Petra Great Temple Excavations

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Great Temple Excavation Database:

This project represents the comprehensive results of Brown University excavations at Petra's Great Temple from 1993 - 2006.

About the Great Temple: The Great Temple contains eclectic exquisite art and architecture from the Nabataean period and demonstrates that the values of the Nabataeans of Petra during this period who felt that aesthetic decoration of structures with frescos and architectural sculpture was sufficiently significant on which to expend time, money and energy. This blending of different cultures is seen in this palatial building and its precinct with the use of elephant heads, frescos, elegantly carved pilasters and capitals. There is a high level of skill and technology possessed by her builders as well as the high level of organized government that would be needed to plan the building of this monumental structure. The Great Temple is one of the key sites in the Nabataean Petra, and it is a significant site for our knowledge of the development of Petra. The lives of the Nabataeans were influenced by a unique blend of cultures. The study of the Great Temple is essential to the understanding of many different aspects of the archaeology of Petra. Such an interpretation when considered in relation to what is known about other Nabataean sites can effectively enrich the web of knowledge we possess regarding both Petra and the people whose lives ultimately created it. Each of our seasons of excavation has proved to be provocative and propitious as many questions were raised and many extraordinary artifacts were recovered.

The Great Temple represents one of the major archaeological and architectural components of central Petra. Located to the south of the Colonnaded Street and southeast of the Temenos Gate, this 75602 m precinct is comprised of a Propylaeum (monumental entryway), a Lower Temenos, and monumental east and west Stairways which in turn lead to the Upper Temenos — the sacred enclosure for the Temple proper.

The Petra Great Temple was first explored by R. E. Brünnow and A. von Domaszewski in the 1890s; but it was W. Bachmann, in his 1921 revision of the Petra city plan, who postulated the existence of a \"Great Temple.\" No structures were evident before the Brown University 1993 excavations under the direction of Martha Sharp Joukowsky, and the precinct which is constructed on an artificial terrace was littered with carved architectural fragments toppled by one of the earthquakes which rocked the site.

In the Lower Temenos are triple colonnades on the east and west with a total of 96 to 120 columns! These lead into east and west semi-circular buttressed Exedrae. Here in the Lower Temenos, large, white hexagonal pavers were positioned above an extensive subterranean canalization system which has been traced from the Temple Forecourt under the Lower Temenos, the Aerial photograph of the Great Temple, looking South Looking south from the Lower Temenos at the temple Propylaeum, and the Colonnaded Street to the Wadi Musa. Discovered near the West Exedra was a capital decorated with Asian elephant-heads; in addition to the thousands of architectural fragments, there are coins, limestone facial frieze elements, lamps, Roman glass, and ceramics which include figurines, Nabataean bowls, small cups, and juglets. Elaborate floral friezes and acanthus-laden limestone capitals suggest the temple was constructed in the beginning of the last quarter of the first century BCE by the Nabataeans who combined their native traditions with the classical spirit. The structure was enlarged later in the Nabataean period in the first century CE. The Great Temple was in use until some point in the fifth century CE, the Byzantine period.

The Great Temple had its columns and walls red-and-white-stuccoed which must have had a dramatic impact when set against its rose-red environment. It is tetrastyle in antis (four columns at the front) with widely-spaced (ca. seven meters, 21 ft.) central columns at the entrance, and two end columns located about five meters (15 ft.) to the east and west, respectively. Approximately 15 meters (45 ft.) in height, the porch columns plus the triangular pediment and the entablature, hypothetically place its height to a minimum of 19 meters (57 ft.).

The Great Temple measures 35 meters (105 ft.) east-west, and is some 42.5 meters (127.5 ft.) in length making it the largest freestanding structure in Petra.The podium rests on a forecourt of hexagonal pavers; a stairway approaches a broad deep pronaos (entry), which in turn leads into side corridors that access a 550-630 seat bouleuterion (council chamber), theatron/ odeum discovered in 1997. The Pronaos entry is marked by two columns which are the same diameter (1.50 meters, 4.5 ft.) as those at the temple entrance, but are larger than either the eight flanking the cella walls or the six at the temple rear which have diameters of 1.20 meters (3.6 ft.). In the interior north are massive anta walls resting on a finely carved attic bases. To the south is a two-or-three-storied complex dominated by a large, central vaulted arch and twin stepped arched passages leading to paved platforms, plus a series of steps which accessed the rear of the bouleuterion, plus a series of steps which access the temple corridors and exit. There are exterior paved walkways on the temple east and west, where sculpted facial fragments and fine deeply-carved architectural elements have been recovered.

Sponsors and Acknowledgments: This campaign would not have been possible without the generous assistance of the Jordanian Department of Antiquities, Fawwaz al-Kraysheh, Director, and Suleiman Farajat Director of the Petra National Park, Sami Al-Nawafleh our Department of Antiquities Representative and the American Center of Oriental Research, Pierre M. Bikai, Director. We would also like to express our thanks to Brown University for making this season possible.

We were supported by a work force of 50 devoted Bedouin, directed by Dakhilallah Qublan, Foreman. The Petra Crowne Plaza Hotel and the American Center of Oriental Research in Amman, to whom we are most grateful, also provided additional support.

The Alexandria Archive Institute would like to thank Mhairi Campbell for her role in organizing contextual information in this dataset.

Iraq Heritage Program

Number of associated media items: (245) Number of Associated Narrative Texts: (0)

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The Iraq Heritage Program - Saving Our Cradles of Civilization

In partnership with the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities, the Iraqi Ministry of Culture and The Oriental Institute of The University of Chicago, GHF’s Iraq Heritage Conservation Program supports the protection of Iraq’s most endangered archaeological sites. This is achieved through sponsorship of site Master Conservation Plans (MCPs) and providing a structured training program to State Board of Antiquity staff. These plans will form the scientific and legal basis for investment by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and that of international agencies such as UNESCO World Heritage, UNDP, World Bank, and other agencies from Europe, Japan and the Middle East.

Mesopotamia is regarded as one of the four cradles of human civilization. The land between the rivers derives its name and existence from the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. These two rivers created the Fertile Crescent in the midst of the surrounding hospitable territory. The land we call Mesopotamia is roughly the same as that of the modern country of Iraq. Probably first settled before 5000 B.C., Mesopotamia was the home of numerous early civilizations, including Sumer, Akkad, Babylonia, and Assyria. It declined in importance after Mongol invaders destroyed its extensive irrigation system in A.D. 1258.

Since our first Iraq Heritage Congress in June, 2004 with World Bank sponsorship, GHF and our partners have completed five outline Master Conservation Plans and have undertaken mapping and GIS for twelve (12) sites. The development of GIS maps for sites provides critically needed ground truth. Maps provide important information on the levels of looting, encroachment as well as each sites context given modern day environment conditions. GIS site maps will play an integral role in the development of comprehensive master plans, detailing conservation areas, buffer zones and present day threats. The five sites with plans include the world-class heritage sites of Hatra, Samarra, Ashur, Ctesiphon, and Ur.

GHF believes that the Master Conservation Planning process will enable the rapid and sustainable development of Iraq’s most important heritage sites with enhanced legal protection and well-planned development. When Iraq cultural tourism stabilizes there will be a major opportunity for rapid employment generation and economic growth that will sustain in Iraq for decades to come.

Global Heritage Fund & Partners

Global Heritage Fund (GHF) is a non-profit, international conservancy founded to preserve and protect humankind’s most important archaeological and cultural heritage sites in developing countries. Our timely investments, global network of experts, and advanced Preservation by Design methodology work together to create a ‘cycle of success’ for Global Heritage sites. GHF’s methodology ensures that these sites reach their full tourism and economic development potential and benefit the local communities.

Global Heritage sites in developing countries offer one of the most compelling foundations for national and regional economic growth. GHF currently has 12 Epicenters for master planning, conservation and training. Also, through our Global Heritage Network, GHF provides the technical support for experts and onsite conservation leaders that would otherwise be cost prohibitive. Our goal is to invest $30 million over the next 10 years into 40 Global Heritage sites threatened by neglect, destruction, unplanned mass tourism, and urban sprawl.

The Iraqi State Board of Antiquities & Heritage

The Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH) manages the National Heritage Sites and National Museums of Iraq, and has been known as one of the finest institutions for archaeology and cultural heritage in the Middle East for a long time. The State Board of Antiquities and History has a long history dating back to 1923 and Iraq first established the Antiquities Law in 1936. The State Board has collaborated with international institutions and major national projects for many decades.

The Board’s staff of 200 persons is charged with protecting over 14,000 known archaeological sites in Iraq. Iraqi Site Inspectors, archaeologists and conservators have a deep passion for protecting their rich history, one of the great Cradles of Civilization. Over the last 20 years, declining budgets, loss of key personnel, and war have put tremendous pressure on the department.

The Oriental Institute - University of Chicago

The Oriental Institute is a museum and research organization devoted to the study of the ancient Near East. Founded in 1919 by James Henry Breasted, the Institute, a part of the University of Chicago, is an internationally recognized pioneer in the archaeology, philology, and history of early Near Eastern civilizations. The Institute has undertaken projects in every part of the ancient Near East, including the Nile Valley, Mesopotamia, Persia, parts of the Ottoman Empire, and the lands of the Bible. Institute scholars also maintain research projects in Chicago, such as dictionaries and lexicons of ancient Akkadian, Hittite, Demotic, Egyptian, and Sumerian.

It was in the Near East that the earliest civilizations of the ancient world arose, beginning as a heterogeneous group of cultures that began to crystallize into urban societies of literate states and empires around 3000 B.C. in both Egypt and Mesopotamia. Among the achievements of the geographically and chronologically diverse cultures that arose in this area are the domestication of wild grains (including wheat and barley) and animals (such as sheep, goats, and cattle), and the invention of writing and the alphabet.

Open Context and the Alexandria Archive Institute

A select sample of the content generated by this project is being presented here in Open Context, the digital dissemination system developed by the Alexandria Archive Institute (AAI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to building open resources for world heritage research and instruction. AAI staff used Open Context to help put the content developed by the Global Heritage Fund into a larger framework. Open Context provides an integrated framework for users to search, explore, analyze, compare and tag items from diverse field projects and collections. It is built on the "Archaeological Markup Language" a data framework developed by Prof. David Schloen at the University of Chicago OCHRE Project. The AAI gratefully thanks Prof. Michael Greenhalgh for licensing images from his ArtServe digital repository under the open terms of a Creative Commons: Attribution, Noncommercial, Share-alike license. These open licenses make the ArtServe images and the content developed by the Global Heritage Fund more accessible and open for reuse by the community.

Global Heritage Network

The majority of the most important UNESCO World Heritage sites reside in developing countries suffering from war, conflict, poverty and massive unplanned development. Most developing countries lack the resources and expertise needed to solve these challenging and complex conservation, scientific and developmental issues. Global Heritage Network (GHN) is the world’s first advanced network platform connecting the leading experts with site conservation leaders in developing countries to address the complex challenges of saving endangered world heritage sites.

Global Heritage Network provides a worldwide state of the art platform for knowledge sharing, project management, consultation and collaboration by local conservation leaders and teams with international experts, partners, universities and government agencies. GHN gives developing countries access to the infrastructure, applications, mapping, analysis and reporting tools that experts around the world needed to address critical scientific and conservation issues.

GHF receives software and hardware grants from ESRI, Autodesk, Google, Cisco, Trimble and other partners to support this global initiative.

GHF and the Iraq Heritage Program

Since our first Iraq Heritage Congress (co-sponsored with the World Bank) in June, 2004, GHF and our partners have completed five draft Master Conservation Plan outlines and we have undertaken detailed mapping and GIS for twelve (12) sites. The program provides detailed GIS and Mapping of each site for enhanced protection and knowledge, and a structured training program to State Board of Antiquity and History (SBAH) site inspectors, archaeologists and conservators. The development of GIS maps for sites provides critically needed ground truth. Maps provide important information on the levels of looting, encroachment as well as each sites context given modern day environmental conditions. GIS site maps will play an integral role in the development of comprehensive master plans, detailing conservation areas, buffer zones and present day threats. The five sites with draft MCPs include the world-class heritage sites of Hatra, Samarra, Ashur, Ctesiphon, and Ur.

First Iraq Heritage Congress: June 15th – 22nd 2004

GHF and The World Bank co-sponsored the 1st Iraq Heritage Congress at Petra Archaeological Park in Jordan. The purpose was to establish a structured framework and five-stage process of conservation planning for endangered Iraqi sites. The framework and process are intended to accelerate transfer of expertise and technological knowledge, site management planning and conservation science for the immediate intervention of Iraq’s most endangered cultural heritage sites.

The Iraqis chose and completed master conservation plan outlines for five of sixteen heritage sites that were previously identified by the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage as the highest priorities for conservation and development. Based on the meetings, Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage, and Ministry of Culture now have a framework for the development of professional site management plans and development of conservation programs.

Social & Economic Benefits

Through responsible development of these national resources, Iraq has the potential to be the # two destination for cultural tourism in the Middle East and North Africa, after Egypt.

Iraq’s cultural heritage sites are well-distributed throughout the country which will provide a broad level of economic benefits to many communities. Cultural tourism will be a long-term renewable resource with nationwide development potential. GHF Master Conservation Planning is working to identify regional assets and link them to communities which can most benefit from the development of these cultural heritage sites.

• Infrastructure Development: GHF’s Master Conservation Planingwill provide the basis for similar investments in Iraq’s major cultural heritage sites and their surrounding communities. In 2003, the World Bank provided Lebanon with $31.5 million for tourism infrastructure development at five world heritage sites and their surrounding cities.
• Tourism Development: Through it’s wealth of cultural and history, GHF believes that tourism can be the number two industry in Iraq after oil and that Iraq, with the right environment, could expect more than 240,000 visitors within 5 years, generating over $280 million in foreign exchange revenues, if stability returns to the country. Within 10 years, Iraq could generate more than $1.2 billion in tourism revenues, if it follows a similar growth path to Egypt.
• Economic Development: GHF estimates that over 8,000 contract employees will be needed in the next five years to implement infrastructure and conservation projects at the twelve priority sites. These jobs will not be concentrated in Baghdad, but rather will be spread across all regions - South, Central and North. Longer-term, tens of thousands of tourism-related jobs are expected to be created, along with many new opportunities for the Iraqi and international business community.

UR

Originally the site was located near the outlet of the Euphrates into the Gulf but as the Euphrates and Tigris rivers evolved, the site lost its direct connection to these important rivers. The position of the head of the Gulf has also changed, leaving the site well inland from the current headwaters. Today the site is part of the alluvial plain of Southern Mesopotamia.

Ur was founded in prehistoric times during the Ubaid period, the earliest stage of village settlement in Southern Mesopotamia. The existing architectural history of Ur documents the city's continued historical and cultural significance for a span of at least two thousand years. In that time, Ur was the pre-eminent city of Iraq at least twice under the First Dynasty and Third Dynasty of Ur, and a major centre of religion, culture, and trade for virtually its entire history. Today, it remains one of the best preserved Sumerian cities of Southern Mesopotamia because a significant number of its buildings were of baked bricks.

The city of Ur is an important example of the Sumerian cities and civilization in Southern Mesopotamia. The excavated objects from the Royal Tombs of Ur (First Dynasty of Ur, ca. 2600 BC) can be considered as emblematic of the wealth, power, and sophistication of the Sumerian civilization. They provide very early evidence for the international exchange of semi-precious stones and metals from as far away as India and Afghanistan on an institutional scale. The sophisticated workmanship relates to the extraordinary talents of local craftsmen in the city of Ur.

Furthermore, the site has now become increasingly important given the intensive looting sustained at many of the other early Sumerian cities in the south since 2003. The nearby US-air base at Tallil appears to provide extra security for the site, since it effectively encloses it. But there seem to have been losses of small satellite sites as the base has been expanded greatly. There has been a base at Tallil since the British occupation, post WWI, but even under the Saddam regime, the buildings of the base were so far off that they were barely visible from the ziggurat. Despite damage to the outskirts, as a result of the extra security, the temple complex of Ur and the main city itself appeared "relatively untouched by looters"

As research at the city continues, the international community should also consider Ur as very important to investigations into little understood cultural periods such as the Neo-Assyrian Babylonia and the Kassite period. Ultimately non-destructive forms of research, such as surface reconnaissance and geophysical survey, will become increasingly important to future programs of research at the site.

Finally, the US Air Force has enlarged the Iraqi Tallil Air Base to the east of the site, so that it effectively abuts the area of archaeological significance. An assessment of the damage to the site cannot be made until ground checks are carried out. The future impact of these modern places must be managed for the preservation of Ur.

Click here to view Ur in Open Context.

HATRA

Hatra is a fortified city located in Upper Mesopotamia, approximately 80 km (50 mi) southwest of Mosul and 55 km (34 mi ) west of Ashur. Originally within the boundaries of the former Iranian province of Kharvaran, it is now part of the country of Iraq. It is situated in the steppe between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers (the northern Jazira), and about 3 km west of the Wadi Thartar.

Hatra was probably used as a seasonal camping ground for semi-nomadic groups in the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE. By the 1st century BCE, Hatra became a permanent settlement, and the center of a local dynasty along the Parthian-Roman border, subordinate to the larger Parthian Empire centered at Ctesiphon. The growth of the city peaked in the 2nd century C.E. In this period, Hatra was attacked by two Roman campaigns, one in 117 C.E. and the other in the 190s C.E, but it was protected by its position and strong fortification. The prosperity of the city decreased once the Sassanian Dynasty became established with a Roman-Sassanian struggle for power along the border region. In the early 3rd century, Roman troops were stationed at Hatra. In 240-41 Hatra was conquered by the Sassanians, which led to the permanent abandonment of the settlement. The site was unoccupied by 363 when Ammianus Marcellinus, a participant of Roman campaign, documented it as an “old city situated in an uninhabited area and deserted for a long time past”.

Hatra was an important location on the Parthian-Roman border zone along a major caravan route linking Seleuci-Ctesiphon with Singara and Nisibis. It also was directly linked to the Roman network of roads, and used as a halting place during times of war. The site’s religious prestige is also evident by its monumental temple complex.

The site of Hatra radiates outward from the large rectangular ‘temenos’, or temple platform, located at the center of the city. The enclosed temenos area was subdivided by a partition into a large outer court to the east and a small enclosure to the west. The western area contained the Temple of the sun god Shamash and other administrative buildings. Most of the buildings inside the temenos contain iwans, which are large halls open to the front with high barrel vaulted roofing. Many architectural elements are constructed of rubble-and mortar cores with a dressed-stone facing and datable by inscriptions to the late 1st century CE. Temples are located in the general city area as well, along with domestic architecture. Most of the areas outside the temenos have not been excavated. Around the central city, Hatra is bordered by two concentric fortification walls. The inside wall is made of clay bricks and has four main gates

The site of Hatra has some modern encroachment between the two fortification walls, especially with agriculture and modern architecture to the south-east. The central city of Hatra has little encroachment, but some areas show possible damage due to illegal excavations. Also, to the east of the temenos an area runs north to south suggests damage due to water run-off through the site.

AQAR QUF

‘Aqar Quf, also known as Dur Kurigalzu, is a Kassite period site located approximately 30 km west of Baghdad in the modern country of Iraq. It is situated along a limestone outcrop along the flat plain surrounding the Euphrates River. On three sides, ‘Aqar Quf marks the edge of the ‘Aqar Quf depression, which would have been inundated with flood water during much of the year.

The town of ‘Aqar Quf was likely founded in the late15th or early 14th century BC. ‘Aqar Quf functioned as a capital city during the reign of Kurigalzu, and either as a capital or at least an important city during the period after. It was occupied continuously until the fall of the Kassite dynasty in the 12th century BC, when it was abandoned.

‘Aqar Quf represents a period in the history of Iraq for which there are very few sources of primary information. This period is characterized by widespread trade and communication throughout the Middle East, and as a capital city, ‘Aqar Quf contains important evidence for the chronology and relations during the Kassite dynasty. Because of ‘Aqar Quf’s location directly outside the city of Baghdad, it also has the potential to be one of Iraq’s most accessible archaeological sites, especially with the visual impact of its main ziggurat.

The occupied area was defined by a large, multi-part enclosure wall over about 225 ha (556 acres). The shape of the city is elongated, with a functional separation of the main areas. Within the enclosed area are several hills where development was concentrated, the three excavated areas being the hill of ‘Aqar Quf, mound A approximately 100 m to the west, and Tell al-Abyad 1 km further to the south-west. According to the excavation reports of Taha Baqir, ‘Aqar Quf functioned as a religious complex while Tell al-Abyad served as a palace and administrative center. The areas in between were occupied as well and possibly functioned as a residential district, but have not been excavated.

The hill of ‘Aqar Quf is dominated by the most visible monument at the site, a Ziggurat devoted to the main god of the Babylonian pantheon, Enlil. Because of the uniformity of architectural features, the Ziggurat and surrounding temple complexes appear to have been founded by the Kassite King Kurigalzu. The ziggurat (69 x 67.6 m) was approached by three main staircases leading up to the first terrace, which has been reconstructed by Iraqi Directorate-General of Antiquities. The surrounding temple-complex has only been excavated on the south-west side of the ziggurat and are all composed of baked brick with a rubble filling.

The palace area of Tell al-Abyad consists of several stratigraphic architectural layers, which suggests several phases of building in this area over a larger span of time. The central feature is a large, single architectural unit with rooms grouped around courtyards and massive walls, suggesting its identification as a palace of Kassite kings. Associated tablets confirm that the structure was occupied throughout the Kassite period. In addition, excavators also discovered a treasury on the east of the palace and a probably throne room or royal reception/ceremonial chamber.

CTESIPHON (AL-MADA’IN)

Situated roughly 35 km. south of Baghdad and flanking both sides of the Tigris River, the region of al-Mada’in (a Arabic word meaning “the two cities”) received its name from Arab geographers due to the enormous amount of urban remains scattered across its landscape, including most famously the cities of Seleucia on the Tigris and Ctesiphon.

After the death of Alexander the Great, Seleukos Nikator founded Seleucia on the Tigris at the end of the fourth century B.C. with the aim of attracting the inhabitants of Babylon, despite its initial status as a Greek colony of the Seleucid kingdom. After a Parthian conquest of the city in 141 B.C., it became an important administrative center for the Arsacid empire. After a long rebellion in the city lasting seven years from 35 to 42 A.D., Ctesiphon became the seat of government and royal residence. Despite three sieges by the Roman army, this region continued to grow into a profitable commercial center.

At the beginning of the 3rd century it was captured by the Sasanians and Ardashir was crowned at Cteiphon in 226. Thereafter, Seleucia ceased to function as a capital and various other cities and suburban areas, including the “round city” of Veh Ardashir, were established, creating a unique metropolitan urban landscape. Muslim Arabs took over the area in 637, but it continued to remain prominent until the establishment of the Abbasid capital of Baghdad in the middle of the eighth century.

From a historical standpoint, the region of al-Mada’in prominently stands out due to the simple fact that it was the political and economic epicenter of Iraq during an important time period which links the country’s ancient past to its more recent Islamic heritage. The Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian periods in Iraqi history remain elusive partially due to the minimal amount of work dedicated to them, but their importance has never been questioned. Seleucia on the Tigris, Ctesiphon and Veh Ardashir served as capitals to powerful empires of the Near East that rivaled Rome.

From these cities the rulers administered the provinces, staged troops for battle and performed important political and religious ceremonies for maintenance of the empires. With the foundation of the city of Seleucia on the Tigris as a Greek colony, this region became an arena in which the populations from the East and West came together and created a new more cosmopolitan culture that had not yet been seen in Iraq. As a result, this multiculturalism manifested itself in numerous ways as reflected in the artwork and architecture of the region. In the same manner, al-Mada’in became an important intersection of various faiths including polytheistic systems, Christianity, Judaism, Zoastrianism, and Islam.

The most prominent example of the enormous power and prestige held in these cities is the Taq-i Kisra, a huge vaulted iwan which continues to this day to be the world’s largest single-span baked-brick arch. Additionally, numerous contemporary sources from outside the region have described its spectacular royal and religious buildings which have yet to be found such as the “White palace” of Ctesiphon. In a similar fashion, this region became an important commercial center for trade allowing for a large accumulation of wealth to be gathered as is reflected in the numerous large and highly decorated residences uncovered in the area. Overall, from a political, economic, or cultural perspective, the exceptional historical significance of this region during the Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian periods remains unrivaled.

NIMRUD(Calah)

Calah (modern names: Tell Nimrud) is an ancient Assyrian city located on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, just above its confluence with the Upper Zab River. It lies approximately 30km southeast of Mosul, in the north of modern Iraq. The ancient ruins cover an area of approximately 360 ha and reputedly supported a population of over 60,000. Calah was one of four major Assyrian royal cities in the region and can be considered to be in roughly the centre of the Assyrian homeland (Roaf, 1990).

The site consists of a roughly rectangular low mound surrounded by a city wall. Rising above the general level of the city are two major tells, the much taller of which is the acropolis (Tell Nimrud), where the ancient palaces and temples of the city have been uncovered through a series of major excavations. The second major tell is Tulul el-'Azar, otherwise known as Fort Shalmaneser. Tulul el-'Azar preserves the largest palace thus far excavated, a composite military and residential structure located in the southeast corner of the site.

The site was occupied from as early as the Halaf and Ubaid periods (5th Millennium B.C.). While evidence for continuous occupation of the site is apparent in the material remains, the site is only attested as a royal city beginning in the Middle Assyrian period (1300 B.C., +/-). Assur-Nasir-Pal II, a major ruler of the 9th Century described the former city of Calah (Kalhu) as a creation of Shalmaneser I (1271-1242 B.C.), noting that the city had fallen into decay and lay prostate when he became king (Mallowan, 1966: 74). The Middle Assyrian period was one of the rare times when the north of Iraq and the interior of Syria (Assyria in the classic sense) had been unified under one rule.

Assur-Nasir-Pal II again made Calah an important royal city, when he chose the city as the administrative capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (c. 883-612 BC). Under Assur-Nasir-Pal II (883-859 BC) and Shalmaneser III (858-824 BC), his son, the Assyrians exerted direct control to the west as far as the Euphrates. In 828 BC, the crown prince Assur-Danin-Apla, started a rebellion against the Shalmaneser III and attempted to wrest control of the city from Shalmaneser III. This rebellion pitted the royal court at Calah against the rest of Assyria. Eventually, the rebellion would be defeated by one of Shalmaneser III's younger sons, Shamsi-Adad V (823-811 BC), who used Calah as his base of operations. On the death of Shamshi-Adad V, his queen Sammuramat (Semiramis) would assume the regency and rule Assyria until her son Adad-Nirari III (810-783 BC) came of age. After Adad-Nirari III, there is no evidence of a strong monarch until Tiglath-Pileser III (744-727), who extended the empire from Assyria into Palestine and Damascus.

Thereafter the Neo-Assyrian Empire continued to grow. It would assume its greatest extent in the seventh century BC under Esarhaddon (680-669 BC) and his son Assur-Bani-Pal (669- c. 627 BC), when the empire controlled everything from Lower Egypt and the Levant in the southwest to the Northern and Central Zagros of Western Iran on the eastern frontier. In between, the Assyrian kings controlled southern Turkey, the Syrian Interior and all of Iraq including Babylonia and Chaldea. In 612 BC, the Assyrian Empire finally fell to the combined efforts of the Median and Babylonian armies and the acropolis was burnt to the ground.

After the fall of the Assyrian Empire and destruction of Calah., unknown Assyrians chose to try and re-establish the city by rebuilding some of its monuments.

Click here to view Nimrud in Open Context.

Click here to view Nineveh, a related site in Open Context.

SAMARRA

The significance of Samarra is as a major Islamic urban conglomerate city. It was founded in 836 under the 'Abbasid Caliph al-Mu'tasim as a new capital city, a title formerly held at Baghdad.

Under the various successive caliphs Samarra was divided into separate quarters that grew and shifted in their central focus. The city as a capital lasted only until either 883 (47 years) or 896 (56 years) with the death of the caliph Mu'tamid. Al-Mu'tadid moved the capital back to Baghdad. By the tenth century, Samarra had lost its importance, as evidenced by its lack of prominence in medieval maps.

In its heyday in the mid ninth century, the population of Samarra would have been around 1 million, easily larger than any city in Europe would reach for quite some time. Samarra was associated with Shi'a figures of some religious significance. The mausoleum of Ali al-Hadi and Hasan al-Askari, the 10th and 11th Shi'a Imams (respectively) and the shrine of Muhammad al-Mahdi, the 'hidden Imam" or twelfth and final Imam made the site a major pilgrimage center for Shi'a Muslims.

The archaeological potential of Samarra is incredibly vast. As a capital city of the 'Abbasid period occupied by about fifty years, the site offers a window into early medieval Islamic court life. Furthermore, as the Quickbird satellite images show, much of the city is still visible down to the scale of individual rooms. The site of Samarra is significant in that it has not been diminished due to loss in its condition or damage to its integrity. Neither has it been altered much. The context of Samarra remains virtually intact, as well. Only a very small portion of the city has been excavated.

Overall, the site is significant because it occupies a single period of history, the Early Islamic Period, as the capital of the 'Abbasid caliphate. Within that, its segmented nature of growth as a city creates politically and chronologically discrete windows of its various areas. It was an administrative center and military garrison, housing, perhaps for the first time, large non-Arab Turkic armies in many orthogonally planned barracks. Furthermore, the site's incredible preservation yields a vast amount of potential archaeological information. As such, the site's cultural heritage value and significance are "exceptional”.

Presently, the Medieval and modern city of Samarra occupies a small area amidst the larger Early Islamic site. The majority of the site is visible from air and satellite imagery and is relatively intact. Each year, however, urban development and sprawl, as well as, agricultural cultivation encroach on more of the site. As a tourist destination, Samarra has been one of the key sites in Iraq. Although most tourists climb the spiral minaret, they do not take full advantage of the site's monuments.

For more information, please contact:
Global Heritage Fund
625 Emerson Street Suite 200
Palo Alto, California 94301 USA
Tel: (650) 325-7520
Fax: (650) 325-711
info@globalheritagefund.org

Please visit the GHF website at
www.globalheritagefund.org

Lake Carlos Beach Site, 1992 and 1996

Number of associated media items: (0) Number of Associated Narrative Texts: (0)

Description of this Project / Collection:

21DL2, Lake Carlos Beach Site, 1992 and 1996

Catalog of Collections, 21DL2, 1992 & 1996

Dataset provided by the Minnesota Historical Society

In 1992 formal test units and shovel tests examined an area of 45 by 74 meters. Ceramics, lithics, and bone were common in all units. The investigation recovered a wide variety of local and non-local lithic material, including quartz, quartzite, chert, Tongue River silica, Knife River flint, and obsidian. Lithic tool forms included scrapers, bifaces, and five projectile points, three of which are Paleo-Indian lanceolate style points. The only complete lanceolate point falls in the range of Angostura points dated to around 9000 B.P. A Madison type triangular projectile point dated to 300-1200 B.P. and a small side-notched point, possibly associated with Late Woodland or Plains Village, were also recovered.

Ceramics consisted primarily of net-impressed body sherds, although some also exhibited cord-impressed, fabric-impressed, parallel-grooved, and smooth surface treatments. Two pre-contact features were excavated; both rock hearths composed of fire-cracked rock.

In 1996, 38 square meters of the site area were excavated. The excavation revealed two significant pre-contact occupations situated on the ancient shorelines of Lake Carlos. The first is a Late Paleo-Indian occupation (9,000-10,000 B.P. based upon cross-dating of the projectile point style). The second and most substantial occupation is from a later part of the Early Woodland Period called the Elk Lake culture (1700-3400 B.P.). The investigation also yielded historic artifacts associated with the European settlement of the area.

The Paleo-Indian component is the only Paleo-Indian habitation site excavated in west-central Minnesota. A lanceolate spear point (Angostura) and specialized tool kits indicated by the recovery of a prismatic blade, Paleo-Indian end scrapers, and backed knives, were associated with this occupation. The Early Woodland Brainerd component apparently comprises the most intensive occupation of the site. Artifacts recovered from the late Early Woodland component include: Brainerd horizontal-corded and parallel-grooved ceramics, expanding stem or corner notched projectile points, a variety of scrapers, and pitted hammerstones. Brainerd ceramic surface treatments identified include horizontal-corded and parallel-grooved sherds, but horizontal-corded sherds dominate the assemblage. Some of the parallel-grooved ceramics from the late Early Woodland Brainerd component were previously unknown in Brainerd sites and undocumented in Minnesota. Carbonized residue from a Brainerd horizontal-corded sherd was radiocarbon dated to 1980+/-50 B.P. Residue from a Brainerd or Avonlea-related parallel-grooved vessel was dated to 1880+/-50 B.P. This parallel-grooved ceramic may represent a transitional decorative element that has been identified at only three Minnesota sites. This investigation yielded the only radiocarbon date for this style of ceramic. A sherd from a Brainerd parallel-grooved vessel contained a sample of numerous wild rice phytoliths. This sample was radiocarbon dated to 1850+/-50 B.P. The dates from the horizontal-corded and parallel-grooved vessels both fall within the end of the Elk Lake culture, which overlaps the beginning of the Middle Woodland Period. Obsidian X-Ray fluorescence employed to source an obsidian flake from the site revealed a match with materials from Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

Corneal Ulceration in South East Asia

Number of associated media items: (0) Number of Associated Narrative Texts: (0)

Description of this Project / Collection:

This dataset has been added as an experimental use of Open Context for public health data sharing applications

Corneal ulceration is a major cause of blindness in many parts of the world, but in South East Asia the WHO estimates that there are as many as 12 million blinding ulcers every year in a population of 1.6 billion. Now that we know the main causes of these ulcers it is possible to prevent the occurrence of most of them with simple, grass-roots, public health measures. The development of these public health programs were a result of findings of this corneal ulcer study in Madurai, India in 1994.
Subsequent studies in Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar (Burma), and other parts of India have confirmed the validity of this database.

Harvard Peabody Mus. Zooarchaeology

Number of associated media items: (0) Number of Associated Narrative Texts: (0)

Description of this Project / Collection:

The Zooarchaeology Laboratory of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University

The Zooarchaeology Laboratory of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, was established in 1981 in order to facilitate the analysis of faunal remains from archaeological sites (also called Archaeozoology). Presently covering more than 850 square feet (79 square meters) on the third floor of the museum, the laboratory provides working and storage space for students and researchers who carry out studies on animal bones and teeth from around the world. It is also a teaching facility that is used for an intensive course on osteoarchaeology that is taught every second year by the laboratory's director, Dr. Richard H. Meadow, who is also available to consult with students and researchers using the laboratory and to assist in designing appropriate research protocols, in identifying specimens, and in evaluating research results.

The most important resources of the laboratory are its archaeological and modern comparative collections. The ancient faunal materials are part of the vast archaeological collections of the Peabody Museum and come from sites excavated over the years by museum staff and affiliates. Remains from New England, the American Southwest, Mesoamerica, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia are particularly well represented. The Peabody Museum has a tradition reaching back into the 19th century of encouraging the recovery and ensuring the subsequent preservation and storage of archaeological faunal collections. The Zooarchaeology Laboratory provides the facilities necessary for the study of these collections.

Absolutely essential to the success of any zooarchaeological endeavor is the availability of a comparative collection. The bones and teeth of modern animals of known species, age, and sex are compared to the archaeological faunal remains in order to permit identification and characterization of those remains. Since 1981 the Zooarchaeology Laboratory, through the efforts of research and curatorial assistants such as Tonya Largy and Peter Burns, has been engaged in establishing a collection of mammals, birds, and fish. Now numbering more than 1221 specimens, this collection is particularly strong in domestic species (especially sheep, goat, cattle and water buffalo) and in the wild fauna of New England. These materials supplement those housed in the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ), a world-renowned collection that can also be used by students and researchers. The MCZ's collections from North America, Mesoamerica, and Asia are particularly noteworthy. The Zooarchaeology Laboratory also houses a working library of sourcebooks for comparative osteology as well as a large reprint file of articles dealing with faunal analysis.

Also accessible to students and researchers who are interested in carrying out technical studies on faunal remains are facilities of the Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, including the Stone Age, Environmental Archaeology, GIS, and Specimen Preparation Laboratories.


Address:
Zooarchaeology Laboratory, Peabody Museum, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

Phone: 617 495-8317
Fax: 617 495-7535
Email: zooarch@fas.harvard.edu


Web Link
Harvard Zooarchaeology Website

Hazor: Zooarchaeology

Number of associated media items: (0) Number of Associated Narrative Texts: (0)

Description of this Project / Collection:

The Hazor Excavations in memory of Yigael Yadin
Zooarchaeological Analyses
This dataset represents the zooarchaeological identification and analysis conducted by Justin Lev-Tov as part of the The Hazor Excavations in memory of Yigael Yadin . The majority of the faunal remains come from Late Bronze Age and Iron Age contexts.

These ongoing excavations are led and directed by Professor Amnon Ben-Tor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. The majority of the excavation staff as well as the director are affiliated with the Institute of Archaeology at Hebrew University.

Additional web resources:
Prof. Amnon Ben-Tor’s Website
Hazor Excavation Website

Hayonim: Micromorphology

Number of associated media items: (12) Number of Associated Narrative Texts: (0)

Description of this Project / Collection:

Geissenklosterle: Micromorphology

Number of associated media items: (50) Number of Associated Narrative Texts: (0)

Description of this Project / Collection:

Pınarbaşı 1994: Animal Bones

Number of associated media items: (0) Number of Associated Narrative Texts: (0)

Description of this Project / Collection:

1994 Excavations at Pınarbaşı, Karaman Province, Turkey: Excavations began at Pinarbasi in August and September 1994, and continued in September 1995. The site is in the lands of Suleimanhaci village, Karaman province, on the south side of the central Anatolian plateau, only about 20 km from Çatalhöyük. This is a salvage excavation, jointly organised by the University of Edinburgh, Department of Archaeology (Dr Trevor Watkins) and the Karaman Museum (Cengiz Topal). The group of sites at Pinarbasi is of particular interest because there appears to be a series of rock-shelters occupied in final pleistocene and early neolithic times, and an open village settlement of epi-palaeolithic or early neolithic date (i.e. possibly greater than 10,000 years old). The work is being carried out as part of the Çatalhöyük Research Project, and the sites were identified by Drs Douglas Baird and Trevor Watkins in September 1993 as part of the Çatalhöyük Regional Survey. In the first season, the main objective was to assess two parts of the site which were most at risk. Area A is the open village settlement, situated below the cliffs and the rock-shelters, on an isthmus surrounded by a small lake. Area B is one of the rock-shelters. In the open village settlement the 1994 sounding showed superficial remains of classical date, a thin stratum of early third millennium BC occupation, and a thicker deposit representing structures, a burial and occupation deposit of a settlement of early prehistoric date. The first radiocarbon dates are in the late 8th millennium BC (uncalibrated). The rock-shelter has an isolated pit which has produced the fourth millennium BC date, and coherent strata of occupation deposit and a large, stone-built structure that date to the sixth millennium BC. The indications from the chipped stone assemblage are of an industry similar to that at Çatalhöyük, but there are also strong residual elements of earlier assemblages, representing probably an earlier, aceramic neolithic occupation.

1994 Project Website

2003 - 2004 Pınarbaşı Project Website

Domuztepe Excavations

Number of associated media items: (2252) Number of Associated Narrative Texts: (648)

Description of this Project / Collection:

Domuztepe is a large (20 hectares) site, dating to the Halaf period of the 6th millennium BC. It has extensive prehistoric architectural, burial, and occupational remains. The site also has evidence of Roman and Medieval occupation, including a cemetery dating to the 9th-10th centuries AD and an Early Medieval building with thick plaster mortar walls. Joint excavations led by Elizabeth Carter of the University of California, Los Angeles and Stuart Campbell of the University of Manchester have been underway since 1995.

The fifth millennium is a key period in the development of complex societies in the Near East. Domuztepe, situated in southeastern Turkey on the northwestern edge of the traditional heartlands of the Halaf, is one of the largest sites known from this period. The investigation of this site is providing new details of the organization of society at the site and its relationship with the surrounding environment. The settlement seems to have been a focus of long-distance exchange, with evidence for the manufacture and manipulation of status items. Stamp seals occur remarkably frequently and ceramics seem to have been used in a complex way, indicating shifting external relations over time. There is also evidence for economic intensification, notably the possible use of secondary products.

A large burial pit (the "Death Pit"), may have evidence of feasting/butchery of cattle and other animals. A large number of human remains, representing at least 40 individuals, was also recovered from the Death Pit.

Bibliography Stuart Campbell, "Domuztepe 2004 Excavation Season", Anatolian Archaeology 10 (2004) 4-6