Mobility and Memory in the Archaeology of the Middle Sea: Diachronic Interdisciplinary Explorations of a Complex Relationship

The contribution describes the scientifica aims and structure of the "Conference Mobility and Memory in the Archaeology of the Middle Sea: Diachronic interdisciplinary Explorations of a Complex Relationship", held in Bologna in 2021. Furthermore, the three contributions of the Conference published in same Ocnus' issue are discussed

A Risk Assessment for Cultural Heritage in Southern Iraq: Framing Drivers, Threats and Actions Affecting Archaeological Sites

This paper proposes a classification of the risks threatening archaeological sites in southern Iraq and suggests some possible remediation to better preserve them. This has been possible thanks to a research methodology that combines remote sensing and ground control on a sample of 558 sites documented by the Iraqi-Italian QADIS survey project. A three-tier typological framework has been created illustrating the risks jeopardising the cultural heritage of the region. This research showed that the most impacting risks are the ones caused by agricultural activity, despite current narratives which mainly focus on looting and violent destruction. To get at the root of the problem, current laws protecting cultural heritage in Iraq are analysed, as well as how the cultural authorities are organised on the ground. Improving the organisation of the SBAH, engaging the local communities towards the issue of sites\u2019 protection and introducing preventive archaeology are among the solutions proposed

Stratigraphie, chronologie et architecture des niveaux les plus archaïques à Kish en Mésopotamie centrale : de la période du Jemdet Nasr à celle paléobabilonienne (3100-1600 avant J-C)

La ville de Kiš a été l’un des centres les plus importants dans le cadre sociopolitique de la Mésopotamie entre le 4ème et le 1er milliéraine av. J.C. Les fouilles effectuées entre 1923 et 193 par l’expédition de l’Université d’Oxford et le Field Museum de Chicago ont largement exploré le site, malgré les résultats significatifs obtenus, les insuffisantes méthodes de fouilles ont affecté négativement l’interprétation archéologique produite dans les publications. Le but de ce projet est de contribuer à combler ces lacunes dans les connaissances, en reconstruisant les phases archéologiques et historiques fouillée à Kiš en datant entre la période du Jemdet Nasr et celle de Ur III. Tout d’abord, pour comprendre l’urbanisme de Kiš entre le 4ème et la fin de la première moitié du 2ème milliéraine av. J.C., j’ai produit une reconstruction des contextes stratigraphiques et architecturaux découverts dans certains chantier de fouilles dans le site. Des nouvelles sections et des plans de chaque chantier de fouilles ainsi qu’une carte générale de Kiš ont été produit. Celles-ci ont été utilisées comme outils pour interpréter le développement de l’aménagement urbain et architectural de Kiš. A côté de l’analyse des vestiges structuraux, il a eu l’étude des matériaux stratifiés. Une sélection rigoureuse des objets conservés dans les dépôts et les musées universitaires, sera faite. En outre, une analyse technologique des échantillons sélectionnés, a été entreprise afin de fournir de plus amples informations à propos de chaque catégorie. Enfin, les matériaux ont été associés à leur contexte d’origine.The city of Kiš was one of the most important centersof Mesopotamia between the 4 th and 1st millenium BC The excavations carried out between 1923 and 1933 by the expedition from the University and the Field Museum of Chicago have largely explored the site, but despite significant results, the inadequate methods of excavation have negatively affected the archaeological interpretation produced in publications. The goal of this project is that of contributing to fill these gaps in knowledge, reconstructing archaelogical and historical phases searched to Kiš dating from the period Jemdet Nasr and the Ur III. The first aim was to understand the planning of Kiš between the 4th and the end of the first half of the 2nd millenium BC. To this aim I reconstructed the stratigraphic and architectural contexts discovered in some areas of the site. New sections and plans of each area and a general map of Kiš was produced. These were used as tools to interpret the development of urban and architectural development of Kiš. Beside the analysis of strcutural remains, there has been the study of layered materials. Careful selection of objects keps in deposits and university museums, will be made. In addition, radiocarbon analysis of selected samples was undertaken to provide more information on the site chronology. Finally, the materials were associated with their original context

Craft, administration and power in Early Dynastic Mesopotamian public buildings. Recovering the Plano-convex building at Kish, Iraq

The Plano-convex building (PCB) at Kish is a very significant complex from the 3rd millennium in Mesopotamia. This construction was partially uncovered and the evidence was sketchily recorded and published by the Anglo-American expedition. Notwithstanding the value of subsequent studies, much work remains to be done to understand the stratigraphy, chronology and function of the building. Thus, the aim of this paper is the understanding of the architectural and chronological sequence of area P and to reconstruct activities and the use of space in the Plano-convex building. New data have been obtained analyzing the unpublished documentation and materials kept in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford and the Field Museum, Chicago. Thanks to the new information, a stratigraphical sequence ranging from the late Early Dynastic to the Early Akkadian period has been recognized. Furthermore different activities such as beer brewing, textile and oil production, as well as shell working were identified within the PCB. Those were managed through a multi-step economic system confirmed by the presence of specific finds. Finally, architectural analysis provides hints suggesting that the PCB might have housed the administration of political power by élite or even royal families.L’édifice plano-convexe (PCB) de Kish est un bâtiment très important de Mésopotamie au 3e millénaire. Ce complexe architectural a été partiellement mis au jour et les données ont été sommairement enregistrées et publiées par l’expédition angloaméricaine. Malgré l’importance des études ultérieures, du travail reste à effectuer pour comprendre la stratigraphie, la chronologie et la fonction de ce bâtiment. Dans cet article nous nous attachons à distinguer la séquence architecturale et chronologique du chantier P et à reconstituer les activités et l’utilisation de l’espace dans le PCB. De nouvelles données ont été obtenues à partir de l’analyse de la documentation inédite et du matériel conservé à l’Ashmolean Museum d’Oxford et au Field Museum de Chicago. La séquence stratigraphique qui a été reconnue se développe de la fin du Dynastique Archaïque à la période akkadienne ancienne. En outre, on a identifié dans le PCB différentes activités, telles que la fabrication de bière, la confection de tissus et la production d’huile, ainsi qu’un atelier pour le traitement des coquilles. Tout ceci était géré à partir d’un système économique multi-étapes, confirmé par la présence de matériaux relatifs à l’administration. Enfin, les données fournies par l’analyse des éléments architectoniques suggèrent que l’administration du pouvoir exercé par des familles de l’élite ou même royales y aurait été installée.Zaina Federico. Craft, administration and power in Early Dynastic Mesopotamian public buildings. Recovering the Plano-convex building at Kish, Iraq. In: Paléorient, 2015, vol. 41, n°1. pp. 177-197

Introduction

Introductio

The Urban Archaeology of Early Kish. 3rd Millennium BCE Levels at Tell Ingharra

This research reconsiders one of the most important phases of the history of the ancient city of Kish in a way that Harriet Martin (1988: 7) defined as an \u201cacademic kind of salvage archaeology\u201d. The text has been organized as follows: Chapter 1 provides an overview on the history of the research on Kish (from early the 1900s until today), with the aim of understanding the process and stages that led us to the current understanding of the site and the related issues. Chapter 2 illustrates the aims and methods applied in this research. Chapters 3 to 5 are organized according to the three macro-periods of occupation discussed in this research (i.e. from the late 4th millennium BCE to the end of the 3rd millennium BCE). In each chapter, a detailed discussion of the stratigraphy, architecture, burials and the stratified material culture (pottery assemblage and small finds) is provided for each structural phase. The urban origins of the city (Jemdet Nasr to Early Dynastic I-II periods, 3100-2600 BCE) are described in Chapter 3, while Chapter 4 discusses the development of the city during its most flourishing period (Early Dynastic III, 2600-2350 BCE). In Chapter 5 the evidence dating from the Akkadian and Ur III (2350-2000 BCE) periods from Tell Ingharra are considered. In the concluding chapter (Chapter 6) the results of the stratigraphic, architectural and urban analyses are correlated with other relevant areas of the site with a reliable and comparable sequence (PCB, Tell A and areas JA and JP), in order to offer a new comprehensive chronostratigraphy and the urban reconstruction of the site between the late 4th and the end of the 3rd millennium BCE

A Radiocarbon Date from Early Dynastic Kish and the Stratigraphy and Chronology of the YWN Sounding at Tell Ingharra

Between 1927 and 1930 a joint expedition by the University of Oxford and the Field Museum of Chicago to the site of Kish opened a series of soundings (ZY, Y, YW and YWN) on the mound of Tell Ingharra in order to investigate the earliest periods of the settlement. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the YWN sounding utilizing previously unpublished documentation and excavated objects, and offers a new interpretation of the evidence. In addition, a new radiocarbon date assigns the latest phase from the sounding to the ED IIIb to Akkadian transition and it can be compared usefully with existing dates from several Central and North Mesopotamian sites

Tell Ingharra-East Kish in the 3rd Millennium BC: Urban Development, Architecture and Functional Analysis

Extensive archaeological excavations at Kish have exposed a complex archaeological stratification which spans the entire 3rd millennium BC. This paper aims at critically reviewing the results achieved by the Anglo-American expedition and to provide a new interpretation of the urban and architectural development of Tell Ingharra/East Kish during the Early Dynastic period. New synchronized stratigraphical sequences of selected areas, together with renewed plans and sections, have been produced on the basis of the unpublished documentation and materials kept in the Ashmolean Museum of Oxford and in the Field Museum of Chicago

Delving into Archaeological Archives. A Single-researcher Approach. The Case study of Ancient Kish

Archive archaeology emerged in the last decades as a significant approach in the study and interpretation of cultural heritage. However, while the majority of past and current projects applied a large-scale mostly team-based approach, less attention has been paid to the potential of single-researcher studies. By using the case study of ancient Kish (Central Iraq), in this paper I will show how archive archaeology can contribute to the study and reconstruction of an old excavation. In particular, I will present the methodology and the dissemination strategy of a single-scholar research