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

Author(s): Maria Grazia Masetti-Rouault,Olivier Rouault / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

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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Seal, amulet or both?

Author(s): Diederik J.W. Meijer / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

An ugly baked clay cylinder seal from Hammam al-Turkman ispublished here with a short discussion of some parallels. It is suggestedthat in the course of the Middle Bronze II period functionarieshoused in the Administrative Complex may have been using threegenres of cylinder seals: simple baked clay ones like the one discussedhere, better made baked clay ones and the Old Babylonian (Sippar?)style ones, of which only impressions on bullae were found.

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A marmara plaque from Nea Paphos with Ganymedes abducted by an eagle

Author(s): Henryk Meyza / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The article discusses the iconographic theme of Ganymedes abductedby an eagle, the bird either embodying Zeus or acting for the god,depicted on a small plaque of local laminated gypsum, 19.2 cm high,found in Nea Paphos on Cyprus. The floor-level context from theso-called Northwestern House (under the Villa of Theseus) was datedby the pottery assemblage to the end of 1st century AD. The image onthe Nea Paphos plaque shows Ganymedes in a traditional pose, holdingonto the eagle’s neck in order not to fall. This gesture is discussed inrelation to its meaning and artistic prototypes. An unusual feature forthis iconographic is the presumed altar shown next to Ganymedes’ feet.

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On some early Mesopotamian percussionists

Author(s): Piotr Michałowski / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

This article discusses certain aspects of early Mesopotamian musicalpractices, focusing on a small set of native terms for instrumentsand performers. Assuming, in anthropological terms, that musicalinstruments, like other culturally important objects, can be classifiedin multiple contextually different ways, it is argued that certainSumerian words could in some contexts signify specific instrumentsor types of musicians, while in other usage could stand for a class ofinstruments, for song types, or in the case of balagˆ, for all musicalinstruments. More specifically, the terms adab and tigi are subjectedto analysis, resulting in the proposal that in 3rd and 2nd millenniumtexts these designated only song types and not, as is often asserted,physical musical instruments.

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Islamic harbour in Kharaib al-Dasht Bay? Some remarks on the pottery collection from the Underwater Survey along the coast of Failaka Island

Author(s): Marta Mierzejewska / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

An ongoing Kuwaiti–Polish archaeological investigation of thecoastal waters of Kharaib al-Dasht Bay, located in the northernpart of Failaka Island, has been focused on clusters of stone objectsassociated with fishing by the inhabitants of two Islamic coastalsettlements: Kharaib al-Dasht in the eastern part of the bay andAl-Quraniyah at its western end. Feature 12, identified provisionally asthe remains of a harbor, has yielded abundant ceramic material bothinside and around the structure. A study of the pottery revealed thatmost of the collection represented highly specialized storage/transportvessels. This observation, coupled with a large number of pottery sherdsreused as fishing-net weights, confirmed the tentative identification ofFeature 12 as a harbor. A comparative typo-chronological analysis ofthe ceramic material linked the intensive transport and trade activitiesin the coastal area of Feature 12 with the functioning of Al-Quraniyah.

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Hellenistic tableware with stamped decoration from Tell Arbid (Syria)

Author(s): Marta Momot / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Tell Arbid, an extensive and multicultural site in northeastern Syria,encompasses a dominant large tell and three smaller mounds, oneof which yielded remains of a Hellenistic settlement. Exemplars ofHellenistic pottery unearthed there comprised, mainly, fragmentsof tableware covered with red slip, Two pieces from this assemblagefeatured stamped decoration on the floors of bowls: a small rosetteand four palmettes in one case and a design of 12 lanceolate leaves andsmall rosettes in the other. They are rare examples of local adaptationof ornaments typical of tableware from the main production centersof the age. One also features an atypical use of stamping for thereproduction of a decoration originally made in a different technique.

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Three ritual vessels from the Mittani-period temple at Tell Bazi

Author(s): Adelheid Otto,Berthold Einwag / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Three vessels with an exceptionally rich theriomorphic decorationwere found in the main temple on the top of the citadel at Tell Bazi(Syria). Residue analysis indicates their use for libation offerings ofbeer and wine. Apparently they had been used as ritual vessels in thetemple during the Mittani period. When they fell out of use, theywere ritually discarded inside the sacred area.

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About some animal-shaped “amulets” from northern Syria

Author(s): Frances Pinnock / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The paper examines a small group of animal-shaped “amulets” thatare strongly unitary and apparently attested from the Early BronzeI to the Early Bronze IVB with a marked concentration of evidencefrom northern Syria. Probably sewn onto textiles, they might haverepresented domestic animals. Their chronology and relation to thecomplex social composition of the region is also discussed in the paper.

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Isin-Larsa and Sasanian graves from the site of el-Saadiya in the Hamrin region, Iraq

Author(s): Andrzej Reiche / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Two post-Ubaid graves were unearthed at Tell el-Saadiya, an Ubaidperiod site in the Hamrin region, by a mission from the Polish Centreof Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, during salvageexcavations in 1979–1980. One of these was a late-Sasanian burialcontaining a set of grave goods consisting of two glass and one potteryvessels, and a pair of bronze earrings. The other grave dated to the lateIsin-Larsa period and contained two jars and animal bones, remainsof a food offering typical of the period. In the Hamrin region, suchsingle burials dated to later periods were found also at other sites thatwere not resettled after the late Neolithic period.

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The power of image or how the art of photography changed early archaeology

Author(s): Monika Rekowska-Ruszkowska,Wojciech Nowakowski / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The article presents different applications of early photography inarchaeological practice of the 19th and early 20th century. Soon afterits invention in 1839 was photography’s potential application forresearch recognized, however its application in the studio and thefield was gradual and differentiated due to technical difficulties takingphotographs was fraught with. Moreover, the limited possibilities ofcopying and printing put off full appreciation of the significanceof photographing monuments and artifacts for research. Finally,adapting photography to the needs of archaeology did not followexactly the same lines in all countries owing to different researchtraditions and varied nature of the explored sites and artifacts found there.

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Late 3rd millennium BC painted pottery from Tell Arbid

Author(s): Łukasz Rutkowski / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Painted pottery (Middle Bronze Khabur Ware) is widely believedto have reappeared in northern Mesopotamia at the advent of the2nd millennium BC after a long break during the second half of the3rd millennium BC when plain (i.e., unpainted) pottery prevailed.Strictly speaking, “Jezirah Bichrome Stands”, attested as late asthe EJZ 3a period (around 2500 BC), can be regarded as the last,well known mid-3rd millennium BC manifestation of the paintedpottery. Revival of painted decoration on pottery is observed duringthe OJZ 1 period (around 2000 BC), with the appearance of the“Early Khabur Ware”. However, painted ornaments on pottery inlate 3rd millennium BC contexts occur fairly occasionally. LateAkkadian and post-Akkadian layers at Tell Arbid yielded a handfulof painted potsherds that evidently preceded the Khabur Ware style.Three different types of ornaments can be distinguished among them:(1) dots and bands in black bitumen paint; (2) simple monochromaticbands in red or brown paint; (3) bichrome cross-hatched patterns onfine-ware vessels, a very rare and unusual design, which finds onlya few parallels in the region. By presenting these examples, this paperis an attempt to contribute to a debate on the Early Bronze–MiddleBronze Age transition in Upper Mesopotamia.

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Women from Tell Arbid

Author(s): Arkadiusz Sołtysiak / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Some evidence for social distinction of a group of women has beenobserved in the Middle Bronze Age cemetery at Tell Arbid. First, onlyfemale skeletons have been found in primary burials, while both maleand female remains were buried in multiple commingled burials. Infemales from primary burials, the frequency of dental caries wassignificantly higher, with a similar frequency of stress markers. Alsothe average δ15N value in females was higher than in males. All theseobservations may suggest that a specific group of women developeda peculiar subsistence strategy, maybe based on intensive horticulture,or a specific pattern of exogamy was present in a local society withquite a large and homogenous group of women migrating toTell Arbid from the south.

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More on Dumuzi and the “brimmed cap” of the Priest-King of Late Uruk times

Author(s): Piotr Steinkeller / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

This communication revisits the question of the so-called “brimmedcap” (Breitrandkappe), which serves as an attribute of the Priest-Kingof Late Uruk art. An important new datum bearing on this issue isa pre-Sargonic plaque in the collection of the Walters Art Museum,which depicts a seated male figure wearing such a cap. It is arguedthat this figure is Dumuzi. Finally, a possible connection betweenDumuzi and the archaic Priest-King is considered.

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A recycled ivory panel from Samaria

Author(s): Claudia E. Suter / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Recycling objects made of precious materials is well documented inthe ancient Near East. Precious metals used in plating statuary, forexample, were melted down for reuse, and seals made of preciousstones were recut. Ivory was another highly valued material, butso far hardly any recycling of ivory objects has been detected. Thiscontribution presents a possible case from Samaria and examinesother, similar instances among Levantine ivory carvings of the IronAge, to which the assemblage from the Israelite capital belonged.

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Infant burials in the Ninevite 5 mortuary landscape

Author(s): Dariusz Szeląg,Zuzanna Wygnańska / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Several infant burials dating to various phases of the Ninevite 5 periodwere found on Tell Arbid, a site in northeastern Syria excavated byPiotr Bieliński from the Polish Centre of Mediterranean ArchaeologyUniversity of Warsaw. They shed new light on child burials froma period that is otherwise poorly documented in this respect. Simplein type and lacking in grave goods, the infant graves may seemperfunctory at first glance and yet they appear to have a definedposition in the mortuary landscape and social memory of the time asexpressed by their special location, mostly under house floors, as wellas by the attention and care invested in arranging for a formal burial.Even if not full-fledged society members nor hierarchically relevant,fetuses, stillborn babies and deceased infants evidently occupied animportant place in the social consciousness, possibly as negotiatorsbetween ancestors and living successors. This is in itself indicativeof specific Ninevite 5 beliefs regarding the position of infants at thenexus of the two worlds, of the living and of the dead.

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In search of the Holy Grail: Hittite DGAL.ZU reconsidered

Author(s): Piotr Taracha / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

This paper provides new arguments in favor of Güterbock’s oldhypothesis identifying the Hittite deity GAL.ZU with a deifiedcup. Further, once the cup used in Hittite liturgy for drinking godswas deified, its cult could well have been connected with the lifegivingrain that one of the Blessings for Labarna the king (CTH820) refers to, which ensured the life, health and fertility of the kingand, consequently, the prosperity of the entire land. The idea of thewine symbolizing a god in Hittite liturgy implies a kind of mysticalthinking comparable to the idea of consecration of the sacramentalwine into the Redeemer’s blood in celebration of the Eucharist.

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Chagar Bazar (Ašnakkum) à la période du Bronze moyen : le connu et l’inconnu

Author(s): Önhan Tunca / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The presence of a palatial complex in Chagar Bazar (Ašnakkum) iswell assured. We can try to determine the extension of this palatialcomplex thanks to the discoveries made until 2011. It thus appearsthat this complex should cover an area of about one hectare at least.It is also likely that the present tell only corresponds to a small partof the ancient high city, the rest of which disappeared because oferosion.

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Why are some discoid loom weights grooved? Answers from experimental archaeology on the functionality of weaving tools in the Bronze Age Aegean

Author(s): Agata Ulanowska / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

This paper re-examines discoid loom weights, a specific type thatoriginated in Early Bronze Age Crete and was widespread in theBronze Age Mediterranean. The growing popularity of these tools, asattested by the archaeological record, is discussed in relation to theirgeneral functionality and specific weaving techniques that may havecome with them. The functional parameters of discoid loom weights,i.e., weight and thickness, implying the types of fabrics that may havebeen produced with their use, are analyzed together with use-wearmarks on the tools, which demonstrate how the loom weights wereattached to warp threads. The grooves on the upper edges of someof these tools are discussed as a post-production feature on the basisof experimental modelling. The presented results are the effect ofarchaeological experiments and tests undertaken by the author withstudents of archaeology from the University of Warsaw and weaversfrom the Biskupin Archaeological Museum.

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Geodesy and photogrammetry in archaeology. Advanced documentation methods used by the Kuwaiti–Polish Archaeological Mission

Author(s): Piotr Zakrzewski / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Fast and precise archaeological fieldwork relies on the use ofadvanced documentation methods. Needless to say, the applicationof sophisticated tools and modern technologies for archaeologicalpurposes is becoming nowadays a common practice. Working asa surveyor and documentalist for the Kuwaiti–Polish ArchaeologicalMission, the author was charged with developing and implementingnew technologies and documentation techniques to improvesignificantly the process of collecting and interpreting archaeologicaldata. To that end, a multi-disciplinary approach was used, combininggeodetic and photogrammetric methodology, and equipment. Thispaper describes the methods, presenting their capabilities andlimitations, and possible ways of application.

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Note on snake ritual in Saruq al-Hadid

Author(s): Iwona Zych / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

An apparent Iron Age II ritual offering deposit, comprising amongothers a triad of copper snake figurines, discovered in the Polish sectorof the excavation at the site of Saruq al-Hadid (Emirate of Dubai,UAE), is considered in light of a growing body of archaeologicalevidence for ophiolatry from southeastern Arabia. In this preliminarynote attention is drawn to parallels from the Levant, tapping intoa long-lasting tradition from the Late Bronze Age and early IronAge, suggestive of long-distance contacts between the two regions.Remarks on the interpretation of the ritual draw upon ethnographicalstudies of modern snake veneration in South India.

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