Another town in the Northern Mesopotamia plains: excavations at Qasr Shemamok (Kurdistan, Iraq) in 2017–2018
Another town in the Northern Mesopotamia plains: excavations at Qasr Shemamok (Kurdistan, Iraq) in 2017–2018

Author(s): Maria Grazia Masetti-Rouault, Olivier Rouault
Subject(s): Archaeology, Ancient World
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: archaeology; excavation; survey; city; empire; environment; management; urbanization; urban walls; ceramic; iconography; Northern Mesopotamia; Assyria; Mitanni; Hurrian
Summary/Abstract: Excavations at the site of Qasr Shemamok (Kurdistan, Iraq), situatednot far from the confluence of the Upper Zab into the Tigris, hasoffered the opportunity to follow the evolution of the settlementsystem along the southern bank of the Shiwazor river. Attested sincethe Chalcolithic period, the site developed into an urban center,possibly already during the Ninevite 5 period, later becominga provincial capital of the Assyrian empire. For the moment, QasrShemamok, which has been excavated since 2011, is known mainlyfor its Parthian and Neo-Assyrian remains, but recent research hashighlighted especially the Middle Assyrian and Late Bronze “Mitanni”levels. Additionally, a program launched in 2018 has embarked onthe exploration of the more ancient sites in the same environment,contributing new information about the sequence of Chalcolithicand Early Bronze Age occupation.

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