Theme Organiser: Prof. Roger Matthews
Location: JZ Young Lecture Theatre, University College London.
In every age – prehistoric, historic, modern – there have been special sites and cities that dominate their socio-political environs to such an extent that they can be characterised as mega-sites or mega-cities. These giant settlements act like geographical and economic black holes, drawing in energy and resources of all kinds from near and far. Their impacts are of epoch-defining importance. Within this theme we aim to explore the structure and significance of mega-sites and mega-cities through the ancient Near Eastern past. We invite papers on specific case-studies including, for example, Çatalhöyük, Uruk-Warka, Nineveh, Babylon, Persepolis, Seleucia/Ctesiphon, Samarra, Merv, Istanbul and many others.
Please note that this is not a final time-table and may be subject to some change.If you wish to make any corrections, please use this form: CORRECTIONS FORM
As stated in your acceptance email, papers should be no more than 20 minutes long
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09.30 › Introduction | ||||
| 10:15 › Keynote | 09:55 › Dolce | 09:55 › Branting | ||
| 10:20 › Ramazzotti | 10:20 › Allen | |||
| 10:45 › COFFEE | 10:45 › COFFEE | |||
| 11:15 › Morandi | 11:15 › Hartnell | |||
| 11:40 › Mielke | 11:40 › Reed | |||
| 12:05 › Menegazzi | ||||
| 12:30 › Messina | ||||
| 12:55 › LUNCH | 12:55 › LUNCH | |||
| 13:15 › LUNCH | 14:00 › Bietak | 14:00 › Genito | ||
| 14:30 › Odaka | 14:30 › Pedde | 14:30 › Atris | ||
| 14:55 › Ben-Shlomo | 15:20 › Kertai | 14:55 › Cordera | ||
| 15:20 › Marciniak | 15:20 › Damgaard | |||
| 15:45 › COFFEE | 15:45 › COFFEE | 15:45 › COFFEE | ||
| 16:15 › Biehl | 16:15 › E.Wilkinson | 16:15 › Priestman | ||
| 16:40 › Reichel | 16:40 › Escribano | 16:40 › Rutishauser | ||
| 17:05 › Lippolis | 17:05 › Williams | |||
| 17:30 › Pradines |
Mega-cities & Mega-sites Abstracts
Plenary Session: Mega-cities and Mega-sites Keynote Lecture
Visualising the Dynamics of Cities
Professor Michael Batty Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis UCL
The signature of scaling in human systems is the well-known power law whose key characteristic is that the size distributions of the elements or objects that comprise such systems, display self-similarity in space and time. In fact, in many of the systems such as cities, firms, and high buildings which we use as examples, power laws represent an approximation to the fat or heavy tails of their rank-size distributions, appearing to be stable in time showing little sign of changes in their scaling over tens or even hundreds of years. However when we examine the detailed dynamics of how their ranks shift in time, there is considerable volatility with the objects in such distributions not often persisting for longer than about 50-100 years. To explore this kind of micro-volatility, we introduce a number of measures of rank shift over space and time and visualise size distributions using the idea of the ‘rank clock'. We use the example of changes in the populations of Italian towns between 1300 and 1861 to introduce these ideas and then compare this analysis with city-size distributions for the World from 430BCE, the US from 1790, the UK from 1901, and Israel from 1950. The morphologies of growth and change displayed by these clocks are all quite different. When we compare these to the distribution of US firms from 1955 in the Fortune 500 and to the distribution of high buildings in New York City and the World from 1909, we generate a panoply of different visual morphologies and statistics. This provides us with a rich portfolio of space-time dynamics that adds to our understanding of how different systems can display stability and regularity at the macro level with a very different dynamics at the micro.
The end is the beginning is the end: historical influences on excavations at Persepolis 1931-1939
Dr Lindsay Allen King's College London
This paper looks analytically at the preconceptions influencing the recovery and analysis of archaeological data from Persepolis during the first 'official' excavations there between 1931 and 1939. The output of excavation data and subsequent publication was significantly shaped by the different personalities and approaches of the dig directors appointed by the Oriental Institute, Chicago: Ernst Herzfeld (1931-1934) and Erich Schmidt (1935-1939). Yet both shared the opening assumption that Persepolis was a 'simple' site in need, mainly, of clearance and conservation, rather than detailed investigation. Herzfeld initially estimated, in letters to James Henry Breasted, that clearance and reconstruction would take eighteen months to two years, after which more informative projects could be undertaken. The context for this assumption (reconstructed here from a re-excavation of the contemporary archives) includes the defining prominence of Alexander's burning of the palaces in 330 BC, but also the contemporary funding conditions, political climate, and the excavators' academic ambitions for a wholesale archaeological appraisal of Persia. With Persepolis as a core, both directors envisaged a more engaging radius of complex stratigraphic puzzles at sites such as Istakhr and Tal-e Bakun. The status of Persepolis as a 'super' site in fact initially set it apart from academic estimations of a wider context, even though its visibility as a ruin ensured continued activity at the site after its initial destruction. Despite, or perhaps because of its importance as a 'national sanctuary', expectations of Persepolis as a source of new knowledge were surprisingly low; although subject to extensive and definitive publication by Schmidt (1953, 1957, 1970), historical assumptions arguably restricted attempts to subjectively re-evaluate the ensuing excavation data, and continue to influence the 'use' of Persepolis in scholarship today.
Crocodilopolis, Arsinoe, the Fayum; a celebrated mega-city
Dr. Shirin Atris College of Humanities, KCL
Crocodopolis, Arsinoe, AAtef-Pehu , Shedyet and the Fayum all refer to a city/Nome in Upper Egypt, southwest of Memphis, Egypt. This site, identified as the 21st Nome of Upper Egypt, has always been a metropolis of great significance to a wide array of people. It was the center of the cult of the crocodile-headed god Sobek, the protective deity of the whole of the lake Moreis area. The city is characterized by its unique topography, combining coastal, desert and agricultural landscapes in cohesive sceneries, which has placed it as a hub of major economic activities. Crocodilopolis-Arsinoe, one of the largest ancient sites in Egypt, with an area of 560 acres, was located in the most fertile region in Egypt, which meant that the city was a focus for farmers growing corn, vegetables, flowers, and olives.
This paper considers the position of Crocodilopolis as a major settlement of energy and resources of all kinds. This large-magnitude city had a long history of religious, political and cultural prominence. Politically it does not seem to have been a place of any consequence until the Ptolemaic rule that denote the city's fame and glamour. By extending the town, building Greek temples and schools and introducing the Greek language Ptolemy II Philadelphus turned it into an essentially Hellenic city, of which he made his wife Arsinoe the protective goddess. The city's 'Hellenized' disposition played a fundamental role in its realm and future, enforcing a pro-Greek or 'seemingly' Greek domination in a multi-cultural-ethnic yet Egyptian environment. The city's prominence continued and lasted throughout the Roman period with Arsinoe becoming a centre of Christian 'Coptic' culture. While this reflects the city's epoch-defining importance, the city's extensive archaeological and material culture evidence appropriately justifies its connotation, celebrating its complex ethnic composition and rich culture in cohesive and distinctive forms and temperament.
Sha’ar Hagolan, Çatalhöyük and the evolution of urban sites Dr David Ben-ShlomoHebrew University/Institute of Archaeology Prof. Yosef Garfinkel The Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem
The proto-historic periods in the Near East, spanning at least five thousand years, cover the time between the Neolithic agricultural revolution and the urban revolution. Of the various archaeological sites, especially those of the Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic, different solutions were found for the rising population density in settlements. While some examples of architectural planning as at Çatalhöyük show an agglomerated or condensed model of settlement structure, others such as Sha’ar Hagolan show a hierarchical structure of domestic units, insulae and a street network. It is suggested that the second model may represent the earliest concepts of urban planning and can be regarded as an evolutionary landmark in the trajectory from the first sedentary settlement to the full-blown urban centers. The new results from the Pottery Neolithic site of Sha’ar Hagolan in Israel, dated to 6,400-6,000 BC (calibrated), reveal advanced notions of settlement planning, including the introduction of courtyard houses, a street system and infrastructure such as the construction of a water well. The site sized 20 hectares is one of the largest known sites in the Near East during this period. It was probably a major regional center, as can be attested also by its rich material culture, including hundreds of art objects and sea shell and obsidian reflecting long distance connections. While the courtyard houses, insulae and street system do not comprise a city in the sense that Early Bronze Age urbanized sites do, they represent a sophisticated and complex society putting to use functional architectural solutions that reflect similar structural approaches to those used in urban settlement. This would be different from the approaches attested at the main levels at Çatalhöyük for example, which cannot develop into an urban settlement type. At least from the cognitive point of view, these concepts may be on the route towards the full-blown urban centers of the 4th and 3th millennia BCE in the Near East.
And a River Runs Through...? Rethinking the transition between the Neolithic and Chalcolithic in Çatalhöyük/Turkey Dr Peter F. Biehl SUNY Buffalo, Department of Anthropology, USA and Dr Eva Rosenstock (Free University Berlin, Germany)
The paper will scrutinize the process of cultural, social, economic and symbolic transition between the Neolithic and the Chalcolithic in Central Anatolia as revealed at the Çatalhöyük East and Çatalhöyük West Mounds. It will situate the transition in the palaeo-environmental changes in the Konya plain and will present a preliminary interpretation of the social changes and continuities between the East and West Mound. The paper will also re-evaluate these changes within a framework of agency and materiality theories and contextualize the events at Çatalhöyük at the turn of the 7th-6th millennium cal BC with other sites in the Konya Plain. For example, it will discuss the dramatic changes in the environment: The Carsamba river which ran along the edge of the East Mound and which was the lifeline of its settlement for almost 1000 years transformed around 8200 calBP into oxbow lakes nessecitating a completely new subsistence strategy and settlement pattern at Çatalhöyük and across the Konya Plain.
The Palace of the Hyksos Khayan in Avaris
Prof. Manfred Bietak Austrian Archaeological Institute Cairo
A palace with Near Eastern architectural features, built in additive modules, was discovered and half excavated by the Austrian Institute Cairo in coperation with the Austrian Academy and the Institute of Egyptology at Tell el Dabca. The palace is situated at an eastern side branch of the Pelusiac branch of the Nile and can be attributed most likely to the Hyksos Khayan. Seals of this rulers and pottery from this time support this identification. Most conspicuous was the discovery of a fragment of a cuneiform letter dating from the last decades of the Old Babylonian Kingdom. It was found in a well of the palace. It seems that the long distance letter diplomacy in Akkadian was introduced by the Hyksos 150 years before the Amarna Period to Egypt.
Qatna. A mega-city in Bronze Age Inner Syria
Prof Daniele Morandi Bonacossi University of Udine
As from the mid–to–late third millennium BC the middle-sized urban settlement of Mishrifeh was the pivot of a two-tiered integrated network of sites depending on an enlarged central place, which promoted the development in the surrounding region of an extensive, cereal-based dry-farming agriculture and a marked increase in population. The results of the geoarchaeological research conducted in Mishrifeh and its territory also indicate that the development at the site of an urban settlement determined a radical modification of the natural landscape around it represented by the creation of a large – probably at least partially artificial – lake immediately to the west of the city.
The onset of the second millennium BC at Qatna is marked by an overall urban and functional reorganization of the site, which was now characterized by entirely different size, plan and functions, and a drastic alteration of the anthropogenic landscape brought about by the erection of the town's western and southern ramparts, which determined a major reshaping of Qatna's water reservoir. Not only the city's urban landscape, but also the surrounding human-made landscape was remodelled as a result of a public building project of extraordinary proportions, which was deeply rooted in a powerful symbolic and politico-ideological vision of the relations between the great Syrian peer-polities of the Middle and Late Bronze Ages and their ambitions regarding regional power. The paper explores these and other aspects of the mega–city of Qatna and its relationships with its immediate territory and more distant regions during the Bronze Age.
Exploring an Iron Age mega-city through micro-simulations of ancient pedestrian movement at Kerkenes Dağ, Turkey
Dr Scott Branting Oriental Institute, University of Chicago
The use of transportation Geographic Information Systems (GIS-T) and agent-based modeling (ABM) simulations of ancient pedestrian movement, based on differing physiological models of groups of individuals and applied to networks of pathways on the scale of each person's step, offers a way to reconstruct movement through cities in the past as well as the present. Utilizing frameworks of transportation to analyze urban movement, activities, and land-use has been commonplace for centuries in urban planning and locational theory. Movement in ancient cities, however, can be more difficult to model and has often been modeled very simplistically. Understanding where movement took place can in turn reveal insights into how the past and present urban landscapes were (re)created and used by their various inhabitants. This paper will present an overview of the utilization and development of the PGIS-T methods, the Repast Simphony based SHULGI ABM system, as well as the latest results of the ongoing validation and verification program undertaken at the 271 hectare late Iron Age city of Kerkenes Dağ in central Turkey.
Pottery from Veh-Ardashir: continuity and change in production during the Sasanian period in Mesopotamia
Mrs Laura Cordera Dipartimento di Scienze Antropologiche, Archeologiche e Storico-Territoriali. Università di Torino
The aim of the paper is to present the pottery from Veh-Ardashir, Central Mesopotamia, the richest ceramic corpus of the Sasanian period known to date. The archaeological excavations carried out by the Centro Scavi di Torino in a south-western quarter of the city, near the fortification walls, and in Tell Baruda, in the center of the site, brought to light a great quantity and variety of material, extremely well dated by the coins found in the archaeological context. The material found in Veh-Ardashir presents the only stratigraphic sequence which is well dated of the entire Sasanian period in the Middle East and it can be used as a fundamental catalogue of comparison for knowledge of the Mesopotamian pottery of that period. The recent recommencement of studying this corpus offers a general view on the morphological and evolutive inventory of ceramics and allows us to reconsider the knowledge that we have acquired to improve our understanding of the material culture of Mesopotamia during the Sasanian period. In order to fully comprehend the site and the region, the passage from the late-parthian to the early-sasanian and the late-sasanian periods are of particular interest; the first for the presence of some new and different pottery typologies in daily use, the second for new shapes which probably reveal foreign influences. The analysis of such changes is fundamental therefore in order to be able to comprehend the site of Veh-Ardashir and the area in general, to establish in what way the ceramics from the Italian excavations can be included in the Mesopotamian tradition and when instead they became characterised of the new Sasanian material culture. The analysis of groups of objects which are particularly representative in the comparison to the other types of materials found on the site, offers us the opportunity to evaluate if the possible differences in the production of pottery are due to chronological or topographical reasons, or again, due to the different useage according to the archaeological contexts (i.e. ordinary or luxury production).
Although the study of ceramics does not settle the problems related to the knowledge of a site, it can however, reflect specific tendencies and can help us to understand the history of the city of Veh-Ardashir, answer questions about the passage of the Parthian production to the Sasanian one and to define the archaeological evidence. The study of the findings and the comparison of the different types of materials allows us to have not only a cultural and functional knowledge of the site, but an understanding of the economic and social evolution of the region.
Access granted: mechanisms of transition and approach in Early Islamic palatial architecture and the origin of the Islamic royal city
Mr Kristoffer Damgaard Materiality in Islam Research Initiative, University of Copenhagen
At the height of the Islamic middle ages, palatial architecture – especially when of a representational or ceremonial nature – displays certain characteristics that have come to define the Islamic 'royal city' (e.g. Baghdad, Cairo or the Alhambra). These traits, as well as their social, economic and political meaning, have been extensively discussed for decades now, and scholarship is slowly moving towards a more coherent understanding of the intrinsic principles behind their construction. One of the central guidelines in planning a royal city was the use of physical demarcations to indicate increases in a given space's social importance. This assignment of value to space was essentially based on a single principle: proximity to the political or religious centre of gravity, and the architecture is designed around the various methods of manifesting this spatial hierarchy. Although seemingly fundamental by the ninth century (Samarra being the prime example), where did this tradition come from? And is it possible to show how concepts of spatial meaning developed within the architectural repertoire of Early Islam? This paper investigates the use and development of transitional devices in the Umayyad palaces of the Amman Citadel and Mshatta. By analysing spatial composition as a subtle yet powerful means of stimulating a cognitive recognition of social spheres, and the movement between them, a number of non-Islamic complexes are proposed as possible sources of inspiration for early Muslim patrons. Furthermore, certain features and concepts identified in the case-studies are suggested not only to be common, deliberate and meaningful, but indeed key to understanding how the Islamic 'royal city' developed and spread throughout the Muslim world.
Structure and significance of the topography of cult places at Early Syrian Ebla: a look at the urban and ideological routes in the mega-city
Prof. Rita Dolce Università degli Studi RomaTre
The continuing excavations and resulting evidence from the Royal Palace G area of EBIVA Ebla alongside the progression of research and the interpretation of texts from the contemporary Royal Archives now make it possible to formulate some preliminary working hypotheses on the topographical location and attribution to individual gods of some sanctuaries in early-Syrian Ebla and on the relations between these cult places and the kingdom's political and religious life. Specifically, this paper will attempt a reconstruction of some urban and ideological features linking important events in the history of the early-Syrian city.
Ia-ta-ri-bu (> arab. Yathrib), the ancient name of Medina
Prof. Mahmoud el-Hamrawi Sohag university; currently Taibah university
This paper deals with the derivation of the name Ia-ta-ri-bu which was mentioned in the Harran Inscriptions of the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, Nabonidus (556 – 539 B.C). It was one of the six important and rich oases in the western North of Arabia. For religious and trade reasons, he neglected the Babylonian god, Marduk, and left the capital, Babylon, for the rich desert oasis of Tayma in western North of Arabia early in his reign and stayed there probably about ten years (553 – 543 B.C). From here Nabonidus could control the other five oases which were important settlements on the lucrative Arabian trade routes. They were: – Da-da-na ( > al-Aula) – Pa-da-kku ( > fadak ) – Hi-ib-ra-a ( > Khaybar ) – Ia-di-hu ( > yadaa ) – Ta-ma ( > taimaa ) – Ia-ta-ri-bu(> Ya-th-ri-bu > Medina ) It seems that the Babylonian names were integrated into the Arabic language, so the essential aim of this paper is to answer the question of where the Arabic name Ya-th-ri-b ( = Medina) derives from: whether it is from the Babylonian name Ia-ta-ri-bu or from other names.
The Assur Project: The Middle and Neo-Assyrian graves and tombs
Dr Friedhelm Pedde Assur-Projekt, Free University of Berlin
Among the tombs and graves found during the German excavations in Assur between 1903 and 1914, are a great number from the Middle and Neo-Assyrian period. They were described in Arndt Haller's book published in 1954, but most of the burial descriptions were very short and only with few illustrations. It is the aim of the Assur Project to publish them in full. Part of the work is to distinguish, compare and correlate the different kinds of graves and tombs and their grave goods. Another important question is how these burials correspond to the surrounding architectural remains. This will be a chance to extend our knowledge about Middle and Neo-Assyrian burial customs, and will relate Assur to other sites.
The Achaemenid state and the peripheral evidence
Prof. Bruno Genito Università degli Studi di Napoli, L'Orientale
Dipartimento di Studi Asiatici
The archaeological consistency of the eastern periphery of the Empire has been for a long time a subject of discussion, especially in the light of the very scarce evidence, in spite of rather interesting historical documentation. The Achaemenid Empire as seen from the architectonic, artistic, epigraphic and archaeological evidence in Persepolis and Pasargadae, the main documented areas of the Empire, looks like an incredible and grandiose political event, though partly inexplicable, if one wants to analyse in detail its formative process. Looking at the same period from the peripheral areas, especially the eastern region, the situation is quite different and still leaves doubt and uncertainty in the overall historical interpretation.
Beyond the city of Persepolis: a new model of Achaemenid settlement in Northern Fars, Iran
Mr Toby Hartnell University of Chicago and Ali Asadi Parsa-Parsagad Foundation, Iran
This presentation seeks to review the nature and organization of Achaemenid Royal Cities in highland Fars Province, Iran. The goal will be to evaluate the pre-existing models of Achaemenid settlement in Fars Province. In seeking to go beyond settlement hierarchies, this analysis will explicitly investigate the evidence for rural settlement in the vicinity of Persepolis and Parsagad. Given the important contribution that rural villages and towns made to Persepolis, the authors undertook an intensive survey of the Pulvar River Valley between Persepolis and Parsagad to document the organization of the rural economy. Archaeologically, these villages left very different traces to the traditional tepes as they focused on the valley slopes, an area previously overlooked by past recording of traditional tepes in the valley floor or wider plain. The result is a new model of settlement organization that takes into account the challenges of Achaemenid chronology, natural and cultural processes of landscape destruction and change, the importance of the highlands to ritual practice, and the possibility of gardens exploiting run-off from the mountains. Persepolis is revealed as part of a vibrant agricultural economy with large potential for regional trade and communication.
Tayma, Northwest-Arabia: mega-site and mega-city?
Dr Arnulf Hausleiter Deutsches Archaeologisches Institut, Orient-Abteilung
The oasis of Tayma, excavated since 2004 by a joint Saudi-German archaeological project (www.dainst.org/index_3258_en.html), was one of the main reference sites of the trading network of the Arabian Peninsula. The archaeological and epigraphic record attests contacts to Egypt, the Levant and Mesopotamia. Rich water resources have been attested until the Islamic period, allowing for the growth of an extended oasis, encompassing an area of almost 600 ha. The oasis and the settled parts of the site are surrounded by a complex system of walls of altogether 15 km length. Larger parts of the city's enclosure have been dated to the early 2nd millennium BC, suggesting an important role of the oasis already during the early Middle Bronze Age. The settlement remains of the oasis, however, concentrate on different spots of limited extension rather than representing a stratigraphic succession without interruption. Therefore, the paper investigates patterns of use and function of the large area of the oasis and the settlement through time in order to discuss the question whether Tayma can be labelled not only a Mega-Site but also a "Mega-City".
Organising the empire, a new look at Fort Shalmaneser
Mr David Kertai Heidelberg University
In the historical periods, the emergence of mega-sites was often related to the presence of royal palaces. These buildings functioned as the economical, political, and military centres of their respective empires, their importance largely deriving from their function as royal residences. One of the defining aspects of many empires was the integration of all these realms into one building, the royal palace. This integration has taken many shapes, ranging from the seclusion of the Ottoman Sultans to the publicness of the French kings at Versailles.
This paper will take Fort Shalmaneser as a case-study to examine how the neo-Assyrian empire was organised in/through its palaces. It will look at how economical, political, military, and residential functions were integrated within the palace. This means readdressing the question of access within the neo-Assyrian palatial society and the connected concepts of public and private. The aim is to achieve a better understanding of how Fort Shalmaneser functioned as one of the main centres of the neo-Assyrian Empire and what this can tell us on the functioning of the Empire itself.
Babylon from above: past and present of the city territory
Dr Carlo Lippolis Università di Torino, Italy
The project of study of the territory of Babylon moves from the documentation collected by the Italian-Iraqi Institutes for Archaeological Sciences of Baghdad in the years before the war. The teledetection from aerial photographs ('30s, '70s, '80s) and satellite images taken in different times and the "semeiotic" survey of the urban territory allow us to identify deeper and extensive anomalies; they are caused either by the topography and morphology of the ground or by the presence of structures and are probably related to different stages of the development of the city itself.
In particular, processed photographs highlight marks defining reticular "urban systems" with different orientations inside and outside the city walls. They are not limited to a single building or a specific sector, but often they recur in different areas of the city territory. The paper will focus on some precise examples, trying to set up and study all the visible alignments and defining, when possible from the archaeological data available, a relative chronology of them.
As a direct investigation on the ground is at the moment not possible, the results will remain preliminary and potentially liable for substantial correction in the future. However, such a study could represent the starting point for future researches in the field, the base for a new evaluation of the archaeological remains (also useful for cultural heritage project on the site), and occasion for new discussions.
Çatalhöyük unknown. The late sequence on the East mound Prof. Arkadiusz Marciniak University of Poznañ and Prof. Lech Czerniak Institute of Archaeology, University of Gdansk
The site of Çatalhöyük in Central Anatolia became of international significance because of its size and complexity as well as remarkable art – paintings, reliefs and sculptures. Recent excavations of the uppermost levels of the East mound revealed considerable differences in material culture marking significant social and economic transformations of local community towards the end of the Neolithic. They are manifested in new patterns of architecture and its furnishings, burial practices as well as chipped stone and pottery manufacture. All these transformations are well epitomised in a recently discovered room decorated by a remarkable frieze incised with spiral–meander designs that held large numbers of burials along with a range of distinctive artefacts such as projectile points. This was used as a separate tomb indicating a departure from the practice of burials beneath house floor in the main sequence of the site. The paper aims to discuss the nature and mechanisms of these changes in the final stage of this mega–site occupation seen as a local transformation of the constituent principles of the Neolithic communities.
Babylon as a great urban area of religious character
Mr Fernando Escribano Martín and Mr Alejandro Gallego López Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
The Babylon built in Chaldean times, after the Assyrian destruction, can be interpreted and analyzed from a religious perspective. This town, rebuilt around the sixth century BC, reflects an old scheme going back to the twelfth century BC. Texts from this period describe a city based upon religious milestones, all of which can be found six centuries before. This coincidence may not be random, and thus, both textual and archaeological evidence match consistently when trying to reconstruct Chaldean Babylon. In this paper we plan to observe, based upon a recently approved PhD Dissertation, that Chaldean Babylon, the most important capital of the Ancient Near East in the sixth century BC, can be viewed as a celebratory framework where the akitu took place, and where the gods who built the city, according to the Enuma Elis, gathered to celebrate this annual festival –together with the Babylonians and the peoples and countries under their control.
Creating a new language: the terracotta figurines from Seleucia on the Tigris
Dr Roberta Menegazzi Centro Ricerche Archeologiche e Scavi di Torino per il Medio Oriente e l'Asia
A Greek metropolis in the heart of Mesopotamia, Seleucia on the Tigris played a key–role in the spread of Hellenistic culture in the East. The city greatly contributed to creating a new artistic and cultural language, resulting from the encounter and exchange between Greek and local traditions. Terracotta figurines provide us with an effective sample of the above mentioned process. The approximately 11,000 fragments brought to light during the excavations carried out in the last century – which are now being studied – supply a vast repertory of subject of Greek inspiration. However, the unquestionable iconographical variety conceals a very selective approach to the western models. This presentation aims to illustrate – with the aid of some examples – how the Seleucian coroplasts made specific choices, favouring some Greek subjects – as the draped woman with right arm folded across the chest and the reclining figure – which were likely to meet local taste. Their popularity – testified by the huge number of replicas – was not limited to the Seleucian repertory: from Seleucia, such subjects spread to the main centres of central and southern Mesopotamia, becoming a distinguishing feature of the late–Mesopotamian coroplastic art.
The Fortification of Mega-Cities in the Ancient Near East. Architecture – Function – Symbolism
Dr Dirk Paul Mielke UGerman Archaeological Institute, Madrid Department, Spain
Generally fortifications were an elementary part of urban settlements. However, with the appearance of mega cities in the Ancient Near East the complexity for the construction increased disproportionately high. This could be demonstrated in several exemplary calculations for the amount of work. Beside this aspect it is of interest to look if there could be observe adaption or developments in the architectural elements in comparison to normal fortified settlements. In other words: Where is the difference between common fortifications and city walls of mega cities from the architectural point of view? Furthermore, in a next step of the lecture it shall be trace the questions of function. For instance: Did city walls of mega cities had a modified function in comparison to simple fortifications? Was the military function of theses gigantic constructions warranted? Finally the ideally aspects of mega-city fortifications should be illuminated. First and foremost we can see here clearly the enormous symbolic importance of the city walls from Uruk to Babylon.
A renewed Babylon. Seleucia on the Tigris, mega–city of Hellenized Asia
Dr Vito Messina University of Turin – Department SAAST
With the accession of the Seleucids a new royal capital was founded in Babylonia, becoming the main crossroad of civilizations of Hellenized Asia: Seleucia on the Tigris. The results of recent studies revealing the mutual relation between Mesopotamian and Greek traditions in the city will be the focus of this paper.
Storage facilities of a Neolithic mega–site: the new evidence from Tell el–Kerkh, northwest Syria Dr Takahiro Odaka Tokyo University of the Arts
Syro–Japanese excavations at Tell el–Kerkh, one of the largest settlements in the Neolithic Near East, have been producing rich evidence for complex socio–economic activities. The 2008 season's work revealed a well–preserved burnt pisé building probably dated to the late PPNB. We distinguished four different rooms of the building within the excavated area, which measures about 5.5x2m. The building must have functioned as a storehouse because at least fourteen barrel–shaped bins were laid in three of these rooms. The other small room with a plastered floor, which was completely enclosed by walls, also appears to be a storage facility. The bins are made of unbaked (probably sun–dried) brittle clay with the thickness about 2–3cm, and their sizes vary from 25cm to 85cm in diameter although most of them fall between 45cm and 65cm. They are located very tightly in the rooms without any gap between them and were possibly accessed from the roof. Similar bins from other PPN sites, such as Ganj Dareh, 'Ain Ghazal and Basta, were usually found isolated in each room with free space to access. The storehouse at Tell el–Kerkh seems to be very exceptional in its size and large storage capacity. However, they contained very few artifacts; it seems likely that stored goods were carried away before abandonment and the building was intentionally burnt. The discovery of this storehouse casts new light on the study of the development of storing activities as it seems to be the oldest evidence of a communal storehouse rather than a private one. Furthermore, it will bring up further discussions on some important issues, such as the large–scale dealing of goods, ritual practices of burning buildings and the origin of pottery at Neolithic mega–sites.
Mameluk archaeology. Excavations in Islamic Cairo, 2000– 2009
Dr Stéphan Pradines Institut Francais D'Archeologie Orientale – Le Caire
"From 2000 to 2009, a team of archaeologists directed by Dr Stéphan Pradines, from the IFAO – French Institute of Archaeology – excavated 3 sites along the Eastern walls of Cairo, in Egypt. These sites are located along the Ayyubid Fortifications of Salah ad–Din, which dates from 1171–1177. Inside the walls, archaeologists found abundant remains from the mega–city of Cairo, principally Mameluk houses and a cemetery dating from the 15th to the 13th centuries. One of the major discoveries was Fatimid era fortifications found just beside the wall of Salah ad–Din. The Fatimid town wall was composed of mud bricks and dates from 1087–1092, making it contemporary with the monumental gates of Bab al–Futuh, Bab al–Nasr and Bab al–Zuweila. "
Siraf and the Abbasid trade boom phenomena: quantitative ceramic evidence
Mr Seth Priestman The British Museum
Siraf rose to prominence as one of the principal ports of the Persian Gulf between the late 8th – early 11th centuries AD. The period of Siraf's prosperity coincides with and was a direct product of the explosive changes taking place in commercial activity across the Indian Ocean region at this time. Merchants from the Persian Gulf operating with the backing, or at least within a climate of relative political stability provided by the Abbasid state, opened up regular maritime trade contacts in the east with China, Southeast Asia and India and in the west with South Arabia, East Africa and via the Red Sea with Egypt and the Mediterranean basin. The result was to enable high and medium value commodities to be exchanged across a vast redistribution network and between markets, many of which had never previously come into contact with one another.
The broad social and economic impact of Indian Ocean maritime trade across much of the Old World is evident, yet the volume and quality of historical detail for this period is limited. One of the most visible and direct indicators of the Abbasid trade boom phenomena is the wide distribution of trade ceramics originating within the Persian Gulf and deposited at littoral sites scattered from southern Japan to South Africa. Much documentation of this material has been undertaken, yet we still know relatively little about the changing proportions of trade ceramics from different sources through this major period of transition, or of interregional differences expressed in the specific composition of the assemblages at different points within the distribution network.
This paper will present new quantitative data derived from a two–year, British Institute of Persian Studies research project involving a complete study of the substantial body of excavated finds Siraf in the British Museum. The paper will examine the key stages of transition that took place within the Siraf sequence, and consider these in relation to other quantified data sets that have emerged from East Africa in 1996 and from Sri Lanka and elsewhere within the Persian Gulf within the last five years.
Ur and Ebla. The economical and esthetic relationship between two different cities during the third millennium B.C.
Prof Marco Ramazzotti University La Sapienza of Rome
The paper will focus on the main economical differences related to the Secondary Urbanization Processes in Lower Mesopotamia and Northern Syria and will compare some of the extraordinary art masterpieces (collected during the excavations) dated on Early Dynastic and Early Syrian periods, as composite productions that adopted more ancient aesthetical concepts. The economical distance between the two urbanisms and the technological analogy between their official figurative representation will reveal that the two worlds were strongly connected to similar aesthetical concepts derived, translated and transformed from the Sumerian habitus that was not only linguistically "ideographic", but – in a more general exception – cognitive and political.
Loyalty and reward: a reevaluation of the Persepolis sculptures and the Achaemenid concept of kingship
Miss Stephanie Reed University of Chicago
The royal sculptures at Persepolis have come to represent the Achaemenid Empire, or the first Iranian rulers of the Ancient Near East. Foreign delegations from across the empire are the focal point of the visual program; each group proudly carries their local treasures to present to the Persian king. The cooperative, even celebratory spirit of the processions is a departure from prior Near Eastern imperial models, promoting a unique vision of empire and an unprecedented relationship between a king and his peoples. Our understanding of Achaemenid Persian culture and kingship is limited, however, and many questions remain concerning the function and symbolism of the images, not to mention the nature of the empire that created them. This paper will explore these questions by reexamining the roles and attributes of a "Persian" king and the Achaemenid system of loyalty and reward, including the royal feast and the meaning of baji. By assessing the extent to which these concepts or political structures are represented in the Persepolis processions, we may better comprehend the Achaemenid concept of kingship and what the city of Persepolis was meant to express.
Prehistoric "paper trails" – bureaucratic complexity during the late Chalcolithic period in northern Syria
Prof. Clemens Reichel University of Toronto / Royal Ontario Museum
Archaeological research of the past twenty years in northern Syria and Southern Anatolia at urban sites such as Tell Brak, Arslantepe, and Haclnebi has shaken the long-held belief that urban formations in those areas were secondary developments that postdated, and were influenced by, the expansion of the Southern Mesopotamian Uruk Culture into this region after 3,500 BC. A major hallmark of urbanism in the Uruk Culture was the development of a writing system in the late 4th millennium BC. This system, however, was preceded by a well-organized bureaucratic system that used clay sealings on doors and containers, tokens and bullae to retain administrative control in storing and redistributing commodities. More recent fieldwork in Syro-Anatolia, however, has shown that administrative systems of similar complexity existed in this region around the same time. Based on over 2,000 clay sealings and numerous seals and tokens found during excavations at Hamoukar, a Late Chalcolithic city in northeastern Syria excavated jointly by the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute and the Syrian Department of Antiquities since 1999, this paper attempts to reconstruct administrative procedures, delineate spheres of administrative control, and reconstruct bureaucratic "paper trails" that remain visible in the archaeological record. The emerging picture at Hamoukar suggests an administrative world that evolved independently and was at par with the Uruk system before this city's violent destruction by warfare around 3,500 BC.
Public vs private – ancient Near Eastern and Islamic cities in comparison
Ms Susanne Rutishauser University of Bern
In his study on the city in Islamic North Africa and the Middle East the German geographer Eugen Wirth identified seven characteristics of Islamic cities: a 'degeneration' of their general layout (in comparison to their predecessors of the Hellenistic and Roman period); cul–de–sac–structures; houses with inner courts; internal compartmentation of the city into living areas and neighbourhoods; inner–city neighbourhood divisions with a defensive function; central economic zones (Suq/Bazar); and vast architectural structures (Khan, Mosque, Suq etc.). Wirth points out that a comprehensive study of the Oriental city including pre–Islamic or ancient Near Eastern urban settlements remains a desideratum. As a cursory examination of archaeological and cuneiform sources reveals, the specific characteristics formulated by Wirth apply to ancient Near Eastern city topographies as well. One thus can argue a significant continuity in the general structure and layout of Near Eastern cities for several millennia - in spite of the perceived 'hiatus' of the Hellenistic and Roman period. Furthermore, a continuous distinction between public and private spheres within the urban topography becomes evident. The layout of these cities displays a desire for domestic privacy. Since the 3rd millennium BC domestic architecture in Mesopotamia is basically dominated by one house type. Rooms arranged around and opening on to an inner court form a guarded enclosure protecting its inhabitants from the prying eyes of their neighbours. Today these houses with an inner court remain the basic type of domestic architecture throughout Northern Africa and Western Asia. In marked contrast to these private urban dwellings and their inhabitants, the rulers of ancient cities wished to manifest their rule and power in the public arena by constructing monumental palaces, sanctuaries and fortified structures. The palaces and fortifications of Babylon, Assur, or Niniveh were awe–inspiring architectural colossi, dominating the skylines of the ancient city. The citadel of Aleppo similarly dominated the Islamic city. This paper examines this significant partition between private and public spheres in ancient Near Eastern and Islamic cities by comparing Babylon and Assur with Islamic Aleppo.
Some aspects of the relations between the architecture of North Western Iran and Urartu during the first millennium BC.
Dr Alexandre Tourovets Royal Museum of Art and History (Brussels) and University of Brussels (Belgium)
Excavations in the Northern and Central Zagros areas have unearthed many important constructions, for example on the sites of Nush–i Djan, Baba Djan (III), Godin Teppeh (level II) and Hasanlu (IV). A carefull observation of the buildings at these four sites reveals they share many architectural features in common, for example: columned halls, stepped doors, recessed blind niches, stairwell flanking a vestibule, buttressed façades. But more strikingly, these same structures can be observed in many Urartian buildings. This raises many questions about the nature, the strength and the degree of a former Urartian influence upon the development of Iranian architecture. It is noteworthy to observe that many architectural structural elements from Urartian buildings have been taken up as models, for examples, the great columned halls of Nush–i Djan and Godin. At first sight, buildings like the Central Temple of Nush–i Djan, and the Painted Chamber in Baba Djan with their strange layout show no real comparisons with other monuments in the area. Only a precise architectural analysis allows us to state that the architectural and technical concepts used to build these constructions have strong ties with the ones of the so–called Urartian Tower––Temples. On the other hand, the existence of architectural differences, mainly in the organization of inner spaces, can be seen as efforts to adapt the Urartian concepts to specific Iranian cultural uses. All these comparisions lead us to examine the problem of the double origin of the Achaemenid architecture where some buildings of Persepolis and Pasargadae could be related to forerunner examples from the Zagros sites, but also to some Urartian constructions which could be considered as their prototypes.
A Reassessment of Carchemish and its Region During the Iron Age
Dr. Eleanor Wilkinson Durham University
The fall of Nineveh in 612 BC marked the end of Assyrian imperial domination in the Near East, and it also brought a close to a very long period in which a succession of increasingly large Assyrian imperial capitals dominated the settlement system in the landscape of Upper Mesopotamia. The relationship between these Assyrian capital cities and pre-existing urban centres throughout the empire's territories remains an intriguing issue, particularly in the case of Carchemish. The period of Assyrian hegemony is worthy of re-examination, as Carchemish was a centre of major cultural significance – as well as anti-Assyrian insurgency -- long before Sargon conquered the city in 717 BC, but the archaeological evidence from the site alone provides little insight into the role of Carchemish within the Assyrian empire. Evidence from this period published in the excavation reports is relatively sparse. Despite its size and importance, the function of Carchemish during this time period has thus far been construed largely from texts and from evidence found at other sites in the region such as Tell Ahmar and Tell Jirn Kabir, as well as from useful surveys in the surrounding areas. New evidence from the Land of Carchemish survey project in Syria, in the area of Tell Jerablus, is contributing to a better understanding of settlement in the region. After three seasons, the project has been able to include in its investigations a sector of the intramural "outer town", comprising surface collection of pottery there as well as stone-built features in the immediate vicinity. The Land of Carchemish survey has revealed a robust record of Iron Age settlement, providing the basis for a reassessment of Carchemish and its region during the Iron Age, particularly during the period of Assyrian domination.
From Transoxiana to the Iranian plateau: the influence of Islamic Merv
Mr Tim Williams University College London and Paul Wordsworth
The city of Merv was a major administrative, military and political centre from the Arab conquest to the Mongol sack. Through the transformation of the old Sassanian city, the construction of the satellite city of Shaim Kala, and the development of the huge Abbasid and Seljuk city of Sultan Kala (Marv al–Shāhijān), Merv exerted a major influence over the region. But to what extent did the changing nature of administrative and political control in the early Islamic world shape the nature of the urban landscape? What were the economic and social relationships between Merv and the surrounding settlements of the Murghāb Delta, and how did Merv impact on the broader character of settlement and society within the region? The results of recent surveys and excavations will be used to explore both the nature of the city and its hinterlands, exploring long–term changes through time and across differing territories. Charting the interplay of settlements and trade, recent archaeological research has aimed to model social and economic organisation through concepts such as Empire theory and liminality. Recent studies have also begun to examine broader trends, over large geographic area and the "longue durée", in order to better understand the continuity and change in socio–economic structures. The paper will explore how a major urban centre, Merv, connected to broader exploitation patterns, and how this fluctuated over time, against the background of dynamic empire systems, imperial influence on trade routes, individual 'city' dominance over routes, and the structuring of way–stations and minor settlements.