Archaeological site identification from open access multispectral imagery: Cloud computing applications in Northern Kurdistan (Iraq)

This paper presents the results of an archaeological survey carried out in the Navkur Plain, Iraqi Kurdistan, as part of the ‘Asingeran Archaeological Project’. The survey was prepared using remote sensing products accessed via Google Earth Engineⓒ, a large-scale cloud computing service freely available to the scientific community that allows processing remote sensing big data. Outputs generated with a multitemporal approach are particularly successful for archaeological research, because it is possible to maximize the visibility of archaeological sites, improving their detection. Multispectral imagery from Landsat 5, Landsat 7 and Sentinel-2 collections were used and processed, testing their utility for finding unknown ancient settlements in the densely studied area of Northern Mesopotamia. Seventeen new sites were discovered in an already surveyed area of limited size (<100 km2), showing the potentialities of this method. The advantages of cloud computing for Near Eastern Archaeology and the results of the survey are also presented and discussed

The Destruction of Cultural Heritage: A Crime Against Property or a Crime Against People?, 15 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 336 (2016)

The destruction of cultural heritage has played a prominent role in the ongoing conflicts in Syria and Iraq and in the recent conflict in Mali. This destruction has displayed the failure of international law to effectively deter these actions. This article reviews existing international law in light of this destruction and the challenges posed by the issues of non-international armed conflict, non-state actors and the military necessity exception. By examining recent developments in applicable international law, the article proposes that customary international law has evolved to interpret existing legal instruments and doctrines concerning cultural heritage in light of the principles of proportionality and distinction and a definition of intentionality that includes extreme negligence and willful disregard. As a result, international law may more effectively foster the preservation of cultural heritage for future generations

Pots, people, and politics: a reconsideration of the role of ceramics in reconstructions of the Iron Age Northern Levant

This thesis aims to reconsider current reconstructions of the Iron Age Northern Levant and the role that ceramics studies have played in these interpretations. This study begins with an assessment of the use of the historical narrative in current interpretations. This historical interpretative framework has produced a broad perspective on Iron Age society, at the expense of localised behaviours. For this reason, the present study attempts to engage with Iron Age material culture, more specifically pottery, and consider its role within past societies beyond the broad socio-political histories depicted in texts. This study presents a regional ceramic typology for the Iron Age (including the Persian period) and undertakes an analysis of the distribution patterns of this typology across the Northern Levant. An alternative interpretation of the ceramic data is offered, before being compared with the current historical model. This alternative reconstruction focuses on theories of practice, and foodways, whilst appreciating the dynamic manner by which material culture is used to constantly negotiate and consolidate social structures. This thesis will determine the compatibility of archaeology and text, and make some final recommendations for their correlation

The Pax Assyriaca: an example of historical evolution of civilisations

This thesis seek to provide a study of the evolutionary process of ancient civilizations stressing the complementarily between theoretical principles with the relevant historical evidence. For this reason, the study will focus on the origin, development and collapse of the first stage of the ‘Central Civilization’, which was the result of the merger of two primeval civilizations, such as Mesopotamia and Egypt, during the ‘Near Eastern phase’ of this Central Civilisation. This merger seems to have been the result of the political expansion of an imperial entity coming from Mesopotamia under the aegis of the so-called Neo-Assyrian Empire from 1000 BC to 600 BC – better known as the $Pax$ $Assyriaca$ – although the process of full integration with Egypt seems to have been concluded by the successor empires of Assyria circa 430 BC

From the Prehistory of Upper Mesopotamia to the Bronze and Iron Age Societies of the Levant. Volume 1. Proceedings of the 5^th “Broadening Horizons” Conference (Udine 5-8 June 2017)

This volume contains 21 papers presented at Sessions 1 (The Neolithic–Chalcolithic transition in Upper Mesopotamia. Subsistence strategies, economy, society and identity; key note speaker M. Frangipane) and 2 (The Levant in the Bronze Age: crossroad or frontier between different cultures?; key note speaker A. Maeir) of the 5th edition of the “Broadening Horizons” Conference, which was held at the University of Udine from 5th to 8th June 2017. Broadening Horizons is an international meeting that aims to offer an opportunity for relatively informal discussion, especially (though not exclusively) for young/early career archaeologists specialized in the ancient Near East and disciplines relevant to the main theme of each congress session. All the papers have passed a double blind peer-review process and provide significant contributions on a number of topics – among which material culture (e.g. pottery tradition and architecture), settlement pattern, social changes, cultural transmission and economic dynamics – that are of fundamental importance for the archaeology of Mesopotamia and the Levant

A revised history of the era of King Hezekiah of Judah and its background

Abstract The reason why I have called this thesis a revised history for the era of king Hezekiah, and for the background to that era, is because my reconstruction of this particular period of the history of ancient Israel and of the nations associated with it will depart quite significantly from the standard text-book versions of it. My justification for blazing this unique historical trail stems from the comments made by examiners of my 1993 MA thesis, The Sothic Star Theory of the Egyptian Calendar, to the effect that: (a) I had shown the conventional chronology of ancient Egypt - to which that of the other nations (such as Assyria, Babylonia, Israel, Ethiopia and Greece) is largely tied - to be quite unsound, and that therefore, (b) the way lies open for ‘a more acceptable alternative’. Basically, this thesis is that ‘alternative’ as I see it for the era of king Hezekiah of Judah (late C8th BC), and for the background to that era (largely commencing early C9th BC). This new thesis will be an in-depth chronological analysis and realignment of the era of Hezekiah and its background with a special focus upon trying to determine, in a revised context, who were the Judaean king’s major contemporaries and what were their origins. Though Hezekiah’s era is generally quite a well-documented one, I expect to show in this thesis that it nevertheless stands in need of a substantial renovation, due especially to the over-extended Egyptian Sothic chronology and its effect upon the current version of neo-Assyrian history with which biblical historians have attempted to align the reign of king Hezekiah. The renovation to be undertaken in this thesis will reveal the era of Hezekiah to be in fact a most complex one; a meeting place for some extremely significant events in the history of Egypt/Ethiopia, Anatolia, Syro-Palestine, Greece and Mesopotamia. Introductory Section I review in Chapter 1, in a general way, the problems associated with the faulty chronology of Egypt, after having, in the Introduction, set the historical scene for Hezekiah, identifying the major nations at his time, and hinting at where the problems may lie and what sort of solutions will be proposed. A new set of chronological ‘anchors’ for the reign of king Hezekiah will be suggested. VOLUME ONE: A CHRONOLOGICAL REALIGNMENT OF KING HEZEKIAH AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES Part I: In Search of ‘A More Acceptable Alternative’ to the Conventional Background for the Era of Hezekiah In Chapter 2 I take an initial step back in time, in order to introduce a conglomerate of new peoples who appeared in the ancient Near East - ‘Indo-Europeans’ as I shall be generally calling them - amongst whom, as I shall argue, were the ancestors of some of the most important kings of Hezekiah’s day. Following on from this will be the introduction, in Chapter 3, of an early C9th BC king - arising from these immigrant peoples - whom I shall proceed to identify as a great ancestor-king, affecting major kingships contemporaneous with Hezekiah. This background analysis will continue on into Chapter 4, into the mid-late C9th BC, with the introduction of a second significant king, generally thought to have been a descendant of the first, who will be of crucial dynastic importance affecting Hezekiah’s time, especially in regard to Egypt. Part II: King Hezekiah and His Mesopotamian Contemporaries Revised In this section I consider the problems that specifically relate to the era of king Hezekiah and his connections primarily with Mesopotamia (mainly Assyria and Babylonia). In the first chapter, on Judah/Israel (Chapter 5), I examine the chronology of Hezekiah’s reign in its relation to the kingdom of Israel and the major events associated with the latter. Of special interest here will be the incident of the fall of Samaria. I shall, in regard to this incident, reconsider, and alter, the current dates for king Hezekiah himself; these, I shall argue, being based upon a faulty chronology of Assyria. Related to all of this will be Chapter 6, my lengthy revision of neo-Assyrian history, in which I shall arrive at some quite startling conclusions that will serve to shave off thirty years or more from the conventional estimate. Only as a result of these reduced dates though, shall I argue, can there be attained a proper correspondence between king Hezekiah and his Mesopotamian contemporaries, with the resulting chronological realignment becoming the very foundation stone for a new chronology of Judah/Israel. This revision will continue on into Chapter 7, with Babylonia. There I shall examine the major problems and propose solutions that I think will serve to bring a chronologico-historical harmony and alignment right across the board. Part III: King Hezekiah and His Egyptian Contemporaries Revised An even more complex task than attempting to bring into proper alignment the history of Mesopotamia for the Hezekian era will be that of grounding king Hezekiah’s Egypto-Ethiopian contemporaries. My discussion here will be dependent upon the conclusions already reached in Part I, in relation to the two seminal kings of foreign origin discussed there in detail. In Chapter 8, I shall set out in summary form all of the major Egypto-Ethiopian activity - and its agents - thought to have been concurrent with the reign of king Hezekiah. Then, in Chapter 9 and Chapter 10, respectively, I shall focus upon the influence, on the nation of Egypt, of those two seminal kings already discussed, with a view later to identifying in the fullest possible way all of Hezekiah’s major Egypto-Ethiopian contemporaries. Chapter 11 will afford me with the opportunity of bringing the revised history right to the dawn of the era of Hezekiah; whilst in Chapter 12, now fully within the Hezekian era, I shall finally be able to propose specific answers - based on my lengthy (of necessity) revision of the background Egyptian history - to what will have turned out to be two extremely difficult questions to answer: namely, Who were king Hezekiah’s main Egypto-Ethiopian contemporaries (and what were their origins)? and: To which dynasties did these particular pharaohs belong? VOLUME TWO: SENNACHERIB’S INVASIONS OF HEZEKIAH’S KINGDOM AND HIS DEFEAT Part I: Sennacherib’s Invasions of King Hezekiah’s Kingdom Having attempted to establish, in VOLUME ONE, a most comprehensive, revised alignment of king Hezekiah with all of his major contemporaries, from Egypt/Ethiopia to Mesopotamia, I now proceed to tackle vexed problems associated with the king’s reign in regard to the incursions of Assyria into the Judaean kingdom. For example: Did Sennacherib king of Assyria launch a major attack on Jerusalem once or twice? and: What actually happened to Sennacherib’s army of 185,000? My revision of neo-Assyrian history has now hopefully made it possible for me to provide a firm answer to the first question, to which I shall dedicate Chapter 1. Part II: Demise of the Assyrian Army and of Sennacherib To answer the second question, I shall be drawing also upon the pseudepigraphal Book of Judith in Chapter 2 and Chapter 3. This action-packed book holds, I believe, the very key to what happened to the ill-fated Assyrian army. But I must at the same time fully integrate the Book of Judith with Kings, Chronicles and Isaiah for the era of Hezekiah so that there can be no doubt about the former’s relevance. This detailed work will simply be an extension of VOLUME ONE, in which I had sought to confirm who were king Hezekiah’s contemporaries. But it will also add a fascinating new dimension to it. The Epilogue will provide me with an opportunity to discuss the aftermath of the Assyrian defeat and what befell some of the leading characters whom we shall have encountered. It will also serve as a lead-in to my Excursus on Isaiah, whose primary purpose will be to highlight the prophet’s celebrated rôle - according to this revision - in Assyria, subsequent to Israel’s victory. A reconstructed history (chronology) needs a revised stratigraphy to underpin it all. Throughout this thesis I shall also be endeavouring to lay down a sound, basic stratigraphy for king Hezekiah and his contemporaries and for the background to Hezekiah’s era

Satellite Imagery-Based Damage Assessment on Nineveh and Nebi Yunus Archaeological Site in Iraq

During the last decades, archaeological site looting throughout Iraq has increased significantly up to a point where some of the most famous and relevant ancient Mesopotamian cities are currently threatened in their integrity. Several important archaeological monuments and artifacts have been destroyed, due to ISIL attacks and associated looting. Since 2016, the policies of the European Union have been increasingly harsh to condemn these atrocious acts of destruction. In such a scenario, the European Union Satellite Centre can be an invaluable instrument for the identification and assessment of the damage in areas occupied by ISIL. A detailed view of the damage suffered by the Nineveh and Nebi Yunus ancient sites, in Iraq, was assessed via visual inspection. The analysis was conducted considering the main events that occurred in the city of Mosul, between November 2013 and March 2018. More than 25 satellite images, new acquisitions and archived, supported by collateral data, allowed the detection and classification of the damage occurred over time. A description of the methodology and the classification of category and type of damage is presented. The results of the analysis confirm the dramatic levels of destruction that these two ancient sites have been suffering since 2013. The analysis reported in this paper is part of a wider study that the SatCen conducted in cooperation with the EU Counter-Terrorism Office and PRISM Office. The whole activity aimed at confirming to EU institutions the massive looting and trafficking operated in the area. The results have been provided to archaeologists in the field as well in support of local authorities who are trying to evaluate the current situation in the area

A revised history of the era of King Hezekiah of Judah and its background

Abstract The reason why I have called this thesis a revised history for the era of king Hezekiah, and for the background to that era, is because my reconstruction of this particular period of the history of ancient Israel and of the nations associated with it will depart quite significantly from the standard text-book versions of it. My justification for blazing this unique historical trail stems from the comments made by examiners of my 1993 MA thesis, The Sothic Star Theory of the Egyptian Calendar, to the effect that: (a) I had shown the conventional chronology of ancient Egypt - to which that of the other nations (such as Assyria, Babylonia, Israel, Ethiopia and Greece) is largely tied - to be quite unsound, and that therefore, (b) the way lies open for ‘a more acceptable alternative’. Basically, this thesis is that ‘alternative’ as I see it for the era of king Hezekiah of Judah (late C8th BC), and for the background to that era (largely commencing early C9th BC). This new thesis will be an in-depth chronological analysis and realignment of the era of Hezekiah and its background with a special focus upon trying to determine, in a revised context, who were the Judaean king’s major contemporaries and what were their origins. Though Hezekiah’s era is generally quite a well-documented one, I expect to show in this thesis that it nevertheless stands in need of a substantial renovation, due especially to the over-extended Egyptian Sothic chronology and its effect upon the current version of neo-Assyrian history with which biblical historians have attempted to align the reign of king Hezekiah. The renovation to be undertaken in this thesis will reveal the era of Hezekiah to be in fact a most complex one; a meeting place for some extremely significant events in the history of Egypt/Ethiopia, Anatolia, Syro-Palestine, Greece and Mesopotamia. Introductory Section I review in Chapter 1, in a general way, the problems associated with the faulty chronology of Egypt, after having, in the Introduction, set the historical scene for Hezekiah, identifying the major nations at his time, and hinting at where the problems may lie and what sort of solutions will be proposed. A new set of chronological ‘anchors’ for the reign of king Hezekiah will be suggested. VOLUME ONE: A CHRONOLOGICAL REALIGNMENT OF KING HEZEKIAH AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES Part I: In Search of ‘A More Acceptable Alternative’ to the Conventional Background for the Era of Hezekiah In Chapter 2 I take an initial step back in time, in order to introduce a conglomerate of new peoples who appeared in the ancient Near East - ‘Indo-Europeans’ as I shall be generally calling them - amongst whom, as I shall argue, were the ancestors of some of the most important kings of Hezekiah’s day. Following on from this will be the introduction, in Chapter 3, of an early C9th BC king - arising from these immigrant peoples - whom I shall proceed to identify as a great ancestor-king, affecting major kingships contemporaneous with Hezekiah. This background analysis will continue on into Chapter 4, into the mid-late C9th BC, with the introduction of a second significant king, generally thought to have been a descendant of the first, who will be of crucial dynastic importance affecting Hezekiah’s time, especially in regard to Egypt. Part II: King Hezekiah and His Mesopotamian Contemporaries Revised In this section I consider the problems that specifically relate to the era of king Hezekiah and his connections primarily with Mesopotamia (mainly Assyria and Babylonia). In the first chapter, on Judah/Israel (Chapter 5), I examine the chronology of Hezekiah’s reign in its relation to the kingdom of Israel and the major events associated with the latter. Of special interest here will be the incident of the fall of Samaria. I shall, in regard to this incident, reconsider, and alter, the current dates for king Hezekiah himself; these, I shall argue, being based upon a faulty chronology of Assyria. Related to all of this will be Chapter 6, my lengthy revision of neo-Assyrian history, in which I shall arrive at some quite startling conclusions that will serve to shave off thirty years or more from the conventional estimate. Only as a result of these reduced dates though, shall I argue, can there be attained a proper correspondence between king Hezekiah and his Mesopotamian contemporaries, with the resulting chronological realignment becoming the very foundation stone for a new chronology of Judah/Israel. This revision will continue on into Chapter 7, with Babylonia. There I shall examine the major problems and propose solutions that I think will serve to bring a chronologico-historical harmony and alignment right across the board. Part III: King Hezekiah and His Egyptian Contemporaries Revised An even more complex task than attempting to bring into proper alignment the history of Mesopotamia for the Hezekian era will be that of grounding king Hezekiah’s Egypto-Ethiopian contemporaries. My discussion here will be dependent upon the conclusions already reached in Part I, in relation to the two seminal kings of foreign origin discussed there in detail. In Chapter 8, I shall set out in summary form all of the major Egypto-Ethiopian activity - and its agents - thought to have been concurrent with the reign of king Hezekiah. Then, in Chapter 9 and Chapter 10, respectively, I shall focus upon the influence, on the nation of Egypt, of those two seminal kings already discussed, with a view later to identifying in the fullest possible way all of Hezekiah’s major Egypto-Ethiopian contemporaries. Chapter 11 will afford me with the opportunity of bringing the revised history right to the dawn of the era of Hezekiah; whilst in Chapter 12, now fully within the Hezekian era, I shall finally be able to propose specific answers - based on my lengthy (of necessity) revision of the background Egyptian history - to what will have turned out to be two extremely difficult questions to answer: namely, Who were king Hezekiah’s main Egypto-Ethiopian contemporaries (and what were their origins)? and: To which dynasties did these particular pharaohs belong? VOLUME TWO: SENNACHERIB’S INVASIONS OF HEZEKIAH’S KINGDOM AND HIS DEFEAT Part I: Sennacherib’s Invasions of King Hezekiah’s Kingdom Having attempted to establish, in VOLUME ONE, a most comprehensive, revised alignment of king Hezekiah with all of his major contemporaries, from Egypt/Ethiopia to Mesopotamia, I now proceed to tackle vexed problems associated with the king’s reign in regard to the incursions of Assyria into the Judaean kingdom. For example: Did Sennacherib king of Assyria launch a major attack on Jerusalem once or twice? and: What actually happened to Sennacherib’s army of 185,000? My revision of neo-Assyrian history has now hopefully made it possible for me to provide a firm answer to the first question, to which I shall dedicate Chapter 1. Part II: Demise of the Assyrian Army and of Sennacherib To answer the second question, I shall be drawing also upon the pseudepigraphal Book of Judith in Chapter 2 and Chapter 3. This action-packed book holds, I believe, the very key to what happened to the ill-fated Assyrian army. But I must at the same time fully integrate the Book of Judith with Kings, Chronicles and Isaiah for the era of Hezekiah so that there can be no doubt about the former’s relevance. This detailed work will simply be an extension of VOLUME ONE, in which I had sought to confirm who were king Hezekiah’s contemporaries. But it will also add a fascinating new dimension to it. The Epilogue will provide me with an opportunity to discuss the aftermath of the Assyrian defeat and what befell some of the leading characters whom we shall have encountered. It will also serve as a lead-in to my Excursus on Isaiah, whose primary purpose will be to highlight the prophet’s celebrated rôle - according to this revision - in Assyria, subsequent to Israel’s victory. A reconstructed history (chronology) needs a revised stratigraphy to underpin it all. Throughout this thesis I shall also be endeavouring to lay down a sound, basic stratigraphy for king Hezekiah and his contemporaries and for the background to Hezekiah’s era