Volume 2 . Archaeology of the Bronze Age, Hellenistic, and Roman Remains at an Ancient Town on the Euphrates River. Oriental Institute Publications 25. Chicago. Ishida, K., Tsumura, M. and Tsumoto, H. (eds.) 2014 Excavations at Tell Ali al-Hajj, Rumeilah: A Bronze-Iron Age Settlement on Syrian Euphrates . Tokyo. Kume, S. and Numoto, H. 2009 Investigations of Early Bronze Age Cemeteries near the Site of Tell Ghanem al-Ali. Newsletter: Integrated Research in the Bishri Mountains on the Middle Euphrates 14, 11–19 (in Japanese). McMahon, A., Colantoni, C., France, J. and Sotysiak, A. 2009 Once There Was a Place: Settlement Archaeology at Chagar Bazar, 1999–2002. London. Nakamura, T. 2010 The Early Bronze Age Chronology Based on 14C Ages of Charcoal Remains from Tell Ghanem al-Ali . Al-Rafidan Special Issue 2010, 119–129. Strommenger, E. and Kohlmeyer, K. 1998 Ausgrabungen in Tall Bi‘a/Tuttul I: Die altorientalischen Bestattungen. Wissenschaftliche Veröffentlichungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 96. Saarbrücken.

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Fig. 1 Topographical map of Mt. Bishri and the research area (revised from Fujii and Adachi 2010: fig. 1)

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Fig. 2 Distribution of Bronze Age cairn fields in the research area (revised from Fujii and Adachi 2010: fig. 2). TTL: Tell Tleha; WJT: W. Jal al-Tur; WHD: W. Hedaja; TNZ: Tell Nazha; WDH: W. Daher; JDH: Jal Daher; TAB: Tell Abrak; WAH: W. Ahmar; WHY: W. Hayuz; WRH: W. Rahum; TRH: Tor Rahum; TSB: Tor Subiai

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Fig. 3 Shell ornaments from the Bishri Area (1, 2: cowry snails; 3, 4: Nassa mud snails; 5–8: cone snails; 9: ring-shaped shell ornament) (revised from Fujii and Adachi 2010: fig. 7 and Adachi 2016: fig. 4) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Cowry 5% (1) Others 44% (7)

Cowry 31% (5)

Others 27% (3)

Ring 18% (2)

Nassa 25% (4)

Cone 55% (6)

Cone 19% (4)

Nassa 57% (12)

Nassa 82% (14) 4. Chagar Bazar

3. Tell Ali al-Hajj Cone 3% (1)

Ring 9% (13) Cone 4% (6)

Others 19% (23) Nassa 68% (98)

5. Bi ‘a

Others 20% (1)

Ring 33% (1) Ring 97% (32)

6. Abu Hamad

Others 23% (4) Nassa 80% (4)

8. es-Sweyhat

Cone 18% (3)

Cowry 6% (1)

Others 19% (4)

2. Southern group

1. Northern group

Ring Others 6% (1) 6% (1)

Nassa 59% (10)

9. Munbaqa

Cone 67% (2)

7. W. Shabout

Cone 100% (1)

10. Baghouz

Fig. 4 Pie charts of shell ornament quantities in the Bishri area and northern Syria during the Early and Middle Bronze Ages

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Between Specialized Productions and Hierarchical Social Organizations

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Between Specialized Productions and Hierarchical Social Organizations: New Data from Upper Mesopotamia and the Northern Levant Johnny Samuele Baldi 1 Abstract As part of an ongoing study on relations and differences between the Chalcolithic northern Levant and northern Mesopotamia, this paper presents an anthropological reading of the assemblages of Tell Feres al-Sharqi and Tell Qarassa North (in northeastern and southern Syria respectively) between the 5th and the first half of the 4th millennium BC . Although the ceramic specialization processes in the two regions significantly differed in the organizational patterns of the respective political economies, the evidence stressed here is that the production moved from household models to more specialized organizations . At the same time, the appearance of the wheel-coiling technique and some new data from Lebanese collections suggest the existence of a bond between two different specializing economies, where parttime specialists appeared for the first time as structural components of the production system.

1. Introduction: two sites in two (completely inconsistent?) regions Specialization is a central topic in Near Eastern late prehistory . Indeed, the bond between specialization and social ‘complexity’ (especially social hierarchy)

has been widely documented by anthropological and ethno-archaeological studies (Feinman 1995; Roux 2003a; Patterson 2005; Costin 2007; Brun et al. 2006; Frangipane 2007). Conversely, archaeology establishes inferences between the material record and hierarchical organizations, while specialization – here intended as the undertaking by some specific social entities of a production process previously carried out by all the groups of a community – often remains a notion difficult to document in its dynamics . Starting from two Syrian case studies, the aim of this paper is to observe the evolution of the ceramic techniques in two regions – northern Mesopotamia and the Levant – considered as fundamentally separate during late prehistory (Mazar 1990; Lovell and Rowan 2010). The approach here presented has been (and is being) applied to dozens of sites, 2 but Tell Feres al-Sharqi and Tell Qarassa North

1 2

Institut Français du Proche-Orient, Beirut. This paper does not suggest that Tell Feres and Tell Qarassa North represent in themselves the north Mesopotamian and Levantine paths towards specialization . It is likely that in both regions ceramic techniques existed that were not documented in the sites chosen as case-studies . But the same method of analysis has been applied to other assemblages from the Lebanese region in the Levant (see below) as well as from Syrian Jazeera (Tell Umm el-Khahfe, Tell Nahar Khalinj and Kashkashok) and Iraqi Kurdistan (namely Bosken, Ibrahim Katchal, Qalaat Saïd Ahmadan, Gulak, Salkis, Alyawa, Dinka, Qaladiza – where extensive ceramic samples have been collected during the © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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yielded extensive assemblages widely representative of the evolution of the macro-regions where they are located (Fig. 1). Moreover, their geographic distance and the virtual absence of reciprocal contacts imply that similarities between northern Mesopotamia and northern-central Levant can in no way be attributed to occasional relations . Tell Feres al-Sharqi, a 4ha site in the Khabur basin, thrived essentially on largescale dry-farming and offers a rare overview of north Mesopotamian society during the 5th–4th millennia BC . Its dwellings, communitarian buildings, granaries and potters’ workshops show the evolution of a village community progressively involved in the proto-urban development of Tell Brak, a close agglomeration with respect to which Tell Feres became a productive rural periphery (Forest et al. 2012; Vallet 2014). The northern mound at Tell Qarassa is located in the south Syrian Leja basaltic plateau, where pastoralist subsistence strategies were at least as important as agriculture . Architectural remains are represented by several ovens and by a large dwelling with the entrance marked by two stone pillars (Braemer 2011; Godon et al. 2015). Clearly, in terms of ceramic ‘horizons’, ‘classes’ or ‘wares’ there are no similarities at all between the Ubaid-post-Ubaid assemblage from Tell Feres and the post-Wadi Rabah/Byblos Néolithique Récent and Enéolithique Ancien Ghassulian-related assemblage from Tell Qarassa North . So the traditional typological approach would be completely useless to compare the two processes of specialization . 2. Evolution of the chaînes opératoires at Tell Qarassa and Tell Feres The chaîne opératoires approach encompasses all stages of the manufacturing process and highlights different traditions corresponding to different groups of producers (Roux and Courty 2005; Roux and Courty 2007; Baldi 2012b; Baldi 2013). First of all, the analysis consists of distinguishing technical entities and their variants; recurrent combinations of macro- and micro-traces of fashioning and finishing show a set of specific operations, corresponding to different technical groups. Then, within each technical group, all sherds are classified to sort their petrographic features, both on the basis of the fine mass and non-plastic inclusions. Finally, a morpho-stylistic classification (a traditional typology) of the sherds is established within each techno-petrographic group . Each chaîne opératoire identified in this way was typical of a particular group of craftspeople because it was transmitted through generations by a specific network of apprenticeship (Gelbert 2003; Gosselain 2002; Stark et al. 2008). Since technical relationships between traditional chaînes opératoires reflect social relations between different groups of producers, chaîne opéra-

MAFSG survey, directed by J. Giraud, UMR 7041 – and also at Girdi Qalaa and Lgrdan – where the French Mission directed by R. Vallet (CNRS) is carrying on extensive excavations). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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toires belonging to different cultural horizons can be compared with respect to the evolution of their production systems . At Tell Feres, vessels were shaped by (Fig . 2): 1. breaking a mound of clay and by hammering it, 2 . hollowing-out a lump, pinching and stretching it and smoothing both surfaces, 3. hollowing-out a lump, pinching and stretching it, smoothing the internal surface and scraping the exterior one, 4 . overlapping 4 .5cm thick coils, 5 . overlapping 2 .5cm thick coils, 6. wheel-coiling technique. Within these categories, many techno-petrographic groups have been recognized on the basis of the pastes, which belong to three main classes: – A group: beige calcareous vegetal fabrics, with mineral inclusions (gneiss, quartz or, as the A3 type, serpentine). – B group: reddish-orange fabrics with feldspars, calcareous and medium to coarse vegetal inclusions . – C group: orange and rose vegetal pastes with particles of sedimentary rocks, calcium carbonates (type C7) and coarse basaltic inclusions (type C8) . At Tell Qarassa North vessels were shaped by: 1’. breaking a mound of clay and by hammering it, 2’ . hollowing-out a lump and pinching and stretching it, 3’. overlapping 4.5cm thick coils, 4’ . overlapping 2 .5cm thick coils, 5’ . wheel-coiling technique . Within these categories, the techno-petrographic groups are characterized by the combination of each shaping method with three main macro-classes of fabrics: – A’ group: yellowish-beige fabrics, vegetal and mineral inclusions (basalt, calcite and ferruginous particles) . – B’ group: orange-red and brownish mineral fabrics, with important quantities of ferruginous inclusions . – C’ group: orange-reddish fabrics with small size vegetal and mineral inclusions (basalt, limestone) and coal particles . The apparent strong similarity between the technical contexts of Tell Qarassa and Tell Feres is, most of the time, an illusion created by the schematic representation of the chaînes opératoires (Fig . 2) . It is obvious that, in such distant regions, fabrics are very different from a petrographic point of view . The main parallel, namely the existence in both sites of pastes used especially for cooking vessels (the respective C groups), depends on the very specific function of kitchenware that one can observe in many sites of any region in any period . Likewise, if one looks at the details, the hammering was performed by instruments of very different sizes at the two sites, and the surface finishing (smoothing or burnishing) of the containers manufactured © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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by hollowing-out was created by means of stones, bones and sticks in the Levant, and by means of cloths or simply by hand in northern Mesopotamia . In the same way, 4 .5cm thick coils were overlapped with an unlike disposition of the junctions . It confirms the existence of very distinct technical gestures and tools involved in the chaînes opératoires of such distant sites . Nevertheless, other similarities do not seem fortuitous at all . In particular, the overlapping 2.5cm thick coils and the wheel-coiling (techniques 5 and 4’, 6 and 5’), even if used for morphologically different vessels, are absolutely identical . But, above all, the evolution of the chaînes opératoires shows that there is nothing accidental in these parallels . The most striking feature in the technical evolution of both assemblages is a clear trend towards the selection of the traditional chaînes opératoires (Table 1). Not only do they dramatically decrease in number, but they also do so following the same chronological rhythm . The major evolutional discontinuity happened between Middle and Late Chalcolithic – between Late Ubaid and Late Chalcolithic 1, at the middle of the 5th millennium BC . Some shaping techniques, such as hammering and the 4 .5cm thick coils, disappeared . At the same time, ceramic pastes were submitted to a slow process of selection . It means that the assemblages became more and more homogeneous . Indeed, since the middle of the 5th millennium BC, northern Mesopotamia and the Levant began to appear as two koines, respectively the Chaff-Faced/ Gawra horizon (Marro 2010; Baldi and Abu Jayyab 2012) and the Ghassulian-Byblos Énéolithique Ancien repertoire (Garfinkel 1999; Bourke 2007). On the one hand, one can observe the disappearance of the Ubaid-related painted wares and the standardization of the coarse vegetal fabrics; while on the other hand, one can notice the disappearance of the Wadi Rabah-related red-burnished wares and the diffusion of the basaltic-ferruginous fabrics . In both regions, the middle of the 5th millennium BC is marked by the first serially (or ‘mass’) produced bowls (the scraped-bottom Coba bowls in northern Mesopotamia and the ‘V’-shaped ones in the Levant – Baldi 2012a; Roux 2003b). The production was morphologically and technically standardized because it was concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer artisans . The disappearance of many chaînes opératoires indicates that several groups of artisans producing on a small-scale (for instance family-based household units) ceased their production and became consumers of vessels manufactured by other groups . These ones broadened their scale of production (for instance, on a lineage basis) . In other words, this was a process of craft specialization and increasing social hierarchy . Even more remarkable is the almost simultaneous emergence of the potter’s wheel, taking place in the two regions by the same shaping method and the same modalities (Fig. 3, above). Wheel-coiling – a very specific technique – was used for the production of very peculiar small bowls, ‘V’-shaped in the Levant and globular in northern Mesopotamia. The first appearance of the rotational kinetic energy in ceramic manufacturing was not aimed at improving the productivity, but rather was used for middle-sized, fine and rare containers (Baldi 2012b; Baldi 2013; Roux 2003b; Roux and Courty 2005). Moreover, in both regions the wheel-coiling ap© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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peared within the technical tradition characterized by overlapping 2.5cm thick coils; it involves coils of roughly the same size, built with the same internal oblique orientation of the junctions . It does not constitute an internal development of a previous tradition. On the contrary, the wheel-coiling innovation marks a clear discontinuity because the rotating kinetic energy requires radically new, complex skills and a long period of apprenticeship (about three years) . As far as the specialization process, it implies a rationalized production, with a more and more restricted number of parttime specialists (Roux and Corbetta 1989; Roux 2007: 203–205). However, these parallels – the progressive selection of the chaînes opératoires, the 2 .5cm coils technique, the concomitant emergence of serial productions as well as of the wheel-coiling technique – do not call into question the consensus existing about the quite hierarchical social organization in northern Mesopotamia (Stein 2012), and the relatively heterarchical system in the Levant (Lovell and Rowan 2010). A certain degree of hierarchy, with artisans producing for markets exceeding by far the horizon of their village is compatible with many different forms of agency, as top-down oriented powers, or elites cooperating with each other according to horizontal relationships . It is rather the supposed inconsistency of the two regions, which is called into question . In this sense, the role of the Lebanese area is fundamental . 3. In the middle: New data from the Lebanese region The Lebanese area has long remained a dark spot due to the lack of studies . Some recent analyses have already suggested an early adoption of the potter’s wheel in the Beqaʿa Valley (Badreshany 2013: 253), but the issue of the regional and supra-regional context of this innovation is still very uncertain. Since 2015, a joint research program carried out by the Ifpo-Beirut and by the Museum of Lebanese Prehistory (Université Saint-Joseph), has been conducting technical analysis of ceramic collections from Lebanese sites . These assemblages come from ancient surface collections and excavations (massively carried out during the French Mandate), as well as from ongoing surveys in central Lebanon . 3 All the 32 assemblages analysed so far (Fig. 1), show the same evolutionary pattern observed at Tell Feres and Tell Qarassa North . The specialization process emerged as a selection of the technical traditions leading to a more and more homogeneous production, concentrated in the hands of some specialists . Both in large sites (Jisr, Ard Tlaili, Arslan, Khalde, Naccache, Rouaisset al-Khalle) and smaller ones (Dbaye, Qalaa ʿAïcha, Jeita, Ras al-Kelb), both on the coast (Naqura, Birket Rama,

3

I am heading this research program in cooperation with Maya B. Haidar (Museum of Lebanese Prehistory – USJ). Some sites where ancient trenches have been excavated between the 1880s and 1920s have been re-surveyed, while new surveys have been carried out at several sites, especially in the coastal area and in central Lebanon . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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el-Heloue) and in the interior country (Dommale, Taʿnayil, Baabdat), the rhythm of this process is marked by a discontinuity in the middle of the 5th millennium BC . Concerning serially produced bowls, several assemblages contain both north Mesopotamian bottom-scraped Coba bowls and Levantine ‘V’-shaped bowls. As in the whole Levant, Lebanese assemblages show the appearance of the potter’s wheel at the end of the 5th millennium BC for the ‘V’-shaped bowls. The only variant of rotational kinetic energy technique documented in Lebanon is wheel-coiling, used for small sized bowls, both ‘V’-shaped as in the Levant and globular as in northern Mesopotamia (Fig. 3, below). As in the southern Levant and at Tell Feres, the petrographic features of the wheel-coiled vessels in Lebanon suggest a foreign nature of some components and a highly specialized production. In particular, they show a very fine, dark, sandy clay matrix with marble inclusions. It does not fit with the local mineral panorama, characterized by different qualities of terra rossa-like red clays (Sayegh and Salib 1969: 168; Gasse et al. 2011). Furthermore, the homogeneity of the petrographic components of the wheel-coiled bowls – both the ‘classical’ Levantine ‘V’-shaped ones and the north Mesopotamian-like globular ones – is quite remarkable throughout the entire Lebanese region . Within every single assemblage, the wheel-coiled bowls differ from the rest of the sherds and, at the same time, show a quite standardized and uniform composition in spite of disparate provenance areas (from the northern Beqaʿa Valley, coastal plains or central hilly geographical contexts). Even if the pedology of the Lebanese area is unevenly known (Badreshany 2013: 60–61), the marble inclusions seem to be strangers to this region. On the one hand, the petrographic peculiarity of the Lebanese wheel-coiled bowls (different both from the rest of the assemblages and from the local mineralogical context) recalls the foreign character of the fabrics used to manufacture the first north Mesopotamian (Baldi 2012b) and southern Levantine (Roux 2003b) wheel-coiled bowls between the second half of the 5th and the beginning of the 4th millennium BC. On the other hand, the presence of ‘V’-shaped and globular wheel-coiled bowls, even if not yet attested as simultaneous shapes from well-stratified contexts, seems to be a clue to the existence of both north Mesopotamian and Levantine specialized ceramic productions in Lebanon . In other words, Lebanon does not seem to have been a border between two essentially different regions, but rather an area of mutual exchange of technical solutions adopted for concomitant phenomena modified according to different organizational systems . 4. Conclusions: some questions to orient further investigations It is too soon to make hypotheses about the origins of Levantine-north Mesopotamian connections . However, it is tempting to look for some kind of trigging phenomenon during the first centuries of the 6th millennium BC, before the beginning of the sequence known from Tell Feres, when the selection of the chaînes opératoires © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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(the specialization process) seems to have begun . Intriguingly, it is in this period that the 2 .5cm thick coils technique appeared at Tell Qarassa North and in the Lebanese region . This very basic way to build vessels has not been documented during the Levantine Late Neolithic . It is attested amongst the 7th–6th millennia BC technical traditions in northern Mesopotamia, but it does not appear in the Dark-Face-Burnished-Ware-related assemblages in Lebanon, nor in the 7th millennium BC Yarmukian-related assemblage from Tell Qarassa North . Since its sudden emergence in the production of early Chalcolithic ceramics at Tell Qarassa North and in many Lebanese sites (Yerate, Nahar Damour, Aaramoun, Ard Tlaili, Qleiate), this tradition was used to manufacture the entire functional range of vessels, including cooking pots . Therefore, it was typical of a social group completely independent from the others for ceramic production (Roux and Courty 2005). Since the appearance of this technique, the parallels with the technical evolution of northern Mesopotamia become evident . Later on, the wheel-coiling technique appeared as an innovation and a fundamental rupture within this same tradition, suggesting the existence – both in northern Mesopotamia and in the Levant – of very skilled part-time specialists . For the first centuries of the 6th millennium BC, some morphological similarities between Levantine Wadi Rabah assemblages and Mesopotamian Halaf-early Ubaid repertoires have already been stressed (Kaplan 1958; Kaplan 1960; Garfinkel 1999: 105). Other simultaneous phenomena, such as the emergence of rectilinear architecture (Garfinkel and Ben Shlomo 2009) and the first extramural cemeteries (Nativ 2014) also occurred starting from this same period. It seems evident that in order to elucidate the dynamics of the Levantine-Mesopotamian Chalcolithic paths towards social complexity (Stein et al . in press), in the future, beyond a mere technical-ceramic record, it will be necessary to draw on a reassessment of ancient assemblages (Byblos), on new Lebanese stratigraphic excavations and on non-ceramic evidence . Acknowledgements I would like to thank R. Vallet (CNRS) and F. Braemer (CNRS), directors of the French archaeological missions at Tell Feres and Tell Qarassa respectively, for their permission to publish materials and data from both sites . The two missions are currently interrupted because of the political situation in Syria . Technical data from the French archaeological survey of the Sulaymaniyah Governorate in Iraqi Kurdistan (MAFSG, directed by J . Gioraud) will be soon published more extensively . Bibliography Badreshany, P. K. 2013 Urbanization in the Levant: An Archaeometric Approach to Understanding the Social and Economic Impact of Settlements Nucleation in the Biqā’ Valley. PhD thesis, University of Chicago, Chicago . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Baldi, J . S . 2012a Coba bowls production, use and discard: A view from Tell Feres al Sharqi. In: R. Matthews and J . Curtis (eds .), Proceedings of the 7th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East 12 April – 16 April 2010, the British Museum and University College London, London. Volume 1. Wiesbaden, 355–368. 2012b Anthropological reading of the ceramics and emergence of a profession: A Protohistoric North-mesopotamian view from Tell Feres al-Sharqi . In: L . Girón, M . Lazarich and M . Conceição Lopes (eds.), Proceedings of the I International Congress on Ceramic Studies. Tribute to Mercedes Vegas / I Congreso Internacional sobre Estudios Cerámicos. Homenaje a Mercedes Vegas – Cadiz (Spain), 1st to 5th November 2010. Cadiz, 477–504. 2013

Ceramic technology at Tell Qarassa North (southern Syria): from ‘cultures’ to ‘ways of doing’. In: L. Bombardieri, A. D’Agostino, G. Guarducci, V. Orsi and S. Valentini (eds.), SOMA 2012. Identity and Connectivity: Proceedings of the 16th Symposium on Mediterranean Archaeology, Florence, Italy, 1–3 March 2012. Volume I: ‘Near Eastern Identities’ . British Archaeological Reports 2581. Oxford, 17–24.

Baldi, J . S . and Abu Jayyab, K . 2012 A comparison of the ceramic assemblages from Tell Feres al-Sharqi and Hamoukar. In: C. Marro (ed .), After the Ubaid. Interpreting Change from the Caucasus to Mesopotamia at the Dawn of Urban Civilization (4500–3500 BC). Papers from the Post-Ubaid Horizon in the Fertile Crescent and Beyond. International Workshop held at Fosseuse 29th June–1st July 2009. Paris, 163–182. Bourke, S . J . 2007 The Neolithic/Chalcolithic transition at Teleilat Ghassul: Context, chronology and culture. Paléorient 33/1, 15–32. Braemer, F . 2011 Badia and Maamoura, the Jawlan/Hawran regions during the Bronze Age: Landscapes and hypothetical territories . Syria 88, 31–46. Brun, P., Averbouh, A., Méry, S. and de Miroschedji, P. 2006 Les liens entre la complexité des sociétés traditionnelles et le niveau de spécialisation artisanale. In: A. Averbouh, P. Brun, C. Karlin, S. Méry and P. de Miroschedji (eds.), Spécialisation des tâches et Société . Actes de la Table Ronde organisée par les Thèmes Transversaux 2 et 3 de l’UMR 7041–ArScan (MAE-R. Ginouvès, Nanterre), Oct. 2003/Oct. 2004 . Techniques et Cultures 46. Paris, 321–343. Costin, C . L . 2007 Craft production systems. In: G. M. Feinman and T. D. Price (eds .), Archaeology at the Millennium. New York, 273–327. Feinman, G . M . 1995 The emergence of inequality: A focus on strategies and processes. In: T. D. Price and G. Feinman (eds .), Foundations of Social Inequality. London, 255–279. Forest, J.-D., Vallet, R. and Baldi, J. S. 2012 Tell Feres al Sharqi: A 5th–4th millennium site in the Khabur drainage basin. In: R. Matthews and J . Curtis (eds .), Proceedings of the 7th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East 12 April – 16 April 2010, the British Museum and University College London, London. Volume 1. Wiesbaden, 33–50. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Frangipane, M . 2007 Different types of egalitarian societies and the development of inequality in Early Mesopotamia . World Archaeology 39/2, 151–176. Garfinkel, Y. 1999 Neolithic and Chalcolithic Pottery of the Southern Levant. Qedem 39. Jerusalem. Garfinkel, Y. and Ben-Shlomo, D. 2009 Shaʽar Hagolan Volume 2. The Rise of Urban Concepts in the Ancient Near East. Qedem Reports 9. Jerusalem. Gasse, F., Vidal, L., Develle, A. L. and Van Campo, E. 2011 Hydrological variability in the Northern Levant: A 250ka multi-proxy record from the Yammouneh (Lebanon) sedimentary sequence . Climate of the Past 7, 1261–1284. Gelbert, A . 2003 Traditions céramiques et emprunts techniques dans la vallée du fleuve Sénégal. Ceramic Traditions and Technical Borrowings in the Senegal Valley. Paris. Godon, M ., Baldi, J . S ., Ghanem, G ., Ibáñez, J . J . and Braemer, F . 2015 Qarassa North Tell, southern Syria: The pottery Neolithic and Chalcolithic sequence. A few lights against a dark background . Paléorient 41/1, 153–176. Gosselain, O. 2002 Poteries du Cameroun. Paris. Kaplan, J . 1958 Excavations at Wadi Rabah. Israel Exploration Journal 8, 149–160. 1960

The relations of the Chalcolithic pottery of Palestine to Halafian ware. Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research 159, 32–36.

Lovell, J. L. and Rowan, Y. (eds.) 2010 Culture, Chronology and the Chalcolithic: Theory and Transition . London . Marro, C . 2010 Where did late Chalcolithic Chaff-faced ware originate? Cultural dynamics in Anatolia and Transcaucasia at the dawn of the urban civilization (ca. 4500–3500 BC). Paléorient 36/2, 35– 55 . Mazar, A . 1990 Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, 10,000–586 B.C.E. New York . Nativ, A . 2014 Prioritizing Death and Society: The Archaeology of Chalcolithic and Contemporary Cemeteries in the Southern Levant . Durham . Patterson, T. C. 2005 Craft specialization, the reorganization of production relations and state formation. Journal of Social Archaeology 5, 307–337. Roux, V. 2003a Ceramic standardization and intensity of production: Quantifying degrees of specialization. American Antiquity 68/4, 768–782. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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2003b A dynamic systems Framework for studying technological change: Application to the emergence of the potter’s wheel in the Southern Levant . Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 10/1, 1–30. 2007

Non emprunt du façonnage au tour dans le Levant Sud entre le Ve et le IIIe mill . av . J .-C .: des régularités pour des scénarios historiques particuliers. In: P. Rouillard, C. Perlès and E. Grimaud (eds .), Mobilités, immobilisme. L’emprunt et son refus. Paris, 201–213.

Roux, V. and Corbetta, D. 1989 The Potter’s Wheel. Craft Specialization and Technical Competence . New Delhi . Roux, V. and Courty, M.-A. 2005 Identifying social entities at a macro-regional level: Chalcolithic ceramics of South Levant as a case study . In: A. Levingstone-Smith, D. Bosquet and R. Martineau (eds.), Pottery Manufacturing Processes: Reconstruction and Interpretation: Actes du XIVe congrès de l’IUSPP, Liège, 2001. British Archaeological Reports International Series 1349. Oxford, 201–214. 2007

Analyse techno-pétrographique céramique et interprétation fonctionnelle des sites: un exemple d’application dans le Levant Sud Chalcolithique . In: A . Bain, G . Chabot and M . Mousette (eds .), Recherches en archéometrie: la mésure du passé. British Archaeological Reports International Series 1700. Oxford, 153–167.

Sayegh, A . H . and Salib, A . J . 1969 Some physical and chemical properties of soils in the Beqa’a plain, Lebanon. Journal of Soil Science 20/1, 167–175. Stark, M . T ., Bowser, B . and Horne, L . (eds .) 2008 Cultural Transmission and Material Culture. Breaking Down Boundaries . Tucson . Stein, G . J . 2012 The development of the indigenous complexity in the Late Chalcolithic Upper Mesopotamia in the 5th and 4th millennia BC: An initial assessment . Origini 24, 125–152. Stein, G., Alizadeh, A. and Rowan, Y. (eds.) in pressPathways to Power, Comparative Perspectives on the Emergence of Political Authority and Hierarchy in the Ancient Near East. Proceedings of the International Conference held on November 4–5, 2011 . Chicago . Vallet, R. 2014 Tell Feres 2010: Recent discoveries on the Ubaid and Late Chalcolithic in North Syria. In: P. Bieliński, M. Gawlikowski, R. Koliński, D. Ławecka, A. Sołtysiak and Z. Wygnańska (eds.), Proceedings of the 8th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Volume 2. Excavation and Progress Reports. Wiesbaden, 271–288.

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Fig. 1 Location of the sites mentioned in the text (1. Tell Feres, 2. Tell Brak, 3. Tell Nahar Khalinj, 4. Tell Umm el-Kahfeh, 5. Kashkashok, 6. Tepe Gawra, 7. Qalaat SaïdAhmadan, 8. Bosken, 9. Ibrahim Katchal, 10. Gulak, 11. Salkis, 12.Alyawa, 13. Qaladiza, 14. Dinka, 15. Gird-i Qalaa, 16. Lgrdan, 17. Jisr, 18.Ard Tlaili, 19. Arslan, 20. Khalde, 21. Naccache, 22. Rouaisset al Khalle, 23. Dbaye, 24. Qalaa ʿAïcha, 25. Jeita, 26. Ras al-Kelb, 27. Yerate, 28. Naqura, 29. Birket Rama, 30. el-Heloue, 31. Nahr Damour, 32. Dommale, 33. Ta’nayil, 34. el-Qlaiaat, 35. Baabdat, 36. Bchamoun, 37. Aaramoun, 38. Bikfaya, 39. Tell Qarassa)

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Fig . 2 Schematic representation of the main steps of the chaînes opératoires at Tell Qarassa and Tell Feres

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Fig. 3 Diagnostic attributes of the wheel-coiling technique (above) and wheel-coiled bowls from central-northern Levant (below): 1–2: Tell Qarassa North, southern Syria; 3: Nahr Damour, coastal area, central Lebanon; 4: Qlaiaat, interior country, central Lebanon; 5: Tell ʿAin el-Ghassil, central Beqaʿa Valley, Lebanon; 6: ʿAin el-Metn, northern Beqaʿa Valley, Lebanon

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Table 1 Evolution of the chaînes opératoires at Tell Qarassa and Tell Feres

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Ivory at the Transition from the Late Bronze to the Early Iron Age in Transjordan: Trade and Distribution Teresa Bürge 1 – Peter M. Fischer 2 Abstract Ivory is regarded as one of the most important exotic luxury items in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Near East . The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of ivory objects from Transjordan in the Middle Bronze Age and, specifically, the Late Bronze Age and the transition to the Iron Age. Their styles and foreign influences will be discussed. These objects prove the continuing demand for ivory in this region and show that Transjordan, which belonged to the Eastern Mediterranean cultural sphere, was part of the ‘international’ trade network .

1. Introduction: sources of ivory In order to assess the value of elephant and hippo ivory, its availability and role in the trade of luxury items during the Late Bronze Age and in the early Iron Age, a short overview of the textual and archaeological evidence in the Near East will be provided . Finds of elephant or hippo tusks without associated bones in the archaeological record only attest to trade of the raw material often over long distances (see e .g . the evidence of unworked elephant and hippo tusks as well as worked ivory objects from the Uluburun shipwreck in Pulak 2008). In contrast, finds of complete skeletal remains of elephants may prove that the animals were hunted – and thus lived – in the local environment . It is still disputed if the Near East was a natural habitat of these animals (Becker 1994; Becker 2008; Pfälzner 2013) or if they were kept in a sort of reserve or zoological park and were traded from India or came to the northern Levant as tribute (Caubet and Poplin 1987; Gachet-Bizollon 2007: 15–16) . A population of elephants in the Near East during the Bronze Age could not yet be proven, but is at least ecologically plausible (Lister et al . 2013) . Hippopotami inhabited the Nile until the 19th century CE (Kolska Horwitz and Tchernov 1990: 69). Skeletal remains of hippo are attested at various northern Levantine Late Bronze Age coastal sites, and along the Orontes River (Caubet and Poplin 1987: 293; see also Gachet-Bizollon 2007: 16). The presence of hippos in

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OREA, Department for Egypt and the Levant, Austrian Academy of Sciences. Department of Historical Studies, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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the southern Levant during the Bronze Age has been suggested by Kolska Horwitz and Tchernov (1990), although only dental remains have been found there . At present we can conclude that in the Bronze and Iron Ages, ivory was traded to the southern Levant from both Africa and Asia/India as well as from the northern Levant. However, the sources and trade routes of ivory objects, which were imported to the Near East, changed through time depending on the political situation . In the Middle Bronze Age, hippo ivory seems to have been the material of choice in the Levant (see references in Caubet 2013: 450–451). In the Late Bronze Age, the production and use of ivory seems to have increased drastically, and ivory artefacts were part of the ‘international trade’ . Elephant ivory gained in popularity, although most artefacts were still produced of hippo ivory. One should also mention the predilection of hippo ivory for certain items, for instance, the duck pyxides (see below; Adler 1996: 69–71). Although statistically not representative for the entire Levant, the situation at the Royal Hypogeum at Qatna (dated to the LB I–IIA) confirms the previous statement: there were around 175 items of hippo ivory whereas only three objects were of elephant ivory (Pfälzner 2013: 124). Similarly, the context of the royal tomb of Kamid el-Loz, which was in use from the end of the reign of Thutmosis III to the middle of the reign of Amenophis III, shows an overwhelming majority of hippo ivory items and only few of elephant ivory (Miron 1990; summarized by Fischer 2007: 29–30). At Ugarit, the ratio between elephant and hippo ivory varies considerably; while the royal palace yielded mainly items of elephant ivory, most of the ivories found in tombs and in other parts of the town were made of hippo ivory (Gachet-Bizollon 2007: 31). This led to the conclusion that hippo ivory was less prestigious (Caubet and Poplin 1987: 291; Feldman 2006: 119; Gachet-Bizollon 2007: 232). Nevertheless, this statement is not tenable in the light of the large number of hippo ivory artefacts in the above mentioned elite contexts. In any case, in the Late Bronze Age, the evidence from the Levant shows that both materials were available, but that either elephant or hippo ivory was preferred for the production of specific objects (see also Fischer and Wicke 2011: 244–245). A taxonomy problem should be mentioned. On carved objects, it is often very difficult to distinguish visually between hippo and elephant ivory. The presence of the anatomical commissure, which is characteristic for a hippo’s tusk, is not always visible on a carved object . The commissure is usually the only way to distinguish between them, as carving and surface treatment may obscure species specific details. 2. Evidence of workshops? Clear evidence of ivory workshops in the Levant is still missing. Such evidence should include all of the following: the presence of unprocessed raw material, debitage, unfinished and defective objects together with finished objects, and possibly © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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also tools for ivory working . There is, however, so far no context where the complete evidence is represented . At Ugarit, only one piece of debitage has been found (Caubet and Poplin 1987: 282, fig. 14). The large amount of production debris (Luciani 2006b) and possibly also unfinished items (Luciani 2006a: 31) at Qatna may point to a palatial workshop. In any case, Ugarit and its harbour, Minet el-Beida, was an important transhipment centre for raw and worked ivory and it is likely that workshops were located at Ugarit or in its vicinity, or along the Syro-Palestinian coast. Although complete evidence of ivory production has not been found at Ugarit, the know-how of ivory working was present there in the Late Bronze Age (Caubet 2013: 452–453). One should also consider production by travelling craftsmen, who are mentioned in contemporaneous written sources (Podany 2010: 245 with further references). 3. Primary find contexts in Transjordan 3 .1 Tell Irbid Several sophisticated ivory objects came from a tomb at Tell Irbid in northern Jordan (see position in Fig . 1), in the centre of the modern town (Fischer et al . 2015) . The tomb comprises a single burial chamber for one female of high rank . She had been buried with ceramic vessels and small finds, including gold and other jewellery . Outstanding amongst the finds of ivory from her tomb are two exquisitely carved small boxes, one of them with a lid, and one larger palette with carved calves whose heads resemble those of lions . The most remarkable, however, is a large horn-shaped ivory object with the carved decoration of an ungulate in relief . The two smaller boxes (one in Fig . 2) seem to be of hippo ivory and are decorated on the flat rim with concentric lines enclosing a rope pattern and have two rectangular ledge handles, which are perforated by holes in order to fasten a flat lid with a peg. One of the lids is preserved and decorated with a lotus rosette and double borders surrounded by three concentric circles (Fig . 2, right) . The palette with the carved calves was cut from one (!) piece of ivory (most likely elephant ivory) and decorated with two pairs of recumbent calves with the heads turned backwards on either side (Figs . 3, 4) . The base of the bowl on the exterior bears an incised lotus rosette composed of 14 petals . The object depicting an ungulate is cut from a hippo tusk . It is approximately 15cm long and partly hollow (Fig . 5) . The surface has been carved in high relief, leaving a raised representation of the hoofed front legs of a recumbent ungulate to the left, the body in the centre, and the hind legs of the animal to the right . The animal is a bovine calf or an antelope, judging by its slender legs. On the upper, slightly flattened side of the object are two rectangular openings, which are exactly sized to hold a small conical ivory juglet, the bottom of which ends in a square-shaped tenon. Thus, either there was another juglet, or the empty square hole was used to attach the neck and © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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the head of the ungulate, which did not accompany the object when the female was buried . The open, wider part of this object was closed with a lid with two perforations . Based on the associated pottery the tomb can be dated to around 1200 BCE or – at the latest – to the beginning of the 12th century BCE, i.e. the very end of the Late Bronze Age . 3 .2 Pella This site is located in the eastern foothills of the Jordan Valley (see position in Fig . 1). It is a multi-period site and one of the most important Middle and Late Bronze Age sites in Transjordan . The so-called ‘lion box’ was found in a pit in a large monumental structure (Potts 1986) . It consists of ivory panels, which were originally held together by a wooden frame . There are Djed-pillars and papyrus stalks flanking blank panels in the centre, which once may have been painted . A top panel shows a winged sun-disc and a serpent below . Most interesting is the lid, which shows two antithetically placed rampant lions with intertwined Uraei in between . The box could have been an heirloom from the later part of the Middle Bronze Age and was possibly in use during the early part of the Late Bronze Age (Potts 1986; Fischer 2014). Another ivory item is the so-called ‘bull-calf’ (Potts et al. 1988: 377, fig. 1). It was found in an Iron Age IIA (10th century BCE?) context in Tomb 89 – a burial of at least three individuals –, but was a re-used furniture inlay perhaps dating from as early as the LB II. It was found on the chest of an individual together with a beaded collar, suggesting re-use as a pectoral piece (S. Bourke, personal communication, April 2016) and depicts a calf with a backwards-turned head amidst tendrils . 3.3 Tell es-Sa‘idiyeh Tell es-Sa‘idiyeh is located in the central Jordan Valley (Fig. 1) and was occupied from the Early Bronze Age to the early Islamic period (there are though several occupational lacunae). The town functioned as an Egyptian outpost in the Late Bronze Age and was destroyed in approximately 1150 BCE according to the excavators (Tubb and Dorrell 1991: 69). Ivory objects are known from five tombs at Tell es-Sa‘idiyeh (tombs 46, 101, 102, 204 and 232) . Tomb 101, one of the richest burials in the cemetery, is a single burial with five ceramic vessels, many beads, metal jewellery, six bronze vessels and a bronze tripod (Pritchard 1980: 10–14) in addition to five items of ivory: a ‘swimming girl’ cosmetic spoon, two ivory bottles and two cosmetic boxes with covers (Pritchard 1980: 39, fig. 3.6–10). A small square inlay of ivory is from Tomb 102 (Pritchard 1980: 43, fig. 5.14). Another burial is Tomb 46, which contained a number of ceramic vessels, some of them imitations of Mycenaean imports, bronze objects, a stone vessel and three ivory combs (see assemblage in Tubb 1988: 67, fig. 48A). An ivory box with incised © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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decoration of a bull running towards a tree comes from a double pithos burial in Tomb 204 (Tubb 2002: pl. 4c). Tomb 232 contained the skeleton of a single adult interred face down (Tubb 1988: 64; Tubb 2002: 89). An ivory cosmetic box in the form of a fish was found inside a bronze bowl placed over the genitals of the deceased (Tubb 1988: 66, fig. 47; Tubb 2002: 89, fig. 57). The presence of bones of three fish on top of the skull (Tubb 2002: 89) is interesting in combination with this unique fish box of ivory. In fact, the overall shape of the box corresponds to the widely distributed duck boxes (see distribution in Adler 1996: 72, fig. 21), but it has the fins and tail of a fish. The lid shows the head of the fish and the body with carved scales. All these tombs can be dated to the Late Bronze to early Iron Age transition according to the associated material . Thus, an absolute dating to around or just after 1200 BCE is suggested, although Green (2006: 270–271) prefers a somewhat lower chronology . 4. Transjordanian ivories in their ‘international’ context The ivory material from Middle and Late Bronze Age Transjordan is very diverse; it includes small containers for cosmetics, other toilet items and pieces of furniture . As a full list of all parallels to these items would go beyond the permitted space of this paper, only an overview will be provided . Pyxides, or boxes of rounded shape were made of stone, paste/composite material, ivory, bone, pottery, and wood and were relatively frequent in the Near East (Wicke 2008: 15–46) and especially in the later part of the Late Bronze Age in the Levant. A box with a gypsum lid from Pella, Tomb 20, which is decorated with dots, circles and petals (McNicoll et al. 1982: 48, nos. 96, 98; pl. 114.14–15; Sparks 2007: 116–117, fig. 43.5–6), is a close parallel to those from Tell Irbid and to the fragmentary box from Tell es-Sa‘idiyeh. Other cosmetic bowls with lids come, inter alia, from the ivory hoard in Megiddo, Stratum VIIA (Loud 1939: pl. 200.2), Kamid el-Loz (Miron 1990: pl. 43.1), Ugarit (Gachet-Bizollon 2007: 359, pl. 9.61–63; 360, pl. 10.64–66) and Enkomi on Cyprus (Courtois 1984: 56; fig. 18 .6) . It is likely that these cosmetic boxes may have been produced locally or at least in the (southern) Levant. The shape of the wide and shallow palette from Tell Irbid that depicts two ‘feline calves’ and the flat palette from Tell es-Sa‘idiyeh are not as frequent as the deeper pyxides. A good parallel comes from early Iron Age Tell es-Safi/Gath, dated to the early 11th century BCE (Maeir et al . 2015), which proves a certain continuity of ivory working in the southern Levant from the Late Bronze to the Iron Age (see also the pyxis from the 11th century BCE Stratum X of Tell Qasile in Mazar 1985: 10, 12–13, fig. 3.2). As regards the calves on the shallow palette from Tell Irbid, there is a close parallel from the Royal Palace at Ugarit (Gachet-Bizollon 2007: 399, pl. 49.414). However, the felines from Ugarit were applied by means of a mortice, whereas the © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Irbid object is cut from one piece of ivory . The stance of the animals with the backwards-turned heads resembles that of the ‘bull-calf’ plaque from Pella. There are no good parallels to the carved object with the lid and the inserted juglet with tenon from Tell Irbid, consequently it should be considered unique. It is somewhat similar to the cylindrical flasks from Tomb 101 at Tell es-Sa‘idiyeh. This type of flask was mainly present from the advanced and late part of the Late Bronze Age and was commonly made of bull horns, elephant tusks or lower incisors of hippos (see discussion and compilation by Fischer 2007: 185–276). An object that resembles the couchant ungulate comes from the ivory hoard of the Stratum VIIA palace at Megiddo (Loud 1939: pl. 24:129). The object from Megiddo is much smaller and has a depression on the upper side similar to those of the widely distributed duck-shaped boxes (see above) . It is only incised with decorations, inter alia, of rosettes, but none in high relief . As regards stylistic criteria, the execution of the ungulate’s legs from Tell Irbid resembles that of an ivory figurine of a bovine or cervine from the treasury at Kamid el-Loz (Miron 1990: 189, fig. 63; pl. 39.2). The swimming girl spoon from Tell es-Sa‘idiyeh is badly preserved, but can be assigned to a group of objects, which are highly standardised . They consist of a handle depicting a recumbent girl holding a scoop (sometimes in the form of a bird) in her outstretched arms . These derive from Egyptian prototypes, which were made of wood or of ivory (see catalogue in Fischer 2007: 319–324) and are known from the treasury at Megiddo, from Beth-Shean, Deir el-Balah, Lachish and Tell es-Safi in the southern Levant and from Enkomi in Cyprus (Fischer 2007: 316–319, 332–334 with further references). The find contexts of these items can be dated to the later part of the Late Bronze Age, i.e. mainly the 13th century BCE. In contrast, the fish box from Tell es-Sa‘idiyeh seems to be unique. Although the general shape and idea was borrowed from the widely distributed duck boxes, of which fragments or complete items have been found in Italy (Guglielmino 2005: 37, fig. 1; 39, fig. 3.1), Greece, Cyprus, the northern and southern Levant, Mesopotamia and Egypt (Adler 1996: 72, fig. 21). The fish box was most likely carved in the Levant. The ivory combs from Tell es-Sa‘idiyeh have three peaks at the top of the grip and resemble Egyptian counterparts of wood from the New Kingdom. However, these combs usually have four peaks (see e.g. Vandier d’Abbadie 1972: 141–145, nos. 612, 617). Similar combs are known, for instance, from the northern cemetery at Beth-Shean (without peaks; Oren 1973: 216, fig. 41.34), from Ugarit (no peaks visible; Gachet-Bizollon 2007: 351, pl. 1.1) or from the Royal Hypogeum at Qatna (Pfälzner 2013: 124, fig. 14). A comb from the Megiddo treasury shows a skilfully carved animal combat scene (Loud 1939: pl. 16.107). Cylindrical boxes or pyxides with incised decoration, such as the box from Tell es-Sa‘idiyeh are usually carved from an elephant’s tusk. A pyxis from Ugarit (Gachet-Bizollon 2007: 420, pl. 70.79) depicting a carved bull and two humans has a slight resemblance to the motif on the pyxis from Tell es-Sa‘idiyeh. Also in this case we suggest a Levantine production. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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The lion box from Pella represents a special case as it is the oldest of the discussed objects – and thus goes beyond the scope of the paper . However, it is interesting to note that the iconography of the carvings on the box is largely Egyptian, although details carried out in a ‘non-Egyptian’ way (Potts 1986: 219) suggest that it was produced by foreign craftspeople . 5. Conclusions Almost all discussed ivories from Transjordan were found in contexts dating to the later part of the Late Bronze Age or the Bronze to Iron Age transition, i.e. from the 13th century BCE to the period around 1200 BCE or possibly slightly later. Almost all of them – except for the lion box from Pella, which predates the other ivory objects – derive from tombs. Thus, it is difficult to assess their use in daily life. As regards the range of styles and traditions represented by the (Middle) and Late Bronze Age ivory objects, they reflect the cosmopolitan character and the intense interregional trade connections of this period, in which Transjordan took part . The Transjordanian objects are certainly from different workshops judging from their style and execution . The associated finds in the tombs from Tell es-Sa‘idiyeh, which contained ivory items, indicate that the buried persons were wealthy – in particular Tomb 101 with the jewellery, the large amount of bronze objects and the five items of ivory. In contrast, the ‘Ivory Tomb’ from Tell Irbid contained fewer ‘precious’ items and the pottery was fairly simple and locally produced. Luxurious pottery imports, for instance from Cyprus and the Aegean, which were common in Transjordan in the Late Bronze Age (see e.g. van Wijngaarden 2002: 34–124) and are also attested in the cemetery of Tell es-Sa‘idiyeh (Pritchard 1980: passim), are absent. Similarly, the burials of the later phase (11th–9th centuries BCE) at Tell es-Sa‘idiyeh lack any ivory objects (Green 2006: 381). All this hints at a relatively sudden break in intercultural relations and a rupture in ivory trade at the Late Bronze to Iron Age transition. Thus, the ivories from Tell Irbid, which may have been kept for a considerable time, only represent an echo of more intensive intercultural relations . Due to the lack of evidence for ivory workshops in Transjordan, we can assume that the objects were not locally produced but traded . Trade with Ugarit seems to be fairly convincing considering that the closest parallels, for instance to the carved felines of the large, shallow, palette from Tell Irbid, come from the Royal Palace at Ugarit. Others may have been imported from Cisjordan. The ivory hoard from Stratum VIIA at Megiddo included several ivory bowls, which also may have been imported from Ugarit . As regards the carving style, there are strong relations to Egypt, although it is unlikely that any of these objects were produced in Egypt . In light of the Egyptian dominated Cisjordan during the Late Bronze Age, the Egyptian influence on the carving style of ivory objects is not surprising. The diminished access to ivory certainly was connected to the withdrawal of Egypt from the southern © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Levant and unruly times around 1200 BCE and later, which usually are termed the ‘crisis years’ . The same applied to ivory objects imported from ‘greater’ Ugarit, as the town was destroyed at the beginning of the 12th century BCE (Yon 1992). Bibliography Adler, W . 1996 Die spätbronzezeitlichen Pyxiden in Gestalt von Wasservögeln. In: R. Hachmann (ed.), Kāmid el-Lōz 16: ‚Schatzhaus‘-Studien. Saarbrücker Beiträge zur Altertumskunde 59. Bonn, 27–117. Becker, C. 1994 Elfenbein aus den syrischen Steppen? Gedanken zum Vorkommen von Elefanten in Nordostsyrien im Spätholozän. In: M. Kokabi and J. Wahl (eds.), Beiträge zur Archäozoologie und prähistorischen Anthropologie: 8. Arbeitstreffen der Osteologen, Konstanz 1993 im Andenken an Joachim Boessneck. Forschungen und Berichte zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte in Baden-Württemberg 53. Stuttgart, 169–181. 2008

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Caubet, A. 2013 Working ivory in Syria and Anatolia during the Late Bronze–Iron Age. In: K. A. Yener (ed.), Across the Border: Late Bronze-Iron Age relations between Syria and Anatolia: Proceedings of a Symposium held at the Research Center of Anatolian Studies, Koç University, Istanbul, May 31–June 1, 2010. Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Supplement 42. Leuven, 449–463. Caubet, A. and Poplin, F. 1987 Les objets de matière dure animale: Étude du matériau. In: M. Yon (ed.), Ras Shamra-Ougarit III. Le centre de la ville: 38.–44. campagnes (1978–1984). Éditions recherche sur les Civilisations Mémoire 72. Paris, 273–306. Courtois, J.-C. 1984 Alasia III: Les objets des niveaux stratifiés d’Enkomi (fouilles C.F.-A. Schaeffer 1947–1970) . Mission archéologique d’Alasia 6. Paris. Feldman, M . H . 2006 Diplomacy by Design: Luxury Arts and an ‘International Style’ in the Ancient Near East, 1400– 1200 BCE. Chicago. Fischer, E . 2007 Ägyptische und ägyptisierende Elfenbeine aus Megiddo und Lachisch: Inschriftenfunde, Flaschen, Löffel. Alter Orient und Altes Testament 47. Münster. Fischer, E. and Wicke, D. 2011 Review of diplomacy by design: Luxury arts and an ‘International Style’ in the Ancient Near East, 1400–1200 BCE, by M. H. Feldman. Welt des Orients 41, 240–249 . Fischer, P . M . 2014 The Southern Levant (Transjordan) during the Late Bronze Age. In: M. L. Steiner and A. E. Killebrew (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant: c. 8000–332 BCE. Oxford, 555–570. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fischer, P. M., Bürge, T. and As-Shalabi, M. A. 2015 The ‘Ivory Tomb’ at Tell Irbid, Jordan: Intercultural relations at the end of the Late Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age . Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 374, 209–232 . Gachet-Bizollon, J. 2007 Les ivoires d’Ougarit et l’art des ivoiriers du Levant au Bronze récent. Ras Shamra-Ougarit 16. Paris . Green, J. D. M. 2006 Ritual and Social Structure in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Levant: The Cemetery at Tell es-Sa’idiyeh, Jordan. PhD thesis, University College London, London. Guglielmino, R. 2005 Due manufatti di avorio d’ippopotamo rivenuti negli scavi di Roca Vecchia (Lecce). In: L. Vagnetti, M. Bettelli and I. Damiani (eds.), L’avorio in Italia nell’Età del bronzo . Incunabula Graeca 102. Rome, 35–43. Kolska Horwitz, L. and Tchernov, E. 1990 Cultural and environmental implications of Hippopotamus bone remains in archaeological contexts in the Levant. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 280, 67–76. Lister, A. M., Dirks, W., Assaf, A., Chazan, M., Goldberg, P., Applbaum, Y. H., Greenbaum, N. and Horwitz, L. K. 2013 New fossil remains of Elephas from the Southern Levant: Implications for the evolutionary history of the Asian Elephant . Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 386, 119– 130 . Loud, G. 1939 The Megiddo Ivories. Oriental Institute Publications 52. Chicago. Luciani, M. 2006a Ivory at Qatna. In: Timelines: Studies in Honour of Manfred Bietak. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 149. Leuven, 17–38. 2006b Palatial Workshops at Qatna? Baghdader Mitteilungen 37, 403–426. Maeir, A. M., Davis, B., Kolska Horwitz, L., Asscher, Y. and Hitchcock, L. A. 2015 An ivory bowl from Early Iron Age Tell es-Safi/Gath (Israel): Manufacture, meaning and memory . World Archaeology 47, 1–25. Mazar, A . 1985 Excavations at Tell Qasile 2: The Philistine Sanctuary: Various Finds, the Pottery, Conclusions, Appendixes. Qedem 20. Jerusalem. McNicoll, A., Hennessy, J. B. and Smith, R. H. 1982 Pella in Jordan 1: An Interim Report on the Joint University of Sydney and the College of Wooster Excavations at Pella 1979–1981. Canberra. Miron, R. 1990 Kāmid el-Lōz 10. Das Schatzhaus im Palastbereich: Die Funde. Saarbrücker Beiträge zur Altertumskunde 46 . Bonn . Oren, E. D. 1973 The Northern Cemetery of Beth Shan. Leiden. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Vandier d’Abbadie, J . 1972 Catalogue des objets de toilette égyptiens: Musée du Louvre, Département des antiquités égyptiennes . Paris . Wicke, D. 2008 Vorderasiatische Pyxiden der Spätbronzezeit und der Früheisenzeit. Alter Orient und Altes Testament 45. Münster. van Wijngaarden, G. J. 2002 Use and Appreciation of Mycenaean Pottery in the Levant, Cyprus and Italy (1600–1200 BC) . Archaeological Studies 8. Amsterdam. Yon, M. 1992 The End of the Kingdom of Ugarit. In: W. A. Ward and M. S. Joukowsky (eds.), The Crisis Years: The 12th Century B.C.: From beyond the Danube to the Tigris. Dubuque, IA, 111–122.

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Fig. 1 Map of the (southern) Levant with sites mentioned in the text (graphics: T. Bürge)

Fig. 2 Cosmetic box with lid from Tell Irbid (photo: H. Debajah) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig . 3 Palette with carved calves from Tell Irbid (drawing: M. al-Bataineh)

Fig. 4 Detail of palette with carved calves (photo: H. Debajah) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

Ivory at the Transition from the Late Bronze to the Early Iron Age in Transjordan

Fig . 5 Horn-shaped ivory object from Tell Irbid (photo: H. Debajah)

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Physicians on the Move! The Role of Medicine in the Late Bronze Age International Gift Exchange Sara Caramello 1 Abstract The Late Bronze Age (LBA) represents a crucial point in the development of international trade and diplomatic relations as we know it today . Many tablets from the royal archives reveal us not only a precise landscape of the LBA international diplomacy, but they also provide us with an overview of the demand for raw materials and luxury goods . Consequently, the interest of scholars is often focused on these diplomatic and economic aspects, leaving out other sociological considerations . However, analysing these corpora, it is also possible to isolate the ‘material’ or ‘economic’ role played by different kinds of specialists with a number of anthropological implications . The present work is focused on Egyptian and Near Eastern physicians that could be sent to a faraway royal court, where a foreign king required their help, becoming an exchange good and increasing the power and the reputation of the king (and of the reign) who had sent them, as a kind of luxury good . As they were expected to return home sooner or later, these specialists can be considered as the objects of a ‘temporary gift exchange’, whereas the consequent skill exchange represented an intangible but more enduring gift, just like raw materials or luxury goods .

1. Introduction Thanks to the discovery of a huge number of tablet archives in the Ancient Near East and in Egypt, it is possible today to have a relatively precise picture of the international diplomatic relationships during the Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 BC). Both Egyptologists and Orientalists have examined and studied these corpora from different points of view, providing us with relevant information about diplomacy and politics, commerce and trade, historical figures and facts. Many scholars have also highlighted anthropological and sociological aspects connected with the dynamics of the ‘gift exchange’ phenomenon attested by these archives, though frequently focusing their analysis on luxury goods and raw materials . However, as underlined by some academics (Liverani 1972: 297–317; Zaccagnini 1983: 245–264; Moorey 2001: 1–14), a more accurate examination of the tablet texts demonstrates that also people could be considered as goods and exchanged among the royal courts of this period . In fact, even if this aspect could be less evident than others, it is important to point out that a number of human beings, such as specialists, craftsmen, and princesses, were part (or better, were for all practical purposes the objects) of this multi-level complex of exchanges . These people and their skill

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Independent Researcher, Via Sac. Prof. B. Brossa 2/5 , 10046 Poirino (TO) – Italy. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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played, more or less consciously, a relevant role in the international relations among the empires of the later Bronze Age . 2. ‘Temporary gift exchange’ In this sense, one could say that the correspondence between kings of the Late Bronze Age attests at least two different (but complementary) types of ‘gift exchange’: a material one and a human one . This demonstrates that not only raw materials and luxury goods were sent to foreign courts, but also ‘prestigious’ or ‘specialized’ persons, who did not necessarily simply accompany the expeditions . In fact, a number of individuals could move (or ‘be moved’) from a kingdom to another, playing not only a diplomatic, but also an economic, and even a practical role . I call it ‘practical’, because these people had to act concretely at a foreign court, exercising their specific knowledge (that could not be transferred only by letter), and ‘economic’, because they were treated somehow as prestige goods and their high exchange value (that could be assessed by the prestige, the diplomatic experience or the skill of the figure) could be quantified, and often corresponded to quantities of copper, gold or silver (Zaccagnini 1983: 250). So, within the classic ‘gift exchange’ (or in parallel with it), a ‘human gift exchange’ phenomenon can be pinpointed and examined . Messengers cannot be included into the ‘human gift exchange’ topic, because travelling from a court to another was their primary work, and therefore they did not represent any gift at all . Therefore, the most important and much requested categories flowing into the ‘human gift exchange’ are the above-mentioned princesses, royal sisters or daughters (Liverani 1972: 312–314; Zaccagnini 1973: 12–18; Pintore 1978), but also a number of experts, specialists in various disciplines, could be considered for all practical purposes a prestigious and precious exchange good (Zaccagnini 2000: 146). The good result of an international marriage could act positively on the relationship between two reigns, and almost the same good diplomatic results could be obtained for example thanks to a king being healed by a foreign physician, whom he received as a gift . However, a remarkable difference between these two categories appears evident when taking in consideration the long-term destinies of these people: in fact, whereas princesses were expected to marry a foreign king or a prince and remain (possibly forever) in their ‘adoption’ court, specialists were expected to eventually return home . As a consequence, leaving aside the royal brides-to-be and their marriages, skilled individuals provide us with another essential peculiarity of the exchanges of which they were ‘objects’: they were theoretically intended as more or less temporary (Zaccagnini 1983: 252). This aspect is fundamental for the definition of this phenomenon as a ‘temporary gift exchange’ . The ‘temporariness’ of the gift, in fact, seems even more interesting than its ‘human nature’ . At the same time, this kind of ‘gift exchange’ could be defined also ‘technical’, because specialists were sent because of their technical knowledge and thanks to – or better – through © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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them also the technical skill, ideas and innovations were somehow exchanged and imported in new countries. For the same reason, their ‘loan’ had to be temporary: the native land wanted their technical competences back, in order to make use of them again . In fact, the ‘presumed’ and ‘solicited’ temporariness of these gifts can be considered as determined by and connected with – on the one hand – their human nature, but also – on the other hand – the knowledge and prestige of these individuals . Indeed, the expected temporariness was probably suggested more by practical than by ethical considerations: the king was worried about the possible loss of one of his capable experts (with his related competences), not of the human being himself . 3. Physicians on the move The Nile valley seems to hold the pre-eminence for the best physicians of the ancient Near East, and Egyptian medicine played therefore a relevant role as a ‘successful’ international gift . The capability of Egyptian physicians was renowned throughout all the ancient Eastern Mediterranean and, as their fame extended beyond Egypt’s borders, so too the physicians themselves had the same destiny . Such requests highlighted and increased the Egyptian international reputation and the respect for the skills of its physicians . Nonetheless, the ancient Near Eastern tablets show that the ‘travelling physicians’ were not only Egyptian (Zaccagnini 1983: 251; Liverani 1990: 227). In fact, physicians of different countries (for example Babylonia) were sought by foreign kings enhancing the power and the reputation of who had sent them as if they were a kind of rare and precious luxury good (Zaccagnini 1983: 251–252). According to Zaccagnini (Zaccagnini 1983: 250; Zaccagnini 2000: 146), physicians represent one of the most requested categories of specialists, and they might be sent to a faraway royal court, where their help was required, becoming an exchange good, with an extra-value acquired thanks to their skills . In fact, as well underlined by Liverani (Liverani 1990: 227), medical or other specialized competences needed the physical presence of the physician (or, more generically, of the specialist) in order to be practiced . If requested, a doctor would so be obliged by his sovereign to embark on a long and dangerous journey to reach another country where a king required his services . Thus, he would have to leave his family and country for a long period . Moreover, as the messengers, physicians often risked being held back by the foreign king . In fact, for a physician the risk of detention was really serious: not to mention diplomatic implications, the foreign king, if healed and satisfied by the treatments of the foreign physician, could decide to hold him or at least delay his return for a considerable time with the intention of taking possibly advantage of his ability in the future . At the same time, the physician ‘detention’ was considered a serious damage by his own king, more or less temporarily deprived of his physician’s ability and experience . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Furthermore, it is also licit to suppose that, as the messengers (Zaccagnini 1973: 53), during their foreign stays these specialists were honoured and treated as high status people, as their importance was not only diplomatic but also ‘scientific’. It is also interesting to note that the dispatch of a physician seems to be a rare case of ‘somehow really disinterested’ gift that could not be materially (and – above all – immediately) reciprocated, but only in terms of reputation and gratitude . Moreover, even if a sort of countergift could be theoretically possible, this could not occur right away, but only in a moment of need (when someone fell ill) . Furthermore, stating that Egypt and Babylonia were the best ‘physician providers’, dispatches of physicians from these two kingdoms were even more difficult to be reciprocated (Zaccagnini 1983: 252). Faced with an official request, the king himself had to face a difficult decision: sending one of his best physicians to a ‘brother’ king represented obviously an increase in prestige, but at the same time meant that he himself would have to live without his private physician for a long period . Furthermore, there was the concrete danger that the specialist might be detained for too long, even forever, not to mention the fact that he might die during the long journey or at the foreign court (as mentioned for example in the tablet KBo I 10 + mentioned below). So, it is possible that the king might have sent a very good man of medicine, but not the best one, in order to avoid depriving himself of such a good physician and at the same time maintaining good diplomatic relations . The lack of completeness of the archives does not allow us to be completely informed about the physicians’ destiny; nevertheless, the risks they run emerge quite clearly (Liverani 1990: 228), as confirmed, for example, by the formulaic request (usually used for the messengers) in the letter PBS I/2 58 (Waschow 1936: 21–22; Oppenheim 1967: 117–118). In this letter, the extispex Erība-Marduk writes to his lord and insists on the restitution of a physician previously sent and not yet returned . The tablet, now in the Penn Museum (University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, n. 9259), dates to the Middle Babylonian Kassite Dynasty (1531–1155 BC). The only request for a physician attested in the Tell el-Amarna archive (Zaccagnini 2000: 146) is in the tablet LA 256 (Liverani 1998: 285–286) – EA 49 (Moran 1992: 120–121), now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (CG 4783). King NiqmeAdda of Ugarit asks the Pharaoh (probably Amenhotep IV) to send him two attendants from the land of Kush and a ‘palace physician’, because, apparently, there were no doctors in Ugarit (Edel 1976: 51–53; Zaccagnini 1983: 251–252; Burkard 1994: 36; Halioua 2005: 253), or at least there were no doctors able to cure and heal someone affected by a specific illness. Mentions of physicians can also be found in some tablets of the Bogazköy archive, testifying that the Hittite royal court required Egyptian medical help more than once . In a letter from Ramses II to the Hittite King Hattushili III (KUB III 67), the pharaoh affirms that he has sent an Egyptian physician (literally a ‘scribe physician’) called Pariamakhu to Kurunta of Tarhuntashsha (Edel 1976: 46–50). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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It seems that Pariamakhu (Akkadian version of an Egyptian name probably corresponding to Pa-ra-em-hat or Pa-ra-em-heb) was sent to Kurunta, probably thanks to the intercession of the Hittite King, in order to treat him with some medical herbs (Nunn 1996: 131, 213–214; Halioua 2005: 254; Zaccagnini 1983: 251–252; Kitchen 1985: 91). The parallel letter KUB III 66 contains a request for the restitution of other two physicians previously dispatched (and never sent back) . According to these two letters, the Pharaoh had sent two physicians to Kurunta, probably in order to cure him . Following Kurunta’s new request through the Hittite king Hattushili, Ramses agrees to send another physician, but he insists also on a quick restitution of the other two he has sent before (Zaccagnini 1983: 251–252). In a tablet from the Bogazköy archive (KUB III 51), the Pharaoh Ramses II had sent not a physician, but an herbal medicament to the Hittite King Hattushili III for treating his eyes (Edel 1976: 44–45; Halioua 2005: 254). Other two tablets (NBC 3934 and 401/C) confirm that two other (pressing) requests have been accepted and attest that in two different occasions one or more physicians had been sent from the Egyptian king to the land of Hatti . Another letter from the Hittite king Hattushili III to the king of Babylonia Kadashman-Enlil II (KBo I 10 + KUB III 72 + KUB 4, p. 49b, 50a) attests the dispatch of a physician, and – unfortunately – his death (Oppenheim 1967: 139–146; Edel 1976: 51–53; Zaccagnini 1983: 251; Moorey 2001: 10). Hattushili goes on making some considerations about the detention of this and other physicians (Zaccagnini 1983: 251), attesting that his brother Muwatalli had detained a physician and a conjuror from Babylonia, and indirectly confirming that the detention of physicians was a relatively common practice . In the same letter is mentioned also another Babylonian physician, called Rabâ-ša-Marduk, living in Hatti and married with a woman of the Hittite royal family (Heeßel 2009). The concept of ‘temporary gift exchange’ can be applied only to the physicians themselves, as a more lasting ‘knowledge exchange’ took place as a consequence of the people’s movement . Unfortunately, information is scarce, but we can suppose that the physicians of the foreign court (if any) were very interested in Egyptian (or foreign) more successful medical practices . If a physician was ‘kindly invited’ to stay for months at a foreign royal court, everything was probably organized in order to extend as long as possible his stay, and to favour interactions and exchanges between the court physicians and the foreign one, creating a sort of ‘inter-kingdom medicine stage’ . The acquisition of new techniques and treatments was a prestigious and remarkable additional value: as a consequence, whereas the physicians’ exchange itself can be considered temporary, the exchange of medical notions converges into the classical ‘gift exchange’, because of its value and durability, but with the peculiar aspect of the immateriality of the gift . A different type of planned knowledge exchange appears in a Middle Bronze Age letter (ARM IV 65) from the archive of Mari (1800–1750 BC). Išme-Dagan, vice-king of Ȇkallâtum and son of Šamši-addu, king of Assyria, writes to his © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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brother Yasmaḫ-Addu, vice-king of Mari. The text is interesting (Dossin 1951: 8, 92–93; Oppenheim 1967: 108; Zaccagnini 1983: 248), as it reveals a double and ‘reciprocate’ dispatch of physicians (even if for different reasons): Išme-Dagan is extremely satisfied by the medication applied by the physician sent by his brother Yasmah-Addu, and so he dispatches to Mari his own physician Šamšī-Addutukultī in order to allow him to learn how to prepare that medicine. Also in this case, the sender closes the letter with the usual exhortation for a quick restitution of the physician . 4. Divine statues on the move In this context, it is in my opinion necessary to include also the statues of the deities . In fact, when even all the native and foreign physicians had failed, often the last resource was to turn to a god or, more materially, to a deity statue (Liverani 1990: 228). Even if in this specific case one cannot define this exchange as ‘human’, nevertheless it can be certainly defined ‘temporary’. The statue of a god or of a goddess could in fact be requested and sent to a foreign king in order to heal him or a high-status person of the court, but it also was expected to return home (in this case to its temple), like the physicians . This could be defined as a ‘divine temporary gift exchange’, in juxtaposition with the larger group of the ‘human temporary gift exchange’ . And it is also noteworthy that this ‘divine temporary gift exchange’ necessarily implied also a ‘human temporary gift exchange’ as the cult personnel almost certainly accompanied the divine statue (Betrò 1990: 77) sharing with it the same destiny. Furthermore, the analogies between a physician and a healing statue seem to confirm that their common ‘temporariness’ is due to their importance and prestige, skill and powers (indirectly confirming that also physicians were expected to return home for their competences more than for ethical reasons) . As stated above, a king, when he received a request for one of ‘his’ physicians, had to decide how to act . As he could not refuse offering an excuse (this is attested in other cases, but not in relation with the requests of physicians), he had to decide whom to send, and therefore with whose absence he would have to cope . The king had obviously a similar problem when had to face a request for a god (statue). Divine statue travels were relatively frequent from the early 2nd millennium BC onwards, and consequently the (temporary) absence of the god (or of the goddess) could make his/her temple, city, and even the realm vulnerable (Meier 2007: 190). In order to avoid this kind of problems, special statues expressly destined to travel and to be lent were created (Meier 2007: 191), whereas the ‘original’ one could safely remain in his or her city. It is also interesting to note that physicians (and other specialists) were ordered to go to a foreign country often against their will, whereas a deity (incarnated in a simulacrum) could be more positive, even pro-active. In fact, in the letter LA 293 (Liverani 1999: 373–374) – EA 23 (Moran 1992: 61–62) of the Amarna archive, sent © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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by the king Tushratta of Mittani to the Pharaoh (British Museum, E 29793), the statue of Šauška of Nineveh, the Hurrian goddess corresponding to the Akkadian Ishtar, herself says that she wants to go to Egypt, in order to heal Amenhotep III, critically ill (Liverani 1990: 228–229; Zaccagnini 2000: 146; Moorey 2001: 10; Halioua 2005: 253–254; Meier 2007: 191 192, 204). Also in this case, the sending king resorts to the formulaic request for a quick restitution of the statue . The divine simulacrum was meant to act exactly (or more powerfully) like a physician, and the direct invocation of a specific deity was thus in some cases the last solution for otherwise unsolvable medical problems . In the letter Bo 652/f + 28/n + 127/r (Edel 1976: 31–43, 53–59, 67–75; Liverani 1990: 228) from the Bogazköy archive, the King Ramses II seems to indirectly refuse to send an expert to the Hittite King Hattushili III suggesting him to invoke the deities Shamash and Adad instead, elegantly implying that no human physician would be able to obtain a success in that case: to allow Hattushili’s sister Matanazi to give birth at the age of 50 or 60 (Moorey 2001: 9–10; Halioua 2005: 254; Kitchen 1985: 92; Zaccagnini 1983: 250, 252)! Thus, the ability of a medicine man could be replaced sometimes by the more efficacious power of a deity. An important aspect emerges from the data examined. Medicine in Late Bronze Age was not only based on a mixture of magical, religious and ‘scientific’ methods, but also on a more concrete element. In fact, it seems that sick people needed the physical presence of someone (a physician) or something (a divine image), that could allow them to be more successfully cured . Perhaps the so-called ‘placebo-effect’ could be the result in some cases, and in this sense the presence of a specialist could result in greater success . This need for concreteness is probably the reason behind both the ‘human and the divine’ temporary gift exchange . 5. Late indirect confirmations Various documents dating to the 1st millennium BC also confirm, more or less indirectly, the relevant role played by physicians and simulacra in such a ‘temporary gift exchange’ in the international relations of the Late Bronze Age . At the same time, some of these texts also provide scholars with the personal perspective of the physicians ‘exchanged’ . In this sense, the documents from this period can be (even if with some caution), used to integrate the information we have on the destinies of physicians and statues in earlier centuries . Numerous tablets from the archives of Nineveh confirm the habit of the previous centuries. The letter ABL 157, sent by Ištar-dūrī to Sargon II, mentions once again the dispatch of two physicians, Nabû-šuma-iddin and Nabû-erība (Oppenheim 1967: 159), and the tablet ABL 274 attests the successful treatment of the physician Iqīša (Oppenheim 1967: 156) sent to heal the sender of the message. In the tablet ABL 391 sent by Arad-Nanā to the Assyrian king Esarhaddon mentions instead a lotion of oil sent with the letter to cure the king’s fever . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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The Greek historian Herodotus relates two interesting episodes. At the beginning of the third book of his ‘Histories’ (Herodotus III: 1), we find an Egyptian ‘ophthalmologist’, sent by the King Amasis II (570–526 BC) to Cyrus’ court. The physician has been obliged to abandon his family and his native land, and soon he starts to hold a grudge against his pharaoh . His revenge is to undermine diplomatic relations between Persia and Egypt (Nunn 1996: 132; Reeves 1992: 31; Burkard 1994: 38; Halioua 2005: 252). He suggests to Cambyses, son of Darius, to start marriage negotiations with the Pharaoh, in order to get an Egyptian princess as wife . His idea is that, however Amasis replies to the request, it would cause him a damage: a diplomatic one if he refuses, a personal one if he has to lose a daughter. At the end of the same book (Herodotus III: 125–132), a physician from Croton called Democedes arrives after many vicissitudes in Persia and does not want to reveal to the king Darius his medical competences, because he is afraid of being condemned to a life away from home just because of his abilities (Burkard 1994: 38; Halioua 2005: 252–253; Ritner 2007: 216). The story contains a double confirmation of the more ancient habit of exchanging foreign physicians: the fears and the destiny of Democedes on the one hand, the presence of Egyptian physicians at the Persian court on the other hand (as Darius used to keep near him these foreign specialists) . The Persian king, with a severe sprained ankle, is indeed healed not by the Egyptian physicians but by Democedes. The risk for the latter to be held back is therefore, once again, concrete and in fact thanks to his skills Democedes obtains in Persia everything he could desire, with the exception of the permission to return home . These two stories are told by Herodotus mostly focusing on the emotional implications of the experiences of the anonymous ophthalmologist and of Democedes of Croton; nonetheless, despite this, they confirm that this practice was usual, and also that rarely a physician was satisfied with the decision of his sovereign and very often he could not return home . A peculiar document that testifies the Late Bronze Age habit of sending physicians to foreign courts is the so-called ‘Bentresh Stela’ (Musée du Louvre C 284), so named after the indirect protagonist of the story, the princess Bentresh, a supposed Ramses II sister-in-law (Halioua 2005: 255). Also known as ‘Stela of Bakhtan’, it was discovered by Champollion near the temple of Khons in Karnak in 1829. The events described in this document apparently date to the Late Bronze Age (and more specifically to the reign of Ramses II, 1279–1213 BC), but nowadays scholars undoubtedly consider it a ‘pseudoepigraphic text’ compiled centuries later in order to seem to have been written during the 19th Dynasty (Betrò 1990: 75–82; Edel 1976: 59–63; Burkard 1994: 47–52). This propagandistic text was meant to appear as an official document of Ramses II in order to solve probably a conflict of interest between two different priesthoods of the god Khons . According to the text, the sister of one of the foreign wives of the pharaoh was critically ill (she was possessed by a spirit) . The prince of Bakhtan sent a message to the Pharaoh asking for a specialist able to cure her. So the royal scribe Djehuty© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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emheb was sent in order to see and eventually heal the princess, but he was not able to do anything, because it was beyond his powers . Only a god could eventually cure her . So, the prince of Bakhtan sent another message to the pharaoh asking for a god . The statue of Khons-the-Provider (‘the great god who expels disease demons’) was sent and successfully cured her . The king of Bakhtan held the statue for almost four years, but at the end he let the divine simulacrum return to Egypt (Meier 2007: 189, 191–192, 200). 6. Conclusions The story of Bentresh, even if fictional, contains many typical aspects related to the ‘temporary gift exchange’: the request for a physician by a foreign prince, the envoy of a specialist first and of the healing statue of a god later, and finally the intention of the prince of Bakhtan to hold the statue . The choice of inserting these elements in an “invented” text and the related desire to make the dating to the reign of Ramses II plausible and acceptable, clearly confirm that these facts were, centuries later, still considered typical of the Late Bronze Age . Similar considerations could be applied to the two stories narrated by Herodotus: they at least confirm that the Near Eastern kings were used to detain foreign physician in order to benefit from their skills and knowledge . In conclusion, the contents of the tablets of the Late Bronze Age archives are confirmed by later literary and epigraphic evidences: furthermore, the latest documentation also supplies a different point of view and an unusual approach, allowing to better understand not only the role, but also the life of physicians in the Late Bronze Age. The diplomatic interests of the Great Kings, and the pains and resentments of the physicians sent to a foreign court are – definitively – the two sides of the medal . Bibliography Betrò, M . C . 1990 Racconti di viaggio e di avventura dell’antico Egitto. Brescia . Burkard, G. 1994 Medizin und Politik: Altägyptische Heilkunst am persischen Königshof. Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur 21, 35–57. Dossin, G. 1951 Archives Royales de Mari IV. Correspondance de Šamši-Addu et de ses fils (suite) . Paris . Edel, E . 1976 Ägyptische Ärzte und ägyptische Medizin am hethitischen Königshof. Neue Funde von Keilschriftbriefen Ramses’ II. aus Boğazköy. Opladen . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Halioua, B . 2005 La medicina al tempo dei faraoni. Bari . Heeßel, N . P . 2009 The Babylonian physician Rabâ-ša-Marduk. Another look at physicians and exorcists in the Ancient Near East. In: A. Attia and G. Buisson (eds.), Advances in Mesopotamian Medicine from Hammurabi to Hippocrates – Proceedings of the International Conference “Oeil malade et mauvais oeil”, Collège de France, Paris, 23rd June 2006. Leiden – Boston, 13–28. Kitchen, K . A . 1985 Pharaoh Triumphant. The Life and Times of Ramesses II. Warminster. Liverani, M . 1972 Elementi «irrazionali» nel commercio amarniano. Oriens Antiquus 11, 297–317. 1990

Prestige and Interest. International Relations in the Near East ca. 1600–1100 B.C. Padova .

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Le lettere di el-Amarna. 1. Le lettere dei «Piccoli Re». Brescia .

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Le lettere di el-Amarna. 2. Le lettere dei «Grandi Re». Brescia .

Meier, S . A . 2007 Granting god a passport: Transporting deities across international boundaries. In: P. Kousoulis and K . Magliveras (eds .), Moving across Borders. Foreign Relations, Religion and Cultural Interactions in the Ancient Mediterranean. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 159. Leuven – Paris – Dudley, 185–208. Moorey, P . R . S . 2001 The mobility of artisans and opportunities for technology transfer between Western Asia and Egypt in the Late Bronze Age. In: A. J. Shortland (ed.), The Social Context of Technological Change: Egypt and the Near East, 1650–1150 BC. Oxford, 1–14. Moran, W. L. 1992 The Amarna Letters. Baltimore – London. Nunn, J. F. 1996 Ancient Egyptian Medicine. London . Oppenheim, A . L . 1967 Letters from Mesopotamia. Official, Business, and Private Letters on Clay Tablets from Two Millennia. Chicago – London. Pintore, F . 1978 Il matrimonio interdinastico nel Vicino Oriente durante i secoli XV–XIII. Orientis Antiqui Collectio 14. Roma. Reeves, C . 1992 Egyptian Medicine. Princes Risborough . Ritner, R . K . 2007 Cultural exchanges between Egyptian and Greek medicine. In: P. Kousoulis and K. Magliveras (eds .), Moving across Borders. Foreign Relations, Religion and Cultural Interactions in the Ancient Mediterranean. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 159. Leuven – Paris – Dudley, 209–221. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Waschow, H. 1936 Babylonische Briefe aus der Kassitenzeit. Leipzig . Zaccagnini, C. 1973 Lo scambio dei doni nel Vicino Oriente durante i secoli XV–XIII. Orientis Antiqui Collectio 11. Roma . 1983

Patterns of Mobility among Ancient Near Eastern Craftsmen. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 42, 245–264.

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The interdependence of the great powers. In: R. Cohen and R. Westbrook (eds.), Amarna Diplomacy. The Beginnings of International Relations. Baltimore – London, 141–153.

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Linking the River and the Desert: The Early Bronze Age I Pottery Assemblage of the Wadi Zarqa Region Eloisa Casadei 1 Abstract At the beginning of the Early Bronze Age (EB) I, Transjordan’s features reflect a markedly regionalized system. However, several elements testify to a network of intense interconnections. In particular, the Wadi Zarqa represented an important intermediate zone, linking the Jordan Valley with the Eastern Desert. Unfortunately, at present it is still difficult to reconstruct a clear pottery sequence for EB I in the southern Levant, which could help in highlighting the developmental process of the last part of the 4th millennium BC. Thanks to long-lasting excavations at the site of Jebel al-Mutawwaq, new data now allow us to demonstrate the role played by the Valley of the Zarqa River during this crucial process. The paper reports on such new evidence and discusses the topic of interconnectivity in Transjordan during this period.

1. Introduction Early Bronze Age I (henceforth EB I) in the southern Levant is a period characterized by the spread of new cultural and economic impulses that terminated in the fully developed process of sedentarisation of the EB II–III.2 The process is subdivided into two main steps, representing the archaeological phases EB IA and EB IB. This period (3700–3100 BC) 3 was characterized by a high degree of regionalism, as testified, for example, by architectural features, funerary practices, subsistence activities, and material culture (Harrison 1997; Rowan and Golden 2009; Lovell and Rowan 2011; Bradbury et al. 2014). 4 It is possible that during these transitional phases different ecological zones interacted with each other to integrate their own subsistence system. 5 In

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Sapienza Università di Roma, Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichità. Rowan and Ilan (2012: 88) stated that during EB I different lines of evidence indicate intensification of agricultural production, increasing social stratification and complex networks for trade in exotic items, unequal accumulation of wealth and technological sophistication. For a critical approach to the problem of the transition between the Chalcolithic period and EB I see Braun and Roux 2013. For a recent discussion about chronology see Braun et al. 2012. A good definition of regionalism is expressed in Greenberg (2002: 5–7), and in the present paper I followed the wider definition of ‘region’ expressed in Ali (2010: 371) and D’Andrea (2014: 35). The problem of integration between different subsistence systems has been pointed out during a workshop at the 2012 ICHAJ, and published as a series of contributions (Müller-Neuhof 2014a). In particular, Bradbury et al. (2014: 211) indicated the diversification of settlement types as a marker of the presence of a network of societies and settlement systems based on local resources and opportunities. The different pottery productions could be a reflection of such a differentiation. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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particular, the area along the Wadi Zarqa is characterized by an independent cultural development. Being one of the most important tributaries of the Jordan River, the Wadi Zarqa would have been an important route for people moving from the desert to the more fertile Jordan River valley and the western coast. Many EB sites have been identified, both during regional surveys and proper excavations, and a new clarification of the regional sequence is now possible (see Bradbury et al. 2014 for the occupational history of the area). This paper presents some preliminary considerations regarding the pottery material from the site of Jebel al-Mutawwaq, a 13ha site, located in a favourable position in the middle of the Wadi Zarqa (for the history of research at the site see Muñiz Álvarez et al. 2013; for recent reports regarding the archaeological operations at the site, see Muñiz, Polcaro, Álvarez 2017 and Muñiz, Polcaro 2017.). It is situated in a predominant position and is close to two water sources, the Qreisan spring (used since the Neolithic period) and the al-Quneyya spring. Although not clear in some instances, the main occupation of the site is dated to the EB I period, 6 and it represents a key site for understanding the archaeological and historical development of the region and its surroundings. 7 Thanks to long-lasting archaeological exploration of the site, it is possible to focus on different kinds of contexts (Polcaro et al. 2014: 1–4). Since 2013, the new Spanish-Italian joint expedition, conducted by Juan Muñiz from Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca and Andrea Polcaro from Università di Perugia, has concentrated the fieldwork in two different sectors of the site: the southeastern sector, both inside and outside the enclosure wall (Area A and the survey conducted in 2014) and the dolmens standing immediately outside the village (Area B) (Alvarez et al. 2013; Muñiz Álvarez et al. 2016). In 2014, a new area was opened in the southern part of the central sector, and the work there is still in progress, including a building (Area CW and CC) (Polcaro and Muñiz forthcoming), a dolmen superimposing part of it (Polcaro and Muñiz present volume) and the adjacent area CE. The present study takes into account the pottery from the new Spanish-Italian joint project, including assemblages from Areas A, B, C, and the survey. Moreover, a re-examination of the pottery from the old excavations is still in progress, and until now, we have been able to catalogue the sherds collected in the court and the cella (House 76) of the Temple of the Serpents and the adjacent Building 75 (Fernández-Tresguerres Velasco 2010: 24).

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The attribution of the site to the EB IA period depends mostly on the domestic architecture, being represented by the double-apsidal one-room building form typical of the period. However, traces of a later occupation of the site could not be excluded (Polcaro and Muñiz 2018). I want to thank the Spanish-Italian team and especially the directors, Juan Muñiz and Andrea Polcaro, for the possibility to study unpublished pottery material. I also want to thank all the team members who have made drawings and photographs presented in this paper. During the excavation, all the sherds have been collected and counted; diagnostic sherds have been described, drawn and photographed. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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2. Repertoire analyses The great majority of pottery sherds come from the Cultic Area/House 76 (52%); a substantial amount of sherds also come from the building of Area C (23%), while only a small percentage was found in the other sectors (5% from House 75, 6% from the survey, 5% from Area B, 4% from Area A, 5% from Area CE). The total amount of diagnostic sherds collected is 950: 378 rims, 232 bases, 139 handles and 201 decorated body fragments. Unfortunately, almost no complete vessels have been found and the present preliminary study had to be based exclusively on sherds. In general, all the vessels seem to be handmade, coil-built or made in moulds, and only sometimes finished on the slow wheel. All the shapes recognized have been subdivided into functional classes according to three main factors: shape, fabric, and manufacturing process. 8 Simple Ware, thought to have been used for food serving and consumption, is represented by small vessels, both open and closed shapes, made with fine or medium fine fabrics, and medium high fired. Storage Ware is attested by necked jars and holemouth jars and differs from the previous class for its thickness of walls and – consequently – for the manufacturing processes, being less well fired, often with a grey core and sometimes sounding clinky. Cooking Ware is represented exclusively by holemouth jars and can be detected thanks to a very distinguishable fabric (see below). 2.1 Typology based on rim shapes Among the Simple Ware vessels (Fig. 1), it is possible to distinguish between small cups with a hemispherical (Type OA) or conical profile (Type OB), shallow and deep bowls (Type OC), large, thick-walled bowls, maybe also used for food processing (Type OD), jugs or bottles with low or high shoulder (Type CA) and small pots, with vertical or out-turned rim (Type CB). Looking at the distribution of the Simple Ware vessels (Fig. 3A), we can see that small hemispherical cups are very well attested, especially inside the temple area. The same is true for deep cups and jugs/bottles, and small pots, the last being attested exclusively in the temple and in the building of Area C. Bowls, are more homogeneously attested, but large thick-walled bowls are particularly rare. Among the Storage Ware vessels (Fig. 2.1–9), a great quantity of medium-sized jars have cylindrical necks with rims ranging from slightly everted to vertical (Type CC). Medium and large jars are generally represented by two main forms: one with a slightly everted neck (Type CD), the other with a marked flaring neck (Type CE/F). Another type of medium and large jar has a vertical neck and low shoulder (Type CG), and in some instances there is no interruption between the neck and shoulder (Type CH). The distribution of necked-jars (Fig. 3A) shows a similar situation as the

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This first typological subdivision in functional classes follows the proposal of classification of archaeological ceramics proposed by D’Andrea 2014: vol. II, 166–167. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Simple Ware, with a low variety of rim types attested in the temple area, and among them, ones having a slightly everted neck (CC2) are limited to the temple and the building in Area C. Very few jars are attested in Area B. The holemouth jars (Fig. 2.10–14), known both in Storage and Cooking Ware, are attested in a wide variety of rim types, mainly subdivided between swollen (Type HA), simple round or square shaped (Type HB), sliced (Type HC), and pointed rims (Type HD). Rarely, a type with a simple rounded rim appears flattened on top (Type HE). In other instances, bulbous (Type HF) or squared (Type HG) rims are also attested. Only one exemplar shows the presence of the lug just above the rim (Fig. 2.14). Almost all the holemouth types are attested in the temple area, and the slightly swollen rim (HA1 and 2) and squared rim (HG) are not present in the other sectors. Again, only one holemouth sherd came from Area B (Fig. 3A). Handles are less commonly attested. The most frequent type of handle is a sort of plain ledge-handle, only made in Storage Ware, varying in thickness and width, and may be an antecedent of the EB II-III ledge-handle. Grasps, apparently attested only at Mutawwaq, seem down-turned (Fig. 2.8). The loop handles are less frequent, but they occur in different sizes, made in Simple and Storage Ware, both circular and sub-rectangular in section. Sometimes a small double-loop handle has been found. Decorations are rather unusual, represented mostly by rope decoration with circular impressions, almost exclusively related to Storage Ware. Several jars are decorated with elongated appliqués with vertical, parallel incisions, or triangular knobs. Lines of small circular incisions are also quite frequent and they seem characteristic of the holemouth shapes. Sometimes, traces of red bands have been found, painted directly on the surface of the vessels or applied on a layer of white wash. 2.2 Ware types Until now, the study of pottery fabric has been based only on macroscopic observations. 9 In general, the fabric is rather homogenous, both in the type of clay and inclusions, probably pointing to the use of local raw materials. Three fabric types have been identified. The most common fabric type (f-t 1) is an orange-buff ware, blending from light pinkish-grey, to pinkish-orange and dark red. All the sherds are low fired, sometimes with a characteristic grey core; some others sound clinky. The mineral temper is composed mostly with a high frequency of small and medium whitish-grey grits and a low frequency of large white or grey grits; in other cases, a high frequency of reddish-brown grits is attested. Grog and organic temper are also attested, but in a small number of sherds. For its high variability (especially in type of grits and firing), this

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A small number of samples have been analyzed by X-ray Powder Diffraction analysis and further petrographic analyses are presently being conducted (thanks to Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas - CSIC). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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class is subdivided into well-made (1.1, usually with a compact matrix, homogeneously fired and with smooth surface), medium (1.2, with less care in manufacture but generally homogeneous firing, sometimes even with thin walls) and coarse (1.3, with a high frequency of vegetal grits and less control of fire). Sometimes surface treatments are present; we found some sherds with a thick coat of white slip. Very few examples with red slip or burnishing have been found, but the last is very coarse and difficult to recognize. This first fabric type was used both for Simple and Storage Ware classes, with a main subdivision between well-made (1.1) for Simple Ware, coarse (1.3) for Storage Ware, and medium (1.2) used for both. Sometimes, Storage Ware shapes were made with well-made fabric, but these vessels must have been intended specifically for the temple area. Fabric type 1 is ubiquitous all over the site; noteworthy is a concentration of well-made (1.1) ware in the temple area, while it is virtually absent in Area A. Besides the orange fabric, a white ware is attested (f-t 2), which is whitish in colour, both in fabric and surfaces, with many medium dark red and brown mineral and many organic inclusions. All the sherds have rather thick walls, and the few diagnostic fragments related to this ware type point to Storage Ware. This type is quite uncommon, but the highest quantity of sherds comes from Building C (11 sherds), followed by Area CE (6 sherds) and House 75 (5 sherds). A separate fabric type is attributed to Cooking Ware (f-t 3). It is similar to fabric type 1, but very soft in consistency, low fired, highly porous, dark buff-brown to purple in colour, and characterized by a high frequency of grey grits, even on the surface. It is possible that these characteristics reflect the technical expedient for prolonged exposure to fire. Interestingly enough, Cooking Ware fabric is almost absent in the temple and in House 75, while in Area A it represents the most frequent type of fabric attested until now. The XRD analysis shows a great quantity of Calcite, Quartz, Plagioclase, Sanidine, Palygorskite, Dolomite and Kaolinite (Fig. 2). The samples from the temple are characterized by a certain percentage of Illite, Nontronitre and Ferropargasite, and in one case (4S) Hematite, which are all absent in the samples from the other areas. 10 The most common fabric type is the orange fabric, especially in the medium and coarse sub-types (1.2, 1.3). Only in the temple area, the percentage of the fine fabric version 1.1 is higher than the medium and the coarse sub-types. Surface treatments are rather rare, mostly coming from the eastern sector and almost absent in the temple area. Cooking Ware is well attested, with again a small decrease in amounts found in the temple area (Fig. 3B). The distribution of fabric types reflects the conclusions drawn from the morphological analysis. The temple shows a different patterning of types and fabrics in the pottery repertoire, with peculiar morphological types and the predominance of

10 The preliminary results have been presented at the poster session at the 2014 ASOR Annual Meeting, San Diego, by Joaquin Del Rio and the author. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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fine ware. The same is true for the eastern sector, with a slightly higher percentage of medium-coarse (1.2) than fine fabric types (1.1) and a significant increase in the quantity of painted sherds. The present analysis, of course preliminary in character, seems to highlight a sort of differentiation in the distributional clusters of the ceramic materials. The reason for this picture should be considered cautiously. It could be interpreted as a chronological marker, pointing to two different moments in the life of the settlement. If this is the case, the temple area and the eastern sector could be taken as the two chronological extremes of the settlement. However, until now, neither Chalcolithic, nor EB IB markers have been found, and the strong homogeneity of the repertoire, as well as the fact that the stratigraphy is exceptionally slender, makes a clear chronological subdivision quite problematic. In any case, it is possible to delineate a sort of differentiation in the functional designation of the different sectors of the site (fig. 3B), especially between the temple area (and probably the building in Area C) and Area A. Future research will focus on the problem. 3. External parallels and chronology In an attempt to date the repertoire from Jebel al-Mutawwaq, it is worthy to note that, until now, no specialized production or ‘Ware’ 11 has been found. Only some of the sherds could be related to the plastic decorations typical of the Umm Hammad Ware (Bar 2010: 82–84). 12 In general, the morphological assemblage of the sherds points to a clear EB I date, as shown by the high frequency of hemispherical cups, the vertical necked jugs and juglets, the necked jars with short neck and simple everted rim jars (Table 1). Looking at the regional context, the whole pottery repertoire from Jebel al-Mutawwaq seems strongly related to the EB I phase at Jebel Abu-Thawwab (Kafafi 2001: figs. 33–42). Here, the excavator identified two phases, marking the second one for the higher amount of simple painted ware. Considering that such decoration was attested only for a few red painted small cups and one handle, the Mutawwaq repertoire seems closer to the earlier phase of Abu-Thawwab than the later one. The only exception could be Areas A and B, where a higher presence of red painted decoration is also attested. Close parallels are also recognizable at the site of Tell Umm Hammad, along the Wadi Zarqa. Here several chronological stages (1–7) were recognized by the excavator (Betts 1992: 101–110). Looking far to the east, at the site of Jawa (Betts and

11 The term ‘Ware’ as well as ‘Style’ are controversial, and on this occasion I prefer to use the capital letter to delineate well-defined parameters usually based on purely subjective observations (Braun 2012: 5). 12 Even though the great majority of the sherds present plastic decorations, they are too poorly preserved to be clearly related to this Ware. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Helms 1991: 71–99), many vessel types are very similar to those of Mutawwaq. Notably, Cooking Ware holemouth jars, decorated with dot-impressed lines and small triangular knobs, are characteristic of the whole region during the first phase of EB I. Moving north from Mutawwaq, the recent publication of the excavations at Tell Abu al-Kharaz (Phase IA–B) allows for a fresh look at what seems to be a slightly later phase of EB I (Fischer 2008: 251). Most of the shapes of Phase I show parallels with the Mutawwaq repertoire, even if the high manufacturing level is not attested in the rim sherds from Mutawwaq. Anyway, it is not possible to identify such a difference as a chronological or regional factor. Moreover, only one fragment of RedOn-White and virtually no Grain Wash typical of this later phase have been found until now. As well as in Mutawwaq, the great majority of holemouth jars in Phase I present plastic decorations. Therefore, it cannot be excluded that there was a continuation of the occupation during a later phase of the EB I. To the west and northwest of the Jordan River, some parallels can be detected at Tel Teo Strata IV-V (Eisenberg et al. 2001: fig. 7.3–8) and in the Hula valley (Greenberg 2002: 25–26), Ashqelon (Golani 2004: fig. 27) and Yiftah’el (Braun 1997: fig. 9.15–18). In the Hula valley (Greenberg 2002: 42–44), the local ceramic tradition is characterized by coarse, poorly fired, pale-coloured fabric, rich in organic temper and frequently with thin red slip. The prominent types are morphologically close to Mutawwaq types, and Greenberg (2002: 44) links this assemblage to Yiftah’el II, Bet Shean XVI and Tell Umm Hammad (Chalcolithic-EB I). Trying to broaden the comparisons to other regions, it is important to note the total lack of specialised productions or wares at Mutawwaq. However, simpler morphological elements can be detected in a wider zone. The small hemispherical cups are a very common type that gradually were replaced by shallower bowls during the final phase of the EB IB. Known as far north as Byblos, they are recognised in small excavations as far south as Umm Saysaban (Linder et al. 2005: figs. 17–22), an open site, without fortifications, but a strategically defensible site in the Petra region, dated to EB I. Deep cups identical to those found at Jebel al-Mutawwaq were found in the rock cut Tombs A.3 and B.3 at Tell al-Kafrayn (Ji and Lee 2002: fig. 5), in the central region, among the grave goods of the EB I dolmen at Tell el-Umayri, Field K (Dubis and Dabrowski 2002: figs. 3–5), and at the Wadi Fidan excavation in Area A (Adams and Genz 1995: figs. 3–5). Parallels are also attested at al-Basta, along the Wadi Ziqlab (Banning et al. 2005: fig. 13). All those parallels should be regarded with caution for their morphological simplicity. They could testify to a sort of connection that involved quite a broad region, following the main seasonal watercourses. 4. Final remarks: the landscape, the environment, and the developments during EB I The Wadi Zarqa, running 96km from the eastern desert to the Jordan River, is the second largest tributary of the Jordan River (Nigro 2006: 4, n. 2). The area between © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Jerash and the Jordan valley is characterized by several ecological zones, with annual rainfall varying from 600mm (in the western area around Ajlun) and 200mm (around Mafraq). It is generally assumed that climatic and ecological conditions in the southern Levant changed to a certain degree during 5000–6000 BP (Clarke et al. 2015). Recent works (Hourani 2010) have demonstrated a series of climatic transformations that occurred between the Late Chalcolithic (LC) and the very early stage of EB I. Hourani (2010) highlights the transition between LC and EBA as a long process of disintegration driven firstly by climatic environmental crisis. As recently demonstrated (Clarke et al. 2015), societal change was impacted by environmental change, although the responses varied from region to region, with different forms/degree of resilience observable at different places. In fact, in the settlement pattern of the Transjordanian area during EB I, it is possible to appreciate a progressive occupation of the higher zones, especially where the presence of springs provide permanent availability of water. Gradually, agriculture became the base of the subsistence of the local communities with a consequent increase in sedentarisation. Looking at the homogeneity of relief and geomorphology, combined with vegetation cover and the range of annual rainfall, a distribution of micro-regions in north Jordan has been proposed during EB IA. Moreover, the analysis of apsidal houses and some specialized pottery production (such as Grey Burnished ware and Umm Hammad ware) points to a network of relationships between several micro-regions and clusters, assuming that groups grazed their livestock in more distant areas (Ali 2010; Nicolle and Braemer 2012; Braun 2012; Bradbury et al. 2014). The distribution of types and styles can thus point to a network of exchange that could have been linked with different subsistence systems. Patterns of mobility might have been related to the exchange of food products as well as raw materials. Thanks to the new data available for the Badia region, around Jawa, 13 it seems possible that specialized socioeconomic activities of production and inter-regional exchange were well developed in the northern arid region of the Transjordan (Müller-Neuhof 2014b: 246–247). Looking at its favourable location, with its reliable water resources represented by the two springs and not far from the Zarqa valley, Mutawwaq may have been integrated into a network of movement linking the northeast side of the Jordan River. The wide spatial distribution of pottery types and styles may represent another piece of evidence of a network of contacts that might have laid the foundation for the integrated socioeconomic model of the 3rd millennium BC.

13 The new data are available thanks to the ‘Jawa Hinterland Project’ directed by Müller-Neuhof (2014b). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Preliminary results of the 2013 excavation season at the EB I site of Jabal al-Mutawwaq in middle Wadi az-Zarqa. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 58, 423–434.

Müller-Neuhof, B. 2014a Recent research on the late Prehistory of the Arid regions in Jordan. Levant 46, 151–160. 2014b A ‘marginal’ region with many options: The diversity of Chalcolithic/Early Bronze Age socio-economic activities in the hinterland of Jawa. Levant 46, 230–248. Nicolle, C. and Braemer, F. 2012 Settlement networks in the Southern Levant in the mid-4th millennium BC: Sites with double-apsed houses in the Leja area of southern Syria during the EBA IA. Levant 44, 1–16. Nigro, L. 2006 Khirbet al-Batrawy. An Early Bronze Age Fortified Town in North-Central Jordan. Preliminary Report of the First Season of Excavations (2005). Studies on the Archaeology of Palestine and Transjordan 3. Rome. Polcaro, A., Muñiz, J., 2018 Dolmen 534: A megalithic tomb of the Early Bronze Age II in Jebel al-Mutawwaq, Jordan. Preliminary results of the 2014 Spanish-Italian expedition in Area C south. In: B. Horejs et al. (eds.), Proceedings of the 10th International Congress of Archaeology of Ancient Near East, Wien, April, 25th–29th 2016. Volume 2. Vienna, 589–600. forthcoming Preliminary Results of the 2014–2015 Spanish-Italian excavation campaigns at the Early Bronze Age I settlement of Jebel al-Mutawwaq, Middle Wadi Zarqa, Area C. Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan 13. Polcaro, A., Muñiz, J., Alvarez, V. and Mogliazza, S. 2014 Dolmen 317 and its hidden burial: An Early Bronze Age I megalithic tomb from Jebel alMutawwaq (Jordan). Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research 372, 1–17. Regev, J., de Miroschedji, P., Greenberg, R., Braun, E., Greenhut, Z., Boaretto E. 2012 Chronology of the Early Bronze Age in the Southern Levant: New Analysis for a High Chronology. Radiocarbon 2012/54, 525–566. Rowan, Y. M. and Golden, J. 2009 The Chalcolithic period of the Southern Levant: A synthetic review. Journal of World Prehistory 22, 1–92. Rowan, Y. M. and Ilan, D. 2012 The subterranean landscape of the Southern Levant during the Chalcolithic Period. In: H. Moyes (ed.), Sacred Darkness: A Global Perspective on the Ritual Use of Caves. Boulder, 87–107. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Tab. 1 Parallels of the different pottery types recognized at Mutawwaq

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Linking the River and the Desert

Fig. 1 Simple Ware from Jebel al-Mutawwaq

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Fig. 2 Storage and Cooking Ware from Jebel al-Mutawwaq © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

Linking the River and the Desert

Fig. 3 Patterns of distribution: A) pottery types per area; B) fabric types per area

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Oriental Subtleties: Counter-marking of Archaic Ur Seals Again Petr Charvát 1 Abstract Counter-marking of seal impressions at archaic Ur (Early Dynastic I, c . 2900–2700 BC) seems to outline a binary structure of public life . In the ‘political’ sphere, the goods might have circulated within the ‘City-League’ confederation of municipal communities. Counter-marking may reflect a network of shifting alliances and interconnections here; the counter-marked seals are many and different, but each seal so marked occurs on few occasions . A connection with the Inanna cult of Uruk may be a possibility . In addition, supplies of cultic requisites to Ur fall within this area . The ‘private’ (or ‘demesne’?) sphere, where seals never bore counter-marks, concerned geographical entities other than the ‘City League’ (the edinnu), as well as the cultic needs of Ur . It might be speculated whether this sphere, in which a limited range of sources were exploited systematically (few seals, but many repetitions), is to be assigned to the economic domain of the prince, or city, of Ur .

1. Introduction The formation of ‘primary states’ during the 4th millennium BC (or Late Uruk period) represents a major phase of social change in southern Mesopotamia . In its turn, the onset of the 3rd millennium BC offers evidence for the unfolding of potential created by the inventors of the earliest statehood, literary culture and arts of ancient Mesopotamia . The relevant socioeconomic dynamics still remain, however, imperfectly known . The site of Tell al-Muqayyar, ancient Ur, in southern Iraq, is best known for its late Early Dynastic ‘Royal Cemetery’ (c . 2500–2350 BC), but it already constituted a political centre at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC (Early Dynastic I period, c . 2900–2700 BC) . Due to the rich archaeological evidence at our disposal, Ur is an ideal test case for analysis of the stabilization of the freshly formed Mesopotamian statehood for this specific time period (Woolley 1955; see more recently Zettler and Horne 1998; Aruz and Wallenfels 2003; Šašková et al. 2010; Charvát 2017). Excavating within the central sacred precinct of the city, the Leonard Woolley Expedition (1922–1934) also explored the archaeological strata below the famous ‘Royal Cemetery’, but above the so-called ‘Jemdet Nasr Cemetery’ . These strata yielded alternate layers of both domestic and administrative refuse including numerous find groups of seal impressions on clay, referred to as ‘seal-impression strata’,

1

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as well as cuneiform texts (SIS; see Burrows 1935; Legrain 1936, and, for the most recent contributions, Scott 2005; Šašková et al. 2010; Benati 2015). The seal impressions from these strata constitute an ideal source for the investigation of economic, administrative, social and spiritual structures streamlining the life of one of the major successor states of the Uruk-age culture . The analysis of the inscriptions borne by the sealed surfaces gives fairly instructive historical data for the use and socioeconomic context of the relevant seals . On the other hand, impressions that the sealed objects left behind on the reverses of the clay sealings reveal the type of seal carrier, and thus provide first-rate evidence of social and administrative practices of the relevant period . In addition, the iconography of such seal impressions sheds light on the ancient spiritual character and ideology of the incipient Mesopotamian statehood . Inscribed seal impressions excavated from reasonably well-dated contexts therefore offer a historian the best possible material for studies of the socially engineered goods-exchange practices available, and thus for the characteristics of the relevant social structures of the early Sumerian city of Ur . A number of seal impressions from the SIS strata display secondary marking with additional seal matrices, different from the primary ones . Such a practice, which I term ‘counter-marking’ (counter-signing, counter-sealing), shall be the issue that I am trying to tackle here . Counter-marking of Mesopotamian and Archaic Ur impressions has already constituted a research and publication topic (see Rothman 1994: 110–111; most recently Zettler 2007: 352–358; for extra-Mesopotamian examples: Felli 2015: 217–218). In my paper, I shall investigate counter-marked seal impressions mostly from the SIS 4–5 strata . In order to elucidate their social functions, I shall compare them with a group of sealings from the same findspot, the surviving examples of which never bear counter-marks, in order to establish the character of differences among them, and to gain a deeper insight into the socially engineered seal use in archaic Ur . As to the methodology of interpretation of seal impression reverses, I resort to the procedures proposed by Roger J. Matthews (Martin and Matthews 1993: 37–39; Matthews 1993: 44–46). I am basing my conclusions on a sample of archaic Ur seals deposited in the collections of the University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, which I have had the opportunity to study during my stay at the Museum in 2003–2004 . Counter-marking matrices impressed both epigraphic seals (with inscriptions) and anepigraphic seals (without them) . Counter-marks turned up both on sealings of immobile and mobile objects . 2. Two counter-seals mark impression of a single primary matrix At first, let us notice one remarkable fact: sealing UM 33-35-354 = Legrain 1936: 131, bearing a triumphal scene, has been counter-marked with a rosette pattern. For © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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unknown reasons, Leon Legrain copied only the counter-signing emblem in Legrain 1936 under this number. Additionally, the other impression of the same primary cylinder seal matrix, sealing UM 33-35-387 = Legrain 1936: 297, received a counter-mark by an ensign depicting a crouching boar . Both signs once closed storage spaces as ‘locks’ . In this instance, two impressions of one single primary seal matrix, both closing storage spaces, occur with two different counter-marking seals . 3. Counter-marked, epigraphic Unfortunately, the counts of epigraphic seals bearing counter-marks, in which one primary matrix appears repeatedly, fall below the desired size of the sample at our disposal. We have no more than five counter-signed examples of the seal Legrain 1936: 281, four of the seal Legrain 1936: 431, and three of the seal Legrain 1936: 395. In the latter composition (Legrain 1936: 395), the sign group UR4 KAB ALAM UR2 DU8 may be rendered as ‘wool clip in baskets, statue, fertility ritual performed (or, alternatively, fertility released)’ (see Charvát 2010: 60). It seems that bearers of these counter-marks acted within the spheres of public administration (‘City league’, Legrain 1936: 431) and cultic proceedings (requisites for the DU8 ceremony) . 4. Counter-marked, anepigraphic (plain) In this case we tackle a situation virtually without issue, as most of the anepigraphic seals bearing counter-signs turn up only once . Thus, no conclusions of a more general character can be put forward . However, two points lie at hand . First, most of such ensigns marked ‘locks’, and thus storage spaces . Second, the great variety of counter-marked seals with a limited number of repetitions suggests low-intensity exploitation of a multitude of economic sources . The fact that most of the counter-marking seals bear the rosette symbol lends support to Piotr Steinkeller’s assumption that a connection with the cult of Inanna at Uruk might have existed (Steinkeller 2002), especially with respect to a new text from archaic Ur referring to persons sent to Uruk from there (Benati 2015: 11–12). Did the contents of the storage spaces thus marked constitute lawful deliveries to the Eanna temple at the city of An and Inanna, already hallowed with tradition in the Early Dynastic I period? However, the Ur archaic text Burrows 1935: 51, a ration list, bears on its obverse a depiction of a rosette and, in addition to other marks representing possibly the grand total, the toponym URI5 . This may indicate that the rosette stood for the city of Ur, and counter-marking seals bearing this emblem denoted that share in the ‘City League’ (or other) consignments, which fell to the abode of Nannar . However, this assumption cannot be substantiated from any other source . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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5. Plain, epigraphic Here the example of sealing Legrain 1936: 454, combining the edinnu and legcross signs with those of UNUG and others, may be taken up . This manifestly differs from the epigraphic counter-marked seals that probably moved within the activity area of the ‘City league’ . The geographical location of such groupings seems to be hinted at by the find no. UM 35-1-710, combining two seals, one with an edinnu image and the other with a matrix possibly related to the Glazed Steatite glyptic style, definitely alien to Ur. A specific archival procedure, different from the counter-marked examples, may have possibly resulted in the firing of all items of this group . Sealing Legrain 1936: 349, a pastoral scene, includes the signs DUG, DIN and UR2 . The UR2 sign may refer to a fertility-discharging ceremony, a key component of the religious life of archaic Ur (Charvát 2010: 63–64). 6. Plain, anepigraphic In some instances, such repeated sealings also show what might have been functional specialization. Legrain 1936: 135, a seal showing rows of ovals with pointed ends conceivably referring to fish and repeated seven times, sealed almost exclusively jar stoppers or storage jars. In one instance (UM 33–35–283), an impression of a much older seal Legrain 1936: 13, attested to in SIS 8, joins that of Legrain 1936: 135 on one and the same jar stopper . The remaining case, Legrain 1936: 256, shows a hero-lion combat scene. Here, we may well ponder upon a symbolism of princely power, embodied in the action of the heroic naked male attacking the beast of prey (on the ‘naked hero’ see now Costello 2010). However, this must remain pure speculation. In general, however, non-countermark seals do show a limited variety of matrices (and thus presumably of resources tapped), but frequent repetitions of the few seals concerned . This is in contrast to counter-marked anepigraphic seals, displaying a great variety of matrices used, but infrequent repetitions of seal use . Here, repeated impressions of a single seal show prevailing storage modes (‘locks’), but a great diversity of particular storage facilities (buildings), shown by the variety in peg diameters (see the data summarized in Table 6 of the Annex). 7. Counter-marking with cylinder seal butts This rather frequent phenomenon calls for interpretation. We usually link seals with images, which we assume to have conveyed a meaningful message as to their function. However, the blank butts of cylinder seals obviously satisfied the need, fulfilled elsewhere by sculpted matrices, as well . Here it would seem that the particular seal © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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image mattered less than the very fact of impressing the storage facility door with a socially relevant artefact, representing obviously an ensign of authority . The counter-signing process would thus not convey information as to the future destination of the goods stored, but rather represent an instruction to carry out an additional administrative step, beyond the limits of ordinary routine. What that step was, is most difficult to guess; perhaps it singled out special purpose storage or redistribution procedures, perhaps something else . 8. Practical aspects of sealing The sealings show that while in most cases they have been removed from their original positions when the clay was still wet, in other instances – but far less frequently – their clay was left to turn dry, and developed fissures. It might also be observed that in some instances, counter-marking seals probably impressed the clay matrix at the same time as the primary cylinder seals . This is especially visible in case of the large sealing UM 31-16-604 (= Legrain 1936: 431), in which the linear cylinder seal impressions radiate from the centre of the composition in the manner of a star or sun, with counter-signing seals in between the singular ‘rays’ . 9. Conclusions Two modes of economic circuits seem to be represented by counter-marking as against non-counter-marking the seal impressions of archaic Ur. The first, ‘outer circuit’, presumably linked up with the ‘City League’ political entity, and with cultic affairs (procurement of supplies for the UR2 ceremony) . It is characterized by a variety of seal matrices counter-marked only once, but frequently using the rosette ensign, perhaps in connection with the cult of Inanna at Uruk . The second, ‘inner circuit’, includes seal impressions the preserved examples of which never bear counter-marks . These seals refer to geographical units other than the ‘City League’ (edinnu), as well as to cultic procedures (UR2) . Some sealed goods could not have been counter-marked in view of the character of the closures; pottery vessels whose stoppers bore seals could not preserve the softness of the stopper clay long enough to admit counter-marks. Another example, Legrain 1936: 256, could speculatively be brought into connection with the symbolism of royal power, but hardly any certainty is to be achieved here . Counter-marking of seal impressions at Ur thus seems to outline a ‘political’ sphere, in which the City League goods exchange was probably accompanied by supplies of cultic requisites, visualizing a network of shifting alliances and interconnections (many different counter-marked seals repeated few times), possibly in connection with the Inanna cult of Uruk . The ‘private’ (or ‘demesne’?) sphere, where sealings never bore counter-marks, may have concerned geographical enti© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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ties other than the ‘City League’, as well as the cultic needs of Ur . It might be speculated whether this sphere, in which few sources were exploited systematically, is to be assigned to the economic domain of the prince, or the city, of Ur . Acknowledgements The material is published herewith with kind consent of the Near Eastern Section of the University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. I could not complete the research presented here without the support of several academic sponsoring bodies. The academic year 2003–2004 I spent in Philadelphia thanks to a research grant from the Prague office of the John William Fulbright Foundation (grant No. 2003-28-02, Fulbright No. ME659). In 2005, I could pursue my goals further with the aid of the American Philosophical Society (grant No. Franklin 2005), as well as of the Grant Agency of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic at Prague (grant No. A8021401). No less helpful was another grant project conferred on me jointly by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) under the No. (GA CR) 404/08/J013. I am deeply obliged to Holly Pittman, Curator of the Near Eastern Section, as well as to Richard Zettler and Shannon White of the Near Eastern Section of the University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, for their friendly assistance . Appendix Tabular information on counter-marked, and non-counter-marked, but repeated, seals from the SIS 4–5 strata of archaic Ur in the collections of the Penn Museum, Philadelphia. Bibliography Aruz, J. and Wallenfels, R. (eds.) 2003 Art of the First Cities – The Third Millennium BC from the Mediterranean to the Indus . New York . Benati, G . 2015 Re-modeling Political Economy in Early 3rd Millennium BC Mesopotamia: Patterns of Socio-Economic Organization in Archaic Ur (Tell al-Muqayyar, Iraq) . Cuneiform Digital Library Journal 2015/2, 1–37. Burrows, E . 1935 Ur Excavations Volume II. Archaic Texts . London . Charvát, P. 2010 Inscriptions on Sealings from Archaic Ur. In: K. Šašková, L. Pecha and P. Charvát (eds.), Shepherds of the Black-headed People – The Royal Office vis-à-vis Godhead in Ancient Mesopotamia. Plzeň, 39–74. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Signs from Silence – Ur of the First Sumerians. Praha.

Costello, S . K . 2010 The Mesopotamian ‘Nude Hero’: Context and Interpretations. In: D. B. Counts and B. Arnold (eds .), The Master of Animals in Old World Iconography . Budapest, 25–35 . Felli, C . 2015 Glyptic and Art. In: U. Finkbeiner, M. Novák, F. Sakal, and P. Sconzo (eds.), Associated Regional Chronologies for the Ancient Near East and the Eastern Mediterranean IV. Middle Euphrates. Turnhout, 203–265. Legrain, L . 1936 Ur Excavations Volume III. Archaic Seal Impressions . London . Martin, H . and Matthews, R . J . 1993 Seals and Sealings. In: A. Green (ed.), Abu Salabikh Excavations Volume 4, The 6G Ash-Tip and its Contents: Cultic and Administrative Discard from the Temple? London, 23–81. Matthews, R . J . 1993 Cities, Seals and Writing: Archaic Seal Impressions from Jemdet Nasr and Ur . Materialien zu den frühen Schrifterzeugnissen des Vorderen Orients 2 . Berlin . Rothman, M . 1994 Seal and Sealing: Findspot, Design, Audience, and Function. In: P. Ferioli, E. Fiandra, G. G. Fissore, and M . Frangipane (eds .), Archives before Writing – Proceedings of the International Colloquium Oriolo Romano, October 23–25, 1991. Rome, 97–119. Scott, S . J . 2005 Figure, Symbol and Sign: Semiotics and Function of Early Dynastic I Cylinder Seal Imagery from Ur. PhD thesis, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Steinkeller, P. 2002 More on the Archaic City Seals . Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires 2, 30 . Šašková, K., Pecha, L. and Charvát, P. (eds.) 2010 Shepherds of the Black-headed People – The Royal Office vis-à-vis Godhead in Ancient Mesopotamia. Plzeň. Woolley, C. L. 1955 Ur Excavations Volume IV: The Early Periods. A Report on the Sites and Objects prior in Date to the Third Dynasty of Ur Discovered in the Course of the Excavations . London . Zettler, R. 2007 Clay Sealings from the ED I Levels of the Inanna temple at Nippur: A Preliminary Analysis. In: M. Roth, W. Farber, M. Stolper, and P. von Bechtolsheim (eds.), Studies Presented to Robert D. Biggs, June 4, 2004. Chicago, 343–362. Zettler, R. and Horne, L. (eds.) 1998 Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur. Philadelphia.

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Publication

Iconography

Carrier

Counter-mark

Findspot

UM 33-35-324 = Legrain 1936: 275

Animal heads

Package in reed mat, tied over?

SIS 4–5

UM 33-35-330 = Legrain 1936: 323

Bringing of offerings, ‘lock’ spread eagle, scorpion

UM 31-16-674 = Legrain 1936: 404 UM 31-16-675 = Legrain 1936: 424 UM 31-16-676 = Legrain 1936: 427

Signs, legcross

‘lock’?

Twice impressed seal, geometrical composition; same as primary cylinder seal? Rosette, four rays, of wood(?), same as primary cylinder seal? Rosette

Series of AB signs with specifications signs

‘lock’

Rosette, same as primary cylinder seal? Rosette, not of primary cylinder seal?

SIS 4

Even surface, organic admixtures

SIS 4–5 SIS 4(?)

SIS 4

Table 1 Counter-marked, epigraphic seals

Publication

Iconography

Carrier

Counter-mark

Findspot

UM 31-16-671 = Legrain 1936: 281 UM 33-35-326 = Legrain 1936: 281 UM 33-35-404 = Legrain 1936: 281 UM 33-35-408 = Legrain 1936: 281 UM 33-35-415 = Legrain 1936: 281 UM 33-35-290 = Legrain 1936: 395 UM 33-35-291 = Legrain 1936: 395

Human being, lizards, signs Human being, lizards, signs Human being, lizards, signs Human being, lizards, signs Human being, lizards, signs Signs, also ALAN KAB UR4 DU8 Signs, also ALAN KAB UR4 DU8

‘lock’, peg radius = 19mm, cord CT = 3.05mm ‘lock’, cord CT = 1.8mm

rosette

SIS 4

rosette

SIS 4–5

‘lock’

Rosette

SIS 4–5

UM 33-35-292= Legrain 1936: 395 UM 31-16-604 = Legrain 1936: 431

Signs, also ALAN KAB UR4 DU8 Series of titles and sites

UM 31-16-654 = Legrain 1936: 431 UM 33-35-297 = Legrain 1936: 431 UM 33-35-298 = Legrain 1936: 431

Series of titles and sites Series of titles and sites Series of titles and sites

‘lock’, peg radius = 22mm

Rosette, same as primary cylinder seal? ‘lock’?, peg radius = c. 25mm, rosette cord CT = 5.3mm illegible rosette Two bands of cord impressions, three and two strands, CT = 3.9, 3.9, 2.8mm and 3.4 and 3 .4mm Torus-trochillus-torus: reed construction? ‘lock’, peg diameter = 15.55mm, cord thickness (CT) = 3.7mm

SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5

rosette

SIS 4–5

rosette

SIS 4–5

Rosette, same as priSIS 4 mary cylinder seal?, 4 prints; 8 impressions of cylinder seal, in between 8 counter-sign impressions ‘lock’, peg radius = 5mm, cord Rosette, 3 impressions SIS 4 CT = 1.95mm Reverse broken rosette SIS 4–5 ‘lock’, peg radius = 8mm, cord Rosette(?), possibly SIS 4–5 CT = 1.8mm; removed when same as primary cylinwet der seal

Table 2 Counter-marked epigraphic, repeated

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Oriental Subtleties: Counter-marking of Archaic Ur Seals Again Publication

Iconography

UM 33-35-368 = Legrain 1936: 33

File of rosettes

Carrier

UM 33-35-355 = Legrain 1936: 192

Storage jar or bottle, neck covered by soft tissue and tied over with string Seven impressions of Storage jar, neck a seal with star tied over with string Triumphal scene, ‘lock’? smiting of captive, lion over antelope File of horned quad- ‘lock’ = bar rupeds

UM 33-35-417 = Legrain 1936: 214 UM 33-35-395 = Legrain 1936: 219

Horned quadrupeds, spread eagle File of animals, human figure?

‘lock’

UM 33-35-373 = Legrain 1936: 254

Lion attacks quadruped, naked hero attacks lion Scorpion, UR2, rosettes, spread eagle

‘lock’

?UM 33-35-328 = Legrain 1936: 129? UM 33-35-354 = Legrain 1936: 131

UM 31-16-658 = Legrain 1936: 272 UM 33-35-344 = Legrain 1936: 286 UM 33-35-387 = Legrain 1936: 297 UM 33-35-337 = Legrain 1936: 306 UM 31-16-603 = Legrain 1936: 368 UM 33-35-346 = Legrain 1936: 351 UM 33-35-401 = Legrain 1936: 369

‘lock’

‘lock’

Triumph over bipar- ‘lock’ tite human composition, snake twirl Triumphal scene, ‘lock’? smiting of captive, lion over antelope Human with a stick ‘lock’ Coitus a tergo

‘lock’

Kneeling figure by ‘lock’? house and watercourse? Coitus a tergo, music ‘lock’

UM 33-35-325 = Legrain 1936: 376 UM 33-35-394 = Legrain 1936: 378

Naked figures

Bale tied over?

File of offering bearers?

‘lock’

UM 33-35-323 = Legrain 1936: 382

Lady served by a naked attendant

UM 33-35-359 = Legrain 1936: 384

Two planes at a sharp angle, conic object Animals pay homage ‘lock’ to bear

Counter-mark

Findspot

Rectangular seal, SIS 6-7 co-axial triangles; is this a counter-mark? Seven impressions of a seal with star Rosette, primary cylinder seal = Legrain 1936: 297 Rosette, two impressions, same as primary cylinder seal? Scorpion or spider

SIS 4–5

Butt of cylinder seal bored through rosette

SIS 4–5

Seal butt with suspension cord, same as primary cylinder seal? Rosette, same as primary cylinder seal? Boar, primary cylinder seal = Legrain 1936: 131 rosette

SIS 4

Rosette, same as primary cylinder seal? Rosette

SIS 4

Butt of cylinder seal bored through, same as primary cylinder seal? scorpion

SIS 4–5

Rosette, same as primary cylinder seal? Rosette, same as primary cylinder seal? Boar, scorpion, dagger

SIS 4–5

SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5

SIS 4–5

SIS 4–5

SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5

SIS 4–5

SIS 4–5

SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5

Table 3 Counter-marked, anepigraphic

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UM 33-35-329 = Legrain 1936: 469 UM 31-17-351S = Legrain 1936: 481 UM 35-1-667 = Legrain 1936: 558? UM 33-35-327 = Legrain 1936 missing = U 18402 UM 87-28-30, Legrain 1936 missing UM 87-28-43, Legrain 1936 missing

Geometrical compo- Cord impression rosette SIS 4–5 sition Trees, Iranian ‘lock’ Oblong seal, loop, Pit G, 7 to 7½ m below brick suspension cord pavement, dated c. 3100 BC, in the prehistoric settlement = Jemdet Nasr Two lions attack ‘lock’, peg radius rosette SIS 4–5 ibex, spread eagle = 30mm, cord CT = 4.7mm Primary cylinder seal ‘lock’ Two seals, roSIS 4–5 missing or not intelsettes ligible Kneeling figure with ‘lock’?, peg Butt of cylindeest spread arms, idols? radius = 26mm der seal bored through Feet and robe-fringes Basket? PisanButt of cylinder deest of a file of figures dubba? Cord CT seal = 3.3mm

Table 3 continued Counter-marked, anepigraphic

Museum numCarrier ber UM 35-1-672 ‘lock’, peg radius = 23.35mm, cord CT = 4.3mm UM 35-1-673 ‘lock’, peg radius = 11mm UM 35-1-674 Cord passing through loop, CT = 3 .4mm; bale? UM 35-1-675 ‘lock’, peg radius = 16mm, cord CT = 4mm UM 35-1-676 ‘lock’, peg radius = 11mm, cord CT = 2mm UM 35-1-677 ‘lock’, cord CT = 5.4mm UM 35-1-678 UM 35-1-679 UM 35-1-680 UM 35-1-681 UM 35-1-682 UM 35-1-683 UM 35-1-684 UM 35-1-685 UM 35-1-686

‘lock’?, cord CT = 3.35mm ‘lock’, cord CT = 4.2mm ‘lock’, peg radius = 16mm, cord CT = 5.2mm ‘lock’? ‘lock’, peg radius = 27mm, cord CT = 3.4mm ‘lock’, peg radius = 7mm, cord CT = 4.05mm ‘lock’, peg radius = 23mm, cord CT = 2.6mm ‘lock’, peg radius = 17mm, cord CT = 3.4mm ‘lock’, peg radius = 16mm, cord CT = 3.15mm

Findspot Note SIS 4 SIS 4 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5

Sealing removed when soft, pressed in hand, impressions of 2nd, 3rd and 4th finger of right hand

SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5

Table 4 Non-countermarked, epigraphic: seal impression Legrain 1936: 454 = edinnu, cross, UNUG, all items fired; twenty-seven fragments (twenty-seven here) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

Oriental Subtleties: Counter-marking of Archaic Ur Seals Again UM 35-1-687 UM 35-1-688 UM 35-1-689 UM 35-1-690 UM 35-1-691 UM 35-1-692 UM 35-1-693 UM 35-1-694 UM 35-1-695 UM 35-1-696 UM 35-1-697 UM 35-1-698

‘lock’?, peg radius = 11mm, cord CT = 3.5mm ‘lock’, cord CT = 4.2mm ‘lock’, square peg, side = 40.2mm, cord CT = 3.7mm ‘lock’, peg radius = 12mm, cord CT = 3.5mm ‘lock’?, cord CT = 8.4mm ‘lock’ on reed construction?, peg radius = 20mm, cord CT = 4.2mm ‘lock’, peg radius = 22mm, cord CT = 3.5mm ‘lock’, peg radius = 18mm, cord CT = 3.8mm ‘lock’, peg radius = 12mm, cord CT = 4.05mm ‘lock’, peg radius = 23mm, cord CT = 4.95mm ‘lock’, peg radius = 15mm, cord CT = 3.1mm Bale? Sack?, cord CT = 5.6mm

313

SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5

Cut from the peg side

SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5

Table 4 continued

Museum number

Carrier

Findspot Note

UM 33-35-280 UM 33-35-281 UM 33-35-282 UM 33-35-283

Jar stopper, jar radius = 37mm Jar stopper, jar radius = 49.65mm Jar stopper, jar radius = 40mm Jar stopper, jar radius = c. 70mm

SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5

UM 33-35-284

Jar-stopper fragment?, jar radius = 48mm? two diverging curved surfaces; a vaulted building? Storage jar, closed with soft tissue tied over with string, jar radius = 87mm illegible

SIS 4–5

UM 33-35-286 UM 33-35-287 UM 33-35-288

Joinsanothercylinder-sealimpression,Legrain 1936: 13 here, which turned up in SIS 8

SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5

Table 5 Non-countermarked, anepigraphic: Legrain 1936: 135, rows of ovals with pointed ends (seven fragments, eight here)

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Petr Charvát

Museum number

Carrier

Findspot

UM 33-35-434, cylinder-seal radius = 4.50mm UM 33-35-435, cylinder-seal radius = 4.50mm UM 33-35-436, cylinder-seal radius = 4.50mm UM 33-35-438, cylinder-seal radius = 4.50mm UM 33-35-439, cylinder-seal radius = 4.50mm UM 33-35-440, cylinder-seal radius = 4.50mm UM 33-35-441, cylinder-seal radius = 4.50mm UM 33-35-442, cylinder-seal radius = 4.50mm UM 33-35-443 UM 33-35-444, cylinder-seal radius = 4.50mm UM 33-35-445 UM 33-35-446 UM 33-35-447 UM 33-35-448, cylinder-seal radius = 4.50mm

‘lock’ ‘lock’, peg radius = 26mm ‘lock’, peg radius = 22mm ‘lock’, peg radius = 26mm ‘lock’ ‘lock’ Sack tied over with cord ‘lock’, peg radius = 15mm ‘lock’ ‘lock’ Sack tied over with cord? ‘lock’, peg radius = 13mm illegible Bale in leather, tied over with cords or sinew (pace R. Zettler)? ‘lock’, peg radius = 21mm ‘lock’, peg radius = 26mm “round construction, enclosed in torus, peg protruding from it”; peg radius = 9mm ‘lock’?, peg radius = 18mm ‘lock’ ‘lock’, peg radius = 10mm ‘lock’?, peg radius = 9mm ‘lock’ Illegible ‘lock’ Illegible, cord imprints ‘lock’, peg radius = 22mm Even-sided container with filling funnel of flexible organic matter?

SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5

UM 33-35-449 UM 33-35-451, cylinder-seal radius = 4.50mm UM 33-35-454 UM 33-35-455 UM 33-35-456, cylinder-seal radius = 4.50mm UM 33-35-457, cylinder-seal radius = 4.50mm UM 33-35-458 UM 33-35-459, cylinder-seal radius = 4.50mm UM 33-35-460 UM 33-35-461 UM 33-35-462 UM 33-35-463, cylinder-seal radius = 4.50mm UM 33-35-464, cylinder-seal radius = 4.50mm

SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5

Table 6 Non-countermarked, anepigraphic: Legrain 1936: 256, hero-lion combat = thirty-two large and small fragments (twenty-eight here)

Museum number

Carrier

Findspot

UM 33-35-332 UM 33-35-333 UM 33-35-334 UM 33-35-335 UM 33-35-338 UM 33-35-342 UM 33-35-343 UM 33-35-347

‘lock’, peg radius = 24mm ‘lock’, peg radius = 28mm ‘lock’, peg radius = 17mm ‘lock’? ‘lock’? ‘lock’, peg radius = 21mm Illegible; even surfaces ‘lock’?, peg radius = c. 30mm

SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5 SIS 4–5

Note

Clay sticking to peg dried out and fissured

Table 7 Non-countermarked, anepigraphic: seal impression Legrain 1936: 349 = calves, man with jar, huts, spread eagle, seven fragments (eight here)

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Banbhore, a Major Trade Centre on the Indus’ Delta: Notes on the Pakistani-Italian Excavations and Research Anna C. Felici 1 – Agnese Fusaro 2 – Asma Ibrahim 3 – Kaleemullah Lashari 4 – Niccolò Manassero 5 – Mario Piacentini 1 – Valeria Piacentini Fiorani 6 – Alessandro Tilia 7 Abstract The joint Pakistani-Italian-French Historical-Archaeological Mission at Banbhore started in 2010. Among the aims of the project is to verify the historical identity of the site as Debol/Daybul, the ancient harbour town located on the Indus delta that was one of the main hubs for land and maritime trade in the Indian Ocean. Banbhore had a long period of occupation (2nd–13th centuries CE). It was a fortified citadel, surrounded by ‘industrial’ and residential areas to the north and east. The excavations of the Pakistani-Italian team have brought to light a dense grid of buildings of the Islamic period and have provided insights into the Sasanian phases. The findings testify to the role of Banbhore both as a production centre and a trade harbour, connected with many different Asian lands, from Iraq to the Far East.

1. Introduction The Pakistani-French-Italian expedition at Banbhore was born in 2010, when two previous missions – the French Archaeological Mission to Sindh (directed by Monique Kervran, CNRS Paris) and the Italian Archaeological and Historical Mission in Southern Makran and Kharan (directed by Valeria Piacentini Fiorani) – joined their strengths and decided to share efforts and data with the collaboration of Asma Ibrahim, under the coordination of Kaleemullah Lashari (Manassero and Piacentini Fiorani 2014). The site of Banbhore is located in lower Sindh, at the mouth of the Indus delta on the northern bank of the Gharo creek, c. 30km from the present shoreline. It lies in a strategic position at the end of a fluvial axis of fundamental importance through the ages, where the Arabian and Persian sources mention a major hub for trade in the Indian Ocean since about the 3rd century BCE, called Debal or Daybul, which was first mentioned by the preacher Mani as Deb (Kervran 1996; Piacentini Fiorani and

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Laboratory for Archaeometry and Non-Destructive Analyses, Sapienza Università, Roma. Department of Classics, Sapienza Università, Roma. National Bank Museum, Karachi. Management Board for Antiquities, Government of Sindh, Karachi. Centro Ricerche Archeologiche e Scavi di Torino. Centro di Ricerche sul Sistema Sud e il Mediterraneo Allargato, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano. Studio 3R, Roma. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Redaelli 2003; Piacentini Fiorani 2014). Even though there is no general agreement among scholars, the location and the imposing structures of the fortified citadel of Banbhore at least raise the question of its identification. The site consists of a ‘citadel’ encircled by 47 circular towers and 8 rectangular bastions, overlooking an artificial lake and a vast area of extra moenia ruins to the northeast. A towered wall, questionably called the ‘Partition Wall’ by previous scholars, runs through the whole citadel, approximately north-south, bending at the middle of its length towards the southeastern direction. Altogether, the citadel and the surrounding quarters cover a surface of c. 65ha. Even though interest in its ruins arose since the end of the 19th century CE, the site still poses many questions and only now is being given proper attention. Among the archaeologists who worked here, Henry Cousens, Gopal Majumdar, Leslie Alcock, Rafique Mughal and especially Fazal Ahmad Khan – who conducted extensive excavations in the late 1950s and early 1960s – deserve to be mentioned (see mainly Cousens 1929: 80; Majumdar 1934: 18; Khan 1969). The main monuments revealed by such excavations are represented by a mosque and a Hindu temple in the centre of the site, and a palace at the northeastern corner; houses and workshops and a so-called ‘industrial’ area were revealed as well. Various kinds of valuable and interesting objects were found, attesting to the wealth and importance of Banbhore in the Islamic age. Skeletons, left unburied inside the houses and on the streets, were also found, which seems to point to a violent, dramatic end of the town around the 13th century CE. Under the Islamic town, two main cultural phases were identified by Khan: the upper one, connected with the Sasanian period, produced evidence of a Hindu temple and other cults, giving the image of a cosmopolitan market and harbour town. The layers below yielded a large collection of vessels (and some coins as well) attributed by Khan to the ‘Scytho-Parthian’ period (Khan 1969: 11). But the virgin soil was not reached due to heavy water infiltration, and the information on the early stages of life at Banbhore remained incomplete. Our joint expedition resumed work on the site in order to solve one of the major problems of the historical topography of the Indus deltaic region and to clarify the network of land and sea trade routes in this crucial region over a period of at least eleven centuries. The preliminary goal was to date the site and get detailed archaeological evidence for its urban structure. The most pressing task was to create a new, updated scale-study and contour lines map of the site, as an indispensable tool to proceed to further investigation and excavations. This task was accomplished in the 2011 and 2012 field seasons through a topographic survey and a kite-photos campaign by the three joint teams. The citadel was carefully mapped within the whole circle of its bastioned walls, and some extra moenia quarters as well, such as the so-called ‘industrial area’ to the north and northwest and the artificial lake (Fig. 1). In the first excavation campaign, November–December 2012, the French team explored an area west of the Hindu temple, and opened a trench across one of the towers of the fortified wall, while the Pakistani team opened two soundings in the central area of the citadel, south of the mosque, supported by Italian specialists. In the Pakistani Trenches 4 and 5, a pit, probably a dump, and a large building were found respectively. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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During the January–February 2014 campaign, an Italian-Pakistani archaeological team focused its research around the mosque’s area, in the very centre of the site. The main aim was to provide new evidence on the meaning and date of the so-called Partition Wall and the structures adjoining it. The major hypothesis we wanted to check was the existence of a central axis, a road, running south to north, from around the area of the southern gate to the northern side of the fortified enclosure. For this reason, two trenches were cut across the Partition Wall (Trench 7) and just west of it (Trench 8), in an area where the wall and that supposed axis might be quite close. The excavation in Trench 7 (Fig. 2) showed that the Partition Wall together with one of its towers were built right upon two buildings, which were heavily collapsed at the time. The wall and tower were built in a hurry, with no careful planning, upon mounds of debris that were not previously regularized. Thus, we may conclude that the Partition Wall was erected in the very last stage of the site (12th century CE), possibly to set the new borders of a settlement that was losing strength and population. Just west of the second building, an empty space, 2.5m wide, offered the chance to dig a deep sounding, where we discerned about 20 layers of alternating paths and deposits, partially disturbed by pits and hollows. For the entire Islamic age, this area served as a road between the buildings; the lower part of the sounding showed that the same function of a road might have been already established in pre-Islamic times. Indeed, other artificial paths of pressed soil were brought to light here; in particular, two paths made of crushed and pressed sandstone were detected in the lowest part of the sounding. Right below the latter path, the excavation was stopped by a continuous layer of stones disposed side by side, having a smoothed surface, making up a floor, possibly a part of the road we were searching for. However, the excavated space at the bottom of the sounding was too narrow to judge confidently about such a structure. A relevant finding in the lower layers of that sounding was a huge stone block that was lying right in the middle of the trench. The block (Fig. 3), finely carved and evidently not in the place and function for which it was conceived, probably belonged to a previous building whence it was taken and reused. Trench 8 is a square trench on the top of the mound opposing the tower (Fig. 4); here a building, made up of at least three rooms, was found. In the larger room, we could identify the roof, which was burnt for the most part and badly crushed and collapsed on the floor. Above it, three skeletons were disposed, lying on their right flanks, looking west, having no grave goods at all. Only one of them appears to have been covered by a small mound and a row of stones, while the other two skeletons were simply disposed on the floor after their death and covered with a handful of earth. Such findings strikingly match that of several skeletons found by Khan, and may be related to the same tragic event. The 2015 field season saw the Italian-Pakistani team focusing on a large flat area, south of the area investigated in the previous year, possibly hosting no major structures, thus allowing us to excavate as wide as possible a trench and obtain a com© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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plete stratigraphy of the site (Trench 9). However, our assumptions were incorrect and soon a massive wall came to light, which in the end belonged to a monumental stone building of trapezoidal shape that stood from the 9th century CE to the end of the settlement (Fig. 5). Beyond a narrow road running east to west, two minor buildings in stone and mud bricks came to light, which went through at least three major architectural phases. Contemporary to the earliest one, a big stone tank covered by a dome was found, where water was collected through a drain, attesting to an attentive planning of urban infrastructures. A deeper sounding allowed us to reveal a thick sequence of pre-Islamic layers, to which an architectural phase belongs, made up of a low stone wall and two carefully arranged floors in crushed and pressed sandstone, lying exactly in the middle of the later, Islamic, road. This also testifies that a major urban change had occurred by that time. Summarizing, Trench 9 revealed an unexpected building, whose western and eastern walls align respectively with a road running south to north, as originally presumed, and a road that appears to lead from the southern gate towards the area of the mosque. It will be the target of the next campaign to investigate that building, which seems to have had an important and long-lasting role right in the core of the citadel. Trench 9 also clarified that in both the Islamic and Sasanian phases the site was continuously settled. No major abandonment phases were revealed, the site being constantly inhabited and maintained through attentive urban planning and building of fundamental structures of public use, since at least the Sasanian period. 2. The archaeological material from the excavation During the above mentioned campaigns a wide corpus of archaeological material was collected. The variety of the materials as well as their imposing quantity and quality is remarkable. The archaeological materials have been thoroughly classified and documented during each campaign, nonetheless they are still awaiting more in-depth study; ongoing research on each class is currently being carried out by different members of the Mission. Moreover, archaeometric analyses also have been conducted by Mario Piacentini and Anna Candida Felici. Tests on selected materials were carried out directly in the field by means of non-destructive methodologies, such as portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (ED-XRF) and Raman spectroscopy. The archaeometric study in the field has been mostly focused on metal finds. Among the objects made of copper-based alloys, there are mainly small finds such as needles, cosmetic tools and pins. More utilitarian objects are made of iron; several nails have been found, but also pincers. The finding of a long blade is particularly outstanding. Iron slag collected on the surface as well as during the excavations suggests local production, at least for some iron items. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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An in-depth study, which is still in progress, has also been started on very small metal pellets and small simple coins, collected in good amounts during the excavations, which are associated with a special kind of terracotta mould. Specimens of the latter were found scattered all over the surface of the citadel and in large amounts in trench 8. Moulds are fired clay slabs, about 1.5cm thick. One of their shapes has been reconstructed as a circular slab with a diameter measuring approximately 50–60cm (Fig. 6). The upper surface of these moulds bears deeply impressed rows of little cup-like hollows, forming a regular honeycomb pattern. Several hollows still contain droplets of metal or pellets, made of copper-based alloys, therefore it is possible to suggest that by pouring melted metal inside them, small discs and pellets were probably shaped. We can not exclude that these small objects were also possibly used as coins for a very limited circulation. Stone objects are fewer in number. We found a good amount of beads of different shapes and from various semi-precious stones. The majority of tools are quite simple, but a heavy grinding stone is also worth mentioning. Among a few vessels found, there are also two fragments of soft stone vessels with a distinctive dot and circle decoration, which can be dated to the 10th–11th centuries CE on the basis of the associated ceramic assemblages. Similar vessels were produced and circulated in the Persian Gulf areas between the 8th and the 11th centuries CE (Hallett 1990; Harrell and Max Brown 2008: 41–42). Glass items are also noteworthy; along with beads, the glass corpus comprises several vessels. Shells were mostly used for manufacturing jewellery items, such as bangles and simple beads. The largest amounts of cut shells and finished items have been found in the westernmost part of the citadel, where Monique Kervran especially focused the excavations; many craft activities were probably concentrated there. Items of bone and ivory are the most striking finds. A remarkable corpus, both for quality and quantity, has been collected during the past campaigns. The variety of items ranges from lids to small plates and beads, along with tubular elements, possibly handles, and disc-shaped pieces. Stratigraphic Unit (SU) 119 excavated in Trench 9 was interpreted as a dump completely filled with more than 4000 fragments of worked bone and ivory; along with finished items, an imposing quantity of production wastes, mostly offcuts, were recognized. They especially consist of the corners of plates (Fig. 7) from which discs, rings and cylindrical elements were cut (Fig. 8). This evidence clearly testifies to an intense activity related to ivory and bone carving. Probably a workshop was located here, in the central area of the site. The study of the pottery coming from the layers just above and below SU 119 suggests a date for the workshop in the 12th century CE, most probably the beginning of the century. Summing up, on the basis of the data at our disposal, local manufacture of metal items, shell and ivory/bone objects was surely active in the citadel during the Islamic period (at least between the 9th and the 12th century CE), while we do not have sufficient evidence for the pre-Islamic phases. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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3. The pottery A. Fusaro From the contributions published by previous archaeologists working in Banbhore (Khan 1964; Khan 1969; Ashfaque 1969) as well as by the large amount of pottery collected during the excavations carried out between 1958 and 1965 – I am grateful to Asma Ibrahim for showing me the pictures of the pottery kept in the storerooms of the site – it is clear that F. A. Khan and his collaborators had already conducted a typological and chronological study of the pottery of Banbhore. In order to reassess the hypotheses proposed by them and to explore thoroughly other aspects, such as technology and trade relationships, systematic analysis of newly excavated ceramic assemblages started in 2012. The excavated pottery corpus from Banbhore comprises about 30,000 sherds collected by the Pakistani-Italian team between 2012 and 2015. Preliminary observations and results are provided herein. Pottery is associated with a long time span, at least from the 2nd/3rd to the beginning of the 13th century CE. Here, due to the limitation of space, it is not possible to divide ceramic assemblages according to the excavated stratigraphy. Instead, pottery is presented as pre-Islamic (2nd–8th centuries CE) and Islamic (8th–13th centuries CE), without giving these labels any cultural meaning. Stratigraphic analysis of the ceramic assemblages has allowed the identification of changes and evolution of forms and fashion of the local ceramic production; the introduction, circulation and disappearance of imported items can be associated with the local wares. Local production mainly consists of unglazed artefacts, nonetheless there is evidence that points to local manufacture also of some monochrome glazed vessels. Two main fabric groups used for unglazed local production have been identified and which are easily distinguishable by the colour of the ceramic body: red fabrics and grey fabrics. The former group is always better represented than the latter, especially during the pre-Islamic period. As for the unglazed red ware produced during the Islamic period, bowls and lids found in the upper layers are characterized by inner carination and large tesa (Fig. 9), while more ancient vessels have mainly conical forms. Basins also changed – a hemispherical body being more common in the earlier period, while straight oblique walls characterized the latest specimens. Open vessels are always plain. In terms of closed vessels, pots of different dimensions with a squat globular body and squared thickened rim are the most widespread type, associated with black and red painted decoration (Fig. 10); the smallest items can also have short spouts. In lower layers, closed vessels show higher necks associated with elaborated rims or everted necks and simple rims. Sometimes the latter also bear rouletted decoration. Unglazed grey ware is also well attested during the Islamic period. Closed vessels are the most common, ranging from large pots with globular bodies to small pots with carinated bodies (Fig. 11). Polishing is common and is frequently associated with incised, rouletted or impressed motifs. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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A remarkable amount of unglazed and glazed imports has also been collected within the assemblages attributed to the Islamic period. They largely conform to the imported items circulating in the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf between the 8th and the 12th centuries CE (for comparisons, see for example Tampoe 1989; Horton 1996; Kennet 2004; Kervran 2004; Rougeulle 2015; Nanji 2011). The earliest imports come from the Iraqi-Iranian areas: Sasanian-Islamic glazed jars and unglazed eggshell jugs (circulating in Banbhore since at least the 8th century CE). Opaque white glazed wares can be attributed to the 9th–10th centuries CE (for a general overview see Priestman 2011) and consist of white opaque glazed bowls and dishes, also with blue or dark green overglaze painting, white opaque glazed jars, with inglazed turquoise and turquoise-green splashes, and clay lustrewares. There is also a good amount of Far Eastern finds, whose chronological attribution ranges from the 9th to the 12th centuries CE, mostly based on comparisons with other corpora of the Persian Gulf sites. The earliest items are celadon sherds with dark pale green glaze, and Changsha painted bowls (the latter are usually dated to the 9th century CE; Liu 2011), while proto-porcelain and porcelain items, such as carved lotus-shape bowls and qingpai vessels, can be dated to the 10th–12th centuries CE (Pirazzoli-t’ Serstevens 1988: 87–89, 95–99; Tampoe 1989: 59–68; Rougeulle 1991: 25–32; Rougeulle 2003: fig. 7.6–8; Kennet 2004: 62–63). Among the imports, splashed sgraffiato specimens are the most abundant, they can be ascribed to the second half of the 10th–12th centuries CE on the basis of comparisons; they possibly came from Iranian areas (Tampoe 1989: 37–41, 71–86; Horton 1996: 279–289; Kennet 2004: 42–44, 46; Rougeulle 2005: 227–229). Other interesting finds include a very small amount of bowl sherds characterized by sgraffiato and underglaze dot painted decoration (Fig. 12). This ware, attributed to the second half/end of the 11th-first half of the 12th century CE, is not common among the imports circulating in the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf; specimens of this ware were mainly collected in southeastern Iran (Stein 1937: pl. 4, Jam. surf. 23 found at Qalāt-i-Jamshīd, Persian Makran) and Afghanistan (Fairservis 1961: pl. 15, bb, dd, gg, hh; Gardin 1963: 116–121, pls. 26–27); a few sherds were also found at Shanga, East Africa (Horton 1996: 279–281) and Sanjan, Gujarat (Nanji 2011: 46). Fragments of underglazed painted wares have also been collected. As far as the pre-Islamic period is concerned, the predominant local production consisted of unglazed red ware items. A slight change in the form of open vessels has been recognized; they never bear any decoration. Closed forms of the later pre-Islamic period are mostly represented by large globular pots with well-everted necks, characterized by red and black painted decoration (Fig. 13). A finer production is represented by specimens with moulded relief decoration, sometimes enriched by a micaceous slip covering it. Motifs range from simple geometric or vegetal to zoomorphic and anthropomorphic representations (Fig. 14). This ware is locally produced as testified by the good number of moulds collected during the excavations carried out by F.A. Khan. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Also in pre-Islamic layers, locally produced ceramics were found associated with some imports, which helps to propose a reliable chronological attribution for these layers, between at least the 2nd/3rd and the 7th century CE. These imports mainly testify to close relationships with Indian regions, even if specimens of torpedo jars, possibly coming also from the Persian Gulf areas, are well represented (2nd/3rd–8th/9th centuries CE, see Carter et al. 2011). The finest imports of the pre-Islamic period are attributed to Indian red polished ware. Finds always show a fine glossy red polished surface and are mainly related to pots and sprinklers. Sprinklers of the type found at Banbhore were widespread in Indian sites at least from the 2nd century CE, and probably were produced mostly in Gujarat but also Maharashtra (Whitehouse and Williamson 1973: 39; Pinto Orton 1991; Kervran 1994: 38, 40, 42; Ambika and Rajesh 2006–2007; Schenk 2007: 66–68, 71; Schenk 2015: 161–168, fig. 11). It is worth noting that red polished ware was also locally imitated, as shown by sherds of a far lesser quality, made of well recognizable local fabrics. A smaller group of imported sherds have been identified, which are characterized by a black ceramic body full of organic temper (rice?), and reddish surfaces covered by polished red slip and black painted decoration. They were also found in the lowest layers of the stratigraphy, possibly dating to the 3rd century CE. Preliminary comparisons suggest that they could have come from the eastern regions: similar objects have been found in Gujarat (Reddy 2013: 75–79), but also in northwestern Rajastan (Uesugi 2014: figs. 6–7). 4. Conclusions Although the identification of the site of Banbhore with the well-known harbour town of Debal/Daybul is still debated and no definitive evidence has been discovered yet, the excavations prove that Banbhore has a striking historical and archaeological value among the sites of the Indian Ocean area. The archaeological works carried out by the Pakistani-Italian team within the Joint Historical-Archaeological Mission at Banbhore (Sindh) throw new light on the role of this site both as a very active harbour, involved in intense trade networks, and as an important production centre of ceramics, metals, and possibly of glass and stone items. Above all, the new research allows one to propose more precise chronological attributions for the phases of construction and occupation of the site, at least from the 2nd to the 13th century CE. Furthermore, it has been possible to provide insights into the evolution of the urban organization and planning which the site underwent throughout its lifespan. Bibliography Ambika, P. and Rajesh, S. V. 2006–2007 Red Polished Ware (RPW) in Gujarat, Western India – An Archaeological Perspective. Prāgdhārā, Journal of the U. P. State Archaeology Department 17, 89–111. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Ashfaque, S. M. 1969 The Grand Mosque of Banbhore. Pakistan Archaeology 6, 182–209. Carter, R., Connan, J., Priestman, S. and Tomber, R. 2011 Torpedo Jars from Sir Bani Yas, Abu Dhabi. Tribulus, Journal of the Emirates Natural History Group 19, 162–163. Cousens, H. 1929 The Antiquities of Sind. Archaeological Survey of India. New Imperial Series 46. Calcutta. Fairservis, W. A. jr. 1961 Archaeological Studies in the Seistan Basin of South-Western Afghanistan and Eastern Iran. Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History 48 Part 1. New York. Gardin, J.-C. 1963 Lashkari Bazar. Une résidence royale ghaznévide. II. Le trouvailles. Céramiques et monnaies de Lashkari Bazar et de Bust. Mémoires de la Délégation Archéologique Française en Afghanistan 18. Paris. Hallett, J. 1990 The Early Islamic Soft-Stone Industry. MA thesis, University of Oxford, Oxford. Harrell, J. A. and Max Brown, V. 2008 Discovery of a Medieval Islamic Industry for Steatite Cooking Vessels in Egypt’s Eastern Desert. In: Y. M. Rowan and J. R. Ebeling (eds.), New Approaches to Old Stones. Recent Studies of Ground Stone Artifacts. London, 41–65. Horton, M. 1996 Shanga. The Archaeology of Muslim Trading Community on the Coast of East Africa. London. Kennet, D. 2004 Sasanian and Islamic Pottery from Ras al-Khaimah. Classification, Chronology and Analysis of Trade in the Western Indian Ocean. Oxford. Kervran, M. 1994 Indian Ceramics in Southern Iran and Eastern Arabia: Repertory, Classification and Chronology. In: H. P. Ray and J.-F. Salles (eds.), Tradition and Archaeology. Early Maritime Contacts in the Indian Ocean. Proceedings of the International Seminar Techno-Archaeological Perspectives of Seafaring in the Indian Ocean 4th century B. C–15th century AD. Delhi, 37–58. 1996

Les ports multiples des bouches de l’Indus: Barbariké, Deb, Daybul, Lahori Bandar, Diul Sinde. In: R. Gyselen (ed.), Sites et monuments disparus d’après les témoignages de voyageurs. Res Orientales 8. Louvain, 45–92.

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Archaeological Research at Ṣuḥār 1980–1986. The Journal of Oman Studies 13, 263–347.

Khan, F. A. 1964 Excavations at Banbhore. Pakistan Archaeology 1, 48–55. 1969

Banbhore. A Preliminary Report on the Recent Archaeological Excavations at Banbhore, 3rd edition. Karachi.

Liu, Y. 2011 Tang Dynasty Changsha Ceramics. In: R. Krahl, J. Guy, K. Wilson and J. Raby (eds.), Shipwrecked. Tang Treasures and Monsoon Winds. Washington DC, 145–159. Majumdar, N. G. 1934 Explorations in Sind. Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India 48. Delhi. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Manassero, N. and Piacentini Fiorani, V. 2014 The Site of Banbhore (Sindh-Pakistan): a Joint Pakistani-French-Italian Project. Current Research in Archaeology and History (2010–2014). The Silk Road 12, 82–88. Nanji, R. J. 2011 Mariners and Merchants: A Study of the Ceramics from Sanjan (Gujarat). Oxford. Piacentini Fiorani, V. 2014 Beyond Ibn Hawqal’s Bahr al-Fars. 10th–13th Centuries AD: Sindh and the Kij-u-Makran Region, Hinge of an International Network of Religious, Political, Institutional and Economic Affairs. Oxford. Piacentini Fiorani, V. and Redaelli, R. (eds.) 2003 Baluchistan, Terra Incognita: A New Methodological Approach Combining Archaeological, Historical, Anthropological and Architectural Studies. Oxford. Pinto Orton, N. 1991 Red Polished Ware in Gujarat: A Catalogue of Twelve Sites. In: V. Begley and R. D. De Puma (eds.), Rome and India. The Ancient Sea Trade. London, 46–81. Pirazzoli-t’ Serstevens, M. 1988 La céramique chinoise de Qal‘at al-Ṣuḥâr. Arts Asiatiques 43, 87–105. Priestman, S. M. N. 2011 Opaque Glazed Wares: The Definition, Dating and Distribution of a Key Iraqi Ceramic Export in the Abbasid Period. Iran 49, 89–113. Reddy, A. 2013 Looking from Arabia to India: Analysis of the Early Roman ‘Indian Trade’ in the Indian Ocean During the Late pre-Islamic Period (3rd century BC– 6th century AD). PhD thesis, Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute, Pune. Rougeulle, A. 1991 Les importations de céramiques chinoises dans le Golfe arabo-persique (VIIIe–XIe siècles). Archéologie islamique 2, 5–46. 2003 Excavations at Sharmah, Ḥaḍramawt: The 2001 and 2002 Seasons. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 33, 287–307. 2004 Le Yémen entre Orient et Afrique: Sharma, un entrepôt du commerce médiéval sur la côte sud de l’Arabie. Annales Islamologiques 38, 201–253. 2005 The Sharma Horizon: Sgraffiato Wares and Other Glazed Ceramics of the Indian Ocean Trade (c. AD 980–1140). Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 35, 223–246. Rougeulle, A. (ed.) 2015 Sharma. Un entrepôt du commerce médiéval sur la côte du Ḥaḍramawt (Yémen, c. 980–1180). Oxford. Schenk, H. 2007 Parthian Glazed Pottery from Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean Trade. Zeitschrift für Archäologie Außereuropäischer Kulturen 2, 57–90. 2015

Role of Ceramics in the Indian Ocean Maritime Trade during the Early Historical Period. In: S. Tripati (ed.), Maritime Contacts of the Past. Deciphering Connections Amongst Communities. New Delhi, 143–181.

Stein, M. A. 1937 Archaeological Reconnaissance in North-Western India and South-Eastern Iran. London. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Tampoe, M. 1989 Maritime Trade between China and the West. An Archaeological Study of the Ceramics from Siraf (Persian Gulf), 8th to 15th centuries A.D. Oxford. Uesugi, A. 2014 A Note on the Rang Mahal Pottery. Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 2, 125–151. Whitehouse, D. and Williamson, A. 1973 Sasanian Maritime Trade. Iran 11, 29–49.

Fig. 1 Map of the site of Banbhore (© A. Tilia)

Fig. 2 Trench 7, detail of the tower built on collapsed buildings (photo: N. Manassero)

Fig. 3 Carved stone block from Trench 7 (photo: N. Manassero)

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Fig. 4 Map of Trench 8 (© A. Tilia)

Fig. 5 Trench 9, view of the monumental building (photo: A. Tilia)

Fig. 6 Fragmentary coin mould found in Trench 4 (photo: S. Hussain) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 7 Ivory and bone offcuts, SU 119, Trench 9 (photo: N. Manassero)

Fig. 8 Finished ivory and bone objects, SU 119, Trench 9 (photo: N. Manassero)

Fig. 9 Unglazed red lid, SU 25, Trench 7 (drawing: A. H. Ansari)

Fig. 10 Unglazed red pot with painted decoration, SU 39, Trench 7 (drawing: A. Fusaro)

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Fig. 11 Unglazed grey pots, the globular one has a polished surface with rouletted decoration, SU 25 and 51, Trench 7 (photo: A. Fusaro)

Fig. 12 Glazed bowl with sgraffiato and dot painted decoration, SU 51, Trench 7 (photo: A. Fusaro)

Fig. 13 Large unglazed red pot with painted decoration, SU 90, Trench 7 (drawing: A. Fusaro)

Fig. 14 Unglazed red vessel, with relief moulded decoration representing a human couple, painted in black and red, with a micaceous coating, SU 208, Trench 9 (photo: A. Fusaro)

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Re-evaluating the Socioeconomic Role of Small Built Environments at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey Aroa García-Suárez 1 Abstract The Neolithic settlement of Çatalhöyük (7100–5900 calBC) has long been recognised for its architecturally standardised mud brick houses, the large majority of which display a high degree of conformity in the arrangement of their internal spaces. While the evidence from small-sized buildings, those under approximately 9m² in size, is deemed important for our understanding of social systems at this site, these structures have been insufficiently studied in the past. Assumed to be economically dependent on larger houses, the possibility that these smaller buildings were individual households with greater autonomy has not yet been critically examined.

This paper tackles the cultural role of these small-sized structures through the micromorphological study of the occupation sequences of two of these built environments. This detailed microscopic investigation of activities, intensity of occupation and renewal, and both macro- and micro-remains of environmental resources present in these building sequences has shed light on the socioeconomic status of these structures. Results demonstrate the diversity and flexibility of domestic practices and concepts of space at the site, with some small buildings being used for productive activities while others display a high degree of architectural elaboration and intensity of occupation. Consequently, this paper stresses the diversity in cultural and ecological household practices during the Neolithic occupation of this site. 1. Introduction Domestic built environments have been the focus of archaeological research for several decades, partly due to the valuable information they provide on household activities, family structure, and the changing use of space (Banning 2003; Watkins 2004; Souvatzi 2012). In the case of Neolithic communities in the Near East, interpretations have often been articulated around the concept of households as the principal elements of social organisation, each occupying discrete buildings that showed a high degree of spatial standardisation (Byrd 2000). The large Neolithic settlement at Çatalhöyük East, in the Konya Plain of south-central Turkey, was one of these communities. This site, world renowned for the outstanding preservation of its bioarchaeological assemblage and elaborate art,

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displays a highly agglomerated settlement pattern and distinctive mud brick architecture. Building interiors are characterised by a strict division of space that shows remarkable continuity both throughout the settlement and over time, a uniformity that has been interpreted as dictated by social regulations (Hodder and Cessford 2004). This paper aims to draw attention to the multiple forms in which built environments occurred at Çatalhöyük by investigating formation processes and activities in the insufficiently studied small-sized buildings (usually 9m² or less in size), the investigation of which is vital to complete our understanding of socioeconomic dynamics at this settlement. The archaeological evidence from these buildings, usually interpreted as annexes to larger buildings nearby and considered too small to have functioned as independent units, has been widely overlooked in previous studies. Assumed to be socially and economically dependent on larger houses, the possibility that they could have hosted individual households with at least a certain degree of autonomy has not been considered. The role of these small-sized buildings within the settlement is still under question, with some arguing that they were the location of specialised activities, and others interpreting them as Neolithic pied-à-terre, seasonal residences for individuals who wanted to be part of the important community at Çatalhöyük (Hodder, pers. comm.). In this context, the main goals of this research are: 1) to develop a range of high-resolution analytical approaches and methods for the documentation and microanalysis of the fine stratigraphic sequences that characterise building interiors at Çatalhöyük, with focus on thin-section micromorphology, 2) to determine the type and range of environmental resources and architectural floor materials present in small-sized built environments at the microscale, 3) to investigate the intensity of occupation and maintenance of small buildings, and 4) to explore the degree of socioeconomic independence displayed in these buildings. In spite of their unimpressive size and archaeology, small built environments are deemed here to be an important source of information for understanding diversity in cultural and ecological household practices during the Neolithic occupation of the site. 2. The case study Çatalhöyük was discovered in the late 1950s and subsequently excavated by James Mellaart between 1961 and 1965. Attempting to explain the variability in symbolic elaboration displayed in buildings, he distinguished between two types of structures: houses and shrines. The latter referred to buildings with large amounts of symbolic features, such as wall paintings, bucrania, figurines and reliefs, implying that this type of built environment primarily had a religious function (Mellaart 1967). This categorisation has currently fallen into disuse as later evidence has demonstrated that all the buildings were lived in, that is, they all show evidence of domestic occupation, as seen in the dense patterning of artefacts and the micro-remains analysed via thin-section micromorphology (Matthews 2005b). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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In a site without streets, distinguishing buildings from one another can be a difficult task. At Çatalhöyük, space numbers are allocated to defined internal and external areas, and as such they can refer to rooms or courtyards. A building number is allocated where more than one internal space can be demonstrated to belong to one structure. That is, if there is more than one space beneath one roof (Farid and Hodder 2013). This definition can be applied to the site of Çatalhöyük because party walls were not used, although it means that all small built environments, normally consisting of a single room, are commonly referred to as spaces, even when having their own, independent walls. Standard, larger buildings at this site display a high degree of conformity when it comes to internal spatial divisions. They were accessed via the roof, and entered by a ladder often located in the south of the construction, beneath which lay the fire installation, where cooking activities took place. Along the eastern and northern walls was the clean area of the house, where platforms for sitting and sleeping dominated. Burials were found beneath these platforms, accompanied by paintings, bucrania and reliefs. Side rooms were accessed off the central room, providing storage areas, and often containing fire installations (Cutting 2005). Excavations at Çatalhöyük resumed in 1993, when an international team of archaeologists led by Ian Hodder started further investigations on site that entailed the opening of new trenches, as well as the application of state-of-the-art analytical methods (Hodder and Ritchey 1996). One of the results of this work has been the identification of four house types based on differences regarding size and both architectural and symbolic elaboration (Hodder 2013: 1) Large/elaborate buildings, characterised by an unusually large size and great architectural complexity, also involving the presence of wall paintings, reliefs or bucrania; 2) multiple burial buildings, identified by having numerous individuals buried beneath the floors, often exceeding those expected of one domestic group and unlikely to have been provided solely by the occupants of the house during its period of habitation; 3) history houses, architecturally elaborate buildings with multiple burials that endured for generations and underwent numerous rebuilding phases; and 4) other houses, comprising buildings displaying none of the defining characteristic features of the other categories. This classification has been used at Çatalhöyük as the basis for the exploration of social differentiation and inequality, and the occurrence of corporate groups (Hodder and Pels 2010). 3. Results The first case study analysed here is Space 470, located in the South Area of the site with an approximate size of 7.5m². This structure, which does not appear to share any party walls with the surrounding buildings, has been interpreted as the southern annexe of the ‘history house’ Building 7, situated immediately to the north of it (Taylor 2012). No evidence was found of any entrance into Space 470 in any of the walls that defined its interior, as well as no traces of ladder emplacement. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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The occupation phase of Space 470 lacked common architectural features, as only a bench and a beaten earth floor were recorded (Barański et al. 2015). Micromorphological analyses revealed that the occupation surface was made of a clay loam sediment rich in charred inclusions of woods and grasses, with randomly dispersed plant remains found in association with sulphidic and ferruginous aggregates, indicating localised organic decomposition under wet and reduced conditions (Mees and Stoops 2010). The heterogeneous nature of this deposit and the poor sorting of its components point to a coarse, roughly made floor, in marked contrast with the fine plasters found inside most buildings at Çatalhöyük (Matthews 2005a). On top of this surface, several superimposed microlaminations of dung were identified. These were rich in partially digested plant remains, undulating and highly compacted, which suggests substantial animal trampling. This modest deposit of faecal matter points to its shortlived use as an animal pen. Overlying this penning deposit was another thin floor on top of which an extensive layer of well-preserved phytoliths was found. These phytoliths were interpreted as dehusking waste from wheat and wild grasses (Ryan 2012), an activity that seems to have been performed regularly in this space, judging from the compressed and highly laminated disposition of these plant remains. Overall, it appears that Space 470 was used for activities that were mainly pastoral and agricultural in nature. Therefore, this structure could well have functioned as an annexe for one or several households in the neighbourhood. The second case study, Space 87, is located in the North Area of Çatalhöyük. This small built environment has a usable area of approximately 6m² and was partly excavated in 2002 in its eastern end. The BACH (Berkeley Archaeologists at Çatalhöyük) team, led by Tringham and Stevanović and working in the adjacent Building 3, initially interpreted this independent structure, alongside the smaller Spaces 88 and 89, immediately to the east of Space 87, as annexes to the larger Building 3 (Stevanović 2012). When the excavation of this small space was resumed in 2012, however, it became apparent that this structure was far more complex than expected, containing over nine structural cuts and multiple architectural modifications during its lifetime. The abandonment infill of this space was characterised by its heterogeneity, containing large numbers of semi-articulated animal and human bones, frequently occurring in clusters near the walls, and an adolescent male skeleton in full articulation, whose head was missing. Re-deposited construction materials, such as oven linings, mud bricks, wall plasters and fragments of mortar were all found in high frequencies within this extremely compacted deposit. The last occupational phase of Space 87 reproduces spatial boundaries and traces of activity areas similar to those in most buildings excavated to date at Çatalhöyük, in spite of its considerably smaller size. A central platform was found showing multiple layers of alluvial silty clay loam and white finishing coats, which were scrupulously maintained and covered with soft furnishings, judging from the absence of accumulated dust. The eastern end of the building was occupied by a burial platform displaying a sequence of six differentiated grey and white plaster floors. These two © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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platforms show evidence of several structural modifications during their lifetimes, which hints at the high intensity of occupation of this built environment. The western half of Space 87 displayed a fine sequence of approximately eighteen oxidised alluvial silty clay floors, and thin grey marl plaster finishing coats. These surfaces appear almost completely devoid of artefacts, and microscopic analyses have confirmed the presence of trampled soot remains and mat impressions, the use of which undoubtedly helped in maintaining these plasters as clean. The raw materials used for the manufacture of these surfaces appear to have been derived from local alluvial sources, similarly to other, larger buildings of this period. No hiatus in occupation was detected during the microstratigraphic examination of this depositional sequence. Three formal fire installations were found. The earliest one, an oven embedded in the original north wall of the space, was eventually sealed and another adjacent wall was erected, probably to reinforce the construction. A hearth then replaced the oven, but was itself later dismantled in one of the several refurbishment episodes that this space went through. The latest hearth, partly built on top of the previous one, was well-maintained, its floor made of high-quality silty clay tempered with 20% grasses in order to resist high fire temperatures without cracking. The floors around these fire installations, consisting of orange/brown mud plasters, appear very eroded, likely due to sweeping and hearth maintenance practices. Several superimposed laminations of accumulated fuel rake-outs, of up to 3 cm thickness in total, were found in this area of the space, suggesting continuous use of the fire installations. Fuel sources consisted mostly of grasses and reeds, alongside local woods, such as elm and juniper. Very little evidence was found of the use of herbivore dung as fuel in this space. The human remains formally buried in Space 87 consist mostly of newborn and adult individuals (Hager and Boz 2012). Three burial pits were excavated; two under the sequence of clean floors, along the southern wall, and a burial platform in the eastern end, consisting of six differentiated burial events and twelve skeletons. Symbolic features are represented by reliefs, niches, an engraved pedestal, and especially, panel paintings of red ochre along the east and south walls, and geometric motifs of cinnabar in the same location. Remarkably, this built environment shows most of the traits of a ‘special house’, namely symbolic elaboration, high number of burials – eighteen individuals in total, in contrast with the eleven found in the much larger Building 3 immediately to the north of it – and intensive rates of occupation and renewal, with the exception of size. The division of space found in larger buildings at Çatalhöyük is also found here, albeit in a different arrangement: the kitchen area is against the north wall, whereas decorative features such as reliefs and wall paintings are found on the south wall. The burial platform is in the eastern end of the house, alongside with clean floor plasters, which occupy the eastern half of the space and the area along the south wall. Overall, it appears as if the inhabitants of this built environment had to accommodate the maintenance of spatial and social conventions to the limits imposed by the size and layout of this space. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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The single wall between Spaces 88 (storage room and activity area) and 87 and the complex spatial configuration of the latter suggest that these two built environments may have comprised a single house: Building 114. Immediately to the south and contemporaneous with it was Building 113, of which only the walls remain. The dismantling of the remaining walls of Building 113 during excavation revealed the existence of a communicating crawl hole between this structure and Space 87, as seen in the cut and the white plaster patches still present on the northern face of the south wall of Space 87. The early blocking of this crawl hole resulted in a painted niche, as seen from the interior of Space 87, and probably marked the use of this space as an, at least, moderately independent house, with finer plaster floors beginning to be laid down, and developing decorative elaboration. 4. Conclusions Building 114 is definitely an oddity within the settlement layout of Çatalhöyük, and the preliminary results from this building make it tempting to speculate on the form of the group of people associated with this built environment, especially given its limited usable space for living and storing. There is a strong possibility that Building 114 was embedded in larger social associations in the form of corporate or neighbourhood groups, as suggested by Düring and Marciniak (2006), especially due to its earlier physical connection with Building 113 and the large number of buried individuals. The average building size in Level VI, to which Building 114 apparently belongs, is the smallest for the whole length of the Çatalhöyük occupation, and this period, around 6500 BCE, immediately precedes the demise of the clustered neighbourhood at this settlement in Level V (Hodder and Farid 2013), a process to which Building 114 was undoubtedly related. What appears clear is that this building, comprising Spaces 87 and 88, probably started its life as an annex of a larger house, likely Building 113, and later became a more independent and complex structure showing abundant traces of domestic use and continuous, intensive occupation, a transformation that highlights the diversity and flexibility of domestic practices and concepts of space at this site. Acknowledgements This research has been possible thanks to generous funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the University of Reading, the Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations of Koç University, and the British Institute at Ankara. Special thanks go to field members of the Çatalhöyük Research Project, in particular Burcu Tung, Matthew Britten, Marta Perlińska, Scott Haddow, Jędrzej Hordecki, Arek Klimowicz, and Marek Barański, for their help during excavation and sampling. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Bibliography Banning, E. B. 2003 Housing Neolithic Farmers. Near Eastern Archaeology 66, 4–21. Barański, M. Z., García-Suárez, A., Klimowicz, A., Love, S. and Pawłowska, K. 2015 The Architecture of Neolithic Çatalhöyük as a Process: Complexity in Apparent Simplicity. In: I. Hodder and A. Marciniak (eds.), Assembling Çatalhöyük. Leeds, 111–126. Byrd, B. F. 2000 Households in Transition: Neolithic Social Organisation within Southwest Asia. In: I. Kuijt (ed.), Life in Neolithic Farming Communities: Social Organization, Identity and Differentiation. New York, 63–102. Cutting, M. 2005 The Architecture of Çatalhöyük: Continuity, Household and Settlement. In: I. Hodder (ed.), Çatalhöyük Perspectives: Reports from the 1995–1999 Seasons. Cambridge, 151–170. Düring, B. S. and Marciniak, A. 2006 Households and Communities in the Central Anatolian Neolithic. Archaeological Dialogues 12, 165–187. Farid, S. and Hodder, I. 2013 Excavations, Recording and Sampling Methodologies. In: I. Hodder (ed.), Çatalhöyük Excavations: the 2000–2008 Seasons. London – Los Angeles, 35–51. Hager, L. and Boz, B. 2012 Death and its Relationship to Life: Neolithic Burials from Building 3 and Space 87 at Çatalhöyük, Turkey. In: R. Tringham and M. Stevanović (eds.), Last House on the Hill: BACH Area Reports from Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Los Angeles, 297–330. Hodder, I. 2013 Introduction: Dwelling at Çatalhöyük. In: I. Hodder (ed.), Humans and Landscapes of Çatalhöyük. London – Los Angeles, 1–29. Hodder, I. and Cessford, C. 2004 Daily Practice and Social Memory at Çatalhöyük. American Antiquity 69, 17–40. Hodder, I. and Farid, S. 2013 Questions, History of Work and Summary of Results. In: I. Hodder (ed.), Çatalhöyük Excavations: the 2000–2008 Seasons. London – Los Angeles, 1–34. Hodder, I. and Pels, P. 2010 History Houses: A New Interpretation of Architectural Elaboration at Çatalhöyük. In: I. Hodder (ed.), Religion in the Emergence of Civilization: Çatalhöyük as a Case Study. Cambridge, 163–186. Hodder, I. and Ritchey, T. 1996 Re-opening Çatalhöyük. In: I. Hodder (ed.), On the Surface: Çatalhöyük 1993–1995. Cambridge, 1–18.

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Matthews, W. 2005a Life-cycle and Life-course of Buildings. In: I. Hodder (ed.), Çatalhöyük Perspectives: Reports from the 1995–1999 Seasons. Cambridge, 125–150. 2005b Micromorphological and Microstratigraphic Traces of Uses and Concepts of Space. In: I. Hodder (ed.), Inhabiting Çatalhöyük: Reports from the 1995–1999 Seasons. Cambridge, 355–398. Mees, F. and Stoops, G. 2010 Sulphidic and Sulphuric Materials. In: G. Stoops, V. Marcelino and F. Mees (eds.), Interpretation of Micromorphological Features of Soils and Regoliths. Oxford, 543–568. Mellaart, J. 1967 Çatal Hüyük: A Neolithic Town in Anatolia. London. Ryan, P. 2012 Preliminary Phytolith Results for 2012. Çatalhöyük 2012 Archive Report, 178–181. Souvatzi, S. 2012 Between the Individual and the Collective: Household as a Social Process in Neolithic Greece. In: C. P. Foster and B. J. Parker (eds.), New Perspectives on Household Archaeology. Winona Lake, Ind., 15–43. Stevanović, M. 2012 Summary of Results of the Excavation in the BACH Area. In: R. Tringham and M. Stevanović (eds.), Last House on the Hill: BACH Area Reports from Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Los Angeles, 49–80. Taylor, J. 2012 Building 7 and Associated Spaces: The ‘Shrine 8 Annex Sequence’. Çatalhöyük 2012 Archive Report, 56–60. Watkins, T. 2004 Building Houses, Framing Concepts, Constructing Worlds. Paléorient 30, 5–23.

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Fortress Communities of the 3rd Millennium BCE: The Example of Tell Chuera, NE Syria Tobias B. H. Helms 1 Abstract This article discusses socioeconomic aspects of fortifying a large Early Bronze Age (EBA) city with special regard to the site of Tell Chuera as a case study. To set the stage, I will briefly address the overall archaeological context as pertaining to the rise of fortified cities. In particular, I will argue that the later EBA, i .e . the second half of the 3rd millennium BCE, saw an increase in the scale of violent inter-communal conflicts, a development that is indicated by the evolution of elaborate urban defence systems . Afterwards, I will summarize the diachronic development of Tell Chuera’s defence works . To conclude, I will discuss how the construction and maintenance of the site’s fortifications was linked to the social organization of the city-state in regards to one important aspect of early urbanism: communality of defence .

1. The rise of Early Bronze Age fortress communities The Early Bronze Age (hereafter EBA) of greater North Mesopotamia was a period characterized by a massive surge of (secondary) urbanism (Akkermans and Schwartz 2003; Stein 2004; Ur 2010; Wilkinson et al. 2014). Already centuries before the earliest textual sources cast a spotlight on the social and economic conditions of the later 3rd millennium, a network of early highly nucleated urban polities had evolved . High population and communication densities within these early cities made them hotbeds for social transformations . New forms of sociality developed (partial dissolution of face-to-face societies), socioeconomic complexity intensified (state formation), new socio-political institutions evolved (rise of communal organizations and palatial elites) and urbanism expanded on an unprecedented scale (foundation of urban sites in agriculturally marginal zones) . The dry-farming plains and river valleys of the north became increasingly territorialized as a meshwork of autonomous and semi-autonomous city- or micro-states emerged, which together came to form a distinct North Mesopotamian city-state culture (Stein 2004) . Given the rich archaeological record of North Mesopotamia’s early city-states, it is hardly surprising that this period is often portrayed as an apex of cultural achievements and a milestone in the development of arts . Yet, besides being subjected to new forms of social stress including unhealthy living conditions, which are usually assumed for pre-modern cities (e.g. York 2012: 126), and working overtime for the emergent central institutions (corvée), there was another, darker side connected to the urban way of living: endemic warfare . From a

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comparative perspective, warfare is often regarded as a typical feature of early citystate cultures (Hansen 2000: 17) with the city-states of greater Mesopotamia being no exception (Archi 2010: 15). Certainly, the millennia that preceded the EBA were not devoid of armed intergroup conflicts. Ethnographic evidence for warfare among agriculturalists in non-state societies is ample (Helbling 2006: 149–150). It is, of course, a matter of debate whether ethnographic data collected for the most part during the last two centuries – often in the context of colonial contact situations – permits inferences about, e .g ., prehistoric village life in the ancient Near East . However, there are also archaeological observations that point towards organized violence during the later prehistoric and proto-historical periods (for a discussion of the Neolithic evidence see Müller-Neuhof 2014). This applies especially to the Late Chalcolithic (hereafter LC), a period characterized by trajectories towards primary urbanization (Ur et al . 2011; Stein 2012); here, we are confronted with a growing body of archaeological evidence for violent conflicts, most importantly in the form of the LC 3 mass graves at Tell Majnuna/Brak (McMahon et al. 2011; McMahon 2013) and traces of early warfare uncovered at the site of Tell Hamoukar (Reichel 2006). However, it is the EBA period, the mid- to late 3rd millennium BCE in particular, when the impact of inter-community conflicts becomes highly visible in the archaeological record as it appears to have permeated different aspects of the material culture ranging from the spatio-functional design of settlements to the visual arts and technological innovations . Defence works constitute the most concrete evidence for inter-community conflicts. Urban settlements of the EBA regularly feature fortification walls, which by themselves suggest a situation in which communities felt under (real or perceived) threat of being targeted by enemy attacks . The desire or rather the necessity to create defensible space (Creekmore 2014: 44) was undoubtedly a defining element of EBA urbanism. As a societal function, communality of defence does not only describe one important feature of North Mesopotamia’s early cities . It probably also fostered a ‘psycho-sociological condition’ on the parts of the communities who surrounded themselves with earthen walls, which is why I think it is possible to characterize them as fortress communities . Herein lies the source for the pronounced symbolism of the walled city in the Bronze Age and beyond . From their primary function as a means of protection and controlling access derives the multifold symbolic meanings of the fortress (Ristvet 2007: 198–204). During the EBA, the landscape of Mesopotamia – a landscape of tells to the modern observer – developed into one dominated by fortress communities . The importance of the defensive infrastructure is underlined by the fact that even comparably small sites could boast massive, sometimes downright oversized defensive structures . A good example for such a small fortress community is the site of Tell Rad Shaqrah, which is situated in the Middle Khabur region (Bieliński 1992; Bieliński 1993; Bieliński 1994; Bieliński 1995; Bieliński 1996; Kolinski 1996; Quenet 2011: 31–32; Pfälzner 2011: 141–142). The EBA (EJZ 2–4b; Quenet 2011) site extended only over about 1.3ha, but was nonetheless heavily fortified by a 2 to 4m wide stone-based mud brick wall. The for© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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tification was additionally reinforced by a supplementary rampart. Further examples of smaller sites with astonishingly substantial defence works have been excavated in the Middle Euphrates valley, a region characterized by a “… deeply-rooted fortification tradition …” (Peltenburg 2013: 238; see also Cooper 2006: 69–88). Tell el-ʿAbd (4ha) eventually came to be surrounded by a 10 m wide fortification wall, while the defences of Jerablus Tahtani (1.5ha curtain wall plus sloped rampart) measured at least 12m in width (Peltenburg 2013: 37). Not only were the majority of EBA cities and towns fortified, the way defence systems were designed and constructed also underwent profound changes over the course of the EBA. While the fortifications of the early 3rd millennium BCE excavated thus far can be described either as a ‘de facto city wall’ formed by the adjoining exterior walls of buildings (example: Habuba Kabira B, Levels 2–3, Cooper 2006: 71, fig. 5.5; Peltenburg 2013: table 1) or as a simple enclosure (examples: Tell Kneidej, Klengel-Brandt et al. 2005; Kharab Sayyar, Hempelmann 2008; Hempelmann 2013; Tell Chuera), the defence works of the mid- and late 3rd millennium BCE became increasingly massive and complex . New defensive elements, such as sloped earthen ramparts, were introduced and quickly adopted in order to counter advances in the field of poliorcetics and impede siege tactics (Rey 2012; for a general treatise on the construction and function of various defensive elements of the Bronze Age see also Burke 2008) . In fact, the earliest textual, and possibly also pictorial evidence on the use of siege machinery and siege tactics (use of rams, siege shields, scaling-ladders, siege towers, use of fire arrows) does likewise stem from the later EBA (Steinkeller 1987; Schrakamp 2013a; Nadali 2009). An increasing complexity of 3rd millennium BCE fortifications is indicated by the construction of double-walled fortifications (Cooper 2006: 74–78) and defensive arrangements in which a main fortification wall was combined with one or more, lower pre-walls. Moreover, later EBA urban defence systems could integrate fortified strongpoints or citadels. This has been revealed by the archaeological exploration of the so-called Bazi-citadel, a fortified structure on a hilltop which, according the excavators, formed an element of the extended Bazi-Banat settlement complex (Einwag 2008; Otto 2006). It is noteworthy that changes in warfare techniques and technology that occurred during the EBA, in particular from the mid to the late 3rd millennium BCE, were not limited to the field of fortifications and poliorcetics. It affected other areas as well, such as: a) the development of specialized offensive and defensive weapons (earliest attested use of personal armour and shields), b) the use of animal traction in a military context (introduction of the four-wheeled chariot), c) the increased importance of bows and arrows as weapons of war, and d) the earliest pictorial evidence for individual combatants becoming subjected to a regime of coordinated discipline (Stele of the Vultures), i.e. closed formation of heavy infantry men (cf . Miller et al. 1986; Backer 2009; Gernez 2008; Hnila Gilibert 2006; Schrakamp 2010; Schrakamp 2013a; Schrakamp 2013b). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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I agree with R . Bernbeck (2004), who concluded in an article on ancient technology, that warfare techniques were probably a main focus of technological innovation during the 3rd millennium BCE . Not unlike the ‘military revolutions’ discussed in connection with the Hellenistic (e.g. Roth 2008: 397–398) or the early modern period (e.g. Duffy 1980), the changes that occurred between the mid to late 3rd millennium BCE in greater Mesopotamia had a lasting effect on the possibilities and constraints of warfare amongst the city-states and early macro-states of the late 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE . I assume that it was a combination of several factors that made the mid to late 3rd millennium BCE particularly threatening. When the dry-farming plains of the north became increasingly territorialized, it became more difficult to avoid confrontations by ‘simply’ moving away and relocating the settlement to an area that was not already claimed by another polity. While this might have been an option for prehistoric villagers it was most certainly not for the townsfolk of the highly urbanized mid to late EBA. Secondly, armed conflicts of the later 3rd millennium BCE could have reached a far greater scale compared to earlier times since they affected large nucleated populations that would have involved not only individual urban communities, but changing coalitions of city-states . Despite the fact that some micro-states, chiefly Ebla and Mari, exercised temporary control over many North Mesopotamian cities, the latter were not really incorporated into a regional state, which could have brought about longer lasting periods devoid of inter-city-state warfare . The Ebla texts also attest to the practice of raiding the livestock of enemy cities and destroying their agricultural fields as a means of warfare (Archi 2010: 16–17). It is not hard to imagine that such operations could have had catastrophic effects on the economy of an individual city-state, especially when considering that the economic base of many northern cities situated within or close to the so-called ‘zone of uncertainty’ were already structurally vulnerable due to fluctuations of the annual precipitation (Wilkinson et al. 2014). On a general level, it also appears quite likely that unevenly distributed yields in years with little rainfall constituted a major source of potential conflicts among neighbouring cities. Unsurprisingly, many of the earliest unambiguous depictions of warfare stem from the later 3rd millennium BCE . Elite art of the EBA (e .g . the Standard of Ebla) already covers the whole thematic breadth of gruesome imagery connected to warfare that reoccurs in the subsequent centuries. While these images and the changes in war technology provide indirect or ‘proxy information’ on the role of armed conflicts, there is also direct evidence in the form of destruction layers. Many destruction layers have been recorded at EBA sites across greater North Mesopotamia (Akkermans and Schwartz 2003: 268–269), including the aforementioned sites of Bazi (Otto 2006: 11–12) and Tell Chuera (Hempelmann 2013: 275). At Chuera, weapons and numerous burnt human skeletons were found in connection with a mid-3rd millennium BCE destruction layer, which is currently undergoing reinvestigation . The destructions attest to a catastrophic event that saw the civic-ceremonial zones of the upper town set ablaze and presumably also affected parts of the lower town (Helms 2017: 162). The scenario of an increase in violent confrontations during the EBA © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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period might also gain support from the recent analysis of osteological data from Titriş Höyük (Erdal 2012). The analysis suggested that the frequency of perimortem cranial traumata – widely believed to be indicative of interpersonal violence – increased significantly from the mid to the late 3rd millennium BCE . If one follows A . Archi’s reading and interpretation of three cuneiform tablets found at Ebla, there is also textual evidence from which the destructive potential of later 3rd millennium BCE conflicts might be inferred (Archi 2010: 32–33). According to Archi, the documents list casualties suffered by Ebla and its allies in the course of several military campaigns . Given Archi’s understanding of the texts as administrative accounts covering their own losses, it appears extremely unlikely that they were meant to convey any kind of triumphalist message . The recorded losses in human life are, as Archi himself points out, “… almost unbelievable …”. For example, 3620 men are said to have perished in a single campaign against the city of Darašum . Another text provides an even higher number. The numbers imply that armed conflicts could have had grave effects on later EBA communities, even in terms of demography (Archi 2010: 32–33). While conflicts between local groups are often discussed in regards to their importance for state formation processes (e.g. Carneiro 1970), the evidence from greater North Mesopotamia summarized in this section provokes the question of whether endemic warfare might have been a destabilizing factor that contributed to the crisis of urbanism that marked the end of the 3rd millennium BCE . 2. The example of Tell Chuera Tell Chuera, a major EBA site of approximately 70ha, is located in the Western Jezirah (NE Syria) and belongs to a group of settlements characterized by a radial concentric layout (Meyer 2014). The Bronze Age site was founded around 3100–3000 BCE (local Period IA; Table 1). Around 2600 BCE (Period IB), Chuera experienced a phase of rapid urban growth . This process led to the formation of the lower town (Fig. 1). Chuera has often been described as a double-walled ‘citadel city’. While this is very much true for the mid to late 3rd millennium BCE, the defence works of the site reveal a quite complex building history on closer inspection . Given the fact that the fortifications of Chuera have been investigated in ten archaeological operations since the 1990s (Fig. 2; cf. Novák 1995; Meyer 2007; Meyer 2010; Falb 2010; Helms and Tamm 2014; Helms and Meyer 2016; Helms et al. 2017), the site provides an excellent opportunity for a diachronic study of the defence system of an EBA city-state . 2.1 The earliest fortification wall (Period IA) The earliest fortification wall of the site was discovered in Area H. The wall was c. 1.85m wide and rested upon a slightly wider foundation (Fig. 3). It can be dated to the very beginning of the local EBA sequence . The structure can best be described © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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as a modest enclosure wall and attests to a certain degree of need for protection on the site of the early 3rd millennium BCE community; it furthermore proves that the settlement was already walled from the time of its foundation . A good comparison for such an early defensive wall has been excavated at the contemporaneous site of Kharab Sayyar, which is located just a few kilometres to the southeast of Chuera (Hempelmann 2008; Hempelmann 2013). At Kharab Sayyar, two different parts of an enclosure wall were exposed, which are clearly separated from each other by a vertical joint . The wall segments on each side of this joint differ in terms of the employed construction materials and techniques . Furthermore, the joint is nearly perfectly aligned with the border between two allotments and a doorway . The latter allowed one to close a small alley that followed the course of the fortification wall on its internal side. A plausible explanation of this finding has been proposed by the excavator of the site, R . Hempelmann, who argues that different groups, who lived side by side within the city, were each responsible for fortifying the part of the settlement they occupied . The early defence works excavated at the nearby sites of Kharab Sayyar and Chuera were most likely not built by specialist master builders . They should rather be understood as the outcome of a joint effort by townsfolk to secure their means of living. At some point between Period IA and IB, graves were dug into the earliest enclosure wall, signalling that it fell out of use . The dating of the graves is still a matter of discussion and holds important implications for the diachronic development of the fortifications, since an early date could indicate that the settlement was unfortified over a certain period of time (Ostheimer 2015). 2.2 The fortification of the lower town and the refortification of the upper town (Periods IB–IC) Towards the end of Period IB or at the beginning of Period IC, the fortifications of Chuera underwent a major transformation: the lower town was established (Meyer 2010). In demographic terms, the rapid growth of the settlement can only be explained with a sudden influx of population from the site’s hinterland or beyond. It is well possible that the expansion of the site was caused by tensions between local groups within the wider region so that some of these groups opted to move to a larger settlement in search of protection . It is notable that the lower town was immediately surrounded with an up to 5.5m wide fortification wall. At least parts of the outer defensive wall were further strengthened by a small pre-wall . Most likely, it already featured a defensive ditch (Weicken and Wener 1995). Not only were the outer fortifications more substantial than the earliest fortification of the site, they were also more complex as they combined an enceinte with additional defensive features (ditch, pre-wall) . The central mound, too, was refortified in Period IC at the latest – this time by an up to 6 m wide, solid mud brick wall. Already before 2500 BCE, the site had been transformed from a settlement protected by a simple enclosure wall into a double-walled city. The geomagnetic map of the site allows the identification of a minimum of eight openings in the outer circumvallation and at least six passages that © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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led through the inner fortification (Fig. 1). Not all of these gaps represent accessible passages, though . Some probably functioned as small gates, others served as ‘water gates’ through which excessive rain water could be let out of the city . An example of such construction has been excavated in the southern extent of the lower town (Area U; Meyer 2010). The problem of waste water management also affected the construction of the main gate to the upper city . Excavations in Area HMS revealed that the mid-3rd millennium BCE gate – a chamber gate that rested on a massive stone foundation – featured an elaborate subterranean drain (Fig. 4). 2 .3 The urban defence works of the later 3rd millennium BCE (Period ID) During the 25th century BCE, Chuera was affected by a devastating, violent event (local Period IC, see above). Soon after, during the subsequent Period ID, the outer fortifications of the site were reinforced on a massive scale. Some segments of the outer city wall were even partly demolished and completely rebuilt . The most significant modification was the construction of sloped earthen ramparts in front of the outer circumvallation (Fig. 5). The defensive assemblage attested for Chuera during Period ID was clearly designed to offer protection in the case of inter-city-state warfare . Further defensive elements verified for the Period ID fortifications include the use of rectangular bastions (Fig. 6), complex gates, wall-walks and pre-walls (Fig. 7). The inner and outer fortification walls themselves were constructed by linking protruding and recessing wall segments (archaeologically attested in Area H and W). Strictly speaking, the circular city was surrounded by polygonal defence works. Survey work carried out in the vicinity of the tell furthermore yielded evidence for the existence of small building structures on hilltops located just in sight of the settlement (Helms and Meyer 2016). These structures can most likely be interpreted as remains of watchtowers, which constituted a regional defence system . Consequently, the Period ID settlement was characterized by a three-tiered defence system that consisted of the inner and outer circumvallation and outlying watchtowers. While this system must be understood as the outcome of an overall and carefully laid out defence plan for the city-state, there is archaeological evidence that the reinforcement of the fortifications also included decentralized decision making processes . This is indicated by observations made in connection with the exploration of the outer defence works in the southeastern part of Chuera’s lower town, Area W, where a long section of the city wall was exposed (Fig. 6). The recorded defensive elements are contemporaneous, but the constructional assemblage is less homogenous than it might appear at first glance and it is evident that different construction techniques and materials were used . In the following discussion, I will refer to the most striking example: in the southern extent of excavation Area W-4 (Fig. 8), the Period ID fortification wall was built with orderly laid, brownish mud bricks . It was placed on top of an earthen rampart, which, in this particular area, superimposed an earlier city wall that had been delib© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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erately razed in advance . The brickwork of the city wall bonded with that of a solid rectangular bastion. About 15m to the north of the bastion, a vertical wall-joint was observed leading almost through the entire width of the wall . To the north of the joint, the fortification wall was constructed by employing different materials and a completely different construction technique: here, orange and grey bricks were used . In sharp contrast to the wall section south of the joint, only the face of the wall consisted of orderly laid bricks, while the core featured irregular brickwork including many half-bricks . A bastion protruding from this part of the city wall was constructed in a similar fashion . It is also much smaller compared to the bastion mentioned before. The findings clearly suggest the existence of two contemporary wall sections, which differ remarkably in terms of construction methods and materials . Further to the north, the composition of the outer city wall changes again: here it was built from regular brickwork . This part of the fortification wall also lacked protruding defensive platforms, which clearly indicates that Chuera’s outer defences were not equipped with evenly spaced bastions . Here and elsewhere along the outer enceinte, compartments filled with debris and earth were embedded in the structure of the city wall (Fig. 9). The situation just described echoes the findings from the nearby site of Kharab Sayyar, which of course have been dated to a much earlier phase of the EBA (see above) . At Chuera, we are again dealing with defensive walls constructed from adjoining, but structurally very different modules . The most straightforward explanation for the modular way of fortifying Chuera would be that different work crews were responsible for constructing the abutting wall sections . The structural inconsistencies might therefore simply have resulted from a combination of an opportunistic use of building materials and on-the-ground decisions of individual work crews . Yet, stratigraphic observations might suggest an alternative explanation . A trench laid out across the fortification wall and the adjacent building structures of the lower town revealed a close relationship between a residential area behind the wall and the urban defence system. There is stratigraphic proof that a large house, House 5 (Fig. 6), was built at the same time as the Period ID city wall (Helms et al. 2017: 323). The back wall of House 5 was placed on the stub of the earlier, Period IC fortification, which had been deliberately truncated . Mud bricks and brick fragments from this earlier city wall were reused to construct the upper layers of a mighty defensive rampart, which was subsequently crowned with a new fortification wall. Interestingly, the rampart was not only built against the old city wall, but also against the rear wall of House 5. The reinforcement of Chuera’s outer defences therefore occurred simultaneously with the reorganization of the urban space associated with it . It seems conceivable that the people who built and lived in House 5 were also involved in the construction and maintenance of this particular part of the city wall . The building was directly located behind the large bastion . It seems reasonable to assume that the defensive platform was accessed from here, as one of the house’s rooms was partly embedded in the defensive platform. While House 5 corresponds to the typical floor plan of residential houses at Chuera, it is also very large . It covered at least 300m² and is therefore one of the largest houses excavated at Chuera so far . The courtyard of the house yielded evidence for a © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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large potter’s workshop (Tamm 2017: 211–212). Given its exceptional size, House 5 probably attests to a prosperous household who could have been in charge of maintaining the large bastion and the stretch of wall that abutted their house . Decentralized aspects also become apparent when looking at the way Chuera’s fortifications were maintained. In some areas of the upper and the lower town, eroded parts of the Period ID fortification wall were repaired according to a variety of technological solutions, some of which appear very ad hoc and rather improvised . Moreover, the inhabitants of Chuera used the defensive walls for all kinds of non-defensive purposes . Building structures spread over the glacis of the inner defences, for example, while the outer city wall was used as a dump site . Soon after the extended refurbishments of the Period ID outer city wall, the newly erected earthen rampart was covered with urban waste. As P. Mielke (2011: 80–81) has pointed out, the course of a fortification wall formed the ‘physical face’ of the ancient city; in the case of Chuera we are apparently dealing with a dirty face. Looming over the plains of the Western Jezirah, the outer fortifications rose from a corona of urban waste. Approaching the main city gate, one would have been confronted with a messy, yet not necessarily less efficient, assemblage of defensive elements, each of them characterized by a different state of repair and/or disrepair . Bastions of varying size rose from a fortification composed of recessing and protruding elements, which varied as well in terms of width as in terms of constructional details . 3. Conclusions The excavation data from Chuera provides an example of how an early urban community modified its defence system over nearly a millennium in response to changes in warfare and urban growth . The early enclosure walls investigated at Chuera and the neighbouring site of Kharab Sayyar (Period IA) prove that the EBA fortification tradition in the Western Jezirah started as early as in the Middle Euphrates valley (compare Peltenburg 2013). The initial fortification of Chuera represented a straightforward way of creating defensible space and controlling the access to the settlement. Profound changes occurred towards the end of Period IB (or in Period IC) when the newly established lower town was surrounded with a more massive fortification wall, a transition that might indicate a change in the scale of conflicts that the urban populace expected to be embroiled in . The complexity of the urban defence systems increased in the second half of the 3rd millennium BCE (Period ID), when the fortifications were again reinforced and came to include new defensive elements. Observations made in connection with the analysis of the fortifications of the Chuera region also suggest how communality of defence might have been organized within an EBA city-state on the North Mesopotamian plains . The data from the neighbouring sites of Chuera and Kharab Sayyar suggests a mode of organizing construction work that – at least to some extent – relied on decision making processes of corporate groups who lived within the city walls; whether these were neighbourhood organiza© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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tions or segmentary groups, remains, of course, a matter of debate . The interpretation of the findings from the Chuera region might also offer an explanation for inconsistencies (changes regarding the alignment of fortification walls, differences in construction techniques and employed building materials) recorded in connection with other sites, e .g . the aforementioned site of Rad Shaqra . That the defence of EBA cities also relied on politically decentralized aspects has already been proposed by L. Cooper in connection with her treatise on urban defence works in the Middle Euphrates valley (Cooper 2006: 77–78, 87–88). As powerful as the paramount political institutions of the city-state, especially the palace, might have been during the later 3rd millennium BCE, they certainly did not organize or permeate every aspect of daily life within the city . Corporate groups were also actively engaged in shaping the urban environment, including its defence infrastructure . Acknowledgements I thank the members of the Chuera project, Jan-Waalke Meyer (excavation director) and Alexander Tamm in particular, for discussing aspects of this paper . I also would like to thank Henrike Backhaus and Caitlin Chaves Yates for their helpful comments . All illustrations used in this article are property of the Chuera project . Access to and use of the illustrations has been kindly granted by the excavation director, J.-W. Meyer (Frankfurt am Main). Bibliography Akkermans, P. M. M. G. and Schwartz, G. M. 2003 The Archaeology of Syria. From Complex Hunter-gatherers to Early Urban Societies (c. 16,000–300 BC) . Cambridge . Archi, A . 2010 Men at War in the Ebla Period. In: A. Kleinerman and J. M. Sasson (eds.), Why Should Someone Who Knows Something Conceal It? Cuneiform Studies in Honor of David I. Owen on his 70th Birthday. Bethesda, 15–35. Backer, F . de 2009 Evolution of War Chariot Tactics in the Ancient Near East. Ugarit-Forschungen 41, 2–17. Bernbeck, R . 2004 Gesellschaft und Technologie im frühgeschichtlichen Mesopotamien . In: M . Fansa and S . Burmeister (eds .), Rad und Wagen: der Ursprung einer Innovation: Wagen im Vorderen Orient und Europa: eine Ausstellung des Landesmuseums für Natur und Mensch Oldenburg März– Juni 2004. Oldenburg, 49–68. Bieliński, P. 1992 The First Campaign of Excavations on Tell Rad Shaqrah (Hasake Southern Dam Basin). Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 3, 77–85. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Hempelmann, R . 2008 Kharab Sayyar . The Foundation of the Early Bronze Age Settlement . In: J . M . Córdoba, M . Molist, M. C. Pérez, I. Rubio and S. Martínez (eds.), Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. Madrid, April 3–8 2006. Madrid, 153–164. 2013

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forschungen in Nordost-Syrien. Eine Bilanz; Internationales Symposium des Instituts für Vorderasiatische Archäologie der Freien Universität Berlin und des Vorderasiatischen Museums der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin vom 21. Juli bis 23. Juli 2011 im Pergamonmuseum . Schriften der Max-Freiherr-von-Oppenheim-Stiftung 18. Wiesbaden, 65–78. McMahon, A., Sołtysiak, A. and Weber, J. 2011 Late Chalcolithic Mass Graves at Tell Brak, Syria, and Violent Conflict during the Growth of Early City-States . Journal of Field Archaeology 36/3, 201–220. Meyer, J.-W. 2007 Town Planning in 3rd Millennium Tell Chuera . In: J . Bretschneider (ed .), Power and Architecture. Monumental Public Architecture in the Bronze Age Near East and Aegean. Proceedings of the International Conference “Power and Architecture”. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 156. Leuven, 129–142. 2010

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Mielke, D. P. 2011 Stadtmauer. B. Archäologisch. In: M. P. Streck, G. Frantz-Szabó, M. Krebernik, D. Morandi Bonacossi, J. N. Postgate, U. Seidl, M. Stol and G. Wilhelm (eds.), Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie 13. Berlin, 80–85. Miller, R ., McEwen, E . and Bergman, C . 1986 Experimental Approaches to Ancient near Eastern Archery. World Archaeology 18/2, 178–195. Müller-Neuhof, B . 2014 Kriege im Neolithikum Vorderasiens? In: H. Neumann, R. Dittmann, S. Paulus, G. Neumann and A . Schuster-Brandis (eds .), Krieg und Frieden im Alten Vorderasien. 52e Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, International Congress of Assyriology and Near Eastern Archaeology Münster, 17.–21. Juli 2006. Alter Orient und Altes Testament 40. Münster, 539–552. Nadali, D . 2009 Representations of Battering Rams and Siege Towers in Early Bronze Age Glyptical Art. Historiae 6, 39–52. Novák, M. 1995 Die Stadtmauergrabung. In: W. Orthmann, R. Hempelmann, H. Klein, C. Kühne, M. Novak, A. Pruß, E. Vila, H.-M. Weicken and A. Wener (eds.), Vorbericht über die Grabungskampagnen 1986 bis 1992, Vorderasiatische Forschungen der Max-Freiherr-von-Oppenheim-Stiftung 2, I. Saarbrücken, 173–182. Ostheimer, J. P. 2015 Die Gräber im Bereich H Ost des Tell Chuera, Nordost-Syrien. MA thesis, Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt / Main . Otto, A . 2006 Archaeological Perspectives on the Localization of Naram-Sin’s Armanum. Journal of Cuneiform Studies 58, 1–43. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Peltenburg, E. 2013 Conflict and Exclusivity in Early Bronze Age Societies of the Middle Euphrates Valley. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 72/2, 233–253. Pfälzner, P. 2011 Architecture. In: M. Lebeau (ed.), Associated Regional Chronologies for the Ancient Near East and the Eastern Mediterranean. Jezirah . Associated Regional Chronologies for the Ancient Near East 1. Brepols, 137–200. Quenet, P. 2011 Stratigraphy. In: M. Lebeau (ed.), Associated Regional Chronologies for the Ancient Near East and the Eastern Mediterranean. Jezirah . Associated Regional Chronologies for the Ancient Near East 1. Brepols, 19–58. Reichel, C . 2006 Urbanism and Warfare: The 2005 Hamoukar Excavations. The Oriental Institute News & Notes 189, 1–11. Rey, S . 2012 Poliorcétique au Proche-Orient à l‘âge du bronze. Fortifications urbaines, procédés de siège et systèmes defénsifs. Bibliothèque archéologique et historique 197. Beirut. Ristvet, L. 2007 The Third Millennium City Wall at Tell Leilan, Syria: Identity, Authority, and Urbanism. In: J . Bretschneider (ed .), Power and Architecture. Monumental Public Architecture in the Bronze Age Near East and Aegean. Proceedings of the International Conference “Power and Architecture”. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 156. Leuven, 183–212. Roth, J. P. 2008 War. In: P. Sabin, H. Van Wees and M. Withby (eds.), The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare 1. Greece, the Hellenistic World and the Rise of Rome. Cambridge, 368–398. Schrakamp, I . 2010 Krieger und Waffen im frühen Mesopotamien. Organisation und Bewaffnung des Militärs in frühdynastischer und sargonischer Zeit. PhD thesis, Philipps-Universität, Marburg. 2013a Warfare, Ancient Near East. In: R. S. Bagnall, K. Brodersen, C. B. Champion, A. Erskine and S . R . Huebner (eds .), The Encyclopedia of Ancient History. Chichester, 7046–7048. 2013b Weaponry, Ancient Near East. In: R. S. Bagnall, K. Brodersen, C. B. Champion, A. Erskine and S . R . Huebner (eds .), The Encyclopedia of Ancient History. Chichester, 7070–7072. Stein, G . 2004 Structural Parameters and Sociocultural Factors in the Economic Organization of North Mesopotamian Urbanism in the Third Millennium BC. In: G. M. Feinman and L. M. Nicholas (eds.), Archaeological Perspectives on Political Economies. Salt Lake City, 61–78. 2012

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Tamm, A . 2017 Bericht über die Grabungen in den Teilbereichen W-3 und W-5 (2007–2009). In: T. Helms, A. Tamm and J.-W. Meyer (eds.), Tell Chuera: Ausgrabungen in der südöstlichen Unterstadt – Bereich W. Vorderasiatische Forschungen der Max Freiherr von Oppenheim-Stiftung 2/IV. Wiesbaden, 189-314.. Ur, J . 2010 Cycles of Civilization in Northern Mesopotamia, 4400–2000 BC. Journal of Archaeological Research 18/4, 387–431. Ur, J., Karsgaard, P. and Oates, J. 2011 The Spatial Dimensions of Early Mesopotamian Urbanism. The Tell Brak Suburban Survey, 2003–2006. Iraq 73, 111–119. Weicken, H.-M. and Wener, A. 1995 Untersuchung zur holozänen Relief- und Bodenentwicklung im Umkreis von Tell Chuera. In: W. Orthmann, R. Hempelmann, H. Klein, C. Kühne, M. Novak, A. Pruß, E. Vila, H.-M. Weicken and A. Wener (eds.), Vorbericht über die Grabungskampagnen 1986 bis 1992. Vorderasiatische Forschungen der Max-Freiherr-von-Oppenheim-Stiftung 2, I. Saarbrücken, 181–324. Wilkinson, T. J., Philip, G., Bradbury, J., Dunford, R., Donoghue, D., Galiatsatos, N., Lawrence, D., Ricci, A. and Smith, S. L. 2014 Contextualizing Early Urbanization: Settlement Cores, Early States and Agro-pastoral Strategies in the Fertile Crescent during the Fourth and Third Millennia BC . Journal of World Prehistory 27/1, 43–109. York, W. 2012 Health and Wellness in Antiquity through the Middle Ages . Santa Barbara .

BCE (approx.) 3100–2850

Chuera Period IA

EJ 0–1

Development of the urban defense system Construction of earliest fortification wall;

Archaeologically attested defensive elements Enceinte

Between period IA or IB: graves are dug into the enclosure wall (exact date still forms a matter of discussion)

Supposed function of the defenses Access control; protection against raids and attacks by other local groups

2850–2700

IA/IB

1–2

2700–2560

IB

2

Foundation and fortification of the lower town

2560–2465

IC

3a

Fortification of the upper town attested (Chuera = double walled city)

2465–2300

ID

3a–4a

Massive reinforcement of the out- Enceintes, preliminary lines of deer fortifications, possibly outlying fense (pre-wall, moat, wall-walks), watchtowers irregularly spaced firing platforms (rectangular bastions of different size), complex gates, “water gates”, sloped earthen ramparts

2300–2250

IE

4a–4c

Neglect and decay of the defense works in the wake of the gradual abandonment of the settlement and the dissolution of its central institutions

Enceintes, preliminary lines of defense (pre-wall, moat)

Access control; protection of a larger urban population; stronger fortification could suggest higher threat level (inter-citystate warfare?); double fortification walls facilitate control of traffic between upper and lower town Access control between intra- and extramural space and between upper and lower town; protection against siege-tactics in the context of inter-city-state warfare

Table 1 Simplified chronological and preliminary assessment of the development and function of the urban defence system of Chuera (based on Hempelmann 2013; Tamm 2017; Helms and Tamm 2017) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 1 Geomagnetic plan with reconstructed course of the inner and outer city wall and reconstructed location of passages into the lower town (US) and upper town (OS)

Fig. 2 Location of excavation areas at Tell Chuera; operations in which parts of the fortifications were uncovered are marked with white squares © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 3 Period IA fortification wall in Area H; view in northeastern direction

Fig . 4 Section through the mid 3rd millennium BCE gateway in Area HMS that connected the lower and upper town; view in eastern direction; the covered sewer is approximately 1.6m high © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 5 Part of the outer city wall and the adjoining sloped rampart in Area W-4; the rampart consists of a layered fill and was covered with a glacis of beaten clay; view in western direction

Fig. 6 Schematic plan of excavation Area which shows the Period ID-fortifications and contemporary building structures of the lower town; the nos. of (partially) excavated structures, including House 5, are indicated by white circles, the nos . of structures that have been reconstructed on the basis of the geomagnetic survey appear in black circles © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 7 Part of the outer city wall in Area W-4 with a preliminary wall-walk and pre-wall; view in eastern direction

Fig. 8 Part of the outer city wall in Area W-4; two differently constructed segments of the fortification wall

Fig. 9 Compartment within the fortification wall (Area W-6), which was filled in with gravel and loam

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Up from the Sea: Mariner Networks in Ports across the Late Bronze Age Eastern Mediterranean Linda Hulin 1 – Senta German 2 Abstract Sea trade in the Late Bronze Age eastern Mediterranean grew at an unprecedented scale . Where port sites have been investigated, the focus has been upon their function as entrepôts, points of movement of goods and people into the wider, terrestrial landscape . The Up from the sea project views coastal sites as points of stability within dynamic maritime linkages from a mariner’s perspective . In the following, we lay out a model for the identification of sailors’ quarters in the archaeological record, presenting a brief review of results obtained during a pilot study at Kommos (Crete) and Hala Sulta Tekke (Cyprus) .

1. Introduction The Late Bronze Age in the Mediterranean was a truly international age as evidenced through textual, iconographic and archaeological records . Many active ports existed as hubs through which people, goods, texts and ideas traveled . However, we have yet to understand how mariners, without whom this connectivity would not have been possible, worked and lived, particularly when on shore . Westerdahl’s concept of the maritime cultural world (Westerdahl 1992), which encompasses not only maritime activities, but cognitive, terrestrial, social and geographical modalities, is now attracting the attention of scholars of the eastern Mediterranean (see in particular, Vavouranakis 2011; Sauvage 2012; Tartaron 2013). However, these studies are partial, focusing either on the Aegean or the Levantine coast . This paper presents a model and methodology for delineating mariner networks and cultural worlds in the eastern Mediterranean as a whole, as applied by the authors in the Up from the Sea project . 2. The East Mediterranean Late Bronze Age maritime cultural world Any study of a maritime cultural world must begin with the sailors themselves . There is a good, if disparate, body of evidence relating to sailors’ life at sea . Prime sailing season in the Eastern Mediterranean in the late second millennium BC was between March and November, although slight variations were possible (Fabre 2004/5: 22–23). In the 21st Dynasty Tale of Wenamun, the protagonist appears to have left Egypt in early May (Lichtheim 2006: 224–230; Fabre 2004/5: 22); entries in the Late

1 2

Oxford Centre for Maritime Archaeology, University of Oxford. Department of Classics, Montclair State University. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Period Aḥiqar scroll indicate that ships could be active from February to December (Yardeni 1994). However, even within the sailing season, sailors would still have spent significant amounts of time on land: waiting out storms, off-loading cargo and acquiring new ones, gathering fresh provisions, and repairing or refurbishing the ships themselves. An example of the latter is the 24 anchors found on the Uluburun wreck, which came from at least three locations: Kition, Ugarit, and Byblos (Croome and Frost 2011). During these times, no doubt, sailors would also be acquiring goods on their own account (Artzy 1997). Geographical constants provide the parameters of the world in which these sailors operated . The east Mediterranean gyre, moving in an anti-clockwise direction around the eastern Mediterranean, provides a framework for the movement of shipping in the Late Bronze Age (Sauvage 2012: 27–29), although shipping did not have to rely upon currents alone: Rib-Hadda, king of Byblos during the mid-14th century BC, dispatched Ammanmasha to Egypt via Cyprus, rather than along the Anatolian coast, in order to avoid pirates (Moran 1992: 189). The building blocks of travel between the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean ware short hops, operating at least from the 4th millennium BC, and arguably earlier (Broodbank 2013: 148–201). The difference then, for the Late Bronze Age, was one of scale; more goods moved more often and in larger ships, with the choice of more ports along the way. The intensification of late Middle-Late Bronze Age maritime trade was made possible by developments in ship technology, investments in harbours, and the interregional diplomatic application of law regulating trade the procedures for redress . All three impacted upon sailors’ lives in great and small ways . The change in sailing technology likely had the most dramatic impact . The skills learned in handling the brailed rig, coupled with improvements in gear and the ability to set an effective course into and against the wind, distinguished the Late Bronze Age sailor as a highly skilled operative . However, this advancement of design made for more parts to repair and refurbish in port . Turning to harbours, these have been classified according to their geographical features and the kind of protection they offer (Blue 1997: 33–34; Sauvage 2012: 70–84): natural bays (e.g., Minet el-Beida), almost enclosed bays (e.g., Fethye), bays on either sides of an anvil shaped headland (e .g ., Maa-Palaekastro), islands (e .g ., Tell Abu Hawwam, Arwad, Pseira), the lee side of promontories (e .g ., Cape Kiti), and river mouths (e .g ., Akko, Tell el-Ajjul, Jaffa) . Natural harbour features could also be modified and improved. For instance, in Egypt, paintings in the tomb of May at Amarna (Tomb EA14; de Garis Davies 1908) and the tomb of Kenamun in Thebes (Tomb TT93) both suggest the presence of quays (de Garis Davies and Faulkner 1947; Wachsmann 1998: 42–60). There is archaeological evidence at Tel Dor that suggests this (Raban 1987). The river mouths of the southern Levant may well have been canalised and their edges supported for ease of off-loading . There may have been some kind of ship ramps, as mentioned by Hesiod, examples of which we have from the 5th–4th century BC at Kition-Bamboula (Yon 2001). Kommos on Crete has ramps from the Minoan era (Coates 1999). Gournia had a very complex shore instal© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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lation, with ship sheds, and perhaps with a quay at the water’s edge (Watrous 2012). Remains of a basin have been excavated on the coastline near the Mycenaean palace of Pylos (Zangger 1997: 613–625). However, ports are more than safe shelter; they are points of intersection of not just geography, but politics, economy and law . This is visible in the range of words the Egyptians applied to anchorages on the Levantine coast: mryt, mnỉwt, wḫryt/ wryt, which were drawn from a larger set of terms that Egyptians applied to facilities in the Nile (Kemp and O’Connor 1974). Janssen (1961: 99–100) suggested that mryt referred, in the larger towns at least, to revetted embankments, and in the Tale of Wenamun Syrian ports were referred to on the sea (Casson 1991: 47–53; Sauvage 2012: 83). Syrian ports could also be referred to mnỉwt (Wb II, 72–73), a word derived from the word for mooring post and possibly a quay on the river bank, and may have been used to distinguish a natural harbour . These two words combine geography and constructed facilities, and this is particularly true of wḫryt/wryt (Wb I, 355.11), or a naval dockyard, which also referred to a carpenter’s shop in general. At Memphis, its use implied a basin, but elsewhere it applied to riverside facilities; wḫryt/wryt appears to have been a place where boats were repaired . 3. Social and economic parameters The degree of investment in these facilities would have depended upon their proximity to trade routes and role in regional political and economic hierarchies . Mariners would have experienced this through the application of law: which vessels were allowed to use the facilities, the level of taxes to be extracted at the harbour’s edge and, consequently, who traded with whom. In search of mariner networks, larger ports are of particular interest . They are the places where larger ships would have been put in, and greater time needed to load and unload cargo and to deal with official administration . At such facilities, it is likely that mariners would have effected repairs and acquire the supplies necessary for the next leg of the voyage. It is also likely, that larger ports would offer the time and opportunity for mariners to tend to their own needs and interests . Even today, sailors regularly form discrete social units within ports through their mutual work identities as well as in their pursuit of similar wants and needs; indeed sailors’ quarters are a phenomenon with a long history (e.g., Redford 2013; Couper 2009: 19–20). In Late Bronze Age Ugarit, this self-configured social grouping was strengthened by local laws, which kept sailors confined to the port area (Heltzer 1978: 127–128). 4. Mariner activities within the archaeological record We approach mariner activities on land through a series of steps that move from the known to the unknown: from shipwrecks to ‘habitat islands,’ locations isolated by © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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surrounding inhospitable or uninhabited land; and finally to the ports and harbours themselves . 4.1 Shipwrecks Material found associated with ships fall into three broad categories: equipment, cargo and personal effects, all of which pertain to mariners. Equipment includes rig, anchors, ropes, basketry, dunnage, nets, fishing equipment, although archaeologically organic material is less likely to survive. It also includes lamps, kitchen equipment (pots, grinders, bowls, cups) and food remains . The distinction between personal effects and cargo is less easy to draw, and is inevitably subjective . For instance, the variety of tools found on the Uluburun wreck could have been included in either or both categories (Pulak 1998; Yalçin et al. 2005: 630–632). The Levantine gold roundels (Yalçin et al. 2005: 596) could have been cited as either personal items, or scrap; it depends upon our perception of the relative wealth of the crew and the expense of the object . We are on safer ground with the range of weapons on board, which, in their sheer variety, suggests personal possessions rather than cargo (Yalçin et al. 2005: 608, 622–623). In general, the definition of person possessions is blurred. Is the razor found on the Uluburun wreck (Yalçin et al. 2005: 625) a personal item belonging to crew, to passengers, or a trade item? Similarly, single examples of Mycenaean pottery vessels may have been cargo, but they could also have been items owned by those aboard . Whether passengers or crew is really not knowable, but what we may infer is that both groups may have travelled with their own eating equipment, or that ships did not provide it and crew had their own kit . Shipwrecks also offer evidence of mariners’ leisure . Musical instruments were found at Uluburun (e.g., Yalçin et al. 2005: 626), as were gaming pieces (also present on the Gelidonya wreck: (Bass 1961: 274–275). These objects are more routinely seen as sailors’ possessions, although the instruments could also have been, if not cargo, items of petty trade . Artzy argued that the small copper slab ingots found near the so-called ‘captain’s cabin’ in the Cape Gelidonya wreck constituted trade items owned by the crew to be traded, distinct from the main cargo (Artzy 1997: 9). This sort of mixed trade on a single vessel was no doubt common, reflecting the spontaneous economic opportunities which mariners enjoyed . 4.2 Habitat islands If the range of Late Bronze Age sailor activity is only partially illuminated through wrecks, it can be supplemented by what Broodbank (2000: 16) referred to as ‘habitat islands’, comparable to Braudel’s ‘islands that the sea does not surround’ (Braudel 1972: 160–161). This term may be applied to Marsa Matruh and Zawiyet umm el-Rakham, two New Kingdom sites approximately 25km apart on the coast of the western Egyptian desert . Marsa Matruh is an island in a lagoon system, with © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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facilities of approximately five modest rooms and storage utilized in the mid-18th to early 19th dynasty (White et al. 2002). Although clearly not occupied for extended periods, supplies were storable in Cypriot pithoi and Canaanite jars, and there is evidence of a shellfish, fish and meat being consumed. One open area may have been for cooking . A range of Mycenaean, Minoan, Cypriot and Canaanite dining wares were found: individual quantities recalling the personal items found on board ship. On the south end of the island a number of crucibles were found, one locally made, clearly from the slag to make small items –fish hooks, needles and arrowheads –were made on the spot. This perhaps reflects the uses to which the scrap metal carried by sailors on the Cape Gelidonya wreck (Bass 1961: 274) would eventually be put . Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham presents a similar picture of small-scale maritime trade, this time in the context of a coastal fortress, the last in a line of defences built by Ramesses II against Libyan incursions (Snape 2004). While the garrison undoubtedly drew provisions from the Nile valley (Snape 2010), the site also offers evidence for the same kind of petty trade that is evident at Marsa Matruh . Evidence for the onthe-spot manufacture of small metal items was recovered as well as small quantities of Canaanite and Mycenaean transport vessels, and Base Ring II lentoid flasks and tea pots (Thomas 2000). The latter are of particular interest as they are rare export items and are usually found singly . They are, moreover, just the kind of small portable object that might have been gathered for petty trade by mariners . Their function is unknown, but if they were used in particular social practices, such as the drinking of a specific beverage, they could be a marker of a mariner habit. 5. Identifying mariners on land On the basis of the above, a list of criteria by which we can identify mariners’ lives on land may be put forwarded. The tendency of sailors to congregate (or be confined) in areas within reach of the shore suggests a focus on modest dwellings in non-elite areas near the sea, where sailors would eat, sleep, swap news, repair gear and engage in petty trade . Such establishments need not have been architecturally different from their neighbours, but would be identifiable by their contents: larger than usual proportions of cooking, serving, eating and small storage wares and cooking implements to support large scale food production, such as grinders; a variety of low-value table wares, present in small quantities only, from across the eastern Mediterranean, which would reflect the practice, suggested above of mariners travelling with their own cups and dishes; the presence of exotic food items, and objects from across the Mediterranean, gathered to be traded; small scale tools, such as fish hooks or crucibles, gathered for trade, or for making items to be traded, and a range of portable religious objects or evidence of worship . These items may be found at a variety of buildings in a port, but the defining feature is their occurrence in non-elite settings, in small quantities and in unusual variety. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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With these criteria in mind, a short pilot study was directed at two sites in 2016: Kommos on the south coast of Crete and Hala Sultan Tekke on the south-east coast of Cyprus . These sites were chosen because they were both wealthy maritime commercial centres capable of receiving large ships . The pilot study work was primarily focused on pottery, as this is fundamental to our criteria . At both sites, rooms and deposits of interest were identified by a variety of imported ceramics as well as small finds indicating small-scale metal, wood or cloth manufacture . Context sherds from these deposits were sorted into diagnostic shapes and ware types . Within reconstructions of the contents of individual rooms, the variety of vessels was the prime concern and in this way differences in retention policy by different excavators and variances in site morphology were smoothed out: duplicates were removed until only one of each type and fabric remained . Sherds were grouped into six functional categories: (1) vessels for eating and drinking; (2) for serving (groups 1 and 2 being divided into painted, plain and coarse); (3) kitchen shapes (cooking pots and platters); (4) small storage (i.e., portable containers, from stirrup jars to Canaanite amphora); (5) large storage (pithoi); and (6) personal (perfume juglets and stirrups jars) . The results of these analyses were added to published material, alongside small finds and faunal analyses. Even at this early stage, there is evidence that supports our model, but also suggests divergent practices at the two sites . Kommos on Crete is situated at the end of the Mesara plain and is thought to have been connected to the Minoan palace of Phaistos 6km to the northeast. Attention was focused on a group of rooms in two LM IIIA1 structures, Buildings N and P. Building N (Shaw and Shaw 2006: 60–64) consists of six rooms and a court on the western edge of the Southern Civic Area adjacent to Building P, the ship shed structure . It is decidedly non-elite, lacking ashlar masonry, exotic elite items or any magnitude of fine dining wares. Its non-elite status is especially stark when compared to contemporary Building X, which contained much elite ceramic wares as well as wall and floor painting. In Building N the larger rooms and the courtyard were examined. In Room 5, 168 vessels were identified, consisting of equal proportions of small storage wares and eating wares, closely followed by painted serving wares . Indications of food preparation were also present: a whetstone and hammer stone, pumice and animal bone. A further 46 pots were found in Room 4, with eating and storage wares occurring in similar proportions. Outer Room 7 contained 70 unique vessels, 76% of which were devoted to eating, with small storage and a few personal containers making up the rest. In Courtyard Room 6 there were lower levels of eating wares, (c. 35%), although they were still in the majority, alongside roughly equivalent proportions of serving and kitchen wares and small storage jars . In sum, this group of rooms seem to have prepared and served food in significant quantities, suggesting the presence of mariners. In the innermost room, there were also fragments of three imported vessels: a Sardinian jar and dolio, and an Egyptian amphora . The outer room also contained a Sardinian bowl, and the courtyard contained a Sardinian jar, as well as a Cypriot milk bowl and two Canaanite jars . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Sardinian vessels are relatively rare at Kommos, and most are concentrated in the elite settlement area uphill (Watrous 1992: 163–167). Small scraps of bronze, associated with patches of burning suggests small scale metal working, recalling mariner activity at Marsa Matruh . Building P, the ship shed, offers a different picture of mariner activity . Work focused on Bay 3 (P3) and the eastern extremity of Bay 2 (P2) (Shaw and Shaw 1990: 76–82). At the eastern end of P3, 1 5 of the 186 vessels identified were small storage pots, closely followed by painted eating wares and, to a lesser extent by painted serving and kitchen wares . Included in the ceramic record here were two Canaanite jars and five Egyptian storage vessels (each one a different shape). The variety of Egyptian jars suggests an accumulation of Egyptian jars, rather than a coordinated consignment. This area also contained 54 bronze strips and rods and two bronze blades. The deposits at the middle of P3, contained equal proportions of small storage and eating wares, amounting to nearly half of the 171 vessels recorded, and lesser proportions of serving and eating wares . The presence of burning and animal bone suggests the preparation and consumption of meals . At the western end of P3, closest to the sea, 166 vessels were identified, a third of which were painted eating vessels, a similar proportion of small storage vessels, and serving vessels . A single New Kingdom amphora fragment was also found . The eastern segment of P2 contained the remains of a large hearth. Over 70% of the 196 vessels found were storage vessels, including two New Kingdom amphora and a Canaanite jar; serving vessels were in the minority. Remains of a Cypriot base ring ware vessel were also found . There was much less evidence for metal working or scrap collection or repair work in this area: only two nail fragments and one bronze strip were found . Thus, two different types of mariner activity are observable at Kommos . In Building N, there is a configuration of rooms differentiated by focused primarily on eating (N7 and Courtyard 6) or cooking and working (N5 and N4). The ship sheds present something different . At the time, they were occupied, they appear not to have contained ships (P3 was divided into small areas by rough low stone walls), and instead they seem to have been to a lesser extent for cooking and eating and more for working . The LBA port of Hala Sultan Tekke was situated on the edge of a sheltered lagoon in Larnaca Bay and connected with routes to copper deposits inland . Area 8, at the north-eastern edge of the site, lay close to the edge of the lagoon, and consists of a number of houses, arranged on a rough grid pattern . Each contained several small rooms around a central courtyard, with some, like Building A, having its own well . The houses, although more complex that the one studied at Kommos, were not in the elite area of Hala Sultan Tekke, which lay further to the southwest, and the quality of their construction is not high, comparatively. It was flagged up in the original publication as containing an unusually large number of open serving bowls, making it look very much more like a lodging than a private house (Hult 1981). All the excavated rooms and portions of the courtyard of Building A were examined . In compar© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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ison with the neighbouring Building B, roughly double the quantities of eating and drinking vessels were found . Room 2 appears to have been a multi-purpose, working and cooking space, not surprising given its well, with over 60% of the 281 vessels identified belonging to kitchen, serving and, to a lesser extent, eating shapes. Rooms 3 (113 pots identified) and 7 (147 pots), on the other hand, have very similar configurations of vessel types, which reflect similar proportions of small storage, eating and drinking, and serving vessels, as does Courtyard 10 (1067 shapes). All rooms contained a range of imported Mycenaean storage and eating vessels, and Canaanite jars (some possibly locally made), but all low quantities, as one might expect of non-elite areas. The exception to this is Courtyard 10, where roughly 10% of the ceramic record are imports including Canaanite and Egyptian storage jars, Mycenaean eating and drinking vessels, stirrup jars, a squat alabastron, painted storage vessels and Mycenaean craters, including two chariot types, as well as a Levantine serving vessel and pilgrim flask. Building A also contains a range of small exotica: an ivory disc and limestone vessel fragment and a faience sceptre head with the cartouche of Ramesses II in Room 2, pieces of ostrich egg shell in Room 4, and several beads of faience, stone, amber and ivory in Courtyard 10. These are just the kinds of small, portable objects that we might expect to make up petty trade . Much has been made of the sceptre head; however, it should be remembered that faience was not a particularly expensive in Egypt and its presence need not confer elite status on Building A . Bronze implements (tweezers, weights, arrowheads) and slag were found in the courtyard and Room 2, reminiscent of activities in Marsa Matruh and Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham, and stone weights . Nile perch was also present in Building A, and exotic foodstuff difficult to explain in this non-elite area other than by the presence of mariners. 6. Conclusion There emerges then a picture of spaces at Kommos and Hala Sultan Tekke where there was a lot of eating and drinking, amid the presence of a range of low-level imports . Building A and Building N offered comparable facilities, albeit at different scales . Multi-purpose spaces, (with evidence of food storage, cooking, serving and eating, as well as working) were found in courtyards and indoors, whereas areas dedicated to eating and drinking were always indoors, perhaps offering year-round, all-weather facilities for mariners . The ship sheds at Kommos offer a different picture. P3 offered space for work, storage and eating, whereas P2 shows little evidence of commensality, perhaps because the hearth would have made the enclosed space too smoky for comfort . It may also be possible, even at this early stage, to identify different patterns of interaction in these non-elite, mariner areas . Kommos shows contacts with Sardinia, and quantitatively fewer with the Levant and Egypt; Hala Sultan Tekke which, while © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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lacking evidence of contact with the central Mediterranean, offers evidence of much more robust contact with the Levant and Egypt, as well as the Mycenaean world of which Crete was by then a part . There is also a marked lack of small exotica at Kommos, compared to Hala Sultan Tekke . Was this because even small items at Kommos were immediately taken by the elite areas or sent further inland, or might this be an indication of different mariner networks in operation? The pilot study and proof of model begun at Kommos and Hala Sultan Tekke has immediately illustrated the complexity of mariners lives on shore and, at the same time, generates more questions for the future. It is our goal to re-assemble this material as a witness to the lives of sailors of the Late Bronze Age, to establish a small scale sub-site type, and to generate a more nuanced picture of trade networks at the end of the 2nd millennium BC . Bibliography Artzy, M . 1997 Nomads of the Sea. In: S. Swiny, R. L. Hohlfelder and H. Wydle Swiny (eds.), Res Maritimae. Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean from Prehistory to Late Antiquity. Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute Monograph Series 1. Atlanta, 1–16. Bass, G . 1961 The Cap Gelidonya Wreck: Preliminary Report. American Journal of Archaeology 65/3, 267– 276. Blue, L . K . 1997 Cyprus and Cilicia: The Typology and Palaeography of Second Millennium Harbors. In: S. Swiny, R. L. Hohlfelder and H. Wydle Swiny (eds.), Res Maritimae. Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean from Prehistory to Late Antiquity. Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute Monograph Series 1. Atlanta, 31–43. Braudel, F . 1972 The Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II . Paris . Broodbank, C . 2000 An Island Archaeology of the Early Cyclades . Cambridge . 2013

The Making of the Middle Sea: A History of the Mediterranean from the Beginning to the Emergence of the Classical World . London .

Casson, L . 1991 The Ancient Mariners . Seafarers and Sea Fighters of the Mediterranean in Ancient Times . Princeton . Coates, J . F . 1999 Long Ships, Slipways and Beaches. In: H. Talas (ed.), Tropis V . 5th International Symposium on Ship Construction in Antiquity, Nauplia 1993. Athens, 103–118. Couper, A . 2009 Sailors and Traders: A Maritime History of the Pacific Peoples, Honolulu .

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Croome, A . and Frost, H . 2011 Anchors on the Uluburun Bronze Age Shipwreck. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 40, 199–200. de Garis Davies, N . 1908 The Rock Tombs of El Amarna V . London . de Garis Davies, N. and Faulkner, R. 1947 A Syrian Trading Venture to Egypt. Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 33, 40–46. Fabre, D . 2004/5 Seafaring in Ancient Egypt . London . Heltzer, M . 1978 Goods, Prices and the Organisation of Trade in Ugarit. Marketing and Transportation in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Second Half of the II Millennium BCE . Wiesbaden . Hult, G . 1981 Hala Sultan Tekke 7: Excavations in Area 8 in 1977 . Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology 45/7. Göteborg . Janssen, J . J . 1961 Two Ancient Egyptian Ship’s Logs, Papyrus Leiden I 350 verso and Papyrus Turin 2008 + 2016 . Oudheidkundige Mededelingen uit het Rijksmuseum van Oudheden te Leiden 42. Leiden. Kemp, B. J. and O’Connor, D. 1974 An Ancient Nile Harbor: University Museum Excavations at the ‘Birket Habu’. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 3/1, 101–136. Lichtheim, M . 2006 Ancient Egyptian Literature. Volume II: The New Kingdom . Los Angeles . Moran, W . 1992 The Amarna Letters. Baltimore . Pulak, C . 1998 The Uluburun Shipwreck: An Overview. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 27/3, 188–224. Raban, A. 1987 The Harbour of the Sea Peoples at Dor. Biblical Archaeologist 50, 118–126. Redford, D. 2013 Maritime History and Identity: The Sea and Culture in the Modern World . London . Sauvage, C . 2012 Routes maritime et systèmes d’échanges internationaux au Bronze récent en Méditerranée orientale. Travaux de la Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée 61. Lyons. Snape, S . 2004 The Excavations of the Liverpool University Mission to Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham 1994–2001. Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte 78, 149–160. 2010

Vor der Kaserne: External Supply and Self-sufficiency at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham. In: M . Bietak, E . Czerny and I . Forstner-Müller (eds .), Cities and Urbanism in Ancient Egypt: Pa© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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pers from a Workshop in November 2006 at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Untersuchungen der Zweigstelle Kairo des Österreichischen Archäologischen Institutes 35. Vienna, 271–288. Shaw, J . and Shaw, M . 2006 Kommos V. An Excavation on the South Coast of Crete. Princeton . Tartaron, T . 2013 Maritime Network in the Mycenaean World. Cambridge . Thomas, S . 2000 Imports at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham. In: Z. Hawass and L. Pinch Brock (eds.), Egyptology at the Dawn of the Twenty-first Century . Proceedings of the Eighth International Congress of Egyptologists, Cairo, 2000. Cairo, 530–535. Vavouranakis, G . 2011 The Seascape in Aegean Prehistory. Monographs of the Danish Institute at Athens 14. Athens. Wachsmann, S . 1998 Seagoing Ships and Seamanship in the Bronze Age Levant . London . Watrous, L . 1992 Kommos III. The Late Bronze Age Pottery . Princeton . 2012

The Harbor Complex of the Minoan Town at Gournia. American Journal of Archaeology 116/3, 521–541.

Wb 1926–1961 Erman, A. and Grapow, H. (eds.), Wörterbuch der aegyptischen Sprache im Auftrage der deutschen Akademien . Berlin . Westerdahl, C . 1992 The Maritime Cultural Landscape. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 21/1, 5–14. White, D., Gardner, R. and Hulin, L. 2002 Marsa Matruh: The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology’s Excavations on Bates’s Island, Marsa Matruh, Egypt, 1985–1989 . Philadelphia . Yalçin, Ü., Pulak, C., Slotta, R. 2005 Das Schiff von Uluburun. Welthandel vor 3000 Jahren. Katalog der Ausstellung des Deutschen Bergbau-Museums Bochum vom 15. Juli 2005 bis 16. Juli 2006. Veröffentlichung aus dem Deutschen Bergbau-Museum Bochum 138. Bochum. Yardeni, A . 1994 Maritime Trade and Royal Accountancy in Erased Customs Account from 475 BCE on the Aḥiqar Scroll from Elephantine. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 293, 67–87. Yon, M . 2001 Ancient Military Port at Kition. Archaeologia Cypria 4, 165–170. Zangger, E . 1997 The Pylos Regional Archaeological project, Part II: Landscape, Evolution and Site Preservation . Hesperia 66, 549–641. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Use-wear Analysis of Bronze Age Lithics in Tell Arqa (Akkar Plain, North Lebanon) Florine Marchand 1 Abstract Tell Arqa is located in northern Lebanon, in the southern part of the Akkar Plain . It has been excavated since 1992 by J.-P. Thalmann. The site has yielded a rich lithic industry with c. 3000 flint artefacts. We observe in the Tell Arqa collection that glossed blades, including imported blades and local blade productions, are the majority. Our first purpose was to define the presence of tribulum, sickle blades or both types. The analyses allow us to observe only sickle blades’ use-wear (no tribulum elements have been recognized) and the reuse of these for other tasks on the site such as working on pottery, on mineral material, on bones, etc. We know that usually sickles were hafted with bitumen, but this type of glue is not attested naturally in Lebanon; organic residues and use-wears of hafting were recognized on the sickle. Our second goal was to define the non-glossed tool functions in Bronze Age contexts to have a complete overview of the different tasks accomplished on the site. What is at stake is the role of flint, its status and function within a site of the Bronze Age.

1. Introduction: the site of Tell Arqa Tell Arqa is a major site in northern Lebanon, occupied from the Neolithic to the Mameluk period. Situated in the southern area of the Akkar Plain, the 7ha and 40m high tell controlled the south of one of the rare coastal plains with a high agricultural potential on the Syrian-Lebanese littoral. The Akkar Plain forms the maritime outlet of the Homs Gap representing a direct and strategic connection between the mountain range isolating the Mediterranean coast and inner Syria and the Mesopotamian region. The archaeological investigation, entrusted by the head of the Antiquities Department, Emir M. Chéhab, to the French Institute of Beirut, was started in 1972 under the direction of E. Will. After the Lebanese civil war, the excavation was carried forward by J.-P. Thalmann, Director of the Mission since 1995. The purpose of the new research was to investigate the stratigraphy and chronology of the end of the Early Bronze Age and Middle Bronze Age, the most important and prosperous periods of the site and the region. Between 2005 and 2012, as part of the European project ARCANE (Lebeau 2011), a scientific operation was dedicated to the first half of the 3rd millennium BC. In 2010, a second multidisciplinary project was carried out to reconstruct the technical, economic and social evolution of the Akkar Plain in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC based on the available documentation (architecture, pottery, botanic, fauna, lithic industry etc.). Our research on the lithic industry of Tell Arqa is part of this second project.

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Department of Art History and Archaeology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Tell Arqa stratigraphic levels are organized by numerated strata from the top to the bottom in Arabic numerals (Thalmann 2006a: 7–16). A stratum is divided by layers designated by an additional capital letter. Strata 20 to 15 correspond to the Early Bronze Age and Strata 14 to 11 to the Middle and Late Bronze Ages (Thalmann 2006a; Thalmann 2009; Thalmann 2010; Thalmann 2013; Thalmann forthcoming). For each stratum, the excavated archaeological remains are dwelling structures. The absolute chronology of the Early Bronze Age sequence is based on forty radiocarbon dates (Thalmann et al. forthcoming; Thalmann 2013). It serves as a reference for the new 3rd millennium BC ARCANE periodization of the Syrian-Lebanese coast (Central Levant). 2. A brief overview of laminar technology 2.1 ‘Canaanean’ blades, definitions and problems In 2006, ‘Canaanean’ blades were first attested in Tell Arqa by E. Coqueugniot (Coqueugniot 2006: 200) in a preliminary study of the lithic collection. As we know, the ‘Canaanean’ blades were discovered by R. Neuville (Neuville 1930) in the 1930s and are still perceived today as long blades with parallel ridges to the edges, trapezoidal sections and punctiform butts. This definition seems to be problematic because of the absence of distinction between all the long blades from the Bronze Age considered as ‘Canaanean’. In the 1990s, J. Pelegrin (Anderson and Inizian 1994; Chabot 1998) defined the ‘Canaanean’ debitage as using the lever pressure technique, which led to another problem: no other debitage system is considered and the lever is systematically associated with macro-blades. On the site, we recognize several types of blade productions: different local products and one imported production. 2.2 Local laminar products Local laminar products are spread from the Early to the Late Bronze Age. In the Tell Arqa case, local macro-blades have been recognized in Level 17, on several criteria. The raw material is similar to the other products, especially wastes, implying a debitage on the site. The following stigmas have been identified: the unipolarity, a length hardly exceeding 15cm for a width of 2–3cm, plain butts with thick bulbs, trapezoidal sections, rippled ridges and negative of removals. The debitage technique proposed is the direct percussion . 2.3 Imported blade production ‘Imported’ blades are associated with the end of the 4th millennium BC and the beginning of the Bronze Age. In Tell Arqa, the blades were mainly found in Levels 16 and 15, corresponding to the Early Bronze IV period. The imported blades from Tell Arqa are more recent than the other blades found across the Levant. The technical © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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stigmas are the following ones: unipolar debitage, an exogenous raw material of high quality and diversity that does not correspond to the local one, no wastes from the knapping were found, and we only have fragments of blades and some cases of entire blades. The following technical stigmas were identified: an impressive length (> 25cm, maybe more) and width (> 4cm), punctiform or dihedral butts with thin bulbs, extremely straight ridges parallel to the edges, trapezoidal sections. The proposed debitage technique is the pressure with lever. 3. Typo-chronology of the flint artefacts We note the presence of usual tools such as scrapers, end-scrapers, drills, borers, and axes through all the levels . Strata 20 and 19 are characterized by fragments of fan-scrapers typically associated with the end of the Chalcolithic period and the beginning of the Early Bronze Age, but contrary to the other cases known, they are not found with ‘imported’ blades. Strata 18 and 17 are defined by denticulates blades and projectile points. The denticulates blades with large direct retouches (looking like teeth) are generally associated with more ancient periods like in the southern Levant (Rosen 1997). However, we insist on the fact that this type of tool is found during the Bronze Age period at sites such as Byblos (Jbeil, Lebanon, Cauvin 1968), Mengez (Akkar Plain, Lebanon, Ibañez et al. 2010) or Abu Salabikh (Iraq, Crowfoot Payne 1980) and Larsa (Iraq, Coqueugniot 2003). In the case of the projectiles, some of them look like Amuq points, but J. Cauvin also notes this type in the Eneolithic period of Byblos. The retouches are direct and/ or inverse, very invasive and highly covering; several are tanged. The projectiles are found mainly in levels where we also have archaeozoological evidence for a high proportion of hunting (c. 20% of the fauna in Strata 18 and 17, Chahoud 2013). Tell Arqa is not the only site where projectiles have been found, and they are also known from the following sites: Byblos (Jbeil, Lebanon, Cauvin 1968), Tell Fadous-Kfarabida (Lebanon, Genz 2013), Tell Bazi (Syria, personal communication from B. Einwag, C. Fink and A. Otto), Norsun Tepe (Turkey, Schmidt 1996), and Arslan Tepe (Turkey, Frangipane et al. 1993; Frangipane 2010). Strata 16 and 15 contain the majority of the ‘imported’ blades, even if the local blades are still found in lesser quantities, contrary to the previous and following levels. The retouches are direct or inverse with simple truncation, bitruncation or fractures in the distal and proximal extremities. Often fragmentary, we also have a few entire cases. 4. Use-wear analysis The use-wear analyses for the 3rd millennium BC are generally focused on agricultural tasks because of the glossed blades, especially, ‘imported’ blades and their use © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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as tribulum pieces. The first use-wear analysis was conducted by E. Coqueugniot; the results have been published in 2006 (Coqueugniot 2006: 200). The samples demonstrated that the glossy blades were used as sickles. A second set of analysis was done by us, under the supervision of J.-J. Ibañez (Consejo Superior de Investigationes Cientificas, Institute Mila y Fontanals of Barcelona), in 2013 and 2015. Our purpose was to confirm the analysis made by E. Coqueugniot, but also to confirm the presence or not of tribulum elements. All the tools undergo consecutively the three conventional stages as part of usewear analysis: - The naked eyes observations. - Macroscopic observations with binocular. - Microscopic observations with metallographic microscope. 4.1 Plant working 4.1.1 Tell Arqa macro-blades: what type of agricultural tasks? Sickle, tribulum or both? Already visible with naked eyes, during the microscope analysis the very shiny gloss revealed the characteristics of plant working, more precisely, cereals harvesting, but also a longitudinal action of cutting. These macro-blades were used as sickles. The microscope analysis on imported blades shows exactly the same type of gloss and longitudinal action of cutting. Our conclusion was that both macro-blades, local or imported, were used as sickle elements. No macro-blades in Tell Arqa were employed as tribulum elements. 4.1.2 What about the denticulates? The denticulates also show a very brilliant gloss noticeable with naked eyes. Our microscopic observations permit us to certify that the denticulates were used as sickle elements. The longitudinal action of cutting cereals has been recognized. 4.1.3 The sickles’ hafting: the beginning of a reflection Due to the highly glossed surface, the limits of the sickles’ hafting are often visible. The sickle elements seem to be mainly inserted into a curved handle in axial position or, in very few cases, at a right handle also in axial position. In general, the hafting in the Near East is made with bitumen. In Lebanon, bitumen is not found naturally. The analysis with binocular microscope allows us to find another type of glue: organic residues have been found on several blades, especially well preserved on the cortical products because of the roughness of the surface . In the ventral and dorsal centre parts of the sickles, we identified use-wears produced by the handle: a flat polish accompanied by thin striations. We do not know yet what type of material was used for the hafting. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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4.1.4 Another type of work on plants A very shiny gloss appears on the ventral part of a cortical flake fragment. The gloss is the typical one from working with plants, but contrary to the previous examples the action is transversal indicating a scraping activity. This type of plant scraping work is known from the Neolithic period, especially at the site of Mureybet (Ibañez et al. 2008) in Syria where a similar type of gloss was found on a blade. The enigmatic character of this gloss was solved by ethnological studies. In Jebala, in northwestern Morocco, the Rif Region or in the Cameroon (Ngo-Samnick 2012: 18), scraping plants is still one of the technical stages used for preparing the plants during basketry activities. This basketry technique was transmitted through the centuries from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age, but also to the modern area. 4.2 Other types of activities Beyond the fact that our research was focused on discovering what type of plant work was carried out at Tell Arqa, our second goal was to learn more about the daily life activities, because we have no existing data about the non-glossed tools. Therefore, we made a random choice of non-glossy blades and flakes from the lithic tool collection. Unfortunately, the flakes, scrapers and end-scrapers selected for use-wear analysis did not give us the expected results of scraping activities. On the other hand, non-glossy blades offer us a new insight into Bronze Age life. 4.2.1 Animal material working Our first example is a cortical blade. The polished area was not so easy to observe because of background noise resulting from the friction with the soil on the whole surface. Despite this, both sides show a short and not very shiny polished area on the edges with bright spots. This type of polish is characteristic for working on bones. The polish is more developed on the left side of the blade indicating a longer operating life . Thin striations parallel to the edges indicate a longitudinal action of cutting . The cortical blade was employed for cutting bone material. Our second example is a blade without distal extremity. The polished area is located in the immediate vicinity of both edges. It is not very developed and duller than the previous one, but also shows very small and shiny spots. The polish is less developed on the left side demonstrating a short operating life. Thin striations are parallel to the edges, pointing out a longitudinal action of cutting. This type of polish is the result of a double contact: a mix between meat polish and bone polish. This blade was used for a butchery activity. 4.3 Cases of multiple activities From a technological point of view, resharpening and reuse are common on Tell Arqa lithic artefacts; a lot of blades indicate multiple ranks of retouches in the re© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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sharpening case or subsequent retouche2s were made to change the aspect of the tool to recreate a new one in the case of reuse. Somewhat surprisingly, cases of multiple activities appear in the use-wear analysis. 4.3.1 The arrowhead that was not only a projectile point This mesial fragment of a blade has been chosen because we observed a gloss on the right edge and also because it presents the typical morphology of an arrowhead. We thought immediately about a projectile point reused as a sickle element, but the activities carried out with this blade proved to be more complex and we could establish the timeline of the different activities. The first activity is situated in the left side from distal extremity to approximately the mesial part of the blade: the polish is a longitudinal vegetal one combined with scales indicating a harder material. Initially, the blade was used for wood cutting. The second activity is visible in the dorsal and ventral centre part of the blade: it resulted in a flat polish combined with striations and in some areas positioned over the vegetal gloss. This time the striations are the deepest, but more importantly, perpendicular to the retouched edges. We are facing the remains of the hafting of an arrowhead. After wood cutting, the blade clearly served as a projectile point. The third activity has taken place on the right edge over the arrowhead retouches: it is a typical vegetal gloss with a longitudinal cutting action. Finally, the blade was used as a sickle element. 4.3.2 A drill on a macro-blade … too simple to be true This macro-blade was retouched in the proximal end to obtain a drill. We chose the tool expecting to find perforation of some material and it is indeed what we found in the proximal part: a flat polished surface in the form of plates with scales and transversal striations indicating a perforation of a hard mineral material. After that, the other areas of the piece were investigated and three other types of activities were found. On the left edge of the blade, a little developed polish with an oily aspect, especially present on the ridges with very thin longitudinal striations, shows a cutting of dry skin. On the right edge, the polished surface was very different: a compact and rounded shape polish with deeper longitudinal striations very close to the edge. This edge was used for cutting a soft abrasive mineral material. The distal part of the piece was also employed: a flat polished surface with deep transversal striation witnessing a scraping of a mineral material for a stone engraving activity. 5. Conclusions The Tell Arqa lithic industry is one of the rare stratified lithic collections in the coastal Levant and the first one in Lebanon telling us what types of activities occurred during the Bronze Age. Concerning working with plants, the macro-blades and denticulates seem to have been used only for harvesting cereals as sickle elements, cor© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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responding with the important agricultural production in the Akkar Plain. The hafting visible by different types of use-wears and even organic residues are something common, but still poorly studied in the case of the sickles; more responses about the hafting technique will only be provided in the future by experimentations. Our purpose was to have a complete overview of daily life activities by analysing nonglossy tools to dispense with the preconceived ideas of Near Eastern Bronze Age people being only farmers and that a non-glossed artefact is not a used one. We show that lithic tools are always used for simple, multiple or mixed tasks such as butchery, wood working, hide working, stone working, basketry, etc., demonstrating that the appearance of metal did not reduce the importance and the status of the stone tools during the Bronze Age period. Bibliography Anderson, P. and Inizian, M.-L. 1994 Utilisation du tribulum au début du IIIe millénaire: des lames “cananéennes” lustrées à Kutan (Ninive 5) dans la région de Mossoul (Iraq). Paléorient 20/2, 83–103. Cauvin, J. 1968 Fouilles de Byblos, tome IV. Les outillages néolithiques de Byblos et du littoral libanais . Paris . Chabot, J. 1998 Etude des artefacts en pierre taillé découverts à Tell ‘Atij et Tell Gudeda en Mésopotamie Septentrionale (Syrie du Nord-Est, Age du Bronze Ancien: 3000–2500 av. J.-C.). PhD thesis, Université de Laval, Québec, Canada. Chahoud, J. 2013 Diversité faunique, économie alimentaire et pratiques socio-culturelles au Levant à l’Âge du Bronze: Une approche archéozoologique. PhD thesis, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Lyon. Coqueugniot, E. 2003 Les outils de pierre taillée de Larsa 1989 (IIIe et IIe millénaire av. J.-C.). In: J.-L. Huot (ed.), Larsa. Travaux de 1987 et 1989. Bibliothèque Archéologique et Historique 165. Beirut, 385– 412. 2006

Les outillages en pierre taillée et la question des lames “cananéennes”: étude préliminaire. In: J.-P. Thalmann (ed.), Tell Arqa I. Les niveaux de l’âge du Bronze. Bibliothèque Archéologique et Historique 177. Beirut, 195–202.

Crowfoot Payne, J. 1980 An Early Dynastic III Flint Industry from Abu Salabikh. Iraq 42/2, 105–119. Frangipane, M. (ed.) 2010 Economic Centralization in Formative States. The Archaeological Reconstruction of the Economic System in 4th Millennium Arslantepe. Studi di Preistoria Orientale 3. Rome. Frangipane, M., Hauptmann, H., Liverani, M., Matthiae, P. and Mellink M. (eds.) 1993 Between the River and Over the Mountains: Archaeologica Anatolica et Mesopotamica Alba Palmieri Dedicata. Rome. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Genz, H. 2013 The Introduction of the Light, Horse-Drawn Chariot and the Role of Archery in the Near East at the Transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age: Is There a Connection? In: A. J. Veldmeijer and S. Ikram (eds.), Chasing Chariots, Proceedings of the First International Chariot Conference, Cairo 2012. Leiden, 95–106. Ibañez, J.-J., Gonzalez Urquijo, J. E. and Rodriguez, A. 2008 Analyse fonctionnelle de l’outillage lithique de Mureybet. In: J.-J. Ibañez (ed.), Le site néolithique de Tell Mureybet (Syrie du Nord). En hommage à Jacques Cauvin. British Archaeological Reports International Series 1843. Oxford. Ibáñez, J.-J., Haïdar-Boustani, M., Al-Maqdissi, M., Armendáriz, A., Urquijo, J. G. and Teira, L. 2010 Découverte de nécropoles mégalithiques à l’ouest de Homs. In: M. Al-Maqdissi, F. Braemer and J.-M. Denzer (eds.), Hauran V. La Syrie du Sud du Néolithique à l’Antiquité tardive, Recherches récentes, Actes du Colloque de Damas 2007. Bibliothèque Archéologique et Historique 191. Beirut, 359–366. Lebeau, M. 2011 Associated Regional Chronologies for the Ancient Near East and the Eastern Mediterranean: Jezirah. Associated Regional Chronologies for the Ancient Near East 1. Turnhout. Neuville, R. 1930 Notes de préhistoire palestinienne III, Les industries lithiques de l’âge du Bronze. Journal of the Prehistoric Society 10, 199–216. Ngo-Samnick, E. L. 2012 Production et transformation du rotin, Collection Pro-Agro français (Ingénieurs sans frontières Cameroun, centre technique de coopération agricole et rurale). Wageningen. Rosen, S. 1997 Lithics after the Stone Age. A Handbook of Stone Tools from the Levant. Walnut Creek. Schmidt, K. 1996 Norsuntepe. Kleinfunde I. Die Lithische Industrie. Archaeologica Euphratica 1. Mainz. Thalmann, J.-P. 2006a Tell Arqa I. Les niveaux de l’âge du Bronze. Bibliothèque Archéologique et Historique 177. Beirut. 2009

The Early Bronze Age: Foreign Relations in the Light of Recent Excavations at Tell Arqa. In: A. M. Afeiche (ed.), Interconnections in the Eastern Mediterranean – Lebanon in the Bronze and Iron Ages. Proceedings of the International Symposium, Beirut 2008. Bulletin d’Archéologie et d’Architecture Libanaises Supplément 6. Beirut, 15–38.

2010

Tell Arqa: A Prosperous City during the Bronze Age. Near Eastern Archaeology 73/2, 2–17.

2013

Le lion, la chèvre et le poisson. A propos d’une jarre à empreintes de sceaux-cylindres de Tell Arqa (Liban). Syria 90, 255–312.

forthcoming Rapport sur les campagnes de 2008 à 2012 à Tell Arqa. Bulletin d’Archéologie et d’Architecture Libanaises . Thalmann, J. P., Weninger, F. and Wild, E. forthcoming A Third and Early Second Millennium Radiocarbon Sequence from Tell Arqa, Lebanon. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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‘Behind all those Stones’: Activity and Society in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of the Eastern Fertile Crescent Roger Matthews 1 – Amy Richardson 2 – Osamu Maeda 3 “Don’t forget that behind all those stones, there are human beings with their lives!” (Cauvin 2013: 20) Abstract Tools made of chipped stone (mainly cherts, flints and obsidians) are one of the commonest items of material culture recovered from early prehistoric sites. Much study has been devoted to their classification, typology and technology of manufacture, but what might stone tools tell us about the peoples who made and used them? In this short study we use the rich lithic evidence from Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) sites of the eastern Fertile Crescent (western Iran and eastern Iraq) to address some large-scale issues of Neolithic human activities and societies .

1. Key issues Recent studies of lithics from Middle Eastern and European prehistory have stressed their significance in approaching activities of past communities and the potential for studying the object biographies of individual tools, in particular where rich contextual information is available. Work by scholars such as van Gijn (2010) has situated the study of lithics within social and cultural frameworks of explanation, accepting that lithics form only one component of material culture assemblages dominated by implements made of perishable materials rarely found in the archaeological record . In this article we examine the production, use and discard of chipped stone tools in the PPN of the eastern Fertile Crescent, drawing on material recently excavated at sites of western Iran and eastern Iraq. We aim to show that study of lithic assemblages can inform on craft and activity practices, on local and inter-regional networks of engagement and on issues of seasonality and sedentarisation in the Early Neolithic . 2. Introduction to the region and sites Within the remit of the Central Zagros Archaeological Project, since 2008 we have been investigating early stages in the transition from hunter-forager to farmer-herder

1 2 3

University of Reading. University of Oxford. University of Tsukuba. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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in the Zagros Mountains and foothills of western Iran and eastern Iraq. In collaboration with Bu Ali Sina University, Hamedan, we conducted excavations at the site of Sheikh-e Abad in the high Zagros of western Iran (Matthews et al. 2013). Since 2012 we have conducted six seasons of excavations at Bestansur and two short seasons at Shimshara, in collaboration with Sulaimaniyah Directorate of Antiquities (Matthews et al. 2016). The three sites cover most of the PPN period. Sheikh-e Abad has levels ranging from 9800 to 7600 BC, while Bestansur dates to c. 7600 BC and Shimshara to c. 7200 BC. Taken together, the three sites form a transect through the Zagros (Fig. 1), from its highest habitable plains in western Iran to the lower foothills of eastern Iraq, thus enabling comparative analysis of a broad range of environmental zones and the human-plant-animal interactions within and between them . Sheikh-e Abad is situated at 1430m above sea level on a fertile plain with good access to nearby mountains, in particular for hunting wild goat and sheep (Fig. 2). The site was occupied for more than 2300 years, with abandonment sometime after 7600 BC. A notable feature of the later PPN occupation is a special building with an in situ deposit of wild goat and sheep skulls (Matthews et al. 2013). Bestansur lies at the north-west edge of the Shahrizor Plain in the Zagros foothills, at 550m above sea level, in a region of fertile soils, ample fresh water and good grazing and hunting lands (Fig. 2). There is an extensive PPN occupation over at least one hectare, partly underlying a medium-sized mound of Iron Age date . In excavations at Bestansur we have excavated 14 trenches, with intact Early Neolithic occupation in almost all of them, including external working areas and substantial architecture . Most notably, in Trench 10 on the east of the mound, we have uncovered a large plastered pisé and mud-brick building with multiple rooms . The largest room measures 8 by 4m and under its clean floors we have recovered the disarticulated remains of at least 55 human individuals, mainly as skulls and small children, accompanied by clusters of beads . Many more individuals remain to be excavated from the subfloor deposits of this building, dated to 7600 BC. Shimshara lies on the Rania Plain to the north, at 490m above sea level, and here we have briefly investigated Early Neolithic levels at the base of the mound, which are steadily disappearing due to water erosion caused by the rise and fall of the dam waters and the flow of the Lesser Zab (Fig. 2). Shimshara PPN levels are rich in objects of material culture, including obsidian, and show a distinctive economy, with more reliance on wild pig than on domestic goat and wild sheep as at Bestansur, and wild goat as at Sheikh-e Abad . 3. Overview of chipped stone assemblages from Sheikh-e Abad, Bestansur and Shimshara The chipped stone assemblages from all three sites can be characterised as M’lefaatian, in Kozlowski’s (1999) terminology, with an emphasis on pressure-flaked blades and production of a repertoire of tool types on locally available cherts with varying usage © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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of imported obsidians . Major excavated sites of the M’lefaatian lithic tradition occur across the central Zagros region of western Iran and eastern Iraq, including Jarmo, Shimshara, Asiab, Sarab, Ganj Dareh, Abdul Hosein and Tepe Guran. The wide geographical and chronological spread of the M’lefaatian lithic tradition underlines its success in providing a chipped stone tool-kit satisfying a range of practical requirements during the transition from hunter-forager to farmer-herder life-styles . Sheikh-e Abad lithics are entirely based on locally available cherts with no use of obsidian nor evidence for significant movement of exotic cherts. Absence or extreme rarity of imported obsidians is a feature of all PPN sites of the high Zagros, including Ganj Dareh, East Chia Sabz, Chogha Golan and Abdul Hosein, suggesting that Early Neolithic communities of the region were barely engaging in networks of material movement reaching north-westwards into Anatolia, at least until after c . 7500 BC. The Sheikh-e Abad assemblage (Vahdati Nasab et al. 2013) is dominated by pressure-flaked blades and bladelets, with notched and serrated blades, including occasional sickle blades (Maeda et al. 2016), as well as points and scrapers. There are no true microliths . The Bestansur lithic assemblage (Matthews et al. forthcoming) so far comprises 23kg of material, divided between cherts and obsidian at 74:26 by quantity or 89:11 by weight. In total from Bestansur we have more than 4000 retouched tools, 3500 unretouched blades, 230 cores of chert and obsidian, and c. 12,000 fragments of debitage, much of it recovered from flotation heavy residue. There is considerable evidence for on-site chert and obsidian knapping in the form of cores and discrete deposits of knapping waste, in one case comprising 850 pieces of chert debitage in a small pit . As at Sheikh-e Abad, pressure-flaking is universal at Bestansur, and the industry is based on blades and bladelets, including many notched and serrated examples . Blades with sickle sheen are represented but not common . There are many drills, awls and points as well as scrapers . Geometric microliths such as lunates and trapezes occur in very small quantities. Çayönü tools are found in considerable numbers, as discussed below. Portable x-ray fluorescence (p-XRF) analysis shows that almost all the Bestansur obsidian comes from the Nemrut Dağ east Anatolian source, with only a few clear pieces probably coming from Suphan Dağ to the north of Lake Van. The Shimshara assemblage shows a much greater use of obsidian than Bestansur, with the relative representations of chert and obsidian at 20:80 by quantity or 38:62 by weight, the obsidian again coming from Nemrut Dağ. From Shimshara we have recorded 370 retouched tools, 670 unretouched blades, only 7 cores of chert and obsidian, and a total of 400 fragments of debitage. At Shimshara tools are generally larger than the Bestansur examples but the assemblage is broadly similar, dominated by pressure-flaked blades and blade-based tools. Çayönü tools also occur in some numbers. In summary, the technological structure of the Sheikh-e Abad, Bestansur and Shimshara assemblages is similar, regarding the relative proportions of cores, debitage, retouched blades, and retouched tools, as well as being comparable to multiple PPN sites of the broad region (Fig. 3). Kozlowski (1999: 65) interprets this structure © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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as indicative of in situ lithic production over extended periods of time in settled locales largely using local raw materials . Within this model, almost the complete chaîne opératoire is carried out in one place, the ‘home’ site, with acquisition of local raw materials and full processing on site. ‘Home’ lithic assemblages are characterised by high proportions of debitage, high proportions of retouched blades, moderate proportions of retouched tools, and small proportions of cores . The chronological implications of the lithic assemblages of Bestansur and Shimshara are summarised in Table 1, clearly supporting a mid-late 8th millennium BC dating for these sites . 4. Activities involving chipped stone tools In what types of activity can we interpret the chipped stone tools from these three sites as being involved? Direct evidence for the working lives of the stone tools takes the form of impacts on working edges, striations on planar surfaces, patches of silica sheen on blade edges and surfaces, and traces of fixative on blade planes for adhesion to hafts . Rather than attempt to cover all the evidence, we focus here on two case-study tool types: diagonal-ended bladelets and so-called Çayönü tools. 4.1 Case-study 1: diagonal-ended bladelets Conspicuously lacking in the Sheikh-e Abad, Bestansur and Shimshara assemblages are clear instances of projectile points, such as the Byblos, Nemrik and El-Khiam points which typify assemblages in Early Neolithic sites to the north-west and west across the Mesopotamian steppe and beyond (Kozlowski and Aurenche 2005). Projectile points, generally speaking, are restricted to the steppe lands and do not feature in the upland assemblages of the Zagros chain . Potentially the most significant tool from Bestansur and Shimshara in this regard is the diagonal-ended blade or bladelet (Fig. 4). These fine tools were made by pressure flaking of a blade from a bladelet core, followed by oblique truncation of the proximal end of the blade and subsequent retouch along the diagonal fracture in order to strengthen the resulting edge, usually giving a mildly concave shape to the diagonal end and culminating in a sharp tip . By far the commonest context type for diagonal-ended bladelets is external occupation deposits, in particular in Trenches 7 and 10 at Bestansur. A probable explanation is that they arrived at the site as arrow barbs or tips embedded in the carcasses of hunted game and were discarded on-site in the process of butchery of animals . The majority of diagonal-ended bladelets have broken tips or edges, likely to have occurred during impact . In the Bestansur examples, the vast majority have the tip of the proximal truncation on the left-hand side when viewed with the truncation at the top and the dorsal face uppermost (Fig. 4, left). By contrast, most of the Shimshara examples have the tip on the right-hand side (Fig. 4, right upper © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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row), a distinction which may relate to handedness of the knapper(s) or to localised traditions in knapping technology . 4.2 Case-study 2: Çayönü tools Çayönü tools are one of the most diagnostic tool types found at Bestansur and Shimshara. At Bestansur we found a total of 98 fragments of Çayönü tools, occurring in almost every trench, while from Shimshara we recovered 29 Çayönü tool fragments (Fig. 5). Çayönü tools have a characteristic morphology, with thick blades showing dense retouch on one or both edges . In cross-section they are angular and rhomboid or tunnel-shaped . In many cases the distinctive retouch along the edges of Çayönü tools took place after their initial use, as a means of re-establishing the tool edge to enable further use. On their flat dorsal or ventral faces, they always show use-wear traces in the form of radial or parallel lines etched into the obsidian, interpreted by Redman (1982) and Anderson (1994) as evidence for their use in shaping and polishing of stone objects such as marble bracelets and limestone plaques or bowls. Anderson’s EDAX (Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy) analyses of mineral residues trapped within the striations on Çayönü tools show elevated levels of sulphur and calcium, congruent with polishing of limestone or alabaster . In agreement with these results, our p-XRF analysis identified sulphur levels above 300–400 parts per million (ppm) on sampled Çayönü tools. Apart from size and shape, there are striking and consistent elements of difference in the manufacture and retouch of Çayönü tools from Bestansur as against those from Shimshara (Fig. 5). At Bestansur, the retouch of the tool edges is always inverse, on the ventral face, while at Shimshara the retouch is always direct, on the dorsal face. Furthermore, the heavily ground surface of the tool, usually with multiple fine striations, is almost always on the dorsal face at Bestansur but on the ventral face at Shimshara. These technological distinctions fit with an observation made by Fujii (1988: 1) that Çayönü tools in the Zagros region tend to have inverse retouch while Çayönü tools in Anatolia favour direct retouch, which suggests that Shimshara for this purpose lay within the Anatolian rather than the Zagros sphere . Given that the obsidian for Çayönü tool manufacture at both Shimshara and Bestansur was coming from the same source, at Nemrut Dağ in east Anatolia, we envisage that the observed variation in technological practice stems from differing local traditions in tool manufacture that may attest technical ‘schools’ of production at the regional scale . This inference has exciting implications for issues such as craft traditions, training and skills sharing in lithic technology across the PPNB world . There are some notable aspects of the find-spots of Çayönü tools at Bestansur and Shimshara (Table 2). At Bestansur more than 50% of the Çayönü tools come from topsoil, 38% from post-Neolithic or disturbed contexts, and only 12% from secure in situ Neolithic deposits . This distribution strongly argues for a chronological aspect, © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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whereby Çayönü tools represent a now-eroded level of Neolithic occupation which immediately post-dates the main levels of Neolithic settlement uncovered in our trenches . Rokitta’s (2006) study shows that the geographical distribution of Çayönü tools correlates well with that of obsidian from south-east Anatolian, rather than Cappadocian sources, suggesting that Çayönü tools were being transported across the Taurus-Zagros zone, probably as shaped artefacts (but without retouch) along riverine routes. She also found a strong correlation between the occurrence of Çayönü tools and ground and polished stone artefacts such as bowls, bracelets, rings and grooved stones, strengthening the argument that Çayönü tools were used in their production . The widespread occurrence of Çayönü tools and alabaster bracelets across much of the late PPN world indicates shared practices of adornment and statusmarking, signifying trans-regional connectivity and shared socio-cultural values . The manufacture of alabaster status items would have demanded many hours of expert engagement and hard work in order to produce a single flanged bracelet, for example, as found in small numbers at Bestansur. The fact that Çayönü tools and polished stone artefacts occur together across the Neolithic world, even at desert hunting outposts such as Umm Dabaghiyah (Mortensen 1983), suggests that each community had the capability both to access the necessary raw materials – fine alabaster and obsidian – and to work them into the required shape. This distribution pattern does not support the notion of specialist craft workers operating from regional centres, but rather a dispersed model of self-sufficiency and connectivity for each community, however modest in size and remote in location . 5. Activities and society: lithic implications Does the chipped stone evidence assist in identifying areas of the settlement at Bestansur where specific activities were conducted, which might be locales of craft specialisation? Firstly, external areas have much higher quantities of chipped stone, in particular in the form of cores and debitage (Fig. 6, left). The activity of chipped stone tool production was undertaken in outdoor surroundings, not surprising given that knapping would have been a dangerous activity generating sharp waste materials . Secondly, there are more tools, and greater ranges of tool types, from external than internal contexts (Fig. 6, right), which also suggests that most craft activities involving chipped stone tools took place outside . It is likely that many of the tools found in external areas were disposed of after breakage during use . Further support for this social interpretation comes from contextual analysis of find-spots of chipped stone tools and other artefacts. At Bestansur we have evidence for multiple activities in external areas, many of which involved chipped stone tools. In Trenches 7 and 10 we have excavated stratified sequences of working surfaces littered with individual artefacts, including chert and obsidian tools, © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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fragments of animal bone, clusters of small stones (many burnt), blobs of red ochre, and piles of discarded land snail shells . The clustered nature of these objects, in loose semi-circles, suggests that they attest meeting places for groups of people who spent time working at handicrafts while preparing, cooking and eating snacks of land snail . The lithic tools found on these surfaces are generally broken, which is why they were abandoned along with the rest of the detritus in these external areas . Shouldered drills would have been used for heavy-duty perforating, for example of hide, while the blades may have been used to prise cooked snails from their shells . Chert sickle blades were discarded during repair of sickles. Heat from the hot stones may have been used to soften a portion of bitumen to use in re-tooling such sickles . We can thus envisage groups of people squatting in these external areas while carrying out a range of dextrous activities . The lithic tools can be distinguished as both hand-held tools, discarded near the point of use (broken shouldered drills, unretouched blades), and hafted tools discarded during re-tooling of hafts (sickle blades, retouched, serrated and notched blades). These episodes of communal activity are attested in multiple external layers through the depth of Trench 7, and also in the external occupation deposits of Trench 10 at Bestansur where similar clusters of objects were excavated . This pattern of artefacts, including lithics, bone and stones, arranged in a semicircle of clusters with a blank or ashy area in the middle, is remarkably similar to that recorded in contemporary Early Neolithic external contexts at Abdul Hosein in the high Zagros to the southeast (Pullar 1990: fig. 12), and in the lowest levels at Chogha Bonut in Khuzestan, dated to c. 7200 BC (Alizadeh 2003: fig. 15). Regarding seasonality, Keeley (1982: 804) cites ethnographic evidence to suggest that retooling of hafted tools is an activity frequently undertaken during quieter, winter months in preparation for spring and summer food-gathering activities . In that case, the presence of multiple broken sickle-sheen blades at a site might be indicative of seasonal winter occupation rather than at the time of actual use of the hafted tools during, for example, summer harvest . The low proportions of sickle blades from Neolithic sites would not then negate the idea of summer occupation . For Bestansur, in particular, the evidence that multiple tasks and activities involving chipped stone tools were taking place in open external areas, in association with seasonally available foods such as edible land snail, argues at least for a significant late spring and summer presence. More broadly, the evidence for widely dispersed opportunistic knapping and tool use across the site at Bestansur argues for a modular, heterarchical social structure whereby individual social components, whether families, clans or small tribal groups, were self-sufficient in their power to exercise decisions and conduct activities while respecting a communal framework of social codes that bound all the components together in a viable and dynamic community . Studies by Bleed (1986) and Eerkens (1998) have addressed the issue of hunting strategies through the lens of chipped stone tools, discerning a division between © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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‘reliable’ and ‘maintainable’ hunting strategies . The ‘reliable’ strategy involves exploitation of resources with high predictability and short windows of opportunity, as provided by seasonally migrating herds of animals, for example . In these circumstances, the hunter needs a standardised tool-kit so that a weapon can be quickly re-tooled with a chert or obsidian piece that fits quickly into a haft. In the reliable strategy, chipped stone tools will be standardised in shape and size . In the ‘maintainable’ strategy, hunters operate in an environment of less resource predictability where opportunism is favoured . Tool-kits are more versatile and varied, with more multi-purpose tools and less emphasis on the need for standardisation . The Sheikh-e Abad, Bestansur and Shimshara evidence fits the ‘reliable’ strategy more closely than the ‘maintainable’ strategy . The emphasis is on high volume production of standardised bladelets to provide a restricted range of single-purpose tools . Tools such as diagonal-ended bladelets would serve well as identikit components, easily portable and ready to be slotted into hafts of arrows or spears without use of adhesive and with minimum fuss, ideal for intensive episodes of mobile hunting of seasonally migrating animals such as gazelle and onager, for example . Regarding access to raw materials, we can consider the means by which obsidian arrived at distant sites in the central Zagros region and beyond. Kozlowski (2013) specifies the period 7500–7000 BC, or the late PPN, as a critical time for the broadening of horizons across the Fertile Crescent and the establishment of networks of material engagement that persisted for centuries . This period is also when obsidian starts to appear in significant quantities in the high Zagros in Iran. Kozlowski hypothesises that pre-formed artefacts were transported village to village, through a network of specialist intermediaries who might peddle their goods at seasonal festivals . In this model, an individual specialist might carry pre-formed alabaster bowls and bracelets along with pre-formed Çayönü tools and other obsidian blanks, for example, thus providing villagers with both the roughed-out artefacts required for their social signalling and also the tools with which to finish and maintain them. Kozlowski’s scenario of a step-change in network intensity in the late PPN of the Zagros region, and beyond, appears to be matched in the western Fertile Crescent, where agent-based modelling analysis of obsidian representation at multiple sites suggests the development of complex exchange networks including interconnected hubs of late PPN settlements who exercised control over long-distance obsidian movement (Ortega et al. 2016). In this brief study of the chipped stone tools and debitage from Sheikh-e Abad, Bestansur and Shimshara we hope we have succeeded in demonstrating the value of an integrated, contextual approach to the analysis and interpretation of the Early Neolithic chipped stone worlds of three very important sites in the eastern Fertile Crescent .

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Bibliography Alizadeh, A . 2003 Excavations at the Prehistoric Mound of Chogha Bonut, Khuzestan, Iran. Oriental Institute Publications 120. Chicago. Anderson, P . C . 1994 Reflections on the Significance of Two PPN Typological Classes in Light of Experimentation and Microwear Analysis: Flint ‘Sickles’ and Obsidian ‘Çayönü Tools’. In: H. G. Gebel and S. K. Kozlowski (eds.), Neolithic Chipped Stone Industries of the Fertile Crescent. Berlin, 61–82. Bleed, P . 1986 The Optimal Design of Hunting Weapons: Maintainability or Reliability. American Antiquity 51, 737–747. Cauvin, M . C . 2013 Letter to Participants. In: F. Borrell, J. J. Ibáñez and M. Molist (eds.), Stone Tools in Transition: From Hunter-Gatherers to Farming Societies in the Near East. Barcelona, 19–20. Eerkens, J. W. 1998 Reliable and Maintainable Technologies: Artifact Standardization and the Early to Later Mesolithic Transition in Northern England . Lithic Technology 23, 42–53. Fujii, S. 1988 Typological Reassessment and Some Discussions on ‘Beaked Blade’. Bulletin of the Okayama Orient Museum 7, 1–16 [in Japanese]. Keeley, L. H. 1982 Hafting and Retooling: Effects on the Archaeological Record. American Antiquity 47, 798–809. Kozlowski, S . K . 1999 The Eastern Wing of the Fertile Crescent. Late Prehistory of Greater Mesopotamian Lithic Industries. British Archaeological Reports International Series 760. Oxford. 2013

The Jeziran Neolithic ‘Market’. In: Y. Nishiaki, K. Kashima and M. Verhoeven (eds.), Neolithic Archaeology in the Khabur Valley, Upper Mesopotamia and Beyond. Berlin, 218–236.

Kozlowski, S. K. and Aurenche, O. 2005 Territories, Boundaries and Cultures in the Neolithic Near East . British Archaeological Reports International Series 1362. Oxford. Maeda, O., Lucas, L., Silva, F., Tanno, K.-T. and Fuller, D. Q. 2016 Narrowing the Harvest: Increasing Sickle Investment and the Rise of Domesticated Cereal Agriculture in the Fertile Crescent. Quaternary Science Reviews 145, 226–237. Matthews, R., Matthews, W. and Mohammadifar, Y. (eds.) 2013 The Earliest Neolithic of Iran. 2008 Excavations at Sheikh-e Abad and Jani. Oxford. Matthews, R ., Matthews, W ., Raheem, K . R . and Aziz, K . R . 2016 Current Investigations into the Early Neolithic of the Zagros Foothills of Iraqi Kurdistan. In: K. Kopanias and J. MacGinnis (eds.), The Archaeology of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Adjacent Regions, Oxford, 219–228. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Matthews, R., Richardson, A., Maeda, O. and Robinson, Z. forthcoming Early Neolithic Chipped Stone Worlds of Bestansur and Shimshara. In: R. Matthews, W. Matthews, A. Richardson and K. R. Raheem (eds.), Sedentism and Resource Management in the Early Neolithic of the Central Zagros. Oxford. Mortensen, P . 1983 Patterns of Interaction between Seasonal Settlements and Early Villages in Mesopotamia. In: T. C. Young jr., P. E. L. Smith and P. Mortensen (eds.), The Hilly Flanks and Beyond. Essays on the Prehistory of Southwestern Asia. Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilizations 36. Chicago, 207–229. Ortega, D., Ibáñez, J. J., Campos, D., Khalidi, L., Mendez, V. and Teira, L. 2016 Systems of Interaction Between the First Sedentary Villages in the Near East Exposed Using Agent-Based Modelling of Obsidian Exchange. Systems 2016/4, 18. Pullar, J. 1990 Tepe Abdul Hosein: A Neolithic Site in Western Iran Excavations 1978. Oxford. Redman, C. L. 1982 The Çayönü Chipped Stone Industry: The 1968 and 1970 Excavation Seasons. In: L. S. Braidwood and R. J. Braidwood (eds.), Prehistoric Village Archaeology in South-Eastern Turkey: The Eighth Millennium BC Site at Çayönü. Oxford, 17–71. Rokitta, D . 2006 Obsidian Tools of the Near Eastern Neolithic: The Çayönü Tools. Neo-Lithics 1/06, 44. Vahdati Nasab, H., Jayez, M., Qorbani, H. R., Darabi, H. and Taylor, H. 2013 Preliminary Techno-Typological Analysis of Chipped Stone Materials from Sheikh-e Abad. In: R. Matthews, W. Matthews and Y. Mohammadifar (eds.), The Earliest Neolithic of Iran. 2008 Excavations at Sheikh-e Abad and Jani. Oxford, 117–129. van Gijn, A . 2010 Flint in Focus: Lithic Biographies in the Neolithic and Bronze Age. Leiden.

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Absolute dating implication cal. BC (approx.)

Material attribute

Bestansur

Shimshara

Relative dating implication

Çayönü tools

Common

Common

Contemporary with and/or later than Post-7600 BC Çayönü Cell-Building phase Pre-7000 BC Earlier than Pottery Neolithic Pre-7000 BC Earlier than Jarmo upper levels

Geometric microliths

Rare

Very rare

Later than Zarzian Late Upper Palaeolithic Earlier than Jarmo upper levels

Diagonal-ended Common bladelets

Present

Contemporary with Jarmo lower levPost-7600 BC els and Deh Luran Early Neolithic Pre-7000 BC Earlier than Jarmo upper levels

Burins

Very rare

Later than Çayönü early levels

Post-8000 BC

Side-blow bladeAbsent flakes

Absent

Earlier than Jarmo upper levels

Pre-7000 BC

Obsidian/chert proportion (quantity)

80/20

Later than Late PPNA Earlier than Pottery Neolithic

Post-8000 BC Pre-7000 BC

Neolithic pottery Absent

Absent

Earlier than Pottery Neolithic

Pre-7000 BC

Alabaster/marble bracelets with flanged profiles

Absent

Mid-Late PPNB?

Post-8000 BC Pre-7000 BC

Very rare

25/75

Present

Post-11,000 BC Pre-7000 BC

Table 1 Chronological indicators in the lithics and material culture from Bestansur and Shimshara

Occupation, Shell Context type Topsoil Wash/ Late depos- Disturbed midden, mixed it/pit with deposit, with external, external, Neolithic pottery pottery Neolithic

Total Occupation, internal, Neolithic

Bestansur Çayönü tools

51

2

26

7

8

2

2

98

Shimshara Çayönü tools

14

6

–

–

9

–

–

29

Table 2 Find-spots of Çayönü tools from Bestansur and Shimshara

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Fig. 1 Map to show location of sites excavated within the Central Zagros Archaeological Project

Fig. 2 Views of PPN sites of Sheikh-e Abad (top left), Bestansur (bottom) and Shimshara (top right) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 3 Technological structure of Bestansur and Shimshara chipped stone assemblages compared to other Neolithic sites of the Zagros region

Fig. 4 Diagonal-ended bladelets from Bestansur (left) and Shimshara (top right), and reconstruction of possible use . Black dots = obsidian

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Fig. 5 Çayönü tools from Bestansur (left) and Shimshara (right) all obsidian

Fig. 6 Distribution by context type of chipped stone debitage (left) and chipped stone tools (right), of chert and obsidian at Bestansur

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The Cultural Influence of Mesopotamian States in the Upper and Middle Course of the Diyala River during the Mid-2nd Millennium BC Valentina Oselini 1 Abstract The course of the Diyala River reveals many archaeological sites dating back to the 2nd millennium BC, from its lower banks to the upper regions . Nevertheless, a systematic analysis of the development of the settlements and their distribution in the landscape has yet to be realized . The existing surveys and the old excavations just give a general view about the original setting . Historical sources reveal that the territory along the Diyala river during the Late Bronze Age was part of the Kassite kingdom, at least up to the Hamrin basin . Moreover, contemporary to the expansion of the Kassite kingdom during the Late Bronze Age, other political powers dominated: the Mitanni hegemony on the northwest, and the Elamite kingdom on the southeast . The middle Diyala, during the 2nd millennium BC, corresponds to the crossroads and the point of contact for these three different areas, which are linked to three different cultural and political entities . Through the analysis of the pottery assemblage of Tell Yelkhi in the Hamrin, and the comparison of it with the other regions, the aim of this paper is to analyse the pottery belonging to the sites set along the course of the Diyala river to identify the impact of any cultural influences resulting from the development of the Mitannian and Kassite kingdoms .

1. The Diyala River valley settlements during the late 2nd millennium BC The geographical region involved in this study can be considered as a crossroads of three different cultural areas: southern Mesopotamia, northern Mesopotamia and Iran . The Diyala River crosses eastern Iraq from east to west for 445km . Along its banks, many archaeological sites dated to the 2nd millennium BC were identified and excavated . They can be divided into three areas: the sites on the lower, middle and upper course of the Diyala (Fig . 2) . Archaeological evidence dated to the Late Bronze Age in the lower Diyala basin is quite scarce . This area has been surveyed by Adams and excavated by different archaeological missions of the Directorate General of Antiquities of Iraq (Adams 1965) . Some sporadic potsherds and traces of occupation can be found on the upper part of the mounds at Bismaya (Adams 1965: 156), Tell Muhammed (Adams 1965: 50, 152; Roaf and Postgate 1981: 184), Tell Harmal (Adams 1965: 153), Tell Dhiba’i (Mustafa 1949: 173–175) and Tulul Khattab (Adams 1965: 144–145), while a large domestic unit was identified at Tell Uleimiyat (Muhamed 1992: 14). Considering

1

Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichità, Sapienza, University of Rome. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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each published archaeological report, these sites can be classified as ‘Kassite’ on the basis of ceramic markers, such as the solid footed goblets from Type 7 A of Adam’s typology (Adams 1965: 54; fig. 13A). The intensive excavation of the Hamrin Basin within the framework of the Hamrin Dam Project during the late 1970s contributed new data about the middle Diyala region . The sites occupied during the Late Bronze Age were Tell Ahmed al-Mugir and Tell Ajamat, Tell Yelkhi, Tell Kesaran and Tell Imlihiye, Tell Zubeidi and Tell az-Zaiwijeh . Most of these sites are dated to the Kassite period thanks to the analysis of pottery assemblages; at Tell Imlihiye and at Tell Zubeidi Level I, moreover, inscribed tablets with the name of the Kassite kings dating to the 13th and 12th centuries BC have been found (Boehmer and Dämmer 1985: 19) . At Tell Kesaran, a cylinder seal was found and dated by Boehmer to the 13th century BC (Boehmer 1985: fig. 35), thanks to the comparison with the typical crosswise and rosette motifs recurring on Kassite seals and sealings from Nippur (Matthews 1992: 104, fig. 125) (Fig. 3). During the last centuries, two Iraqi archaeological expeditions excavated at Tell Shamlu (al-Janabi 1961) and at Tell Bakr Awa (al-Husaini 1962; Madhloum 1965), finding many items dated to the Late Bronze Age. At Tell Shamlu/Gird-i Shamlu new archaeological investigations are currently underway by S . Muehl (Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich); the University of Heidelberg, supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), is excavating at Bakr Awa as of 2010 . The upper Diyala region is now better known thanks to recent projects of survey and excavation. Among them are the Shahrizor Survey Project of the UCL and the University of Leiden and the Sirwan – Upper Diyala Regional Project, which concentrates on the western boundary of Iraqi Kurdistan along the Diyala River (Bitlis Eren University, University of Glasgow and Dartmouth College). 2. Tell Yelkhi as a case-study: stratigraphic sequence and pottery assemblage Stratigraphic analysis, pottery sequencing, technological analysis, as well as the identification of both local products and foreign traits, all hold potential for defining cultural markers. In the specific case of the Middle Diyala, it is necessary to define the local features of the pottery assemblage to identify if these regions have been part of the Kassite cultural horizon or if they have been more influenced by the other neighbours . Tell Yelkhi, in the Hamrin valley, is presented as a case-study since it has a continuous archaeological sequence covering the entire 2nd millennium BC . Level II and Level I are respectively dated to the Late Bronze Age I and II, and about 1260 potsherds belonging to this phase have been recorded in Area A (Valtz 2002–2003: 265) . Only 1069 sherds have been considered in this study . The selection includes the fragments exclusively belonging to Level II and Level I (a, b, c), excluding un© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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certain and funerary contexts . The typology suggested and published by E . Valtz in 2002–2003 has been re-elaborated, according to the subdivision into functional classes. The potsherds of Level II and Level I have been classified separately, considering the original context and provenance of the two different phases of the life of the settlement . The new types have been compared with the ceramic horizons at the other sites within the Hamrin valley first, with the most diagnostic features of Kassite and Mitannian pottery, taking into consideration also the region immediately east of the Diyala, modern Iran . Finally, observing the ceramic inventory from Tell Shamlu and Bakr Awa, the links between the upper and the middle Diyala region have been highlighted (Figs . 2, 5, 6) . The archaeological excavation at Tell Yelkhi has been undertaken by the Italian Expedition of the Centro Ricerche Archeologiche e Scavi per il Medio Oriente e l’Asia di Torino with the cooperation of the State Organization of Antiquities and Heritage of Iraq from 1977 to 1980 (Bergamini 1984) . At the top of the mound (Area A), a complex dating back to the Kassite period was uncovered in its entirety and labelled Level I . Next, several structures from the previous phase were largely damaged by the massive foundations of the later building and emerged in the central and eastern sectors of it, labelled Level II . Many of the stratigraphic units belonging to Level II yielded a rich pottery assemblage, and two seal impressions were found in Rooms 23 and 1 . According to Boehmer, they have Elamite parallels (Boehmer 1985: figs. 28–31). The Level I building has been interpreted by the excavators as a fortified residential unit. Three occupation phases (Levels Ic, Ib, Ia) have been recognised (Bergamini 2005: 31–33) . The initial analysis of the pottery assemblage allows us to include Level II of Tell Yelkhi in the early Kassite horizon from the end of the 16th to the end of the 15th century BC, while the first construction of the building (Levels Ic–b) dates as far back as the beginning of the 14th century BC . The last occupation (Level Ia) can be dated back to the end of the 13th or beginning of the 12th century BC (Valtz 2002–2003: 275–276) . The contemporary village linked to this fortified residential unit has been found at Tell Kesaran; here, a residential area (Level IV) and a production area in the northern part of the Tell (Level III) were identified (Valtz 1984: 297–300) (Fig. 4). The analysis of the ceramic inventory of Tell Yelkhi has been conducted on the basis of E. Valtz’s catalogue and on the first-hand analysis of some samples stored at the Centro Scavi of Turin, thanks to the kind permission of this institution . The pottery classification has been elaborated and it consists of two parameters: the ware production and the functional classes . The ware production represents one of the main criteria of subdivision into common ware and special ware, by considering the technological aspects of fabric and manufacturing technique . Common ware represents the most recurring ware production, whereas special ware includes fine ware and grey ware, representing 11% of the total of Level II and 27% of the total of Level I (Oselini 2016). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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The functional classes are defined by the broadly-estimated destination of the vessel . Included in the common ware production are table ware (bowls, beakers, goblets, bottles), food preparation and mixing ware (vats); short and long term preservation ware (jars, lids and pithoi); cooking ware (hole mouth jars and cooking pots) and special function ware (such as stands, lamps and miniature vessels) . The special ware consists entirely of table ware (beakers, goblets, carinated bowls with ring bases and high ring bases, and small ovoid jars) and sharing with common ware some functional and morphological types . Generally, the colour of the fabric is light brown or buff . Fine and common ware is usually chaff tempered, the medium and large containers are chaff and mineral tempered, while the cooking ware is almost wholly mineral tempered . The high presence of fine ware is typical of the pottery assemblage of Tell Yelkhi in Level I, contemporary to the building of the new residential unit in Area A . The fabric is fine-grained or medium fine-grained clay, chaff tempered, with rare traces of sand . The colour of the clay is light pink, pinkish-grey or very light brown . The external surface is often slipped with a whitish slip . 3. Ceramic comparisons among Tell Yelkhi, the Hamrin area and the Kassite core area The Hamrin basin seems to have been culturally and politically dominated by the Kassites, but is it possible to identify a local, independent tradition in making and using pottery? Can we talk about a middle Diyala pottery region? From the comparisons among Tell Yelkhi and the other sites nearby, it is possible to identify a common tradition . The most evident parallels are present in the table ware, food preparation and mixing ware, short and long term preservation ware and cooking ware . Tell Yelkhi Level II finds several parallels with Tell Zubeidi Level 2, dated to the 14th–13th centuries BC and with Tell Ahmed al Mugir (Armstrong 1981) . The Tell Yelkhi Level I assemblage is similar to that from Tell Zubeidi Level I, dated from inscriptions of the Kassite kings to the 13th–12th centuries BC, from Tell Imlihiye and from the other contexts also dated to the same period (Boehmer and Dämmer 1985) . The influence of the Kassite cultural tradition at Tell Yelkhi is evident in the comparison with the diagnostic pottery produced in the Kassite core area . In fact, we can observe the same shapes and the same types of fabric among both assemblages . Carinated bowls with an s-shaped rim, deep bowls with incurved walls and thickened rims, high-footed goblets, goblets with bell-shaped bases, necked ovoid and biconical jars are all found in Nippur, Area WC, Levels III and II . The same shapes are found at Tell Yelkhi levels II and I . In particular, one of the types of goblets, typical of Level I at Tell Yelkhi, corresponds to a recurring shape within the Kassite tradition . It has a high foot, short globular body and high flaring neck, with a simple rim. This shape is also known from Tell ed-Der (Armstrong and Gasche 2014: type 210; Minsaer 1991) . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Technological studies on the Mesopotamian pottery dating to the 2nd millennium BC reveal that there was a sort of homogeneity of the type of fabric and manufacture among the specimens from Tell ed-Der, Nippur, Sippar and Isin, with an increase of use of ‘filled in’ bases applied to the wheel-thrown goblets during the Late Bronze Age (Armstrong and Gasche 2014: 99) . The ware production is mostly common and standardized, the fabric is usually light brown or buff, chaff tempered with the presence of sand (Van As and Jacobs 2014: 93; Armstrong 1993: 68) . The Temple of Enlil (Level III) and area TA at Nippur (Levels VIII, VII, VI); Tell ed-Der, Aqar Quf and Ur all represent other possible parallels with the Middle Diyala pottery inventory of the Kassite period (Zettler 1993; Armstrong and Gasche 2014; Woolley 1965) . 4. The external influences on the pottery of Tell Yelkhi: Mitanni, Elam and Upper Diyala Despite the uniformity of the production, it is possible to identify some non-local features . The high-footed carinated bowls do not seem to be typical of the southern assemblage . The high foot and the ring base are more typical in the Mitannian area, and they are found both at Nuzi and in the Khabur region (Pfälzner 1995; Oates et al. 1997: 74–75; Starr 1939: 401–404 .) . Some examples of high-footed carinated bowls are also known from the Elamite area, i .e . at Choga Zanbil (de Mecquenem and Michalon 1953: 42–43, pl . 15 .10, 15) . This shape is known at Nuzi, where it was produced in the common ware fabric, while carinated bowls with flat bases were made of the grey-ware (Starr 1939: 400) . At Tell Yelkhi this type is very rare and is characterized by a grey fabric . An almost complete bowl belongs to Level Ic and it is characterized by a chaff tempered fabric and low fired clay. Another fragment lacks its lower part and it is not possible to say whether it belonged to a high-footed carinated bowl or not . Both represent a very rare fabric and a very particular shape . One of the most plausible hypotheses is that some specimens might have been imported, or perhaps that an awareness of Mitannian and Elamite features influenced a local potter who created a hybrid shape. Knobbed goblets are common within the Kassite, the Mitannian and the Elamite assemblages. It is one of the most significant types at Tell Yelkhi. It is a highly standardized production with thin walls and a very fine texture. We can find the best contemporary parallels within the Iranian assemblages from Susa and Haft Tepe, dated to the ‘Transition’ or ‘Middle Elamite’ phase. Gasche’s types, Numbers 20a and 20b, and Carter’s Number 3a are characterized by a small high base, a globular body, a rounded shoulder, and a high flaring neck with a simple rim (Carter 1979: 115–119; Steve et al . 1980) . The goblets from Tell Yelkhi and the Iranian area seem almost the same . The difference between them consists in the technique of production . At Tell Yelkhi, the potters used the wheel to model the whole vase, creating a deep concavity inside . At Susa, Haft Tepe, and Choga Zanbil, the majority of the goblets have been finished © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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by applying a lump of clay inside the empty and pierced base . This method allows the potter to keep the vase balanced without using stands (Mofidi-Nasrabadi 2014). The extended diffusion of this type of goblet along the entire area, from the southeast up to the northwest, and the different local techniques of production could be a reflection of a similar widespread tradition, known everywhere but locally interpreted . The results of the Shaharizor Survey Project identify the Late Bronze Age pottery as a mixture of local and Mesopotamian traditions . Indeed, knobbed goblets and bell-shaped base goblets are reminiscent of the Middle Diyala region and the Kassite horizon (Altaweel et al . 2012: 27–28) . However, the archaeological sequence of the sites located in the upper Diyala region is not clarified at all, though the excavations at Tel Shamlu in 1959 revealed that the later Middle Bronze Age was marked by the diffusion of a local pottery production – ‘Shamlu Ware’ – characterized by a typical engraved decoration, whilst Levels V-II of Tell Shamlu are dated to the second half of the 2nd millennium BC (Mühl 2013: 190–192; al-Janabi 1961) . At Bakr Awa, Area 2, a building represents the occupation of the site during the Late Bronze Age . Within this building, at least two sectors have been identified by the excavators: one perhaps had a storage function, while the function of the other one is not yet clear . Further west, part of another building has been discovered, and cuneiform tablets dated to the Middle Babylonian period were found here (Miglus et al . 2013: 49–51) . The s-shaped goblets with hollowed bases belonging to Level V find parallels with the goblets found at Nuzi, dating to the early Hurrian period . This type of goblet is also known – with some technological differences – from the Hamrin Basin and from Tell Yelkhi . Another comparison between Tell Shamlu Level V and the Mitannian levels of Tell Rimah is the presence of the hole-mouth bowl, completely absent within the Hamrin . The goblets found by the German archaeologists at Bakr Awa belonging to Tomb 2084 and from the excavations in Area 2, seem very similar to the ones from the Hamrin Basin, but they have the hollowed base, as do the goblets from Tell Shamlu Level V and Nuzi during the Mitannian period (Starr 1939: 393) . The later centuries of the Late Bronze Age in the Upper Diyala seem to be represented by the later levels of Tell Shamlu . They can be compared with the Elamite horizon instead of the northern Mesopotamian one . The presence of an inscribed plaque supports this hypothesis, though the analysis of edited pottery is not so exhaustive (Mühl 2013: 192) . 5. Conclusion. The middle Diyala region: a defined cultural region? Upon analysing the pottery assemblage of Tell Yelkhi, the close relationship with the Kassite cultural tradition is evident . The small area shows some particular aspects that reveal the presence of local production and technology . We are now able to say that the Middle Diyala was integrated within the Mesopotamian cultural tradition, which included the Elamite region (Fig . 5) . There were only a few interactions with the Mitannian and the northern regions . These developed in the way © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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of sporadic exchanges of some products or ideas . The total absence of painted ware at Tell Yelkhi and in the contemporary sites in the Hamrin Basin reinforces the idea that there was no substantial presence of the Mittanian culture, deeply characterized by the so-called ‘Nuzi ware’ and by the ‘Khabur ware’. The presence of some common features among the ceramic inventories belonging to the analysed sites show that there was a cultural link among sites of central Mesopotamia and southern Iran. This link can also be confirmed by the traces of political contacts between the latter regions, evidenced by the glyptic and historical inscriptions mentioning the relationship between the Kassite kings and the Elamite kings of the Middle period . Contemporary administrative texts mention local rulers and the exchange of emissaries between Babylonia and the Elamite state . A chronological reference is given by the mention of the king Tepti-ahar, a contemporary of the Kassite king of Babylon Kadashman-Enlil I (1374–1360 BC) (Carter and Stolper 1984: 156–163) . Intermarriages between members of the royal Elamite family and the Kassite dynasty in Babylonia are also known during the Middle Elamite II period (Potts 2016: 176; 199, tab . 7 .6) . The regionalism, meant as the sharing of the same pottery horizon such as the community of shapes, technologies and functions, can be identified within the small regions, i.e. the Hamrin or the Middle Diyala. The Upper Diyala still has to be clarified (Fig.6). Within the whole region, it is possible to identify some common traits, a reflection of the shared but locally interpreted common cultural tradition. Bibliography Adams, R . McC . 1965 Land behind Baghdad. A History of Settlement on the Diyala Plains . Chicago . al-Husaini, M . B . 1962 The Excavations at Tel Bakr-Awa . Sumer 18, 140–164 . al-Janabi, K . 1961 The Excavations at Tell Šāmlū, Šahrazūr. Sumer 17, 174–193 . Altaweel, M ., Marsh, A ., Mühl, S ., Nieuwenhuyse, O ., Radner, K ., Rasheed, K . and Saber, A . 2012 New Investigations in the Environment, History, and Archaeology of the Iraqi Hilly Flanks: Shahrizor Survey Project 2009–2011 . Iraq 74, 1–36 . Anastasio, S ., Lebeau, M . and Sauvage, M . 2004 Atlas of Preclassical Upper Mesopotamia . Subartu 13 . Turnhout . Armstrong, J . A . 1981 Pottery from Tell Agmed Mugir and Tell Ajamat . In: McG . Gibson (ed .), Uch Tepe I. Tell Razuk, Tell Admed al Mughir, Tell Ayamat . Hamrin Report 10 . Copenhagen, 151–156 . 1993

Pottery . In: L . Zettler (ed .), Nippur III. Kassite Buildings in Area WC-1 . Oriental Institute Publications 111 . Chicago, 67–78 . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Armstrong, J . A . and Gasche, H . (eds .) 2014 Mesopotamian Pottery. A Guide to the Babylonian Tradition in the Second Millennium BC . Mesopotamian History and Environment, Series II, Memoirs 6 . Ghent . Bergamini, G . 1984 The Excavations in Tell Yelkhi . Sumer 40, 224–244 . 2005

Tra fortezze e manieri: elementi di continuità dall’Oronte alla Diyala . In: F . Pecchioli Daddi and M . C . Guidotti (eds .), Narrare gli Eventi: Atti del Convegno degli Egittologi e degli Orientalisti Italiani in margine della mostra “La battaglia di Qadesh” . Studia Asiana 3 . Rome, 29–37 .

Boehmer, R . M . 1985 Glyptik aus den italienischen Ausgrabungen im Hamrin-Gebiet . Mesopotamia 20, 5–22 . Boehmer, R . M . and Dämmer, H . W . 1985 Tell Imilihiye, Tell Zubeidi, Tell Abbas . Baghdader Forschungen 7 . Mainz am Rhein . Carter, E . 1979 Elamite Pottery . Ca . 2000–1000 BC . Journal of Near Eastern Studies 38, 111–128 . 1994

Mittelelamische Kunstperiode (Middle Elamite (ME) Period) . Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie 8–3/4, 309–316.

Carter, E . and Stolper, M . W . 1984 Elam. Surveys of Political History and Archaeology . Berkeley . de Mecquenem, R . and Michalon, J . 1953 Recherche a Tchogha Zembil . Mémoires de la Mission Archéologique en Iran, Mission de Susiane 33 . Paris . Invernizzi, A . 1985 Il progetto Hamrin . In: La terra tra i due fiumi. La Mesopotamia dei Tesori. Vent’anni di archeologia italiana, Catalogo della Mostra di Torino . Alessandria, 23–25 . Madhloum, T . 1965 The Excavations at Tel Bakr-Awa . Sumer 21, 75–88 . Matthews, D . M . 1992 The Kassite Glyptic from Nippur . Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 116 . Freiburg . Miglus, P. A., Bürger, U., Fetner, R. A., Mühl, S. and Sollee, A. 2013 Excavation at Bakr Awa 2010 and 2011 . Iraq 75, 43–88 . Minsaer, K . 1991 Tell ed Der 1985–1987. Les Vestiges méso-babylonienes, II: La Poterie du Chantier E3 . Northern Akkad Project Reports 6 . 47–71 . Mofidi-Nasrabadi, B. 2014 Qualitative Veränderungen in der serienmäßigen Herstellung des Knopfbechers in der Spätbronzezeit Elams . In: M . Luciani and A . Hausleiter (eds .), Recent Trends in the Study of Late Bronze Age Ceramics in Syro-Mesopotamia and Neighbouring Regions, Proceedings of the International Workshop in Berlin, 2–5 November 2006. Rahden/Westfalen, 385–398. Muhamed, A . K . 1992 Old Babylonian Cuneiform Texts from the Hamrin Basin: Tell Haddad . Edubba 1 . London . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Mühl, S . 2013 Siedlungsgeschichte im mittleren Osttigrisgebiet vom Neolithikum bis in die Neuassyrische Zeit . Abhandlungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 28 . Wiesbaden . Mustafa, M . A . 1949 Soundings at Tell Al Dhiba’i . Sumer 5, 173–198 . Oates, D ., Oates, J . and McDonald, H . 1997 Excavations at Tell Brak, Vol. 1: The Mitanni and Old Babylonian Periods. Cambridge . Oselini, V . 2016 Traces of Elamite and Mitanni Culture in the Hamrin Basin: The Case of Fine Pottery in the Kassite Contexts of Tell Yelkhi . In: E . Foietta, C . Ferrandi, E . Quirico, F . Giusto, M . Mortarini, J . Bruno and L . Somma (eds .), Cultural and Material Contacts in the Ancient Near East: Proceedings of the International Workshop 1–2 December 2014, Turin . Florence, 36–46 . Pfälzner, P . 1995 Mitannische und mittelassyrische Keramik. Eine chronologische, funktionale und produktionsökonomische Analyse. Berichte der Ausgrabung Tall Šēḫ Ḥamad / Dūr-Katlimmu 3. Berlin. Potts, D . T . 2016 The Archaeology of Elam. Formation and Transformation of an Ancient Iranian State. Second Edition . Cambridge . Roaf, M . D . and Postgate, J . N . 1981 Excavations in Iraq, 1979–1980 . Iraq 43, 167–198 . Starr, R . F . S . 1939 Nuzi. Report on the Excavations at Yorgan Tepa near Kirkuk, Iraq, conducted by Harvard University in conjunction with the American Schools of Oriental Research and the University Museum of Philadelphia 1927–1931 . Cambridge . Steve, M . J ., Gasche, H . and De Meyer, L . 1980 La Susiane au deuxième millénaire: à propos d’une interprétation des fouilles de Suse . Iranica Antiqua 15, 49–154 . Valtz, E . 1984 Soundings in the Tell Yelkhi Area . Sumer 40, 293–300 . 2002–2003 La Ceramica dei livelli II–I . In: G . Bergamini, A . Gabutti and E . Valtz, La ceramica di Tell Yelkhi . Mesopotamia 37–38, 265–321 . Van As, A . and Jacobs, L . 2014 The Babylonian Potter Environment, Clay and Techniques . In: J . A . Armstrong and H . Gasche (eds .), Mesopotamian Pottery. A Guide to the Babylonian Tradition in the Second Millennium BC . Mesopotamian History and Environment, Series II, Memoirs 6 . Ghent, 75–93 . Woolley, L . 1965 The Kassite Period and the Period of the Assyrian Kings. Ur Excavations 8. London – Philadelphia . Zettler, R . L . 1993 Nippur III. Kassite Buildings in Area WC-1 . Oriental Institute Publications 111 . Chicago . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig . 1 Chronology of the Late Bronze Age . Reference for Mesopotamia, Turkey and Syria from Anastasio et al . 2004; the historical periodization of Iran is taken from Carter 1994 and Steve et al . 1980

Fig . 2 The distribution of sites dated to the Late Bronze Age along the Diyala river and the subdivision in three different areas

Fig . 3 The distribution of sites dated to the Late Bronze Age in the Hamrin Basin

Fig . 4 Level II and I buildings of Tell Yelkhi, Area A, redrawn after Bergamini 1984 . Chronological sequence of the buildings according to Valtz 2002–2003

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Fig . 5 The diffusion of diagnostic types belonging to the Kassite cultural tradition within the areas involved in this study

Fig. 6 The areas of influence of common features within the ceramic inventories belonging to the site analysed . Photos: the two goblets from Tell Yelkhi on the right (Invernizzi 1985: 164); goblet from Bakr Awa on the upper part of the figure (http://www.assur.de/BA_2154-002_klein.jpg); two filled in bases of goblets on the left from Choga Zanbil (Mofidi-Nasrabadi 2014: fig. 5) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Type B1 B2 B3 B4 B7 B10 Be1 G1

Level II II II II II II II II

Yelkhi Reference Tab .141 N .13 Tab .142 N .6 Tab .142 N .8 Tab .141 N .47 Tab .141 N .39 Tab .141 N .30 Tab .147 N .1 Tab .147 N .5

G2 Bo1 V1 J1 J2 J4 P1 HM1 CP1

II II II II II II II II II

Tab .149 N .3 Tab .151 N .14 Tab .144 N .8 Tab .152 N .16 Tab .153 N .6 Tab .153 N .16 Tab .155 N .3 Tab .155 N .18 Tab .155 N .14

Site Level Ahmed Mugir 1–3

Table 112

Number 53

Reference Armstrong 1981

Nippur WC1 Zubeidi Nippur WC1 Zubeidi Zubeidi Zubeidi Ahmed Mugir Zubeidi Imlihiye Zubeidi

III–II 2 III–II 2 2 2 1–3 2 2

72 105 78 105 110 110 114 109 53 106

e-p 19 b 13 96 96A 55 85 277 34

Armstrong 1993 Boehmer Dämmer 1985 Armstrong 1993 Boehmer Dämmer 1985 Boehmer Dämmer 1985 Boehmer Dämmer 1985 Armstrong 1981 Boehmer Dämmer 1985 Boehmer Dämmer 1985 Boehmer Dämmer 1985

Zubeidi

2

108

55, 62, 63

Boehmer Dämmer 1985

Fig . 7 The pottery typology of Tell Yelkhi Level II . B=bowl; Be=beaker; Bo=bottle; G=goblet; V=vat; J=jar; P=pithos; HM=hole mouth jar; CP=cooking pot . The table represents the parallels with the other sites . References of Tell Yelkhi from Valtz 2002–2003 © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Type B101

Level Ib

Yelkhi Reference Tab .141 N .3

B102 B103

Ib Ia

Tab .141 N .11 Tab .142 N .20

B104

Ic

Tab .142 N .10

B105 B106 B108

Ic Ic Ia–b

Tab .142 N .24 Tab .142 N .19 Tab .141 N .28

B109 G101 G102

Ic Ic Ic

Tab .142 N .18 Tab .147 N .3 Tab .149 N .10

G103

Ib

Tab .151 N .3

G104

Ia–b

Tab .151 N .7

G105 V101 V102 V103 L101 J104 J108 P101 P102 P103 HM101

Ic Ic Ib Ia–b Ic Ic Ib Ib–c Ic Ib–c Ia–b

Tab .151 N .15 Tab .144 N .16 Tab .143 N .16 Tab .143 N .11 Tab .157 N .8 Tab .153 N .9 Tab .158 N .1 Tab .145 N .9 Tab .155 N .8 Tab .146 N .6 Tab .155 N .17

Site Zubeidi Imlihiye Zubeidi Zubeidi Zubeidi Imlihiye Nippur Nippur

Level 1

Table 114 28 114 105 115 29 73 73

Number 150 32 49 5 168 36 o a

Reference Boehmer Dämmer 1985 Boehmer Dämmer 1985 Boehmer Dämmer 1986 Boehmer Dämmer 1986 Boehmer Dämmer 1987 Boehmer Dämmer 1988 Armstrong 1993 Armstrong 1993

Nuzi Zubeidi Nippur Zubeidi Zubeidi Zubeidi Imlihiye Ahmed Mugir Haft Tepe Haft Tepe Zubeidi Zubeidi Imlihiye Nippur Imlihiye Nippur Choga Zanbil

II 1 III–II 1 1 1

89 119 78 115 132 130 50 114 3 8 109 131 50 80 49 79 8

AA 243 a 181 476 383 219 40 24 H .T .05-2-524 87 426 226 k 211 o, p C .Z .80-693-771

Starr 1937 Boehmer Dämmer 1988 Armstrong 1993 Boehmer Dämmer 1988 Boehmer Dämmer 1988 Boehmer Dämmer 1988 Boehmer Dämmer 1988 Armstrong 1993 Negahben 1991 Mofidi-Nasrabadi 2014 Boehmer Dämmer 1988 Boehmer Dämmer 1988 Boehmer Dämmer 1989 Armstrong 1993 Boehmer Dämmer 1989 Armstrong 1993 Mofidi-Nasrabadi 2014

Ahmed Mugir 1–3 Zubeidi 2 Zubeidi 1

113 108 124

40 41A 268

Armstrong 1981 Boehmer Dämmer 1985 Boehmer Dämmer 1985

Ahmed Mugir 1–3

114

36-38

Armstrong 1981

Zubeidi

120

253

Boehmer Dämmer 1985

37

128

Boehmer Dämmer 1985

Imlihiye

1 2 1 III–II III–II

1–3 ME I ME I 2 1 III–II III–II ME II

1

403

Fig . 8 The pottery typology of Tell Yelkhi Level I . B=bowl; G=goblet; V=vat; J=jar; P=pithos; HM=hole mouth jar . The table represents the parallels with the other sites . References of Tell Yelkhi from Valtz 2002–2003 © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Glass Vessels from Hellenistic Jebel Khalid on the Euphrates, Syria: An Indicator of Greek Influence in the East? Questions of Production Wendy J. Reade 1 – Karen L. Privat 2 Abstract Jebel Khalid, on the west bank of the Euphrates River in northern Syria, is a purely Hellenistic garrison city built early in the 3rd century BCE and abandoned c . 70 BCE . The presence of a considerable quantity of glass from this unique single-period Greek site gives us the rare opportunity to investigate well-dated Hellenistic glasses in the context of the ancient Near East and of eastern Mediterranean raw glass and vessel production . For over a thousand years, glass in the eastern Mediterranean had been produced and distributed from Near Eastern centres . This paper considers physical and chemical aspects of Jebel Khalid glass compared with other Hellenistic glass to explore questions of Greek influence in the eastern empire through the production and distribution of glass vessels .

1. Introduction and aims This paper explores aspects of Hellenistic glass production and technology of the eastern Mediterranean world arising from recently published chemical analyses of glass from the Seleucid site of Jebel Khalid in northern Syria (Reade and Privat 2016). The glass vessels from this single-period Hellenistic site are reliably dated between the late 2nd century BCE and the abandonment of the site in the late 70s BCE (O’Hea 2002: 245–246; Clarke and Jackson 2014: 97). As an eastern Greek garrison city, seated high above the Euphrates River, Jebel Khalid provides the opportunity to explore questions of Greek influence in the eastern empire through the production and distribution of glass vessels (Fig. 1). The Australian excavations from 1984 until 2011 uncovered a large corpus of glass vessels on the Acropolis of the site (Clarke 2002a). The typological and chemical compositional studies of this material contribute to the discussion of Greek interactions in the East, and to our understanding of glass technology and trade around the eastern Mediterranean at this time. Argument based on typological and stylistic observations continues with regard to whether the Hellenistic glass in the East is of Greek or local origin, whether it was produced at one or several locations, and where it was traded, amongst other questions that seek to understand the cultural, economic and technological dynamics of Greeks in the East, following the conquests of

1 2

Department of Archaeology, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. Electron Microscope Unit, Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre, The University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Alexander the Great. The consideration of chemical compositional data from Jebel Khalid glass analyses compared with those of contemporary glasses from the Hellenistic empire aimed to elucidate the nature of Hellenistic glassmaking, and to see if relationships could be established intra- and inter-regionally . 2. Background and cultural context The analysed glass was excavated from a two-storied administrative public building, or palace, originally built in the 3rd century BCE on the Acropolis of Jebel Khalid (Fig. 2). This building is a mixture of Greek architecture with Mesopotamian or Achaemenid features of palace design (Clarke 2002a: 25–48; O’Hea 2002: 245–246). The considerable quantity of repetitive pottery and glassware recovered represents large-scale dining and drinking, perhaps by the governor and his garrison troops in Macedonian style (Clarke and Jackson 2014: 101–102). The majority of glass vessels were cast monochrome bowls or drinking cups, the most common form of glassware used in the Hellenistic world prior to the development of blown glass in the Roman Levant of the 1st century BCE (Grose 1989: 193; O’Hea 2002: 245). Many of the bowls were decorated with internal and external wheel-cut horizontal grooves . These open, sagged or cast bowls found in the Levant were made in a limited range of forms and colours (Grose 1979: 54, 56, chart; 1989: 193, fig. 110). The greater presence of deep hemispherical bowls over conical forms has been taken to indicate a Greek Seleucid rather than local north Syrian preference (O’Hea 2005: 48). However, the general uniformity of colour, form and decoration of the monochrome bowls across the eastern Mediterranean gives little indication of production locations or distribution patterns of these vessels . Even the more distinctive vessels are difficult to provenance. A small number of bowls found on the Acropolis at Jebel Khalid were identified as petal-decorated, and vertically fluted, based on Achaemenid metal prototypes (O’Hea 2005: 44; O’Hea 2006–2007: 142), and developed in glass in the Greek world from the early into the late Hellenistic periods. The cast fluted bowls belong to a series of Aegean Hellenistic cast bowls that are found for example on Delos, in the Athenian Agora and on Cyprus . Very few examples have been found in Eastern locations, such as Tel Anafa, although they are referred to as ‘Syro-Palestinian’ (Grose 1989: 194; O’Hea 2002: 256; 2011: 256). They could have been produced on the Greek mainland or islands, and seem to have been distributed to Asia Minor and the Near East as a result of Hellenised taste in the Levant in the later Hellenistic (O’Hea 2002: 245–254; O’Hea 2006–2007: 142–143; O’Hea 2011: 154). Incomplete cast-footed, or carinated vessels, two mosaic-cane bowls, and one core-formed alabastron were also identified. The mosaic bowls made with spiral canes are similar to those found on the Antikythera shipwreck, 80/50 BCE, and have parallels dating back to the mid–2nd century BCE (O’Hea 2002: 258; Weinberg 1965: 34–37), although they are not seen elsewhere in the Levant inland from the coast (O’Hea 2005: 48), © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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and may have been the product of workshops in Alexandria or the Aegean (Jackson-Tal 2004: 27; 38). The discovery of imported Greek ceramics on the Jebel Khalid Acropolis indicates that activities were likely to have followed Greek customs in this elite area . Rhodian amphora handles found in the housing insula suggest that the inhabitants were dining and drinking in Greek style . This contrasts with some of the more local Syrian influences seen in cooking wares and the eastern stylistic aspects of the palace building (Clarke 2002b: 288; Clarke and Jackson 2014: 107–108). Was the glass at Jebel Khalid Greek or Eastern or a fusion of both? 3. Insights from compositional analyses 3.1 Natron vs plant ash Chemical analysis of the Jebel Khalid glass and comparison with glass composition data from sites across the Hellenistic empire has provided further insights into glass production. See Table 1 for dates and publication details of comparative Hellenistic glass discussed in this study . Early glass was typically made of silica from sand or quartz pebbles, combined with a soda flux derived from either plant ash or mineral soda (natron), and lime as a stabiliser (Turner 1956; Sayre and Smith 1961; Henderson 1985; Barkoudah and Henderson 2006; Shortland et al. 2006). All Jebel Khalid glasses analysed by Reade and Privat (2016) have a typical silica-soda-lime composition, and all but two were fluxed with natron, indicated by their relatively low concentrations of magnesia, potash and phosphorus (Brill 1999a: 277; Tite et al. 2006). The elevated concentrations of these oxides in two samples indicate that they were fluxed by the addition of plant ash. During this period of predominantly natron-fluxed glass, regions east of the Euphrates River continued to produce plant ash fluxed glass (Bucsek 1987; Rapin 1992: 148; Arletti et al. 2006: 241; Tite et al. 2006: 1284–1285; Henderson 2013: 204). The two plant ash glasses found at Jebel Khalid could therefore have originated from this more eastern region. This means that both glass-fluxing techniques known in the ancient world were present at Jebel Khalid . A small number of plant ash glasses that could have been imported products from east of the Euphrates were found at the sites of Pherai, and the Rhodes Bead Factory . The picture of distribution networks thus extends beyond the eastern Mediterranean region, and it is unsurprising that these connections would exist within an empire that stretched to Bactria and dominated this whole region. Interestingly, the corpus of glass from the treasury of the Hellenistic palace at Ai Khanoum in Afghanistan, the only other single period Hellenistic site excavated in the East, is predominantly plant ash fluxed in the eastern mode . The concentrations of magnesia and potash in these glasses (generally > 2%) are however somewhat higher than in the plant ash glasses from the eastern Mediterranean sites (< 2%). It appears that at Ai Khanoum glass from the eastern Med© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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iterranean was not sought in preference to the ‘local’ product, despite this city being a wealthy and significant part of the Hellenistic empire. The cultural and economic implications deserve to be examined in more detail, but are beyond the scope of this study . While natron and plant ash base glass compositions provide evidence of more than one glass production centre, they do not distinguish whether the natron glass was a product of Greek or Levantine workshops, or of both . Further investigation through trace element and isotope analysis is the next step . 3.2 Natron base glass comparisons The chemical analyses of the natron-fluxed Jebel Khalid vessel glasses have shown that their basic compositions are closely similar, whether they are fluted, petal-decorated, or monochrome, mosaic or core-formed (Reade and Privat 2016). Was most of the Jebel Khalid glass manufactured in the same primary production centre? Was that centre in Greece, the Aegean (Rhodes), the Levant, or even Alexandria as suggested for the mosaic bowls? Or could such a highly consistent product have been made at various centres in the region, because all the workshops used closely regulated batch ingredients in carefully controlled and widely understood production practices? When Jebel Khalid glass is compared with other Hellenistic natron glasses from Macedonia, Anatolia, Rhodes, and Syro-Palestine (Table 1), the majority has closely similar concentrations of key components, such as magnesia and potash, as illustrated in the bi-plot of these oxides (Fig. 3). The natron glasses exhibit fairly consistent base glass compositions regardless of colour, vessel type, manufacturing technique, or origin across all sites studied (Reade and Privat 2016). Despite the close similarities of base glass composition overall in these glasses, there are still small unexplained variations in concentrations of oxides such as soda and lime (Fig. 4) (Reade and Privat 2016), that hint at production variables that could include different raw material sources, production practices and/or geographical locations of glass manufacturers . These questions need to be explored further . 3.3 What colourless glass reveals Modifying agents could be added to the silica-soda-lime base glass to create colour, or remove colour to form colourless glass. We know from Pliny’s Natural History (e.g. 37.33.111–112) that colourless glass was much admired for its resemblance to rock crystal . The Jebel Khalid corpus contains a large number of colourless, that is intentionally decoloured, glasses . Much of the sand used in ancient glassmaking contained iron as an impurity (Turner 1956: 62T; Caley 1962; Mirti et al. 1993; 2008; Brill 1999a; Freestone et al. 2000), and this unintentional inclusion of iron in the glass batch can be responsible for colouring raw glass blue, green, yellow and brown (Weyl 1951: 89–91; 119–120; Bamford 1977: 143, 155). Colourless glass was therefore not natural, unless the batch ingredients were pure, but could be achieved by adding a decolouring agent (Weyl 1951: 97; Jackson 2005: 764). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Since the Iron Age of the early 1st millennium BCE antimony had been used in Near Eastern glassmaking both to opacify and to decolour glass. It could also serve as a fining agent to remove seeds or bubbles from molten glass (Weyl 1951: 116, 118, 121; Turner 1956: 179T; Sayre 1963: 272; Brill 1970: 116; Bamford 1977: 80). By the later Hellenistic period, the properties of manganese as a glass decolourant had been discovered (Weyl 1951: 116; Bamford 1977; Brill 1988: 277; Jackson 2005: 764; Connolly et al. 2012: 95; Henderson 2013: 246). Examination of colourless and faintly coloured (imperfectly decoloured) glasses from Jebel Khalid and other Hellenistic sites reveals a significant development in the nature of the decolourant used in this period (Reade and Privat 2016). The earlier colourless glasses from Vergina, Pydna and Gordion of the mid-4th to the early 2nd century BCE were decoloured with antimony . Later colourless glass from Tel Anafa, and most of the colourless glass from Jebel Khalid of the mid-2nd tothe early 1st century BCE, was decoloured with manganese instead . The colourless glass from Pherai in Thessaly, Greece, and the Rhodes Bead Factory group, slightly earlier than and contemporary with Tel Anafa and Jebel Khalid, is decoloured with antimony . There is only one sample decoloured with antimony from the Rhodes Necropolis bowls group, while another two glasses contained both antimony and manganese decolourants . Both decolourants are also found together in glass from the Rhodes Bead Factory, and from Pherai, and in four glasses from Jebel Khalid . No colourless glasses were reported in the analyses of Ai Khanoum material. By the mid-2nd century BCE, manganese decoloured glass was being produced alongside antimony decoloured glass, both technologies existing side by side through to the 1st century BCE (Reade and Privat 2016). We see in the Hellenistic period the transition from the use of antimony as a decolourant since the early 1st millennium BCE, to the introduction of manganese as a decolourant that was favoured into the 1st millennium CE. It is tempting to consider that the overlap of these practices represents regional differences in colourless glass manufacture by competing Syro-Palestinian and Aegean industries. The chronological progression during the Hellenistic period of the traditional use of antimony as the sole decolourant in ancient glassmaking, to the introduction, overlap and eventual predominance of manganese as a decolourant is illustrated in Table 2. The elevated concentrations of both antimony and manganese together in a small number of decoloured samples suggests at least two alternative explanations: 1) both decolourants were combined to achieve colourless glass, but the reason for this is unclear because antimony had been used alone successfully for centuries; and 2) the glass used to make the vessels was acquired from two different manufacturing traditions, perhaps as a result of a) recycling (Jackson 2005: 771–772; Brill and Stapleton 2012: 284; Connolly et al. 2012: 95–96), or b) the mixing of raw glass from two different contemporary primary production centres. It is interesting to note that cullet was found at the two Rhodian sites where this mixing occurs, perhaps linking recycling with the mixing of the two decolourants. With reference to available data, manganese decoloured glass does not appear before approximately the mid-2nd century BCE (Tel Anafa and Jebel Khalid). The mixed antimony and manganese © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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examples date between the 3rd and 1st centuries BCE . The period of overlap of these technologies cannot therefore be before the mid-2nd century BCE. It is therefore proposed that this is the time at which manganese was first used as a decolourant. 4. Vessel production models Physical typology of Hellenistic drinking bowls is rarely distinctive enough to assign origin, and the lack of known manufacturing installations makes the questions of how many workshops, where they were located and what they produced very difficult to answer. It must be remembered too that physical typologies based on vessel form and decoration may only indicate where secondary production occurred, and this may not be the same as the location of glass manufacture. While chemical analyses of glass compositions can provide complementary data and greater insight into glass production, the number of chemical analyses of glasses from these regions in the Hellenistic period is limited . The lack of definitive evidence for primary and secondary production workshops has led to much discussion about the location of these centres in the eastern Mediterranean . Rhodes is believed to have been the production site of glass for core-formed vessels from the 6th century BCE, and is the only manufacturing site known from this period (Weinberg 1966; Triantafyllidis 2000; 2009; Rehren et al. 2005). Evidence for glass production is lacking from the Levantine coast, although this region was significant in pre-Hellenistic and post-Hellenistic Roman glass production (Brill 1988: 265–267; Jackson-Tal 2004: 11; Kowatli et al. 2008; Henderson 2013: 217). It seems reasonable to suggest that it must have continued to be an important manufacturing region throughout the intervening Hellenistic period as well . Trade in raw glass ingots is well attested in the Mediterranean region long before the Hellenistic period, as we know from evidence such as the glass ingots sunk in the Late Bronze Age Uluburun shipwreck off the south coast of Turkey (e.g. Bass 1987). It has been suggested that large numbers of late Hellenistic bowls excavated from Syro-Levantine sites were the products of one or more local coastal glass industries that also exported raw glass around the Mediterranean (Jennings 2000: 56; Jackson-Tal 2004: 26–27), but this does not explain the ‘Greekness’ of vessel forms and decoration observed at Jebel Khalid . Both Rhodes and Macedonia in Greece have been put forward as possible vessel manufacture locations from the 3rd century BCE (Triantafyllidis 2000: 13; O’Hea 2006–2007: 142). Perhaps secondary production workshops in the Aegean were using glass from Levantine primary production, though it would mean raw glass was exported to the Aegean and reimported to the Levant as a finished product. Or were vessels of ‘Greek’ style manufactured in the Hellenistic Levant itself to the requirements of its local Greek customers? Figure 5 illustrates four theoretical production models that might explain the curious and subtle similarities and variations that the physical and chemical evidence presents for the monochrome drinking bowls: the glass and vessels were made and © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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decorated in one centre (on the right); the glass and vessels were made in one centre, but were decorated by cutting to local tastes at a later stage, somewhere along the route of distribution (on the left); and the process of primary or raw glass manufacture was performed at a different location to vessel forming and decoration, at one or two subsequent workshops (shown in the centre). This set of models allows for a tertiary stage of production, i .e . decoration by wheel-cutting, to account for some of the complexities of perceived similarities and differences in the drinking vessels . The contemporaneity of antimony and manganese decolourant techniques points to two different, but co-existing productions, perhaps alongside glass recycling that has resulted in the mixing of these two products, further adding to the intricacy of this commercial enterprise . 5. Summary While comparison of natron base glass compositions from around the Hellenistic eastern Mediterranean revealed a highly consistent product, made with similar batch ingredients in well-regulated proportions, there are subtle variations in basic composition that suggest that there was more than one natron glassmaking centre in the region at this time, in addition to the plant ash tradition still operating east of the Euphrates. A new decolourant process using manganese was introduced by the mid-2nd century BCE and was used alongside the traditional antimony decolourant, also suggesting more than one primary production centre was operating in the Aegean and/or Levant. Vessel production and decoration could have occurred at many secondary and even tertiary workshop sites . Vessel form, decorative style, manufacture method and colour are not related to basic glass composition. Differences in form and decoration of chemically similar glass vessels at Jebel Khalid and comparative sites could be explained by a series of production models ranging from the achievement in one workshop of glass manufacture, vessel forming and decoration, to the distribution of raw glass to workshops that both formed and/or decorated vessels in a two- or three-step process. These production models could have operated simultaneously alongside centres that recycled cullet and reworked it into new vessels in a one-stop process, as suggested by the addition of both decolourants in some colourless glasses . Consideration of these alternative models acknowledges not only the various manufacturing possibilities, but also the complexities of glass production and distribution in a vast empire . The Greeks on the Acropolis of Jebel Khalid might have been living and dining in Greek style, but with little manufacturing evidence discovered so far, limited comparative chemical data, and lack of distinguishing physical characteristics, we must look to trace element and isotope analyses to further investigate questions of production . Acknowledgements The authors wish to acknowledge the generous support of Prof Graeme Clarke (Australian National University), and Dr Heather Jackson (University of Melbourne). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Bibliography Arletti, R., Dalconi, M. C., Quartieri, S., Triscari, M. and Vezzalini G. 2006 Roman Coloured and Opaque Glass: A Chemical and Spectroscopic Study. Applied Physics A 83, 239–245. Bamford, C . R . 1977 Colour Generation and Control in Glass. Amsterdam. Barkoudah, Y . and Henderson, J . 2006 Plant Ashes from Syria and the Manufacture of Ancient Glass: Ethnographic and Scientific Aspects. Journal of Glass Studies 48, 297–321. Bass, G . F . 1987 Oldest Known Shipwreck Reveals Splendours of the Bronze Age. National Geographic 172, 693–733. Brill, R . H . 1970 The Chemical Interpretation of the Texts. In: A. L. Oppenheim, R. H. Brill, D. Barag and A. von Saldern (eds.), Glass and Glassmaking in Ancient Mesopotamia. Corning, 105–128. 1988

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1999a Chemical Analyses of Early Glasses, Volume 1: The Catalogue . Corning . 1999b Chemical Analyses of Early Glasses, Volume 2: The Tables . Corning . Brill, R . H . and Stapleton, C . P . 2012 Chemical Analyses of Early Glasses, Volume 3: The Years 2000–2011, Reports, and Essays . Corning . Bucsek, N . 1987 Analyse de 61 tessons provenant du trésor royal de la cité d’Aï Khanoum (Bactriane héllénistique). Unpublished report for the Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, Paris. Caley, E . R . 1962 Analysis of Ancient Glasses, 1790–1957. Corning . Clarke, G. W. 2002a The Governor’s Palace, Acropolis. In: G. W. Clarke, P. J. Connor, L. Crewe, B. Frohlich, H. Jackson, J. Littleton, C. E. V. Nixon, M. O’Hea, D. Steele. (eds.), Jebel Khalid on the Euphrates. Report on Excavations 1986–1996. Sydney, 25–48. 2002b The Stamped Amphora Handles. In: G. W. Clarke, P. J. Connor, L. Crewe, B. Frohlich, H. Jackson, J. Littleton, C. E. V. Nixon, M. O’Hea, D. Steele (eds.), Jebel Khalid on the Euphrates. Report on Excavations 1986–1996. Sydney, 275–288. Clarke, G. W. and Jackson, H. 2014 Evaluating Cultural and Ethnic Identities from Archaeological Remains: The Case Of Hellenistic Jebel Khalid. In: P. Leriche (ed.), Art et Civilisations de l’Orient Hellénisé. Paris, 97–110. Connolly, P., Rehren, Th., Coulgeri-Intzesiloglou, A. and Arachoviti, P. 2012 The Hellenistic Glass of Pherai, Thessaly. In: D. Ignatiadou and A. Antonaras (eds.), Annales du 18e Congrès de l’Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre (Thessaloniki) 2009. Thessaloniki, 91–97. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Freestone, I. C., Goren-Rosen, Y. and Hughes, M. J. 2000 Primary Glass from Israel and the Production of Glass in Late Antiquity and the Early Islamic Period. In: M.-D. Nenna (ed.), La Route du Verre. Ateliers primaires et secondaires du second millénaire avant J. C. au Moyen Age. Travaux de Maison de l’Orient Mediterranéen 33. Lyons, 65–82. Grose, D. 1979 The Syro-Palestinian Glass Industry in the Later Hellenistic Period. Muse 13, 54–67. 1989

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Late Hellenistic Glass from Some Military and Civilian Sites in The Levant: Jebel Khalid, Pella and Jerusalem. In: J. W. Arrowsmith (ed.), Annales du 16e Congrès de l’Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre (London) 2003. Nottingham, 44–48.

2006–2007 Greeks and Glass: The Role of Hellenistic Greek Settlements in the Eastern Mediterranean in Glass Production and Consumption . Mediterranean Archaeology 19/20, 141–150. 2011

The Glass. In: G. W. Clarke, A. Dusting, K. Grant, H. Jackson, L. Jose, M. O’Hea. C. E. V. Nixon, M. McConchie, W. J. Reade, J. Tidmarsh, K. Wesselingh., Jebel Khalid Fieldwork Report 2009–2010. Mediterranean Archaeology 24, 152–163. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Rapin, C . 1992 Fouilles d’Aï Khanoum VIII. La trésorerie du palais héllenistique d’Aï Khanoum. L’apogée et la chute de royaume grec de Bactriane. Memoires de la Délégation Archéologique Française en Afghanistan 33. Paris. Reade, W. J., Jones, J. and Privat, K. 2012 Iron Age and Hellenistic Monochrome Glasses from Gordion. In: D. Ignatiadou and A. Antonaras (eds.), Annales du 18e Congrès de l’Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre (Thessaloniki) 2009. Thessaloniki, 87–93. Reade, W. J. and Privat, K. 2016 Chemical Characterisation of Archaeological Glasses from the Hellenistic Site of Jebel Khalid, Syria by Electron Probe Microanalysis . Heritage Science 4:20. doi: 10.1186/s40494-016-0084-3. Rehren, Th ., Spencer, L . and Triantafyllidis, P . 2005 The Primary Production of Glass at Hellenistic Rhodes. In: J. W. Arrowsmith (ed.), Annales du 16e Congrès de l’Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre (London) 2003. London, 39–43. Sayre, E . V . 1963 The Intentional Use of Antimony and Manganese. In: F. R. Matson and G. E. Rindone (eds.), Ancient Glasses . VI International Congress on Glass: Advances in Glass Technology, Part 2. New York, 263–282. Sayre, E. V. and Smith, R. W. 1961 Compositional Categories of Ancient Glass. Science 133, 1824–1826. Shortland, A. J., Schachner, L., Freestone, I. C. and Tite, M. 2006 Natron as a Flux in the Early Vitreous Materials Industry: Sources, Beginnings and Reason for Decline. Journal of Archaeological Science 33, 521–530. Tite, M., Shortland, A., Maniatis, Y., Kavoussa, D. and Harris, S. A. 2006 The Composition of the Soda-Rich and Mixed Alkali Plant Ashes Used in the Production of Glass . Journal of Archaeological Science 33, 1284–1292. Triantafyllidis, P . 2000 New Evidence of the Glass Manufacture in Classical and Hellenistic Rhodes. In: Annales du 14e Congrès de l’Association Internationale pour l’Histoire du Verre. (Venice/Milan) 1998. Lochem, 30–34. 2009

Early Core-Formed Glass from a Tomb at Ialysos, Rhodes. Journal of Glass Studies 51, 26–39.

Turner, W. E. S. 1956 Studies in Ancient Glasses and Glassmaking Processes. Part V. Raw materials and Melting Processes . Journal of the Society of Glass Technology 40, 277–300. Weinberg, G. D. 1965 The Antikythera Shipwreck Reconsidered: Glass Vessels. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 55, 30–39. 1966

Evidence for Glassmaking in Ancient Rhodes. In: M. L. Bernhard (ed.), Mélanges Offerts à K. Michalowski. Warsaw, 709–712.

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Fig. 1 Map showing the location of Jebel Khalid on the Euphrates River, and other locations mentioned in the text

Fig. 2 View to the Euphrates River from the Governor’s Palace administrative building on the Acropolis, Jebel Khalid © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig . 3 Bivariate plot of magnesia vs potash for comparative Hellenistic natron-fluxed glasses from Jebel Khalid and Tel Anafa (Levant), Gordion (Anatolia), Pydna, Vergina and Pherai (Greek mainland), and Rhodes. Reduced and re-summed glass compositions were used to compare data between sites (indicated by asterisks). See Table 1 for glass data source publications

Fig . 4 Bivariate plot of lime vs soda for comparative Hellenistic natron-fluxed glasses from Jebel Khalid and Tel Anafa (Levant), Gordion (Anatolia), Pydna, Vergina and Pherai (Greek mainland), and Rhodes. Reduced and re-summed glass compositions were used to compare data between sites (indicaed by asterisks). See Table 1 for glass data source publications © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig . 5 Hypothetical Hellenistic glass production models

Site

Date

Publication

Vergina (Macedonia, Greece)

c . 340 BCE

Brill 1999a: 51–52; 1999b: 65

Gordion (central Anatolia)

c . mid-4th–early 2nd century BCE

Reade et al. 2012

Pydna (Macedonia, Greece)

c. 300–290 BCE

Ignatiadou 2000

Bead Factory (Rhodes)

late 3rd–2nd century BCE

Brill 1999a: 51; 1999b: 63–64

Ai Khanoum (Afghanistan)

3rd–mid-2nd century BCE

Bucsek 1987; Rapin 1992: 148

Pherai (Thessaly, Greece)

3 –1 century BCE

Connolly et al. 2012

Rhodes Kakoula Property

c. 175–150 BCE

Rehren et al. 2005

Tel Anafa (Israel)

c. 150–75 BCE

Brill 1999a: 53; 1999b: 67

Jebel Khalid (northern Syria)

late 2nd century–70s BCE

Reade and Privat 2016

Rhodes Necropolis

2 –1 century BCE

Brill and Stapleton 2012: 48, 115

rd

nd

st

st

Table 1 Comparative glass from Hellenistic sites

Date

Antimony

mid-4 to early 2 century BCE th

nd

Both in one glass

Manganese

Vergina Pydna Gordion

3rd to 1st century BCE

Pherai Rhodes Bead Factory

Pherai Rhodes Bead Factory

2nd to 1st century BCE

Rhodes Necropolis

Rhodes Necropolis Jebel Khalid

Jebel Khalid Tel Anafa

Table 2 Chronological distribution of antimony and manganese decolourants in Hellenistic glasses by site © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

Workshops in the Southern Levant: The Case of Jewellers during the Late Bronze Age

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Workshops in the Southern Levant: The Case of Jewellers during the Late Bronze Age Giulia Tucci 1 Abstract The Late Bronze Age is characterized by a remarkable internationalism and interconnections documenting the widespread movement of materials, goods and artisans, along with the diffusion of technological knowledge and skills throughout the Eastern Mediterranean . Luxury artefacts constitute a notable example in this cultural framework. The analysis of jewellery production helps with the identification of local and exotic products, and to build hypotheses about roles and provenances of jewellers . The aim of this paper is to analyse workshops and actors of jewellery production in some case studies in the southern Levant .

1. Production places Since the end of the Middle Bronze Age, and in particular during the Late Bronze Age, Levantine jewellery experienced its greatest development of technologies and typologies . The previous ages were mainly characterized by simple shapes combined by artisans in a limited variety of metals and precious stones with faience, bone, ivory and shells . Nonetheless, the jewellers’ cultural background was greatly enriched with the increase in commercial activity and internationalization of the economy, along with the movement of raw materials, goods and technologies such as granulation, soldering and the introduction of glass and silicates technologies . The political and cultural hegemony of Egypt is clearly visible in the use of shapes, motifs and techniques, along with the use of raw materials such as gold and imported precious stones. As long as this foreign production flourished, local production developed its characteristic and distinctive features . Levantine jewellery experienced two productive phases: at first a non-luxury production made at a domestic level, with easy-to-find materials that rarely needed specialist interventions, and a second major phase, where specialized production met the request of a client . These scenarios are tightly connected with community dimensions and urbanization level . 2. Towards an identification of local and foreign workshops In order to identify the presence of jewellery workshops, it is good to keep in mind some general features allowing the recognition of a workplace . It is necessary to

1

Independent Researcher . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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make a clear distinction between domestic production and a workshop or atelier for specialized production (Di Paolo 2013). For the second case, we expect to find specialized facilities, such as small kilns or furnaces and drilling equipment, and tools such as moulds, chisels, knives, chasing tools, pounding stones, punches and drills, raw materials along with work slabs and half worked materials and finished product assemblages (Golani 2013: 55) . Nonetheless, we have to consider that many tools used by jewellers were not designed to last, such as moulds in perishable materials and chemical mixtures . Most of the tools used in the process have strong multifunctional and ubiquitous contexts of discovery, thus it is quite difficult to associate them exclusively with the manufacture of jewellery (Bjorkman 1993: 17) . Furthermore, the places where artisans worked needed good lighting and ventilation, a point of fire, and in some cases transient or semi-transient installations (Thompson 2009: 603) . 2.1 Some proposals for workshop identification: Hazor, Tel Akko, Tell Abu Hawam, Beth Shean and Tell el-‘Ajjul A good example of a production area has been identified in Area A, a citadel on the upper part of the tell of Hazor . Here, in Stratum XIV, dated to the Late Bronze Age II, a thick wall (W.304) defined an open space (2030d) where several rooms were adjoined, with some remains of plastered floors (Yadin et al . 1961: pl . 4) . Just opposite the wall with a rounded corner, there is an area defined by a badly damaged staircase, for which it is quite difficult to establish the function. In this area, identified as an open area, in Locus 36bb a jewellery mould made of stone was found (Yadin et al . 1961: pl . 158 .3) (Fig . 1) . The site of Tel Akko has been recently recognized as one of the emporia that enlivened the southern Levantine coast, since here several districts dedicated to different productions were found . In Area A/B, close to the potters’ compound, several small installations apparently used for metalworking were uncovered (Dothan 1980: 11) (Fig . 2). One of these consisted of a small circle attached to a section of a stone-paved floor, while another one, more fragmentary, consisted of a clay-lined depression filled with black ashes. On the nearby floor, the excavators discovered two clay crucibles. Other remains that can be associated with metal industry consist of fragments of a tuyère with a scorched end, a small clay funnel and many fragments of copper slag, tools and nail pieces that seemed to have been deliberately broken or cut for casting jewellery, especially earrings . Stratigraphically and chronologically, this evidence matches those documented in the nearby pottery workshop and indicates the development of industrial activities at Akko during the transitional period between the end of the Late Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age (Dothan 1988: 299) . Tell Abu Hawam is known to scholars acquainted with international, commercial, chronological and cultural relations in the Eastern Mediterranean during the 2nd and 1st millennia BC, and probably shows some similarities with the emporia discovered at Tel Akko . Five horizons can be distinguished within the Late Bronze Age period, © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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all belonging to Stratum V . In House 67, a steatite mould for jewellery was found (Fig. 3A). It contained five distinct forms placed on one side of the stone. Two of these, apparently intended for ring bezels or seals, showed a stylized animal . The animal itself is positive in the mould; its impression in the completed ring would have served either as a seal or for receiving some coloured inlay . The remaining motifs included an ox head, two ornaments with a penannular ring attached to a long pendant and a rosette ornament (Hamilton 1935: 58) . From the same area, although belonging to a previous phase (House 45), another mould in steatite was found (Fig . 3B) . The stone presents different patterns on each side; one of the forms can be paralleled with a gold ornament found in a contemporary phase pertaining to a different part of the site (Fig . 3C) . The site of Beth Shean represents one of the best and most studied Late Bronze Age examples . The Southern Temple 1234, dated by Rowe to the time of Thutmosis III (Rowe 1940: ix), 2 was a rectangular enclosure built with stone foundations topped by a single surviving course of mud bricks . On the northeastern and southwestern sides of the building there were some open rooms, while auxiliary rooms 1236, 1237, 1239 and 1328 bordered the structure on the south (Fig . 4) . The western part of the enclosure, namely 1234, presented a corner entrance in the southwestern part, which led into a large hall containing a stepped lime-plastered bricks podium to the north . In front of the podium was a narrow room . Enclosure 1234 was interpreted by the excavators as an open cult area subsidiary to the main cult Temple 1230 (Mullins 2012: 132) . The open area also contained a production area – a kind of metallurgical workshop or atelier for the manufacture of jewellery, as attested by the steatite mould found in this place (Fig . 5) . Other evidence of possible production of jewellery at the site was found during the 1991 season of excavations (Panitz-Cohen and Mazar 2009: 124) . Three groups of deliberately broken silver objects were uncovered in Area S, Locus 88866, Stratum S-4, dated to the transitional period between the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age I (Fig . 6) . There is clear evidence that these groups of silver had been intentionally hidden with the purpose of later recovery . The hoards contained unpaired and deliberately chiselled earrings, as well as ingots and other components of jewellery artefacts in various stages of defacement (Fig . 7) . The presence of such objects has been interpreted as the evidence of a jewellers’ atelier. Furthermore, potential findings indicative of metalworking included the ashy remains associated with an oven and numerous pottery sherds, as well as implements such as a stone pounder, a hammer stone, flint knifes, worked piece of wood or bone, and a bronze point. The possibility that both rooms were unroofed (therefore well ventilated with good light), as well as the security of the location placed in proximity to the garrison, provides encouraging evidence about their functions as workshops of luxury items .

2

For a more detailed insight on Beth Shean’s temples periodization see Mullins 2012: 127–157 . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Tell el-‘Ajjul produced various clues testifying to contacts with Egypt, Cyprus, Crete, Syria and Mesopotamia . In the excellent assemblages of jewellery, it is possible to find items based on local styles, along with pieces fashioned according to the stylistic currents in the Eastern Mediterranean, and reflecting the real cosmopolitan nature of the communities living there (Fischer and Sadeq 2000: 212) . Although is believed that the site reached its zenith during the Middle Bronze Age and was then side-lined during the Late Bronze Age in favour of nearby centres (Dessel 1997: 8), the establishment of new burial areas to the north and east of the settlement, and the discovery of rich tombs dating to the Late Bronze Age, in my view, point to a slightly different conclusion . The jewellery collection of the site includes a wide variety of forms . The core of the material comes from hoards found in the Town Building and the Palace Building, while other important evidence comes from burials . What clearly emerges is that the collection from the site shows how “… the art of jewelry is better represented here than in any other site of Palestine …” (Stewart 1974: 28); the gold-works express a precise ‘Ajjulian’ style. Although a working space was not identified at the site, it is plausible that one or more workshops of skilled artisans in town developed local techniques while mastering those of the neighbouring countries that exported their products . In addition, whereas one accepts the hypothesis that the Late Bronze settlement was downgraded, it should be admitted that the school of goldsmiths and jewellers survived, continuing its work at other sites . 2 .2 Some remarks about jewellery workshops in the Southern Levant during the Late Bronze Age At least regarding the period and the area under examination, the production of jewellery in precious materials was limited to urban upper-class contexts . In the socioeconomic structure two spheres of influence operated: the ‘palace’ 3 received from the places of worship the needs to strengthen its own power, and the ‘temple’ was favoured by this collaboration, as it was not only capable of supporting itself, but also benefitting from a role in the economic life (Lupack 1999: 25). Thus, only these institutions, as spiritual and secular power’s symbols, had access to labour resources and raw materials needed for the production of luxury goods . Temples and sanctuaries were often associated with the presence of workshops in their vicinity for the production of the votive offerings, as the finding of metallurgical and pottery workshops demonstrates, for instance at the sites of Tel Nami (Artzy 1995: 22) and Tel Mevorakh (Stern 1984: 7) . In the case of goldsmiths’ and jewellers’ workshops this can be assumed as a similar scenario, as their presence could be related to that of the market places in

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southern Levantine cities . These places lie in an open area in connection with administrative buildings, or most frequently near the city gate, guarded by the garrison . Likely, in the cities there were real compounds of craftspeople, as in Egyptian New Kingdom’s sites, where different artisans worked and lived closely, sharing their skills (Shaw 2004: 21) . 3. The role of jewellers Despite their artistic talent, craftspeople were not used to create new patterns or iconographies on their own initiative . Little is known about the organization of the production in the ancient Near East, but generally the centralized elites’ patronage, associated with the major institutions, was the dominant mechanism for artistic sparks in the ancient world . In Egypt, the institutional prerogative of the artistic production was extremely strong: the artist/artisan was not an independent agent, but part of a professional group, working for a specific client (Shaw 2004: 12). In Mesopotamia there was a similar centralization of arts control (Moorey 1999, 15; Sasson 1990) . The skilled artisans, therefore, depended on these employers for both commissions and procurement of raw materials . According to textual sources, a similar relationship between institutions and employees existed at Ras Shamra-Ugarit (Feldman 2006: 89) . If workshops belonged to ‘temples’ or ‘palaces’, the organization provided tools, installations, places and raw materials; as for the payment, workers received food rations, clothing and very rarely, silver or land (Sasson 1990: 24) . Artisans were trained in accordance with their cultural background and working to create objects reflecting ideology and characteristics of their culture, within an artistic framework that gave priority to materials and techniques that were familiar (Sparks 2007: 88) . The progress of production techniques and specialization of craftspeople were closely connected with the emergence of elites: the prestigious manufactory’s main aim was to attract admiration because of the economic, aesthetic and technological value, in a continuous imitation aspiration . One of the most appreciated features was the possession of exotic goods . The members of the community, who were able to mediate and deliver such valuable objects, employed craftspeople for the production of status symbols . The issue regarding the production of non-local ornaments so diffusely found in Late Bronze Age contexts is still open . To clarify artisans’ identity and provenance it would be essential to understand if foreign items were crafted in loco or not . The presence of goldsmiths proficient in combining Levantine, Egyptian and Mesopotamian techniques can be attested in the northern Levant during the Middle Bronze Age, thus some of these craftspeople during the middle of the 16th century BC could have moved south in response to increasing demand (McGovern 1985: 103). From this assumption, the figure of the itinerant craftsperson has been suggested as an international traveller, not only between Egypt and the southern Levant, but also in the Aegean and Mesopotamia, who moved with part of their mobile equip© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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ment, working on commission for those courts that required their work according to the requests (Platt 2003: 199) . In southern Levantine sites where Egyptian presence was stronger, as at Beth Shean, we know from inscriptions that there were local labourers on construction sites run by Egyptian specialists, who transferred, voluntarily or not, their knowledge to locals (Czerny 1973: 116) . Once these foreign skilled artisans were settled down in the southern Levant, they started to build contacts with local specialists . Many cases have shown traces of a local style, which has no parallels outside the southern Levant (McGovern 1985: 103; Golani 2013: 63), and this, in my point of view, refers to the presence of a kind of guild, albeit restricted, of local specialized workers . 4 4. Concluding remarks To sum up this brief paper, there is no clear evidence of any independent specialized craftspeople trading on their own account during the Late Bronze Age (Moorey 2001: 5) . Specialized artisans could have been exchanged across the political boundaries through diplomacy or warfare, since it is not realistic to argue they had any freedom of movement (Zaccagnini 1983: 275; Philip 1988: 159) . If a foreign ruler wanted the services of an artisan from abroad, he had to submit an official request through a message at the highest levels (Liverani 1999; Liverani 2009: 161–168) . Although we know little about the organization and production of art in southern Levant, it is not easy to think of jewellery making as an autonomous creation; the dominant mechanism for artistic outputs appears to have been associated with centralized elite patronage . Thus, the emergence and spread of specialized jewellery can be intended as a consequence of surplus accumulation achieved by palaces and temples . Bibliography Artzy, M . 1995 Nami: A Second Millennium International Maritime Trading Center in the Mediterranean . In: S . Gitin (ed .), Recent Excavations in Israel: A View to the West. Dubuque, 17–40 . 2010

Tel Akko . In: A . E . Killebrew and V . Raz-Romero (eds .), One Thousand Nights and Days. Akko through the Ages . Haifa, 15–24 .

Bjorkman, J . K . 1993 The Larsa Goldsmith’s Hoards – New Interpretations . Journal of Near Eastern Studies 52, 1–23 . Czerny, E . 1973 A Community of Workmen at Thebes in the Ramesside Period . Bibliotheque d’Etude 50, Cairo .

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Dessel, J . P . 1997 ‘Ajjul, Tell el- . In: E . Meyers (ed .), The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East, Volume I . Oxford, 38–40 . Di Paolo, S . 2013 The Historiography of the Concept of ‘Workshop’ in Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology: Descriptive Models and Theoretical Approaches (Anthropology vs . Art History) . In: B . A . Brown and M . H . Feldman (eds .), Critical Approaches to Ancient Near Eastern Art . Berlin, 111–132 . Dothan, M . 1980 Tel Akko . Notes and News . Israel Exploration Journal 30, 111 . 1988

The Significance of Some Artisan’s Workshop along the Canaanite Coast. In: M. Heltzer and E . Lipinski (eds .), Society and Economy in the Eastern Mediterranean (1500–1000 B.C.) . Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 23 . Leuven, 295–304 .

Feldman, M . H . 2006 Diplomacy by Design: Luxury Arts and “International Style” in the Ancient Near East, 1400– 1200 BCE . Chicago . Fischer, P . M ., and Sadeq, M . 2000 Tell el-‘Ajjul 1999 . A Joint Palestinian-Swedish Field Project: First Season, Preliminary Report . Ägypten & Levante 10, 211–226 . Golani, A . 2013 Jewelry from the Iron Age II Levant . Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis Series Archaeologica 34 . Fribourg . Hamilton, R . W . 1935 Excavations at Tell Abu Hawam . Quarterly of the Department of Antiquities in Palestine 4, 1–69 . Liverani, M . 1999 Le lettere di el-Amarna 1–2, Brescia 1999 . 2009

The Late Bronze Age: Materials and Mechanisms of Trade and Cultural Exchange . In: J . Aruz, K . Benzel and J . M . Evans (eds .), Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C. New Haven, 161–168 .

Lupack, S . 1999 Palaces, Sanctuaries and Workshop: the role of the Religious Sector in Mycenaean Economics . In: M . L . Galatay (ed .), Rethinking Mycenaean Palaces: New Interpretations of an Old Idea . Los Angeles, 25–34 . McGovern, P . E . 1985 Late Bronze Age Palestinian Pendants. Innovation in a Cosmopolitan Age . Journal for the Society of the Old Testament/American Schools of Oriental Research Monograph Series 1. Sheffield. Moorey, P . R . S . 1999 Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries: The Archaeological Evidence . Winona Lake, Ind . 2001

The Mobility of Artisans and Opportunities for Technology Transfer between Western Asia and Egypt in the Late Bronze Age . In: A . J . Shortland (ed .), The Social Context of Technological Change. Egypt and Near East 1650–1550 BC. Proceedings of a Conference Held at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, 12–14 September 2000 . Oxford, 1–14 . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Mullins, R . A . 2012 The Late and Iron Age Temples at Beth-Shean . In: J . Kamlah (ed .), Temple Building and Temple Cult. Architecture and Cultic Paraphernalia of Temples in the Levant (2.–1. Mill. B.C.E.). Proceedings of a Conference on the Occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Institute of the Biblical Archaeology at the University of Tübingen (28–30 May 2010) . Abhandlungen des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 41 . Wiesbaden, 127–157 . Panitz-Cohen, N . and Mazar, A . (eds .) 2009 Excavations at Tel Beth Shean 1989–1996. Volume III. The 13th–11th Century BCE Strata in Area N and S . Jerusalem . Philip, G . 1988 Hoards of the Early and Middle Bronze Ages in the Levant . World Archaeology 20, 190–208 . Platt, E . 2003 Jewelry in the Levant . In: S . Richards (ed .), Near Eastern Archaeology. A Reader. Winona Lake, 197–204 . Rowe, A . 1940 The Four Canaanite Temples of Beth Shean. Part I. The Temples and Cult Objects. Publications of the Palestine Section of the University Museum, University of Pennsylvania 2 . Philadelphia . Sasson, J . M . 1990 Artisans…Artists: Documentary Perspectives from Mari . In: A . C . Gunter (ed .), Investigating Artistic Environments on the Ancient Near East . Madison, 21–27 . Shaw, I . 2004 Identity and Occupation: How Did Individuals Define Themselves and Their Work in the Egyptian New Kingdom? In: J . Bourriau and J . Phillips (eds .), Invention and Innovation. The Social Context of Technological Change 2. Egypt, the Aegean and the Near East 1650–1550. Proceedings of a Conference Held at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Cambridge, 4–6 September 2002 . Oxford, 15–24 . Sparks, R . T . 2007 Stone Vessels in the Levant . Palestine Exploration Fund Annual 8 . Leeds . Stern, E . 1984 Excavations at Tel Mevorakh (1973–1976), Part 2 The Bronze Age . Qedem: Monographs of the Institute of Archaeology 18 . Jerusalem . Stewart, J . R . 1974 Tell el-‘Ajjul . The Middle Bronze Age Remains . Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology 38 . Göteborg . Thompson, C . M . 2009 Three 20th Dynasty Silver Hoards from the Egyptian Garrison . In: N . Panitz-Cohen and A . Mazar (eds .), Excavations at Tel Beth Shean 1989–1996. Volume III. The 13th–11th Century BCE Strata in Area N and S. Jerusalem, 597–608 . Yadin, Y., Aharoni, Y., Dunayevski, E., Dothan, T., Amiran, R. and Perrot, J. 1961 Hazor III–IV. An Account of the Third and Fourth Seasons of Excavations 1957–1958 (Plates). Jerusalem . Zaccagnini, C . 1983 Patterns of Mobility Among Ancient Near Eastern Craftsmen . Journal of Near Eastern Studies 42, 245–264 . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig . 1 Hazor, stone mould, A5358/1 (Yadin et al . 1961: pl . 158 .31)

Fig . 2 Tel Akko, Area A/B . Installations for metal-working (Artzy 2010: 19, fig. 16)

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Fig . 3 A – Tell Abu Hawam, green steatite mould (Hamilton 1935: no . 359); B – Steatite mould (Hamilton 1935: no . 206); C – Gold Earring (Hamilton 1935: pl . 39 .417)

Fig . 4 Beth Shean, Level IX (McGovern 1985: 12, map 4) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

Workshops in the Southern Levant: The Case of Jewellers during the Late Bronze Age

Fig . 5 Beth Shean, jewellery mould (Rowe 1940: pl . 71a:5)

Fig . 6 Beth Shean, plan of Stratum S-4, southern part (Panitz-Cohen and Mazar 2009: 105, fig. 4.3b)

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Fig . 7 Beth Shean, silver hoard, group one, scale 1:1 (Thompson 2009: fig. 11.1)

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Subsistence Systems in a Semi-Arid Zone: Late Early Bronze Age (EBA) Self-Sustenance of the Copper Production Centre in Faynan Region, Southern Jordan Masatoshi Yamafuji 1 Abstract This paper assesses the self-sustainability of the copper production centre in Faynan during late EB III, from the perspective of cereal production in the neighbouring region of thr northern Shawbak, following a new archaeological survey . Faynan, especially Khirbet Hamra Ifdan, seemed to be prosperous during the period . The population is estimated at 195 adults, each of whom needed at least 200kg of wheat annually . This amount of wheat would be partially provided by the northern Shawbak, where four sedentary hamlets of late EB III were found with same pottery types as the west . The population, estimated at 24–30 people, may have produced no more than 39,000kg of wheat. It means the region could not provide a sufficient amount of wheat for the whole population of Faynan . There are two options for additional food: domestic animals and copper trading . The excavated animal bones indicate sheep/goats and cattle were raised for meat and milk . Furthermore, copper products and ingots were exported to the Negev probably in return for food . Therefore, it is assumed that Faynan was systematically sustained through animal grazing and interregional copper exchange .

1. Introduction This paper focuses on assessing the self-sustainability of the copper production centre in Faynan during late EB III (c . 2500 BC), from the perspective of the potential ability for cereal production in the newly-surveyed northern Shawbak in the east . This topic has never been investigated due to insufficiency of archaeological data, especially on the eastern side of the Dead Sea valley . While less attention has been paid to the self-sustainability of the region (cf . Muniz 2007), previous studies have focused on past technology and system of copper production in Faynan as their main concerns (Hauptmann 2007). However, 16 sites identified in the northern Shawbak and possibly dated to late EB III, could improve the situation (Yamafuji et al. 2015): several settlements in the sites produced large number of pottery sherds, the types of which are comparable with Faynan. In order to sustain a significant population continuously engaged in copper production, it appears that the settlements in Faynan required the northern Shawbak as an environmental niche, where rain-fed agriculture can be practiced with less difficulty than in Faynan.

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Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Department of Imperial Palace Sites Investigation . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Therefore, this paper hypothetically explores whether the northern Shawbak could supply sufficient crops to Faynan or not, through demographic analysis of Faynan and estimation of crop yields in the northern Shawbak, after examining the regional connection between them . 2. Archaeological survey in the northern Shawbak, southern Jordan The northern Shawbak is located in a semi-arid zone 20km south of the Dead Sea, consisting of hilly terrain ranging 900 to 1500m above sea level . The region seems to be suitable for agriculture and pastoralism today, because of several perennial flows and the amount of ground water . Annual precipitation of 300mm also makes rainfed agriculture easier . Until the 19th century AD, the region was covered with large numbers of juniper trees (Hunt et al. 2007) . In spite of its relative environmental richness, the region was not surveyed comprehensively until 2010, when a new archaeological survey (Shawbak North Archaeological Project: SNAP) was conducted by Kanazawa University . Though archaeological surveys in the region had been intermittently conducted by N . Glueck and other scholars since the 1930s (Glueck 1935: 89, 94–95; Rollefson 1981; Mithen et al. 2007), their results were not sufficient to reveal the entire spectrum of culture and history through the region . The newly launched SNAP focused on the naturally bordered hilly terrain, measuring approximately 12km N–S by 12km E–W at its greatest extent, formed by the corrosion of limestone (Fig . 1) . The whole area was intensively traversed on foot in order to cover every habitable piece of land. After five research seasons, a total of 182 archaeological sites were identified (Yamafuji et al. 2015), although several sites had been visited in previous surveys . These sites include a total of 41 Early Bronze Age sites, from the earliest EB I (c . 3700 BC) to probably EB IV (c . 2450 BC) . The number of sites fluctuated sharply for each period, but the pattern is simple: relatively higher density in the earliest EB I and late EB III–IV, and lower in EB II–III (c . 3100–2600 BC). The following briefly reviews the patterns of site distribution only in the two predominant periods, in order to highlight the essential difference between the two periods . In the earliest EB I, a total of 15 sites were identified, most of which were located in the northern half of the region . Although the sites include a few small settlements and more artefact scatters, the latter overwhelmingly predominates from the point of view of the proportion of collected artefacts, the majority of which were pottery sherds . The pattern of site distribution implies that the region was sparsely occupied for temporary activities, similar to the seasonal movements of modern pastoralists (Palmer et al. 2007) . On the other hand, 16 registered sites from late EB III–IV include six settlements with a more sedentary character and fewer artefact scatters, most of which are concentrated in the southwest . Although the settlements yield no clear structural © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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remains, the large numbers of pottery sherds collected cover the entire repertoire in the periods indicating domestic activities (Fig . 3) . In addition, a total of six sites, consisting of not only settlements (Sites 604, 707, 710 and 722) but also artefact scatters (Sites 435 and 438), produced quantities of late EB III–IV pottery sherds, amounting to the greater part of the total number of collected artefacts . Furthermore, three enclosures were confirmed, probably dated to late EB III–IV, solidly built with a line of limestone and/or basalt boulders . This implies that they may have functioned as animal pens for periodic pastoralism . Therefore, the above evidence indicates the possibility that the northern Shawbak was more intensively utilized in a more sedentary and constant manner during late EB III–IV . 3. Site distribution in its surroundings Taking a glance at their broader surroundings, the distribution of EB sites shows a clear contrast between the east and the west . While the east, the Jordanian plateau, had a relatively small number of EB sites, the majority of the sites were concentrated at the bottom of the Dead Sea (Araba) valley in the west . Sites dated to EB are densely distributed in the northern Araba valley (MacDonald 1992; Levy et al. 2001; Barker et al. 2007). Several archaeological surveys identified a total of c . 400 sites . In Wadi Faynan, 336 EB I sites mostly consist of small cairns without settlements, the numbers of which had gradually decreased to 49 sites in EB II–III and only four sites in EB III–IV including settlements (Barker et al. 2007) . A similar tendency is clearly recognizable along Wadi Fidan, west of Wadi Faynan; 23 sites in EB I decrease to four in EB II–III and only the one settlement of Khirbet Hamra Ifdan (KHI) in EB IV (Levy et al. 2001) . On the other hand, there were few traces of continuous utilization during the period on the southern Jordanian plateau . A survey in the Tafila-Busaira region confirmed 18 EB I sites mostly consisting of artefact scatters, with few EB II and pre-EB IV artefacts (MacDonald et al. 2004) . The Shammakh-Ayl region to the south of the northern Shawbak includes only a few EB remains with no EB II–III traces in an area measuring 600km² (MacDonald et al. 2011), as is the case with the area south of Petra . In short, it clearly indicates a high density of EB sites in the west and their scarcity in the east . In addition, the numbers of sites had sharply decreased throughout the period in the whole area . Furthermore, we need to focus on the neighbouring western Faynan as a copper production centre especially in late EB III, because the site distribution during EB II–III had remarkable characteristics . While a moderate number of settlements, including KHI, were located on the western edge of the region, there is a relatively sparse distribution of sites in the eastern part, after tombs were highly concentrated in EB I . Given the relatively high number of mining and smelting sites in the eastern part (Fig . 2), this sparse distribution would result from its function as a centre of specialized copper smelting . In addition, it is thought that KHI functioned as a core settlement for artisans who processed the copper into tools or ingots . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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KHI measures c. 2.5ha at most and seems to have flourished during Late EB III as the only large core settlement in Faynan (Levy et al. 2001; Levy et al. 2002) . It is quite significant that large numbers of artefacts related to copper production were found in the rectangular complexes that were continuously being built . Total number of the artefacts reached more than three thousands in the most flourishing period (Stratum III) (Levy et al. 2002), coinciding with EB III/Phases 2 to 5 (Adams 2000) . According to R . Adams, KHI would have been most intensively utilized in late EB III or the transition between EB III and EB IV (Phases 5 and 6) . In my opinion, based on the collected pottery (probably originating from Faynan), these phases mostly correspond with the dates of the EB settlements in the northern Shawbak . 4. Pottery analysis The above opinion can be corroborated through pottery analysis . Fig . 3 represents the main types of pottery collected in the two main settlements of Sites 604 and 707 in the northern Shawbak . The grouping of pottery comprising a variety of both bowls and jars is characteristic in some points; inverted-rim bowls and platters are mostly red-slipped, and the interior and exterior surfaces are often burnished (Fig . 3 .1–7, 17–20) . Quite a few comparable pottery sherds were found in Phases 4–6 at KHI . According to the preliminary report, red-slipped and burnished decoration on both surfaces of bowls is characteristic during Phases 4–6 (Adams 2000: figs. 21.2:12, 21.7:10, 11, 21.8). In addition, flaring-rim jars are common, including jars with bevelled triangular rims (Fig . 3 .25–26; Adams 2000: figs. 21.3:2–6, 21.5:7) and with impressed band decorations on the shoulders (Fig. 3.27; Adams 2000: fig. 21.4:3). Although similar types of jars from the northern Shawbak (Fig . 3 .11–13) may have sometimes been made on a tournette as indicated by the smoothing on their necks, there is no technological description in the report . Several types are not discerned in KHI . One platter has an unremarkable inclined rim, unusual for EB II–III (Fig . 3 .8), but somewhat similar to the EB IV artefacts from Bab edh-Dhra’ (Rast and Schaub 2003: pls . 88 .29, 99 .10) . Its smooth profile on the interior rim and gently inclined lip, however, are different from those of EB IV, which have a sharp step on the interior rim and a strongly inclined lip . It proves that the type can be dated to late EB III . Holemouth jars with ‘duck-bill’ rims (Fig . 3 .29–30) were also found at EB IV sites in the Central Negev Highlands (Cohen 1999: fig. 153.1, 7, 9, 17), which petrographic analysis shows may have originated from the southern Negev (Goren 1996: 55) . Furthermore, bowls with impressed ledge handles on the rim were collected (Fig . 3 .9, 21), similar to types found at Bab edh-Dhra’ in EB IV (Rast and Schaub 2003: pls . 110 .25, 122 .24) . Therefore, it is plausible to date the grouping of pottery to the transition from late EB III to early EB IV . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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5. Demographic study In order to estimate the population, a total of nine settlements are analysed: five in Faynan and four in the northern Shawbak (Table 1) . It is assumed that a part of the population of KHI periodically migrated to its surroundings in order to engage in agricultural and related activities . As the total population of the analyzed regions is considered to equal the total of KHI, this analysis actually focuses only on KHI . Two settlements (Sites 604 and 707) of four in the northern Shawbak are examined to estimate the migrated population from KHI due to their more sedentary nature with wider repertories of collected pottery than the other two . 2 First of all, the total area of each settlement has to be adequately calculated . A GIS map created on QGIS was used for the calculation to trace the specific area where archaeological remains and artefacts were densely concentrated . In Faynan, KHI is overwhelmingly larger than the others, which includes not only houses but also alleys and public places . Therefore, this paper provisionally uses ‘housing area’ (H) for the estimation of actual occupied area, which is derived from the result of an ethno-archaeological study showing that ordinary houses were built in 60% of the total area of a traditional Aliabad village in western Iran (Kramer 1982: 251–253) . Despite the temporal and spatial distance from the analyzed region, its structural similarities of topography, climate and way of life allow us to borrow this modern data for reconstructing past life in southern Jordan . Furthermore, the study pointed out that the ‘dwelling space’ (D) people actually lived in was much narrower; it is estimated that the ‘dwelling space’ occupied only 20% of the ‘housing area’, the rest of which consists of courtyard, animal shelter and cooking place (Kramer 1982: 122) . Taking these percentages into consideration, the ‘dwelling space’ of KHI measures ca . 3,000m² . Since previous studies indicate that one person actually needs ca . 10m² (e .g . LeBlanc 1971), the population in the settlement can be calculated from the ‘dwelling space’ . The formula is as follows: Population (P) = 0 .2H/10 = D/10 . Another method of calculation was used at the same time, in order to underpin the estimate . This method uses the average sizes of an ordinary house and household . This paper estimates the house size (x) was 200 to 300m² based on a previous study (Kramer 1982: 122) and an archaeological survey in the northern Shawbak (Yamafuji et al. 2015) . The household size (number of family members: F) was provisionally estimated from the modern villagers of Aliabad and Bedouins residing in the Negev desert (Kramer 1982: 123; Rudnitzky 2012: 19–20) . The estimated value used here is six people including two children less than 14 years old . The estimated population is obtained through the following formula: P = F(H/x) . The results of the calculation are represented in Figure 4 . Fig . 4a–c indicate the estimated population in each region from two methods of calculation . The one on the left is the result of the first method, which uses the occupied space per person value,

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Sites 710 and 722 are regarded as ephemeral outposts probably originating from two others . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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and the other two are from the second method which depends on the estimated size of an ordinary house . According to the graphs, the estimated population of KHI is 300–450 people including children . Making the same calculations as earlier for Sites 604 and 707 in the northern Shawbak gives us a combined estimated population of 22–30 people . These results can be corroborated by an additional method, that is, calculation based on population per hectare, in the case of KHI . The estimate is derived from the values of 100 and 150 people per ha . These values are calculated from Aliabad where 418 people lived on three hectares in 1975 (Kramer 1982: 158), though it is difficult to determine average values due to regional variability in the Near East . Based on the estimated values, the average of the calculated populations is 312 people, including children, more or less corresponding to the modestest results (300 people) . Therefore, 300 people seems to be more or less plausible . Although 300 people would be the maximum population living on the entire site, size of site and population would not necessary have reached that . F . Plog pointed out that population would have actually occupied on only 78% of the maximum estimated size of a site at the zenith period based on an archaeological study of southwestern North America (Plog 1972) . In the case of KHI, it is estimated that 78% of 300 people, that is, 234 people, may have resided there during the most flourishing Phase 5. As mentioned above, this paper considers that each household includes on average two children below the age of 14 and two children require the same calories as one adult . Therefore, for the purpose of calculation, if all children are converted into adults, it is assumed that sufficient calories to feed 195 adults were required in KHI during Phase 5. 6. Estimated yield of foundation crop How were necessary calories for 195 people obtained in those days? The necessary annual calories for one adult were calculated as 2,290kcal per day in the Middle East during 1964–1966 (Musaiger 2011: table 1) . Therefore, 195 adults require 835,850kcal, approximately 46,569kg of wheat, 3 as 1kg of wheat in southern Jordan provides 3,500kcal (cf . Simms and Russell 1997: 698) . Therefore, one adult requires 239kg of wheat annually . Since it is assumed that people obtained several kinds of food other than wheat in those days, the following provisionally applies a value of 200kg of wheat for one adult per year . Now, we need to take a glance at the northern Shawbak again as a potential crop supplier . Today, the region has enough precipitation per year, around 300–400mm over 1100m a .s .l . and consists of moderate hilly slopes for rain-fed agriculture (Hunt et al. 2007), though steep terrain to the north and south are not suitable for cultiva-

3

This paper discusses food production and consumption based on wheat for convenience . The possibility that other crops (like barley) were utilized should not be ruled out . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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tion . Fig . 1 shows the modern cultivated land for rain-fed agriculture as a shaded area, a total of 665ha extending over 1100m a .s .l . The evidence can be corroborated by site distribution in late EB III corresponding with the modern cultivated land . As mentioned above, 195 adults would have consumed a total of 39,000kg of wheat annually . Estimating that c . 25% of the amount was lost to insect damage and kept for seed, the total required wheat yield comes to 52,000kg . Estimating that the wheat yield was 400–600kg per ha, referring to the data from the modern Petra region (Simms and Russell 1997: 699), the required area for cultivation seems to be 87–130ha. Therefore, it is assumed that sufficient cultivable land could have been secured in the northern Shawbak . It then has to be considered how large an area could have been cultivated in the northern Shawbak . For this, we can use ploughing area values obtained from ethnographic studies of traditional Mediterranean agriculture . In Greece and southern Jordan, cultivation is conducted with an ard using two oxen or donkeys, which can cultivate approximately 0.3ha per day on flat terrain (Halstead 2014; Simms and Russell 1997) . Since the cultivable land in the northern Shawbak consists of gentle slopes, 0 .3ha per day could be a plausible estimate . According to the above values, four patterns are represented on Fig . 4d–g . 4 Each of them was calculated under three estimations of population and household number . As a result, three patterns, except only for manpower, indicate annually cultivable land of c . 54 .75ha, 71 .25ha and 90 .5ha for each average . Referring to these values, Fig . 4h represents three patterns of wheat yields for each estimated ploughing area (ha), in accordance with a previous study (Simms and Russell 1997: 699). Based on the figure, Fig. 4i indicates a sustainable population number for each pattern . As the horizontal line explicitly indicates, an estimated total of 195 adults in the regions could have been maintained only under the best estimate . In other words, the total population may not have been solely sustained by the northern Shawbak as potential food supplier . 7. Supplementary means for acquiring food Therefore, a further issue has to be discussed: how could a shortage of food be compensated for? Two options present themselves: local food production by grazing livestock and interregional exchange of copper . Excavations at KHI provided large amount of animal bones for analysis, with the largest quantity of bones being sheep or goat 5 (Muniz 2007) . These were used for meat but probably also for milk (Muniz 2007: 198) . In the case of goats, 35% of a given flock can provide milk for 90 to 120 days annually. Estimating that each

4 5

Fig. 4f indicates where half the households had two oxen and the other half four. For five households, it is assumed that two had four oxen and the other three two oxen . Distinguishable bones contain far more goat than sheep bones (Muniz 2007) . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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does produce 50kg of milk per year, total amount of milk from each does reaches approximately 37,700kcal (Dahl and Hjort 1976: 211–218) . To compensate for the shortage of wheat (more than 38kg, equivalent to 136,500kcal per adult annually), it seems that more than 1434 goats, including 502 does, would have to have been grazed, requiring pasture measuring 68 to 169km² annually (cf . Finkelstein 1995: 55), which may have been more or less easily maintained on the broad steppe around Faynan . Another option was copper trading . Large number of crescent ingots have been found not only in KHI but also settlements like Har Yeruham and ‘En Ziq in the Central Negev Highlands (Kochavi 1993; Segal and Roman 1999) . As Chemical analysis clarified that copper ore from Faynan has a similar composition of lead isotopes to these ingots, this may suggest they have the same provenance, that is, Faynan (Hauptmann et al. 2015) . Therefore, it appears that these ingots in the Central Negev Highlands were probably transported from Faynan, and then distributed to the other regions . Nevertheless, the matter of chronological contemporaneity still remains . While the main phase of KHI is dated to late EB III, most sites of the Central Negev Highlands are dated to EB IV . At the present, a framework of EB periodization has been revised based on 14C analysis (Regev et al. 2012) . Consequently, it is suggested that the new dates for EB III and EB IV partially overlap, the transition period of which could be dated around 2500–2450 BC . Given the shared types of artefacts like the crescent ingots, settlements in the Central Negev Highlands might have been contemporaneous with KHI in late EB III, as was once pointed out (Adams 2006: 138–139) . 8. Concluding remarks This paper discussed how the population in Faynan had been sustained during Late EB III from the perspective of the northern Shawbak as a crop supplier . The purpose of the paper is not to assert exclusive dietary dependence on the northern Shawbak but to highlight the possibility that Faynan or KHI had multifaceted economies and may have flexibly changed their major sources of food supply. As a result, it is assumed that the northern Shawbak could have supported the population of Faynan under limited conditions . Therefore, the population must have had contingencies and alternative activities to ensure a plentiful food supply . The possible answers might be desert pastoralism and copper trading . This multifaceted economy may not have been confined to the arid zone of the south but also connected to areas further north . Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Prof . Dr . Sumio Fujii and members of Kanazawa University for their kind support during the seasons of SNAP . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Bibliography Adams, R . B . 2000 The Early Bronze Age III–IV Transition in Southern Jordan: Evidence from Khirbet Hamra Ifdan . In: G . Philip and D . Baird (eds .), Ceramics and Change in the Early Bronze Age of the Southern Levant. Levantine Archaeology. Sheffield, 379–401. 2006

Copper Trading Networks across the Arabah during the Later Early Bronze Age . In: P . Bienkowski and K . Galor (eds .), Crossing the Rift. Resources, Settlements Patterns and Interaction in the Wadi Arabah . Oxford, 135–142 .

Barker, G . W ., Gilbertson, D . and Mattingly, D . (eds .) 2007 Archaeology and Desertification: The Wadi Faynan Landscape Survey, Southern Jordan. Levant Supplementary Series 6 . Oxford . Cohen, R . 1999 Ancient Settlement of the Central Negev, Volume I: The Chalcolithic Period, the Early Bronze Age and the Middle Bronze Age I. Israel Aantiquities Authority Reports 6 . Jerusalem [in Hebrew] . Dahl, G . and Hjort, A . 1976 Having Herds: Pastoral Herd Growth and Household Economy . Stockholm . Finkelstein, I . 1995 Living on the Fringe: The Archaeology and History of the Negev, Sinai and Neighboring Regions in the Bronze and Iron Ages. Sheffield. Glueck, N . 1935 Explorations in Eastern Palestine, II . Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 15 . New Haven . Goren, Y . 1996 The Southern Levant in the Early Bronze Age IV: The Petrographic Perspective . Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 303, 33–72 . Halstead, P . 2014 Two Oxen Ahead: Pre-Mechanized Farming in the Mediterranean . Oxford . Hauptmann, A . 2007 The Archaeometallurgy of Copper: Evidence from Faynan, Jordan . Berlin – Heidelberg . Hauptmann, A ., Schmitt-Strecker, S ., Levy, T . E . and Begemann, F . 2015 On Early Bronze Age Copper Bar Ingots from the Southern Levant . Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research 373, 1–24 . Hunt, C . O ., Gilbertson, D . D . and El-Rishi, H . A . 2007 An 8000-year History of Landscape, Climate, and Copper Exploitation in the Middle East: the Wadi Faynan and the Wadi Dana National Reserve in Southern Jordan . Journal of Archaeological Science 34, 1306–1338 . Kochavi, M . 1993 Yeroham, Mount . In: E . Stern (ed .), The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land. Jerusalem, 1506–1507 . Kramer, C . 1982 Village Ethnoarchaeology: Rural Iran in Archeological Perspective . London . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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LeBlanc, S . 1971 An Addition to Naroll’s Suggested Floor Area and Settlement Population Relationship . American Antiquities 36/2, 210–211 . Levy, T . E ., Adams, R . B ., Hauptmann, A ., Prange, M ., Schmitt-Strecker, S . and Najjar, M . 2002 Early Bronze Age Metallurgy: A Newly Discovered Copper Manufactory in Southern Jordan . Antiquity 76, 425–437 . Levy, T . E ., Adams, R . B ., Witten, A . J ., Anderson, J ., Arbel, Y ., Kuah, S ., Moreno, J ., Lo, A . and Wagonner, M . 2001 Early Metallurgy, Interaction, and Social Change: The Jabal Hamrat Fidan (Jordan) Research Design and 1998 Archaeological Survey: Preliminary Report . Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 45, 159–187 . MacDonald, B . 1992 The Southern Ghors and Northeast ‘Arabah Archaeological Survey. Sheffield. MacDonald, B ., Herr, L . G ., Neeley, M . P ., Gagos, T ., Moumani, K . and Rockman, M . 2004 The Tafila-Busayra Archaeological Survey 1999–2001, West-Central Jordan . Boston . MacDonald, B ., Herr, L . G ., Quaintance, D . S ., al-Hajaj, W . and Jouvenel, A . 2011 The Shammakh to Ayl Archaeological Survey, Southern Jordan: Second Season 2011 . Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 55, 363–376 . Mithen, S ., Finlayson, B ., Pirie, A ., Smith, S . and Whiting, C . 2007 Archaeological Survey of Wadis Faynan, Ghuwayr, Dana and al-Bustan . In: B . Finlayson and S . Mithen (eds .), The Early Prehistory of Wadi Faynan, Southern Jordan: Archaeological Survey of Wadis Faynan, Ghuwayr and al-Bustan and Evaluation of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A Site of WF 16 . Levant Supplementary Series 4, Oxford, 47–117 . Muniz, A . A . 2007 Feeding the Periphery: Modeling Early Bronze Age Economies and the Cultural Landscape of the Faynan District, Southern Jordan . San Diego . Musaiger, A . O . 2011 Food Consumption Patterns in the Eastern Mediterranean Region . Manama . Palmer, C ., Gilbertson, D ., El-Rishi, H ., Hunt, C . O ., Grattan, J ., McLaren, S . and Pyatt, B . 2007 The Wadi Faynan Today: Landscape, Environment, People . In: G . W . Barker, D . Gilbertson and D . J . Mattingly (eds .), Archaeology and Desertification: The Wadi Faynan Landscape Survey, Southern Jordan . Levant Supplementary Series 6 . Oxford, 25–57 . Plog, F . 1972 Demographic Studies in Southwestern Prehistory . American Antiquity 40/2 . Memoir 30, 94–103 . Rast, W . E . and Schaub, R . T . 2003 Bab edh-Dhra’: Excavations at the Town Site (1975–1981) . Winona Lake . Regev, J ., Miroschedji, P . de, Greenberg, R ., Braun, E ., Greenhut, Z . and Boaretto, E . 2012 Chronology of the Early Bronze Age in the Southern Levant: New Analysis for a High Chronology . Radiocarbon 54/3–4, 525–566 . Rollefson, G . 1981 The Late Acheulean Site at Fjaje, Wadi El-Bustan, Southern Jordan . Paléorient 7/1, 5–21 . Rudnitzky, A . 2012 Social, Demographic and Economic Factors . In: The Abraham Fund Initiatives (ed .), The Bedouin Population in the Negev . Jerusalem, 1–66 . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Segal, I . and Roman, I . 1999 Chemical and Metallurgical Studies of Copper Ingots from Horbat ‘En Ziq and Horbat Be’er Resisim . In: R . Cohen (ed .), Ancient Settlement of the Central Negev, Volume I: The Chalcolithic Period, the Early Bronze Age and the Middle Bronze Age I . Israel Aantiquities Authority Reports 6 . Jerusalem, 22*–37* . Simms, S . R . and Russell, K . W . 1997 Bedouin Hand Harvesting of Wheat and Barley: Implications for Early Cultivation in Southwestern Asia . Current Anthropology 38/4 696–702 . Yamafuji, M ., Fujii, S . and Adachi, T . 2015 Archaeological Survey of the Northern Shawbak, Southern Jordan, 2010–2013 . Kanazawa [in Japanese] .

Fig . 1 Site distribution during late EB III–early EB IV in the northern Shawbak (sites where most of artefacts were dated to EBA are represented by numbers in rectangles) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig . 2 Distribution of EBA sites in Faynan

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© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig . 3 The selected pottery from the northern Shawbak (Late EB III–Early EB IV)

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig . 4 Estimation of population, cultivable land, wheat yield and total sustainable population (SNAP: Northern Shawbak; WFD: Wadi Fidan; WF: Wadi Faynan)

Site

Housing area (m²) 600

No. of house (200 m²) 3?

No. of house (300 m²) 2?

Dwelling space (m²) 120

Period

Size (m²)

SNAP 604

EB III–IV

1,000

SNAP 707

EB III–IV

850

510

2?

2?

102

SNAP 710

EB III–IV

150

150

1

0 .5

30

SNAP 722

EB III–IV

200

200

1

1

40

WFD 6

EB II–III

1,200

1,200

3?

3?

240

WFD 52

EB II–III

2?

2?

140

KHI Str .III

EB III–IV

75?

50?

3,000

WF 797 WF 799

700

700

25,000

15,000

EB II–III

550

550

1

1

110

EB II–III

550

190

1

1

38

Table 1 Estimated values of occupation areas and the number of houses (SNAP: Northern Shawbak; WFD: Wadi Fidan; WF: Wadi Faynan) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

EXCAVATION REPORTS & SUMMARIES edited by T. Bürge

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

Excavations on the Fortifications of the Citadel of Erbil

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Excavations on the Fortifications of the Citadel of Erbil Dara Al Yaqoobi – Mary Shepperson – John MacGinnis 1 Abstract The first major excavations on the citadel mound of Erbil have uncovered a sequence of defensive walls stretching back to at least the Neo-Assyrian period. Evidence for a major destruction in the early first century AD has been tentatively ascribed to a campaign by the emperor Trajan in 115 AD.

At the heart of the city, and with roots stretching back into the dawn of time, the citadel of Erbil is one of the great sites of ancient Mesopotamia. 2 Ceramics from the surface of the site include material dating back to the Ubaid period, but given the widespread presence of sites of the Halaf period in the surrounding plain it is highly probable that Erbil was also occupied at this time. The documentary history of the site begins around 2300 BC, with references in texts from Ebla followed by cuneiform sources relating to the history of the city through to the Neo-Assyrian period. There are also references in classical, medieval and Ottoman sources. The exceptional importance of the citadel was recognised in 2007 with the creation of the High Commission for Erbil Citadel Revitalisation (HCECR), the authority constituted by the Kurdish Regional Government in order to develop and implement plans for the regeneration of the citadel. This resulted, in 2011, in the Master Plan for Erbil Citadel, a comprehensive strategy for regenerating the site through a co-ordinated approach comprising the documentation, preservation, presentation and utilisation of the architectural heritage. Addressing the archaeological heritage formed a necessary part of this plan. A significant milestone was reached in 2014 with the recognition of the outstanding universal value of Erbil Citadel and its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List. In its present form the citadel mound is crowned with a ring of imposing mansions which dominate the perimeter and is home to a rich array of Ottoman period architecture. The mound covers an area of approximately 16ha at the base while the upper perimeter encloses an area of approximately 11ha. At the lowest point, at the centre of the mound, the sequence of archaeological layers is in the order of 22m deep, a figure which not only corresponds to the height of the mound above the

1 2

All from the High Commission for Erbil Citadel Revitalisation. For a general overview of the history of the citadel, see Al Yaqoobi et al. 2016a; for earlier comments on the archaeological investigations, see Al Yaqoobi et al. 2016b. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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surrounding plain but is also confirmed by both bore holes and geophysical survey; towards the perimeter the elevation is up to 10m higher than this. Until recently the archaeological potential of the mound had been virtually unexplored. In 2012, however, the HCECR commissioned an archaeological assessment of the citadel mound in order to document the archaeological potential of the site, to formulate a strategy for dealing with this potential and to pave the way for active investigations. A survey conducted to determine how the archaeological heritage could best be approached within the constraints of the existing topography and standing architecture resulted in the identification of seven areas (A to G: Fig. 1) for possible archaeological investigation (MacGinnis 2009): – Area A: a central area suitable for conducting a major excavation. – Area B: an area located in the north-east of the citadel within the fabric of the standing architecture where the demolition of modern shacks will create spaces which, prior to their redevelopment within the guidelines of the Master Plan, will be available for excavation. – Area C: an area located in the western lobe of the citadel where again the demolition of modern shacks will create spaces available for excavation. – Area D: an area located on the perimeter of the mound east of the Amedi Gate where the presence of a vacant plot presents an opportunity for archaeological work to be conducted. It is the only location where a stepped trench from the top of the mound could be laid out. – Area E: a second location on the perimeter of the mound, west of the Amedi Gate, where the presence of a vacant plot again presents an opportunity for archaeological investigation. – Area F: a standing elevation west of the Grand Gate comprising an extended architectural sequence, including a section through the city wall. – Area G: an area east of the Grand Gate where a block of remains appears to preserve a section through the city wall. 1. Previous investigations As noted above, prior to the operations of the HCECR only limited archaeological work had been carried out on the citadel: (1) In the 1970s an excavation was carried out in the course of digging the foundations for the southern gate to the citadel constructed at that time; some Abbasid period ceramics were recovered and are now in the Erbil Museum. (2) In 2006 a team led by Karel Nováček undertook a variety of operations on the citadel including the collection of ceramics from the surface in an area on the western side of the mound, the recording of the sections of two cuts at the foot of the mound and the excavation of a small trench in a house in the eastern part of the © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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citadel (Novácek 2007: 9–14 and figs. 13–15; Nováček et al. 2008: 263–265, 289, fig. 31). (3) In 2008 the HCECR put five boreholes through the mound which produced archaeological material. The results demonstrated that at the centre of the citadel occupation layers extend down 22m below the surface. (4) In 2012 excavations were carried out under the auspices of the HCECR by a team under the supervision of John MacGinnis and Dara al Yaqoobi. Five trenches were excavated in the area of the Grand Gate in order to locate the foundations of the Ottoman-period gate (MacGinnis 2012). 2. Geophysical investigations In 2006 the first geophysical surveys on the mound were carried out by the team led by Karel Nováček, using micro-gravimetry, shallow refraction seismology and multi-electrode direct resistivity (Nováček et al. 2008: 263–265, 289). A second round of survey was carried out in 2010 by two Italian co-operation projects (MAECi-IsIAO and MAECI-Sapienza) directed by Carlo Cereti with the support of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Iraqi Kurdistan (MAIKI), co-directed by Luca Colliva and Maria Vittoria Fontana (Cereti and Colliva 2016: 53–55). This involved the trial use of ground penetrating radar although the technique yielded poor results, perhaps due to the presence of ground water. Traces of the surrounding fortification wall were identified but the technique failed to reach deeper levels. In 2013 the application of electrical resistivity tomography and seismic refraction tomography successfully produced images of a north-south transect of the mound as well as two east-west transects. The presence of a large number of anomalies in almost all of the areas investigated confirmed the existence of complex stratigraphy. Two major anomalies were identified in the north-south section at a depth of between 12m and 20m from the surface and these were deemed to be particularly noteworthy from an archaeological point of view. The first of these anomalies was originally detected by the Czech mission and the work of the Italian team not only confirmed its existence but also allowed its size to be estimated as 10–15m N–S and 25–30m E–W. The second anomaly was located near the centre of the citadel, at a depth of between approximately 16m to 24m, with an estimated size of 40–45m along the N-S axis. The lower part of this second anomaly (from 25m to 30m deep) may be related to the natural subsoil (something that was also suggested by the boreholes excavated in 2008) while results from the upper part (approximately 18m to 24m below the surface) appeared to suggest the presence of imposing structures. It is possible that this anomaly represents one of the ancient buildings of which the mound is formed but unfortunately nothing can be deduced at present regarding its chronology. A third anomaly, a layer of higher resistivity that marks the first 8 to10m of stratigraphy, is likely to be related to Islamic levels, as suggested by comparison with material found in the boreholes. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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3. The city wall The location chosen for the first major investigation by the HCECR was Area E. The aim was to investigate whether remains of the historical fortifications survived in any form. That a defensive wall once existed was known from a firman issued by Sultan Mahmoud I in 1745 ordering its repair. It is not known whether or not this order was ever carried out, but at some stage in the following decades the nature of the citadel perimeter changed fundamentally. The city wall was replaced with a line of substantial houses which eventually completely encircled the perimeter, giving the citadel the distinctive appearance which it has to this day. The full evolution of this development will have taken a significant period of time and it not known exactly when the change started. It is possible that the city wall was levelled in accordance with the order of Sultan Mahmoud I but that a subsequent rebuilding never took place, and that it was the existence of this levelled area with solid foundations which led to the early modern configuration of houses around the perimeter. It should be noted, however, that the documented history of the walls of Erbil stretches back far earlier than this. We know, for example, that the city had fortifications in the Neo-Assyrian period (10th–7th centuries BC) as these are referred to in inscriptions of both Ashur-dan II and Ashurnasirpal II, and are actually depicted in a relief from the time of Ashurbanipal (Fig. 2; cf. MacGinnis 2014: 80). The relief depicts three lines of walls, which may represent either a double wall around the lower town and a wall around the citadel, or a wall around the lower town and walls around both the base and the upper perimeter of the citadel. The city was also evidently fortified in the early-mid second millennium BC when Shamshi-Adad I of Assyria and Dadusha of Eshnunna undertook a joint campaign involving the annexation of the states to the east of the Tigris (cf. MacGinnis 2014: 52–55). The fortifications depicted on the stele of Dadusha (Ismail and Cavigneaux 2003; illustrated in MacGinnis 2014: 54) are apparently those of Qabra, a neighbouring city which appears to have been the capital of a regional state, but it seems likely that those of Erbil will have been similar. It is also probable that Erbil was fortified from at least some point in the third millennium BC onwards. Important data on the lines of the fortification walls in both the Assyrian and medieval periods is preserved in aerial photographic sequences from before and after the Second World War and also in satellite imagery from the cold war period (Nováček 2011: 12; Nováček et al. 2013: 24–30). 4. Inauguration of excavation Returning to the archaeological objectives of the present project, it was known that there had been a defensive wall up until the mid-eighteenth century AD, although this is no longer visible. The identification of the location and configuration of such a wall was therefore deemed to be an objective of some importance. It was against this background that the HCECR initiated the first campaigns of major excavations © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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on the citadel mound in 2013. The project was led by Dara Al Yaqoobi, Head of HCECR, with the support of the Archaeological Committee (Abdullah Khorsheed Khader, Sanger Mohammed Abdullah, Saber Hassan Hussein and Ibrahim Khalil Ibrahim), and the assistance of John MacGinnis as Archaeological Advisor who was joined in due course by Mary Shepperson as on-site archaeologist. The excavations began in April 2013, with the the commencement marked by a formal ceremony attended by His Excellency Nawzad Hadi, Governor of Erbil, Dara al Yaqoobi Head of HCECR and the Excavation Campaign Team leader in addition to officials and archaeologists from across Kurdistan. In all, four seasons of work were conducted in Area E during the spring and autumn of 2013 and in the autumn of 2014 and 2015. Following the removal of the most recent structures and late twentieth century rubbish deposits, a major wall was identified running along the edge of the city mound. The ensuing seasons revealed a considerable depth of successive structures related to the fortification. These remains provide a window into the way in which the fortifications of Erbil have developed over the last two thousand years or more and the important role they appear to have played in the formation and structure of the citadel. A complex sequence of Ottoman period and Late Medieval domestic architecture was also exposed behind the latest phases of fortification walls, but this will not be discussed in this paper. 5. Phase 1: first millennium BC city wall The top of the wall dating to the first millennium BC was identified almost 5m below the modern surface level of the citadel. The line of the wall was exposed for a length of 26m. It was constructed of large, square, unbaked mud bricks measuring approximately 40cm × 40cm, and its outer face was coated with thick, dark red mud plaster along at least part of its length. The width of this early wall is unknown because its back edge lies underneath the later walls which were built on top of it. The Phase 1 wall extends out from under the later walls by around 2m (Figs. 3, 5) but its total width is certainly greater than this. The surviving height of the Phase 1 wall is also unknown. The outer face of the wall was exposed at its western end but for reasons of safety excavation had to cease after 2.50m of the wall’s height had been exposed (Fig. 6). At this depth there was no sign of the base of the wall or any indication that it was close. The earliest incarnation of the Phase 1 wall seems to have been an uninterrupted plain wall, but there were several later additions to its upper level. Part of the outer brickwork at the western end had been replaced, possibly to repair damage to the upper wall face. This repair work was later cut away to insert a projecting mass of brickwork, only part of which lay within the excavated area. The curving western side of the structure strongly suggests that this was a semi-circular projecting bastion. It is clear that the bastion was a later insertion into the earlier Phase 1 wall because the base of the bastion was located 60cm above the bottom of the excavation, © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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with the main Phase 1 wall running under it and continuing down to an unknown depth. Presumably, by the time the bastion was added, the ground level outside the Phase 1 city wall had risen to the height of the bastion’s base. 5.1. Destruction The Phase 1 wall appears to have met a violent end. Across its whole excavated length it was overlain by an ashy deposit up to 80cm thick which ran down the slope of the mound (Fig. 6). This seems to represent a significant destruction event which ended the use-life of the Phase 1 wall. Charcoal samples were taken at three points along the length of the destruction layer and sent to the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit for C14 dating. They produced the following results: OxA-31856 OxA-31859 OxA-32012

Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3

1847 ± 24 1859 ± 25 1737 ± 29

(79–127 AD) (66–116 AD) (184–242 AD)

Although the date for Sample 3 is a little later, possibly due to contamination, there is good agreement between the other two samples, which suggest a date in the Parthian Period, around 100 AD. This dating was supported by the pottery recovered from the destruction layer and below. Although the destruction layer may relate to an event which has not survived in the written record, history does provide a possible candidate. In 115 AD the Roman Emperor Trajan campaigned in Mesopotamia and conquered the region of Adiabene, of which Erbil was the principle city. Accordingly, a plausible interpretation of the destruction layer in Area E is that it represents the violent destruction of the city by Trajan in that year, either during an assault on the city or after its fall. As well as adding detail to Erbil’s known history, these results help significantly with dating the walls above and below the destruction layer. Firstly, we can say that the Phase 1 wall pre-dates the Parthian period. The long history of alteration to the Phase 1 wall and the increasingly early date of the pottery against the lower wall face suggests that the Phase 1 wall pre-dates the destruction layer by a considerable period of time. The material from the lowest levels excavated against the wall included significant Neo-Assyrian as well as Bronze Age material. It is therefore probable that the Phase 1 wall may be as early as the Neo-Assyrian period, when it is known that Erbil was protected by substantial fortifications (see above). The dating of the destruction layer also helps to date the Phase 2 fortifications which were built above it. 6. Phase 2: the buried bastion Only one poorly preserved element of the Phase 2 fortifications survived in Area E, although it seems more generally to represent a large-scale, long-lived structural phase. As excavated, Phase 2 consisted of a large semi-circular mudbrick bastion © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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lying behind and below the later Phase 3 fortifications, which completely encased it (Fig. 5). There is almost certainly a corresponding curtain wall but the areas to either side of the Phase 2 bastion were not accessible. It proved difficult to date the Phase 2 bastion as there were no associated occupation deposits with datable material, but it was certainly later than the 100 AD destruction horizon which lay well below it. Similarly, Phase 2 must be earlier than the Phase 3 fortifications which replaced it during the 10th or 11th centuries AD, as will be discussed below. The use-life of the Phase 2 wall therefore lies somewhere between the 2nd and 11th centuries AD. 7. Phase 3: the Islamic/Ottoman period walls After the Phase 2 wall fell out of use it was replaced by a new semi-circular bastion and curtain wall, which were built against the outer face of the Phase 2 bastion, encasing the older structure. Unlike Phase 2, the Phase 3 fortifications were exposed in both plan and elevation and many sub-phases of construction and repair were identified. The earliest elements of the Phase 3 fortifications were visible in the elevation of the semi-circular projecting bastion (Figs. 3, 6). This bastion was a direct replacement for the Phase 2 bastion, being built exactly in front of the earlier structure and with the same diameter of approximately 8m. At its lowest level the Phase 3 bastion was built of unbaked mudbrick, extending precisely to the front edge of the Phase 1 wall which ran just below it and which clearly served as the foundation for the later walls. This lowest mudbrick phase seems to have decayed, leaving a sloping, irregular upper edge, on top of which the bastion was rebuilt in reddish baked brick. This baked brick rebuild was at some point levelled off at the top and the upper part of the bastion was again rebuilt in unbaked mudbrick. At least one earlier curtain wall structure contemporary with the Phase 3 bastion was visible in plan behind the late re-facing. This wall was of unbaked mudbrick with its outer face coated in thick white gypsum plaster, into which the remains of vertical ceramic drains were set at regular intervals. This would have given the Phase 3 curtain wall a striking appearance, presenting a brilliant white wall face with regular vertical grooves. The western end of the Phase 3 curtain wall ran up to a square baked brick tower, the edge of which marked the western limit of excavation in Area E (Fig. 4). When this structure was first exposed it was assumed to be relatively late in date, but it soon became clear that it was part of the Phase 3 fortifications and contemporary with its earliest construction. The bottom of the square tower’s foundation was slightly deeper than the base of the Phase 3 bastion, cutting through the destruction layer and slightly into the Phase 1 wall below. The visible parts of the Phase 3 curtain wall abut the square tower and clearly postdate it. Two bricks were taken from the tower, one from the middle and one from near its base. These were sent to Durham University for Optically Stimulated Thermoluminescence (OSL) dating which produced the following results: © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Laboratory Reference Dur15OSLQi 405–2 Dur15OSLQi 405–3

Site Reference Luminescence date E-119 Brick 1 (upper sample) 1060±60 AD E-119 Brick 2 (lower sample) 960±160 AD

These results suggest a firing date in the 10th or 11th centuries AD. As the tower seems to be one of the earliest elements of the Phase 3 fortifications, probably contemporary with the lowest level of the semi-circular bastion, this is likely to be the original construction date for Phase 3. The latest additions to the Phase 3 fortifications were a repair to the upper part of the semi-circular bastion and a three-brick-wide re-facing of the curtain wall. Pottery recovered from the foundation level of the final re-facing suggests a date in the 15th century AD. Two later walls were added against the outside of the curtain wall and the old square tower to form a rectangular chamber. This was the last structure contemporary with the use of the Phase 3 wall and was dated by associated pottery to the 16th or 17th centuries. The numerous additions, rebuildings and repairs to the Phase 3 fortifications reflect the long life of this final phase of fortification walls which were constructed around 1000 AD and remained in use until the mid-eighteenth century. Prior to the excavations, the 1745 firman was the last evidence for the existence of a fortification wall at Erbil citadel; there are no archaeological indications that the rebuilding of the walls ordered by the firman was ever carried out. 8. Conclusions Three major phases of fortification walls were identified in Area E (Fig. 5), with a stratigraphic depth of almost 8m. The massive mudbrick wall of Phase 1, the earliest excavated phase, is likely to date back as far as the Neo-Assyrian Period when Erbil is known to have had very substantial city walls. After the late addition of a bastion, the Phase 1 wall was violently destroyed around 100 AD, probably during the campaign of the Emperor Trajan in 115 AD. The Phase 2 fortifications were built behind and on top of the remains of the Phase 1 wall. Although they are now badly obscured by the later structures in which Phase 2 has become embedded, they seem to have consisted of a wall with semi-circular bastions built of mudbrick. Phase 2 dates to a period between the Parthian destruction layer and the construction of Phase 3 around 1000 AD. The Phase 3 fortifications seem to be a direct replacement for the Phase 2 walls, the Phase 3 bastion mirroring the size and position of the Phase 2 bastion. Phase 3 was built against the front of the Phase 2 walls, using the Phase 1 wall below as a foundation. The Phase 3 fortifications consist of a complex accumulation of rebuildings, repairs and additions in both mudbrick and baked brick, spanning the period from around 1000 AD up until the time when the fortifications were buried under Ottoman period housing in the 18th and 19th centuries. Several conclusions can be drawn from the results of the excavation in Area E. Firstly, the results support the claim that the citadel is a settlement of great antiqui© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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ty. Although the excavations at Area E reached a depth of 8m below the top of the citadel mound, uncovering remains spanning over 2000 years, the levels reached are still relatively high. Over 15m of unexcavated settlement deposits remain below this depth, representing a very considerable period of earlier occupation. A second key issue is the effect that the apparent continuous, large-scale fortification of Erbil appears to have had on the form and development of the city. The long-term encirclement of the site with monumental city walls restricted the outward growth of the city, encouraging a high settlement density and rapid upward development, ultimately leading to the striking form of the citadel mound as it appears today. A related consideration is that the fortifications continue to be a major source of stability for the steep slopes of the citadel. Without these massive underlying structures, it is unlikely that the citadel could have maintained its high, steep, but relatively stable sides in this region of high winter rainfall. It is evident that the final fortification wall acts as the solid foundation upon which the current ring of perimeter houses was built. A third point is that the walls of Erbil were designed to impress. The thick layer of red mud plaster coating the outer face of the Phase 1 wall suggests, that the huge 1st millennium BC walls were intended to present a striking red façade. Similarly, the main wall of Phase 3 had a thick coating of gypsum plaster and embedded vertical drains which would have given the medieval walls a bright white façade with regular vertical grooves. The walls of Erbil were not only defensive in nature but also served to project the status and prestige of the city. Bibliography Al Yaqoobi, D., Michelmore, D. and Tawfiq, R. 2016a Highlights of Erbil Citadel, History and Architecture. Erbil. Al Yaqoobi, D., Khorsheed A. K., Abdullah, S. M., Hussein, S. H., Shepperson, M. and MacGinnis, J. 2016b Archaeological investigations on the Citadel of Erbil: Background, Framework and Results. In: K. Kopanias and J. MacGinnis (eds.), The Archaeology of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Adjacent Regions. Oxford, 1–10. Cereti, C. and Colliva, L. 2016 Activities of Sapienza-University of Rome in Iraqi Kurdistan: Erbil, Sulaimaniyah and Dohuk. In: K. Kopanias and J. MacGinnis (eds.), The Archaeology of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Adjacent Regions. Oxford, 49–56. Colliva, L., Colluci, A. and Guidi, G. F. 2012 Geophysical Prospections with GPR RIS/MF System. A Preliminary Archaeological Survey on Erbil Citadel. In: C. G. Cereti and R. Giunta (eds.), Preservation of Cultural Heritage of the Kurdish Region in Iraq. Italian Cooperation Project in Iraqi Kurdistan (2009–2010). Bologna, 39–46. Ismail, B. K. and Cavigneaux, A. 2003 Dādušas Siegesstele IM 95200 aus Ešnunna. Die Inschrift. Baghdader Mitteilungen 34, 129– 156. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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MacGinnis, J. D. A. 2009 Erbil Citadel: Archaeological Assessment and Demarcation of Archaeological Zones. In: Revitalisation of Erbil Citadel, Iraq, Phase I: Conservation and Rehabilitation Master Plan. Vol. 1, Technical Report and Rehabilitation Master Plan (UNESCO Ref. No. IRQ/RFP/O8/012). Erbil, 331–356. 2012

Final Report on the Investigative Trenches at the Grand Gate of the Citadel of Erbil. In: Report on the Studies and Investigations for the Reinstatement of the Grand Gate of Erbil Citadel: Annex 1. Erbil.

2014

A City from the Dawn of History. Oxford.

Nováček, K. 2007 Research of the Citadel at Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, First Season. Final Report. Plzen. 2011

Archaeology of the Town under the Citadel Erbil/Hawlér. Subartu. Journal of the Archaeological Syndicate of Kurdistan 4–5, 10–13.

Nováček, K., Chabr, T., Filipský, D., Janíček, L., Pavelka, K., Šída, P., Trefný, M. and Vařeka, P. 2008 Research of the Arbil Citadel, Iraqi Kurdistan, First Season. Památky Archeologické 49, 259– 302. Nováček, K., Muhammad, N.A. M. and Melčák, M. 2013 A Medieval City within the Assyrian Wall: The Continuity of the Town Arbil in Northern Mesopotamia. Iraq 75, 1–42.

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Fig. 1 Areas of Erbil citadel demarcated for archaeological investigation

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Fig. 2 Neo-Assyrian relief depicting Erbil, from the palace of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh

Fig. 3 The Phase 3 wall and bastion, with the Phase 1 wall running below

Fig. 4 Eastern elevation of the Phase 3 square tower

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Fig. 5 Main plan of the Area E excavation, showing the three major phases of fortification walls

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Fig. 6 Exposed elevation of the fortification walls

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Southern Levantine Interregional Interactions as Reflected by the Finds from an Early Bronze Age I Burial Ground at Nesher-Ramla Quarry (el-Hirbe), Israel Vladimir Wolff Avrutis 1 Abstract The site of Nesher-Ramla Quarry is located in the Lod Valley, bordering the Judean Shephelah . The late Early Bronze Age (EB) I necropolis revealed within the perimeter of the site consists of eight burial caves, characterized by multiple primary interments . The deceased were accompanied by a wide variety of funerary gifts including pottery, groundstone vessels, flint tools, metal weapons, and faunal offerings. Imported artefacts from Egypt demonstrate a strong interaction between the material cultures of the southern Levant and Egypt during late EB I/Naqada IIIB–C. Other finds have clear parallels at Qustul in Lower Nubia indicating indirect cultural influences mediated through the cultural filter of Egypt. A single vessel imported from the Euphrates Valley was also recovered and the scarcity of imported material from the north across the whole area of the southern Levant emphasises the absence of any direct interactions with the northern Syria and Anatolia in course of the EB I period . The present paper summarises the state of the research into cultural interactions between the regions in the light of the newly excavated data .

1. Introduction During the transition between the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE, Upper and Lower Egypt were unified by the last king of Dynasty 0 (Horus) Narmer. This act marked the starting point of Egyptian historiography and the beginning of the dynastic list used as a chronological indicator . The Proto-Dynastic and Early Dynastic periods in Egypt (Dynasties 0–6) are correlated with the Early Bronze Age (EB) in the southern Levant. This region lacks its own historical chronology and therefore traditionally relies on the historiography of the neighbouring countries, primarily Egypt, for its chronological framework. Numerous artefacts of Egyptian origin have been found in the course of archaeological excavations on sites in the southern Levant, while sites in the Nile Valley of Egypt have yielded various artefacts imported from the southern Levant. These finds are associated with burials and settlement strata dated to EB I, mainly to its later phases . During the early phases of the succeeding south Levantine period, EB II, virtually all evidence of mutual contacts and relationships between the two regions disappears . A comparative analysis of the archaeological material from southern Levant and Egypt allows us to investigate the following issues:

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the mutual influence of the material culture and traditions of the two regions the character of the relationships between the two regions the reasons for the inter-regional contacts and their abrupt termination the correlation of the chronologies and periodisation systems of the two regions

According to archaeological research, the population of the southern Levant increased during the late EB I (Gophna and Portugali 1988) . A number of the settlements grew to a considerable size and probably functioned as regional (or sub-regional) centres, some being fortified and for the first time a complicated settlement hierarchy can be seen in the region . Complexes of public storage facilities unearthed on small rural sites, e.g., Amatzia (Milevski et al. 2014) and Halif Terace (Dessel 2009) were capable of holding quantities of provender far exceeding the needs of those villages . These settlements are “… considered to represent communities with significant surpluses… and are understood to have been associated [with] some regional polity or association of the villages, which likely administrated them and were responsible for dispensing their contents …” (Milevski et al. 2014: 715). Numerous imported artefacts attest to the trade relationships which existed with neighbouring regions. The development of these processes led to the first urban cycle in the southern Levant . While the Egyptian presence per se contributed little or nothing to southern Levantine urbanism (Greenberg and Palumbi 2014: 117), the cultural and trade relations between the regions played an important role in the process . 2. Nesher-Ramla quarry as case study for cultural interaction The site of el-Khirbe (Nesher-Ramla Quarry, NRQ) is located in the Lod Valley, bordering the Judean foothills (Shephelah) . It is situated within the Nesher-Ramla cement quarry, 5 km south-east of the modern cities of Lod and Ramla. The site extends over the slopes of two adjacent hillsides which together form a crescent-shaped area rising 110–125m asl. The archaeological work undertaken on the site between 2006 and the present (2016) has been directed by S. Kol-Yaʻakov, on behalf of the Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa. The late EB I necropolis revealed within the perimeter of the site consists of nine burial caves . The burial grounds are characterised by multiple, primary interments in natural, karstic caves minimally modified to facilitate burial (Fig. 1). Six of the EB I NRQ burial grounds reused caves also used for burial in the Late Chalcolithic period . The first individuals interred in the late EB I necropolis at NRQ were arranged on the floors of the caves, around the perimeters of the walls. Four adults were laid out on stone-built pavements in three different burial caves perhaps indicating that they enjoyed a high social status . They were accompanied by a variety of funerary gifts, including pottery, groundstone vessels, flint tools, metal weapons, and faunal offerings. The quantity and variety of the gifts varied markedly from cave to cave and from interment to interment . The ceramic and lithic deposits deriving from the NRQ burial caves all dated to various phases within the late EB I . The time span © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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represented was considerable and lasted until the very end of the EB I . The multiple burials in the caves most probably indicate they served the community for more than one generation . In terms of regionalism, the material culture of the NRQ burial caves belongs to a southern sub-culture of the late EB I in the southern Levantine area, albeit with several notable northern influences on the local pottery and lithic traditions (Avrutis 2012: 101–199, 213–220). Three ceramic vessels imported from Egypt were noted among the NRQ late EB I pottery assemblages; two small tear-drop shaped bottles and an intact storage jar . The bottles were found in two different burial caves (F-355 and F-565). One of them has a slightly elongated, globular body and a high cylindrical neck with a thickened, everted rim (Fig. 2.1). Its exterior surface is red-slipped. The second bottle differs in having a short neck with a rounded, slightly everted rim (Fig. 2.2). Petrographic examination revealed that both bottles were made of alluvial Nile clays (Golding-Meir and Isirlis 2012: samples 75 and 117). Their forms are very similar to Petrie’s Sequence Type 87 a–d (Petrie 1953: pl. XXV). In the Nile Delta comparable vessels appear in Naqada IIIA/B contexts, e.g., at Tell Ibrahim el-Awad (van den Brink 1992: fig. 7.2, pl. 18.2) and Tell el-Faraʻin/Buto (Köhler 1992: fig. 7). In the southern Levant similar bottles are found on sites extending from northern Sinai to ʻEin Assawir on Israel’s coastal plain, all of them from late EB I contexts (Amiran and van den Brink 2001: fig. 3.10). Similar vessels imitating Egyptian forms and techniques were sometimes produced in the southern Levant from local clay sources, a case of an import being copied locally . Such vessels are restricted to southern sites, e.g., Site H and ʻEin Besor (Gophna 1992: figs. 4.7, 6.4). The intact storage jar deserves particular attention (Fig. 2.3). The shape of this vessel is clearly Egyptian, a fact corroborated by petrographic examination (Tsatskin 2010: 55–56, fig. 4.25). It was made of Egyptian marl clay, fired to a high temperature and its exterior was left plain. This type of jar belongs to Petrie’s Predynastic Group L53, in particular L53 h–j (Petrie 1921: pl. L) and proto-dynastic Type 94, in particular 94d2 and 94k (Petrie 1953: pl. XXIX). A table, the work of Stan Hendrickx, lists over 50 occurrences of this type of jar in Egypt, and offers a chronological framework for the type (Avrutis 2012: 117–118, table 4.2.1 and references therein), which does not predate Naqada III . The majority fall within Naqada IIIA2, although later examples occur in Naqada IIIB–C . Given its present context, attributing the NRQ jar to Naqada IIIC seems most likely. It should also be noted that the same type of the Egyptian jar has also been found in several contemporary Nubian burial grounds (e .g ., Reisner 1910: figs. 297.2, 298.8; Nordström 1972: 91, pl. 46, A IX p.1). Shells of the fresh water bivalve species Chambardia rubens arcuate, restricted to the River Nile, were found in EB I burial caves F-355 and F-565 at NRQ (Mienis 2012: 252–254, fig. 12.1.10). They do not exhibit any signs of man-made modifications, i.e., there is no indication that they were exploited in one way or another . This observation applies to most of the Chambardia shells found in excavations throughout the Levant . In Egypt such mussels were used for numerous purposes, including as scoops, containers, combs, scrapers, shell discs and pendants . Their inclusion in the burials of the Late Chalcolithic and EB I in the southern Levant suggests they may have had some © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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symbolic value . The export of Chambardia shells from Egypt, probably as live specimens, was recently corroborated by the find of a late Predynastic Egyptian jar off the coast of the North Atlit bay, which contained pairs of these bivalves (Sharvit and Galili 2002: 29*, figs. 43, 44) which were probably valued for their gastronomic qualities. Two alabaster pear-shaped mace-heads found in the NRQ burial caves show a high level of craftsmanship (Fig. 2.4, 5). The alabaster appears to be of Egyptian origin but it is unknown where the objects were manufactured. Similar mace-heads are frequently recorded from the Naqada III period in Egypt but appear less frequently in the southern Levant during the Early Bronze Age. Examples are known from Jericho (Kenyon 1960: fig. 66.4) and Horvat ʻIllin Tahtit (Braun et al. 2002: fig. 4.7). Production of alabaster items was very characteristic of early Egypt and the export of such products to the southern Levant has been recorded, for example by Amiran (1970). A fragment of a siltstone palette was found in NRQ burial cave F-662. The palette exhibits an unfinished(?) drilled hole at the top and a round protrusion at its centre (Fig. 2.6). In Egypt such palettes are recorded as early as the Badarian period, which corresponds to the Early Chalcolithic in the southern Levant (Kroeper 1996: 70). During Naqada III the palettes are of rectangular shape with incised lines around their edges . By the 1st Dynasty plain palettes had replaced incised the types . Egyptian palettes were commonly made of siltstone, although examples also occur in other types of stone (Sowada 2009: 226). The palettes known from the southern Levant are derived mainly from burials dated to late EB I . Most of them were imported from Egypt, although several locally made examples have also been identified (Sowada 2009: 228–230, pls. 13, 14). So far, this paper has described artefacts imported from Egypt and their impact on the material culture of the southern Levant . The following discussion deals with two objects which suggest that influence also flowed in the opposite direction. A locally-made, double-handled jug found in NRQ burial cave F-55 (with comparanda from Azor and Palmahim Quarry), may serve as an example of the southern Levantine influence on foreign pottery traditions (Fig. 3.1). Jugs of the very same type have been found in nearly contemporaneous Early Dynastic funerary contexts in Hierankopolis (Upper Egypt) and in Terminal A-group elite tombs at Qustul (Lower Nubia), where they were imitated in much finer fabrics, demonstrating strong Egyptian and, indirectly, southern Levantine interaction (Gophna and van den Brink 2002). The late EB I burials found to date at NRQ were accompanied by 14 daggers and a single spearhead, all of them of copper . The daggers are of the most common type, characterised by an elongated blade, a rhombic or elliptical cross-section and a rectangular butt with four or six circular perforations for rivets arranged in pairs . This type, introduced during late phases of the EB I, remained in use up to the EB IV. The spearhead deserves special mention (Fig. 3.2). This long (239mm) and heavy (159.7g) copper artefact is of excellent workmanship. The blade is triangular with curved shoulders and is reinforced by a pronounced midrib that extends from tip to base. The massive tang is round in cross-section and ends in a hooked tip. The blade is almost twice as long as the tang. Heavy hammering is evident on both surfaces © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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of the spearhead. Four similar spearheads have been found in the contemporaneous Kefar Monash Hoard (Hestrin and Tadmor 1963: 279–282, figs. 10.3; 11.1–3; pl. 29 .A–D) . Daggers sharing similar characteristics have been uncovered at Megiddo (Guy 1938: 164, fig. 171.2), Azor (Ben-Tor 1975: 22–23, 26–27, fig. 12.5, pl. 22.2), Jericho (Philip 1989: 111), and Kefar Monash (Hestrin and Tadmor 1963: fig. 12.1–4, pl. 29.E–H). They differ from the spearheads in having a riveted hilt hafting, but display the same local metallurgical tradition . In Egypt, four nearly contemporaneous daggers with triangular shaped blades and pronounced midribs have been recorded . Two were recovered at el-Amra, one is of silver and the other of copper . The third, also of silver, was purchased by the Cairo Museum, having apparently been looted from a grave at Homra Doum. The fourth dagger, of copper, was recovered at Naqada (Baumgartel 1960: pl. II.1, 2, 3, 5). All four daggers date to the Naqada IID period, corresponding to the middle phases of the south Levantine EB I . The earlier appearance and the greater number of such daggers in the southern Levant leads us to assume that the Egyptian specimens are either imports or local imitations . 3. Interpretation of the evidence The artefacts from NRQ described above indicate a high degree of interaction between the material cultures of the southern Levant and Egypt during late EB I/Naqada IIIB–C . Imported Egyptian jars and locally-produced double-handled jugs from the NRQ have clear parallels at Qustul in Lower Nubia indicating indirect cultural influences mediated through the cultural filter of Egypt. The same observation has been made concerning the metallurgical traditions of the two regions (Tadmor 2002). The contacts and influences described above illustrate several levels of the interregional interaction: • • • •

the import of artefacts the import of raw material for local production local imitation of foreign artefacts adaptation of foreign ideas and traditions

The Egyptian artefacts from NRQ, as well as the main corpus of Egyptian material recovered from sites in the southern Levant, are dated to the late EB I, parallel in time with Naqada IIIC, the period during which the last kings of Dynasty 0, (Horus) Ka and (Horus) Narmer reigned (Braun 2014: 40). Based on the quantity of imported material in the southern Levant and Egypt, it seems that contacts between the two regions peaked during that period. The earliest interpretations of these associations attributed the evidence for intensified interaction to the military conquest of the southern Levant (and even farther north) by Egypt . With the accumulation of new excavated data, this increased interaction has been re-evaluated, and trade, rather than military aggression, seems to have been the impetus for such contacts, including the Egyptian colonisation of the © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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southern part of the southern Levant . More recently, new, research-driven approaches to the data have suggested more dynamic and complicated interpretations of the evidence (Avrutis 2012: 278, and references therein). Numerous serekhs of the last kings of Dynasty 0 and the first three kings of the 1st Dynasty have been found on the sites in the southern Levant (Levy et al. 2001: esp. 430–437, figs. 22.13–22.15). The largest number belong to the period of the reign of (Horus) Narmer and mark the zenith of the interaction between the two regions. Most of the serekhs appear on jars of Egyptian origin and only two have been found on locally-made vessels, both of which exhibit Egyptian morphological characteristics . These containers, bearing royal insignia and names, are evidence that the contacts had received royal sanction, even if they were not actually initiated directly by the Egyptian state . In addition, the internal administration of the period by Egyptians is evidenced by Egyptian-style bullae, found at En Besor and the Halif Terrace/Nahal Tillah site (cf. Schulman 1976; 1980; Levy et al. 1997). The primary reason for establishing these relations seems to have been economic . The contemporary archaeological data is supported by later evidence, e .g ., the early Middle Kingdom frescoes from Beni Hasan (Newberry 1896: pl. XXXI), which illustrate the various south Levantine commodities traditionally imported into the Nile Valley . The overland trade routes between the Nile Delta and southern Levant have been established through the survey in the northern Sinai Peninsula (Oren 1973). Using data from sites such as North Atlit bay, Maʻabarot, Ashqelon (Afridar and Barnea), Palmahim, Palmahim Quarry and Nizzanim, part of a network of coastal way-stations on the maritime route from Egypt to Lebanon can be reconstructed (Gophna and Liphschitz 1996) . The Egyptian artefacts at contemporary Byblos provide further evidence for this maritime route (Prag 1986) . The rapid change in Egyptian/southern Levantine interactions occurs in EB II, during the reign of Den, the third king of the 1st Dynasty . At this time imported artefacts disappear from the southern Levant, as does other evidence of an Egyptian presence. The reasons for the waning of Egyptian influence during this period is not clear and a number of explanations have been suggested . The most widespread opinion is that the main factor for the change was the development of the sea route between the Egypt and the Lebanese coast . This route seems to have been much quicker, less expensive and safer and also gave a direct access to the source of the important and valuable commodity of timber (for a summary of the views on this subject, see Sowada 2009: 28–30). In any case, the end of the massive Egyptian involvement was sudden and complete, attesting to an act of political will (Greenberg and Palumbi 2014: 117). These radical changes also occurred in the urban southern Levant and are clearly evident at the NRQ burial grounds which, after having been in use for several generations, did not continue into the EB II . In complete contrast to the interrelations between Egypt and the southern Levant during the EB I, are the state of the contacts with the northern regions, such as northern Syria and Anatolia . Until recently the only imported vessel from the Euphrates © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Valley was found at the ʻEin Assawir, Tomb 20 (Yannai and Braun 2001: fig. 3.6). A new jar of the same origin was uncovered in the NRQ burial grounds . The spouted jar found in Nesher-Ramla burial Cave F-662, does not belong, morphologically, to the local ceramic repertoire . The vessel is characterised by a globular body, high neck and an everted, thickened rim (Figs. 3.3; 4.1). The jar is finished with oblique burnish on the upper part of the body and horizontal burnish on its lower part . The spout is set on the vessel’s shoulder. The neck and spout were made as separate segments and attached to the body while the vessel was in a ‘leather-hard’ condition. Petrographic examination of the jar confirmed its origin in the Euphrates Valley. Spouted and un-spouted globular jars are very characteristic of the Mesopotamian ceramic repertoire . Parallels for the Nesher-Ramla jar have been recorded at Tepe Gawra (Fig. 4.2, 8; Speiser 1935: 47–48, pls. LXV.63, LXVI.80), Mohammed ʻArab (Fig. 4.3; Rova 2013: 7, pl. 2.1), Tell Braq (Fig. 4.9; Felli 2003: 67, figs. 4.16, 4.25.20) and Khafajah (Fig. 4.4; Delougaz 1952: pl. 187.C.655.222). In addition this vessel can be related typologically to Late Reserve Slip Ware, although it differs in its surface finish (e.g., Fig. 4.5–7; Braidwood and Braidwood 1960: fig. 219.1, 3; Frangipane 2007: fig. 8.17.13). This group is well known in the Euphrates and Amuq valleys (Jamieson 2014). The majority of these vessels are dated to ARCANE Period Early Middle Euphrates 1–2, corresponding with southern Levantine EB IA to early phases of EB II . The presence of only two vessels imported from the north in the whole area of southern Levant emphasises the almost-complete absence of any direct connections with northern Syria and Anatolia in course of the EB I period . The trade between the southern Levant and neighbouring regions discussed in this article may have been on an equal or unequal basis and may have been either direct or indirect. However, it should be remembered that foreign artefacts could have reached the various sites discussed above through non-commercial relationships which might have included tribute, plunder, gifts, etc . Thus the presence of the imports, per se, as is apparently the case for NRQ, does not necessarily indicate direct interregional contacts . Acknowledgements The author wishes to thank the head of the NRQ expedition, S. Kol-Ya‘akov, and the staff members for their fieldwork assistance. Thanks are also due to my colleagues A. Melamed, E. Braun and E. C. M. van den Brink for their help, support, valuable advice, and comments . The author is grateful to the NRQ expedition surveyors and illustrators for the present paper, V. Pirsky and S. Alon, and to the field photographer T . Appelbaum . Bibliography Amiran, R . 1970 The Egyptian Alabaster Vessels from ʻAi. Israel Exploration Journal 20, 170–179.

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Amiran, R. and Brink, E. C. M. van den 2001 A Comparative Study of Egyptian Pottery from Tel Ma’ahaz, Stratum I. In: S. Wolff (ed.), Studies in Archaeology of Israel and Neighboring Lands in Memory of Douglas L. Esse . Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilizations 59 / Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 5. Chicago – Atlanta, 29–58. Avrutis, V . W . 2012 Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age I Remains at Nesher-Ramla Quarry. Haifa. Baumgartel, E . J . 1960 The Cultures of Prehistoric Egypt II . London . Ben-Tor, A . 1975 Two Burial Caves of the Pro-Urban Period at Azor, 1971. Qedem 1, 1–53. Braun, E . 2014 Reflections on the context of a late Dynasty 0 Egyptian Colony in the southern Levant: interpreting some evidence of Nilotic material culture at select sites in the southern Levant (ca . 3150–ca. 2950). In: A. Mączyńka (ed.), The Nile Delta as a Center of Cultural Interactions between Upper Egypt and the Southern Levant in the 4th Millennium BC . Studies in African Archaeology 13. Poznań, 37–55. Braun, E., van den Brink, E. C. M., Gophna, R. and Goren, Y. 2002 New Evidence for Egyptian Connections during a Late Phase of Early Bronze I from Soreq Basin in South-Central Israel. In: E. C. M. van den Brink and T. E. Levy (eds.), Egypt and the Levant. Interrelations from the 4th through the Early 3rd Millennium BCE. London – New York, 59–98. Braidwood, R . and Braidwood, L . 1960 Excavations in the Plain of Antioch I: The Earlier Assemblages Phases A–J . Oriental Institute Publications 61 . Chicago . Brink, E.C.M. van den 1992 Preliminary Report on the Excavations at Tell Ibrahim Awad, Seasons 1988–1990. In: E. C. M. van den Brink (ed.), The Nile Delta in Transition: 4th–3rd Millennium BC . Tel Aviv, 43–68 . Delougaz, P . 1952 Pottery from the Diyala Region . Oriental Institute Publications 63 . Chicago . Dessel, J . P . 2009 Lahav I. Pottery and Politics: The Halif Terrace Site 101 and Egypt in the Fourth Millennium B.C.E. Winona Lake. Felli, C. 2003 Developing Complexity. Early to Mid Fourth-millennium Investigations: The Northern Middle Uruk Period. In: R. Matthews (ed.), Excavations at Tell Brak. Volume 4: Exploring an Upper Mesopotamian Regional Center, 1994–1996. London, 53–95. Frangipane, M. 2007 Establishment of a Middle/Upper Euphrates Early Bronze I Culture from the Fragment of the Uruk World. New Data from Zeytini Bahçe Höyük (Urfa, Turkey). In: E. Peltenburg (ed.), Euphrates River Valley Settlement. The Carchemish Sector in the Third Millenium BC . Levant Supplementary Series 5. Oxford, 122–141. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Golding-Meir, N . and Isirlis, M . 2012 Petrographic Examination of Ceramics. In: V. W. Avrutis, Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age I Remains at Nesher-Ramla Quarry. Haifa, 255–268. Gophna, R . 1992 The Contacts between ʻEn Besor Oasis, Southern Canaan, and Egypt during the Late Predynastic and the Threshold of the First Dynasty: A Further Assessment. In: E. C. M. van den Brink (ed .), The Nile Delta in Transition: 4th–3rd Millennium BC. Tel Aviv, 385–394. Gophna, R. and Brink, E. C. M. van den 2002 Core-Periphery Interaction between the Pristine Egyptian Naqada IIIB State, Late Early Bronze Age I Canaan, and Terminal A-Group Lower Nubia: More Data. In: E. C. M. van den Brink and T .E . Levy (eds .), Egypt and the Levant. Interrelations from the 4th through the Early 3rd Millennium BCE. London – New York, 280–285. Gophna, R . and Liphschitz, N . 1996 The Ashqelon Trough Settlement in the Early Bronze Age I: New Evidence of Maritime Trade . Tel Aviv 23, 143–153. Gophna, R. and Portugali, Y. 1988 Settlement and Demographic Processes in Israel’s Coastal Plain from the Chalcolithic to the Middle Bronze Age . Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research 269, 11–28 . Greenberg, R . and Palumbi, G . 2014 Corridors and Colonies: Comparing Fourth-Third Millennia BC Interactions in Southeast Anatolia and the Levant . In: A . B . Knapp and P . van Dommelen (eds .), The Cambridge Prehistory of the Bronze and Iron Age Mediterranean . Cambridge, 111–138 . Guy, P . L . O . 1938 Megiddo Tombs . Oriental Institute Publications 33 . Chicago . Hestrin, R. and Tadmor, M. 1963 A Hoard of Tools and Weapons from Kfar Monash. Israel Exploration Journal 4, 265–288. Jamieson, A . 2014 Late Reserved Slip Ware. In: M. Lebeau (ed.), Associated Regional Chronologies for the Ancient Near East and the Eastern Mediterranean . ARCANE Interregional I. Ceramics. Turnhout, 101–116. Kenyon, K . M . 1960 Excavations at Jericho. Vol. I. The Tombs Excavated in 1952–4 . London . Köhler, Ch. E. 1992 The Pre- and Early Dynastic Pottery of Tell el-Faraʻin/Buto. In: E. C. M. van den Brink (ed.), The Nile Delta in Transition: 4th–3rd Millennium B.C . Tel Aviv, 11–22 . Kroeper, K . 1996 Minshat Abu Omar: Burials with Palettes . In: J . Spencer (ed .), Aspects of Early Egypt . London, 70–92. Levy, T. E., Alon, D., Smith, P., Yekutielu, Y., Rowan, Y., Goldberg, P., Porat, N., Brink, E. C. M. van den, Witten, A. J., Golden, J., Grigson, C., Dawson, L., Holl, A., Moreno, J. and Kersel, M. 1997 Egyptian-Canaanite Interaction at Nahal Tillah, Israel (ca. 4500–3000 BCE). An Interim Report on the 1994–1995 Excavations. Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research 307, 1–52. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Levy, T. E., Alon, D, Brink, E. C. M. van den, Kansa, E. C. and Yekutiely, Y. 2001 The Protodynastic/Dynasty 1 Egyptian Presence in Southern Canaan: A Preliminary Report on the 1994 Excavations at Nahal Tillah, Israel . In: R . Wolff (ed .), Studies in the Archaeology of Israel and Neighboring Lands in Memory of Douglas L. Esse . Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilizations 59 / Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 5. Chicago – Atlanta, 407–438. Mienis, H. K. 2012 Malacological Remains. In: V. W. Avrutis, Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age I Remains at Nesher-Ramla Quarry. Haifa, 251–254. Milevski, I., Braun, E., Varga, D. and Israel, I. 2014 The Early Bronze Age Settlement and Large-Scale Silo Complex of Amaziya, Israel. In: P. Bieliński, M. Gawlikowski, R. Koliński, D. Ławecka, A. Sołtysik and Z. Wygnańska (eds.), Proceedings of the 8th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (30 April–4 May 2012, University of Warsaw). Volume 2: Excavation and Progress Reports Posters. Wiesbaden, 713–721. Newberry, P . E . 1896 Beni Hasan. Archaeological Survey of Egypt 5. London. Nordström, H. A. 1972 Neolithic and A-Group Sites. Scandinavian Joint Expedition to Sudanese Nubia 3 . Copenhagen . Oren, E . 1973 The Overland Route between Egypt and Canaan in the Early Bronze Age. Israel Exploration Journal 23, 198–205. Petrie, W. M. F. 1921 Corpus of Prehistoric Pottery and Palettes . British School of Archaeology in Egypt and Egyptian Research Account 32 . London . 1953

Ceremonial Slate Palettes and Corpus of Proto-Dynastic Pottery . British School of Archaeology in Egypt Publications 66 . London .

Philip, G . 1989 Metal Weapons of the Early and Middle Bronze Ages in Syria-Palestine . British Archaeological Reports International Series 526. Oxford. Prag, K . 1986 Byblos and Egypt in the Fourth Millennium BC. Levant 18, 59–74. Reisner, G . A . 1910 The Archaeological Survey of Nubia. Report for 1907–1908. Volume I. Cairo . Rova, E . 2013 Post-LC 5 North Mesopotamian Developments. In: M. Lebeau (ed.), Associated Regional Chronologies for the Ancient Near East and the Eastern Mediterranean. ARCANE Interregional I. Ceramics . Turnhout, 1–23 . Sharvit, J . and Galili, E . 2002 ʻAtlit, Underwater Survey. Hadashot Arkheologiot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel 114, 29*. Schulman, A . 1976 Egyptian Seal Impressions from ʻEn Besor. ʻAtiqot. Journal of the Israel Department of Antiquities, English Series 1, 16–26 . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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More Egyptian Seal Impressions from ʻEn Besor. ʻAtiqot. Journal of the Israel Department of Antiquities, English Series 14, 17–33.

Sowada, K . N . 2009 Egypt in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Old Kingdom. An Archaeological Perspective . Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 237. Fribourg. Speiser, E . A . 1935 Excavations at Tepe Gawra. Vol. I. Levels I–VII . Philadelphia . Tadmor, M . 2002 The Kfar Monash Hoard Again: A View from Egypt and Nubia. In: E. C. M. van den Brink and T . E . Levy (eds .), Egypt and the Levant. Interrelations from the 4th through the Early 3rd Millennium BCE. London – New York, 239–251. Tsatskin. A. 2010 Petrographic Examination of Ceramic from Burial Cave F-55 and Burial F-257. In: S. KolYaʻakov, Salvage Excavations at Nesher-Ramla Quarry. Haifa, 43–57. Yannai, E. and Braun, E. 2001 Anatolian and Egyptian Imports from Late EB I at ‘Ein Asawir, Israel. Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research 321, 41–56.

Fig. 1 Plans of NRQ burial caves F-55, F-257, F-565 and F-662 © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 2 Imported Egyptian artefacts from the NRQ burial caves

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Fig. 3 A jug, copper spearhead and spouted jar from the NRQ burial caves

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Fig. 4 Selected parallels for the spouted jar from NRQ

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Results of the First Season of Excavation at the Medieval Castle of Gbail / Byblos Anis Chaaya 1 Abstract This article presents the results of the first season of research into the medieval castle of Gbail / Byblos undertaken by the Archaeological Mission of the Lebanese University to the castle of Gbail.

1. Introduction In 2015 a new project was launched with the intention of uncovering more information about the history and archaeology of the city of Gbail / Byblos. The aims of the first season were to review the work undertaken on the site since the early investigations conducted by Ernest Renan in the 19th century and other scholars (Renan 1874). More specifically, the first season was seen as an opportunity to resume archaeological investigation following the forty-year hiatus since work on the site was halted by the civil war in Lebanon which began in 1975. Since the end of the war the site of Gbail / Byblos has seen only conservation and reconstruction work intended to make the site accessible to tourists. The new project is intended to lead to a better understanding of the building of the castle with excavation designed to clarify the sequence of construction. The city of Gbail is located about 40km to the north of Beirut. The medieval city developed around a natural creek leading to the Mediterranean Sea and was sited to the north of the ancient city of Gbail / Byblos which was located on the Tell of Gbail (Fig. 1). It is the only city in Lebanon that retains the majority of its medieval ramparts. The medieval castle of Gbail was built outside the south-eastern angle of the medieval city. It was one of the first castles to be built by the Crusaders in the Levant and specifically in the County of Tripoli. It is a quadrangular castle with a tower on each of its four corners and a rectangular protruding tower in the centre of its northern wall. Previous studies of the castle are dominated by the work of Maurice Dunand and Paul Deschamps. After the fall of Jerusalem to the Franks in 1099, Raymond of Saint-Gilles conquered the city of Gbail in April 1104 with the help of a Genoese fleet of forty galleys (Deschamps 1973: 9; Albert d’Aix 1879: 605–606; Hagenmeyer 1911: 93–95; Grousset 1991: 340–341; Balard 2001: 191). Saint-Gilles granted one third of the conquered city to the merchant city of Genoa and custody was entrusted to the con-

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sul Ansaldo Corso (Deschamps 1973: 9, 205; Caffaro de Caschifelone 1895: 470– 471). In 1109, few years after the death of Raymond of Saint-Gilles, the Fatimid city of Tripoli was besieged by several Frankish knights and Bertrand of Saint-Gilles the eldest son of Raymond, freshly arrived from Europe with dozens of Genoese and Provencal vessels (Deschamps 1973: 249). On 12 July 1109, the city of Tripoli was captured by the Franks with the help of a Genoese squadron of between 40 and 70 galleys (Ibn Al-Athir 1965–1967: 273–274; Foucher de Chartres 1913: 420; Guillaume de Tyr 1844: 467–469; Salamé-Sarkis 1980: 27–29; Eydoux 1982: 195). In return for their assistance, Bertrand of Saint-Gilles donated the entire city of Gbail to the Genoese on June 26, 1109 (Deschamps 1973: 205). Thus, Gbail became a stronghold of a Genoese family and was known to the Franks as Gibelet. One of the squadron’s admirals, William Embriaco, was granted two thirds of the city together with its appurtenances, as well as the Puy of Constable and a third of the conquered city of Tripoli (Deschamps 1973: 9, 205). Ultimately the whole city of Gbail fell under the control of the Embriaco family as a hereditary fief of the County of Tripoli (Fig. 2). Thus, Gibelet became the centre of a barony, the influence of which extended over a large area to the south of the County of Tripoli (Deschamps 1973: 9; 1954: 227). The site of the tell of Gbail was excavated in the second half of the 19th century by Ernest Renan with his famous ‘Mission de Phénicie’ and later on by Pierre Montet and Maurice Dunand with the help of Jean Lauffray and several other scholars (Renan 1874; Montet 1928–1929; Dunand 1939; 1954–1958; 1973a; 1973b; Cauvin 1968; Saghieh 1983). The castle itself was studied by Maurice Dunand and by Paul Deschamps who published a book about the fortifications of the County of Tripoli (Deschamps 1973: 9, 205–215). The medieval castle is located to the south-east of the medieval city and overlies the northern fortifications of the ancient city of Gbail/Byblos, utilising the line of the Bronze Age and Iron Age walls (Fig. 1). The size of the tell and its ancient walls made it an imposing feature in the landscape and a threat to the medieval city (Rey 1871: 116). The construction of the castle by the Franks entailed the removal of up to 8,000 cubic metres of rubble and debris which was deposited to the east and south of the castle (Dunand 1939: 4). The medieval city of Gbail/Byblos is located on a natural creek running inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The town has a quadrilateral rampart, measuring 450m on the northern side, 300m on the east and 150m on the south (Deschamps 1973: 208) (Fig. 1). The largest part of the extant ramparts dates to the Ottoman era (Nordiguian and Voisin 1999: 50). The city includes several important monuments and architectural features from the medieval period including the castle, two Romanesque churches and the harbour. The castle of Gbail is particularly notable as it was one of the few castles established and built by the crusaders in the Latin States of the East and specifically in the County of Tripoli. In studying the site, the existence of numerous photographs taken at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century is particularly useful. The aerial photos of the city show the layout of the eastern gate of the city lo© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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cated just beneath the castle. The layout of several buildings indicates the existence of a small public square at this point. It may well represent the remains of a defensive structure at the entrance to the city used to control access to the city and to prevent infiltration by enemy forces. The square was surrounded by several buildings from the roofs of which it was overlooked (Fig. 3). 2. Some results from the first season The study of the existing plans of the castle and comparison with the surviving structure showed that a number of distinctive features had been omitted and that the plans were inaccurate in a number of important respects. It was decided therefore that the project had to include a detailed reassessment of the existing plans. This took place with the assistance of the architect Emmanuelle Devaux (Ifpo). The counterscarp walls at the angles of the ditches were not represented correctly on the published plans of the castle and so the walls were re-surveyed and the position of the edges of the ditches were corrected (Fig. 4). Their wide angle suggested that siege engines could have been positioned inside the ditch (Beffeyte 2008: 6–18). The aerial photos of the eastern part of the castle showed anomalies in the eastern wall. The eastern enclosure wall of the castle consists of two elements built with two different types of stone (Fig. 5). The southern part was constructed of limestone while the northern part was sandstone. A test pit or sondage was excavated beneath the intersection of these two sections of wall (Fig. 6). The excavation showed that the foundations of the limestone wall were set on a cyclopean glacis dating to the Bronze Age (Fig. 7). The excavation showed also traces of repair and consolidation following the collapse of part of the the lower section of the limestone wall close to its junction with the sandstone wall. The fragile limestone wall was consolidated with a mixture of rubble and stones, cemented with a binder made from a mixture of mud brick and lime (Fig. 8). Safety considerations meant that excavation had to cease in the area of the reconstructed section and two further test trenches were excavated, one at the base of each section of the wall. The excavation at the base of the limestone wall showed that there was no foundation trench and that the foundation was built against layers dating to the Early Bronze Age (Fig. 9). This indicated that the limestone wall was built from the western side. In other words, it was built from the inside of the castle at a level 6m below the actual level of the interior court, to the east of the main tower. In contrast, the excavation at the base of the sandstone wall revealed the foundation trench of this wall (Fig. 10) which contained medieval pottery. The location and function of two architectural features in the north-east corner of the castle raised a number of interpretative problems. The first of these is a glacis located in the castle courtyard to the east of the north-east corner of the central tower. The glacis was built of limestone and was 4.14m long (east to west) and reached a height of 1.44m. It was 1.10m thick at the base and 0.44m at the top. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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The second element is a cyclopean wall located inside a large rectangular building covered by a broken barrel vaulted roof and oriented east to west. The building was constructed on the eastern segment of the northern curtain wall of the castle, which was made of bossed sandstone blocks. This curtain wall was connected to the north-eastern corner tower. A long staircase running along the northern curtain wall leads to two postern gates placed on each side of the tower. South of this stair was a wall constructed of cyclopean masonry. This wall has been identified as a rampart dating to the second millennium BC (1725–1580 BC; the Hyksos period) It was integrated into the structure of the medieval castle and was located below the glacis described above (Deschamps 1973: 209, pl. II). A rampart of Middle Bronze Age date was identified east of the counterscarp wall of the eastern moat of the medieval castle. The rectangular building had putlog holes in its walls which supported the wooden floors of a series of shooting niches which were intended to allow archers to fire over the northern and eastern walls of the castle (Fig. 11). Five such niches were identified on the northern wall and one on the eastern wall. They appear to be similar to one located at the northern end of the sandstone section of the eastern curtain wall. This would seem to demonstrate that part of the eastern curtain wall, the north-eastern corner tower and the eastern segment of the northern curtain wall were contemporary and belonged to the same construction phase. The southern part of the eastern curtain wall and the glacis were both built with limestone. It appears obvious that in one of the earliest phases of the castle the north-eastern corner tower and the two segments of the curtain wall, built with bossed sandstone blocks, which borders it to the west and south did not exist. It thus appears that the Franks had used the Bronze Age wall as the northern enclosure wall of the castle with the glacis constructed as an additional defensive feature and as a retaining wall for the make-up of the courtyard (Fig. 11). 3. The eastern defences of the central tower The central tower serves as the castle’s donjon. It measures 22.17m east to west (the southern façade), and 17.82m north to south (the eastern façade). The tower has four storeys: a ground floor, the first floor, ta mezzanine and a terrace. The facing was built of large stones with embossments and refend. The same type of embossment is found in the Castle of Saône, in the earlier parts of the Castle of Crac des Chevaliers, in the keep of Beaufort Castle and in the castle of Smar Jbeil (Deschamps 1973: 210; Chaaya 2016: 226, 230, 234–235). The lower part of this tower was built of large blocks of natural agglomerate and and of sandstone salvaged from earlier buildings (Dunand 1939: 205–206, 214, 217–219; Rey 1871: 118), including the Persian ruins located to the south-east of the medieval castle. Some of these stones still bear the original masons’ marks [ | O ] or [ O | ]. The upper eastern part of the central tower had two platforms located on the north-eastern and south-eastern angles (Fig. 5), each with its own separate staircase © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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(Fig. 12). The similarity in the plans of these platforms, together with the characteristics of some of the stones in their western walls suggest that they were intended to support machines such as giant crossbows (Fig. 13). The external face of the tower was built of bossed sandstone blocks while the two platforms were constructed of smoothed sandstone. Despite the differences in the types of stone used, the structural characteristics of the walls (notably the plume d’angle technique, used at the corners of the tower) suggest that were contemporary and that the two platforms were built, like the rest of the tower, during the Frankish period. Acknowledgements Our deepest thanks go to Mr. Sarkis El-Khoury the Director General of the Antiquities of Lebanon and Mrs. Tania Zaven, archaeologist in charge of the northern part of Mount Lebanon and the site of Gbail at the General Directorate of Antiquities

Bibliography Albert d’Aix 1879 Alberti Aquensis Historia Hierosolymitana. In: Recueil des historiens des croisades: Historiens occidentaux IV. Paris, 263–713. Balard, M. 2001 Croisades et Orient latin, XIe–XIV e siècle. Paris. Beffeyte, R. 2008 Les Machines de guerre au Moyen Age. Rennes. Caffaro de Caschifelone 1895 Cafari de Caschifelone, Genuensis, De libertatione civitatum Orientis. In: Recueil des historiens des croisades: Historiens occidentaux V. Paris. Cauvin, J. 1968 Fouilles de Byblos. IV. Les outillages néolithiques de Byblos et du littoral libanais. Études et documents d’archéologie 5. Paris. Chaaya, A. 2016 The Castle of Smar Jbeil – A Frankish Feudal Stronghold in Lebanon. Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies 4.2–3, 209–241. Deschamps, P. 1954 Terre sainte romane. La Pierre-qui-Vire. 1973

Les châteaux des Croisés en Terre Sainte. III. La défense du comté de Tripoli et de la principauté d’Antioche. Bibliothèque archéologique et historique de l’Institut français d’archéologie de Beyrouth 90. Paris. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Dunand, M. 1939 Fouilles de Byblos I (1926–1932). Bibliothèque archéologique et historique de l’Institut français d’archéologie de Beyrouth 24. Paris. 1954–1958 Fouilles de Byblos II (1933–1938). Paris. 1973a Byblos, son histoire, ses ruines, ses legends. Beyrouth. 1973b Fouilles de Byblos V. Paris. Eydoux, H.-P. 1982 Les châteaux du Soleil. Forteresses et guerres des Croisés. Paris. Foucher de Chartres 1913 Historia Hierosolymitana (1095–1127), mit Erläuterungen und einem Anhange (ed. H. Hagenmeyer). Heidelberg. Guillaume de Tyr 1844 Historia rerum in partibus transmarinis gestarum. In: Recueil des historiens des croisades: Historiens occidentaux I. Paris. Grousset, R. 1991 Histoire des croisades et du royaume franc de Jérusalem, III. La monarchie musulmane et l’anarchie franque. Paris. Hagenmeyer, H. 1911 Chronique du royaume de Jérusalem. Revue de l’Orient latin 12, 68–103, 283–326. Ibn al-Aṯir 1965–1967 L’histoire générale. In: Recueil des historiens des croisades: Historiens orientaux I–II. Paris, (I) 189–744, (II) 3–180. Montet, P. 1928–1929 Byblos et l’Égypte. Quatre campagnes de fouilles à Gebeil, 1921–1922–1923–1924. Bibliothèque archéologique et historique de l’Institut français d’archéologie de Beyrouth 11. Paris. Nordiguian, L. and Voisin, J.-C. 1999 Châteaux et églises du Moyen Âge au Liban. Beyrouth. Renan, E. 1874 Mission de Phénicie. Paris. Rey, E.-G. 1871 Étude sur les monuments de l’architecture militaire des croisés en Syrie et dans l’île de Chypre. Paris. Saghieh, M. 1983 Byblos in the Third Millennium BC. A Reconstruction of the Stratigraphy and a Study of the Cultural Connections. Warminster. Salamé-Sarkis, H. 1980 Contribution à l’histoire de Tripoli et de sa région à l’époque des Croisades. Problèmes d’histoire, d’architecture et de céramique. Bibliothèque archéologique et historique de l’Institut français d’archéologie de Beyrouth 106. Paris.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 1 Aerial view of Gbail: the medieval city and the ancient city (map data © Google Earth)

Fig. 2 Map of the County of Tripoli (after Chaaya 2010a: pl. 81, fig. 3) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 3 Aerial view of the castle and the eastern entrance to the medieval city of Gbayl/Byblos (photo: Armée de l’Air / French Army of the Levant)

Fig. 4 Plotting of the counterscarp walls and specially their angles that show adequate spaces around the towers, Castle of Gbail (graphics: Emmanuelle Devaux)

Fig. 5 Two parts of the eastern enclosure wall of the castle of Gbail (photo: A. Chaaya) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

Results of the First Season of Excavation at the Medieval Castle of Gbail / Byblos

Fig. 6 Sondage beneath the intersection of the two parts of the eastern enclosure wall (photo: A. Chaaya)

Fig. 8 Consolidation of the limestone wall northern angle (photo: A. Chaaya)

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Fig. 7 The limestone wall built on a cyclopean glacis wall from the Bronze Age wall (photo: A. Chaaya)

Fig. 9 The limestone wall built against layers dating from the Early Bronze Age (photo: A. Chaaya)

Fig. 10 The foundation trench of the sandstone wall, northern section of eastern enclosure wall of the castle (photo: A. Chaaya) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 11 Section of the north-eastern part of the castle, view from the west

Fig. 12 Eastern platforms of the Central Tower (photos: A. Chaaya)

Fig. 13 Plan of Eastern towers of the Donjon © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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The 2013–2015 Excavation Seasons at Uşaklı Höyük (Central Turkey) Anacleto D’Agostino 1 – Valentina Orsi 2 Abstract The paper provides a summary of the principal results obtained from the first three seasons of excavation at Uşaklı Höyük, a multi-period site located on the southern bank of the Egri Öz Dere, not far from the city of Yozgat, on the Central Anatolian Plateau. The results of a five year survey (2008–2012) provided substantial evidence for the occupation of the site which extended from the Early Bronze Age to the Ottoman period, with some evidence of a Late Chalcolithic phase. Within this period, the most significant occupation dates to the 2nd and 1st millennia BC. Excavations carried out between 2013 and 2015 produced significant evidence dating to the Late Bronze and Iron Ages both on the high mound and on the large, extended terrace. Impressive architectural features in the form of granitic boulders were revealed in Area A and fragments of cuneiform tablets found on the slopes of the mound suggest the importance of the settlement at the time of Hittite rule over the region. The Iron Age period is also characterised by intensive building activity centred on the höyük. Here, in Area C a complex retaining structure consisting of a large stone glacis, walls and earthen fillings has been exposed.

1. Introduction Uşaklı is a multi-period site and the largest by area on the upper course of a small river valley. It consists of a high mound (around 2 hectares in area) and a large extended terrace with a low, slightly sloping base (10 hectares), the two covering a total area of approximately 12 hectares. 3 The site has long attracted the attention of scholars, thanks to its prominent position on the plain. Interest began with the work of Emil Forrer in 1926 (Forrer 1927: 33) and Hans Henning von der Osten (von der Osten 1929: 37–38), who, in 1927, recognized the well-dressed stones on the lower terrace as a Hittite gateway. It was later visited by Piero Meriggi, at the time of his ‘Viaggi anatolici’ (Meriggi 1971: 62), while the first general archaeological survey of the site was carried out by Geoffrey Summers in 1993 (Summers et al. 1995: 53–55). Since 2008, Uşaklı has been the subject of a research project by the Missione Archeologica Italiana in Anatolia Centrale (MAIAC) directed by Stefania Maz-

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Università di Pisa. Università degli Studi di Firenze. A. D’Agostino wrote paragraphs 1, 4 and 5; V. Orsi wrote paragraphs 2–3. They co-authored paragraph 6. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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zoni. 4 Between 2008 and 2012 an intensive survey of the site and its catchment area was undertaken (Mazzoni and Pecchioli Daddi 2015) and this revealed a long sequence of occupation which spanned the Late Chalcolithic to Ottoman periods. The excavations on the site started in 2013 and are still in progress but the research carried out between 2013 and 2015 has already enabled the authors to outline a detailed sequence of occupation on the site and to connect the evidence scattered on the surface to a stratigraphic framework. The excavation sectors included Area A (excavation seasons 2013–2015) on the eastern terrace; Area B (excavation season 2015) on the eastern terrace, north of Area A; Area C (excavation seasons 2014–2015), on the south-eastern slope of the höyük, and Area D (excavation season 2015), on its southern slope. Architectural remains dating to the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age have been documented in Areas A, C and D both on the lower terrace and on the slope of the high mound, while architectural remains belonging to the 1st millennium of the Common Era have been identified in the north-western sector of Area A and in Area B. 2. Area A Area A (Figs. 1–4) is located on the eastern and south-eastern sectors of the terrace, where the presence of a large building (Building II) was revealed by geophysical survey. This may be connected with the granite structural blocks which were visible on the surface until 2011 (Meriggi 1971: 62, pl. X.1–2; D’Agostino and Orsi 2016: 339; Mazzoni and Pecchioli Daddi 2015: 379, pl. 3.2–6). On the basis of the geophysical survey the original structure was estimated to cover an area of some 875m² of which some 552m² were exposed between 2013 and 2015. Only one course of the foundations, constructed of massive undressed stones, was preserved immediately under the topsoil. A sort of sub-foundation protruded beyond the line of the walls and was made of smaller, irregular stones (see US 45–47, Room 26; US 91–93, Room 35; US 57–59, Room 33; US 22, Room 126) (Figs. 1, 3). The masonry technique was mainly rough, with dry-stone-walled faces and an inner filling of irregular stones. However, the joints between the blocks are, in some cases at least, accurately carved and a notably well-dressed stone block has been recovered out of its primary context east of the granite block-covered sector of the trench. Only two small parts of floors have been identified thus far (US 14, Room 26; US 32, Room 33) and these consisted of a thin layer of earth mixed with loose gravel (Figs. 1, 3). The plan of the building, although incomplete, shows a complex layout made up of different units which probably included rooms of different sizes and larger courtyards. Overall, the remains revealed to date seem to belong to the massive

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For further information about the project and a complete bibliography, see the official website: (last access 15.1.2018). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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foundations of a monumental building. The north-western sector in particular, which includes a series of elongated, parallel rooms, 5 has close similarities to the storage rooms of Hittite public buildings (Mazzoni and D’Agostino 2015: 166). No traces of the original collapse and/or destruction have been preserved, although some of the large foundation stones have been found lying in the inner space between two walls (see US 94, Room 75) and out of their primary context. The building is likely to have suffered a lengthy period of decay after its abandonment and collapse. As the foundations lie not far below the surface, it is probable that the upper courses of the walls, which were visible and accessible, were dismantled and the building materials used for other structures. The original archaeological context has been disturbed by the re-use of the older structures in ancient times and by modern mechanical ploughing. Evidence of a limited re-use of the ruins has been noted with ephemeral structures possibly indicating squatter occupation after the building had already been largely abandoned (US 62, Room 35; US 63). The heterogeneous nature of the ceramic assemblage recovered from the accumulated filling of the spaces between the walls and from the uppermost layer may be a direct consequence of the re-use of the building and of proximity of the foundations to the ground surface. The ceramic assemblage consists primarily of Middle and Late Bronze Age material, but Iron Age and Late Roman types are also present. Notable components of the assemblage include coarse cooking plates with string impressions on the rim and these form a very significant proportion of the whole assemblage. So-called drab ware 6 in the form of plain-rimmed bowls is also abundant. A small quantity of hand-made painted sherds of the Cappadocian/ Intermediate ware type which dates to the period between the late Early Bronze Age and the Middle Bronze Age were also present. Preliminary indications suggest that a group of hand-made red-slipped ceramics should be assigned to the late Early Bronze Age. Traces of some preparatory work intended to level and reinforce the area for the building of the structure has been revealed in a small trench (excavated to a depth of 1.80 metres) on the north-eastern side of the area. Here a sequence of eight cobbled floors separated by thin accumulations of soft clayey earth containing pottery and animal bones have been exposed (Fig. 4). The ceramic assemblages found in all of the layers shows a similar percentage of different wares and types that can be dated to the period between the Middle Bronze Age and the Late Bronze Age. Baking plates are numerous, as well as simple and red-slipped wares of the Hittite period. A small number of hand-made painted or red-slipped sherds were also present, dating to the period between the late Early Bronze Age and the Middle Bronze Age (Mazzoni and D’Agostino 2015: 167–169; D’Agostino and Orsi 2016: 345).

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Three rooms (199, 26 and 75) have been identified thus far through excavation: at least one more room seem to be detectable in the geophysical results. For which see D’Agostino and Orsi 2015: 61–64. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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At the foot of the slope of the mound, in the western part of Area A (square J18–A1), the geomagnetic survey showed a clear regular anomaly which was initially thought to be related to a north-western wing of Building II (Fig. 2). Here the excavation of a 5 x 5 metre trench exposed a room with walls made of rough small and medium-sized stones, a paved floor and portions of an external floor of beaten earth (see also Mazzoni and D’Agostino 2015: 163, 165). Two phases have been documented so far. Tiles and sherds found on the floors and in the filling suggested a Late Roman/Byzantine date. 3. Area D Area D (Fig. 5) is located on the southern slope of the mound, within the perimeter of a large structure (Building III) which was identified by the geomagnetic survey. Scraping activities carried out in the same area in 2012 (Lots 9 and 11) produced fragments of reddish mud-bricks and a rather heterogeneous ceramic assemblage, ranging in date from the late Early Bronze Age to the 1st and 2nd millennia AD (Mazzoni et al. 2014: 257; D’Agostino and Orsi 2015). The small section of the building excavated to date consists of a room and a corridor, both with plastered floors. Only the foundations of the walls have been exposed and these are characterised by external faces built with a row of medium and smallsized stones without mortar and a core filled with debris and stones. A series of beaten surfaces of packed clay have been uncovered beneath the foundations, apparently intended to prepare the ground for the subsequent construction. Traces of a severe fire, consisting of burned red soil, have been identified on the top of the wall, amongst the material used for the core of the walls and in the filling of the corridor. The sloping ground is responsible for the partial erosion of the walls that delimit the room. The external southern façade of this building consisted of a wall built of large granitic boulders which served to reinforce the perimeter of the building towards the slope. Clear traces of extensive levelling and terracing operations were identified in the area and these were interpreted as the relating to the foundations of Building III. In all probability, they relate to the remodelling of the ancient surface of the natural mound, which was probably irregular and characterised by differences in elevation. An alternating sequence of successive layers of brown and yellow clay soils constitutes part of this preparatory work, the southern limit of which was defined by a wall consisting of large granitic boulders. Evidence of structural modification, to be assigned to a later reuse of the structure and not better determined chronologically, is the addition of two walls leaning against the thick southern wall. The ceramic assemblage recovered from Building III suggests a possible preliminary date within the Late Bronze Age for the phases of use documented to date. The material from the building’s floors is rather limited, while a large amount of pottery derived from the layers of soil deposited during the construction of the foun© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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dations has been recovered. This has good parallels with Middle and Late Bronze Age central Anatolian ceramic types. The assemblage includes a large quantity of wheel-made red slip ware, common in the first and intermediate phases of the Hittite ceramic sequence (Schoop 2011: 243). On the basis of a preliminary assessment, instead, the distribution of typical drab ware and coarse ware types more frequent in the last phase of the Hittite ceramic sequence and which are quite common in Area A-Building II, seem to be somewhat sparser. The presence of sherds of so-called Gold Wash Ware, which is characterised by a thin coat of glistening gold-coloured particles, most probably mica, thin walls and very fine fabric (Fig. 7) 7 is particularly noteworthy. The ceramic examples deriving from the surface and sloping fillings, on the other hand, belong mainly to the painted and burnished wares of Middle and Late Iron Age period. 4. Area C Area C (Figs. 8–11), located on the south-eastern slope of the mound, produced evidence of an extensive and complex structure which was probably part of a huge rampart designed to reinforce the slope and probably part of the defensive walls of the citadel. The structure followed the profile of the earlier mound and shaped the contours of the present mound. The structure consisted of an earthen rampart built over a stone glacis. The superstructure consisted of accumulated soils retained within a grid-like structure of thin walls. The rampart both contained, and was strengthened by, thin radial and slightly diverging walls. These were constructed of fired bricks set deep within the structure and preserved to a height of 3 metres. Other walls made of small stones were laid on top of these structures. The upper surface of the rampart was protected by a revetment of flimsy stone walls, which formed a grid system which served to bind and retain the steep earthen slope. Three closely connected processes and relationships can be identified within and between the stratigraphic units which made up this structure. They were the accumulated layers which overlay the bedrock and were covered by the stone glacis, the process of building the rampart and the ongoing work which was required to maintain it. On top of the natural soil, an accumulation of grey clay-rich layers sloped from the centre of the ancient central mound towards the east/north-east and towards the western side of the excavated area. Medium to large stones with roughly flattened visible faces, themselves largely covered by other collapsed stones, leaned against

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For which see D’Agostino and Orsi 2015: 65. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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the clay-rich layers and formed a sloping escarpment enclosing the lower part of the mound. The overlying strata included an accumulation of burnt and ashy soils in the lower section with greyish layers in the upper section. The material containing the large finds assemblage, which included pottery and a fragment of a cuneiform tablet alongside burnt soils and the fragmentary mud-brick from the walls, was probably dumped here, having been recycled from a different and earlier context. The earth structure was contained by thin radial walls constructed of fragmentary burned mud-bricks and followed the incline of the underlying deposit. The thin walls were not free-standing and were probably constructed at the same time as the dump was created. Traces of restoration and maintenance activities were identified in the upper part of the structure and were characterised by deposits of soils of different qualities and textures as well as by the use of small stones for the erection of later walls which rested on those made of mud-brick. Given the stratigraphy and associated materials, the main construction phase probably dates to the Middle Iron Age, while the later interventions probably belong to the Late Iron Age. Of particular note is the ceramic assemblage associated with the grey, clayey soils identified at the bottom of the sequence (Fig. 11). This included a large quantity of wheel-thrown monochrome painted and burnished wars, including some in the typical Alishar IV style. The ceramic assemblage from the ashy and burnt layers immediately above (US 28, US 69 and US 70) is of particular interest and dates principally to the Late Bronze Age. It consisted largely of typical drab ware and red slip ware wares, together with a few sherds belonging to one or more Red Lustrous Wheel-made Ware spindle bottles (Fig. 6). 8 The same layers contained the fragment of the cuneiform tablet U14.E.43, which was dated to the Late Empire period (Archi et al. 2015: 352–353). 5. Area B In addition to the square J18–A1, on the western edge of Area A (see above), evidence of the later period of occupation was identified in a 5 x 5 metre square located in Area B (Fig. 2). The room and associated features belonged to the large, rectangular Building I, identified during the geophysical survey. The stratigraphic sequence is currently divided into three main phases. The earliest phase was identified in a small test trench next to the eastern wall of the room, but the size of the trench was very limited and this precluded any precise characterisation of either the quality or the type of context. It was clear, however, that this phase of activity preceded the construction of the wall.

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This ware is characterized by very fine and compact fabric, bright orange colour and well-levigated surface. In Uşaklı Höyük ceramic type series it is classified as Orange Fine Ware, for which see D’Agostino and Orsi 2015: 69–70. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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The fills of the rooms and outer spaces consisted primarily of soil and debris resulting from the collapse of the upper part of the walls and the roof. The finds assemblage included a significant quantity of roof tiles, including some large fragments alongside coarsewares and examples of both slipped and painted wares. It is suggested that these date to the Hellenistic, Late Roman and later periods. 6. Concluding remarks The 2013–2015 excavation seasons at Uşaklı Höyük have provided further information relating to the significance of the site during the Bronze and Iron Ages. The site reached its greatest size and monumental elaboration during the Late Bronze Age. At this time it included administrative structures and buildings (Area A-Building II and Area D-Building III) for ritual, public and ceremonial functions, from whence the fragments of tablets found in the course of the survey and in the burnt layer of Area C, may have come. The variety in both the content and the typology of the textual fragments (Archi et al. 2015), suggests that the site may have hosted a rich deposit of cuneiform tablets from the Hittite period and that the settlement could have played an important role in the religious, political, and economic system of Hittite central Anatolia. The evidence for a very sizeable Late Bronze Age phase, represented by the architecture, the range of finds and the fragmentary texts, all tend to support the identification of Uşaklı Höyük with the sacred town of Zippalanda, something originally suggested by Oliver Gurney (Gurney 1995: 69–71). 9 Excavations in Area C testify to the considerable scale of work undertaken on the site during the Iron Age, when the mound, or at least its south-eastern section, was strengthened by a stone escarpment and glacis. Although being exposed only in a limited area so far, the attribution of large structures such as Area B-Building I to later phases from the Hellenistic to the Roman period onwards, also provide indications of a substantial occupation of the site during that time. Bibliography Archi, A., Corti, C., Pecchioli Daddi, F. and Torri, G. 2015 Epigraphic Findings. In: S. Mazzoni and F. Pecchioli Daddi (eds.), The Uşaklı Höyük Survey Project (2008–2012). A Final Report. Studia Asiana 10. Florence, 349–363.

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See also Torri 2015 on the epigraphic evidence about Zippalanda. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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D’Agostino, A. and Orsi, V. 2015 The Archaeological Survey: Methods and Materials. In: S. Mazzoni and F. Pecchioli Daddi (eds.), The Uşaklı Höyük Survey Project (2008–2012). A Final Report. Studia Asiana 10. Florence, 35–343. 2016

Researches at Uşaklı Höyük (Central Turkey): Survey, Surface Scraping and First Digging Operations. In: R. A. Stucky, O. Kaelin and H.-P. Mathys (eds.), Proceedings of the 9th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. June 12, 2014: Universität Basel (Switzerland). Wiesbaden, 333–346.

Forrer, E. 1927 Ergebnisse einer archäologischen Reise in Kleinasien, 1926. Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient Gesellschaft 65, 31–37. Gurney, O. R. 1995 The Hittite Names of Kerkenes Dağ and Kuşaklı Höyük. Anatolian Studies 45, 69–71. Mazzoni, S. and D’Agostino, A. 2015 Researches at Uşaklı Höyük (Central Anatolian Plateau). In: S. Steadman and G. MacMahon (eds.), The Archaeology of Anatolia: Current Work (2013–2014). Cambridge, 149–179. Mazzoni, S., D’Agostino, A. and Orsi, V. 2014 Uşaklı Höyük 2012: Surface Scraping and Collecting on the High Mound. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı 35/1, 253–270. Mazzoni, S. and Pecchioli Daddi, F. (eds.) 2015 The Uşaklı Höyük Survey Project (2008–2012). A Final Report. Studia Asiana 10. Florence. Meriggi, P. 1971 Ottavo e ultimo viaggio anatolico. Oriens Antiquus 10, 57–60. Schoop, U.-D. 2011 Hittite Pottery: A Summary. In: H. Genz and D. P. Mielke (eds.), Insights into Hittite History and Archaeology. Colloquia Antiqua 2. Leuven – Paris – Walpole, 241–274. Summers, M. E. F., Summers, G. D. and Ahmet, K. 1995 The Regional Survey at Kerkenes Dağ: An Interim Report on the Seasons of 1993 and 1994. Anatolian Studies 45, 43–68. Torri, G. 2015 Epigraphic Evidence about Zippalanda. In: S. Mazzoni and F. Pecchioli Daddi (eds.), The Uşaklı Höyük Survey Project (2008–2012). A Final Report. Studia Asiana 10. Florence, 365– 367. von der Osten, H. H. 1929 Explorations in Hittite Asia Minor 1927–1928. Oriental Institute Publications 6. Chicago.

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The 2013–2015 Excavation Seasons at Uşaklı Höyük (Central Turkey)

Fig. 1 Plan of Area A, Building II: excavations 2013–2015

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Fig. 2 Panoramic view of the South-Eastern part of the terrace, from West

Fig. 3 Area A, room 26, from North. The granitic groundwork and the under-foundations. A portion of the floor 14 is visible in background

Fig. 4 The cobbled floors in the sounding under Area A-Building II

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Fig. 5 Area D: details of the walls and levelling activities

Fig. 6 Area C: Red Lustrous Wheelmade Ware

Fig. 7 Area D: Gold Wash Ware

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Fig. 8 Area C, from East

Fig. 9 Area C: detail of the thin walls on the upper portion of the area

Fig. 10 Area C: detail of the stone glacis

Fig. 11 Area C: the sequence of layers above the natural soil © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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2013–2015 Activities of the Georgian-Italian Shida Kartli Archaeological Project at Aradetis Orgora (Georgia) Iulon Gagoshidze 1 – Elena Rova 2 Abstract The paper presents the results of three seasons of excavations at Aradetis Orgora in the Kura River valley (Georgia) . The site consists of three different mounds and an adjacent cemetery; it was occupied from late prehistory to the Early Medieval period . Work hitherto concentrated on the Main Mound, where excavations were carried out in three different areas (Fields A, B, and C) . Field C is devoted to the continuing investigation of the palatial building of the Late Hellenistic/Early Imperial period, which occupies the present top of the mound, while Fields A and B, located on its opposite slopes, have the aim to clarify the site’s pre-classical sequence of occupation . The excavation produced important results not only concerning the Kura-Araxes and the Late Bronze/Early Iron periods, which represent the main phases in the site’s history, but also concerning less well known occupational phases (e .g . the Middle Bronze and the Later Early Bronze) .

1. The site Aradetis Orgora is one of the main archaeological sites of the Shida Kartli region of Georgia . It lies in the valley of the River Kura, the main watercourse of the region, on the western bank of the Western Prone, near the junction of the latter with the Eastern Prone and the Kura . It is located at the southern edge of the gently sloping Dedoplis Mindori Plain, from which it is separated by the modern highway . The ancient settlement (Fig. 1) developed on three different mounds: the Western (Main) mound, also known as ‘Dedoplis Gora’ (‘the queen’s hill’), and the Eastern and Northern mounds . The cemetery occupies the area to the north, partially under the route of the new highway; it is also known as the ‘Doghlauri cemetery’ . The area was the object of sporadic human frequentation since earliest prehistory and was continuously occupied from at least the 4th millennium BC to the Early Medieval period . The settlement reached its widest extension in the LBA/EIA, when it extended over all three mounded areas; most of the graves in the cemetery area belong to this phase, as well. The second most significant period of occupation is the Kura-Araxes period, which is attested on the Main Mound and in the cemetery area . The Main Mound is a 34m high, steep-sided hill of roughly triangular shape, whose sides presently measure 70–80m on the top . It overlooks the Kura River val-

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Georgian National Museum Tbilisi. Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici – Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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ley from an easily defendable position and is isolated from the surrounding river terrace by two deep incisions . Its lower part is of natural origin and consists of a succession of gravel layers of fluvial origin (Furlani et al. 2012). It is overlain by up to 14m of anthropic deposits dating from the late 4th millennium BC to the 6th century AD. The remains of an imposing, partially excavated fortified building of the Late Hellenistic/Early Imperial period dominates the top of the mound . 2. Aims of the project Since 2013, Aradetis Orgora has been the object of excavations by the Georgian-Italian Shida Kartli Archaeological project of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice in collaboration with the Georgian National Museum, jointly directed by the present authors (Gagoshidze and Rova 2016; Gagoshidze and Rova in press; see also the website for the Georgian-Italian Shida Kartli Archaeological Project). The aims of the project are: 1) to complete the exposure of the Hellenistic building on the Main Mound, which has been in the process of excavation since 1985 by a Georgian expedition headed by Iulon Gagoshidze (Furtwängler et al. 2008; see also Gagoshidze and Rova 2016; Gagoshidze and Rova in press); 2) to verify the until now unexplored, up to 10m thick, occupational sequence of the Main Mound settlement and to obtain a corpus of stratified artefacts and ecofacts to form the backbone of a regional relative chronology and, associated with samples for radiometric dating from controlled contexts, of a reliable absolute chronology; 3 3) to collect palaeoenvironmental data spanning a period of several millennia in order to analyse the interaction of the ancient site’s population with its natural environment in a longue durée perspective; 4) to integrate evidence from settlement contexts with that from funerary contexts from the neighbouring cemetery and, if possible, with evidence from other sites of the Aradetis Orgora micro-region, for a comprehensive reconstruction of regional historical processes; 5) to collect data useful for developing a project for the site’s future preservation and valorisation . 3. Results of the first three seasons of excavation Three areas of excavation (Fields A, B and C) were opened on the Main Mound . Field C, under the responsibility of I . Gagoshidze, is dedicated to the continuing in-

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The first results of this part of the project are reported in Passerini et al. 2016; Passerini et al. 2018. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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vestigation of the Hellenistic building, while Fields A and B, under the responsibility of E . Rova, are two stratigraphic soundings located on the opposite sides of the hill, whose aim is to investigate the sequence of pre-classical levels down to the natural soil (Fig. 2). 3.1 Field C: the Late Hellenistic/Early Imperial palace The building on top of the Main Mound (see Fig. 2) represents a unique example of monumental architecture of the Kingdom of Kartli (Caucasian Iberia) . It was probably the residence of a local vassal of the king of Kartli, responsible for administering the royal domain in Shida Kartli . It had an irregular triangular shape and originally occupied the whole hilltop surface (an area of more than 3000m²) . The entire southwestern wing has been washed away by the river, but its location can be approximately reconstructed from the position of the portico’s pillars . The building originally had at least two storeys and was covered by a tiled roof . Surrounded by an almost 3m wide outer wall provided with massive corner towers, in which – on the ground floor at least – no windows were found, it consists of a row of rooms that open into a large central peristyle court. The rooms of the ground floor were mainly devoted to everyday activities and to the storage of less precious wares . Residential units were probably located on the upper floor(s), where luxury goods were also kept, while the central court and the peristyle were occupied by less monumental structures (among them a bakery and a wine cellar), mainly devoted to processing agricultural products . The building was erected at the end of the 2nd or in the early 1st century BC and was destroyed around 80 AD, by an earthquake and intense fire. Before the beginning of the new Georgian-Italian excavations, the whole northern wing of the building, what was left of its southwestern wing, and approximately half of the eastern wing had been investigated (Furtwängler et al. 2008). In 2013–2014, an area of ca. 200 m² joining the southern limit of the previously excavated eastern wing was explored, thus bringing to light three additional rooms (nos. 20, 21, and 22) and the corresponding portion of the pillared portico . The most spectacular finds came from room no. 20, in whose central part, not far from the western wall, a complete, undamaged clay fire altar was discovered (Fig. 3). A mass of materials blended together by fire lay on the altar’s upper surface; after restoration, it turned out to be composed of bronze and silver figurines of Artemis, Apollo, Leto, Tyche-Fortuna, Silen, an eagle, a raven and a dolphin, joined by a silver censer, a gold ivy (?) branch, 15 coins – 13 denari of Augustus, and two local imitations of Alexander the Great’s staters – and two pheasant’s eggs (Fig . 4) . The intense fire that destroyed the building turned its walls into a mass of pumice-like substance . On the one hand, this allowed a detailed analysis of its construction techniques, which are typical of the Hellenistic period in Kartli . The base of the walls and gates consists of a framework of beams set perpendicular to one another, the intervening space being filled with pebbles and adobe (so-called opus gallicum), while their upper part, which is preserved up to 2–3m, is made of mud bricks. On © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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the other hand, the fire provoked a heavy degradation of the materials, which in its turn caused a strong de-cohesion of the masonry . As a consequence, the palace is still standing, but in a very unstable state of preservation. For this reason, in 2015 we carried out a multidisciplinary diagnostic survey for the building’s preservation . A graphic rendition of the surviving walls of room 20, which provided a three-dimensional model of the parts examined, was realised using Photo-Scanner technology (see Fig . 3) . Ongoing degradation processes were carefully documented, and samples of representative construction materials, such as bricks, mortar, sandstone ashlars, river pebbles, wooden beams, earthen plasters, etc . were taken in order to determine their composition and mechanical characteristics . 3.2 Field A, the western stratigraphical sounding Excavation in Field A on the southwestern slope of the mound reached a depth of more than 6 m by the end of the 2015 season. Ten different levels were excavated over an area of approximately two 5 × 5m quadrants located on the steep eroded slope overlooking the Prone River. Level 1 corresponds to the base of the Hellenistic occupation, Levels 2, 3 and 4 belong to the Iron Age (9th–7th centuries BC), Levels 5, 6 and 7 represent the transition between the LBA and the IA, and Levels 8 to 10 belong to the later LBA . 4 During the IA, the investigated area belonged to an open space, which yielded only scanty remains of flimsy stone or mud brick walls and installations, but contained a considerable number of pits, most of them for storing cereals, to judge from the large quantities of charred seeds that were recovered inside them . From one of these pits came the head of a small terracotta figurine of very fine manufacture, whose style may be compared to that of bronze figurines dated to the 9th to 7th century BC (Gagoshidze and Rova 2016, fig. 9). Level 4 was underlain by an up to 1.60cm thick artificial filling entirely composed of pebbles, apparently connected with important terracing operations aimed at increasing the settlement’s available space and levelling its top. This fill covered a heavily sloped ancient surface of the mound and marked an important discontinuity in the area’s sequence. Levels 5–7 are attributed to the Transitional LBA/ EIA and earlier Iron Age . During these phases, the layout of the area in Field A was

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Attribution of the levels to the different periods is mainly based on a preliminary evaluation of their ceramic assemblages . One has to be aware, however, that the internal periodisation of the LBA and EIA periods in Georgia is still a controversial matter, due to the strong continuity in material culture that characterises them . Traditional absolute dates assigned to this interval are in the range of 15/14th–12th cent. BC for the LBA and 12th–10th centuries BC for the Transitional phase (see Gagoshidze and Rova 2016), but they are not yet supported by adequate 14C evidence, so we prefer to abstain from giving precise figures here. In fact, the results of recent radiocarbon analysis on samples from the later LBA levels (Levels 8 and 9) would suggest a slightly later date than expected (E . Boaretto, personal communication) . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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rather different, since the mound’s slope was stepped . The excavated area was thus lying on two different levels separated by a sloping surface, on which layers of debris and pebble layers accumulated. While the upper step yielded only some flimsy mud brick walls, the lower one was characterised by the presence of massive stone walls . Level 7, in particular, yielded a room of approximately square shape surrounded by thick stone walls partially dug into the mound’s slope (Gagoshidze and Rova 2016: fig. 12). Occupation belonging to the preceding phases, attributed to the LBA, was investigated further south, not far from the outer edge of the mound, over an area that progressively extended in the southern direction the more the excavation deepened . Level 8 was disturbed by a large number of pits, and did not produce any significant structure. Levels 9 and 10, each including different sub-phases, showed a higher degree of continuity in the layout and use of the excavated area . This was divided into three functionally different spaces: an area used for discharging animal bones and other remains of butchering and food preparation activities, an area occupied by small firing installations, and a sloping surface joining the mound’s outer limit, which hosted a large number of shallow pits . Level 9 produced fewer architectural features, but yielded two remarkable small finds: a bead of gold foil with tubular mid-rib string-hole (Gagoshidze and Rova 2016: fig. 16) and a fragment of a small limestone plaque, later reused as a mould for producing multiple small metal ornaments, which bears an unfinished incised nine-pointed star reminiscent of Mesopotamian astral symbols (Gagoshidze and Rova 2016: fig. 17; Rova 2016). Both artefacts attest to the affluence, regional importance and far-reaching connections of the Aradetis Orgora settlement during the LBA. They were both broken and recovered in secondary contexts, inside filling layers that had accumulated near the outer limit of the excavation; this may suggest that they had been discharged down the hill’s slope from important contemporary public (?) building(s) located on the top of this portion of the Main Mound . The most remarkable feature of Level 10 (Fig. 5) was a large platform of compacted clay, which extended over a large part of the excavated area and continued in an eastern direction beyond the limits of excavation. It was ca. 25cm high, and its outer limit was coated with a layer of white silt plaster, which had been repeatedly renewed. The top of the platform had no formal floor, but traces of different surfaces of use could be distinguished on it. It was occupied by a number of firing installations of different shapes, generally surrounded by a shallow clay wall, which had often been re-built in approximately the same position . 5 The firing area, consisting of a flat surface of burnt clay, was generally underlain by a layer of pottery sherds, which in turn covered a layer of small pebbles .

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It is interesting to observe that during the 2016 season, when the excavation of the platform was completed, an area occupied by grinding installations was also brought to light near its tip . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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3 .3 Field B, the eastern stratigraphical sounding The most important discoveries of the three seasons were made in Field B, a 5m wide ‘step trench’ on the eastern slope of the mound, where the total depth of excavated deposits reached 13.50m, and virgin soil was reached at the bottom of a sequence of Hellenistic, IA, MBA, LBA and EBA (Kura-Araxes) levels . Work on the first step was stopped after exposing the top of the remains (burnt brick debris and top of collapsed stone walls) of the Hellenistic palace; the excavation of this area was continued, in 2014, as part of Field C. The second step of the excavation yielded a 80cm thick succession of layers of compacted clay separated by pebble layers of IA date situated on top of an up to 195cm high sequence of pebble layers, which had probably accumulated against the inner limit of a terracing wall or rampart (no longer preserved) located in the now eroded area to the east . The levels excavated on the third step under the continuation of the pebble layers date to the transitional LBA/EIA and to the LBA (Fig . 6) . At the limit between the third and the fourth ‘steps’ of the trench, we found a more than 2 m wide stone wall, whose eastern face was marked by a line of regular blocks of sandstone, while the western face and the inner part were made of river pebbles and irregular stones . The wall was erected in an early phase of the LBA, probably in the framework of large-scale terracing activities aimed at stabilising and protecting the mound’s steep slope . Its outer face was supported by walls or buttresses, oriented perpendicular to it, which deeply cut into the earlier levels . The area on the inner side of the wall was probably an open space occupied by different installations, which showed a considerable continuity over what may be thought of as a long occupational phase with several sub-phases . The southern part hosted a complex of firing installations similar to those discovered in contemporary levels in Field A, while the northern part was occupied by a white-plastered stepped clay platform, on top of which there was a shallow basin with a burnt surface and a layer of pebbles at the base . The platform may have been used for special (ritual ?) activities, as suggested by the discovery in the area of a number of fish, swan and equid bones, and of two complete pottery vessels (a small jar and a shallow bowl with a handle in the shape of a horned animal) . The fourth and fifth steps of the excavation revealed a four meter thick sequence of densely packed Kura-Araxes levels . This was resting directly on the virgin soil and was sealed by an ancient slope of the mound, into which the LBA stone walls had partially been cut . Kura-Araxes occupation in this part of the site, which according to radiocarbon measurements dates back to the 31st–29/28th centuries BC (Passerini et al. 2016), produced a rather homogeneous ceramic assemblage, which can be attributed to the second phase of the Kura-Araxes culture of the Shida Kartli region (Rova 2014: 50–51). Architecture, on the contrary, showed a considerable variety both in plans (with both rectilinear and rounded buildings represented) and in construction techniques . Phase 2 of the local sequence yielded two round-shaped clay huts equipped with fixed hearths, the first of which cut the second one (Gagoshidze and Rova 2016: fig. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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27). A row of large stone slabs was standing against the outer face of the wall of the first hut – a detail that is unparalleled, to our knowledge, in Kura-Araxes architecture in Shida Kartli and elsewhere . Phase 3 occupation, which had been destroyed by a small-scale firing event that left in situ material on the floors 6 was characterised by the presence of typical ‘wattle-and-daub’ architecture with rectilinear walls (Fig . 7) . Most noteworthy is, however, the discovery in Phase 4 of a possible Kura-Araxes shrine: the portion of a large room of rectangular shape with rounded corners with a 20–30cm thick wall of yellowish clay, on the burnt floor of which a large jar and fragments of at least two ritual vessels with zoomorphic/anthropomorphic features without known parallels were found (Fig . 8) . Numerous well-preserved grains of pollen of Vitis vinifera (common grapevine) were discovered inside one of the vessels, which suggest that it originally contained wine, probably used for libations or similar ceremonies . The hypothesis that wine played an important role in the Kura-Araxes culture is thus confirmed by evidence for its use in a ritual context. The earliest Kura-Araxes occupation (Phase 6) was excavated in the lowest, fifth step of the trench . It consisted of a sequence of three clay platforms, the earliest of which rested directly on the natural soil (Gagoshidze and Rova 2016: figs. 30, 31). No building remains were found on either of these, but two differently aligned sets of postholes were observed on their surfaces . 3 .4 The deep soundings At the end of the 2015 season, two small soundings were carried out in both Fields A and B from the base of the earliest excavated LBA level (see Figs. 5 and 6). Both resulted in the unexpected discovery of layers belonging to the MBA, located under further LBA layers and layers that can be attributed to a transitional stage between the MBA and the LBA . The MBA layers yielded sherds of typical Trialeti wares from contexts which, in spite of the small excavated area, do not seem to be very different from those of the LBA (sequences of floors with remains of small installations and tiny walls and areas rich in animal bones and obsidian blocks) . The importance of this discovery deserves to be especially underlined, since it proves that the settlement on top of the Aradetis Orgora Main Mound was not abandoned during the MBA, and thus shows that, contrary to the traditional view, a limited amount of settled occupation may have persisted throughout the period at least at the largest sites of the Shida Kartli region . Another period that is poorly attested in settlement contexts in Shida Kartli is the Early Kurgan period of the mid-late 3rd millennium BC . The discovery, on the eroded slope near Field A, of an in situ Bedeni vessel (Gagoshidze and Rova 2016: fig. 4),

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A calibrated date of 2930–2880 BC can be proposed, on the basis of seven different dates which all fall around the same range, for the use and destruction of the ‘wattle-and-daub’ structure (for discussion, see Passerini et al. 2016). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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suggests, however, that this phase is also present at Aradetis, and we hope to be able to reach it during the next excavation seasons . 7 3.5 Excavations at the Doghlauri cemetery Finally, in 2015 the expedition had the opportunity to take part in the salvage excavation, under the responsibility of I . Gagoshidze, of a small section of the neighbouring Doghlauri cemetery, which was menaced by the construction of artificial terraces flanking the route of the new highway . Work was carried out over an irregular area occupying a maximal total surface of 260m × 20m, and resulted in the discovery of 29 graves, to be added to the nearly 500 previously excavated, between 1979 and 2014, by different Georgian expeditions (Furtwängler et al. 2008: 41; Gagoshidze 2012; Gelashvili 2014; for the Kura-Araxes graves also Koridze in Puturidze and Rova 2012: 75–82). Three graves belonged to the EBA (Kura-Araxes) period; among them, especially interesting is No. 2, a pit grave lined with cobblestones. A 35–45 years old female (?) individual was lying in crouched position in the centre of the pit, and sparse bones of two additional individuals (a mature female and a young adult) were found along one of the sides . Burial goods included a number of pottery vessels and metal ornaments . The remaining 26 graves belonged to the LBA. They mostly consisted of individual pit burials covered by a small mound of stones, oriented in a north-south direction; the bodies were placed in foetal position on the right or left side, with the head pointing north . Burial goods included pottery vessels, metal weapons and ornaments and, notably, for the first time in the Doghlauri cemetery, a diadem and the remains of a threshing board. The human osteological remains that were sufficiently preserved (twelve subjects from ten different graves) were analysed for sex and age determination; they belonged to five males, five females and two sub-adults. Preliminary palaeopathological analysis recorded the common presence of dental pathologies and cribra orbitalia, due to iron deficiency anemia. A preliminary inventory of the human osteological remains from the 2012–2014 excavations at Doghlauri, presently preserved in Tbilisi was also made, with the aim of organising a possible joint publication . 4. Other activities of the ‘Shida Kartli’ project Different aspects of multidisciplinary research aimed at reconstructing the site’s palaeoenvironment and its evolution over the course of time, and at characterising the economy of its ancient populations, have been presented in detail elsewhere (Gagoshidze and Rova 2016; Passerini et al. 2016; Passerini et al. 2018) and will not be repeated here . We would, however, like to conclude this short presentation of the activities of

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This hope was actually fulfilled in the course of the 2016 season, when a Bedeni layer was unearthed in Field B, and a number of Bedeni sherds came to light in MBA contexts in Field A . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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the ‘Shida Kartli’ project by mentioning at least one of the foci of recent research by the members of the team. As we have seen, a large number of firing installations were recovered from both the Kura-Araxes and, especially, the LBA levels in Fields A and B at Aradetis Orgora . While typological studies and surveys of the geographical and chronological distribution of the different types of fireplaces/hearths have been carried out in the framework of doctorate and specialisation theses in archaeology, 8 they have also been the subject of a program of intensive sampling for soil micromorphology analysis 9 aimed at investigating their different functions and construction techniques . In order to better understand the technology of these ancient combustion features, in 2015 we also decided to try to produce experimental replicas of EBA (Kura-Araxes) and LBA hearths/fireplaces, to use them in controlled conditions and to document the temperatures reached with different fuels and the different reactions to heat of the various building materials . These experiments will be continued in a more systematic way during the next excavation seasons . Acknowledgements The excavations at Aradetis Orgora were funded by the following institutions: Italian Ministry of Education (PRIN 2009), Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ca’ Foscari University, and private sponsors (Metamondo Tour Operator). The authors would like to express their gratitude to Prof . David Lordkipanidze (General Director, GNM) and Dr . Zurab Makharadze (Director of Archaeological Centre, GNM) for the permission to excavate at Aradetis Orgora and for their continuing cooperation with the activities of the expedition . A special thanks goes to all the members of the excavation team, without whom these results could not have been accomplished, and in particular to Francesca Bertoldi, Elisabetta Boaretto, Giovanni Boschian, Fabio Fratini and Eliso Kvavadze, whose analyses provided important information that has been, in various ways, incorporated into this text . Bibliography Boschian, G . and Rova, E . 2014 Geoarchaeology and Soil Micromorphology of Early Bronze Age Anthropic Features from Natsargora Settlement (Southern Caucasus, Georgia). In: P. Bieliński, M. Gawlikowski, R. Koliński, D. Ławecka, A. Sołtysiak, Z. Wygnańska (eds.), Proceedings of the 8th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (30 April, 4 May 2012), Volume 2: Excavation and Progress Reports, Posters . Wiesbaden, 383–400 .

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Specialisation thesis by L. Gervasi (2016); PhD thesis by M. Aquilano. This part of the research is under the responsibility of G . Boschian . On the results of soil micromorphology analysis by the ‘Shida Kartli’ project at Natsargora (2011 and 2012), see Boschian and Rova 2014. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Furlani, S ., Monegato, G ., Stinghen, A ., Rova, E ., Kuparadze, D ., Boschian, G ., Massironi, M . and Bondesan, A . 2012 Paleohydrographic Evolution and its Influence on Human Settlement in the Karthaliny Basin (Georgia) . Alpine and Mediterranean Quaternary 25, 57–66. Furtwängler, A ., Gagoshidze, I ., Löhr, H . and Ludwig, N . 2008 Iberia and Rome. The Excavations of the Palace at Dedoplis Gora and the Roman Influence in the Caucasian Kingdom of Iberia . Schriften des Zentrums für Archäologie und Kulturgeschichte des Schwarzmeerraumes 13. Langenweissbach. Gagoshidze, I . 2012 Doghlauri (Aradetis Orgora) Cemetery. Online Archaeology 3, 12–19. (lasst access 15.1.2018). Gagoshidze, I . and Rova, E . 2016 Two Seasons of Georgian-Italian Excavations at Aradetis Orgora (Georgia). Rivista di Archeologia 39, 5–28. in press New Investigations at Aradetis Orgora, a Multiperiod Centre of the Shida Kartli Region in Georgia. In: A. Batmaz, G. Bedianashvili, A. Michalewicz and A. Robinson (eds.), Context and Connection: Essays on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East in Honour of Antonio Sagona . Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta . Leuven . Gelashvili, B . 2014 Gviandeli brinjaos khanis iaraghebi doghlauris samarovnidan (Late Bronze Age Weapons from the Doghlauri Cemetery) . Online Archaeology 6, 203–215 (in Georgian). http://www.heritagesites.ge/upload/file/1431598201.pdf. Georgian-Italian Shida Kartli Archaeological Project (lasst access 15.1.2018). Passerini, A ., Rova, E . and Boaretto, E . 2018 Revising the Absolute Chronology of the 4th and 3rd Millennia BCE in the Southern Caucasus . In: B. Horejs et al. (eds.), Proceedings of the 10th International Congress of Archaeology of Ancient Near East, Wien, April, 25th–29th 2016. Volume 1. Vienna, 161–172. Passerini, A ., Regev, L ., Rova, E . and Boaretto, E . 2016 New Radiocarbon Dates for the Kura-Araxes Occupation at Aradetis Orgora, Georgia. Radiocarbon 58/3. (last access 15.1.2018). Puturidze, M . and Rova, E . (eds .) 2012 Khashuri Natsargora: The Early Bronze Age Graves (Publications of the Georgian-Italian Shida Kartli Archaeological Project I) . Subartu 30 . Turnhout . Rova, E . 2014 The Kura-Araxes Culture in the Shida Kartli Region of Georgia: An Overview. Paléorient 40/2, 47–69 . 2016

Ishtar in Shida Kartli? About a Recently Discovered Fragment of Stone Plaque. In: P. Corò, E. Devecchi, N . De Zorzi and M . Maiocchi (eds .), Libiamo ne’ lieti calici: Ancient Near Eastern Studies presented to Lucio Milano on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday by Pupils, Colleagues and Friends. Alter Orient und Altes Testament 436. Münster, 511–531. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 1 Satellite view of the Aradetis Orgora site, with location of the different mounds (modified from Google Earth)

Fig. 2 Orthogonal view of the Dedoplis Gora mound, with location of the excavation areas and superimposed schematic plan of the Hellenistic palace © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 3 Photogrammetric survey of room 20 of the Hellenistic palatial building (E. Venier)

Fig. 4 Selected finds from the altar in Room 20 © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

2013–2015 Activities of the Georgian-Italian Shida Kartli Archaeological Project

Fig. 5 Field A, plan of Level 10 occupation at the end of the 2015 season, with deep sounding in the southwestern corner

Fig. 6 Field B, third step, view at the end of the 2015 season, from S, with deep sounding in the northeastern corner © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig . 7 Field B, fourth step, view of Phase 3 occupation from SW

Fig . 8 Field B, fourth step, detail of the Phase 4 Kura-Araxes shrine, from W (left), and zoomorphic vessels (right) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

The Late Bronze I and Iron Age I Remains at Tel Dover in the Jordan Valley, Israel

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The Late Bronze I and Iron Age I Remains at Tel Dover in the Jordan Valley, Israel Amir Golani 1 – Samuel R. Wolff 1 Abstract Tel Dover, located to the north-east of the confluence of the Yarmuk and Jordan Rivers and adjacent to the Israeli-Jordanian international border, consists of a small tell and an associated lower city. In 1997 large-scale excavations by the Israel Antiquities Authority in the lower city, the first to have been conducted at the site, revealed the remains of ten phases of occupation dating from the Neolithic to the Mamluk periods. This article summarises the evidence relating to the Late Bronze Age (LB) IB (15th century BCE) and late Iron Age IB (11th–10th century BCE) periods. Stratum VIII of LB IB consisted of a massive architectural complex built of cyclopean boulders which included a large public building. In Stratum VII of late Iron Age IB, three occupational phases were identified, interspersed with two phases of burials. Scattered finds of 8th century BCE date attest to limited later activity in this area. Having been occupied during LB IB and, following a hiatus in activity, reoccupied in Iron Age IB, the settlement history of Tel Dover during the Bronze and Iron Ages is similar to that of Tel Hadar which is located nearby on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Tel Dover is located in northern Israel, south of the Sea of Galilee and near the southern tip of the Golan Heights, known in Egyptian texts as the land of Geshur. The site lies on the northern bank of the Yarmuk River to the north-east of its confluence with the Jordan River, both of which form the international border between Israel and Jordan. Tel Dover is not far from other well-known and excavated sites such as Gadara (Umm Qeis) in Jordan and Tel Hadar, Hammat Gader and ‘Ein Gev in Israel (Fig. 1). The site lies close to abundant farmland and has a perennial freshwater source. It is strategically located on inter-regional routeways including those leading from Beth Shean to Ashtaroth and Damascus. During the Roman period the roads leading to Gadara from Beth Shean-Scythopolis or Tiberias would have passed close to the site and it is probable that the same roads were in use in earlier periods as well. The site consists of a small tell or acropolis, approximately 5 dunams in size, with an extensive lower city covering approximately 20 dunams to its south-east. This was bounded by the Yarmuk River to the east and a basalt cliff to the west (Fig. 2). The acropolis itself has been surveyed but not excavated and has yielded material primarily of the Middle Bronze, Late Bronze, Iron Age II and Roman periods. As the site lies within a restricted military area, access to it is limited.

1

Both authors Israel Antiquities Authority. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Following the Israeli-Jordanian peace negotiations in 1997, a scheme involving the construction of a dam across the Yarmuk River close to the site was proposed. Because the site of Tel Dover is located on the Israeli side of the border, this proposal necessitated a large-scale rescue excavation which was undertaken by the Israel Antiquities Authority under the direction of the late Alexander Onn. The excavation focused on the terrace occupied by lower city, although the tell itself and the immediate environs of the site were also surveyed. The dam was eventually built at another location and the site remains intact. The full publication of the rescue project is in preparation (for a preliminary note, see Rapuano 2001). The excavations identified ten phases of occupation on the lower terrace (Fig. 3), although it remains to be seen if all these periods and/or others are also represented on the acropolis. Occupation on the terrace was intermittent and included periods of intense occupation followed by periods of abandonment and resettlement. The present article focuses on the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age remains, Strata VIII and VII. 1. The Late Bronze Age (Stratum VIII) The most extensive area of Bronze Age features exposed during the excavation lay in the south-western part of the site, immediately below the acropolis. Here, a very large rectangular building constructed of large boulders and measuring 12.5m × 6.5m was uncovered. Its main entrance included a large pillar base facing east (Fig. 4). A second entranceway appears to have existed in its long southern wall. Some of the inner and outer sections of this building were paved with large cobblestones. Several construction phases were identified in rooms adjacent to this large building which seem to highlight its importance. To the north of the building was a large wall constructed of massive boulders and this was traced over a distance of some 15m (Fig. 5). The wall included a large entranceway leading to the large building. Portions of additional walls, also constructed of huge boulders, were found to the south and appear to delineate several rooms which lay between the large building and the wall (Fig. 4). Although the structures related to this phase of the site were only partially exposed, (due to the restrictions imposed by the presence of later buildings), the size of these structures and their massive construction seem to indicate that the site was one of some importance. The buildings appear to have been public in character and were probably ritual or administrative in nature. The Late Bronze Age occupation was relatively short-lived and did not continue into the 14th century BCE. The site is not mentioned in the well-known annals of Thutmoses III, suggesting that it may have been abandoned by the time of his military campaigns. Occupation debris associated with this massive architectural complex included a large assemblage of identifiable ceramics, notably numerous examples of ‘Chocolate-on-White’ ware and decorated biconical jars, one of them depicting an ibex eating from the tree of life. The assemblage also included examples of Cypriote White © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Slip ‘milk bowls’. Based on parallels from Tel Beth Shean (cf. Mullins 2007), Hazor (cf. Yadin et al. 1958; 1960; 1961) and the Baq‘ah valley (cf. McGovern 1986), the ceramic assemblage dates to the 15th century BCE or the LB IB period. ‘Chocolate-on-White’ ware begins at the very end of the Middle Bronze Age II but does not continue into the LB II. Likewise, Cypriote White Slip ‘milk bowls’ do not appear before the LB IB so that the assemblage as a whole appears to be firmly anchored within this period. Among the Late Bronze Age finds was a Mitannian cylinder seal (Fig. 6), to be published by Diane Stein, that is characteristic of the so-called ‘Common Style’ (cf. Porada 1944–1945). The seal depicts a double tree or branch motif beside a column of three transverse human heads. To date, most Mitannian Common-Style cylinder seals have been found in cult contexts (Peri 2010), which tends to support the ritual interpretation of the monumental complex suggested above. 2. The Iron Age (Stratum VII) After centuries of abandonment, the lower terrace was reoccupied during the late Iron Age I/beginning of Iron Age IIA (11th–10th centuries BCE) when the area fluctuated between being a burial ground with occupation probably restricted to the acropolis or tell and a densely built settlement across most of the area of the lower terrace (Fig. 3). Based on its geographical location and on the similarity of the names in Arabic (Tell Duweir) and Hebrew (Tel Dover), the site has long been identified with the biblical site of Li-Debir or Lo-Debar which is mentioned several times in the Old Testament (Josh 13:26, 2 Sam 9:4–5; 17:27; Amos 6:13; see discussions in Edelman 1992; Lott 1992). It has also been suggested that it may be identified with Hammath (Josh 19:35, Arav 2015:7–8). These references all indicate occupation of the site in the late Iron Age I and the Iron Age II periods and as such are generally consistent with the archaeological data. Activity dated to the earliest phase of the Iron Age I period (11th century BCE) was limited to a shallow cist tomb covered by a line of boulders. The tomb contained the remains of a woman, between 20 and 25 years of age, who had been buried with a copper alloy bowl next to her head and an upright storage jar and dipper juglet at her feet (Fig. 7). In the next three stratigraphic phases the lower city appears to have been intensively occupied, as indicated by the remains of numerous domestic and other buildings. Some of these structures made partial use of the massive Late Bronze Age architecture of the earlier Stratum VIII and subsequently many of the Iron Age walls became the foundations for the later Roman structures. Alongside the buildings several large and well-built stone silos were identified (Fig. 8). The pottery associated with this phase of occupation included a substantial number of chalices in addition to typical domestic vessels such as cooking pots, all of which indicate a date in the 11th century BCE. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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After a period of intense occupation, the lower terrace was again abandoned and reverted to use as a burial ground. Several tombs were identified, some of them making use of the domestic silos from earlier phases of occupation. One of these silos contained a mass burial containing seven individuals, most of them fully articulated (Figs. 9–11). The first burial was of a young woman, 20–25 years of age lying on her back with her legs flexed, associated with the partially articulated body of a young child, 2–3 years old (Fig. 9). On top of them was an older man, 40–60 years of age, laid out on his back and propped up against the wall of the silo with his legs outstretched. At his side was an older woman between 40–50 years of age, resting on her side and facing the male (Fig. 10). Above all of these individuals was a young woman of 18–25, laid on her back with her legs apart and flexed; between them was a large red-painted jug and an iron bracelet (Fig. 11). The partially articulated remains of two more individuals, an older woman aged 30–40 and an infant 1–1.5 years old were also identified. The presence of seven individuals of both genders and with a broad age distribution appears to suggest the presence of a family group, perhaps buried at the same time. A second tomb, dated to the 11th–10th centuries BCE, consisted of a stone-built cist paved with large cobbles and roofed with large stone slabs. Within the grave were two mature individuals of undetermined sex accompanied by numerous ceramic vessels (Fig. 12), several copper alloy bowls and other finds, among which was a scarab, dated to the 19th–20th Dynasties (cf. Keel 2010: 510) that appears to have been an heirloom. Other tombs post-dating the Iron Age I occupation included further cist burials covered by large stones. In another silo the disarticulated remains of three juveniles and infants were found along with a small quantity of pottery (Fig. 8). These burial of these individuals appears to date to the 8th century BCE, the Iron Age II period, a time when the absence of evidence for occupation on the lower terrace suggests that settlement was restricted to the acropolis while the terrace continued to function as a burial ground. In comparison with other sites in this region (Fig. 13), the Late Bronze and Iron Age occupation at Tel Dover finds its closet parallels in the excavations undertaken at Tel Hadar, located on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. At both sites, occupation in the 15th century BCE (LB IB) was paralleled by a period of abandonment which lasted until the late Iron Age I period (11th century BCE). Likewise, the site of Tel Kinrot, located on the north-western shore of the Sea of Galilee, has also produced evidence of occupation during the 11th century BCE, contemporary with that at Tel Hadar and Tel Dover. It is possible that future work will reveal evidence of occupation on the acropolis during the Iron Age II period but at present the sensitive location of the site precludes further investigation.

© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Bibliography Arav, R. 2015 The Fortified Cities of the Siddim (Josh 19:35) again: Rejoinder to N. Na’aman. Biblische Notizen Neue Folge 166, 3–9. Edelman, D. V. 1992 Lo-Debar. In: Anchor Bible Dictionary 4. New York, 345–346. Keel, O. 2010 Corpus der Stempelsiegel-Amulette aus Palästina/Israel Von den Anfängen bis zur Perserzeit, Katalog Band II: Von Bahan bis Tel Eton. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis Series Archaeologica 29. Fribourg – Göttingen. Lott, J. K. 1992 Debir. In: Anchor Bible Dictionary 2. New York, 112–113. McGovern, P. E. 1986 The Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages of Central Transjordan: The Baq‘ah Valley Project, 1977–1981. Philadelphia. Mullins, R. A. 2007 The Late Bronze Age Pottery. In: A. Mazar and R. A. Mullins (eds.), Excavations at Tel Beth-Shean 1989–1996, II: The Middle and Late Bronze Age Strata in Area R. Jerusalem, 390–547. Peri, A.-L. 2010 Minor Artifacts from a Major Abode: Preliminary Notes on the Mitannian Common-Style Cylinder Seals from Area A at Hazor with a Special Emphasis on their Archaeological Context. In: P. Matthiae, F. Pinnock and L. Nigro (eds.), Proceedings of the 6th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. Wiesbaden, 525–526. Porada, E. 1944–1945 Seal Impressions of Nuzi. Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 24. Cambridge. Rapuano, Y. 2001 Tel Dover. Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel 113, 21–23, 19*–21*. Yadin, Y., Aharoni, Y., Amiran, R., Dothan, T., Dunayevsky, I. and Perrot, J. 1958 Hazor I: An Account of the First Season of Excavations, 1955. Jerusalem. 1960

Hazor II: An Account of the Second Season of Excavations, 1956. Jerusalem.

Yadin, Y., Aharoni, Y., Amiran, R., Dothan, T., Dothan, M., Dunayevsky, I. and Perrot, J. 1961 Hazor III–IV: An Account of the Third and Fourth Seasons, 1957–1958 (Plates). Jerusalem.

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Fig. 1 General location map of Tel Dover

Fig. 2 The lower terrace of the tell, wedged in between the Yarmuk River on the left and a local basalt cliff on the right, looking south-west. Note the smaller tell or acropolis, centre right

Stratum/Period I – Mamluk

Phase

Dating 13th–15th cent. CE

II – Abbasid

8th–10th cent. CE

III – Ummayad IV – Byzantine

8th cent. CE 6th–7th cent. CE

V – Roman

2nd–4th cent. CE

Abandonment VI – Hellenistic Abandonment

3rd–2nd cent. BCE

Nature of occupation in Lower Terrace Sporadic settlement Renovation of Byzantine structure, reuse of earlier installations Continuation of Byzantine structures Large public building complex Urban layout, public and private building complexes, streets and courtyards Pits, limited architectural remains

VII – Iron Age

F

8th cent. BCE

VII – Iron Age

E

11th–10th cent. BCE

VII – Iron Age VII – Iron Age VII – Iron Age VII – Iron Age Abandonment VIII – LB IB VIII – LB IB VIII – LB IB Abandonment IX – Chalcolithic (Ghassullian) X – Late Neolithic (Wadi Rabah phase)

D C B A

11th cent. BCE 11th cent. BCE 11th cent. BCE 11th cent. BCE

Tomb 4. Lower city primarily used as burial ground. Limited architecture in Area 17 Tombs 1, 3 and possibly 5. Lower city used as burial ground Lower city occupied, possibly not as densely Lower city densely occupied Lower city densely occupied Tomb 2. Lower city used as burial ground

C B A

15th cent. BCE 15th cent. BCE 15th cent. BCE

Continuation of architectural elements Continuation of architectural elements Massive architecture

late 5th millennium BCE No architectural remains, scattered finds only 7th–6th millennia BCE

Very limited exposures. Few architectural remains

Fig. 3 The archaeological periods of settlement revealed through the excavation of the lower terrace at Tel Dover © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 4 Remains of the Late Bronze Age Stratum VIII in the south-western portion of the terrace

Fig. 5 The massive wall of Stratum VIII which continued in use during Stratum VII

Fig. 6 Impression of a Mitannian style cylinder seal

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Fig. 7 The burial in the cist tomb, with a bronze bowl next to the head

Fig. 8 A large stonebuilt silo of Stratum VII, looking east

Fig. 9 The uppermost individual in Tomb 3 © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

The Late Bronze I and Iron Age I Remains at Tel Dover in the Jordan Valley, Israel

Fig. 10 The position of the older male and female in Tomb 3

Fig. 11 The position of the younger female in Tomb 3

Fig. 12 Ceramic vessels within Tomb 5, looking south-east

Tel Dover

Tel Hadar I

tell?

II

Iron IIC Iron IIB

Iron IIA Iron IB Iron IA LB IB

VIIf tell? VIIa–e -----VIII

Tel Kinrot I (734–700 BCE) II (800–734 BCE)

III IV–V -----VI

Beit Saida IV

‘En Gev

V

J-4 J-5

VI

J-5

IV–V

Area H

Fig. 13 Comparative stratigraphy and chronology of Tel Dover with other sites of the region © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Zincirli Höyük, Ancient Sam’al: A Preliminary Report on the 2015 Excavation Season

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Zincirli Höyük, Ancient Sam’al: A Preliminary Report on the 2015 Excavation Season Virginia R. Herrmann 1 – David Schloen 2 Abstract The 2015 season of excavations at Zincirli produced significant new results relating to the site’s Bronze Age settlement history and the urban development of Iron Age Sam’al. The first indications of Early Bronze Age occupation beyond the 5-ha central mound were found at two locations in the southern lower town (Areas 4 and 8), suggesting that Zincirli was a much more extensive settlement in this period than had previously been recognised. The remains of a Middle Bronze Age building were discovered on the eastern citadel (Area 2), confirming the site’s occupation in this period followed by a hiatus in settlement during the Late Bronze and early Iron Ages. Several Iron Age buildings disturbed by the construction of the South Gate (Area 4) suggest limited occupation of the lower town before the construction of the circular fortifications. Area 3, located on the southern citadel, produced new evidence that the fortifications were rebuilt after the mid-8th century BC. New excavations in the south-western section of the lower town (Area 8) complement the picture of urban life previously obtained from the northern part of the city.

1. Introduction Zincirli Höyük in Gaziantep Province, Turkey, was first excavated between 1888 and 1902 by Felix von Luschan on behalf of the German Orient-Comité. These excavations revealed the remains of fortifications and palaces and produced sculptures and inscriptions belonging to the Iron Age Aramaean kingdom of Sam’al or Yādiya (von Luschan et al. 1893; von Luschan et al. 1898; von Luschan 1902; von Luschan and Jacoby 1911; von Luschan and Andrae 1943). Investigations on the site began again in 2006 under the auspices of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, and in 2014 the Institute for Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the University of Tübingen joined the project. The ninth season of these excavations took place between July and September, 2015. 3

1 2 3

University of Tübingen. University of Chicago. The Zincirli expedition has been funded since 2006 by the Neubauer Family Foundation and the Oriental Institute. Additional funding in 2015 was provided by the Excellence Initiative of the University of Tübingen. The directors are grateful for the work of all the staff, students, and workers who participated, as well as Sandy Schloen and Miller Prosser of the OCHRE Data Service. We also thank the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums and its 2015 representative Murat Kırbaş, as well as Gaziantep Archaeology Museum director Tenzile Uysal, İslahiye mayor Kemal Vural, and Fevzipaşa councilman Ahmet Ersoy. We are deeply grateful for the essential support of site guard Faruk Bolat, supplier Bülent Terdi, cook Şükriye Bakar, and camp manager Gazi © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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In previous seasons, nine areas (on the citadel, in the lower town, in the outer fortifications, and in two extramural buildings) were excavated (Schloen and Fink 2009a; Schloen and Fink 2009b; Herrmann and Schloen 2016), while a magnetometry survey of all the accessible areas of the lower town and some of the extramural areas was carried out in 2007 and 2009 (Casana and Herrmann 2010). The focus of the earlier seasons was the period of Neo-Assyrian imperial domination in the eighth and seventh centuries BC that is immediately accessible in many places on the mound. Large and small residences and a mortuary cult site dating to this period were uncovered in Areas 5 and 6, in the northern part of the lower town (Struble and Herrmann 2009; Herrmann 2011; Herrmann 2014; Marom and Herrmann 2014), while part of a large courtyard building (Area 0) and a broadroom temple (Area 7) were found outside the city’s north-eastern and southern gates respectively. In the 2015 season three existing areas and one new area were excavated (Fig. 1) with the aim of reaching earlier periods of occupation at Zincirli-Sam’al. The focus of the current research is to investigate the earliest Iron Age resettlement of the site in multiple locations (the citadel and lower town) and contexts (monumental and non-monumental) in order to obtain a more holistic picture of the process of Syro-Hittite urbanisation. The season also produced new results from the Middle and Early Bronze Age phases, bringing us closer to one of the project’s long-term goals of exploring the site’s full settlement history. 2. Area 2: eastern citadel Area 2 on the eastern side of the central mound was previously excavated in 2012 and 2013 with a narrow step trench (4m × 20m) (square 46.0) running north-west to south-east from the highest point of the mound down to its lower terrace (Fig. 2). The top of this step trench lies only a few meters south-west of Hilani I and the Neo-Assyrian period Palace G. A significant find from an Iron Age context in the wider, upper part of the trench (excavated in 2013, but only identified in 2015) was an ivory fragment with an incised Hieroglyphic Luwian inscription consisting of of four signs (R15-38). This, together with other epigraphic evidence (see Herrmann et

Zeki Cemali. The 2015 senior staff were: director David Schloen, co-director Virginia Herrmann, assistant director Makbule Ekici, archaeologists Elizabeth Bloch-Smith, Marina Pucci, Kathryn Morgan, and Laura Malric-Smith, ceramicists Sebastiano Soldi, Guido della Lena Guidiccioni, Benedetta Fiorelli, and Livia Tirabassi, zooarchaeologist Laurel Poolman, conservators Evren Kıvançer, Alison Whyte, and Güneş Acur, archaeobotanist Doğa Karakaya, spatial data manager Jason Herrmann, registrars Leann Pace and Teagan Wolter, field photographer Lucas Stephens, illustrator Karen Parker, and object photographer Roberto Ceccacci. Students from the Universities of Chicago, Tübingen, Florence, Pennsylvania, Bologna, Berkeley, Gaziantep, and the Free University of Berlin assisted in the excavations. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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al. 2016), suggests that Luwian continued to be used to some extent at Sam’al even while it was replaced for monumental purposes by Northwest Semitic languages. The 2015 season in Area 2 (supervised by Kate Morgan) focused on a 3m × 7m area in the central steps of the trench. Some fragmentary Iron Age II wall foundations uncovered in 2013 were found to overlie a thick layer of burnt destruction debris. Excavation of this debris revealed parts of two rooms of a destroyed Middle Bronze Age II building with mud-brick walls on stone foundations 0.63–0.74m wide. The building, oriented roughly east-west, was terraced into the ancient slope, so that the floor of the lower room was some 60cm below the floor of the upper room (Fig. 2). The upper room contained more than 40 complete or reconstructable vessels (Fig. 3), including six storage jars, plain and painted jugs, juglets, and jars, bowls with low, angular carinations, cooking ware pots and jugs, a flat circular baking tray with an incised rim (cf. von Luschan and Andrae 1943: pl. 25u), a large handled lid and a funnel (Fig. 4). The smaller vessels had perhaps fallen from shelves and crashed onto and into the storage jars that were standing against the walls. An area of more intense burning and vitrification of the fallen brick that surrounded the storage jars suggests that they had contained flammable liquids such as oil, wine, or beer. The lower room had been severely disturbed by a late nineteenth-century German excavation trench, but it also produced several vessels, including a storage jar containing carbonized seeds of bitter vetch. The ceramic assemblage closely resembles that from the nearby Tilmen Höyük (Duru 2003; Bonomo 2011), but a large barrel jug with bichrome concentric decoration (C15-98: Fig. 5; cf. von Luschan and Andrae 1943: pl. 17b) also has parallels from Kültepe, Stratum Ib (Emre 1995) and Tarsus (Goldman 1956: fig. 377). A mud-plastered feature that may have been a cooking structure was also found in the upper room. Nearby were a stone hammerhead, a bronze pin, a clay bulla with a seal impression and a nude female clay figurine (R15-259: Fig. 5, right; cf. von Luschan and Andrae 1943: pl. 33a). Two of the storage jars in the upper room bore impressions from the same cylinder seal which had been rolled along the rims before firing (cf. Marchetti 2011: cat. 16). Three other jar rims had other types of plastic, incised or impressed potmarks. The burnt Middle Bronze Age building apparently began eroding out of the slope of the mound while the site lay abandoned during the Late Bronze to Early Iron Ages. During the Iron Age II period a stepped stone wall orientated east to west was cut into the burnt debris in order to contain the slope (Fig. 2). The function of a cobblestone foundation, 1.85m wide at the base of this retaining wall, has not yet been identified. Both Iron Age stone foundations were cut in places by the nineteenth-century German trench, obscuring their relationship. The 2015 excavations in Area 2 confirmed for the first time the existence of a Middle Bronze Age settlement at Zincirli. Pottery of this period was also identified amongst the destruction debris excavated in 2013 beneath Gate E in Area 3A, an internal gate of the Iron Age citadel (see Fig. 1). The two excavated rooms in Area 2 seem to have been used for food storage and preparation, but the seal impressions and the location, close to the summit of the mound, suggest that the building might © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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have been connected to local administration. There was presumably also a political and economic connection between Middle Bronze Age Zincirli and the palatial centre at Tilmen Höyük, 8km to the south. This site has been tentatively identified with the city of Zalbar which was part of the kingdom of Anum-Ḫirbi and was destroyed in the 17th century BC (Marchetti 2008; 2010; 2011). 3. Area 3: southern citadel Area 3 consists of a long step trench (70m ×10m) running down the southern side of the citadel mound, west of the Citadel Gate and internal Gate E, and has been under excavation since 2007. Previous seasons had revealed a late Persian/early Hellenistic fortification wall (Local Phase [LP] 3) overlying the Iron Age citadel wall (LP 5). The Iron Age wall, whose foundation includes the negative impressions of transverse wooden beams, similar to the Burgmauer uncovered elsewhere by the Orient-Comité excavations (von Luschan et al. 1898: 116–121), was built at the same time as a stone glacis (partially preserved) that capped the steep slope of the earthen rampart. Within the fortified area on the top of the mound, part of a large public building dating to LP 3 was found to have replaced a small broadroom temple with a paved open area in front belonging to the Iron Age III (LP 4a–b), which in turn had replaced earlier domestic buildings (LP 4c). In 2015 excavation was continued in squares 55.68 and 55.78 on the edge of the mound in order to clarify the dating and construction of the Iron Age fortifications and to expose occupation pre-dating the LP 5 fortification wall (Fig. 6). 4 The most significant result of this season was the discovery that the wall was constructed later than was previously believed as a replacement for an earlier fortification system. Removal of this section of the LP 5 citadel wall exposed the flat top (c. 4m wide) of the mound’s earthen rampart (LP 7), which showed the beginning of a slope down to the north (toward the interior of the mound) beneath occupation layers belonging to LP 6 (Iron Age II) (Fig. 6). A test pit located on the top of the rampart (the lower part had already been sectioned in 2008) showed that it was constructed during Iron Age II using soils mined from different parts of the site and its surroundings: layers of red, brown, and yellow clay and mudbrick containing Early and Middle Bronze Age pottery alternated with gravelly layers containing a mixture of abraded Iron Age and Early and Middle Bronze Age pottery. To the north, we began to investigate the rooms and occupation layers belonging to LP 6 that were constructed after the LP 7 rampart but before the LP 5 citadel wall (Fig. 6). Two walls with single-course stone foundations ran up onto the LP 7 rampart, but were cut by the LP 5 citadel wall foundation. These must have originally

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The supervisor of Area 3 since 2010 is Vincent van Exel, with Elizabeth Bloch-Smith serving as a substitute in the 2015 season. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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abutted an earlier LP 6 or 7 fortification wall on top of the rampart that was then completely removed by the construction of the LP 5 wall. In the step to the north (the northern half of square 55.68), several mudbrick walls of LP 6 were outlined and one room was partially excavated, although without the floor being reached. A large sherd of imported Cypriot Bichrome IV pottery was found in a green clay layer east of the wide easternmost wall of LP 6 and sealed by the foundation trench for the LP 5 citadel wall. As this sherd is unlikely to be any earlier than the mid to late 8th century BC, it would seem that the LP 5 citadel wall and related glacis were constructed after this date, perhaps by one of the last kings of Sam’al, Panamuwa II or Barrākib or by a Neo-Assyrian governor. This would have been a repair to the original Iron II fortifications of LP 6/7, which may have been collapsing or eroding down the slope by this time. 4. Area 4: south gate Area 4 is located on the north side of the South Gate of the lower town fortifications. The South Gate, which was the main entrance to the city, was fully excavated in 1888 by the Orient-Comité expedition, and eight relief-carved orthostats belonging to the earliest sculptural style at Zincirli were found there (von Luschan et al. 1898: 111–15, pl. 10; von Luschan 1902; Herrmann 2017). Following exposure of the latest Iron Age III occupation in this area in 2007, Marina Pucci began an investigation of the stratigraphic relationship between the Iron Age occupation of the lower town and the South Gate in 2012 (square 76.59). This revealed five successive paved phases of the street leading north from the South Gate toward the citadel (Pucci 2015). The goal of the 2015 season was to investigate emerging signs of earlier occupation below this street and to clarify its relationship with the Gate. Below the earliest pavement connected to the threshold of the Gate, an ephemeral stratum consisting of a single small wall and a clay oven had been revealed in 2013. Beneath this the excavations in 2015 revealed several rather more substantial stone wall foundations, perhaps belonging to as many as three different buildings (Fig. 7). Their north-east to south-west orientation differs markedly from that of the South Gate and they seem to have been cut through and robbed out when the Gate and the associated street were constructed. No preserved floors were found associated with these walls and it is not yet possible to be more specific about their date. This is the first evidence for occupation of the lower town area prior to the construction of the circular double fortification wall with its three gates. Whether this was an earlier lower town or an isolated group of buildings is, as yet, undetermined. A single human burial was found in an unlined pit that seems to have cut through a poorly preserved area of the later street pavements and may thus date to Iron Age II or III. The bones of this individual (with skull toward the east and facing south) were only partly preserved. A bronze bowl, an iron fibula, an iron dagger and several iron arrowheads were found placed at the waist. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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The walls that pre-dated the construction of the Gate (mentioned above), were set into a layer of reddish burnt mudbrick debris. This debris covered several ceramic vessels of Early Bronze Age date smashed in situ on a pebble floor (Fig. 7). Elsewhere in the trench, another partially cobble-paved floor ran underneath the later wall foundations. After the publication of the Orient-Comité finds (von Luschan and Andrae 1943: pls. 15, 16), it was recognized that much of the pottery from Zincirli was similar to the Red Gritty Ware of EB II Tarsus (Goldman 1956: 109–110) and Brittle Orange Ware of Amuq Phases H and I (Braidwood and Braidwood 1960: 518) The same ware was later found to be prominent at Early Bronze Age Gedikli Höyük (Duru 2001; 2010) 18km to the north-east. The new Zincirli excavations have turned up many Early Bronze Age sherds in secondary contexts on the citadel, as well as in two small areas of intact stratigraphy in Areas 2 and 3 and a looted rock-cut chamber tomb of the same period on the hill to the west of the site. However, the 2015 excavations in Area 4 (and Area 8, see below) produced the first evidence of Early Bronze Age activity and possibly settlement in the lower town area, extending at least 165m from the citadel. Two AMS 14C dates on charcoal from the burnt debris in Area 4 preliminarily suggest a mid-third-millennium BC date for this destruction (Sturt Manning, personal communication). 5. Area 8: south-west lower town Area 8 is a new area of excavation measuring 30m × 10m in the south-west lower town (squares 65.41–43) (Fig. 8). 5 The geomagnetic map shows one or two buildings and an open area in this space. One eventual aim of the excavation in this new area is to produce a full Iron Age occupation sequence for the southern lower town and compare it to the sequences already excavated in Areas 5 and 6 of the northern lower town. Another goal is to expand and diversify our picture of the social and economic organization of Sam’al’s Iron Age inhabitants. The latest architectural phase was not very well preserved with areas of subsidence, some late robbing of stones and disturbance by ploughing. In the centre of the area (square 65.42) was a walled courtyard partially paved with pebbles. The courtyard contained some enigmatic stone features with depressions, possibly for liquid processing or drainage. A pinkish-orange stone scaraboid seal (R15-301), inscribed in Aramaic script and attached to a silver ring, was also found here. To the west (square 65.41), two semi-enclosed spaces each contained a bench with a lower grinding stone. A variety of small hammer-stones and pestles were found scattered in the vicinity. A conical stone stamp seal with perforated handle (R15-332) was also found in this area. To the east (square 65.43), a small structure consisted of two walls

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Area 8 was supervised in 2015 by Laura Malric-Smith with Nicole Herzog and Sarah Lange. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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with a post base between them. A sherd from an imported Ionian cup (C15-94) dates this phase to the late 7th century BC. The earlier phase of architecture encountered in Area 8 in 2015 was not fully excavated, but two elongated rooms on the same orientation as the later courtyard were beginning to emerge in the central square. An open area rich in pottery and bone refuse bordered these rooms to the west, while an apparently unroofed courtyard to the east had an earth floor with several storage jars and smaller vessels embedded in it. On this surface were scattered nineteen doughnut-shaped baked clay loom weights (or perforated stoppers) which had probably fallen from a shelf or a higher level. A very disturbed oval feature constructed of baked mud-bricks lay adjacent to the storage jars. Although more extensive excavation is needed to confirm our first impressions, the open plan and production-related structures of the latest Iron Age phases in Area 8 contrast with the large, well-built houses of the contemporary 7th century BC occupation in the northern lower town (Areas 5 and 6). In the south-west corner of the central square (65.42), a small (2m × 2m) test pit was excavated in order to preview the stratification of the area. The test pit revealed at least one earlier Iron Age II or III surface underlying the architectural phases described above, but immediately below this another Early Bronze Age destruction layer was revealed. As in Area 4, burnt mud-brick debris covered several smashed vessels of Brittle Orange Ware. The discovery of this horizon in two widely separated locations suggests that the Early Bronze Age lower town activity or occupation of Zincirli was quite extensive. At present the Iron Age stratigraphic sequence in the south-western lower town appears to be similar to that previously excavated in Areas 5 and 6 of the northern lower town. Approximately three architectural phases lie within only 1.2m depth of the surface. Pending fuller excavation and analysis, this suggests that the entire circular Iron Age lower town was settled at around the same time and continued to be occupied until the end of the Neo-Assyrian provincial period. While the Iron Age levels of Areas 4 and 8 overlay an Early Bronze Age stratum, the northern part of the lower town was founded on virgin soil, indicating that the third-millennium settlement was confined to the south and south-west of the high mound. 6. Conclusions In summary, the 2015 season at Zincirli significantly broadened our knowledge of the settlement history of the site. The discovery of Early Bronze Age activity in the southern lower town (in Areas 4 and 8) and Middle Bronze Age occupation at the summit of the mound (in Area 2) opens up new opportunities for the investigation of Zincirli’s Bronze Age past and future studies of urban organization, political and domestic economy, resource use and environment over the long term in this region. The excavations are also continuing to refine the temporal and spatial res© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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olution of the renewed urbanisation of Zincirli in the Iron Age. The new results include the identification of multiple phases within the Iron Age citadel fortifications (in Area 3 on the southern citadel), Iron Age structures in the lower town that pre-date the construction of the circular fortification system (in Area 4 by the South Gate), and evidence for functional differentiation within the Neo-Assyrian lower town (in Area 8). Bibliography Bonomo, A. 2011 La sequenza ceramica dell’area k5 sud a Tilmen Höyük: contesti e tipologie. In: S. Mazzoni (ed.), Ricerche italiane in Anatolia. Risultati delle attività sul campo per l’Età del Bronzo e del Ferro. Studia Asiana 6. Rome, 31–46. Braidwood, R. J. and Braidwood, L. S. 1960 Excavations in the Plain of Antioch I: the Earlier Assemblages, Phases A-J. Oriental Institute Publications 61. Chicago. Casana, J. and Herrmann, J. 2010 Settlement History and Urban Planning at Zincirli Höyük, Southern Turkey. Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 23, 55–80. Duru, R. 2001 Excavations at Gedikli Karahöyük and Kırışkal Höyük. In: O. Belli (ed.), Istanbul University’s Contributions to Archaeology in Turkey: 1932–2000. Istanbul, 127–130. 2003

A Forgotten Capital City: Tilmen. (Unutulmuş bir Başkent: Tilmen). Istanbul.

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Gedikli Karahöyük II: Prof. Dr. U. Bahadır Alkım’ın yönetiminde 1964-1967 yıllarında yapılan kazıların sonuçları. Ankara.

Emre, K. 1995 Pilgrim-Flasks from Level I of the Karum of Kanish. Bulletin of the Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan 8, 173–200. Goldman, H. 1956 Excavations at Gözlü Kule, Tarsus. Volume 2: From the Neolithic through the Bronze Age. Princeton. Herrmann, V. R. 2011 Society and Economy under Empire at Iron Age Sam’al (Zincirli Höyük, Turkey). PhD thesis, University of Chicago, Chicago. 2014

The Katumuwa Stele in Archaeological Context. In: V. R. Herrmann and J. D. Schloen (eds.), In Remembrance of Me: Feasting with the Dead in the Ancient Middle East. Oriental Institute Museum Publication 37. Chicago, 49–56.

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Appropriation and Emulation in the Earliest Sculptures from Zincirli (Iron Age Sam’al). American Journal of Archaeology 121/2.

Herrmann, V. R. and Schloen, J. D. 2016 Assyrian Impact on Sam’al: The View from Zincirli. In: J. MacGinnis, D. Wicke, and T. L. Greenfield (eds.), The Provincial Archaeology of the Assyrian Empire. Cambridge, 265–274. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Herrmann, V. R., van den Hout, T. and Beyazlar, A. 2016 A New Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscription from Pancarlı Höyük: Language and Power in Early Sam’al-Y’DY. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 75, 53–70. Marchetti, N. 2008 A Preliminary Report on the 2005 and 2006 Excavations at Tilmen Höyük. In: J. M. Cordoba, M. Molist, M. C. Perez, I. Rubio, and S. Martinez (eds.), Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Madrid, April 3–8 2006, Vol. 2. Madrid, 465–479. 2010

A Preliminary Report on the 2007 and 2008 Excavations and Restorations at Tilmen Höyük. In: P. Matthiae, F. Pinnock, L. Nigro, and N. Marchetti (eds.), Proceedings of the 6th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, May 5th-10th 2008, “Sapienza” – Università di Roma, Vol. 2. Wiesbaden, 369–383.

Marchetti, N. (ed.) 2011 Kinku. Sigilli dell’età del Bronzo dalla regione di Gaziantep in Turchia. Bologna. Marom, N. and Herrmann, V. R. 2014 Incorporation into the Neo-Assyrian Empire from the Perspective of the Faunal Remains from Zincirli Höyük, Turkey. Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies 2, 298–316. Pucci, M. 2015 Founding and Planning a New Town: The Southern Town Gate at Zincirli. In: P. Ciafardoni and D. Giannessi (eds.), From the Treasures of Syria; Essays on Art and Archaeology in Honour of Stefania Mazzoni. Publications de l’Institut Historique-Archéologique Néerlandais de Stamboul 126. Leiden, 35–74. Schloen, J. D. and Fink, A. S. 2009a New Excavations at Zincirli Höyük in Turkey (Ancient Sam’al) and the Discovery of an Inscribed Mortuary Stele. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 356, 1–13. 2009b Searching for Ancient Sam’al: New Excavations at Zincirli in Turkey. Near Eastern Archaeology 72, 203–219. Struble, E. and Herrmann, V. R. 2009 An Eternal Feast at Sam’al: The New Iron Age Mortuary Stele from Zincirli in Context. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 356, 15–49. von Luschan, F. 1902 Ausgrabungen in Sendschirli III. Thorsculpturen. Berlin. von Luschan, F. and Andrae, W. 1943 Die Kleinfunde von Sendschirli. Ausgrabungen in Sendschirli V. Berlin. von Luschan, F., Humann, C. and Koldewey, R. 1898 Ausgrabungen in Sendschirli II. Ausgrabungsbericht und Architektur. Berlin. von Luschan, F. and Jacoby, G. 1911 Ausgrabungen in Sendschirli IV. Berlin. von Luschan, F., Schrader, E. and Sachau, E. 1893 Ausgrabungen in Sendschirli I. Einleitung und Inschriften. Berlin.

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Fig. 1 Zincirli excavation areas showing the architectural features excavated by the Orient-Comité and the modern topography. Squares excavated in 2015 are shaded white (map: J. Herrmann, after von Luschan et al. 1898: pl. 29)

Fig. 2 Area 2 on the Eastern Citadel (aerial orthomosaic: J. Herrmann) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 3 The upper room of the destroyed Middle Bronze Age building in Area 2, in process of excavation (photo: L. Stephens)

Fig. 4 Cooking ware vessels from the Middle Bronze Age building in Area 2. L to R: R15-302 (pot), C15-422 (tray), R15-371 (lid), R15-305 (juglet), R15-441 (juglet) (photo: R. Ceccacci) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 5 Left: bichrome painted barrel jug C15-98 from Area 2; right: figurine R15-259 from Area 2 (photo: R. Ceccacci)

Fig. 6 Area 3 on the Southern Citadel; left: Squares 55.68 and 78 after the removal of the LP 5 citadel wall (aerial orthomosaic: J. Herrmann); right: Preliminary plan of Local Phases 5 and 6 (map: V. Herrmann) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 7 Area 4 by the South City Gate: earlier architecture and Early Bronze Age destruction layer below the street leading into the city from the gate (aerial orthomosaic: J. Herrmann)

Fig. 8 Area 8 in the south-west Lower Town: Iron Age III architecture (aerial orthomosaic: J. Herrmann) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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A Pioneer Site in Urartian Archaeology: Rusahinili Eiduru-kai A summary of twenty-five years of excavations at Ayanis castle in Van, Turkey Mehmet Işıklı 1 Abstract Ayanis Urartian Castle is located 35km north of the city of Van, and the castle is on the eastern shore, 300 metres inland from Lake Van. A modern village, Ayanis/Ağartı which is named after the castle, is very close to it. Ayanis Castle, which is one of the best-preserved of Urartian castles, and the 25 years of excavations at that castle. Rusa II, who was the last great king of this kingdom, and who was the son of Arghishti (II), built Ayanis castle, and altogether he was responsible for building five other significant castles on Urartian homeland. There is no doubt about the founder of the castle as we have inscribed evidence such as building inscriptions, several seals, bullae and various inscribed bronze objects. Ayanis excavations are systematic and encompass interdisciplinary studies. Within the scope of these studies a number of archaeo-geophysic, archaeo-zoologic, archaeo-botanic, ethnoarchaeology, archaeo-metallurgy, restoration and conservation works have been performed. at the end of 25 years of excavations, one of the largest collections of Urartian archaeological artefacts has been acquired. This exclusive collection consists mostly of magnificent metal objects. In this essay the innovations to Urartian archaeology will be examined in the light of visual and archaeological materials from Ayanis Excavations .

1. Introduction The mountainous zone comprising the Eastern Anatolian Highland and the Southern Caucasus is one of the marginal zones of the Ancient Near East. This region is placed between the Taurus and Caucasus ranges, which have distinctive geographical and ecological conditions (Zimansky 1985). Undoubtedly, one of the best-known periods in the archaeology of this extraordinary region is the Iron Age, and the most prominent culture, during this period, was Urartu. The Urartian State, which was in existence over the course of three centuries from 860 BC, was the first centralized political unit to be formed in this formidable geography, and it was centred round the Van, Sevan and Urmia Lakes regions. Rusa II reigned during the period known as the ‚Urartian renaissance or recreation process’ (Zimansky 1995; Çilingiroğlu 1997) and although others followed him, he is the last of the great kings of the Urartian royal line, leaving a legacy consisting of the most striking archaeological materials of Urartian archaeology (Fig. 1).

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Protohistory and Near Eastern Archaeology Department, Atatürk University, Erzurum. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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This king, who remained on the throne for forty years, was responsible for building five well-known and prominent Urartian castles and sites, which are located generally in the Urartian homeland. According to written sources these castles were built during the early part of Rusa’s reign, and in chronological order they are KarmirBlur in Erivan, Bastam in Iran Azerbijan, Kef Castle, Toprakkale Castle and Ayanis Castle in the Van Lake Basin, which is also the last castle of Rusa II and the Urartian Kingdom (Zimansky 2005) (Fig. 1). 2. Ayanis Castle and archaeological investigations Ayanis Castle, which is located 35 km north of modern Van city, is one day’s walking distance away from the capital city of the Urartu State, Tushpa. The castle is on the eastern shore, 300 metres inland from Lake Van, where the modern village, Ayanis/ Ağartı which is named after the castle, lies close by. The castle was built on a natural rocky hill 250m above lake level and 1866m above sea level. There is no doubt about the identity of the founder of the castle as we have inscribed evidence, such as building inscriptions, several seals, bullae and various inscribed bronze objects. Also wood samples taken from the castle have been subjected to dendrochronology analyses and the results conform to the inscribed evidence and point to the date of 677–673 BC for the building of the castle (Çilingiroğlu and Salvini 2001: 15–24) (Fig. 1). Ayanis Castle, one of the best-preserved of Urartian castles, is comprised of two main parts: the citadel and the outer town. The citadel is 400 × 200 metres in size covering almost 6 hectares (Fig. 2). It is estimated that the outer town covers almost 80 hectares, depending on survey results (Çilingiroğlu 2013). We estimate that before the castle was built, some substructure operations were designed, such as a waterway and sewerage system, and it was deliberately intended that bedrock on the natural rocky hill would form the basis for the construction of the fortification walls. Recently geological analysis has shown that bedrock was used for constructing some of the fortification walls (Şengül et al. 2016). The excavation on Ayanis has been ongoing since 1989, which makes the project one of the longest-running in Urartian archaeology until now, and a rough estimate suggests that a maximum of 10% of the castle might have been uncovered. Ayanis excavations are systematic and encompass interdisciplinary studies. The results of the first ten years of the excavations have been presented to the archaeology world through Ayanis Volume I (Çilingiroğlu and Salvini 2001) the second ten years’ results will be published soon in Ayanis Volume II . The earlier period of excavation was undertaken on the citadel and the outer town of Ayanis Castle, with the main areas excavated (from eastward to westward) being: the fortification walls of the castle in the eastern and southern sectors, a monumental gate on the south-eastern corner of the citadel, the ‘East Pillar Hall’, the ‘Temple Area’, domestic buildings and western storage buildings. Since 2013, when the new © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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period of excavation at Ayanis was commenced, 2 work has been on new areas of the citadel comprising the Temple Area, and the northern and western slopes of the citadel. Work on the Temple Area has been performed on the eastern sector of the area (Fig. 2). In the outer town of Ayanis, there are two substantial areas which have been excavated: Güneytepe is a slope located opposite the castle, and Pınarbaşı is located on a spring which might have been one of the main water sources for the castle. In these areas, buildings which might have belonged to the civilian Urartian population have been found during the excavations (Stone and Zimansky 2004). As mentioned above, the fortification walls of Ayanis Castle have been revealed on two sectors: the eastern and southern sectors. In the eastern sector, the masonry used on the fortification wall was roughly-hewn from middle- or large-sized polygonal limestone blocks which might have been obtained from the bedrock. The eastern fortification wall is 2 metres thick; its height is 1.50 metres. As for the southern fortification wall, it was built with rectangular, smoothed olivine basalt blocks. The centres of these blocks were left convex and this feature created a different appearance to the wall. These blocks might have been supplied from a quarry in the Timar area which is 30km away from Ayanis. The height of the basalt blocks in the foundation of the southern fortification walls is almost 2 metres, and it is one of the finest examples of Urartian architecture. The almost 15 or 20 metres in height of the mudbrick superstructure might have been raised above the foundation with basalt blocks. Almost 6 metres of mud-brick superstructure of the southern fortification walls are preserved (Çilingiroğlu 2011) (Fig. 3). Lastly, work has been started on the western and northern slopes which have never been worked before, and parts of the fortification system have been found in these sectors. Generally, the fortification walls in these parts are very similar to the walls in the eastern sector, especially in terms of material, technique and plan. The main, and now the only, gate of the castle is located on the south-eastern corner of the citadel at the junction point of the southern and eastern fortification walls. This monumental gate was built with smooth and rectangular basalt blocks similar to the southern fortification wall. The width of the gate is 3 metres, and it has a tower on either side. Some rooms relating to the gate building have been uncovered during excavations performed in that area. The excavations also show that this gate was obliterated by a mudbrick wall which was built later (Çilingiroğlu and Salvini 2001). The new gate or gates might have been built after its destruction; however, we still do not know, how entry was gained to the citadel. In the eastern part of the citadel is a pillared hall which has been named the ‘East Pillar Hall’, the excavations of which have been mostly completed. This monumental building is 36 × 27 metres in size and has 14 large pillars with foundations of

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For the first 23 years, the director of the Ayanis excavation was Prof. Altan Çilingiroğlu. I have been serving in the director’s role for the past four years. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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basalt blocks such as seen in the ‘Temple Area’. There are storage rooms including many pithoi and fragmentary pots in this building and as it is very close to the Temple Area, this building might be connected with the temple (storage rooms of temple). A. Çilingiroğlu suggested that the name of this building in Urartian language may be aşihusi with reference to the inscription on a bulla (Baştürk 2012). However, we do not know its function precisely (Fig. 4). Towards the west is the other excavated area, which is the temple. This area consists of a large pillared hall and a susi temple building and these building are positioned on the most central and highest location of the citadel. A total of twelve large pillars with basalt stone blocks enclose the susi temple which was located in the centre of the monumental pillared hall. The susi temple building rests on the eastern monumental mud-brick walls of the pillared hall, and these walls were painted and decorated with blue, red and white colours. Unfortunately, these paintings are not well-preserved probably because of intense fire, and only some fragments of the paintings have been found during the excavation on this area (Çilingiroğlu 2011) (Fig . 5) . The southern part of the Temple Area, which had sustained the most damage because of topographical conditions, included side-by-side storage rooms. In these rooms many metal objects, mostly weapons, have been found. They were dedicated to Haldi who was the chief god of the Urartian pantheon. Apart from these weapons, many objects concerning religious activities have been found in the Temple Area. They serve to help us understand Urartian religion and its activities and rituals (Çilingiroğlu 2005) (Fig. 5). Work has been progressing on the eastern part of the Temple Area for the last two years. The main aim of working in this area is to find the connection between the Temple Area and the eastern storage rooms (namely the aşuhusi building). A monumental room has been found here along with a gate-way which opens to the pillared hall. This gateway in the eastern wall of the Temple Area is the second gate of this specific area. As for the monumental room, most of the excavation has been undertaken during the last two seasons (Çilingiroğlu and Işıklı 2015; Işıklı et al. 2015; Işıklı et al . 2017), and there is only a small unexcavated part at the north-eastern corner of the hall. The architectural plan of this hall has been largely unearthed, revealing that the hall is 23 × 7 metres in size with partly well-preserved mud-brick walls. These walls are plastered and painted in blue (it is called ‚Egyptian Blue’ in Çilingiroğlu 2014). It has four gates in various sizes which open to the building connected with this hall. A part of this large building’s floor, situated almost behind the susi temple, is paved with alabaster blocks, and the rest of the floor is paved with mud-brick blocks. The large marble platform – 3 × 3 metres in size – located on the southern wall is the principal feature of this hall. It has superfine and elegant decorations on its surfaces and despite being exposed to heavy firing it is well preserved. Many unique finds of the Urartian culture give us cause to think that this hall might be royal, with a religious purpose. As soon as the excavation work in this hall is finished next year, we will prepare to publish this exclusive hall and its unique findings (Fig. 5). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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The susi temple building which was dedicated to Haldi is one of best-preserved examples of Urartian architecture, featuring the typical square-planned Urartian temple. The front faces of the temple are covered with one of the longest Urartian inscriptions ever discovered. This inscription gives important information to us about the Rusa (II) period, Ayanis Castle and Urartian culture (Salvini 2001). The floor of the temple was paved with alabaster slabs, and the smooth basalt blocks of the temple were decorated with carved figures and motifs from Urartian mythology, or with stone inlay technique (intaglio). Also the insides of these inlay decorations were filled with painted softer white stone fragments. This is a unique technique and for now special only to Ayanis Castle. Also there is a large alabaster platform with decorated lions and incised naturalistic motifs. The sides of this platform might have been covered with golden plate with decorated animal figures, mostly lions. During the excavations some fragments of this golden plate have been found inside the temple, and also the traces of this plate can still be seen on the sides of the platform (Çilingiroğlu and Salvini 2001; Çilingiroğlu 2011) (Fig. 5). The next excavated area is located on the western side of the Temple Area. In this area nine rectangular and square-planned mud-brick buildings have been brought to light. These building are interconnected, and although they are very close to the Temple Area, their connection with the temple cannot be determined yet in an architectural respect. With reference to the many finds, these buildings could have been used daily for production activities, as well as religious activities and rituals for the monarch. These buildings seem to have domestic characteristics, so the excavator called them ‘domestic structures’ (Çilingiroğlu 2011) (Fig. 4). To the west of the citadel is the excavation area known as the ‘Western Storage Rooms’. These rooms lie in a north-south direction, and are arranged on both sides of a main wall which reaches out in a west-east direction in the centre of the citadel. These storage rooms, which could have been two-fold, are designed in the form of steps depending on the lie of the land. On the floors of these rooms, jugs and hundreds of pithoi which were half-buried have been found. Also, several bullae have been found here. For now ten storage rooms have been uncovered, and these rooms with their wealth of findings are very important for understanding the storage systems and economic structures of the Urartu state (Çilingiroğlu and Salvini 2001; Çilingiroğlu 2011) (Fig.4). Other new working areas are located on the northern and western slopes of the citadel (Fig. 2). The main aim of workings at both areas, which have never been worked before, is to find out the fortification system of Ayanis citadel. In the norther section, a part of the Ayanis fortification system has been revealed (Işıklı and Özdemir 2016). Last year (2015) we found large-sized polygonal limestone blocks which belonged to the northern fortification walls of the citadel. These blocks, which were set on the bedrock, look like blocks of the eastern fortification wall. The fortification wall in this section is badly damaged probably because of earthquake and few blocks of the wall are preserved in situ. Apart from these blocks and fortification wall we cannot mention any regular architecture in this area. In this section, intense and thick debris including mass mud-brick blocks, ash, burned wood, animal bones, bullae and interesting find© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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ings has been determined. This thick cultural deposit might have been from buildings on the inside of the fortification wall and although traces of mud-brick walls can be seen on some sections, unfortunately at this stage regular architecture has not been revealed and cannot be described yet. The situation in this section will be clearer with future work (Çilingiroğlu and Işıklı 2015; Işıklı et al. 2015; Işıklı et al. 2017). As for the western slope, it occupies a very special location at the citadel. This point is the best location for seeing the Van Lake and the sacred Eiu-duri (Süphan) mountain on the opposite shore. In this area the steps, which are carved from the bedrock and bonded by middle-sized stone blocks, attract attention. After the working of last season (2015) the substantial part of the western fortification wall of castle has been revealed. The walls in this section are very similar to the eastern fortification walls of the citadel in terms of technique and material. The wall, made of middle- or large-sized polygonal limestone blocks, has two or three ranks. Also a canal, which is carved into bedrock for drainage and crosses under the wall, has been determined (Çilingiroğlu and Işıklı 2015; Işıklı et al. 2015; Işıklı et al. 2017) (Fig. 2). The excavation in the outer town of Ayanis Castle where the citizens lived was performed between 1998 and 2006 by an American team which was headed by Paul Zimansky and Elizabeth C. Stone. The excavations were carried out at two areas: Güneytepe and Pınarbaşı. The excavations and magnetometer results show that there is a well-designed town, including main streets and by-streets, and the houses of the outer town were built along these streets. Some striking points about the outer town reveal that at Güneytepe, the buildings are modest in size, and probably belong to citizens, whereas the buildings at Pınarbaşı are monumental and with public characteristics. Naturally the findings of the outer town are more modest than the elite materials found at the citadel. Up to the present day, the work on the outer town has been the first and only systematic project relating to Urartian citizens in Eastern Anatolia. The work at Ayanis outer town is the first systematic and long-term project for Urartian outer towns. We believe it has the potential to solve the problems concerning the post-Urartu period and the end of the Urartian kingdom, which is one of the chronic problems of Urartian archaeology (Stone and Zimansky 2004). 3. Conclusion As seen above, Ayanis castle and its excavations, with more than a quarter of a century of experience, displays good potential for Urartian archaeology. This potential has the power to solve the principal problems of Urartian archaeology. Ayanis Castle was the last magnificent castle of Urartian kingdom. The excavations and other projects at Ayanis castle have presented extremely generous data and archaeological and cultural inventory concerning the Urartian culture. This inventory varies from animal bones to inscribed objects (Fig. 6). For now, the Ayanis excavation has the richest inventory for Urartian archaeology, and in the near future this data will be presented to the science world by means of a modern and systematic database. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Despite its good and rich potential, the Ayanis project has some serious problems. These problems are generally related to preservation and restoration works, as is the case with all archaeological excavations. As is known, Urartian architecture consists mostly of mud-brick construction, as seen at Ayanis. The preservation of this architecture is not easy and the traditional plastering method and covering the buildings which is applied at Ayanis are for now the best way for preservation (Işıklı et al. 2015; Işıklı et al. 2017) (Fig. 7). The Haldi susi temple in Ayanis with its extraordinary architectural features, principally its decorations, is accepted as a cultural heritage to humanity. For this reason, a specific project is being developed for the preservation and restoration of this unique building. In conclusion, the excavations at Ayanis Castle have given us cause to review our knowledge concerning the Urartians and their civilization, and to add much new evidence and data to our knowledge concerning Urartian archaeology. This excavation has great potential to be able to maintain this process in an accomplished fashion. Also, the Ayanis project is filling a significant gap in regional archaeology. Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to Jan Bailey for editing and controlling this article’s English.

Bibliography Baştürk, M. B. 2012 The Eastern Sector at the Fortress of Ayanis: Architecture and Texture in the Pillared Hall. In: A. Çilingiroğlu and A. Sagona (eds.), Anatolian Iron Ages 7. The Proceedings of the Seventh Anatolian Iron Ages Colloquium Held at Edirne, 19–24 April 2010. Ancient Near Eastern Studies Supplement 39. Leuven, 1–22. Çilingiroğlu, A. 1997 Urartu Krallığı, Tarihi ve Sanatı, Izmir. 2005

Ritual Ceremonies in the Temple Area of Ayanis. In: A. Çilingiroğlu and G. Darbyshire (eds.), Anatolian Iron Ages 5. Proceedings of the Fifth Anatolian Iron Ages Colloquium Held at Van, 6–10 August 2001. British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara Monographs 31. London, 31–38.

2011

Ayanis. In: K. Köroğlu and E. Konyar (eds.), Urartu Doğu’da Değişim: Transformation in the East. Istanbul, 338–365.

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The Urartian City and Citadel of Ayanis: An Example of Interdependence. In: S. Redford and N. Ergin (eds.), Cities and Citadels in Turkey: From the Iron Age to the Seljuks. Ancient Near Eastern Studies Supplement 40. Leuven, 81–96.

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Ayanis Kalesi’nde Mısır Mavisi (Egyptian Blue). In: A. Özfırat (ed.), Arkeolojiyle Geçen Bir Yaşam İçin Yazılar Veli Sevin’e Armağan. SCRIPTA – Essays in Honour of Veli Sevin: A Life Immersed in Archaeology. Istanbul, 137–146. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Çilingiroğlu, A. and Işıklı, M. 2015 2013 Yılı Ayanis Kalesi Koruma ve Onarım Çalışmaları. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı 36/3, 231– 244. Çilingiroğlu, A. and Salvini M. (eds.) 2001 Ayanis I. Ten Years’ Excavations in Rusaḫinili Eiduru-kai 1989–1998. Documenta Asiana 6. Rome . Işıklı, M., Akın, A. and Öztürk, G. 2015 Van Ayanis Urartu Kalesi Kazılarında Yeni Dönem. Atatürk Üniveristesi Güzel Sanatlar Enstitüsü Dergisi. Journal of the Fine Arts Institute (GSED) 35, 78–92. Işıklı, M. and Özdemir, M. A. 2016 2014 Yılı Ayanis Kalesi Koruma, Onarım ve Kazı Çalışmaları. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı 38/2, 283–294. Işıklı M., Öztürk, G. and Parlıtı, U. 2017 Van Ayanis Kalesi 2015 Yılı Kazı ve Onarım Çalışmaları. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı 38 (in press). Salvini, M. 2001 The Inscriptions of Ayanis (Rusahinili Eiduru-Kai) Cuneiform and Hieroglyphic. In: A. Çilingiroğlu and M. Salvini (eds.), Ayanis I. Ten Years’ Excavations in Rusaḫinili Eiduru-kai 1989–1998. Documenta Asiana 6. Rome, 254–261. Şengül, M. A., Aras, O. and Işıklı, M. 2016 Ağartı Köyü (Van Gölü Doğusu) Civarının Tektoniği ve Ayanis Kalesi’ne Olan Etkileri. Arkeometri Sonuçları Toplantısı 31, 159–176. Stone, E. and Zimansky, P. E. 2004 Urartian City Planning at Ayanis. In: A. Sagona (ed.), A View from the Highlands: Archaeological Studies in Honour of Charles Burney. Ancient Near Eastern Studies Supplement 12. Leuven, 233–243. Zimansky, P. 1985 Ecology and Empire: The Structure of the Urartian State. Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 41. Chicago. 1995

An Urartian Ozymandias. Biblical Archaeologist 58/2, 94–100.

2005

The Cities of Rusa II and the End of Urartu. In: A. Çilingiroğlu and G. Darbyshire (eds.), Anatolian Iron Ages 5. Proceedings of the Fifth Anatolian Iron Ages Colloquium Held at Van, 6–10 August 2001. British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara Monographs 31. London, 235–240.

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Fig. 1 Map showing Urartu land and Ayanis Castle (graphics: Buket Beşikçi)

Fig. 2 Map of excavation site with detail photos of Ayanis Castle (Ayanis Excavation Archive) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 3 Eastern, western and southern fortification walls in Ayanis Citadel (Ayanis Excavation Archive)

Fig. 4 The main excavated areas in citadel: Eastern Pillared Hall, Western Storage Rooms, and domestic structures (Ayanis Excavation Archive) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 5 Temple Area: general view, cella and details of decorations in cella (Ayanis Excavation Archive)

Fig. 6 General findings from Ayanis (Ayanis Excavation Archive) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 7 Moulding of mud-bricks and plastering works in Ayanis (Ayanis Excavation Archive)

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Early Third Millennium BC Settlement in the Western Khabur Basin: Preliminary Results of the Pottery Analysis from the Khabur Basin Project Surveys Hana Koubková 1 – Zuzanna Wygnańska 2 Abstract The paper presents new information about the distribution of pottery dated to the first half of the third millennium BC, Ninevite 5 pottery in particular, in the Upper Khabur region. It is the result of a preliminary study of pottery deriving from Khabur Basin Project surveys performed by Yale University under the direction of Prof. Frank Hole in the 1980s and 1990s. The area under consideration encompasses the surroundings of the Jebel Abd al-Aziz mountains west of the Khabur river, and sites located in the north-eastern part of Upper Khabur region. The main goal of this presentation is to provide additional data on Early Jezireh 0–3 period settlement in areas located far from the Khabur river, as well as supplement the existing data on the settlement of the Khabur Basin.

1. Introduction The aim of this paper is to present and reevaluate the results of surveys at early third millennium BC sites in the Upper Khabur Basin performed by the Khabur Basin Project (henceforth, KBP) in the 1980s and 1990s. The ceramic material from these surveys has never been published, although it was referred to in various publications. The pottery samples from the surveys brought to the United States were recently studied and documented during two subsequent study seasons in 2014 and 2015 at the Yale University, and then, at the Masryk University in Brno, Czech Republic and at the University of Warsaw in Poland by the authors of the paper. The objective of the study was to identify early third millennium BC pottery in the KBP collection and to reevaluate it in reference to the current pottery sequences from the region in order to contribute to the understanding of the settlement pattern in the semi-arid areas west of the Khabur river, in particular in the area around the Jebel Abd el-Aziz. Additionally, we included in the study the material from three so far unpublished sites located in the north-eastern part of Upper Khabur region, within the fertile zone, also deriving from the KBP surveys.

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Masaryk University Brno. Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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2. The Khabur Basin project The KBP was conducted by the Yale University team from 1986 to 1997 under the direction of Professor Frank Hole. The surveys and small-scale excavations concentrated in the area of the Western Khabur Basin south from Hassake and around the Jebel Abd al-Aziz (Hole 1993–1994; Hole 1997; Hole 2002–2003; Hole and Kouchoukos 1995; 1996) but many sites in the Upper and Eastern Khabur Basin were also surveyed, yet the data has never been published (Fig. 1). The aim of the surveys around the Jebel Abd al-Aziz in 1988, 1994, 1995 and 1997 was to refine the periodization both of known sites and of newly located smaller settlements. The sites were identified by satellite images and surveys by walking or by trucking the area. Each site was located and measured using a GPS locator (Kouchoukos 1998: 366–367). The surveys registered 271 sites from different periods, with 50 of them assigned to the third millennium BC. 3. The area of interest Western Jazirah is a semi-arid steppe situated between the Balikh and the Khabur rivers. The region is characterized by low annual rainfall and poorly cultivable soil, therefore agriculture is less productive there than in other regions of Northern Mesopotamia. However, the area provides abundant pasturelands unavailable in fertile regions (Smith 2015a: 65). This resulted in the proliferation of settlement in the course of the third millennium BC (Kouchoukos 1998: 339). The KBP project focused its surveys at the right bank of the Khabur River around the Jebel Abd el-Aziz Mountain range (Fig. 2). This area was only sporadically excavated although, the first pioneering visits and a survey were held there already at the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century (Kouchoukos 1998: 365), and later on, the area was relatively frequently surveyed (van Liere and Lauffray 1955; Kühne 1978–1979; Röllig and Kühne 1983; Einwag 2000; Quenet and Sultan 2014). The KBP also surveyed sites located in the fertile zone of the Upper Khabur Basin around Wadi Radd, Wadi Khanzir, Wadi Jarrah, Wadi Aweij and the Jaghjagh River (Koubková 2015: 16) (Fig. 1B). The surveys comprised many well-known and excavated sites, such as Tell Brak, Tell Chagar Bazar, Tell Khazne and Kashkashok III. The material from these sites has not been included in the present study, but it served as comparanda during the study. Only three of the sites surveyed by the KBP in this area, previously unpublished, are presented here – these are Qara Tepe, Tell Bisari and Joy Spring (Fig. 1B). Of the 50 sites recognized in the KBP as dating from the third millennium BC in the Upper Khabur region, we managed to confirm the presence of third millennium pottery at 18 sites: 15 from the area of Jebel Abd el-Aziz and three above listed, from the north-eastern Khabur Basin. The following description of 12 sites with diagnostic third millennium pottery from the Jebel Abd el-Aziz area is based on unpublished © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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field notes from the KBP made in subsequent years. The other sites were only cursorily mentioned in the notes. a. Hammam Gharb The site is located north of the Jebel Abd el-Aziz range, just a few kilometers from another site, Hammam Sharki. It was sampled by the KBP in 1994. There were no other sites visible in the closest vicinity of Hammam Gharb, or in the nearby wadi. The mound is around 5ha in size and ca. 8–9m high. Just as the nearby Hammam Sharki, it is a Kranzhügel (Hole unpublished Khabur Basin Project notes). b. Tell Al’arbidi The site is located north of the Jebel Abd el-Aziz range, 2km west of Mabtuh Sharki. It was surveyed in 1994. It is a small settlement, 75m in diameter and about 4–5m high. There is a small wadi to the east of it. The land was completely under cultivation at the time of the survey. Only a few sherds were collected from the site. Fourteen graves (of undefined dating) were observed at its north-western slope. c. Tell al-Maghr The site is located a few kilometers from the site of Mabtuh Gharbi. It was surveyed in 1994. This 9ha settlement is one of the largest Kranzhügel sites in the northern region, alongside Tell Mabtuh Sharki and Tell Mabtuh Gharbi (Hole unpublished Khabur Basin Project notes; Smith 2015b). d. Tell Mabtuh Sharki The site is located 4km north of the Jebel Abd al-Aziz. It is the largest Kranzhügel in the area. Its upper town measures almost 9ha and together with a lower town the settlement covers over 40ha. The KBP surveyed the site in 1988 (Hole unpublished Khabur Basin Project notes). The site was later excavated by Antoine Souleiman (Gernez and Souleiman 2013). Large stone structures, domestic architecture and city wall in the area of the upper town were unearthed during excavations. Ninevite 5 pottery dated to Early Jezireh (EJ) 2 was retrieved by the KBP from the upper town. Occupation continued until EJ 5 (2100–2000 BC), although it peaked starting from EJ 4a, with the temple structure dated to the late EJ 3/EJ 4a. Tell Mabtuh Sharki was probably abandoned at the end of third millennium (Smith 2015b: 69–70). e. Harba Harba is situated south of the Jebel Abd al-Aziz. It was surveyed in 1994. The small mound is 0.6ha in size and 5m high. Its top, measuring ca. 25m in diameter, is of © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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irregular shape. There is a small wadi south of the site. Other observations were hampered by the cultivation of wheat in fields surrounding the site at the time of the surveys. A stone wall was discovered on the surface, as well as two single-room structures (Hole unpublished Khabur Basin Project notes). f. Khirbet ed-Deeb The site was surveyed in 1994. It is 4ha in size. At the time of the survey it was surrounded by barley fields and many tamarisk trees were growing in the wadi. Numerous third millennium BC flint blades were found. The site is buried under a modern village (Hole unpublished Khabur Basin Project notes). g. Muazzar Muazzar is situated south of the Jebel Abd-el-Aziz, 15km west from Tell Tuenan. Covering 12ha, it is one of the largest Kranzhügel-type sites in the region south of Jebel. This area is characterized by deep and fertile calcic soils. A large, double-walled structure was observed at the surface (Kouchoukos 1988: 384). h. Tell Burqa The site is located in the western steppe, south from the Jebel Abd al-Aziz range. It is only 1.5ha in size. A deep wadi flows on its eastern side. The huge, flat mound was covered with mud and vegetation during the surveys. There were numerous graves on the top of the mound, but many of them seemed to have been looted. The bottoms of grave pits cut into the third millennium deposits (Hole unpublished Khabur Basin Project notes). i. Tell Metyaha The site is located south of the Jebel Abd el-Aziz. It was surveyed in 1994–1995. The base of the site is purely natural with some buildings on the top. The tell is about 4m high. Only a few sherds were recovered from the lower slope (Hole unpublished Khabur Basin Project notes). j. Tell Mahrum Tell Mahrum is located east of the Jebel Abd al-Aziz range, about 15km north-east of Tell Tuenan. It is a small settlement, only 1ha in size, located on the edge of a lake basin, alongside low, rocky hills where a modern village is situated. Modern graves covered the top of this largely natural hill. A test trench cut on the western side of the site revealed mud-brick and stone walls, as well as some bones (Hole unpublished Khabur Basin Project notes). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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k. Tell Marthiya The site is located between Tell Tuenan and Khirbet ed-Deeb, east of the Jebel Abd el-Aziz range. It is a small, 1ha settlement. It is set on a steep-sided, natural hill, ca. 6m high, next to a wadi that has water from a small spring. However, occupation seems to have been limited to some houses on the very top of the mound (Hole unpublished Khabur Basin Project notes). l. Tell Tuenan The site is located a few kilometers from Muazzar and is another Kranzhügel. Tell Tuenan is a 4ha site set in a rather hospitable environment. It is situated near a large wadi which cuts into gypsum bedrock, where a small spring stems at the base of the tell. The wadi cuts across the mound exposing a thick sequence of third millennium BC remains. Stone foundations were found on the site’s southern slope, pointing to occupation dating to the EJ 2 period (Kouchoukos 1988: 384).

4. Presentation of ceramic forms Below, we present a list of 17 sherds that were diagnosed as characteristic for the earlier part of the third millennium BC and that are presented on Figure 3. A few EJ III a–b sherds included represent the sites where only settlement dated to the later periods was evidenced. The remaining sherds in the collection were much less characteristic and it was difficult to assign them to any particular EJ phase at this preliminary stage of study. No. 1 Tell Al’rbidi

Fragment of pointed base (hemispherical cup/beaker with pointed vertical rim?) Pasta: fine ware, grit temper (Ca) Surface: very pale brown (10YR7/3) Date: EJ II References: Tell Brak: Phase K (Matthews 2003: fig. 5.67.22); difference: pale green grey surface color Tell Thuwaij: Level 8 (EJ I) (Numoto 2003: 127; fig. 22.40); differences: sand temper, greenish grey surface color Tell Barri: Phase EJ II (Valentini 2008: fig. 5.15) Kashkashok 3: Phase EJ II (Rova 2011: pl. 5.2) Tell Arbid: Phase EJ II (Rova 2011: pl. 5.4)

No. 2 Joy Spring

Body fragment Pasta: fine ware, straw temper Surface: pale yellow (2.5Y8/3) Decoration: grooved-slashed excised motif Date: EJ II © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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References: Raqā’i: Phase Raqā’i 3 (Curvers and Schwartz 1990: fig. 21.8); differences: no visible inclusions, excised motif orientation Tell Brak: Phase ? (Oates et al. 2001: fig. 471.1784); differences: orange-brown surface color, orientation of decoration Kashkashok 3: Phase EJ II (Rova 2011: pl. 5.1), hemispherical beaker with pointed base and vertical rim; differences: mineral temper (sand/ quartz, limestone, mica), excised motif orientation Tell Arbid: Phase EJ II (Rova 2011: pl. 5.12), large carinated bowl with flat base; difference: excised motif orientation

No. 3 Harba

Bowl fragment with open beaded rim Pasta: fine ware, grit temper (basalt) Surface: pale yellow (2.5Y7/3) Decoration: excised ware – lined horizontal zigzag motif Date: EJ II References: Tell Brak: Phase ? (Oates et al. 2001: fig. 470.1755); differences: straight sided vessel, green surface color, decoration with panels Tell Brak: Phase J–K (Matthews 2003: fig. 5.65.22); differences: panels decoration, different surface color 5Y7/2; (ibid.: fig. 5.65.24); differences: restricted round body, surface color 5Y7/3 Tell Barri: Phase EJ II (Valentini unpublished: fig. 1.16); difference: without decoration

No. 4 Harba

Bowl fragment with closed slightly inverted flat rim Pasta: fine ware, grit temper (Ca, basalt) Surface: pale yellow (2.5Y8/3), self-slip Date: EJ II/ IIIa References: Tell Brak: Phase K (Matthews 2003: fig. 5.59/21); differences: beaded rim, mineral and vegetal temper, bluish grey surface color Tell Hamoukar: Phase 3M-2 (Grossman 2013: fig. 1.14:S26.4b); differences: low carination, beaded rim Tell Barri: Phase EJ II/IIa (Valentini unpublished: fig. 11.16) – chai cup

No. 5 Khirbet ed-Deeb

Bowl fragment Pasta: fine ware, grit temper (Ca, basalt) Surface: light grey (2.5Y7/2) Decoration: multiple-line chevron motif Date: EJ II References: Tell Leilan: Phase IIIc (Schwartz 1988: fig. 40.3–6); differences: sherd thickness, orientation, no visible temper, light yellow buff Tell Brak: Phase M? (leveling fills) (Oates et al. 2001: fig. 469.1735); differences: sherd thickness, orientation, reddish-brown surface color Tell Brak: Phase J (Matthews 2003: fig. 5.62.17); differences: sherd thickness, orientation, vegetal and mineral tempered, surface color 5Y7/2; (ibid.: fig. 5.62.21); differences: sherd thickness, orientation of decoration, vegetal and mineral tempered, surface color 5Y8/3; (ibid.: fig. 5.63.10); differences: vegetal and mineral tempered, surface color 5Y7/3 © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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No. 6 Khirbet ed-Deeb

Bowl fragment with closed slightly inverted beaded rim and rounded wall Pasta: fine ware, straw-grit temper (Ca) Surface: pale yellow (2.5Y7/3), self-slip Date: EJ I–II References: Tell Raqā’i: Phase Raqā’i 3 (Curvers and Schwartz 1990: fig. 20.13); difference: just grit temper Tell Brak: Phase J (Matthews 2003: fig. 5.57.5); differences: just mineral temper, greenish surface color Tell Barri: Phase EJ II (Valentini unpublished: fig. 4.17); difference: common ware

No. 7 Tell Burqa

Fragment of S-shaped (?) bowl with open simple rim Pasta: fine ware, no visible temper Surface: pale yellow (2.5Y7/3), slip Date: EJ I References: Chagar Bazar: Level 5 (Rova 2011: pl. 2.12) – S-shaped (“cyma-recta” bowl); difference: greenish surface color Kashkashok III: Phase EJ I (Rova 2011: pl. 2.15) – S-shaped (“cyma-recta” bowl); difference: mineral temper

No. 8 Tell Bisari

Jar lug fragment (from wide-necked jar?) Pasta: fine ware, grit temper (basalt) Surface: light olive grey (5Y6/2) Decoration: notched band and dotted wavy line motif Date: EJ II References: Tell Leilan: Phase IIIc (Schwartz 1988: fig. 39.1); differences: no visible temper, light yellow buff surface color, without dotted and notched motif Tell Brak: Phase J (Matthews 2003: fig. 5.66.11); differences: mineral and vegetal temper, 10YR3/2 surface color, decoration without notched and dotted motif Chagar Bazar: Level 5 (Mallowan 1936: fig. 19.3; Rova 2011: pl.3.4); differences: grey surface color, no visible temper, burnished surface, decoration without notched and dotted motif

No. 9 Qara Tepe

Fragment of a jar with lug Pasta: fine ware, straw-grit temper (basalt) Surface: grey (10YR5/1) Decoration: incised slashed motif Date: EJ I–II References: Tell Leilan: Phase IIIc (Schwartz 1988: fig. 39.1); differences: no visible temper, light yellow buff surface color Tell Brak: Phase J (Matthews 2003: fig. 5.66.11; Rova 2011: pl. 3.5) Tell Karrana 3: transitional phase (Rova 2011: fig. 7.8); differences: black burnished exterior, brown core

No. 10 Qara Tepe

Flat base fragment of bowl © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Pasta: fine ware, no visible temper Surface: very pale brown (10YR7/4) Decoration: Slashed incised decoration Date: EJ II References: Tell Brak: Phase J–K (Oates et al. 2001: fig. 470/1759); differences: thinner, pale cream fabric (Matthews 2003: fig. 5.72.18); differences: mineral tempered, undecorated Tell Brak: Phase ? (Rova 2011: pl. 5.7); differences: medium to fine ware, mineral temper

No. 11 Joys Spring

Bowl fragment with open beaded rim Pasta: fine ware, grit temper (basalt) Surface: pale yellow (2.5Y7/3) Decoration: excised ware – lined horizontal zigzag motif Date: EJ II References: Tell Brak: Phase ? (Oates et al. 2001: fig. 470.1755); differences: straight sided vessel, green surface color, decoration with panels Tell Brak: Phase J–K (Matthews 2003: fig. 5.65.22); differences: panels decoration, different surface color 5Y7/2; (ibid.: fig. 5.65.24); differences: restricted round body, surface color 5Y7/3 Tell Barri: Phase EJ II (Valentini unpublished: fig. 1/16); difference: without decoration

No. 12 Joys Spring

Body fragment Pasta: fine ware, straw temper Surface: pale yellow (2.5Y8/3) Decoration: grooved-slashed excised motif Date: EJ II References: Raqā’i: Phase Raqā’i 3 (Curvers and Schwartz 1990: fig. 21.8); differences: no visible inclusions, excised motif orientation Tell Brak: Phase ? (Oates et al. 2001: fig. 471.1784); differences: orange-brown surface color, orientation of decoration Kashkashok3: Phase EJ II (Rova 2011: pl. 5.1), hemispherical beaker with pointed base and vertical rim; differences: mineral temper (sand/ quartz, limestone, mica), excised motif orientation Tell Arbid: Phase EJ II (Rova 2011: pl. 5.12), large carinated bowl with flat base; difference: excised motif orientation

No. 13 Tell al-Maghr

Cup fragment with vertical and recess-beaded rim Pasta: fine ware, no visible temper Surface: pale yellow – very pale brown (5Y7/3) – (10YR7/4) Date: EJ IIIa References: Tell Brak: Phase M (Oates et al. 2001: fig. 422.716) Tell Barri: Phase Late EJ II; EJ II/IIIa (Valentini 2008, fig. 5/14); difference: thicker; (Valentini unpublished: fig. 11/8); difference: thicker Tell Thuwaij: Level 8 (Numoto 2003: 127, fig. 22.45); differences: carinated bowl, greenish surface color, sand temper Tell Arbid: Phase EJ II (Rova 2011: pl. 5/4); difference: mineral temper (limestone) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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No. 14 Metyaha

Bowl fragment with closed slightly inverted beaded rim and rounded wall Pasta: fine ware, grit temper (Ca) Surface: very pale brown (10YR7/4) Date: EJ IIIb References: Tell Raqā’i: Phase Raqā’i 3 (Curvers and Schwartz 1990: fig. 20.16); difference: light yellow surface color Tell Barri: Phase EJ II (Valentini 2008: fig. 5.12; Valentini unpublished: fig. 2.10) Tell Hamoukar: Phase 3M-1/2 (Grossman 2013: fig. I.48/FR1.4); difference: rolled rim Tell Atij: Phase EJ IIIb (Rova 2011: pl. 8.3), small beaker with solid pedestal base; differences: thicker walls, pale beige surface color

No. 15 Hammam Gharbi

Bowl fragment with closed slightly inverted simple rim Pasta: fine ware, no visible temper Surface: pale yellow – very pale brown (10YR7/3; 2.5Y8/3), slip Date: EJ IIIb Tell Leilan: Phase IIIc (Schwartz 1988: fig. 33.7) Kashkashok: Phase II (Rova 2011: pl. 5.2), hemispherical beaker with pointed base and vertical rim; difference: mineral temper Tell Hamoukar: Phase 3M-2 (Grossman 2013: fig. 1.15:S27.9a); difference: pale yellow surface color Tell Barri: EJ II/II a (Valentini unpublished: figs. 3.3; 10.25)

No. 16 Muazzar

Beaker like bowl open simle rim fragment Pasta: fine ware, grit temper (Ca) Surface: pale yellow, (2.5Y7/3) Date: EJ IIIb References: Tell Brak: Phase N? (Oates et al. 2001: figs. 434.987, 996; 454.1450; Rova 2011: pl. 8.3)

No. 17 Ain Qoubba (no location given in the field notes)

Cup? open simple rim fragment Pasta: medium – fine ware, grit temper (basalt, Ca) Surface: pale yellow, (2.5Y7/3), slip Date: EJ IIIa References Tell Barri: EJ II/EJ IIIa (Valentini 2008: fig. 5.22; Rova 2011: pl. 5.9) Tell Barri: EJ II/EJ IIIa (Valentini unpublished: fig. 11.19)

5. Preliminary results of analysis of the pottery collection The leading concept for studying the material retrieved by the KBP surveys was a reconsideration of the previous pottery research in reference to the current pottery sequences. 490 pottery sherds dated to the third millennium BC from the KBP surveys were analysed. The diagnostic pieces were described and catalogued according to decoration type, shape, fabric, surface treatment and com© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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parison with published pottery from other sites with early third millennium BC settlements, such as Tell Leilan, Tell Brak, Tell Hamukar, Tell Raqā’i, Tell Barri. Only 34 pieces were identified as dated to the early third millennium BC (Fig. 3). Identification and quantitative estimation of the pottery assemblage proved, however, to be a challenging task. Predominance of uncharacteristic rim fragments in the KPB collection – undecorated Fine and Common ware sherds, mostly with simple or beaded rims – made attribution of the material to the particular phases of the EJ period very difficult. However, 14 decorated Ninevite 5 sherds were documented. Another difficulty in obtaining a clear picture of the early third millennium sherds’ distribution often is a lack of specified numbers of sherds per site in the KBP notes. The samples stored at the Yale University were small (several sherds or even a single sherd per site) and so, cannot be representative. In this case, quantitative analysis is of no merit. The above mentioned issues did not allow for conclusions on the character and size of the settlements and caused that only a cursory chronological indication was possible. Nevertheless, the results may be considered a small but relevant contribution for the reconstruction of the distribution and evolution of third millennium BC settlement in this region. Regarding the analyzed pottery, there were no clear examples of the earliest Ninevite 5 phase (EJ 0) in the material. Only a few sherds were identified as belonging to phase EJ 1 (found at Khirbet ed-Deeb and in Qara Tepe), while several others with incised/excised decoration were dated to the later Ninevite 5 phase (EJ 2) (Fig. 3). The EJ 1–2 pottery originated from eight sites including three sites of northern Khabur Basin tells (Fig. 4). Nine other sites from the Jebel Abd el-Aziz region provided sherds identified as later EJ 3a–b and EJ 4 pottery, with no examples of earlier (pre-EJ 3) ceramic materials in the collection from these latter sites. These results corroborate earlier conclusions on the pottery distribution in the arid zones of the Western Khabur region (Kouchoukos 1988; Rova 2011), indicating only a small share of early third millennium BC (EJ 1) sherds and an increase in the occurrence of later, post-Ninevite 5 pottery types. Acknowledgements We would like to thank Prof. Frank Hole and Dr. Yukiko Tonoike (Yale University, New Haven) for the ceramic material, unpublished data, consultations, literature, and copies of materials obtained during the Khabur Basin Project surveys. The research is part of the collaboration of the Masaryk University and the Yale University (2014–2016) to study the unpublished pottery collection assembled during the Yale Khabur Basin Survey Project during the 1980s and 1990s.

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Bibliography Curvers, H. H. and Schwartz, G. M. 1990 Excavation at Tell al-Raqā’i: A Small Rural Site of Early Urban Northern Mesopotamia. American Journal of Archaeology 94/1, 3–23. Einwag, B. 2000 Die West-Gazira in der Eisenzeit. In: G. Bunnens (ed.), Essays on Syria in the Iron Age. Leuven, 307–325. Gernez, G. and Souleiman, A. 2013 Une exceptionnelle découverte à Tell Mabtouh Sharqi: les dépôts d’armes et objets en métal du temple N. Étude préliminaire. In: M. al-Maqdissi, D. Parayre, M. Griesheimer and É. Ishaq (eds.), Un coeur syrien. Mélanges dédiés à la mémoire d’Antoine Souleiman. Studia Orontica 11. Damascus, 41–59. Grossman, K. 2013 Early Bronze Age Hamoukar: A Settlement Biography. PhD thesis, University of Chicago. Chicago. Hole, F. 1993–1994 The Habur Basin Project. Archiv für Orientforschung 40–41, 289–298. 1997

Paleoenvironment and Human Society in the Jezirah of Northern Mesopotamia 20,000–6,000 BP. Paléorient 23, 39–49.

2002–2003 Khabur Basin Project – 1986–2001. Les Annales Archéologiques Arabes Syriennes 45–46, 11–20. unpublished Khabur Basin Project field notes (courtesy of F. Hole). Hole, F. and Kouchoukos, N. 1995 Preliminary Report on an Archaeological Survey in the Western Khabur Basin. Les Annales Archéologiques Arabes Syriennes 117, 1–15. 1996

Preliminary Report on an Archaeological Survey in the Western Khabur Basin. In: F. Hole (ed.), Papers of the Yale University Khabur Basin Project 1986–1997. New Haven.

Koubková, H. 2015 Fine Ware Ninevite 5 Pottery from Khabur Basin Project. BA thesis, Masaryk University, Brno. Kouchoukos, N. 1998 Landscape and Social Change in Late Prehistoric Mesopotamia. PhD thesis, Yale University, New Haven. Kühne, H. 1978–1979 Zur historischen Geographie am Unteren Habur: Zweiter, vorläufiger Bericht über eine archäologische Geländebegehung. Archiv für Orientforschung 26, 181–195. Mallowan, M. E. L. 1936 The Excavations at Tell Chagar Bazar and an Archaeological Survey of the Habur Region, 1934–1935. Iraq 3, 1–86. Matthews, R. 2003 Excavations at Tell Brak 4: Exploring an Upper Mesopotamian Regional Centre, 1994–1996. London. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Numoto, H. 2003 Ninevite 5 Pottery from Tell Fisna and Thuwaij and its Relative Chronology in Mosul Region. In: E. Rova and H. Weiss (eds.), The Origins of North Mesopotamian Civilization: Ninevite 5 Chronology, Economy, Society. Subartu IX. Turnhout, 83–152. Oates, D., Oates, J. and McDonald, H. 2001 Nagar in the third millennium BC. Cambridge. Quenet, P. and Sultan, A. 2014 New Research in the Area of Malhat ed-Deru, Northeast Syria (Autumn 2010). In: P. Bieliński, M. Gawlikowski, R. Koliński, D. Ławecka, A. Sołtysiak and Z. Wygnańska (eds.), Proceedings of the 8th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, 2. Wiesbaden, 117–131. Rova, E. 2011 Ceramic. In: M. Lebeau (ed.), Associated Regional Chronologies for the Ancient Near East 1. Jezirah. Turnhout, 49–127. Röllig, W. and Kühne, H. 1983 The Lower Habur: Second Preliminary Report on a Survey in 1977. Les Annales Archéologiques Arabes Syriennes 33/2, 187–199. Schwartz, M. G. 1988 A Ceramic Chronology from Tell Leilan: Operation 1. Yale Tell Leilan Research 1. New Haven. Smith, L. S. 2015a Patterns of Sedentism and Nomadism in the Semi-arid Syrian-Jordanian Steppes: A Remote Sensing Survey. Bulletin for the Council for British Research in the Levant 10, 65–68. 2015b Late Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age Settlement Patterns in the Greater Western Jazira: Trajectories of Sedentism in the Semi-Arid Syrian Steppe. PhD thesis, Durham University. Valentini, S. 2008 Ninivite 5 Pottery from Tell Barri in Jezirah. In: H. Kühne, R. M. Czichon and F. J. Kreppner (eds.), Proceedings of the fourth International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (29 March–3 April 2004, Freie Universität Berlin), 2: Social and Cultural Transformation: The Archaeology of Transitional Periods and Dark Ages. Excavations Reports. Wiesbaden, 259–272. unpublished La ceramica dell’EJ II–IIIb – Tell Barri, Syria. van Liere, W. J. and Lauffray, J. 1955 Nouvelle prospection archéologique dans la Haute Jezireh Syrienne. Les Annales Archéologiques Arabes Syriennes 5, 129–148.

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Fig. 1 Distribution of sites with the studied ceramic material from Khabur Basin Project; A – sites around Jebel Abd el-Aziz mountain range; B – sites in the northern part of Upper Khabur Basin

Fig. 2 Sites with the Early Jezirah 1–3 ceramic material in area Jebel Abd el-Aziz mountain range © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 3 Examples of EJ 1–2 ceramic material from the Khabur Basin Project

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Fig. 4 Overview of the sites with EJ 1–3 pottery based on material analysis from the Khabur Basin Project

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A Spatial and Functional Analysis of ‘Building 4’ at EBA III Tell Fadous-Kfarabida (Lebanon) Martin Makinson 1 – Zuzanna Wygnańska 2 Abstract The site of Tell Fadous-Kfarabida (northern Lebanon), which covers an area of some 1.5ha, was no ordinary village. Despite the fact that at least 40% of the mound had already been destroyed by bulldozers prior to excavation, fieldwork since 2004 has clarified the layout of what was apparently a regional centre for the gathering of agricultural produce during the EB (Early Bronze Age) III period and was probably linked to the site of Byblos, located 12km to the south. One of the excavated structures appears to be unusually large and was apparently built for a specific purpose. Evidence of large-scale storage, of administrative procedures involving the sealing of goods and of a massive investment in architecture, are all equally apparent in the surviving eastern part of Building 4 on the western side of the mound. This paper aims to reconstruct circulation patterns and activity areas and to propose a function for rooms and spaces, particularly in the northern wing excavated between 2011 and 2015. Evidence for the existence of a second storey will also be summarised. In order to determine the function of the space in Building 4, the architecture, stratigraphy and finds will be briefly reviewed.

1. Introduction and the geographical location of the site Tell Fadous-Kfarabida is located on the Mediterranean coast of northern Lebanon, 12km north of Byblos and 1km north of the Wadi Madfoun. It was excavated between 2004 and 2016 by a mission from the American University of Beirut (AUB) working in collaboration with the Lebanese General Directorate of Antiquities. The expedition was co-directed by Professor Hermann Genz (AUB) and Alison Damick (Columbia University, New York), who have kindly allowed the authors to present their interpretation of some of the data from the site. Over the course of eight seasons the remains of Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age (EB) IV and Middle Bronze Age (MBA) levels were recorded at the site, with the main phases of occupation falling into EB II–III. These included buildings, narrow streets, a gate and a fortification (Badreshany et al. 2005; Genz 2010; Genz 2012; Genz 2014; Genz and Sader 2007; Genz and Sader 2008; Genz et al. 2009; Genz et al. 2010; Genz et al. 2011; Genz et al. 2016). According to C14 samples from the site, the EB III period is dated to c. 2850/2650–2500 BC (Höflmayer et al. 2014).

1 2

PhD candidate, Department of Oriental Studies, University of Vienna. Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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The site is very small, measuring only 1.5ha in area (Fig. 1) and the area available for investigation is even smaller. Severe damage to the site occurred during the civil war while more recent destruction involving the use of bulldozers has obliterated up to 40% of the mound’s surface area (Fig. 2). Despite its modest size it appears that during the Early Bronze III period the tell was not an ordinary peasant village but rather an administrative centre dependent on a larger polity. This is indicated by the character of the monumental architecture, (which, in the case of Building 4 is of a type associated with specialised functions) by the number of cylinder seals and by the nature of the finds from the area. During EB III, Fadous-Kfarabida might have been a central place for the gathering and administration of agricultural produce. Prior to the construction of the EB III period Building 4 the site was apparently of a different, more domestic character although this phase survives only partially. The character of the site’s hinterland is a matter of significance from an ecological and economic standpoint. The landscape and catchment area does not consist of deeply incised gorges like the Nahr Ibrahim behind Byblos or like the steep anticline of Mount Lebanon rising immediately above Beirut. Rather, it is a limestone plateau lying between 400 to 1200 metres above sea level, which could have been easily terraced in antiquity. Today it is planted with olive trees, vineyards and orchards. The summits of Mount Lebanon, rising to just 2200m (as opposed to 3088m further north), are found further east, in the ‘Aqoura region. 2. Building 4 Building 4, or more precisely its eastern wing, is located on the north-western edge of the site as it currently exists (Fig. 2). It was in use during Phases III and IV of EB III although the building’s function appears to have changed somewhat in the latter phase. The ‘administrative’ or at least the ‘official’ interpretation of Building 4 is based on the character of the architecture, on the layout and internal facilities as well as on the nature of the finds recovered from its rooms. It was here that the majority of the cylinder seals were discovered. The use of the term ‘cylinder seals’ to describe such objects is somewhat controversial in the wider context of the Southern Levant and its meaning will be discussed further below. 2.1 Phase III – A general overview During Phase III Building 4 was distinguished by the presence of structures related to storage in all of the rooms except the northern extension of Room 3 (Figs. 3, 4). The eastern part of Building 4, which was also the best preserved, is provisionally referred to as the ‘administrative wing’. It stands with its back to the central part of the settlement and the main circulation pathway and it seems that there was no entrance from this side of the building, the staircase found in Room 2 being internal. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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2.2 Room 4 – The storage basement The best-preserved enclosed space is Room 4 (Fig. 5). Its most notable feature is that it had no entrance and, during Phase III, its floors were considerably lower than those of surrounding rooms. This implies that it must have functioned as a basement which was entered from the roof, probably via a ladder. The lack of accumulated debris on the floor may suggest that Room 4 was not a living space and its division into different areas may reflect functional differentiation. In the southern half, peculiar structures in the form of two stone lined rectangular ‘compartments’ were found. In their fills were olive pits, a few sherds of pottery and some flints. It is possible that these compartments marked a space for a specific set of containers or jars. The south-eastern corner of Room 4 was a separate plastered and cobbled space. The northern part did not contain any ‘compartments’, but was occupied by a series of plastered floors, a pit containing ashes and, in the north-western half, an area entirely paved with cobbles. The remains of jars were particularly frequent in the latter area and included a remarkable find in the form of a cylinder impression on the neck of a jar. The impressed motif is geometric and is identical to one discovered on a vessel from ‘Arqa in north Lebanon (Thalmann 2013: 274, fig. 19) and another from Tell Abu al-Kharaz in the Eastern Jordan Valley (Fischer 2011: 37, fig. 7). The ubiquitous olive pits and jars with combed surfaces imply that the commodities stored in Room 4 might have included both unprocessed olives and oil. Three round column bases, presumably for wooden columns, were located in corners and in the middle of the eastern wall. Their small, shallow stone foundations rendered the columns unfit to support any heavy structures and it seems that the room was roofed with light materials. In contrast to the western wing, there was no evidence for a second storey. 2.3 Room 5 Room 5, the northernmost part of the surviving administrative wing, seems to have fulfilled a similar function to Room 4. In Phase III it did not have an eastern limit and, curiously, it was the only space in the square accessible from the eastern street which bisected the settlement from south to north (Fig. 3). The room underwent several changes in its internal arrangements during its lifespan. Initially it was paved with cobbles or flagstones and this was followed by modification when the entire surface was covered with soil scattered with sherds (grooved storage jars) and pebbles, many animal bones, olive pits, lithic remains and a bone tool. In the uppermost level of Phase III a circular stone structure designed for the storage of a substantial pithos was identified. The area might have served as an open-air storage/food processing space and/or a domestic workshop abutting the street. The floors were carefully reinforced with the stone slabs and were not plastered, as if prepared for intensive use. Additionally, they were covered with abundant scatters of lithic flakes, suggesting that it was the location of specialized tool production. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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The adjacent alley must have been infilled during Room 5’s final Phase III subphase, as the space to the east contained a very loose deposit of soil mixed with gravel, ash and large stones up to 1.5m thick (Fig. 6). This deposit included a wealth of finds – pottery sherds and a cylinder seal (all diagnostic of the EB III), as well as animal bones, lithics and olive pits. This thick deposit was too soft to have been walked on and its relatively homogeneous character suggests that it was intentionally dumped over a short period of time. Presumably the street was no longer in use in the later stages of Phase III (and certainly not in Phase IV). In this late sub-phase a flimsy partition wall separated Room 5 from what lay to the east and from a flow of refuse into the room. This change in the arrangement of the internal space occurred prior to the more general shift in Building 4’s function in Phase IV. 2.4 Room 6 in Phase III: Another storage unit? Phase III in Room 6 had only one floor associated with it. This could have been the result of the destruction caused by the insertion of a massive square pit during the MBA (Phase VI) which obliterated the latest EB III floors. Indeed, nothing related to either phases IV and V has been retrieved from this part of the square. Despite this, the presence of the clean floor together with a bin inserted in the corner and preserved to over seven courses in height would indicate that the function of this room was primarily storage. Two cylinders were found in a similar stratigraphic location to the one found in Room 4: in a fill along a wall, some 20cm above the EB III floor. In the case of the cylinders from Room 6, they were discovered lying between the bin and the column base. 2.5 Phase III in the northern extension of Room 3 A line of stones similar to that found in Room 5 and the remains of several large jars were discovered in the southern part of Room 3. The area had been re-floored many times and in the northern extension thirteen floors dating to EB III were identified. Re-plastering, particularly in the north-eastern corner, had taken place after every accumulation of 4–5cm of soil, indicating that this floor was constantly walked on. It was clear that the room formed the ground floor of a part of Building 4 which stood several storeys high. Three column bases, used throughout the occupation of the unit, were placed on massive rubble foundations (Figs. 3, 7). The stones for the foundations were set in deep pits. It is probable that these three column bases, separated by spaces of less than a metre, were designed not only to bear the weight of a roof, but to stabilise a second or even a third storey. Signs of domestic activity were particularly visible in the lower floors of the northern extension. A large slab 70cm long, located along the eastern wall, lay next to a stone hearth immediately to the south, with a circular installation that included grinding stones and grinders to the north (Fig. 7). It is seems likely that this was a © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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ground floor where food was prepared. Similar features do not appear in other rooms of the ‘administrative’ sector. A broken cylinder seal was discovered in the fill some centimetres above the latest floor of Phase III. Like the other cylinders in this part of the house, it had been discarded at the end of Phase III occupation, when perhaps this part of Building 4 underwent a change in function. A similar cylinder seal was found in Room 3 in 2011. In addition, a stone bowl rim found above one of the floors of Phase III was clearly an Egyptian import (Genz et al. 2016: 91). 2.6 Phase IV: A change in function of the north-eastern sector of Building 4 The next level (Phase IV) saw some major changes in the organisation of space although they can only briefly be described in this paper. In the ‘Basement’ (i.e. Room 4) there was evidence of a phase of abandonment during which mud and earth covered the plaster floors, ‘compartments’ and installations. Subsequently a 1.50m thick fill of stones was deliberately deposited before a floor surface consisting of thick hard plaster was laid on top of it. Soil and sherds subsequently accumulated on the floor. With the exception of a short stub to the west, the wall separating Rooms 4 and 5 does not appear to have been in existence during this phase, since floors from both rooms were found at higher levels than the top of the wall. A much larger space – probably residential in character – was created by merging the two rooms. Room 4+5 seems to have been roofed, but does not appear to have supported a second storey. Cylindrical column bases were discovered in the middle of walls rather than in the corners, but these were placed on small stones rather than on a substantial quantity of rubble in a foundation pit. The northern extension of Room 3 appears to have been domestic in function. Jars, juglets and a varied range of vessels found on the latest floor, reflect domestic and living activities, rather than storage. It seems that in Phase IV (late EB III), the eastern wing of Building 4 was devoted to activities other than storage and administration, with plaster floors and domestic material found in every area excavated. It is possible that a turtle burial and a fragment of decorated bone tube (Genz et al. 2011: 157) found in a pit under the floor of Room 4+5, marks the ‘re-consecration’ of the building and its change of use, if only in this sector. We should perhaps look for Tell Fadous-Kfarabida Phase IV’s main storage unit elsewhere, perhaps in the columned rectangular building in the middle of the site (Building 3). 2.7 Phase V of the EB IV: Remembering and commemorating the past? The character of Phase V, represented by a cobbled surface and stone-lined pits, can be summarised briefly. The finds assemblage recovered from the pits included white painted drinking cups and small, button-based, jars. It is also notable that the cobbled surface appears to have respected previous structures, particularly the walls in Room 4. It may be of significance that the walls of Building 4 remained visible above the © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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mound’s surface, and the EB IV population might have remembered its existence and shown consideration for it. Perhaps the cups imply banqueting, ceremonial and similar activity connected with the commemoration of ancestry. 3. ‘Cylinders’ or ‘cylinder seals’ at Kfarabida As Amnon Ben Tor and Alexander Joffee have pointed out (Ben-Tor 1978; Joffee 2001), cylinder seals in the Southern Levant, at least in the third millennium BCE, were used only to mark the necks of jars and other pots. South of the Syrian Homs corridor they were not used for clay seals on doors, on bags or on other organic containers in the Early Bronze Age, except for a very short period in a very localised region (the Nahal Besor and Gaza Strip in the EB IA, the age of First Dynasty expansion into the southern margins of the Levant; in this area the Pharaoh’s serekh or cartouche is a notable feature). This observation, together with the unique find at Tell ‘Arqa level 18A (strictly contemporary with Phase III at Kfarabida) of a jar with two different cylinder seal impressions, in a house belonging to a small (probably nuclear) family, made the excavator J.-P. Thalman dismiss entirely the connection between administration, hierarchical agency and South and Central Levantine cylinders (Thalmann 2013). Thalmann has emphasised that impressions around the entire circumference of a jar are probably decorative in character and should be distinguished from marks. A mark can be defined as the trace left on a vessel when only part of the motif of the cylinder has been rolled on the clay. In the case of the jar mentioned above, the base (invisible to the onlooker when the jar was upright) bore a lion, goat and fish seal impression, of a type common at other sites including Byblos. According to Thalmann, such marks are not the signs of an administrative or centralised authority, at least in this Near Eastern coastal region, and the association of carved cylinders with administration may be a subconscious and automatic assumption. In the case of ‘Arqa, the cylinder impression under the base is nothing more than the elaborate sign of an individual workshop or potter. Semantics are important, and this is why, following Thalmann’s line of reasoning, the word ‘seal’ has not automatically been associated with the term ‘decorated cylinder’ at Fadous-Kfarabida. The elaborate cylinder impression consisting of a lion, a goat and a fish has been generally considered as the result of a fairly complex chaîne opératoire, of specialised craftsmen who are imagined as painstakingly carving these objects. Thalmann had a wooden seal carved by a carpenter with the same iconography as that found in Level 18A at Tell ‘Arqa, and found that the process took no more than a day’s work. In Thalmann’s opinion, the manufacture of decorated cylinders of the Early Bronze Age was much less complex and time-consuming than previously thought. It should, however, be emphasised that this line of reasoning derives from only one occurrence on a jar at ‘Arqa, a village which consisted of identically built and furnished houses. It certainly does not account for the large concentration of decorated cylinders found in the north-eastern sector of Building 4, which comprised the © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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majority of seals found on the site. Expanding the evidence to other Early Bronze Age sites of the Levant, the conclusions from ‘Arqa do not account, for example, for the 143 sherds with impressions at Khirbet az-Zeraqon in northern Jordan, which were impressed with 118 different seals (Douglas 2011). Nevertheless, it is true that large towns in olive oil country, such as the 18 ha Tell Yarmouth in the eastern Shephelah, revealed storage facilities, pithoi and quasi-palatial structures with no seal impressions. The presence of impressions on small rural sites like Tell Qashish near Beth Shean is also notable (Ben-Tor 1994). It is possible that the use of cylinder seals on jars might have been an administrative and storage practice, but also a reflection of cultural choice. It is also the case that the top of most of the decorated bone or stone cylinders from Fadous-Kfarabida include a pierced knob, which may indicate that they were intended to be attached to a person’s clothes (perhaps those of an itinerant official), rather than being used in a potter’s workshop. Evidence for the trade and storage of basic commercial and cash crops at Fadous-Kfarabida could be highly significant in this discussion of cylinders and seals. One of the early discoveries at the site was the remains of a scale for measuring light (and probably precious) commodities, the earliest known in this part of the world (Genz 2011). 4. Kfarabida as a specialized settlement in a heterarchical network – when size does not matter (so much) Taken as a whole, Building 4 is remarkable for its orderly layout. As regards the rest of the settlement, a high level of planning and integration is apparent in the plan, and the structures associated with Phases III and IV do not seem to be the result of organic and haphazard growth over the several centuries represented by EB III. Building 3 (the columned hall) was centrally located on the mound and was separated from Building 4 by the 20m long street mentioned above. The plan of the western part of the settlement (and of the eastern sector in Area IV, where a gate and fortification wall were uncovered in the 2015 season) does not reflect the organic growth of a village or a settlement occupied by a kin-related population of farmers, expanding gradually over the surface of the site. In fact, the opposite seems to be true with the macro-level structure seeming to indicate intervention by a higher, organising agency that, at least in the EBA III, appears to have planned the settlement as a whole, perhaps for a specific purpose. What could this purpose have been? It is remarkable to see a small (1.5ha) settlement protected by a fortified wall and accessible through a stepped gate to the south and possibly by another large entrance to the east. Whatever was stored in the settlement was perhaps deemed precious enough to require at least some level of defence. In any case, a rampart built around an ordered site reflects planning by a higher body, even though the site itself may not be urban: one should recall that small early third millennium BCE mounds on the Euphrates in Syria, Tell al-‘Abd, © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Jerablus Tahtani and Tell Halawa A, were all fortified without being cities (Cooper 2006). A hypothesis for the rationale behind the imposing and planned buildings of Tell-Fadous Kfarabida requires consideration of the regional environment and of the botanical data. As noted in the brief description of the site’s geography, above, the highlands, which rise some 300–500m above the coastal plain, would have formed plateaus and terraced valleys ideally suited for olive cultivation. Emphasis on olives is clear when one looks at botanical data from the site: olive stones were collected in large numbers from each floor or fill of the north-eastern part of Building 4. Moreover, flotation of floor deposits at the site has shown that olives form 40% of the sample at Kfarabida in Phase III, the period when the north-eastern wing of Building 4 appears to have been used for administration and storage (Genz et al. 2016). The proportion of olives in the botanical samples did not decrease in Phase IV, and in fact reached 41% of the total. Olive storage took place regardless of whether Building 4 in Phase IV became essentially residential. Perhaps bulk – and more communal or centralised – storage of this cash and export crop – was located in another building in Phase IV. The fact that olive stones are ubiquitous in each structure, floor surface and fill in every room excavated in Building 4 perhaps implies that this commodity was stored at Fadous-Kfarabida following the harvest, and not as oil. Pre-Iron Age oil presses have not been found in Lebanon, but it is possible that most of oil extraction took place only once the olives, farmed in the plateaus and valleys above the site, were sent to the administrative centre upon which Fadous-Kfarabida depended (Byblos?). 5. Highland and lowland interaction around Early Bronze Age Byblos: from land to landscape The region above Tell Fadous-Kfarabida would have been essential to Byblos, the seat of a ruler, because it had many geographical and ecological advantages over the capital’s immediate hinterland. The land rises steeply above Byblos and immediately to the south of it deeply incised valleys like the Nahr Ibrahim were of little value for cultivation, except at higher elevations, where a classical and medieval site at 1200m above sea level has been found next to a mound of Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age date (at Khreybah near Yanouh). Fadous-Kfarabida would have benefited from a ‘vertical economy’, where different value-added agricultural produce was cultivated or exploited at varying altitudes: cedar wood above 1500m, vineyards, fig orchards and olive trees below. Vineyards and olive trees would have required terracing of the valley sides to retain both moisture and soil. This process would have humanised the land, transforming it gradually into structured territory, perhaps entailing the management of labour beyond the village scale. Terrace building, the transfer of structural technology and labour management would all have been useful skills for emerging EB III elites building the large walls of multi-storied administrative residences and fortifications. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Perhaps Fadous-Kfarabida in the EB III should be seen as an intermediate, specialized settlement in a heterarchical relationship with agricultural hamlets of the hinterland above. It was certainly one of the productive nodes linked to a seat of economic and political power, presumably Byblos. One could perhaps go even further and consider the mound as a centre for collection, centralised storage and redistribution in an emerging palatial economy. In other words, a royal farm of sorts, the EB equivalent of a phenomenon attested more than a millennium later in the Late Bronze Age royal farms of Ugarit (Bordreuil 1989) or at the Middle Assyrian dunnu like Tell Sabi Abyad in the Syrian Balikh Jazira (Akkermans 2006). Bibliography Akkermans, P. M. M. G. 2006 The Fortress of Ili-Pada, Middle Assyrian Architecture at Tell Sabi Abyad, Syria. In: P. Butterlin, M. Lebeau, J.-Y. Monchambert, J. L. Montero Fenollós and B. Muller (eds.), Les espaces syro-mésopotamiens. Dimensions de l’expérience humaine au Proche-Orient. Volume d’hommage offert à Jean-Claude Margueron. Subartu 17. Turnhout, 201–211. Badreshany, K., Genz, H. and Sader, H., with contributions by P. Breuer, C. Çakırlar, K. Deckers, B. Jungklaus, F. Nader, S. Riehl, D. Rokitta and S. Yanni 2005 An Early Bronze Age Site on the Lebanese Coast. Tell Fadous-Kfarabida 2004 and 2005: Final Report. Bulletin d’Archéologie et d’Architecture Libanaise 9, 5–115. Ben-Tor, A. 1978 Cylinder Seals of Third Millennium Palestine. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research Supplementary Studies 22. Cambridge, Mass. 1994

Early Bronze Age Cylinder Seal Impressions and a Stamp Seal from Tel Qashish. Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research 295, 15–29.

Bordreuil, P. 1989 A propos de la topographie économique de l’Ougarit: jardins du Midi et pâturages du Nord. Syria 66/1, 263–274. Cooper, L. 2006 Early Urbanism on the Syrian Euphrates. London – New York. Douglas, K. 2011 Beyond the City Walls: Life Activities Outside the City Gates in the Early Bronze Age in Jordan: Evidence from Khirbet ez-Zeraqon. In: M. S. Chesson, (ed.), Daily Life, Materiality, and Complexity in Early Urban Communities of the Southern Levant. Papers in Honor of Walter E. Rast and R. Thomas Schaub. Winona Lake, 3–22. Fischer, P. M. 2011 The Early Bronze Age Societies of Tell Abu al-Kharaz, Central Jordan Valley. In: M. S. Chesson (ed.), Daily Life, Materiality, and Complexity in Early Urban Communities of the Southern Levant. Papers in Honor of Walter E. Rast and R. Thomas Schaub. Winona Lake, 23–40. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Genz, H. 2010 Recent Excavations at Tell Fadous-Kfarabida. Near Eastern Archaeology 73/2–3, 102–113. 2011

Restoring the Balance: An Early Bronze Age Scale Beam from Tell Fadous-Kfarabida, Lebanon. Antiquity 85/329, 839–850.

2012

Tell Fadous-Kfarabida entre mer et montagnes. Les Dossier d’Archéologie 350, 22–25.

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Excavations at Tell Fadous-Kfarabida 2004–2011: An Early and Middle Bronze Age Site on the Lebanese Coast. In: F. Höflmayer and R. Eichmann (eds.), Egypt and the Southern Levant in the Early Bronze Age. Orient-Archäologie 31. Rahden, 69–91.

Genz, H., Çakırlar, C. Damick, A., Jastrzębska, E., Riehl, S., Deckers, K. and Donkin, A. 2009 Excavations at Tell Fadous-Kfarabida: Preliminary Report on the 2009 Season of Excavations. Bulletin d’Archéologie et d’Architecture Libanaises 13, 71–123. Genz, H., Daniel, R., Damick, A., Ahrens, A., El-Zaatari, S., Höflmayer, F., Kutschera, W. and Wild, E. M. 2010 Excavations at Tell Fadous-Kfarabida: Preliminary Report of the 2010 Season of Excavations. Bulletin d’Archéologie et d’Architecture Libanaises 14, 241–273. Genz, H., Daniel, R., Pustovoytov, K. and Woodworth, M. 2011 Excavations at Tell Fadous-Kfarabida: Preliminary Report on the 2011 Season of Excavations. Bulletin d’Archéologie et d’Architecture Libanaises 15, 151–174. Genz, H., Riehl, S., Çakırlar, C., Slim, F. and Damick, A. 2016 Economic and Political Organization of Early Bronze Age Coastal Communities: Tell Fadous-Kfarabida as a Case Study. Berytus 55, 79–119. Genz, H. and Sader, H. 2007 Excavations at the Early Bronze Age Site of Tell Fadous-Kfarabida: Preliminary Report on the 2007 Season of Excavations. Bulletin d’Archéologie et d’Architecture Libanaises 11, 7–16. 2008

Excavations at Tell Fadous-Kfarabida: Preliminary Report on the 2008 Season of Excavations. Bulletin d’Archéologie et d’Architecture Libanaises 12, 149–159.

Höflmayer, F., Dee, M., Genz, H. and Riehl, S. 2014 Radiocarbon Evidence for the Late Early Bronze Age: The Site of Tell Fadous-Kfarabida (Lebanon). Radiocarbon 56/2, 529–542. Joffee, A. H. 2001 Early Bronze Seal Impressions from the Jezreel Valley and the Problem of Sealing in the Southern Levant. In: S. R. Wolff (ed.), Studies in the Archaeology of Israel and Neighbouring Lands, in Memory of Douglas L. Esse. Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization 59. Chicago, 355–374. Thalmann, J.-P. 2013 Le Lion, la Chèvre et le Poisson – A propos d’une jarre à empreintes de sceaux cylindres de Tell Arqa (Liban). Syria 90, 255–312.

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A Spatial and Functional Analysis of ‘Building 4’ at the EBA III Tell Fadous-Kfarabida

Fig. 1 General map of Tell Fadous-Kfarabida (graphics: P. Breuer, S. Rempel)

Fig. 2 Area II at Tell Fadous-Kfarabida (aerial photo: C. Krug) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 3 Plan of Building 4, Phase III – EB III (drawing: Z. Wygnańska, M. Makinson)

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Fig. 4 Building 4, Phase III – EB III (photo: M. Mardini)

Fig. 5 Room 4 storage basement with compartments and plastered surfaces (photo: H. Genz) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 6 Deposit of soil with ashes, stones and gravel filling the street outside Room 5 in Building 4 in the late Phase III (photo: H. Genz)

Fig. 7 Northern extension of Room 3 with massive column bases and a slab stone (photo: H. Genz)

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Bronzes of Luristan in a Non-funerary Context: Sangtarashan, an Iron Age Site in Luristan (Iran) Mehrdad Malekzadeh 1 – Ata Hasanpour 2 – Zahra Hashemi 3 Abstract Sangtarashan is an archaeological site located in the southern part of Luristan province in western Iran . During the renovation of water pipes, workers uncovered a dozen metallic objects known as ‘Luristan bronzes’ which had been gathered together and buried underground . The number of objects scattered in the topsoil suggested that the site might have been a cemetery, a type of site often found in Luristan . However, subsequent excavation did not produce any evidence for graves although the excavation led to the discovery of several other sets of metallic objects. Archaeological investigations began in 2005 directed by M . Malekzadeh and his assistant A . Hasanpour . To date hundreds of metal objects including weapons, vessels, jewellery, figurines, cylinder seals, etc. associated with a large circular architectural structure have been recovered from six seasons of excavation (2005 to 2011). These objects, which are generally dated to the Iron Age, were brought to the building and subsequently buried for an unknown reason . Possible explanations include the site being a sanctuary, a metal reserve or some form of treasury .

1. Introduction Sangtarashan is an archaeological site which lies 1650m above sea level in the southern part of the Luristan province (Pish Kuh), at the heart of the central Zagros in western Iran, around 50km south-east of Khorramabad (Fig. 1a). To be more precise, the site lies is in the eastern part of the Taf mountain range, on a natural terrace on the southern slope of Patakht Mountain . The name of ‘Sangtarashan’ comes from the modern village, which is located to the south of the archaeological site (Fig. 1b). The site was discovered during the repair of water pipes in 2003 when workers uncovered a dozen metallic objects of the type known as ‘Luristan bronzes’ which had been gathered together and buried underground. From the outset it was clear that the site was an exceptional one . Six seasons of excavation under the auspices of ICHTO began in the winter of 2004–2005 and continued until summer 2011 and were directed by M . Malekzadeh and A . Hasanpur . The quantity of objects found in the topsoil led archaeologists to believe that the site may have been a cemetery, a type of site common in Luristan . The excavations, however, found no trace of graves . Rather, thousands of diverse objects, ranging in

1 2 3

Iranian Center for Archaeological Research (ICAR), Tehran. Iran Cultural Heritage, Handcraft and Tourism Organization (ICHTO), Khorramabad. PhD student of Sorbonne University, Paris I-Pantheon, ArScAn, VEPMO . The study of Sangtarashan’s material is part of Zahra Hashemi’s PhD dissertation, supervisors are Prof. Pascal Butterlin and Prof. Remy Boucharlat. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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character from the simple to the sophisticated were found associated with several architectural structures . The site proved to be amongst the few in which Luristan bronzes have been found in a non-funeral context, hence the importance of the site and the need for a detailed study of the objects . 2. Excavations The area of the Sangtarashan site is estimated to be around one hectare (100m × 100m). A small but rich area was excavated during the first three seasons and the remainder in the final three seasons. The three first seasons resulted in the recovery of fifteen sets of objects, each consisting of dozens of objects mainly in bronze associated with two different masses of stone . In addition the upper layers produced some scattered metallic objects, bricks and sherds of pottery . The final three seasons clarified the situation with respect to several architectural structures with which sets of objects were associated . During these three seasons more than a thousand objects of different kinds and materials were discovered . The majority of them were isolated and scattered amongst the stones or inside the structures. All the objects are being conserved in Falakolaflak Museum in Khorramabad. 3. Architecture The site of Sangtarashan includes a stone structure which was identified during the first few days of the excavation. The first three seasons were focused on the objects but in the course of the final three seasons the stone structure was drawn and recorded. At the end of the fifth season some of the stones were removed in order to allow the excavation of the lower levels. Two plans were completed. The first one recorded the situation at end of the fifth season and the second the situation at the end of the sixth season. Unfortunately, in the absence of a detailed architectural survey of the stones, stratigraphic study is difficult. Fortunately a comprehensive photographic record has allowed a number of conclusions to be drawn regarding the stratigraphy of the site and the details of the architectural elements uncovered . The stonework itself is in a poor state of preservation . The authors have identified seven architectural structures: – S1 is a huge circular wall some 50m in diameter (Fig. 2a) – S2 includes several small architectural elements which lie inside S1. The final form is still unclear and all of these elements are grouped together under the designation S2 (Fig. 2a) – S3 forms another structure which covers S2. The shape of this structure was not clearly defined (Fig. 2b) but it seems to have been rectangular in shape and orientated on a north-east to south-west axis with a possible annex room in the northeast. This was designated S4 (Fig. 2b) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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– S5 consists of an area of pebbly soil to the north-west of S3. It covers a part of S1 and seems to go around S3 (Fig. 2b) – S6 is a wall with a north-east to south-west orientation and lies to the north of S5 (Fig. 2b) – S7 is a wall in the south-west of the site with a north-west to south-east orientation. It partially covers S1. It is not clear whether it belongs to one of the walls of S3 or S6 or whether it belongs to another structure (Fig. 2b). Unfortunately no section was drawn during the excavation but by using the photographic record it was possible to construct a schematic stratigraphic section . The foundations of structures S1 and S2 were set on a red-orange layer and within a layer of red clay soil . The majority of the groups of objects also came from the red clay soil layer. A layer of dark brown soil covered the groups of objects. Structures S3 and S4 were built on the top of S2. The pebble soil (S5) seemed go around S3. S6 and S7 belonged to the same phase as S3 and S4. They can be interpreted as forming another wall (rectangular?) surrounding S3 and S4. 4. Objects In total 2349 objects were found in Sangtarashan during the six seasons of excavation. As mentioned above, they were found as associated groups or as scattered finds. One hundred and two objects, mainly metallic, were found in sixteen groups or ‘packages’ (Fig. 3). The rest (2247 objects), belonged to the second group of scattered finds (Fig. 4). In the case of some of these the exact location was not recorded and no photographs existed to document their exact position at the moment of discovery . As a result of this location information is limited to the grid square in which they were found . 4.1 Group 1: packages (Fig. 3) A set of objects consisted of between two and thirty objects found together as a package or associated group . In total, one hundred and two objects were found in sixteen such sets. All of them were concentrated in a zone inside S1 and in the northern part of S2 although at varying depths. Thirteen sets were found in the red clay soil layer . Two sets, consisting mainly of vessels, were found in a dark brown soil layer amongst the collapsed stones of structure S1. The pressure of the stones and the collapse of the structure had damaged these vessels . One set consisted of two daggers which had been thrust into the red clay soil layer from the overlying dark brown soil layer: the handles lay in the upper layer while the blades had penetrated the lower layer . 4.1.1 Characteristics of group 1: packages (Fig. 3) Ninety percent of the objects in Group 1 were of bronze. Only 4% of objects were of iron, mainly the blades of weapons . Three objects were bimetallic (bronze and © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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iron), one object was of ivory (Fig. 3: no. 815) and two were of stone. The packages generally included a mixture of weapons and vessels . An idol, found in a vase, was the only non-weapon/non-vessel object in this group (Fig. 3: no. 160). 4.2 Group 2: scattered objects (Fig. 4) Scattered objects are the isolated objects found across the entire site, including some from outside S1. The objects were generally found amongst the stones in upper layers of the site, in contrast to the packages or sets . 4.2.1 Characteristics of the scattered objects The scattered objects were much more various in terms of the materials from which they were made and the range of object-types than were those from the packages . In addition to weapons (Fig. 4: nos. 556, 446, 574, 866, 580) and bronze vessels (Fig. 4: no. 812) there were also tools (Fig. 4: nos. 839, 520), figurines (Fig. 4: nos. 611, 547, 558, 661, 2029, 2024), jewellery (Fig. 4: nos. 591, 686, 533, 610, 555, 618, 486) and seals (Fig. 4: no. 457). Iron was particularly common amongst the weapons (Fig. 4: no. 866) and tools (Fig. 4: no. 839) while stone was represented by an arrowhead (Fig. 4: no. 2000). Horse equipment was very rare at Sangtarashan (Fig. 4: no. 513). 4.3 Pottery Contrary to the usual situation on archaeological sites, the quantity of pottery was very low at Sangtarashan and the majority of objects were metallic . Two hundred and ten small but diagnostic sherds were retained although the photographic record confirms that rather more were originally recovered. Plain or undiagnostic sherds were discarded even though diagnostic sherds were generally very rare at Sangtarashan . The pottery was found mainly in the upper layers and not far below the surface . The sherds were generally concentrated in the central, western and south-western areas of the site . In technical terms the vessels were handmade and the dominant temper was sand . The majority of the sherds were buff or red in colour but a small number were grey. Decoration included applied bands in the form of ropes or fingertip impressions on horizontal bands . Some rare sherds had incised decoration . 4.4 Terracotta In total, twenty three objects were identified as anthropomorphic or zoomorphic terracotta figurines (Fig. 4: nos. 2029, 2024). Two of them were anthropomorphic while the remainder seemed to be animals. In addition to the figurines, there were also seven other objects of terracotta which were rectangular or circular in shape . Their function is unclear but they could be votive architectural models (Fig. 4: no. 2283). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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4.5 Stone objects After the metal objects the commonest type of object was made of stone although these were far less diverse in form than were the metal objects. The majority (894 objects) were arrowheads (Fig. 4: no. 2000), which were concentrated in the middle of the site and in the upper layers . Whetstones were the second most abundant type of stone objects . 5. Analysis and comparison Two different approaches can be taken to the comparative study of the site. The first involves the study of similar contexts on other sites while the second deals with the typological study of similar objects . 5.1 Similar contexts Most of the Luristan bronzes found in scientific excavations have come from funerary sites, such as Posht Kuh graveyards . Sangtarashan is clearly not a cemetery and, furthermore, the characteristics of the deposition, the nature of the objects themselves, the architectural structures on the site and the very small quantity of pottery when compared to the numbers of metal objects are all entirely uncharacteristic of a domestic site . Three other 1st millennium sites, culturally linked with Luristan and where numerous metal objects were found in non-funerary contexts, have significant similarities with Sangtarashan (Fig. 1a). Kalmakareh is a cave located 86km to the west of Sangtarashan where several cavities or crevices contained luxury metallic objects . These objects were interpreted as treasure hidden during a time of crisis or in the face of an impending disaster . Amongst the group were some objects which were dated to the pre-Achaemenid period (Henkelman 2003: 106). The fortified complex of Nush-I Jan, 125km to the north of Sangtarashan, produced a group of metal objects and silver jewellery which were found buried in a bronze jar under the floor of the fort. These objects were interpreted as treasure (Vargyas 2008: 178; Curtis 1984: 20). Curtis went so far as to propose that the treasure belonged to a temple and was hidden by a priest (Curtis 1984: 20–21). The third site, and the one with the greatest similarity to Sangtarashan, is Sorkhdom-e lori located 84km north-west of Sangtarashan. Almost two thousand metal objects were discovered in the masonry and under the floor of a building which was interpreted as a sanctuary . The act of deposition itself was interpreted as linked with a foundation deposit dating to the Iron Age II and III periods (Schmidt et al. 1989: 488). The tradition of foundation deposits in the Near-East dates back to the Neolithic period (Marechal 1982: 228). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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5.2 Comparable objects Research is currently focussed on establishing a date for Sangtarashan based on typological comparison. The most significant comparative data comes from Sorkhdom-é Lori and the Posht Kuh cemeteries. Between them, these sites have produced a huge quantity of comparable metal objects . In addition to these two large assemblages there are a number of other sites, including Baba Jan, Tépé Guran and Khatunban where smaller quantities of similar objects have been discovered . The assemblages from Posht Kuh are perhaps the most reliably dated thanks to the recent detailed work by B. Overlaet and E. Haerinck (Haerinck and Overlaet 1998; Haerinck and Overlaet 1999; Haerinck and Overlaet 2004; Overlaet 2003). The context of deposition (graves) differs from the context at Sangtarashan, although, as noted above, the items from Sorkhdom-e Lori seem to belong to a rather similar context . The following observations are offered as a general comparison between the different sites: All the objects of the first group, which are found in packages, are metallic (bronze and iron) in nature. Weapons and vessels constitute the two major typological categories. Amongst the weapons bronze flanged daggers (Fig. 3: nos. 83, 91), spike-butted axe heads (Fig. 3: no. 131) and the bronze handles of whetstones (Fig. 3: no. 78) are particularly notable. Similar objects found in Tepe Kalwali, Bard-I Bal and Darband et Shurabeh have been dated by Overlaet to the Iron Age I and II periods (Overlaet 2003: 157, 166–168, 183–184). Iron daggers of this group were also dated to Iron Age II but not to Iron Age III (Overlaet 2003: 163–165). The other category in this group are the metal vessels (Fig. 3: nos. 155, 380). In Tappeh Guran and Khatunban (Pish Kuh), similar pots and teapots as those from Sangtarashan were dated to Iron Age I–II (Meldgaard et al. 1964: fig. 30; Overlaet 2003: fig. 31a, b). In addition to such teapots found during scientific excavations, David-Weill’s private collection includes a range of similar objects including daggers (Amiet 1976: nos. 37–38), teapots (Amiet 1976: no. 90), spike butted axe heads (Amiet 1976: nos. 48–50), hallberds (Amiet 1976: nos. 56–58), situlae (Amiet 1976: no. 85) and beakers (Amiet 1976: no. 86). Objects typical of the second group (found scattered across the site), included iron (Fig. 4: no. 866) and bronze (Fig. 4: no. 574) arrowheads and spearheads, bronze mace heads (Fig. 4: no. 556), iron and bronze jewellery and accessories (Fig. 4: nos. 610, 533, 555, 618, 591), idol supports (Fig. 4: no. 559), tubular idols and iron tools (Fig. 4: no. 839), figurines (Fig. 4. nos. 547, 558, 661), plaques (Fig. 4: no. 611) and seals (Fig. 4: no. 457). Iron jewellery usually dates to the Iron Age IB–II periods but has occasionally been found in Iron Age III period contexts (Overlaet 2003: 238). This aside, all the other objects named above link this group to the Iron Age III period: – Use of iron for arrowhead and spearhead (Haerinck and Overlaet 1998: fig. 9; Haerinck and Overlaet 1999: fig. 10) – Bronze mace-heads (Haerinck and Overlaet 1999: fig. 13, 35) – Use of iron for tools (Overlaet 2003: 238) – Tubular idols (Goff 1978: 38, 64) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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– Use of fibulae (Overlaet 2003: 201; Haerinck and Overlaet 2004: 73; De Waele 1982: 161, 152) 6. Conclusion: function and chronology The study of the Sangtarashan site is not yet complete but the provisional results suggest two phases of activity on the site which can be distinguished stratigraphically . In each case the phase can be dated typologically . The first and earliest phase (Fig. 2a) is represented by a building (S2) surrounded by an outer wall (S1). Around one hundred objects, in fifteen packages, were recovered, the majority having been buried under the floor and outside the interior building (S2). Three of them were on the floor itself. The objects comprising these packages are mainly made of bronze . Their nature and their method of manufacture suggest that they were valuable objects . No ceramics were found in this layer which suggests that the activity was not related to domestic occupation . The function of this phase of the site remains unclear but it may, as Overlaet has suggested, be a place with some special function (Overlaet 2011: 119). The question as to whether the objects were deposited as part of a ritual dedication or whether they were hidden on the site remains to be determined . The typological dating of the objects suggests that the activity took place in the Iron Age I and II periods . A second phase of activity (Fig. 2b) seems to be associated with the rectangular structure (S3), and the pebble soil feature (S5) which is itself surrounded by the rectangular outer wall (S6 and S7). A mass of stones in the eastern part of the site indicates the presence of further structures, which have not yet been excavated . Hundreds of objects were found among the stones of these two structures . They could have been inserted into the masonry at the beginning of construction (perhaps as a foundation deposit) or placed inside the structures during the occupation period (as votive objects) or even deposited during the abandonment of the structures as closure deposits . The poor state of preservation precludes certainty on this point . Typologically, the objects from this phase of the site can be dated to the Iron Age II and III periods, despite the presence of some earlier objects . The function of the site in this second period of occupation is also unclear but it is evident that the variety of objects increased significantly. Tools are present, as well as figurines and idols and jewellery . These objects do not seem to be in a conventional stratigraphic context but seem to have been deposited intentionally . They may have been intended as offerings although to whom or to what they were being offered is unclear as there is no evidence that the site was linked with a particular god or a natural feature that might be associated with ritual activity or a divine presence . Despite the uncertainty, it is clear that Sangtarashan was an important place, in which over two thousand objects were deposited during the Iron Age . The customs or practices involved seem to have changed over time with the earlier period seeing assemblages or packages of objects buried under the floor while in the later period © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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this was superseded by small single objects being inserted into the masonry of the buildings or deposited inside them . Finally we should point out that the account given here is a preliminary one and work on the material is continuing . The wider historical context, pottery production and the stratigraphy of the site all require further and more detailed research and this article represents only a brief summary of the current situation . Bibliography Amiet, P . 1976 Les Antiquités du Luristan. Collection David-Weill . Paris . Curtis, J. 1984 Nush-i Jan III: The Small Finds . London . Goff, C. 1978 Excavations at Baba Jan: The Pottery and Metal from Levels III and II. Iran 16, 29–65. De Waele, E . 1982 Bronzes du Luristan et d’Amlash: Ancienne collection Godard . Louvain-La-Neuve . Haerinck, E. and Overlaet, B. 1998 Luristan Excavation Documents, Vol. II. Chamahzi Mumah: An Iron Age III Graveyard . Acta Iranica XIX . Leuven . 1999

Luristan Excavation Documents, Vol. III. Djub-i Gauhar and Gul Khanan Murdah: Iron Age III Graveyards in the Aivan Plain . Acta Iranica XXII . Leuven .

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The Chronology of the Pusht-i Kuh, Luristan: Results of the Belgian Archaeological Mission in Iran. In: K. von Folsach, E. Thrane and I. Thuesen (eds.), From Handaxe to Khan. Essays Presented to Peder Mortensen on the Occasion of his 70th Birthday. Aarhus, 119–137.

Henkelman, W . 2003 Persians, Medes and Elamites, Acculturation in the Neo-Elamite Period. In: G. B. Lanfranchi, M. Roaf and R. Rollinger (eds.), Continuity of Empire (?): Assyria, Media, Persia. History of the Ancient Near East Monographs 5 . Padua, 181–231. Marechal, C ., 1982 Vaisselles blanches du Proche-Orient: El Kowm (Syrie) et l’usage du Plâtre au Néolithique. In: J. Cauvin (ed.), Cahiers de l’Euphrate 3. Paris, 217–281. Meldgaard, J., Mortensen, P. and Thrane, H. 1964 Excavations at Tepe Guran, Luristan: Preliminary Report of the Danish Archaeological Expedition to Iran 1963. Acta Archaeologica 34, 97–133. Overlaet, B. 2003 Luristan Excavation Documents, Vol. IV. The Early Iron Age in the Pusht-i Kuh, Luristan . Acta Iranica XXVII . Leuven . 2011

Čale Ğār (Kāšān Area) and Votives, Favissae and Cave Deposits in Pre-Islamic and Islamic Traditions . Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran und Turan 43, 113–140.

Schmidt, E. F., van Loon, M. N. and Curvers, H. H. 1989 The Holmes Expeditions to Luristan. Oriental Institute Publications 108. Chicago. Vargyas, P . 2008 The Silver Hoard from Nush-I Jan Revisited. Iranica Antiqua 43, 167–184. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 1a The geographical location of Sangtarashan

Fig. 1b Sangtarashan, view from the north © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 2a The first level of occupation at Sangtarashan

Fig. 2b The second level of occupation at Sangtarashan © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 3 Different categories of objects of first group found scattered all over the site

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Fig. 4 Different categories of objects of second group found scattered all over the site

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Dolmen 534: A Megalithic Tomb of the Early Bronze Age II in Jebel al-Mutawwaq, Jordan Preliminary results of the 2014 Spanish-Italian expedition in Area C South Andrea Polcaro 1 – Juan Ramón Muñiz 2 Abstract This paper presents the results of the 2014 season at Jebel al-Mutawwaq (Area C), Jordan, where a large megalithic funerary monument or ‘dolmen’ (n. 534) has been excavated. The position of Dolmen 534 is particularly interesting because it is not located outside the settlement wall of the Early Bronze Age IA village as are the majority of the dolmens at the site, but was erected inside the village, between the houses. The finds from the site, together with the architecture of the dolmens, are later in date than those in the extramural cemetery (Early Bronze Age IB–II). Moreover, the stratigraphy indicates that the dolmen was built after the Early Bronze Age IA village had already been abandoned.

1. The site of Jebel al-Mutawwaq and the excavation in Area C Jebel al-Mutawwaq is located on the Middle Wadi az-Zarqa, at the top of the steep southern slope of a mountain overlooking the river valley (lat. 32°12′43″N; long. 35°59′41″E). The site occupies a strategic position thanks to the presence of two springs, one to the south-east and one to the north-west of the site. The most important of these, the Qreisan Spring, is linked with activity dating from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period to modern times. The wide fertile valley of the Wadi az-Zarqa is ideal for seasonal agriculture and the jebel occupies a favourable geographical position, located on the fringe of the semi-arid Transjordan Highlands which lie to the east. It controls the seasonal movement of herds from pastures in the desert area to the western Jordan Valley and the economy of the region can characterised as having been agro-pastoral in nature since ancient times. The site was first surveyed by Hanbury-Tenison in the 1980s and was subsequently investigated by a Spanish team led by Fernandez-Tresguerres, a project which continued until 2010 (Hanbury-Tenison 1986; Hanbury-Tenison 1989; Fernandez-Tresguerres and Junceda 1991; Fernandez-Tresguerres 2001; Fernandez-Tresguerres 2005a; Fernandez-Tresguerres 2008a; Muñiz et al. 2014). Since 2012 excavations have been conducted by a joint Spanish-Italian expedition directed by the Pontificia Facultad San Esteban of Salamanca and by Perugia University (Álvarez et al. 2013; Muñiz et al. 2013; Muñiz et al. 2016; Polcaro et al. 2014; Polcaro et al. 2016).

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University of Perugia. Pontificia Facultad San Esteban. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Jebel al-Mutawwaq is an 18ha settlement, located in a very high and prominent position and encircled by a stone wall. The settlement consists of double apsidal houses and a public or sacred area known as the Temple of the Serpents (Fernández-Tresguerres 2005b; Fernández-Tresguerres 2008b). Outside the wall, hundreds of dolmens are located in three main groups located on the eastern, western and southern sides of the settlement (Fig. 1). The group which lies on the eastern slope of the mountain is the largest and contains the best preserved dolmens. In the western area, close to the settlement wall, six dolmens were excavated in the 2012–2013 seasons. All were dated to the Early Bronze Age I (see, in particular, the report on Dolmen 317: Polcaro et al. 2014). In 2012 and 2013 excavations in Areas A and B on the eastern edge of the settlement established that the village was contemporary with the megalithic cemeteries and also identified paths which connected the eastern entrance of the village with some of the nearby dolmens. The main phase of both the village and the cemeteries dates to the Early Bronze Age I (Polcaro et al. 2014: fig. 3). A number of C14 dates, derived from carbonised seeds from the final phase of the Temple of the Serpents, gave dates between 3340–3090 BC (Fernandez-Tresguerres 2005b), corresponding to the last centuries of the Early Bronze Age IA period. To date, no pottery typical of the Early Bronze Age IB has been found inside the village. In Jordan more generally the transition from the Early Bronze Age IA to the Early Bronze Age IB, which is dated to between c. 3100 and 3000 BC, is indicated by the appearance of new types of pottery which differ in both shape and decoration from earlier types. Other innovations which define the Early Bronze Age IB include the adoption of rectangular buildings (replacing the earlier curvilinear style) and, towards the end of the period, the appearance of defensive walls (Philip 2008; Richard 2014). No sign of a defensive settlement wall or a shift from curvilinear to rectangular architecture have yet been identified at Jebel al-Mutawwaq. In 2014 and 2015 archaeological excavations were concentrated in the central area of the settlement, Area C (Fig. 2), located to the east of the temple. 3 The western part of Area C contained many individual houses but the investigation began on the eastern side where several buildings, clearly fulfilling economic or public functions, were located. This part of the village may have been the centre of the social life of the Early Bronze Age I community. The area was already known to contain a large semicircular structure which was visible on the surface (Area C East). It was defined by a massive stone wall encircling an open area around 200 metres in diameter, known as the ‘Great Enclosure’. 4 To the west of this structure (Area Cc

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The village of Jebel al-Mutawwaq consisted of three distinct parts; eastern, central and western. This was probably the result of the topographical characteristics of the southern slope of the mountain, where the village was built, though not all the areas of the settlement were built in the same period (see Polcaro et al. 2014: 2). The construction of the Great Enclosure most probably required a great effort by the whole population of the village and its prominent location in the settlement clearly points to a public function. However, as things stand at present its real significance is far from completely understood. The © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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North) two buildings (Building C and Building 131), were connected by an open courtyard (L. 51) and were bounded to the south by a street (L. 69). The finds from the area were all homogeneous and were datable to the Early Bronze Age IA. 5 2. The intramural Dolmen 534: location, architecture and finds Dolmen 534 was located in the southern part of Area C, on Street L. 69, against the southern side of Building 131 (Fig. 3). Generally speaking the dolmens on the southern side of the settlement, located on the southern slopes of the mountain, have a dispersed distribution rather than being clustered in the way that those in the eastern area are. Dolmen 534 was the first one identified in this group that was located in an intramural position and may have been connected with the Early Bronze Age IA village. However, during the course of the excavation it became clear that it was built during a later, second, phase of occupation at a time when the settlement had been abandoned and was probably in ruins. The stratigraphy indicated that it had been constructed on street L.69 after the collapse of the southern wall of Courtyard L. 51, with some of the squared limestone blocks being reused to construct the dolmen platform. In terms of its orientation, the dolmen faces north with the rear facing the Wadi az-Zarqa Valley, in common with most of the Jebel al-Mutawwaq dolmens. Dolmen 534 is architecturally distinctive and has many unusual features when compared with the other dolmens excavated to date at Jebel al-Mutawwaq. Its platform or external mound, which covered an area measuring approximately 3m × 4m, was constructed of large square limestone blocks and was very different from the circular or apsidal mounds associated with the dolmens in Area B which were investigated during the 2012 and 2013 seasons 6. The rectangular stone blocks were located one above the other, forming a stone box around the dolmen which originally exceeded the height of the capstone, something never found amongst the extramural dolmens. There are also other significant differences, notably the complex shape of the tomb. The burial chamber, measuring 1.0m long, 0.90m wide and 1.10m high, was significantly larger than the burial chambers of the dolmens excavated in the eastern area of the necropolis. The two lateral slabs and the large capstone of the chamber had been

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report of the first two campaign of excavations in Area C were presented at the 13th ICHAJ conference at Amman on 24 May 2016 by Andrea Polcaro and Juan Muñiz. These buildings can be related to production and storage activities, as indicated by the presence of large structures both in the courtyard and in Building 131. The report of the first two campaign of excavations in Area C were presented at the 13th ICHAJ conference at Amman on 24 May 2016 by Andrea Polcaro and Juan Muñiz. The circular or apsidal tumuli / cairns identified around the dolmens in Area B and excavated in the 2012–2013 seasons were made of small stones and pebbles, with a larger circular retaining wall at the base, supporting the heavy weight of the tumulus (see Polcaro et al. 2014: fig. 10; Muñiz et al. 2016: fig. 12). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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carefully smoothed on the inner surfaces while the two rear ones were also perfectly square in shape. This contrasts markedly with the undressed stone slabs used for all of the extramural dolmens excavated to date. The most important architectural feature was the entrance which consisted of a corridor (Fig. 4a), 7 which turned at an angle of 90° with respect to the the burial chamber and was not straight as were those of all of the other dolmens in Area B. The corridor, around 2m long and 60cm wide, had three stone steps leading down toward the burial chamber similar to the form of a dromos and followed the tradition of the entrance corridors of the extramural dolmens (Polcaro et al. 2014: fig. 11; Muñiz et al. 2016: fig. 7). The regular lateral stone blocks were rectangular in shape and very different to the large, unworked stones used to build the extramural dolmens (nos. 317, 321, 316, 318, 232, 228) excavated in Area B which date to the Early Bronze Age IA (Polcaro et al. 2014; Polcaro et al. 2016). In addition, the way in which the corridor and the burial chamber were sealed was also different from that seen in the case of the other dolmens. This usually consisted of a single large flat stone but in the case of Dolmen 534 access to the chamber was restricted at the entrance of the dromos by a wall of stones and earth (Fig. 4b). The corridor of the dolmen was built directly against the ruined southern wall of Building 131 and the space between the northern side of the dolmen and the collapsed southern wall was filled with a layer of medium size stones and compacted earth. Unfortunately the tomb had been extensively disturbed by grave robbers, probably quite recently. The robbers had entered from the rear, causing significant damage to the slab which formed the back of the chamber and in doing so had disturbed the upper layer of burials (which probably represented the final phase of the tomb’s use) with the result that the bones lay scattered inside and partially outside the chamber. As a result, the stratigraphy within the tomb had been seriously disturbed with only the lowest level, immediately above the slabbed floor, remaining intact. The means of entry meant that the wall separating the chamber and the entrance corridor had escaped damage and the strata at the front of the tomb was better preserved than that at the rear. As regards the finds, two partially preserved burials were identified close to the front of the chamber (Fig. 5a) lying immediately adjacent to the inner side of the wall which sealed the entrance to the chamber from the corridor. Unfortunately, it was clear that the looting of the chamber had also damaged the lower layer of burials and parts of the skeletons had been removed. Only a jawbone and a number of long bones had survived the

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The presence of an angular entrance corridor in Dolmen 534 is a singular architectural feature and may have been required as the tomb was built directly against the ruins of an ancient building just in front of the entrance. Whatever the reason, this is very rare in the other dolmen fields of Transjordan. It is, for example, not found at Damiye (Stekelis 1961), amongst the dolmens of the Wadi Yabis (Palumbo 1992) or amongst the southern dolmens of the Madaba Plain (see e.g. the Tell el-Umeyri dolmen: Dubis and Dabrowski 2002). A possible parallel could be a dolmen (type 4) located in the Golan Heights (Epstein 1985: fig. 1) and dated to the Middle Bronze Age I. However, in this case the corridor was longer than the dolmen itself which also had a circular external tumulus rather than a rectangular one. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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looting (Fig. 5b, c), although from the initial results of the analysis it was clear that two inhumations, one adult and one juvenile (B. 702, 702), were represented by the bones. Further results, including C14 and DNA analysis are still awaited. Two jugs with loop handles and red burnished decoration on the external surfaces were recovered from the same layer, close to the human bones. These, although broken, were largely complete (Fig. 6). The vessels, which were almost certainly part of the funerary assemblages, were found lying against the northern wall of the chamber, between the inhumations and the front wall. Their shape and the surface treatment suggests that they can be compared to examples from Phase II of Tell Abu al-Kharaz in the Jordan Valley (Fischer 2000: fig. 12.7), associated with C14 dates lying between 3050 and 3000 BC (Fischer 2008: 381). Other parallels included jugs from Tomb A4 at Bab edh-Dhra on the Southern Gor on the Dead Sea (Schaub and Rast 1989: fig. 195), which have been dated to the beginning of the Early Bronze Age II period. These parallels imply that such vessels date to the end of Early Bronze Age IB or to the beginning of the Early Bronze Age IIA. In addition to these offerings, other finds were also recovered from above the floor of the chamber. These included fragments of bronze, probably from fibulae or similar dress accessories (Fig. 7b) and an unusual copper arrowhead with a 2.5cm long square-sectioned tang and a flat blade (4 cm long and almost 2 cm wide) with a distinctive rhomboidal shape sharply bent close to the point (Fig. 7a). The arrowhead lacks any parallel in the Southern Levant, although this may be because spear and arrowheads are, in general, very rare amongst the weapons discovered in the Early Bronze Age I–III funerary contexts and only become more common in the burials of Middle Bronze Age I date (Philip 1989). The majority of the weapons discovered in the shaft and chamber tombs of the 4th–3rd millennia BC in the larger necropolises in the region (such as Bab edh-Dhra or Jericho) consist of axes and daggers. A possible comparison, even if different in form, could be the copper tanged and socketed spearhead of elongated shape discovered in an Early Bronze Age IB cave burial on the Coastal Plain at Nesher-Ramla Quarry. The same tomb also contained a jug similar to the ones from Dolmen 534 (Avrutis 2010: fig. 2.2, 5). A further parallel might be an arrowhead with a square-sectioned tang and a flat triangular blade, discovered in Tomb 1101B at Megiddo, in this case in a context dating to the Early Bronze Age II–III (Guy 1938: pl. 86.1). The excavation of the dump of compacted earth at the back of Dolmen 534 which resulted from the activities of the looters, produced an additional find alongside fragmentary human bones. This was a second copper arrowhead with a foil-shaped, ribbed blade, 7.5cm long and 3cm wide and a square-sectioned tang (Fig. 7c). The foil shape is very common in the Southern Levant amongst weapons of second millennium BC date (Philip 1989). In particular, examples with longer blades and socketed tangs, interpreted as spearheads, are common in the Middle Bronze Age II tombs at Megiddo, including, for example, Tomb 9011D (Guy 1938: pl. 122.7). Similar examples of copper arrowheads, also with square-sectioned tangs, were discovered in funerary contexts inside the dolmens of the Golan Region which date to the Middle Bronze Age I period. Examples include Dolmens 13 and 14 in the Deir Sras field (Epstein 1985: 44). If the weapon from Mutawwaq can be dated to the Middle © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Bronze Age, this could indicate a second phase of burial inside the chamber of Dolmen 534 dating to the same period. However, this hypothesis cannot be confirmed as no sherds of pottery dating to the Middle Bronze Age have been recovered either in the area around the dolmen or in the burial chamber. 3. The phasing of Dolmen 534 and its historical interpretation To summarise, the excavation of Dolmen 534 has revealed four main phases of activity as represented by the stratigraphy. The first of these was the construction of the tomb which appears to have taken place in the context of the abandonment of the site at a time when the ruins of the Early Bronze Age I village would still have been visible. The second phase represents the use of the structure as a tomb and involved at least two burials accompanied by a single group of funerary offerings inside the megalithic chamber. The third phase is no longer recognisable as a result of the damage to the dolmen by looters. Its existence has been inferred from the evidence obtained from the excavation of the external dump to the rear of the dolmen which appears to consists of the former upper fill from within the chamber. It is suggested that there was a second phase of burial within the dolmen, perhaps following the sealing of the chamber after the first phase of burials. The fourth phase covers the final abandonment of the dolmen and the start of the collapse of the external mound. The chronology of Dolmen 534 is suggested to be as follows. The construction and the first use of the burial chamber took place at the end of Early Bronze Age IB or at the beginning of Early Bronze Age II. After the initial abandonment, the burial chamber was probably reopened at the beginning of the second millennium BC, during the Middle Bronze Age I. This is the second period during which we know that dolmens were in use in the Southern Levant, although it appears to have been less common it was during the IV–III millennia BC (Prag 1995: 78; Steimer-Herbet 2004: 20–24). The burials dating to this second phase of use were all but destroyed by looters in the relatively recent past. If this reconstruction of events is correct, it is remarkable that both sets of burials were characterised by the inclusion of weapons as part of the funerary assemblages. This might suggest the survival of an earlier warrior burial tradition which dates back to the beginning of the third millennium BC although the phenomenon of ‘warrior burials’ has generally been dated to the Middle Bronze Age, as standardised sets of weapons begin to appear from the Middle Bronze Age IIA period onwards (Philip 1995: 141–143). Following a survey of the central sector of the Early Bronze Age I village, at least other six dolmens located in similar position to that of Dolmen 534 were identified. They were all located in very visible positions inside the settlement boundary and along the southern slope directly overlooking the valley. Some of these tombs were built adjacent to other structures within the village and each one was separated from the others by a distance of several metres. This was a very different arrangement to that of the extramural dolmens excavated in earlier seasons. Further investigation on © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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the site will be required to determine whether these dolmens date to the same period as Dolmen 534 (c. 2900 BC). Despite these observations, it should be noted that no Early Bronze Age II settlement has yet been identified close to Jebel al-Mutawwaq, although it is possible that such a settlement was located on the top of another hill somewhere along the fertile valley of the Wadi az-Zarqa. Another possibility is that the ruins of a small part of the large Early Bronze Age I settlement were re-used as dwellings in the later period. If this was the case, then it would suggest that there was a reduction in the area occupied, despite the maintenance of the tradition of the settlement being located near the megalithic necropolis. Alternatively it is possible that the large but abandoned and ruined settlement became the location of a small megalithic necropolis containing a small number of important dolmens, larger than the earlier ones and located to occupy a very visible position overlooking the river valley. This would accord well with the description of the period by G. Philip (2003: 120), in which he describes groups of ancestral tombs located in conspicuous positions overlooking key agricultural zones. This would suggest that the monumental megalithic structures of the Early Bronze Age IB/II in Jebel al-Mutawwaq can be explained as visible points within an agricultural landscape, perhaps linking the living groups of the area with a communal past. In both cases, the maintenance of similar funerary architectural styles and perhaps similar funerary rituals across different periods would seem to indicate a desire to maintain a specific cultural link. This might imply that an active choice was made not to reuse the Early Bronze Age I dolmens, but to build new tombs in the area of the abandoned village which, by its association with past generations, might have been seen as ancestral to the new community. Bibliography Álvarez, V., Muñiz, J. and Polcaro, A. 2013 Preliminary Results of the First Spanish-Italian Excavation Campaign to the Jabal al-Muṭawwaq Dolmen Field, August–September 2012, Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 57, 409–424. Avrutis, V. W. 2010 Excavation of Burial Cave F-55 and Burial F-257. In: S. Kol-Ya’akov (ed.), Salvage Excavations at Nesher-Ramla Quarry, Volume I. Haifa, 20–46. Dubis, E. and Dabrowski, B. 2002 Field K: The Dolmen and Other Features on the South Slopes of Tall al-‘Umeyri. In: L. G. Herr, D. R. Clark, L. T. Geraty, R. W. Younker and Ø. S. LaBianca (eds.), Madaba Plains Project: The 1994 Season at Tall al-ʿUmayri and Subsequent Studies. Madaba Plains Project 5. Berrien Spring, 171–177. Epstein, C. 1985 Dolmen Excavated in the Golan. ‘Atiqot 17, 20–58. Fernández-Tresguerres, J. A. 2001 Jabal al-Mutawwaq at the end of the fourth Millennium BC. Studies in the History and Archeology of Jordan 7, 173–178. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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2005a Jabal Muṭawwaq. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 49, 365–372. 2005b El ‘Templo de Las Serpientes’. Un santuario del Bronce Antiguo I en el poblado de Jebel al-Mutawwaq (Jordania). ISIMU: Revista sobre Oriente Próximo y Egipto en la antigüedad 8, 9–34. 2008a Jebel al Mutawwaq (Jordania). In: V. Álvarez, D. González and J. I. Jiménez (eds.), Actas de las I Jornadas de Arqueología en Asturias. Oviedo, 39–50. 2008b The ‘Temple of the Serpents’, a Sanctuary of the Early Bronze Age I in the Village of Jabal al-Muṭawwaq (Jordan). Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 52, 23–34. Fernández-Tresguerres, J. A. and Junceda, Q. F. 1991 Jebel Mutawwaq (Jordania). Campañas 1989–1991. Estudios Biblicos 49, 523–542. Fischer, P. M. 2000 The Early Bronze Age at Tell Abu al-Kharaz, Jordan Valley: A Study of Pottery Typology and Provenance, Radiocarbon Dates, and Synchronism of Palestine and Egypt during Dynasty 0–2. In: G. Philip and D. Baird (eds.), Ceramics and Change in the Early Bronze Age of the Southern Levant. Levantine Archaeology 2. Sheffield, 201–232. 2008

Tell Abu al-Kharaz in the Jordan Valley, I: The Early Bronze Age. Contributions to the Chronology of the Eastern Mediterranean 16. Vienna.

Guy, P. L. O. 1938 Megiddo Tombs. Oriental Institute Publication 33. Chicago. Hanbury-Tenison, J. W. 1986 The Late Chalcolithic to Early Bronze I Transition in Palestine and Transjordan. British Archaeological Reports International Series 311. Oxford. 1989

Jabal Mutawwaq 1986. Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan 33, 137–44.

Muñiz, J. R., Álvarez, V., Polcaro, A. and Zambruno, P. S. 2014 Jebel Mutawwaq. Veinte años de investigación española en Jordania. Anejos de Nailos 1, 63–96. Muñiz, J., Polcaro, A. and Álvarez, V. 2013 La evolución del estudio de un yacimiento de la Edad del Bronce en la estepa jordana. ISIMU: Revista sobre Oriente Próximo y Egipto en la antigüedad 16, 79–95. 2016

New Spanish-Italian Excavations to the Dolmen Field of Jabal al-Muṭawwaq in Middle Wadi az-Zarqa. Preliminary Results of 2012 Campaign. Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan 12, 477–488.

Palumbo, G. 1992 Monumenti megalitici nella regione del Wadi al-Yabis (Giordania Settentrionale). Contributi e Materiali di Archeologia Orientale 4, 45–60. Philip, G. 1989 Metal Weapons of the Early and Middle Bronze Ages in Syria-Palestine. British Archaeological Reports, International Series 526. Oxford. 1995

Warrior Burials in the Ancient Near Eastern Bronze Age: the Evidence from Mesopotamia, Western Iran and Syria-Palestine. In: S. Campbell and A. Green (eds.), The Archaeology of Death in the Ancient Near East. Oxbow Monograph 51. Oxford, 140–154.

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The Early Bronze Age of the Southern Levant: a Landscape Approach. Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology 16.1, 103–132.

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The Early Bronze Age I–III. In: R. B. Adams (ed.), Jordan: an Archaeological Reading. London, 161–226. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Polcaro, A., Muñiz, J., Alvarez, V. and Mogliazza, S. 2014 Dolmen 317 and Its Hidden Burial: An Early Bronze Age I Megalithic Tomb from Jebel al-Mutawwaq (Jordan). Bulletin of American Schools of Oriental Research 372, 1–17. Polcaro, A., Muñiz, J. and Álvarez, V. 2016 The New Spanish-Italian Expedition to the EB I site of Jebel al-Mutawwaq, Middle Wadi azZarqa, Jordan: Preliminary Results of the 2012–2013 Campaigns. In: R. A. Stucky, O. Kaelin und H.-P. Mathys (eds.), Proceedings of the 9th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, 9–13 June 2014, Basel. Wiesbaden, 1633–1645. Prag, K. 1995 The Dead Sea Dolmens: Death and the Landscape. In: S. Campbell and A. Green (eds.), The Archaeology of Death in the Ancient Near East. Oxbow Monograph 51. Oxford, 75–84. Richard, S. 2014 The Southern Levant (Transjordan) during the Early Bronze Age. In: M. L. Steiner and A. E. Killebrew (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant. Oxford, 330–342. Schaub, R.T. and Rast, W.E. 1989 Bab edh-Dhra’: Excavations in the Cemetery Directed by Paul W. Lapp (1965–67). Winona Lake. Steimer-Herbet, T. 2004 Classification des sépultures à superstructure lithique dans le Levant et l’Arabie occidentale. British Archaeological Reports International Series 1246. Oxford. Stekelis, M. 1961 La Necropolis Megalitica de Ala-Safat, Transjordania. Barcelona.

Fig. 1 Sketch of Jebel al-Mutawwaq village showing the areas excavated (© Spanish-Italian Archaeological Expedition to Jebel al-Mutawwaq) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 2 General view of Area C, from the north (© Spanish-Italian Archaeological Expedition to Jebel al-Mutawwaq)

Fig. 3 General view of Dolmen 534, from the north. In the foreground is the southern wall of L. 51 (© Spanish-Italian Archaeological Expedition to Jebel al-Mutawwaq)

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Fig. 4 a – The angular corridor of Dolmen 534, from the west; b – the closing wall of Dolmen 534, from the north-west (© Spanish-Italian Archaeological Expedition to Jebel al-Mutawwaq)

Fig. 5 a – Picture of the front antechamber of Dolmen 534, from the north-east; b – Picture of the long bones in place above the floor slab, from the south; c – the jawbone recovered with the human remains above the floor slab (© Spanish-Italian Archaeological Expedition to Jebel al-Mutawwaq) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 6 The two jugs discovered in Dolmen 534 (© Spanish-Italian Archaeological Expedition to Jebel al-Mutawwaq)

Fig. 7 a – copper arrowhead discovered inside the burial chamber of Dolmen 534; b – Fragment of a copper fibula or dress furniture discovered inside the burial chamber; c – Copper arrowhead with foiled shape discovered outside of the burial chamber (© Spanish-Italian Archaeological Expedition to Jebel al-Mutawwaq) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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The Iron Age Pottery from Tell Mishrifeh (Qaṭna): Preliminary Results from the German-Syrian Excavations Giulia Russo 1 Abstract This paper presents the preliminary results of a study of the Iron Age pottery collected between 1999 and 2010 by the German-Syrian mission in Operation G at Tell Mishrifeh, Bronze Age Qaṭna. A typological analysis of the sherds led to a first definition of the shapes and wares types present in the assemblage. These types are introduced here and considered in relation to analogous finds from Iron Age sites of inland Syria. This material improves our previous knowledge of Tell Mishrifeh and is of pivotal importance to shed light on its material culture during the first half of the first millennium BC.

Tell Mishrifeh lies on a flat limestone outcrop at the eastern edge of the Orontes valley, approximately 18km northeast of Homs (Fig. 1). The site enjoyed in antiquity a strategic position close to the Homs Gap, that provided access between the Mediterranean coast and the Syrian interior. The first to identify the ruins at Tell Mishrifeh with the ancient city of Qaṭna was the French Count Robert du Mesnil du Buisson, who excavated the site between 1924 and 1929 (du Mesnil du Buisson 1935). In 1994 a Syrian mission directed by Michel al-Maqdissi (DGAM) resumed the excavations, joined later in 1999 by an Italian and a German mission directed respectively by Daniele Morandi Bonacossi (University of Udine) and Peter Pfälzner (University of Tübingen). The site, well-known for being the capital of the Bronze Age kingdom of Qaṭna, was settled from the end of the Late Chalcolithic (ca. 3300–3000 BC) until the Iron Age (Morandi Bonacossi 2008). The Syrian and the Italian teams have investigated manifold evidences of the latter period across the mound. To the late Iron Age I (late 10th – early 9th century BC) date buildings with residential and productive function excavated in Operation K in the lower town (Luciani 2003: 158–161). To the Iron Age II (9th–8th century BC) date the artisans’ quarter in Operation H and T above the ruins of the Royal Palace (Morandi Bonacossi 2009: 121–124) and a building part of a larger palatial structure in Operation C in the western part of the acropolis (Maqdissi 2003: 225–235). During the Iron Age III (7th–6th century BC), only small farmhouses in Operation J and T (Morandi Bonacossi 2009: 128–129) and a pottery production area in Operation C (Maqdissi 2003: 223–225) are present on the acropolis. The pottery associated with these features has briefly been published in

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Institute of Ancient Near Eastern Studies, University of Tübingen. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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excavation reports and more extensively in Da Ros and Iamoni 2003 (Operations H and J) and Besana et al. 2008 (sequence from Operation J). In Operation G, corresponding to the western and northern part of the Royal Palace, the German-Syrian team excavated several pits and part of a building (Fig. 2) dating to the Iron Age II (Phase G 6/5 in the sequence of Operation G). 2 In the southeastern portion of Operation G and south of Room AL of the former Royal Palace, part of an Iron Age building was excavated (Novák and Pfälzner 2005: 75; Sakal forthcoming). The structure was made of at least five rooms showing one level of occupation and measured ca. 14 by 10 metres. The pottery inventory found in situ comprises storage jar fragments and a complete Red Slip jar sunken into the floor (Pl. 1.11). To the northwest of this building, four Iron Age pits cut the walls of the Royal Palace (Geith forthcoming). Of these, the two westernmost had a circular shape and an inner lining made of mortar, stones and storage jar fragments. Du Mesnil du Buisson had already excavated these features and defined them as chapelles tauroboliques, namely ritual structures used to collect the blood of sacrificed bulls (Du Mesnil du Buisson 1935: 124–127). 3 Another Iron Age pit with inner mudbrick lining was located in the southern part of Operation G (Geith forthcoming). Five more pits were unearthed in the northwestern and western portion of the operation. Finally, a deposit of fine ashes and Iron Age pottery was excavated in the westernmost part of Operation G and outside the boundary of the Royal Palace (Dohmann-Pfälzner and Pfälzner 2011: 34–35). A typological study of the ceramic material found in these features has recently been undertaken by the author, resulting in a first definition of the shapes and wares types present. The aim is to gain a better understanding of the chronology and cultural meaning of the assemblage and thus to reconstruct the cultural connections of Tell Mishrifeh during the first half of the first millennium BC. 1. The pottery assemblage The pottery assemblage consists of 411 diagnostic sherds. Only 19 sherds, i.e. 5% of the assemblage, constitute material found in situ on the floors of the Iron Age building mentioned above. The remaining 392 sherds, i.e. 95% of the assemblage, constitute secondary deposits mainly from the fill and the inner lining of pits. From a technological point of view, three main wares are present, namely a simple mineral ware, the Red Slip ware and a cooking pot ware. In general, all of them

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The final publication of the stratigraphy and architecture of Operation G is currently in preparation. For the chronology of the construction and use of the Royal Palace, see Pfälzner 2007. This interpretation was based on the reddish-brown colour of the plaster of the inner lining of the pits. However, such a colour was due to the pigments used to dye textiles inside the pits, which are to be interpreted accordingly as dyeing installations (Morandi Bonacossi 2006: 94–95). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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have a medium to high amount of grey, black and white mineral inclusions. Fabrics have a medium-coarse texture and cores are usually not completely oxidized. The most frequent ware in the assemblage (57% of the diagnostics) is a simple mineral ware (Pl. 1.4, 8; 2.5–8). Surfaces are unslipped, finished either by smoothing or wet-smoothing, and ranging in colour from pink to buff. This ware is used to produce the whole range of shapes attested in the assemblage. The second most attested ware (37% of the diagnostics) is the Red Slip ware, predominantly associated with open shapes and in a few cases only with closed ones (Pl. 1.1–3, 5–7, 9–11). The slip shows hues of red and brown and can be applied on the interior, the exterior or on both surfaces, which are further polished or burnished. Finally, a cooking pot ware is present in a limited quantity (6% of the diagnostics). Surfaces are usually unslipped, in some instances self-slipped or wet-smoothed. It is used predominantly for the production of jars with a short neck and holemouth pots (Pl. 2.1–4). Coming to morphology, the corpus is made up of bowls and deep bowls, jars with either tall or short neck, holemouth pots and storage jars. Bowls and deep bowls are the most common shapes. Their profile can be either rounded or conical, and in a few instances carinated. Bowls with rounded or conical profile, direct simple rim and tapering lip occur both in Red Slip and in simple mineral ware (Pl. 1.1). They are rather ubiquitous in inland Syria during the Iron Age II. In particular, Lehmann considers this bowl as Leitform of inland Syria Assemblage 1 (Lehmann 1996: 359–361), which includes ceramic vessels in use in the Aramaean and Phoenician kingdoms before their annexation to the Assyrian empire at the end of the 8th century BC (Lehmann 1996: 57–61). Parallels for the vessels from Tell Mishrifeh, Operation G, come from Tell Abu Danne, Niveau IId (Lebeau 1983: pl. 3.5), Tell Mastuma, Stratum I-2 (Wada 2009a: fig. 4.132.2), Tell Tuqan, Area D, Phase 4a (Baffi 2008: fig. 27.11), Tell Mardikh, Area G, Level 2 (Mazzoni 1992: fig. 19.2), Hama, Citadel E1 (Riis 1990: fig. 74.531), Tell Mishrifeh, Italian-Syrian excavation in Operation J, Phase J5 (Besana et al. 2008: fig. 11.3) and Tell Nebi Mend, Trench V, Phase B (Whincop 2007: fig. 7b). Bowls with rounded profile and direct, internally thickened rim (Pl. 1.2), again either in Red Slip or simple mineral ware, are attested both at our site and in the whole inland Syria during the Iron Age II. Comparisons can be found at Tell Abu Danne, Niveau IId (Lebeau 1983: pl. 16.3), Tell Afis, Area D1, Level 2 (Mazzoni 1987: fig. 9.9), Tell Mastuma, Stratum I-1 (Wada 2009a: fig. 4.110.1), Tell Tuqan, Area D, Phase 3 (Baffi 2008: fig. 26.3), Tell Qarqur, Area B, Iron II (Dornemann 2003: fig. 82.6) and Hama, Citadel E1 (Riis 1990: fig. 78.593). Other bowls with rounded profile and upturned triangular rim (Pl. 1.3) occurring only in Red Slip ware are also documented at Tell Abu Danne, Niveau IIc (Lebeau 1983: pl. 56.2) and Tell Afis, Area G, Level 7b (Cecchini 1998: fig. 21.1), but the specimens from Tell Mishrifeh have a slightly thicker rim. At Tell Afis this bowl, either in Red Slip or Common Ware, is a diagnostic type of the Iron Age III, since it

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occurs only in the latest levels of the 7th century BC in Area D (Oggiano 1997: 191) and from Level 7b onwards in the sequence of Area G (Cecchini 1998: 285–286). A few more sherds belong to a bowl with rounded wall, flared rim and tapering lip (Pl. 1.4) in simple mineral ware. A great amount of these vessels was recovered in the so-called couche de la destruction de 720 in the citadel of Hama, Period E1, where this form is usually attested with a round base provided with a central hole (Fugmann 1958: fig. 188.5A875, 5A879). Lehmann classifies this shape as Form 17, which is typical of inland Syria Assemblage 1 (Lehmann 1996: 57–61; 363). Assyrian imports have not been recognized and the single Assyrian imitation is represented by one fragment of a red-slip carinated bowl with flared rim (Pl. 1.5). 4 In this instance, the carination is high and bulged and the rim is remarkably flared. Similar bowls, although with a sharp carination and a not-so-projecting rim and mostly made in Common Ware, come from Tell Afis, Area D1, Level 2 (Mazzoni 1987: fig. 9.6), Tell Tuqan, Area D, Phase 1 (Baffi 2008: fig. 23.4–5), Tell Mastuma, Stratum I-2 (Wada 2009a: fig. 4.34.19) and Tell Qarqur, Area A (Dornemann 2003: fig. 82.20) and Area B, both dated to the Iron II (Dornemann 2003: fig. 82.25). Deep bowls with rounded or conical profile, simple rim and tapering lip occur either in Red Slip or simple mineral ware (Pl. 1.6). Comparisons come from Tell Afis, Area D1, Level 6 (Mazzoni 1987: fig. 21.1–2) and Area G, Levels 7b (Cecchini 1998: figs. 20.9–11; 22.8), 5 (Cecchini 1998: fig. 29.3–4) and 4 (Cecchini 1998: fig. 31.9), Tell Mastuma, Stratum I-2 (Wada 2009a: fig. 4.69.3) and I-1 (Wada 2009b: fig. 5.2.5), Tell Tuqan, Area D, Phases 5 (Baffi 2008: fig. 30.2) and 2 (Baffi 2008: fig. 25.5–6) and Tell Acharneh, Ville Basse, Iron II (Cooper 2006: fig. 5.1–3). The deep bowl with rounded profile and incurved, T-shaped rim, and a red slip applied on the interior (Pl. 1.7) is rather common in inland Syria during the Iron Age II. In particular, fragments identical in shape and surface treatment to those from Tell Mishrifeh come from Tell Mastuma Stratum I-1 (Wada 2009b: fig. 5.5.56), Tell Qarqur, Area B, Iron II (Dornemann 2003: fig. 82.12), Tell Acharneh, Ville Basse, Iron II (Cooper 2006: fig. 7.13) and Tell Mishrifeh, Italian-Syrian excavations in Operation J, Phase J1 (Besana et al. 2008: fig. 13.1). As for closed shapes, the jar with tall concave neck and profiled rim (Pl. 1.8) is the most frequent, made only in simple mineral ware. Similar shapes are attested at Tell Abu Danne, Niveau IId (Lebeau 1983: pl. 69.2–3), Tell Afis, Area D1, Level 4 (Mazzoni 1987: fig. 18.4), Tell Mastuma, Stratum I-1 (Wada 2009b: fig. 5.10.62) and Tell Tuqan, Area D, Phase 4a (Baffi 2008: fig. 28.5–6). Two jar types occur both in simple mineral ware and in Red Slip ware. One has a flared, thickened rim with flattened lip (Pl. 1.9), in one case with a narrow triangular ridge along the neck. A fragment with a similar rim is documented at Tell Mastuma, Stratum I-1 (Wada 2009b: fig. 5.7.107). A jar with an upright, externally thickened

4

For a discussion of the fine carinated bowls of Iron Age Syria, see Adachi 1997. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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rim and red slipped surfaces (Pl. 1.10) has an identical comparison at Tell Mardikh, Area G, Level 1+2 (Mazzoni 1992: fig. 18.3). A complete jar with red slipped exterior was sunken into the floor of a building (Pl. 1.11). The rim is incurved, thickened and profiled, and internally angular. The vessel has a vertical ovoid shape and a flared ring-base. Two oval vertical handles join rim and shoulder. No exact parallels could be found for this type in inland Syria. Coming to cooking, two main shapes are attested in the assemblage: the jar with short neck and the holemouth pot. Short-necked jars show a wide variety of rims and can be provided with at least one handle linking rim and shoulder. The type with flared simple rim, rounded lip and sharp carinated shoulder (Pl. 2.1) is identical to a cooking pot fragment from Tell Mastuma, Stratum I-2 (Wada 2009a: fig. 4.70.5). Other short-necked jar types have an upright, thickened rim with an external depression below the lip (Pl. 2.2. Comparison: Tell Mishrifeh, Italian-Syrian excavations in Operation H, Phase H5–6 in Barro 2002: fig. 107.9), or an upright, sinuous rim (Pl. 2.3). In both cases, the preserved portions of the body suggest rather globular profiles. This type of cooking vessel is widespread along the Lebanese coast, in the Southern Levant and in the Beqaa Valley during the whole Iron Age (Whincop 2007: 205). In particular, it is the only type of cooking vessel present in Iron Age II levels at Tell Nebi Mend, Trench V (ibid.). It is difficult however to find precise comparisons for the specimens from Tell Mishrifeh. The holemouth cooking pots show a lesser degree of variety. They have an incurved, thickened rim, internally rounded, and a globular body (Pl. 2.4). Oval handles can be attached to the rim and the shoulder of the vessel. In inland Syria they are characteristic of the Iron Age II and III (Lehmann 1998: 13). Shapes identical to the ones from Tell Mishrifeh come from Tell Abu Danne, Niveau IId (Lebeau 1983: pl. 49.4), Tell Afis, Area D1, Level 4 (Mazzoni 1987: fig. 19.6), Tell Mastuma, Stratum I-1 (Wada 2009b: fig. 5.10.38), Tell Tuqan, Area T, Iron III (Baffi 2011: fig. 48.17), Tell Mardikh, Area E, Level 3+4 (Mazzoni 1992: fig. 14.4), Tell Acharneh, Ville Basse, Iron II (Cooper 2006: fig. 9.8), Tell Mishrifeh, Italian-Syrian excavations in Operation J, Phase 1 (Besana et al. 2008: fig. 13.15). To the inland Syria tradition also belong the storage jars from Operation G, with their incurved, thickened rims and the rather vertical ovoid shapes (Lehmann 1996: 58; 427–429). The rim-shoulder joint can be either continuous or concave; in some cases a single horizontal groove occurs on the exterior of the rim. These storage jars are made in simple minerale ware, surfaces are unslipped, ranging in colour from pink to buff. Finger impressions, single or multiples grooves and applied cordons are common decorations, made either along the rim or on the upper portion of the shoulder. Thickened rims can have rounded (Pl. 2.5; comparisons: Tell Abu Danne, Niveau IId in Lebeau 1983: pl. 72.1; Tell Afis, Area D1, Level 4 in Mazzoni 1987: fig. 19.16, 18; Tell Mishrifeh, Italian-Syrian excavations in Operation J, Phase J1 in Besana et al. 2008: fig. 14.4), oval (Pl. 2.6; comparisons: Tell Acharneh, Ville Basse, Iron II in Cooper 2006: fig. 11.3; Hama, Citadel E1, in Riis 1990: fig. 61.417) and rectangular shapes (Pl. 2.7; comparisons: Tell Acharneh, © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Coupe de la Ville Basse, Iron II in Cooper 2006: fig. 4.16). Knobbed bases (Pl. 2.8) with either concave or flat bottom are usually associated with these storage jars, as complete vessels found at Tell Mastuma (Wada 2009c: fig. 6.1.8, 11), Hama (Riis 1990: fig. 61.417–419) and Tell Mishrifeh, Operation C (Maqdissi 2003: fig. 13) show. Fragments from Tell Mishrifeh may have diverse decorations such as rope and finger impressions. 2. Chronology The majority of the ceramic types presented here can easily be compared to finds from Iron Age II contexts of inland Syria, more precisely to late Iron Age II contexts, i.e. ca. the 8th century BC (Table 1). Only a few types are close to diagnostic shapes of the early Iron Age III, i.e. ca. the 7th century BC. The pottery assemblage from Tell Mishrifeh, Operation G, shows affinities with assemblages from Tell Afis, Area D1, Levels 4–2 (Mazzoni 1987), and Area G (Cecchini 1998), Tell Abu Danne, Niveaux IId–c (Lebeau 1983), Tell Mardikh, Area E, Levels 4–3 (Mazzoni 1992), Tell Mastuma, Stratum I-2 and I-1 (respectively, Wada 2009a and 2009b), Tell Mishrifeh, Italian-Syrian excavations in Operation J, Phases J5 and J1 (Besana et al. 2008), Tell Tuqan, Area D, Phases 4–1 (Baffi 2008 and 2011), Hama E1 (Fugmann 1958; Riis 1990) and Tell Nebi Mend, Phase VB (Whincop 2007). 3. Conclusions The German-Syrian excavations in operation G above the Royal Palace of Tell Mishrifeh have brought to light a series of features dating to the Iron Age. On the basis of comparisons from inland Syria sites, a preliminary dating of the assemblage to the late Iron Age II and possibly the early Iron Age III can be suggested. The pottery types discussed here show striking affinities with the inland Syria ceramic tradition as defined by Gunnar Lehmann (Lehmann 1996: 57–64) and Stefania Mazzoni (Mazzoni 2014: 694–697). Only one shape, i.e. the cooking jar with short neck, seems to lack comparisons in inland Syria, recalling instead pottery traditions typical of the south of Tell Mishrifeh (Beqaa, Lebanese coast and more in general the Southern Levant; Whincop 2007: 205). Further investigation is thus required in order to understand better and explain the presence of these cooking vessels at the site as well as the cultural connections of Tell Mishrifeh with the coast and the Southern Levant during the Iron Age.

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Bibliography Adachi, T. 1997 The Fine Carinated Bowl in the Iron Age. Bulletin of the Ancient Orient Museum 18, 41–55. Baffi, F. 2008 The Upper Town. Area D. In: F. Baffi (ed.), Tell Tuqan. Excavations 2006–2007. GalatinaLecce, 109–156. 2011

The Upper Town. Area T. In: F. Baffi (ed.), Tell Tuqan. Excavations 2008–2010. GalatinaLecce, 225–306.

Barro, A. 2002 Excavations in the Eastern Part of the Palace (Operation H). In: M. Al-Maqdissi, M. Luciani, D. Morandi Bonacossi, M. Novák and P. Pfälzner (eds.), Excavating Qatna I. Preliminary Report on the 1999 and 2000 Campaigns of the Joint Syrian-Italian-German Archaeological Research Project at Tell Mishrifeh. Documents d’archéologie syrienne IV. Damascus, 111–122. Besana, R., Da Ros, M. and Iamoni, M. 2008 Excavations on the Acropolis of Mishrifeh, Operation J. A New Early Bronze Age III – Iron Age III Sequence for Central Inner Syria. Part 2: The Pottery. Akkadica 129, 79–130. Cecchini, S. M. 1998 Area G. The Iron I–III Levels. Architecture, Pottery and Finds. In: S. M. Cecchini and S. Mazzoni (eds.), Tell Afis (Siria). Scavi sull’acropoli 1988–1992. The 1988–1992 Excavations on the Acropolis. Pisa, 273–365. Cooper, L. 2006 Pottery from Tell ‘Acharneh, Part I: Typological Considerations and Dating According to Excavated Areas in the Upper and Lower Towns, 1998–2002. In: M. Fortin (ed.), Tell ‘Acharneh 1998–2004. Rapport préliminaires sur les campagnes de fouilles et saison d’études. Subartu 18. Turnhout, 141–190. Da Ros, M. and Iamoni, M. 2003 The Bronze and Iron Age Pottery. A Preliminary Account. Akkadica 124, 177–196. Dohmann-Pfälzner, H. and Pfälzner, P. 2011 Die Ausgrabungen 2009 und 2010 im Königspalast von Qaṭna. Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 143, 5–62. Dornemann, R. H. 2003 Seven Seasons of American Schools of Oriental Research Excavations at Tell Qarqur, Syria, 1993–1999. In: N. Lapp (ed.), Preliminary Excavation Reports and Other Archaeological Excavations. Tell Qarqur, Iron I Sites in the North-Central Highlands of Palestine. Annual of the American School of Oriental Research 56. Boston, 1–141. Du Mesnil du Buisson, R. 1935 Le site archéologique de Mishrifé-Qaṭna. Collection de textes et documents d’Orient 1. Paris. Fugmann, E. 1958 Hama. Fouilles et recherches de la Fondation Carlsberg, 1931–1938. L’architecture des périodes pré-hellénistiques. Nationalmuseets skrifter: Større beretninger 4. Copenhagen. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Geith, E. forthcoming Die Nutzungsphase G 5/6. In: E. Geith, T. Abd-el Hay and J. Schmid (eds.), Der Königspalast von Qatna. Teil II: Architektur, Stratigraphie, Keramik und Funde des westlichen Zentralbereiches. Qatna Studien 6. Wiesbaden. Lebeau, M. 1983 La céramique de l’âge du fer II–III à Tell Abou Danné et ses rapports avec la céramique contemporaine en Syrie. Centre de Recherche d’Archéologie Orientale 2. Paris. Lehmann, G. 1996 Untersuchungen zur späten Eisenzeit in Syrien und Libanon: Stratigraphie und Keramikformen zwischen ca. 720 bis 300 v. Chr. Altertumskunde des Vorderen Orients 5. Münster. 1998

Trends in the Local Pottery Development of the Late Iron Age and Persian Period in Syria and Lebanon, ca. 700 to 300 BC. Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research 311, 7–37.

Luciani, M. 2003 The Lower City of Qatna in the Late Bronze and Iron Ages. Operation K. Akkadica 124, 144–163. Maqdissi, M. 2003 Ergebnisse der siebten und achten syrischen Grabungskampagne 2001 und 2002 in Mišrife – Qaṭna. Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 135, 219–245. Mazzoni, S. 1987 Lo scavo dell’edificio del settore D. Egitto e Vicino Oriente 10/2, 25–83. 1992

L’età del Ferro a Tell Mardikh e nella sua regione. In: S. Mazzoni (ed.), Tell Afis e l’Età del Ferro. Pisa, 99–196.

2014

The Aramean States during the Iron Age II–III Periods. In: M. L. Steiner and A. E. Killebrew (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant: c. 8000–332 BCE. Oxford, 683–705.

Morandi Bonacossi, D. 2006 Un centro amministrativo nel regno di Hamath. Tell Mishrifeh e la sua regione nella seconda età del Ferro (IX–VIII secolo a.C.). In: D. Morandi Bonacossi, E. Rova, F. Veronese and P. Zanovello (eds.), Tra Oriente e Occidente. Studi in onore di Elena di Filippo Balestrazzi. Padova, 73–114. 2008

Excavations on the Acropolis of Mishrifeh, Operation J. A New Early Bronze Age III – Iron Age III Sequence for Central Inner Syria. Part 1: Stratigraphy, Chronology and Architecture. Akkadica 129, 55–127.

2009

Continuity and Change in the Town Planning and Material Culture of Iron Age II and III Mishrifeh, Central Syria. Syria 86, 119–132.

Novák, M. and Pfälzner, P. 2005 Ausgrabungen in Tall Mišrife – Qaṭna 2003. Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 137, 57–78. Oggiano, I. 1997 The Pottery of Iron Age II from Tell Afis, Contributi della Scuola di Specializzazione in Archeologia dell’Università degli Studi di Pisa 1, 185–211. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Pfälzner, P. 2007 Archaeological Investigations in the Royal Palace of Qaṭna. In: D. Morandi Bonacossi (ed.), Urban and Natural Landscapes of an Ancient Syrian Capital. Settlement and Environment at Tell Mishrifeh/Qaṭna and in Central-Western Syria. Proceedings of the International Conference held in Udine, 9–11 December 2004. Studi Archeologici su Qaṭna 1. Udine, 29–64. Riis, P. J. 1990 Les poteries. In: P. J. Riis, M. L. Buhl and S. Parpola (eds.), Hama. Fouilles et recherches de la Fondation Carlsberg, 1931–1938. Les objets de la période dite syro-hittite (âge du fer). Nationalmuseets skrifter: Større beretninger 12. Copenhagen. Sakal, F. forthcoming Die Eisenzeitliche Bebauung im Bereich des Raums AR. In: A. Wissing, E. Geith, B. Glissmann, S. Halama, T. Abd el-Hay, S. Lange, T. Köster and P. Pfälzner (eds.), Der Königspalast von Qaṭna. Teil III: Architektur, Stratigraphie, Chronologie, Keramik und Funde. Der östliche Zentralbereich, der Nord- und der Westbereich. Qatna Studien. Wiesbaden. Wada, H. 2009a Stratum I-2: Features and Pottery. In: T. Iwasaki, S. Wakita, K. Ishida and H. Wada (eds.), Tell Mastuma – an Iron Age Settlement in Northwest Syria. Tokyo, 91–300. 2009b Stratum I-1: Features and Pottery. In: T. Iwasaki, S. Wakita, K. Ishida and H. Wada (eds.), Tell Mastuma – an Iron Age Settlement in Northwest Syria. Tokyo, 303–336. 2009c Review of Stratum I. In: T. Iwasaki, S. Wakita, K. Ishida and H. Wada (eds.), Tell Mastuma – an Iron Age Settlement in Northwest Syria. Tokyo, 339–398. Whincop, M. R. 2007 The Iron Age II at Tell Nebi Mend: Towards an Explanation of Ceramic Regions. Levant 39/1, 185–212.

Trans-Orontic region

600 500 400

IA 2 IA 3

6 Niveau IId Niveau IIc

8 7–6 5 4 3–1

? 8b – a

Stratum I-2 Stratum I-1

1

? ?

5 4b 4 3

Tell Mishrifeh Hama Operation J Citadel (Besana, da Ros, (Fugmann 1958) Iamoni 2008)

Tell Nebi Mend Trench V (Whincop 2007)

Hama F2

7 3 1

Hama F1 Hama E2 Hama E1

300

J5 J1

Mishrifeh VB

700

IA 1

Tell Tuqan Area D (Baffi 2008)

Phase VC Phase VB

? ?

Mishrifeh VC

800

Tell Mastuma Tell Mardikh Area G Hilltop Area E (Cecchini 1998) (Wada et al. 2009) (Mazzoni 1992)

Tuqan VC Tuqan VB

900

Area D1 (Mazzoni 1987)

Afis IX Afis VIII

1100 1000

Orontes region

Tell Afis

Mardikh VC VB Mardikh VA

Tell Abu Danne Area A Approx. Rel. date BC chron. (Lebeau 1983)

Table 1 Comparative stratigraphy of the sites mentioned in the text. Shading indicates levels whose assemblages are comparable to that from Tell Mishrifeh, Operation G

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Fig. 1 Inland Syria. Iron Age II–III sites mentioned in the text

Fig. 2 Tell Mishrifeh. The Bronze Age Royal Palace Stars indicate the findspots of the Iron Age pottery found by the German-Syrian mission © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Plate 1 Iron Age pottery from Operation G

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Plate 2 Iron Age pottery from Operation G

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Before the Flood: The Lower Göksu Archaeological Salvage Survey Project The results of three seasons of survey in the Göksu river valley in Mersin Province, Turkey Tevfik Emre Şerifoğlu 1 – Naoise MacSweeney 2 – Carlo Colantoni 3 Abstract The Lower Göksu Archaeological Salvage Survey Project (LGASSP) is designed to investigate the archaeological landscape of the Göksu river valley in the province of Mersin, Turkey . It is a collaborative project between Bitlis Eren University (Turkey) and Leicester University (U .K .), initiated in response to plans for a dam that will flood most of the valley. This paper summarises the results of the first three seasons of fieldwork (2013–2015). The Göksu Valley has acted as an important communication route between the Mediterranean coast and the central Anatolian plateau from prehistory to the present day . Previous research has demonstrated the valley’s importance as a corridor for transit and has recorded a rich settlement history spanning many periods . Building upon this, the LGASSP’s work is revealing a growing network of sites and a complex set of relationships between sites, landscape features, sacred ‘places’ and routes . Sites dating from prehistory to the Medieval period have been identified and the results have implications for the Late Roman/Byzantine period and the Early Bronze Age .

1. Introduction This paper discusses the results of the first three seasons (2013–2015) of the Lower Göksu Archaeological Salvage Survey Project (LGASSP) . The LGASSP is a survey project focusing on the archaeological landscape and settlement patterns along the Göksu River valley in the Mut, Silifke and Gülnar districts of the province of Mersin, Turkey . It is a collaboration between Bitlis Eren University (Turkey) and the University of Leicester (United Kingdom). Four seasons of fieldwork have been completed, following the start of the project in 2013. 4 This paper will present the background to the research project before detailing the project’s work and survey methods . It will conclude with a brief discussion of the results in relation to the emerging settlement patterns and an outline of future research directions .

1 2 3 4

Bitlis Eren University, Turkey . University of Leicester, United Kingdom. Honorary Visiting Fellow in the School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, United Kingdom . The British Institute at Ankara, Bitlis Eren University and the British Academy’s Newton Advanced Fellowships Scheme have generously funded the research . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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The Göksu river (ancient Calycadnus) snakes its way down from the western Taurus mountains, past the ancient city of Claudiopolis (modern Mut, where the Ermenek and Göksu rivers converge), arriving at the Mediterranean at the ancient city of Seleucia ad Calycadnum (modern Silifke) (Fig . 1) . The river valley is the only easily-traversable route from the southern edge of the Anatolian plateau to the Mediterranean coast, cutting through the famously inhospitable and rugged highlands of Rough Cilicia . The only alternative route between the coast and the plateau involves travelling further to the east and passing through the Cilician Gates to access Cilicia Pedias (the Cilician plain) . This involves a considerably longer journey and means that the Göksu valley has been vital for transport and communications throughout history . The valley was not just important as a routeway . Possessing the only large tracts of easily-cultivable land 5 in Rough Cilicia, the valley also functioned in many periods as the breadbasket for the immediate region . This is particularly true of the lower reaches of the valley, between Mut and Silifke. For these two reasons – communication and cultivation – the Göksu valley has a rich and diverse archaeological heritage, spanning some six millennia from the Chalcolithic to the Medieval period . Despite the richness of the archaeology, there has to date been only limited research in the valley. It was first investigated by antiquarians in the 19th century who sought to link ancient toponyms to modern settlements (e.g. Leake 1824: 103–118; Laborde 1838: 123–126). More systematic work was conducted in the mid-20th century, with the valley included in extensive surveys of southern Anatolia, first by James Mellaart and later by David French . Excavations at the Byzantine monastery of Alahan also began at this time (Gough 1985; Mellaart 1954; French 1965). In the 1990s excavations began at the multi-period mound of Kilise Tepe under the direction of Nicholas Postgate of the University of Cambridge (Postgate and Thomas 2007; Jackson and Postgate 2009; Jackson et al. 2013; Bouthillier et al. 2014). In the early 21st century, the upper Göksu valley was the subject of a more rigorous and intensive survey that focused on the Hellenistic and Roman Periods (Elton 2006; 2008). Despite the excellent research that has already been conducted, there remains much to learn about the complex archaeology of the valley . The central aim of the LGASSP is to explore the rich archaeological heritage of the lower reaches of the valley . This is of particular importance because of plans to restart the construction of a hydroelectric dam at Kayraktepe, approximately 10 km north-west of Silifke (Şerifoğlu et al. 2015a; Şerifoğlu et al. 2016). When this dam has been completed a large portion of the lower Göksu valley will be flooded and the unique archaeological heritage will be lost, submerged beneath the waters of the reservoir . The project, therefore, seeks to document as much as possible within the flood zone, preserving the archaeological heritage for posterity by recording it and

5

The valley has a northern alluvial plain, where the Ermenek River meets the Göksu River and where Attepe and Görmüttepe are located, and a southern plain where the Kurtsuyu River joins the Göksu River and where Kilise Tepe, Çingentepe and Maltepe are located . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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creating a resource for future research . The dam is not the only threat to the archaeological heritage of the valley as many sites regularly suffer damage from illegal excavations, erosion, intensive agriculture and small-scale horticulture . 2. The project methodology and major sites and finds A two-tiered approach to the area has been adopted by the project team, which includes experts and students from the universities of Bitlis Eren, Leicester, Aarhus and Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart. The first method is to conduct extensive surveys along the valley, with the aim of examining potential sites. Such sites are identified by studying regional maps and satellite images and combining this data with local knowledge and guidance from the valley’s inhabitants . If any archaeological remains are encountered at these locations, they are then documented and recorded in the field. Following the extensive survey, intensive surveys, combined with geophysical work and aerial photography, are conducted around known or recently identified archaeological sites. During the first three seasons, the team focused on extensive survey throughout the valley . In particular, work has focused on the two fertile alluvial plains in the valley. The first is at the point where the Kurtsuyu River meets the Göksu River and where the site of Kilise Tepe is located . The second is where the Ermenek River joins the Göksu River just to the south-west of the modern town of Mut . As of 2015, extensive survey work has enabled us to record 30 sites, including 19 new discoveries and 11 previously known sites (Fig. 2). These were systematically recorded using the project’s standard recording framework (sites photographed; GPS coordinates taken; sherds, lithics and other small finds drawn and photographed). The sites date to all periods of known historical human presence in the valley, starting with the Middle/Late Chalcolithic and ending with the medieval period . The site with the earliest evidence for occupation is the multi-period mound of Attepe, located on the alluvial plain to the south-west of Mut (Fig . 3) . Although this site was first visited by David French in the 1960s (French 1965), no Chalcolithic finds were reported by him and it was the Middle/Late Chalcolithic painted sherds recovered by the LGASSP team which allowed the site to be designated as the valley’s earliest known settlement . Other interesting sites which were visited and recorded during the annual surveys include Damtepe, the Mirahor Monumental Building site, Örentepe, Çingentepe and Maltepe. Damtepe is a multi-period mound that was first discovered by our team and is located near the village of Evkafçiftliği to the north-west of Silifke (Fig. 4). Evidence points to the mound being inhabited from the Early Bronze Age until the Roman period and it appears that settlement spread over the surrounding fields during the Late Roman and Byzantine periods. Both the mound and the surrounding fields were investigated in order to better understand the character of the settlement . The remains of a monumental building, found by local villagers while digging a foundation trench for a water pumping station, were recorded near the village of © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Mirahor . The architecture suggests that the site belongs to the Hellenistic or early Roman periods . Örentepe, Çingentepe, Maltepe and Görmüttepe (Fig. 5) are multi-period mounded sites that were visited and first published by James Mellaart and David French (Mellaart 1954; French 1965). These were re-visited to check their current state of preservation and to conduct systematic intensive studies both on and around the mounds . Örentepe and Çingentepe were first settled during the Early Bronze Age period and were occupied until the Byzantine period . Görmüttepe is a Late Roman/Byzantine site but the discovery of a number of sherds implies that there was also a small third millennium BC settlement here . On the other hand, Maltepe seems to be settled only after the Roman period and is a predominantly medieval site with the remains of fortification walls and a bridge at the base of the mound . All four sites have been severely damaged, mainly by agricultural and horticultural activities, but also by illegal excavations . Several small Late Roman/Byzantine settlements or farmsteads and two medieval castles were also were recorded during the extensive surveys . The Late Roman/ Byzantine farmsteads are typically located on top of small hills aligned along streams or rivers and all our examples were found on or around the alluvial plain where the Kurtsuyu River meets the Göksu River . These include Köselerli I, Köselerli II, Göceklertepe and Hisartepe (which also has Hellenistic and possibly even Early Bronze Age material). The two medieval castles – Akkale and Ekşilerkalesi – are both located at the south-eastern edge of the valley, close to the river and at strategically important locations from where the passage through the valley could be monitored . Intensive surveys were conducted around the site of Kilise Tepe, in the area between Kilise Tepe and Çingentepe (which includes Kışla Village) as well as around Çingentepe and Attepe. Work around Kilise Tepe led to the identification of a Byzantine period settlement that was probably associated with Kilise Tepe . This site, which we have named Çakıltepe I, lies to the north-west of the mound at the base of a ridge that runs from east to west. A scatter of Early Bronze Age, or perhaps even Late Chalcolithic, pottery and lithics was also found on the north-eastern part of the ridge, to the north-east of Kilise Tepe. We have designated this site Çakıltepe II . The surface distribution of Byzantine period roof tiles and a coin found at Çakıltepe I indicate that the lower town of Kilise Tepe was considerably larger than previously thought while the finds from Çakıltepe II probably belong to a small settlement that was contemporary with the earliest levels of Kilise Tepe, which is located on the opposite ridge (Fig . 6) . The area between Kilise Tepe and Çingentepe did not yield much archaeological evidence of occupation, except for a few sherds and architectural fragments from Kışla Village that predominantly date to the Ottoman period. The work conducted around Çingentepe furnished a single Red Lustrous Wheelmade Ware Hittite libation arm base – an indication of central Anatolian cultural connections but also of Cypriot trade contacts during the Late Bronze Age (Knappett et al. 2005; Bouthillier et al. 2014: 145–147) – amongst other finds. A fragment of a similar libation arm base was also recovered from Attepe in 2013 (Şerifoğlu et al . 2014). In addition we discovered the remains of a Late Roman structure that may © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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be associated with a fountain located near a spring below the north-western side of the mound . One of the column fragments found here had a number of Greek letters incised into it (Fig . 6) . The survey conducted around Attepe did not produce many finds. This suggests that the settlement was not extensive and that the area of occupation was limited to the mound itself . Fragments of obsidian blades found at the site, thought to belong to the Late Chalcolithic or the Early Bronze Age, can be seen as an indication of early contacts with central Anatolia . The standard intensive survey methods (such as walking transects and gridded sherd collection) were supported by aerial photographic investigations utilising a DJI Phantom 2 drone and geophysical studies employing a Geoscan RM-85 resistivity meter . The choice of satellite imagery has primarily been open-access Bing (Microsoft) because of the quality of its up-to-date high-resolution colour imagery. SPOT satellite images were also used whenever possible . Aerial photographs of Çingentepe and Maltepe taken using the drone were processed using photogrammetrical software that produces detailed 3-dimensional images (Fig. 7). It was possible to identify the remains of architectural structures on the summit of the mounds that probably date to the Late Roman, Byzantine or Medieval periods . One large rectilinear structure could be seen on top of Çingentepe and the remains of medieval fortification walls could be followed on the slope of Maltepe. Meanwhile, geophysical studies were conducted in agricultural fields around Çingentepe, but these did not reveal any meaningful results as the soil conditions were not suitable at the time of investigation . 3. Changing settlement patterns, routeways and networks As more sites are identified we are building a finer-grained picture of the settlement patterns along the valley . It is now becoming possible to start reconstructing the relationships between settlements, various elements of natural landscape (e .g . water sources such as springs), and movement through the valley (transit routes, nodes of control and bridges) . To simplify the results of the survey, the data presented here is divided chronologically into pre-Hellenistic (the Chalcolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages) and Hellenistic/post-Hellenistic (the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Medieval periods) settlement patterns . 3 .1 Site numbers and types As noted above 30 sites have been recorded to date of which 19 were previously undocumented sites and 11 known from previous surveys or reports. From the 2015 season onwards, our focus has been on intensive rather than extensive survey and as a result only four new sites were recorded during the 2015 season: Çakıltepe I, Çakıltepe II, Kışla Bridge and the Çingentepe Spring. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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3.2 Preliminary settlement patterns and emerging site distribution traits 3.2.1 Pre-Hellenistic settlement distribution (Fig . 8) The survey has so far recorded six sites (seven including Kilise Tepe) occupied during the pre-Hellenistic periods. Six of these are multi-period mounded sites: Attepe, Çingentepe, Görmüttepe, Örentepe, Damtepe and Kilise Tepe . Although Attepe, Çingentepe, Görmüttepe, Örentepe and Maltepe were initially identified by David French (1965) in the 1960s, we revisited them in order to collect diagnostic material and to confirm occupation dates. All the sites were occupied from the Early Bronze Age onwards, with the exception of Attepe which is the earliest known settlement in the Göksu Valley and dates to the Chalcolithic period . Görmüttepe seems to have been inhabited during the third millennium BC, but afterwards remained largely unoccupied until the Late Roman period . All six sites are fairly prominent mounds, ranging between 0.5–2 hectares in size, built on natural ridges or hills and located on the alluvial plain . A number of the sites can be assigned a ‘twin’, geographically close enough for the two sites to have enjoyed a close spatial relationship . Attepe and Görmüttepe can be considered twinned sites located on the alluvial plain either side of the convergence of the Ermenek and Göksu rivers, whilst Çingentepe can be twinned with Kilise Tepe which lies on the opposite side of the Göksu river . The twinned sites can be found at points where subsidiary streams join the main Göksu river and therefore occupy nodes where routes coming down from the hills would have reached the plain . In each case a larger site (Kilise Tepe and Attepe) was twinned with a slightly smaller one (Çingentepe and Görmüttepe, respectively). It is not yet clear what this ‘twinning’ pattern signifies, but we hope to discover more about the dynamics of the pattern through further intensive survey . The emerging settlement pattern of the period is therefore one of a small number of mounded nucleated settlements located on prime agricultural land close to river intersections but above the floodplain. Almost all of these settlements continued to be occupied, with occasional interruptions, until at least the Byzantine period . There seem to have been particularly low numbers of settlements during the Iron Age, though Attepe, Kilise Tepe and Çingentepe continued to be occupied . Despite this, the nature of the remains at all six sites suggest considerable continuity in settlement traditions in the Göksu valley during the pre-Hellenistic periods . 3.2.2 Hellenistic and post-Hellenistic settlement distribution (330–130 BC to the Medieval period) (Fig . 8) Hellenistic material was identified at Ardıçlıtepe, Çingentepe and Kilise Tepe, but the material density was so low that it is hard to talk about the existence of full settlements at these sites during this period . More sites date to the post-Hellenistic periods, including fortified settlements, single structures and hilltop farmsteads. There is scant evidence of settlement in the lower Göksu valley when compared to the relative abundance of sites identified as belonging to the Roman period in the upper valley (Elton 2006). Small quantities of material identified at Örentepe and © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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sherd scatters spotted in the fields surrounding Damtepe comprise the archaeological material from the Roman period found by our team in this part of the valley . This is rather strange given the fact that Mut, Silifke and Ermenek (Germanicopolis) all had Roman garrisons and there are important Roman settlements in the areas surrounding the valley including Diocæsarea, Corycus and Elaiussa Sebaste . The subsequent Late Roman and Byzantine periods see an upturn in settlement numbers with a rapid growth in the numbers of identified sites. The project has so far recorded 19 sites or features dating to these periods, providing our most complete picture of settlement in the lower Göksu valley . In addition to these sites, the intensive surveys conducted in 2015 allowed us to identify and record the site of Çakıltepe I (a lower town component of Kilise Tepe), the Çingentepe Spring (possibly the remains of a fountain house), and the remains of Kışla Bridge. All of these sites belonged to the late Roman and Byzantine periods . The project team has identified a three-tier system of settlements in the lower Göksu valley for this period: settlements with fortifications, settlements without fortifications and smaller farmsteads . It seems that by this period occupation in the valley was typified by a dispersed settlement pattern of farmsteads and small settlements spread across the landscape and slopes above the valley with larger settlements located on mounds on the alluvial plains . So far we have recorded eight of these larger settlements: Attepe, Ardıçıtepe, Çingentepe, Görmüttepe, Örentepe, Damtepe, Kilise Tepe, Dağcamii and Maltepe. This change in settlement patterns may have already begun during the preceding Roman period as survey work undertaken in the early 2000s in the upper Göksu valley suggests a comparable pattern of Roman sites ranging from the valley floor to high on the flanks of the enclosing mountains (Elton 2006; 2008). Four of the hilltop sites (Attepe, Ardıçlıtepe, Görmüttepe and Maltepe) were fortified in some way and had associated lower settlements. It is plausible to view these settlements as nodes of authority, protecting transit routes through the valley . Of the larger settlements on the alluvial plain, six had been occupied in the Early Bronze Age, highlighting the importance of ‘place’ (both functionally and perhaps symbolically) in the valley . Occupation dating to the Medieval period is typified by fortified settlements, notably ‘castles’ like Akkale and Ekşilerkalesi. A number of the small settlements occupied in the Byzantine period – the farmsteads at Köselerli I, Köselerli II, Hisartepe and Göceklertepe – seem to have survived into this period. 3 .3 The process of repopulating the landscape It is worth noting that sites such as Çakıltepe I, Çakıltepe II and the Çingentepe Spring are practically impossible to identify using satellite imagery alone . By employing intensive field walking the project has begun to spot small, ephemeral sites which suggest that there was significant occupation around and between the larger and more easily identifiable sites. This intensive aspect of the survey has also made it possible to identify scatters of sherds that may be the result of varied and intensive patterns of agri© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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cultural exploitation . These may be the residues of manuring practices, as similar lowdensity field scatters are known from other parts of Anatolia (Wilkinson et al. 1990). 3.4 The emergence of local transit routes and networks One of the aims of the project has been to explore the complex relationship between sites, landscape features, sacred ‘places’ and transit routes and the evidence collected during the fieldwork has shed light on a growing network of sites from many periods. Clear evidence for communication networks are the bridges at Kışla and Maltepe. In fact, these Late Roman/Byzantine bridges may have predecessors at or close to the same locations, as the Romans in particular would probably have required bridges as a part of the infrastructural development of the new Roman province of Isauria . Future research will allow us to start connecting sites, bridges and landscape features and to explore the more complex routes that must have connected the valley to the surrounding region of Rough Cilicia . Settlement distribution for the Hellenistic and post-Hellenistic periods suggest that the main route ran west from Silifke along the northern bank of the Göksu River (perhaps following the same general route as the modern main road), with a route branching off and crossing to the south bank 1 km south-west of Kilise Tepe (at Kışla Bridge), continuing via Maltepe (Maltepe Bridge) and proceeding westwards into the hills of the Taurus Mountains behind Zeyne . The other route appears to have continued north-west along the north bank to Mut (Claudiopolis) and nearby settlements . There might also have been a third route branching off northwards somewhere in the south-eastern part of the valley, possibly before Damtepe, which connected the valley to Diocæsarea . Besides the land routes, bridges and springs may also be part of the network of military and religious sites that we believe may have acted as nodes in the landscape (Şerifoğlu et al. 2015b: 187–188), structuring movement through – and the mental topography of – the valley. The significance of ‘places’ embedded within the valley’s rugged landscape connect the past and the present . One aspect of this phenomenon are sacred places . Today the valley possesses a visual interconnectedness via a network of village minarets; in the past, this was replicated by Christian religious sites . Kilise Tepe has a Byzantine church that has already been excavated (Jackson 2007: 185–197) and there may be a church on top of Çingentepe . The upper part of the valley has the Alahan monastery complex, the Alaoda monastic cave and at least a dozen churches (Elton 2008: 245). Hugh Elton (2013: 234) estimates that there may have been over a thousand rural churches in Isauria province in the Late Roman/Early Byzantine periods, which would imply that we still have many sacred sites from this period to discover in the Lower Göksu valley . 4. Conclusion On a pragmatic level, the project continues to play an invaluable role in recording an archaeological landscape under threat of slow eradication by agricultural prac© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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tices and construction . As we continue to reconstruct ancient settlement patterns, the valley is slowly revealing ever-more complex patterns of occupation that reflect the distinctive character of the landscape during historical periods. The LGASSP has at least two more years of research planned which will enable us to develop a clearer picture of the settlement patterns, both on a large scale to understand the changing nature of occupation over time throughout the valley and on a smaller scale to understand the nature and occupational histories of particular sites and especially densely-occupied areas . Taken together, we believe these parallel investigations will move away from a site-centric to a more holistic approach that places locations of significance (whether settlements, nodes, features or sacred ‘places’) into complex and temporally profound connectivities . Our research will contribute to wider debates about survey and remote sensing methods, as well as to our understanding of Rough Cilicia during antiquity. Remote sensing will continue to form the basis of landscape analysis and intensive surveys which will be conducted in order to better understand the land-use around important settlements . The LGASSP is pursuing a strategy to effectively communicate the results of the research to a wide audience. It intends to continue developing its website ( last access 21.9.2016) and database (which it will make fully public after the completion of the fieldwork). One of our priorities is community engagement. We have co-hosted a workshop with the Silifke museum, and we shall organise similar activities in order to inform local communities about our research and to foster awareness of the region’s cultural heritage . Bibliography Bouthillier, C ., Colantoni, C ., Debruyne, S ., Glatz, C ., Hald, MM ., Heslop, D ., Kozal, E ., Miller, B ., Popkin, P., Postgate, N., Steele, C. S. and Stone, A. 2014 Further Work at Kilise Tepe, 2007–11: Exploring the Bronze to Iron Age Transition. Anatolian Studies 64, 95–161. Elton, H . 2006 Göksu Archaeological Project 2002–2004. Araştırma Sonuçları Toplantısı 23/1, 331–342. 2008

Göksu Archaeological Project 2005–2006. Araştırma Sonuçları Toplantısı 25/2, 237–250.

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Late Roman Churches in the Upper Göksu Valley, Isauria. In: M. C. Hoff and R. F. Townsend (eds .), Rough Cilicia: New Historical and Archaeological Approaches. Oxford, 233–246.

French, D . 1965 Prehistoric Sites in the Göksu Valley. Anatolian Studies 15, 177–201. Gough, M . 1985 Alahan: An Early Christian Monastery in Southern Turkey: Based on the Work of Michael Gough . Toronto . Jackson, M . P . C . 2007 The Church. In: J. N. Postgate and D. C. Thomas, Excavations at Kilise Tepe, 1994–1998: From Bronze Age to Byzantine in Western Cilicia. Cambridge – London, 185–197. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Jackson, M. P. C. and Postgate, J. N. 2009 Excavations at Kilise Tepe 2007. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı 30/3, 207–232. Jackson, M. P. C., Postgate, J. N. and Şerifoğlu, T. E. 2013 Excavations at Kilise Tepe 2011. Kazı Sonuçları Toplantısı 34/2, 5–24. Knappett, C ., Kilikoglou, V ., Steele, V . and Stern, B . 2005 The Circulation and Consumption of Red Lustrous Wheelmade Ware: Petrographic, Chemical and Residue Analysis . Anatolian Studies 55, 25–59. Leake, W. M. 1824 Journal of a Tour in Asia Minor: with Comparative Remarks on the Ancient and Modern Geography of that Country . London . Laborde, L . E . S . J . 1838 Voyage d’Asie Mineure . Paris . Mellaart, J . 1954 Preliminary Report of a Survey of Pre-Classical Remains in Southern Turkey. Anatolian Studies 4, 175–240. Postgate, J. N. and Thomas, D. C. 2007 Excavations at Kilise Tepe, 1994–1998: From Bronze Age to Byzantine in Western Cilicia . Cambridge, London . Şerifoğlu, T. E., MacSweeney, N. and Colantoni, C. 2014 The Lower Göksu Archaeological Salvage Survey Project: Preliminary Results of the First Season . Anatolica 40, 71–92. 2015a Lower Göksu Archaeological Salvage Survey Project: The Results of the 2013–2014 Seasons. In: S. R. Steadman and G. McMahon (eds.), Archaeology of Anatolia: Recent Discoveries (2011–2014). Newcastle upon Tyne, 228–254. 2015b Lower Göksu Archaeological Salvage Survey Project: The Third Season. Anatolica 41, 177–189. Şerifoğlu T. E., MacSweeney, N., Collar, A., Colantoni, C. and Eve, S. 2016 Lower Göksu Archaeological Salvage Survey Project: The Third Season. Anatolica 42, 11–27. Wilkinson, T. J., Gurney, D., McDonald, M. M. A. and Miller, N.F. 1990 Town and Country in Southern Anatolia. Volume I: Settlement and Land Use at Kurban Höyük and Other Sites on the Lower Karababa Basin. Oriental Institute Publications 109. Chicago.

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Fig . 1 Map of the LGASSP survey area and wider region . Survey area indicated in grey (after Google Earth; © 2015 Basarsoft)

Fig. 2 Map of the Lower Göksu Valley showing the locations of sites recorded by the LGASSP between 2013–2015 (after Stuart Eve) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig . 3 Attepe and a drawing of a Chalcolithic period sherd (drawing: Nazlı Evrim Şerifoğlu)

Fig. 4 Aerial image of Damtepe looking north (after Google Earth; © 2016 CNES/Astrium, © 2016 Basarsoft, © 2016 Google) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 5 a – Örentepe; b – Çingentepe; c – Maltepe; d – Görmüttepe

Fig. 6 a – Byzantine coin from Çakıltepe I; b – Çakıltepe II lithics; c – Çingentepe libation arm base; d – Çingentepe column piece with Greek letters © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 7 a – Composite aerial images of Çingentepe and b – Maltepe (images processed by Stuart Eve)

Fig . 8 The distribution of pre-Hellenistic and Hellenistic/post-Hellenistic sites along the Lower Göksu Valley recorded by the LGASSP, with potential transit routes through Göksu valley – plotted against Late Roman/Byzantine indicators (map: Carlo Colantoni) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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The Japanese Excavations at Tell Ali al-Hajj, Rumeilah, on the Euphrates: Settlement, Material Culture and Chronology Kazuya Shimogama 1 Abstract This paper reports on the Japanese excavations in the Middle Euphrates valley undertaken during the late 1970s. Almost forty years after the completion of fieldwork, re-analysis of archaeological materials and new radiocarbon dates provide clearer views on the small but long-lived settlement site of Tell Ali al-Hajj, Rumeilah district. Together with numerous data from other archaeological sites in the region, it contributes to our understanding the regional occupational history and cultural milieu from the Early Bronze Age to the Iron Age.

1. Introduction A huge quantity of archaeological data have been accumulated as a result of many excavations in the Euphrates valley of Syria and Turkey. Numerous publications over almost a century have made the region one of the most studied areas in the Near East, partly due to the construction of a series of dams across the river (e.g., Akkermans and Schwartz 2003; Cooper 2006; Kuzucuoğlu and Marro 2007; Peltenburg 2007; Lebeau 2014; Finkbeiner et al. 2015). At the same time, the data from excavations on urban sites located across Upper Mesopotamia such as Tell Mardikh, Tell Hariri, Tell Chuera and many other Bronze Age sites, raises various intriguing questions regarding the Bronze Age chronology, settlement patterns and socio-political developments. This paper focuses on the Japanese excavations at a small site called Tell Ali al-Hajj on the Middle Euphrates (Ishida et al. 2014). The site was excavated during the late 1970s when the Tabqa hydroelectric dam was in the final stages of construction. Recent re-analysis of the archaeological data from the site, together with new radiocarbon dates, have added important information on settlement and architecture, material culture and chronology which together have contributed to the wider picture of the archaeology of the region.

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2. Excavations at Tell Ali al-Hajj, Rumeilah district The site of Tell Ali al-Hajj is located in Northern Syria, approximately 70 km to the east of Aleppo, and about 50 km south of modern Syrian-Turkish border (Fig. 1). The area where the site is located represents the northernmost part of the Tabqa reservoir. An investigative project undertaken on behalf of the Ancient Orient Museum, Tokyo, began in 1974, under the direction of the late Namio Egami (Egami et al. 1979). This research project was originally narrowly focused on later periods, including the Byzantine monumental tombs, but as the investigations continued the project developed into a more comprehensive one which sought to understand the long-term settlement history of this arid steppe area. Two research areas on the left bank of the Euphrates separated by large wadi systems were identified, namely Rumeilah in the north and the Mishrifeh area in the south. The Rumeilah area included the single settlement site of Tell Ali al-Hajj, the principal subject of this paper, and an Early Bronze Age extramural cemetery (Wakita et al. 2005; Ishida et al. 2008; Shimogama 2016) and Byzantine tombs with stone circles. In the Mishrifeh area, a Roman fortress called Tell Mishrifat Hajj Ali Issa was identified, surrounded by numerous Byzantine rock-cut tombs and Early Bronze Age graveyards (Egami et al. 1979; Kawanishi and Tsumura 2014). Tell Ali al-Hajj is a small mound covering less than 2ha, which overlooks the Euphrates river as it flows from north to south amid hilly landscapes with rich agricultural fields and rolling pastoral steppes. The site is some 150m in diameter and stands 10m high above the surrounding plain. The excavation of main central area and a series of small test trenches around the tell revealed a unique long-lived, multi-phase village or town spanning the Bronze to Iron Ages and capped by Hellenistic pits and medieval graves. It is extremely small in scale in comparison to the major neighbouring settlements such as Tell es-Sweyhat and Tell Hadidi which cover over 40ha. Five years of excavations revealed that the site consisted of eleven architectural phases or levels from Level XI at the bottom to the uppermost Level I. The history of the tell was divided into three distinct chronological units. The sequence of architectural features and buildings and the ceramic sequence, combined with recent radiocarbon dates has confirmed the dates of each of these units. The lower levels (Levels XI–IX) belong to the later part of Early Bronze Age, the middle part of the sequence (Levels VIII–V) dates to the Middle Bronze Age while the upper levels (Levels IV–I) belong to the Middle and Late Iron Age (Fig. 2). 2.1 Early Bronze Age Levels (XI–IX) The first settlement at Tell Ali al-Hajj probably appeared around 2300 BC, when large urban settlements like Ebla and Mari were thriving on the Syrian steppe and the Jezirah. Although the urbanisation process in the Early Bronze Age must have been closely linked to the genesis of the site, the first stage of this village looked like a small farmstead where a small number of families built domestic mud-brick houses and a © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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massive storage pit (Wakita and Shimogama 2014; Shimogama 2014a) and lived a simple life which combined cereal agriculture with stock-rearing, as indicated by the results of a zoo-archaeological study (Arai 2014). The architecture of the lowest level (XI) suggested that the structures were irregularly planned and the village had a rather dispersed layout, although this was based on the investigation of only a small part of the early settlement (Fig. 3). The domestic structures were constructed of mud bricks on stone foundations and consisted of several rooms with round bread ovens and open spaces or courtyards which also contained pits. Similar structures were identified in the two subsequent levels, X and IX, and contrast significantly with the organisation of the settlement in the upper Middle Bronze Age levels, as discussed below. The pottery assemblages recovered from the early levels display typical late Early Bronze Age characteristics (Shimogama 2014b) (Fig. 3.1–8). The greater part of the pottery assemblage consists of wheel-thrown Plain Simple Ware, and most of the pottery was undecorated. The most characteristic vessels were those with multiple corrugations or grooves on the rims (Fig. 3.2). According to the widely accepted ceramic chronology of the Middle Euphrates Early Bronze Age (Cooper 2006; Porter 2007; Sconzo 2015), they can be dated to the final centuries of the third millennium BC, corresponding to Phases 5 to 6 or to EME 5–6. A jar with zoomorphic appliqué decoration, most probably depicting lions, is unique (Fig. 3.3). Similar jars with animal motifs have been reported from neighbouring sites, for example at Tell Kabir, and dated to the same period or the EB–MB transition. Other wares included Gray Ware and hand-made Cooking Pot Ware (Fig. 3.4). Gray Ware sherds, which are fired at a high temperature and contain fine mineral temper, were very few in number. Along with the Plain Simple Ware and other undecorated wares, a small quantity of painted or decorated wares were recovered from the Early Bronze Age levels. Of particular note were fragments of a painted beaker (Fig. 3.5). This vessel was clearly related to west Syrian wares, particularly those from the Tell Mardikh/Ebla area. Reserved Slip Ware (Fig. 3.6), including an example bearing an ‘8’ shaped potter’s mark, has a long tradition dating back to the late fourth millennium BC and continued to be produced along the Euphrates Valley throughout the third millennium BC. In addition, two distinctive wares, Combed Wash Ware (Fig. 3.7) and Smeared Wash Ware (Fig. 3.8), were also identified. Although they were represented by single examples, both types have specific regional affinities (e.g. Falb 2009). The Combed Wash Ware has parallels sites in the Jezirah despite a few occurrences in the northern Levant, while the Smeared Wash Ware, together with the painted beakers, has parallels with sites in the western Syrian regions. Overall, the Early Bronze Age ceramic assemblage shows wider cultural connections with both the east and the west. This regional interaction is suggested by a few fragmentary sherds, and the majority of the ceramic assemblage reflects the local, indigenous tradition, characterized by the Plain Simple Ware of the Middle Euphrates. Two radiocarbon dates obtained from charcoal samples from Level IX support the ceramic chronology as both indicate a date range within the late third millennium calBC (PLD-23872: 2205–2037 calBC and PLD-23873: 2193–2029 calBC). © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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2.2 Middle Bronze Age Levels (VIII–V) Although there does not seem to have been a significant hiatus in activity between the latest Early Bronze Age level and the following Middle Bronze Age levels, changes in the structure and architecture of the village marks the start of a new phase in the life of the settlement. During the Middle Bronze Age, the village grew into a town with a 2m thick defensive wall and well-organised domestic house clusters (Fig. 4). The houses are generally rectangular in shape and, with between three and five rooms each, are of a similar size. They seem to be grouped together so as to form distinctive quarters demarcated by streets. Inside the houses the rooms contained a range of everyday features including bread ovens, clay storage bins, round stone structures (probably silos for grain storage) and elevated platforms. Beneath the floors in some of the rooms were numerous child and infant burials (including urn burials) and these are currently undergoing analysis. While fortified settlements dating to the Early Bronze Age are not unknown (examples include Tell Munbaqa and Tell es-Sweyhat), Tell Ali al-Hajj did not seem to require substantial defences at that time and the construction of the massive wall in the Middle Bronze Age may be connected with the reorganization of regional settlements including the abandonment of some large urban centres, including Tell es-Sweyhat. Many of the rooms in the Middle Bronze Age houses yielded very well-preserved material culture in situ (Fig. 5). In addition to pottery, a variety of everyday tools and artefacts were recovered including ground-stone querns and mortars, clay figurines, ornaments, bronze and bone tools. These objects enable us to reconstruct various aspects of domestic activity including food processing and storage, tool production and maintenance and household rituals. Clay moulds for female figurines (Fig. 4.7) were found in various phases of the site, but in particular from well-preserved Middle Bronze Age houses. A basalt potter’s wheel or turntable whose upper surface shows clear traces of polish from rotation was recovered from Level Vb. These finds indicate that the inhabitants of the settlement were responsible for producing most of the tools and even the figurines which they required. The terracotta house models, which were recovered exclusively from the Middle Bronze Age levels (Fig. 4.6) are of particular note. The fact that a single set of these models were found in each house suggests that they were used as a sort of household shrine, perhaps deliberately placed in the corner of a room. The house models, together with other specifically ritual objects, may have provided a focus for domestic religious activities or rites (Ishida 2014). Although Tell Ali al-Hajj is a very small site in comparison with other urban sites, it produced several exotic or enigmatic objects made of rare raw materials, including, for example, the inlay from the eye of a statue. The pottery assemblage from the Middle Bronze Age phase shows clear continuity with the earlier tradition, despite of the change in the morphology of the village and the new defensive wall. Pots with multiply corrugated rims typical of the Early Bronze Age phase and other basic bowl types were still common in the early Mid© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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dle Bronze Age levels although this period also saw the adoption of comb-incised designs on Common Wares (Fig. 4.1–2). Many vessel types, in particular jars, bore designs which included horizontal and wavy lines, short lines and other motifs. The fabric of these wheel-thrown wares did not change significantly, with fine mineral temper which is comparable with that of the earlier Plain Simple Ware. New vessel forms including juglets and comb-incised pot stands also appear in the assemblages (Fig. 4.3). The Cooking Pot Ware appears with both simple and complex rim shapes, the latter exemplified by the typical cooking pot of the Middle Bronze Age (Fig. 4.5). In addition to the undecorated and comb-incised wares, painted wares were also present, although in very small quantities. A painted juglet and jar (Fig. 4.4) are typical of such rare forms. Their scarcity suggests that they were probably imported, possibly from the northern Levant. Two radiocarbon dates place Levels VI and Vb within a broad time span covering the 19th to the 18th centuries BC (respectively, 1901–1755 calBC and 1879–1692 calBC at 2-sigma) (Ishida et al. 2014: 302–304). These dates are not entirely compatible with the conventional relative chronology but there are few comparable radiometric data from other sites. More C14 dates from secure contexts are required before the absolute chronology will become clear. To summarise, the pottery assemblage of the Middle Bronze Age phases has some limited affinities with the west and more precisely with the northern Levant, as indicated by the presence of the painted pottery. In contrast, links with the east, where Khabur ware and other distinctive assemblages predominate, seem to have dwindled. The most distinctive pottery from the site however is of the local Euphrates valley tradition, as represented by the comb-incised ware. 2.3 Iron Age Levels (IV–I) After the abandonment of the fortified settlement in the Middle Bronze Age, there was a definite gap in the sequence of occupation that may have lasted up to seven hundred years. We do not know exactly what caused the settlement to be abandoned and this will require investigation using the fullest range of data available as well as a consideration of the trends in the wider region. Possible factors include a migration to the nearby urban site of Tell Hadidi, a return to a pastoral-nomadic lifestyle or the impact of a Hittite or even an Egyptian invasion. When the settlement was reoccupied in the Middle Iron Age the regional situation had changed dramatically. The Iron Age village began as an irregularly-planned settlement represented by structures constituting Level IV, but by the time of Level II the settlement had once again grown to become a substantial town with a massive defensive wall (Figs. 6, 7). Inside the wall, a number of multi-roomed houses were constructed which were separated by streets or lanes and these had an urban character although the layout differed somewhat from that of the earlier Middle Bronze Age town. The walls of some of the houses contained impressive triangular niches (Fig. 7B). Inside the rooms there were many domestic features including rectangular © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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clay storage bins, round bread ovens and storage jars. Macro-botanical samples containing large quantities of barley grains and grape pips were also recovered from the Iron Age deposits (Akashi 2014). By the Middle Iron Age, the inhabitants appear to have been facing a new political challenge. A Neo-Assyrian military threat from the east had been growing during the early phases of Iron Age occupation and, according to textual sources, the area including Tell Ali al-Hajj was conquered by the Assyrians by the middle of the ninth century BC. Many bronze and iron arrowheads recovered from these levels may reflect growing militarisation and conflict and it is unclear whether the fortified town belonged to the Arameans or Assyrians during the period represented by Level II. At present it is unclear why the massive defensive wall was constructed around the town and whether this should be placed before or after the start of Assyrian rule. The precise date of Level II is unclear although a single AMS 14C date from the earlier Level IIIa (932–832 calBC) may suggest that the developed fortified town emerged after the Assyrian conquest. Amongst the features of the Level IIIb settlement was a pottery kiln (Fig. 8). This kiln, measured some 2.5m in length and was made of mud bricks. It was located in in the middle of the settlement, indicating that pottery production was carried out inside the walls of the settlement. The pottery assemblage from the Iron Age phases is dominated by undecorated wheel-thrown Common Ware, with well-fired, mineral-tempered, light buff to orange fabrics. Some Coarse Ware, tempered with grit and chaff was also present, mainly in the form of large storage jars while Cooking Pot Ware and Fine Ware appeared in moderate quantities. The assemblages include many remarkable vessel forms, including askos (Fig. 6.1), multi-handled kraters with tripods (Fig. 6.2), carinated bowls, large pithoi, handled jars, and cooking pots with two handles (Fig. 6.6). Specific examples include a Fine Ware carinated bowl (Fig. 6.3) while a painted jar with geometric designs (Fig. 6.5) is amongst the rare painted vessels from the Iron Age assemblage. This was probably imported, possibly from the northern Levant. It should be noted that the Red Slipped Ware, which was common in north-western Syria, was completely absent from the site although it occurs on the nearby site of Tell Ahmar (Jamieson 1999). A rare glazed jar was recovered from a possible Level I context (Fig. 6.4). Although the original colour had faded, it had been decorated with a polychrome glaze with zigzag patterns on the body. Along with some so-called istikan cups, this vessel is comparable with similar vessels from the Assyrian heartland cities and from Assyrian-controlled settlements, including Tell Ahmar (Jamieson 1999: fig. 7.2) and Assur (Hausleiter 2010). Assyrian incursions into the Euphrates valley and its growing political control of the area (attested by references in textual sources), are reflected in the pottery from the site in the form of a number of pottery vessels which show cultural affinities with Assyria. Despite this the greater part of the pottery assemblage is characteristic of the local ceramic tradition of the Euphrates basin area which had probably persisted from the earlier periods. In addition to the ceramic evidence, it should be noted that the Iron Age levels produced other important items of material culture. These include a bronze statuette © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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(Fig. 6.7), two fragments from a stone box bearing an incised figure, a star, a possible date palm and a mythical creature (Fig. 6.8). These suggest that the site had a significant role in the regional exchange network and/or religious life. 3. Conclusions In conclusion it seems that Tell Ali al-Hajj was not a large-scale city with massive temples, palaces or other elite structures but remained a comparatively small village over a very long period of time. The long duration of occupation may be the most remarkable feature of the site and contrasts with the much shorter occupation of neighbouring sites including Tell es-Sweyhat and Tell Hadidi. The continuity in material culture from the late Early Bronze Age to the Middle Bronze Age is clearly evident in the ceramic tradition. The resilience of a subsistence strategy based on agro-pastoralism may have been responsible for the long life of a settlement which was located in an arid steppe zone. At the same time, access to exotic raw materials including metal and rare stones seems to have been maintained and interregional connections via the Euphrates and overland exchange networks played a crucial role in the survival of small settlements like Tell Ali al-Hajj. These connections are represented in the pottery and other finds assemblages. To understand the range and type of factors that enabled this humble settlement to survive over such a long time period, to discuss the wider issues around socio-economic development in the whole region during the Bronze and Iron Ages and to address many important themes (including urbanism, continuity and discontinuity in cultural traditions and chronology) further study of various classes of archaeological evidence is required. This will involve considering not only datasets from large urban centres, but also those from small settlement sites like Tell Ali al-Hajj. Bibliography Akashi, C. 2014 Preliminary Results of Archaeobotanical Studies at the Bronze-Iron Age Site of Tell Ali al-Hajj (Tell Rumeilah), Syria. Bulletin of the Ancient Orient Museum 34, 1–17. Akkermans, P. M. M. G. and Schwartz, G. M. 2003 The Archaeology of Syria: From Complex Hunter-Gatherers to Early Urban Societies (ca. 16,000–300 BC). Cambridge. Arai, S. 2014 Faunal Remains. In: K. Ishida, M. Tsumura and H. Tsumoto (eds.), Excavations at Tell Ali alHajj, Rumeilah: A Bronze-Iron Age Settlement on the Syrian Euphrates. Tokyo, 289–295. Cooper, L. 2006 Early Urbanism on the Syrian Euphrates. New York. Egami, N., Masuda, S. and Iwasaki, T. 1979 Rumeilah and Mishrifat: Excavations of Hellenistic Sites in the Euphrates Basin 1971–1978. Preliminary Report of Archaeological Researches in Syria, Volume I. Tokyo. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Falb, C. 2009 Untersuchungen an Keramikwaren des dritten Jahrtausends v.Chr. aus Nordsyrien. Münster. Finkbeiner, U., Novák, M., Sakal, F. and Sconzo, P. (eds.) 2015 ARCANE: Associated Regional Chronologies for the Ancient Near East and the Eastern Mediterranean Vol. IV, Middle Euphrates. Turnhout. Hausleiter, A. 2010 Neuassyrische Keramik im Kerngebiet Assyriens. Wiesbaden. Ishida, K. 2014 House Models. In: K. Ishida, M. Tsumura and H. Tsumoto (eds.), Excavations at Tell Ali alHajj, Rumeilah: A Bronze-Iron Age Settlement on the Syrian Euphrates. Tokyo, 240–260. Ishida, K., Iwasaki, T. and Wakita, S. 2008 Early Bronze Age Graves around Tell Rumeilah in North Syria. Bulletin of the Ancient Orient Museum 28, 65–90. Ishida, K., Tsumura, M. and Tsumoto, H. (eds.) 2014 Excavations at Tell Ali al-Hajj, Rumeilah: A Bronze-Iron Age Settlement on the Syrian Euphrates. Memoirs of the Ancient Orient Museum IV, Tokyo. Jamieson, A. 1999 Neo-Assyrian Pottery from Tell Ahmar. In: A. Hausleiter and A. Reiche (eds.), Iron Age Pottery in Northern Mesopotamia, Northern Syria and South-Eastern Anatolia. Münster, 287–308. Kawanishi, H. and Tsumura, M. 2014 Archaeological Investigations in the Rumeilah and Mishrifeh Areas. In: K. Ishida, M. Tsumura and H. Tsumoto (eds.), Excavations at Tell Ali al-Hajj, Rumeilah: A Bronze-Iron Age Settlement on the Syrian Euphrates. Tokyo, 317–325. Kuzucuoğlu, C. and Marro, C. (eds.) 2007 Sociétés humaines et changement climatique à la fin du troisième millénaire: une crise a-t-elle eu lieu en haute Mésopotamie? Actes du Colloque de Lyon, 5–8 décembre 2005. Paris. Lebeau, M. (ed.) 2014 Associated Regional Chronologies for the Ancient Near East and the Eastern Mediterranean. ARCANE Interregional I. Ceramics. Turnhout. Peltenburg, E. (ed.) 2007 Euphrates River Valley Settlement: The Carchemish Sector in the Third Millennium BC. Levant Supplement Series 5. Oxford. Porter, A. 2007 The Ceramic Assemblages of the Third Millennium in the Euphrates Region. In: M. al-Maqdissi, V. Matoïan and C. Nicolle (eds.), Céramique de l’Âge du Bronze en Syrie: II. L’Euphrate et la région de Jézireh. Beyrouth, 3–21. Sconzo, P. 2015 Ceramics. In: U. Finkbeiner, M. Novák, F. Sakal, and P. Sconzo (eds.), ARCANE: Associated Regional Chronologies for the Ancient Near East and the Eastern Mediterranean Volume IV, Middle Euphrates. Turnhout, 85–202. Shimogama, K. 2014a Discussion and Conclusions: Early Bronze Age (Levels XI–IX). In: K. Ishida, M. Tsumura and H. Tsumoto (eds.), Excavations at Tell Ali al-Hajj, Rumeilah: A Bronze-Iron Age Settlement on the Syrian Euphrates. Tokyo, 307–310. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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2014b The Pottery Assemblages. In: K. Ishida, M. Tsumura and H. Tsumoto (eds.), Excavations at Tell Ali al-Hajj, Rumeilah: A Bronze-Iron Age Settlement on the Syrian Euphrates. Tokyo, 89–226. 2016

Graves Before Settlement: The Early Bronze Age Extramural Cemetery and the Sedentary Settlement of Tell Ali al-Hajj at Rumeilah on the Syrian Middle Euphrates. Bulletin of the Ancient Orient Museum 35, 1–29.

Wakita, S., Ishida, K. and Wada, H. 2005 A Burial in the Middle Euphrates, in Syria, Grave D-No.21: An Early Bronze Age Grave in Area D in Rumeilah. Bulletin of the Ancient Orient Museum 25, 1–13. Wakita, S. and Shimogama, K. 2014 Surrounding Trenches and Soundings in the Rumeilah Area. In: K. Ishida, M. Tsumura and H. Tsumoto (eds.), Excavations at Tell Ali al-Hajj, Rumeilah: A Bronze-Iron Age Settlement on the Syrian Euphrates. Tokyo, 75–85.

Fig. 1 Map showing the Rumeilah and Mishrifeh areas on the Middle Euphrates © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 2 South section of main excavation area. Level XI structures can be seen at the bottom

Fig. 3 Late Early Bronze Age architecture and materials from Tell Ali al-Hajj © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 4 Middle Bronze Age architecture and materials from Tell Ali al-Hajj

Fig. 5 Room 4 with artefacts in situ, Level VI, seen from the north-east © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 6 Iron Age architecture and materials from Tell Ali al-Hajj

Fig. 7 Late Iron Age fortified town, Level II. A – general view of Level II buildings, B – triangular wall niches

Fig. 8 Pottery kiln from the Iron Age Level IIIb © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Culture Contact and Early Urban Development in Mesopotamia: Is Garbage the Key to Understanding the ‘Uruk Expansion’ in the Zagros Foothills of Northeastern Iraq? Tim Boaz Bruun Skuldbøl 1 – Carlo Colantoni 2 Abstract This paper 3 presents new evidence for early urban development on the Rania Plain drawn from investigations by the Danish Archaeological Expedition to Iraq . Fascinating remains from the Late Chalcolithic 2–5 periods have been uncovered that typify the developments that occurred during the period of the first cultural contact with Uruk Mesopotamia. The evidence will act as a focal point for a brief discussion of cross-regional interaction and early urban development . It sheds new light on how strategies for handling and managing garbage were expressed spatially in early urban societies and the ways in which this may reflect the transformation of communities on the plain.

1. Introduction The formation of the first urban societies in Greater Mesopotamia is one of the most intriguing epochs in the history of the region . Across vast and diverse geographical regions urban entities developed simultaneously with major developments in southern and northern Iraq, south-western Iran, Syria and Turkey during the Late Chalcolithic period (c. 4500–3100 BC). This process of urbanisation not only transformed lifestyles and the use of space irrevocably, but also instigated new forms of cross-cultural interaction. The spread of Uruk material culture from southern Mesopotamia into Greater Mesopotamia is one of these notable events of culture contact and took place during the consolidation phase of the earliest urban societies. Nonetheless, the significance of the ‘Uruk Expansion’, the diversity of its impact on the surrounding societies of northern Mesopotamia and temporal specificities are complex (Skuldbøl and Colantoni 2017; see also Stein 2014). This paper explores the insights that may be gained from examining a potential proxy indicator of societal changes that may relate to the Uruk cultural expansion: that of garbage and its management. Garbage forms a major part of the archaeologi-

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University of Copenhagen, Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, Denmark. Honorary Visiting Fellow, University of Leicester, School of Archaeology and Ancient History, United Kingdom. The original title presented at the 10th ICAANE was: Culture contact and early urban development in Upper Mesopotamia. New evidence from the Zagros foothills, northeastern Iraq . It was presented by Tim Skuldbøl, Carlo Colantoni and Mette Marie Hald. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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cal record but is rarely considered when studying the archaeology of urban societies in the Near East . In this paper we will present a brief account of the evidence for the nature and management of garbage recorded by the Danish Archaeological Expedition to Iraq (DAEI) on the Rania Plain in north-eastern Iraq (Fig. 1). Despite physical constraints due its location in the foothills of the Zagros mountains, we believe that the stimuli from interaction played important roles in the socio-economic transformation of the first urban societies on the Rania Plain during the Late Chalcolithic period (hereafter, LC). Studies such as these are important for understanding early processes that became a leitmotif of ancient and modern urban societies (such as mass production and waste dumping) and the ways in which cultural encounters transform societies. They offer an invaluable opportunity to plot parallels between ancient and modern processes . Cities are now being viewed as dynamic and interactive entities and as a generative force for societal change. Many phenomena that we believe to be modern have their origins in the past and are visible in the archaeological record . The societies of early Mesopotamia (5th–4th millennium BC) experienced new pressures and stimuli: ancient migration and integration of material culture, changes in social organisation and an ever-increasing industrialisation of their landscapes, with organised mass production, pollution, trash dumping and urban sprawl . 2. The impact of the Uruk culture on the Rania Plain Evidence for cultural contact with Southern Mesopotamia on the Rania Plain is plentiful although the processes, reasons and repercussions involved are hard to determine . The most obvious evidence of interaction is the appearance of large quantities of southern Mesopotamian – or at least southern-influenced – material culture, notably in the form of distinctive ceramics . Determining the reasons for this has been an ongoing challenge and speculation has centred around the driving factors governing the patterning we see elsewhere in northern Mesopotamia. Inter-regional interaction resulting from resource exploitation, migration of populations and cultural diffusion and emulation are common explanations . In the case of the Rania Plain current evidence favours the emulation of southern material culture (see Skuldbøl and Colantoni 2017 for a discussion of these factors). This assumption seems to be supported by a recent archaeometric study of potsherds from various locations in Mesopotamia and Iran which shows that southern pot types found in northern Mesopotamia were mostly locally produced (Emberling and Minc 2016; Minc and Emberling 2016). On the Rania Plain the occurrence of southern-style material culture in local assemblages coincides with radical changes in socio-economic organisation, settlement patterns and the use of the landscape and settlements themselves . We have approached the consequences of this contact through the evidence for the composition and distribution of garbage at the twin sites of Bab-w-Kur and their surrounding settlement sprawl as a way of determining the significance of cultural contact for the societies on the plain. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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In itself, and at the most basic level of interpretation, this disposal pattern reflects possible industrial and productive events . Wider inferences may also be drawn from this data . There is strong evidence for the systematic management of garbage during the mid-4th millennium BC, a process that reflects the ways in which early urban communities interacted with, and managed the accumulation of, refuse from production and consumption activities . 3. Urbanism and the accumulation of garbage The nature of urbanism and the process of urbanisation are key subjects of interdisciplinary discourse . A number of recent approaches are concerned with conceptualising the notion of urbanism and the way in which it interacts with its socially and economically produced landscapes (e.g. Skuldbøl et al. 2012; Isendahl and Smith 2013; McMahon and Crawford 2015). Urban growth entailed a dramatic transformation in administrative and economic practices, including the increased production of manufactured goods and the provision and production of food for a growing urbanised population . These processes and practices, combined with spatial agglomeration and population aggregation, transformed the nature, management and distribution of refuse . Despite this, garbage and its management are seldom acknowledged as tools for the study of socio-economic organisation and transformation in ancient urban societies . We advocate the importance of acknowledging that studies of discard and its handling practices can provide valuable insights into how past urban societies functioned and the ways in which they were organised and spatially structured . Although research into practice, patterning and significance of garbage is only just beginning to gain traction in the study of Near Eastern archaeology, studies of garbage in past and modern societies elsewhere are relatively common (see Wilson 1994; Rathje and Murphy 2001; O’Brian 2008; see also Colantoni 2017 for a brief discussion of the subject). The authors plan to expand this discussion in their forthcoming monograph which is currently in preparation . Large-scale and systematic studies of garbage practices in Mesopotamia are few. Innovative investigations in north-eastern Syria at Tell Brak demonstrate that urban growth (i.e. population aggregation and spatial expansion) was accompanied by the rapid accumulation and growing awareness of garbage within ancient society . This transformed the surroundings of the site from farmland into an ‘urban edge zone’ consisting of diverse human activities including large areas devoted to garbage dumping, mud quarries (for brick manufacture), burial grounds and industrial and polluting activities that resulted in a complex urban landscape in the 4th millennium BC (Skuldbøl et al. 2012; Colantoni 2012: 54; McMahon and Crawford 2015; Skuldbøl et al. 2016; Skuldbøl et al. in preparation). In the case of the Rania Plain, the transformation of the landscape and new ways of managing garbage are likely to be the outcomes, on albeit a lesser scale, of equiv© 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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alent processes and consequences . Changes to the urban landscape may also have been partially instigated by culture contact . 4. The twin sites of Bab-w-Kur and their urban landscape In the four seasons of fieldwork so far undertaken by the DAEI evidence of a phenomenon similar to that witnessed at Tell Brak has begun to emerge. A combination of excavation, surface scraping, landscape survey, aerial UAV (drone) photography and the analysis of satellite imagery has drawn our attention to what we are starting to consider as robust evidence for the exploitation of landscape on the Rania Plain in the LC period, including: settlement clustering, industrialised production, systematic large-scale trash disposal, organised and administered activities and the reuse and change in function of sites . Excavation has focused on the twin mounds of Bab-w-Kur and the clustering of small subsidiary settlements around the two main mounds (Fig. 1). As the name suggests Bab-w-Kur (‘father and son’) comprises two related mounds approximately 300m apart . Archaeological evidence points towards a relationship of close dependency between the two, with both sites displaying corresponding periods of rise and decline in status and function . Their life-cycles share the same radical changes in settlement use . Today they lie within the flood zone of Lake Dokan and are partially submerged in the spring and summer (see Skuldbøl and Colantoni 2014 for a discussion of the threats to cultural heritage on the plain). Notwithstanding the difficulties concomitant with work under these conditions, investigations on and around the mounds are revealing an intricate sequence of socio-economic transformations dating to the LC 2–5 periods; the latter half of which saw growing cultural contact with southern Mesopotamia. The earliest levels of settlement so far reached at Bab date to the LC 2–3 periods (4200–3700 BC). These are made up of a small, tightly arranged settlement – the ‘Red Mudbrick Town’ – consisting of what appear to be domestic structures enclosed by a defensive wall. The latest phase of settlement so far identified – a huge building complex occupying the summit of the mound (the Monumental Tripartite Building) – is thought to date to the LC 3–4 periods (3850–3400 BC). Following abandonment of this last phase of substantial occupation there was a period of mass production of pottery and easily identifiable systematic trash pitting. This dates from the late LC 3 period through to (possibly) the LC 5 (3400–3100 BC) period. For the most part, the garbage deposits consist of pits that are relatively easily identifiable as surface features. Other larger deposits – dumps – were found during excavation. Severe erosion by the lake’s waters seasonally removes surface deposits exposing in situ archaeological features and remains. The annual retreat of the lake occurs in the summer months, when the wave action of the ebb and flow of its waters scour the surface of the mounds away . The autumns are usually arid and vegetation is sparse. As a result these features are easily identified by surface inspection or by examining UAV (drone) imagery. Large numbers of circular garbage pits have been © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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identified and these features have been plotted on an aerial image of Bab from the autumn of 2015 (Fig. 2). The systematic pitting cuts into the Monumental Tripartite Building and its immediate surroundings at the top of the mound and into the earlier ‘Red Mudbrick Town’ that makes up the lower slopes of the mound. At Kur very similar patterns of garbage disposal to those at Bab are visible. Trash pitting and dumping has been identified on the smaller mound and in its surroundings. UAV imagery, surface inspection and excavation have revealed clusters of large garbage dumps and a series of garbage pits that were dug in linear rows into the slopes of the mound (see Skuldbøl et al. 2016). Comparable to the transformation in the functions of the settlement seen at Bab, this phase of garbage pitting and dumping at Kur followed an occupational phase at the site, with the presence of a large formal niched building – the ‘Niched Building’ – dating to the LC 3–4 periods (Skuldbøl and Colantoni 2016: fig. 4; Skuldbøl et al. 2014: fig. 10). The UAV aerial image taken in the autumn of 2013 shows the extent of the garbage deposits (Fig. 3). The ‘Niched Building’ lies in the central part of the mound, with a substantial cluster of garbage deposits (containing large quantities of LC 4–5 ceramics) to the west. The eastern third of the mound is covered by what appears to be evidence of systematic, industrial scale garbage pitting of a similar date . On both mounds a series of the garbage deposits were fully or partially excavated . In addition, a number of pottery kilns, possibly associated with the pits and which may reflect a further industrial aspect to the residues of activities represented in the garbage deposits, were found at Bab. The dumps and pits produced both northern and southern Mesopotamian LC pottery types (such as spouted vessels, neckless jars and punctate decoration), and chaff and mineral tempered wares (see Skuldbøl and Colantoni 2017: fig. 10). A large proportion of the ceramics collected were mass-produced vessel types such as the Bevelled Rim Bowl. In some cases sherds belonging to Bevelled Rim Bowls (Fig. 4) constituted 50–80% of pit and garbage deposits (Skuldbøl and Colantoni 2017). Although large quantities of pottery were recovered the range of forms was limited . The pits may number in the hundreds and it would be reasonable to assume that they are related to events that took place in the vicinity of the two sites. The contents, frequency and systematic arrangement of many of the deposits (especially the deposits and pits at Kur), together with with the restricted range of vessel forms recorded in the samples collected, suggest that they are the results of organised, yet elusive events of a limited and repetitive nature . Adding a further level of complexity to the picture is evidence for off-site activity . Lying around the two mounds of Bab-w-Kur is clear evidence of settlement sprawl consisting of multiple small low mounds tightly clustered around the sites (Skuldbøl and Colantoni 2016: fig. 8). These are significant for our understanding of not only the distribution and management of trash, but also for the transformation of the landscape to one of overt exploitation and potential industrialisation . Investigations on the surrounding settlement sprawl complement the evidence for the mass disposal of garbage on the two main mounds . A series of test pits produced a similarly restricted range of ceramics dating to the later LC period in contexts that appear to bear the hallmarks of off-site refuse dumps with no clear evidence of architecture. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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5. Discussion and conclusions Garbage reflects past activities. It is the residue and indicator of often elusive events and processes. In the case of the large-scale dumping seen at Bab-w-Kur it is possible to allocate this to a temporally discrete period – a period that coincides with cultural contact and urban growth . It is not unreasonable to assume that the evidence recovered by the DAEI represents not only accumulated waste-products and disposal, but fundamental changes to the socio-economic organisation of the communities on the Rania Plain . From the current evidence, it is apparent that the settlements and landscape around Bab-w-Kur underwent radical transformations in the mid-late LC with shifts in the roles and socio-economic status of sites; from once prosperous settlements with large monumental buildings, to that of pottery production (Bab) and the locations for largescale systematic trash dumping (Bab and Kur). The sites appear to have lost their permanent inhabitants and the population presumably shifted elsewhere . Yet this was a period of settlement growth on the plain with preliminary results from surveys pointing towards the LC as a period of high settlement numbers and density (Skuldbøl and Colantoni 2016). What is becoming clearer as the DAEI continues to explore the Bab-w-Kur settlement complex is that the mass garbage events mark the last period in a series of radical changes . This leads to the question of how this garbage accumulated . Our initial studies of the ceramic assemblages show that mass-produced vessels make up the largest component of the garbage deposits. When taken together, the frequency, size and limited range of the contents of the garbage deposits point towards specialized activities that resulted in industrial levels of refuse dumping. Unfortunately, the deposits themselves have failed so far to provide explicit indicators of what may have been entailed in these activities. However, the large quantities of Bevelled Rim Bowls point towards the possible provisioning or preparation of food on a mass scale at the site (further investigations, such as the analyses of archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological samples, as well as soil samples for residue analyses, are underway). This may possibly represent episodes of mass labour activity in the area . The large number of pits and garbage deposits identified, as well as their linear arrangement, suggest organised, recurrent and systematic management of garbage disposal (Skuldbøl et al. 2016). We also assume that the settlement complex was a location for specialised production within a system of – potentially specialised – settlements across the plain. The evidence of large-scale and systematic trash dumping leads to a number of related questions. The substantial trashing events taken in conjunction with settlement sprawl4 around the two primary mounds point towards the transformation of not only the settlements of Bab-w-Kur but also the wider landscape into one of exploitation. This

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The potential relationship between the emergence of urban/industrial sprawl in this period and the transformational processes that communities underwent as they became parts of wider economic exchange systems are still to be established, but should nonetheless be considered . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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was a landscape which was becoming the locale for production, discard and abandonment .5 These visible changes in the industrialisation of the landscape on the Rania Plain may tie into the phenomenon of early urbanism itself. This is potentially a significant indicator of the radical shifts that societies were undergoing during the LC period: a period in which we see the untidy process of urbanisation occurring in the region . The dating of the trashing and sprawling lies within the mid-late LC, a period associated with extensive cross-regional interaction with Uruk Mesopotamia and, in the context of the discussion here, may have played a part in stimulating these transformative events . For all our speculation, however, the catalysts behind the transformations visible in archaeological record at Bab-w-Kur, and presumably at other settlements across the Rania Plain itself, are at present unknown. We hypothesise that the driving factors for some of the transformational processes are local and thus a continuation of urban development on the plain, but with strong stimuli originating from the increase in region-wide cultural contact . The identification of transformations takes as a basis the assumption that we should not be overly reliant on simply the visibility of distinctive material culture as an indicator of substantial change, but rather develop an awareness of ‘rapid’ changes in the way that communities were organised – both administratively and spatially. This, admittedly, is a slightly more complex affair . Changes of this nature in a society are explicit indicators of influence and consequence. So, for example, rather than simply interpreting sites as inhabited settlements we should also attempt to identify changes in site function . The widespread evidence for trashing recognised by the DAEI in conjunction with the change in site function to one of probable production locales is a reflection of radical transformative processes: processes that may have been stimulated by interaction. One of the benefits of investigating small settlements is that radical transformations are far easier to recognise compared to large urban centres which are complex entities difficult to decipher with confidence. 6. Future work Over the next few years the DAEI has a number of core research aims: 1. What was the nature, pace and scope of the growth of urban societies in northern Mesopotamia?

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In previous publications the authors have speculated (Skuldbøl and Colantoni 2016) about specialised landscapes: landscapes that were subject to exploitation with off site/satellite production centres. In the case of Bab-w-Kur we see what appear to have been redundant settlements, surrounded by small satellite sprawl, now handed over to productive activities . This may have formed part of the complex variability in functions between sites in the LC settlement network of the Rania Plain, with these specialised settlements acting as one of the constituent parts of an urbanised landscape and larger interaction sphere . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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2. How did urbanism affect the socio-economic organisation of settlements? 3. How does urbanisation shape the human landscape on a local and regional basis? The resolution of these questions will provide a better understanding the anatomy and temporal development of early urbanism on the plain, i .e . the morphology of the urban landscape and the spatial and socio-economic organisation of early urban societies. The DAEI is also in the process of refining the chronological parameters at Bab-w-Kur in order to understand the specifics of the visible transformations. Extensive dating of samples from stratified deposits will establish a fine-resolution chronology for the urbanisation process . This is an important step towards understanding the intricate processes and the developmental timeline of the first urban societies on the plain, and to compare this with processes visible in other regions . 7. About DAEI The Danish Archaeological Expedition to Iraq (DAEI) is a collaboration between the National Museum of Denmark and University of Copenhagen and is co-directed by Tim Skuldbøl, Carlo Colantoni and Mette Marie Hald. This collaborative project is investigating early cities and the organisation of urban societies in Northern Mesopotamia . It aims to explore the anatomy and temporal development of early urbanism in Mesopotamia from an innovative interdisciplinary perspective that includes urban landscape morphology, the socio-economic organisation of early cities and a new, refined method of establishing a fine-resolution chronology of the urbanisation process . Since 2012 the project has conducted archaeological research in the Zagros foothills of north-eastern Iraq with excavations and survey on the Rania Plain . The investigations have revealed fascinating evidence for early urban development in a region which, until very recently, was remote and under-explored . The project also contributes to the monitoring and protection of the region’s archaeological heritage. The DAEI uses a multi-scalar methodological approach developed by the authors which involves remote-sensing, surface inspections, surface scraping, geological coring, small scale excavations and systematic soil sampling . These methods provide important insights into the strategies employed by early urban societies for the handling and management of garbage . Acknowledgements We are greatly indebted to the Directorate General of Antiquities under the direction of Mala Awat; the Sulaimaniyah Directorate of Antiquities and Heritage directed by Kamal Rasheed Raheem; the Archaeological Museum of Sulaymaniyah, directed by Hashim Hama Abdulla; and the Raparin Directorate of Antiquities directed by Barzan Baiz Ismail for their invaluable support and assistance. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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The DAEI is kindly sponsored by the: Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation – Danish Council for Independent Research; Danish Institute in Damascus; Brdr. Hartmanns Fond; Julie von Müllens Fond – The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters; University of Copenhagen – Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies; National Museum of Denmark; and the Gerald Averay Wainwright Fund, University of Oxford. Further Information: Project webpage: www.urbarch.tors.ku.dk; Facebook: www.facebook.com/babwkur. Bibliography Colantoni, C . 2012 Touching the void. The post-Akkadian period viewed from Tell Brak. In: H. Weiss (ed.), Seven Generations Since the Fall of Akkad. Studia Chaburensia 3. Wiesbaden, 45–64. 2017

Are we any closer to establishing how many Sumerians per hectare? Recent approaches to understanding the spatial dynamics of populations in ancient Mesopotamian cities. In: Y. Heffron, A. Stone and M. Worthington (eds.), At the Dawn of History: Ancient Near Eastern Studies in Honour of J. N. Postgate. Winona Lake, 95–117.

Emberling, G. and Minc, L. 2016 Ceramics and long-distance trade in early Mesopotamian states. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 7, 819–834. Isendahl, C. and Smith, M. E. 2013 Sustainable agrarian urbanism: The low-density cities of the Mayas and Aztecs. Cities 31: 132–143. McMahon, A. and Crawford, H. (eds.) 2015 Preludes to Urbanism: Studies in the Late Chalcolithic of Mesopotamia in Honour of Joan Oates. Cambridge . Minc, L. and Emberling, G. 2016 Trade and interaction during the era of the Uruk expansion: Recent insights from archaeometric analyses . Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 7, 793–797. O’Brian, M. 2008 A Crisis of Waste? Understanding the Rubbish Society. New York – London. Rathje, W. and Murphy, C. 2001 Rubbish. The Archaeology of Garbage . Tucson . Skuldbøl, T. B. B. and Colantoni, C. 2014 Damage assessment of Iraq’s past: Archaeological heritage management on the Rania Plain, Iraqi Kurdistan. Middle East – Topics & Arguments (META) 3, 41–54. 2016

Early urbanism on the margins of Upper Mesopotamia – Complex settlement patterns and urban transformations on the Rania Plain in northeastern Iraq. In: M. Iamoni (ed.), Trajectories of Complexity. Socio-economic Dynamics in Upper Mesopotamia in the Neolithic and Chalcolithic Periods. Studia Chaburensia 6. Wiesbaden, 1–26.

2017 in press Interaction and culture contacts in the Late Chalcolithic period: New evidence on the Uruk culture from the Zagros foothills. In: J. Eidem (ed.), Zagros. Proceedings of the NINO Jubilee Conference 2014 and other Studies. Zagros Studies 1. Publications de l’Institut historique-archéologique néerlandais de Stamboul 130. Leiden, © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Skuldbøl, T. B. B., Colantoni, C. and Hald, M. M. 2016 Why manage garbage? New light on the management of garbage in early urban societies. Poster presented at the 10th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, 25–29 April 2016, Vienna, Austria . Published on (last access 17.1.2018) and . Skuldbøl, T. B. B., Colantoni, C., Hald, M.M. and McMahon, A. in prep. World’s first urban waste crisis (working title). To be submitted to Antiquity in 2017. Skuldbøl, T. B. B., Hald, M. M., Colantoni, C., Weber, J., Nielsen R. B., Thaarup, G. B. and Brahe, H. 2014 Arkæologi i vandkanten – redningsundersøgelser langs Dokan-søen i det nordøstlige Irak. Nationalmuseets Arbejdsmark 2014, 144–157. Skuldbøl, T. B. B., Hald, M. M. and McMahon, A. 2012 Who takes out the trash?: New light on the socioeconomic organization of early cities . Poster presented at the 8th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, 2012, Warsaw, Poland . Stein, G. 2014 Economic dominance, conquest, or interaction among equals? Theoretical models for understanding culture contact in early Near Eastern complex societies. In: H. Azizi, M. Khanipoor and R. Naseri (eds.), Proceedings of the 4th Iranian Archaeologists Conference. Tehran. Tehran, 55–67. Wilson, D . C . 1994 Identification and assessment of secondary refuse aggregates. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 1/1, 41–68.

Fig. 1 The twin mounds of Bab-w-Kur. Kur is in the foreground and Bab is in Lake Dokan. The location of Bab-w-Kur indicated by a star on a map of Iraq, with the Zagros mountains in dark grey. Lake Dokan is the white triangle below the star (image: H. Brahe 2013; illustration: C. Colantoni) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 2 The main mound of Bab. Systematic trash pitting into the Monumental Tripartite Building (LC 3–4, outlined in white) on the top of the mound and the lower ‘Red Mudbrick Town’ (LC 2–3). The pitting, dating to the LC 4–5, is represented by white circles (UAV image: H. Brahe 2015; illustration: C. Colantoni)

Fig. 3 Evidence of Late Chalcolithic garbage management at the site of Kur. The ‘Niched Building’ (LC 3–4), the systematic garbage pitting on the slopes of the mound and the large area of trash deposits on the top (LC 4–5) are all visible (UAV image: Henrik Brahe 2013; illustration: C. Colantoni) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 4 Garbage dump from the top of Kur containing a large garbage deposit with Bevelled Rim Bowls and southern Mesopotamian vessel types (photos: H. Brahe 2013)

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Fig. 5 Garbage pit (foreground) at Bab. The excavation of the Red Mudbrick Town is visible in the background (photo: T. Skuldbøl 2012) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Excavations at Kunara (Iraqi Kurdistan): New Results Aline Tenu 1 Abstract Kunara is a 7–9ha site, located near the modern city of Suleymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan . It was identified during a survey conducted in 2011 by the Mission archéologique du Peramagron, directed at that time by Christine Kepinski. Three seasons of excavation took place in 2012, 2013, and 2015. In 2015 three areas were opened, all in the lower town. Area E yielded the remains of a single phase characterised by a monumental building. In Area B and C, two phases or levels were identified. The most recent, Level 1, was badly preserved in both areas. In Area B a significant building and secondary structures were excavated. In Area C, two buildings were identified associated with a sunken cellar and external floors. One room of the western building contained a seal as well as pottery sherds decorated with applied snake and scorpion designs. Eight tablets, damaged by the violent fire which consumed the building, were discovered in the cellar. The levels excavated so far in Kunara belong mainly to the final centuries of the 3rd millennium BC.

Kunara is located in Iraqi Kurdistan, near the modern city of Suleymaniyah, on the right bank of the Tanjaro River (Fig. 1). It covers an area of between 7 and 9ha and consists of an upper town to the west and a lower town to the east. These are now separated by a modern asphalted road. According to Mark Altaweel who conducted an electric resistivity tomography survey in the region of Kunara, palaeo-channels once flowed directly south of the site. 2 Kunara was chosen for investigation on the basis of the results obtained during a survey conducted in 2011 (Kepinski 2014; Kepinski and Tenu 2014: 5–6; Tenu in press). Kunara was the largest site in the area of the survey and showed a long sequence of occupation from the Chalcolithic to the 2nd millennium BC.

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CNRS, équipe Histoire et archéologie de l’Orient cunéiforme, Nanterre. The 2015 season took place between the 11 September and the 22 October. Our mission has been generously supported by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Eveha Archaeological research and investigations, Total E & P Kurdistan Region of Iraq, team Histoire et Archéologie de l’orient cunéiforme. We received invaluable assistance from the Directorate of Antiquities in Suleymaniyah especially Mr. Kamal Rasheed Rahim Zewe, its director, and Mr. Hashim Hama Abdullah, director of the Museum of Suleymaniyah. The team was composed of Aline Tenu (CNRS, director), Rowan Lacey (Eveha, topographer), Florine Marchand (Free University of Brussels, archaeologist), Fairidoune Faiek Mahmood (Directorate of Antiquities, driver), Perween Yawer Minda (Directorate of Antiquities, representative), Laetitia Munduteguy (independent illustrator), Nordine Ouraghi (Eveha, archaeologist), Bérengère Perello (CNRS, archaeologist), Cécile Verdellet (University Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne, archaeologist). I thank Rowan Lacey for correcting my English. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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In 2012, before the start of the excavations, Christophe Benech carried out a geophysical survey on the site of the lower town. Four main structures were identified. To the north was a polygonal structure which appeared to post-date a second, larger, building located to the south. The building, which measured at least 60m by 30m, seemed to be divided into two main blocks organised around two courtyards. To the south two further structures with different orientations were identified by the survey (Kepinski et al. 2015: 61–63, Kepinski in press). In 2012 three areas were investigated. Area A, excavated in 2012 and 2013, was located on the site of the upper town. Two areas, B and C, were positioned so as to investigate structures identified by the geomagnetic survey. In 2013, two trenches (Area D) were located with a view to identifying a possible fortification system around the lower town. Finally, in 2015, Area E was opened to the north of the lower town (Fig. 2) (Kepinski and Tenu 2016a). 1. Area A The aim in Area A, the only area excavated to date on the site of the upper town, was to define a stratigraphic sequence for the pottery associated with radiocarbon-dated samples. The excavation revealed the existence of two successive buildings erected on the top of a sand platform at least 3.5m high. We have not yet reached its base but we have identified the remains of a stone stairway, 7m long and 0.90m wide, which gave access to its summit. We uncovered a part of a large courtyard which measured at least 100m2 and one room lying to the north. The plans of both buildings underwent only minor changes over time, but the thickness of the walls increased significantly from 0.70m to 2.60m. In its later phase the northern wall of the courtyard, founded on a massive stone footing, was constructed of cob which alternated with layers of mudbrick. Various systems of ceramic pipes facilitated rainwater drainage. One of these consisted of terracotta tubes nested within one another and was found preserved to a length of 10m (Kepinski and Tenu 2014: 8–10; Kepinski and Tenu 2016b: 150–151; Kepinski et al. 2015: 67–69). 2. Area D In 2013, we opened two trenches (D1 and D2) on the slope of the lower town in order to identify the remains of an ancient defensive system and, in Area D1, to study the stratigraphic relationship between the upper and lower towns. No rampart has been discovered so far in Kunara. Both trenches revealed domestic quarters (Kepinski and Tenu 2014: 15–16; Kepinski and Tenu 2016b: 150–156). The lowest level (Level 4) in Area D1 might be slightly earlier in date than the oldest monumental building in Area A. © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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An obsidian artefact was discovered in Area D1. Research by Florine Marchand has identified parallels in the 3rd millennium levels at Tell Bazi (Einwag, Otto and Fink, personal communication to Florine Marchand). 3. Area E The decision to excavate in Area E was based on the many sherds of pottery and huge stone blocks which were visible on the surface. Under the supervision of Florine Marchand the excavation revealed the remains of a monumental building, defined by a large wall (602) (Fig. 3), at least 13m long and 1.35m wide. It was built with layers of earth laid upon stone footings. Lower footings, constructed of smaller stones, may have belonged to benches or to dividing walls designed to delimit rooms. On the floor of two of these rooms we discovered significant quantities of broken pottery. These included fragments of large storage jars – some of them decorated with black stripes made with paint or bitumen – as well as medium-sized pots and fine ware. The area investigated was too limited to establish the relationship between this structure and others in the lower town. Its dating, to the end of the 3rd millennium BC, was confirmed by the character of the large pottery assemblage. In the south-eastern corner of the trench a stratified fill containing ash and charcoal (610) indicated that the building had remained in use for rather longer than others in the lower town. This may explain why no later level, contemporary with Level 1 in Area B and C, has been identified so far. Notable discoveries from this season included a fragment from a zoomorphic figurine, a triangular bronze object, clay tokens and flint tools. 4. Area B The excavation in Area B, which began in 2012, was designed to explore a large building revealed by the geomagnetic survey. In 2012 and 2013, this building was identified in three different trenches (Kepinski and Tenu 2014: 11–13; Kepinski and Tenu 2016b: 152–153, Kepinski et al. 2015: 65–67). A narrow trench, B2, originally opened in 2012 and measuring 45m² was enlarged in 2015 at the junction of the two blocks identified by the geomagnetic survey, in order to better understand the structure, layout and history of the building. Two phases or levels were identified. The most recent contained architectural remains whose function remains unknown. This level was however very similar to Level 1 in Area C. Similar building techniques were identified and the stone foundations were orientated on the same alignment. In 2015 a floor was identified associated with diagnostic pottery. According to Cécile Verdellet, this dated to the very end of the 3rd millennium . © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Level 2 corresponded with the remains identified by the geomagnetic survey (Fig. 4). The walls were built on massive stone footings, more than 1.30m thick. They were faced with uncut blocks (sometimes more than 80cm long) and had a filling which consisted of smaller stones. The earthen superstructure, studied by Berengère Perello, was constructed of diverse and unusual types of cob. In 2015, we uncovered room 164 which measured about 9m². It was equipped with a tannur and a low bench set against its western wall. Fragmentary baked bricks marked the threshold. After the building had started to decay, it appears to have become the location of squatter occupation. An unexpected result of the excavations undertaken in 2015 was the discovery that the architectural remains found in Area B did not belong to a single building, but rather to different structures. The room described above corresponded to the south-eastern end of a free-standing building with a main façade which faced east (Fig. 5). Two observations supported this hypothesis. Firstly, a low bench-like structure, identified in 2012 in this sector and which continues northward, was clearly associated with the façade as it did not run along the perpendicular wall. In addition, one of the main entrances was marked by a very large monolithic threshold more than 1.70m long. In front of this entrance we uncovered a ramp (119), previously thought to be a wall belonging to an older, levelled, building. The ramp, which was 1.50m wide, was made of flat stone blocks and pebbles. It sloped gradually from the east to the west where it abutted the façade. Pebbled floors associated with it showed evidence of different phases of use. About 3m to the east of the first building we identified another which consisted of at least two rooms (146 and 169). Its external walls were 1.10m wide and were built of earth on stone footings. Sherds of broken pots covered the floors of both rooms. To the north, room 146, measuring approximately 15m², was delimited by a wall interrupted by a threshold (171) which was constructed of roughly arranged stones. To the west, a third room (172) was delimited by two walls (173 and 174), only one course high and one row wide. It has been only partly excavated but it could have been a temporary shelter, constructed against the building. To the south of the main building a footpath covered with pebbles separated two rooms, not yet excavated, that probably belonged to different architectural units. The identification of several buildings organised in an orthogonal layout – rather than a single monumental construction as previously thought – constituted one of the main discoveries of the 2015 season. We suggest that the complex consisted of a large public edifice facing east with access via a ramp which was surrounded by secondary buildings, erected to accommodate other activities or to enlarge the main complex which had become too small for its purpose. The dating of the structures explored in Area B is becoming clearer and more accurate. Level 1 lies directly on the decayed earth walls of Level 2 and, on the basis of the pottery associated with it, dates to the final centuries of the 3rd millennium BC. Two different phases of occupation are attested in Level 2. The time interval between them was probably short as the pottery does not differ significantly. But when people © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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squatted in room 164, the building – though still standing and visible – was already dilapidated. Apart from pottery, the finds from 2015 included an animal figurine, a bronze pin and various obsidian artefacts. 5. Area C Area C has been excavated under the direction of Nordine Ouraghi since 2012 (Kepinski and Tenu 2014: 13–14; Kepinski and Tenu 2016b: 153–155, Kepinski et al. 2015: 64–65). It has yielded two main phases and covers an area of 600m2. The most recent phase, which lies only a few centimetres beneath the modern ground surface, was badly preserved and only the stone foundations survived. These belonged to three buildings whose function is undetermined. No floors were found so the dating was speculative until the discovery in 2015 of a contemporary floor in Area B. This indicated that Level 1 in Areas B and C dates back to the very end of the 3rd millennium. The earliest phase (Level 2) was characterised by two buildings to the north, associated with a kind of vaulted cellar to the south (Fig. 6) and with several external floors to the east. A staircase gave access to the complete complex from the south. In 2015 the southern part of the two northern buildings was excavated. The building to the east (279) measured 9.60m in width. Its entrance was marked by a mud brick threshold and by a door socket. Only two rooms of the western building, connected by stairs, (517) have been identified. Room 507 to the south measured only 5.40m², but an eroded seal was found amongst the sherds of pottery (Fig. 7). It depicts a contest scene with three groups of standing figures. The first one is composed by a human-headed bull looking back and a nude bearded hero who raises his left arm. The second group comprises two poorly preserved figures. One might be a quadruped looking back, the second a bull-man with a long tail. In the third group, a lion attacks a quadruped(?) held by a man. The seal can be ascribed to the end of the Akkadian period or to the Ur III period. The northern room (516) contained a significant quantity of potsherds belonging to storage jars which were found near the staircase. Some were elaborately decorated with snakes and scorpions (Fig. 8). A ram-shaped spout was also found. Six rooms in the cellar have been excavated. To the north the walls stood 1.50m high and part of the vaulted ceiling was still standing. In places the ground floor above this sunken structure was covered with baked bricks which had fallen into the rooms below when the building was destroyed by an intense fire. A staircase located to the east gave access to the cellar. The large quantity of sherds from jars which were scattered across the floors of these rooms (other than around the entrance) suggest that their primary function had been storage. This hypothesis may be supported by the contents of the tablets also found in three of the rooms (217, 242 and 219). The fierce fire that had consumed the building had significantly damaged the eight tablets, some of which had exploded because of the heat. By October 2015 only one tablet had cleaned sufficiently for the content to be read from photographs by © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Philippe Clancier. It proved to be an administrative text, dealing with large quantities of flour. This structure was also notable because of the elaborate and diverse building techniques represented in its walls. The northern walls consisted of a stone foundation with a cob superstructure and several layers of mud brick. The cob had been faced, while still wet, with baked bricks. This very unusual building technique was most probably intended to insulate the rooms. To the south, walls were made with mud bricks and baked bricks sometimes coated with earth tempered with straw. The archaeological material discovered on the floors of all three buildings dated to the last third of the 3rd millennium BC. Much later, in the 13th century AD, a grave was dug in the area from which a number of iron objects were recovered as well as a faïence bead. Traces of organic material were still visible: the wood of the knife handle and fabric on a buckle. 6. Conclusion Since 2012 five areas have been excavated at Kunara, one in the upper town and four in the lower town. They document an important phase of occupation of the site dating to the final centuries of the 3rd millennium BC. In addition to radiocarbon dates, this dating relies on pottery studied by Cécile Verdellet, on lithics studied by Florine Marchand, on tablets studied by Philippe Clancier, and on seals studied by Nordine Ouraghi. The presence of monumental buildings in the upper town as well as in the lower town was completely unexpected. The importance of Kunara suggested by the presence of these public buildings is confirmed by the discovery of a cylinder seal in 2012 (Kepinski et al. 2015: 70–72), and in 2015 of a seal impression as well as by eight cuneiform tablets. Building techniques in Kunara were very sophisticated. Their diversity reflects the skill of the builders who seem to have explored all the possibilities offered by earth as a building material. The masons and architects of Kunara, driven by innovation, developed techniques which combined mud bricks, fired bricks, and different kinds of cob. In Area A, every 60cm, cob was interrupted by a layer of mud bricks covered with diluted bitumen. In Area B, wet earth layers were combined with a homogeneous earth fill. The building traditions in Kunara differ considerably from contemporary traditions in Mesopotamia proper. The study of these techniques is the responsibility of Berengère Perello. In Level 3 (Area A), monumental buildings are attested in both the upper and the lower town, but in the subsequent phase the lower town contained only modest buildings. We suggest that initially various monumental buildings were erected, each designed to fulfil different functions. These functions were later brought together in a single and even more imposing building which was erected on the top of the platform in the upper town. This important shift in planning of Kunara may reflect a new © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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concentration of power and a radical change in the political structure of the site or of the wider region. In the 3rd millennium BC, the area around Suleymaniyah was probably part of the land of the Lullubu (Kepinski et al. 2015: 53–59). Little is known about it, except for the difficulties that the Mesopotamian kings faced in conquering it. We hope the work undertaken in Kunara will contribute to a better understanding of it and its history . Bibliography Kepinski, C. 2014 Research in the Suleymaniyah Province (Iraq): The Upper Tanjaro survey. In: P. Bieliński, M. Gawlikowski, R. Koliński, D. Ławecka, A. Sołtysiak and Z. Wygnańska (eds.), Proceedings of the 8th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, 30 April – 4 May 2012, University of Warsaw, Volume 2. Wiesbaden, 149–164. in press Rapport préliminaire sur la première campagne de fouilles à Kunara (Mission Archéologique du Peramagron 2012) : niveaux fin Bronze Ancien, début Bronze Moyen. Études Mésopotamiennes – Mesopotamian Studies 1, in press. Kepinski, C. and Tenu, A. 2014 Kunara, ville majeure de la haute vallée du Tanjaro (Irak, Kurdistan, province de Souleymanieh). Routes de l’Orient, Revue d’archéologie de l’Orient ancien, hors série 1, 4–19. 2016a Two seasons of excavations at Kunara (Upper Tanjaro): An Early and Middle Bronze Age city. In: K. Kopanias and J. MacGinnis (eds.), Archaeological Research in the Kurdistan of Iraq and the Adjacent Areas. Oxford, 139–145. 2016b Kunara, a Bronze Age city on the Upper Tanjaro (Iraq). In: R. A. Stucky, O. Kaelin and H.-P. Mathys (eds.), Proceedings of the 9th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. Volume 3. Wiesbaden, 147–159. Kepinski, C., Tenu, A., Benech, C., Clancier, C., Hollemaert, C., Ouraghi, N. and Verdellet, C. 2015 Kunara, petite ville des piedmonts du Zagros à l’âge du Bronze: rapport préliminaire sur la première campagne de fouilles, 2012 (Kurdistan Irakien). Akkadica 136, 51–88. Tenu, A. in press Prospection dans la haute vallée du Tanjaro. Mission archéologique française du Peramagron 2011. Études Mésopotamiennes – Mesopotamian Studies 1, in press.

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Fig. 1 Location of Kunara (map: Hélène David, Mission archéologique du Peramagron)

Fig. 2 Topographic map of Kunara (B. Hollemaert, R. Lacey, Mission archéologique du Peramagron) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

Excavations at Kunara (Iraqi Kurdistan): New Results

Fig. 3 View of Area E looking north (Mission archéologique du Peramagron)

Fig. 4 Plan of the architectural remains in Sector B2 (B. Hollemaert, R. Lacey, R. Douaud, Mission archéologique du Peramagron) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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Fig. 5 The facade of the main building with the monolithic threshold and the ramp (Mission archéologique du Peramagron)

Fig. 6 View of the sunken cellar looking east (Mission archéologique du Peramagron) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

Excavations at Kunara (Iraqi Kurdistan): New Results

Fig. 7 Jar seal depicting a fight scene (Mission archéologique du Peramagron)

Fig. 8 Sherd with a design depicting a snake and a scorpion (Mission archéologique du Peramagron) © 2018, Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden ISBN Print: 978-3-447-10997-0 — ISBN E-Book: 978-3-447-19743-4

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