2015: Archaeological Projects in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq (original) (raw)
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The Archaeology of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
Kurdistan is home to some of the most important archaeological sites in the world, ranging from the Stone Age to the most recent past. While in earlier decades this exceptional potential did not receive the degree of attention which it merited, the past ten years has seen a burgeoning of cutting-edge archaeological field projects across the region. This volume, the outcome of a conference held at the University of Athens in November 2013, presents the results of this research. For the first time the archaeological inventory of the region is being systematically documented, laying the foundations for intensive study of the region's settlement history. At the same the area has seen a flourishing of excavations investigating every phase of human occupation. Together these endeavours are generating basic new data which is leading to a new understanding of the arrival of mankind, the development of agriculture, the emergence of cities, the evolution of complex societies and the forging of the great empires in this crucible of mankind.
Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean
The five-year Upper Greater Zab Archaeological Reconnaissance (UGZAR) project was initiated in 2012 as one of a number of survey projects in the Iraqi Kurdistan aimed at, among others, damage assessment of archaeological sites and new threats to the preservation of these sites, resulting from Iraqi Kurdistan’s recent rapid development. The database produced within the frame of the UGZAR project can be used in heritage management. The paper presents the project’s interim results and discusses the main factors endangering archaeological sites in Iraqi Kurdistan today.
Settlement history of Iraqi Kurdistan: an assessment halfway into the project
Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean, 2018
The project “Settlement History of Iraqi Kurdistan” aims at identification and documentation of archaeological sites and other heritage monuments on an area of more than 3000 km2 located on both banks of the Greater Zab river, north of Erbil. During three field seasons carried out in 2013, 2014 and 2015 the part of the area which is located on the western bank of the river was fully surveyed. On this area, as much as 147 archeological sites dating from the Early Neolithic Hassuna culture to the Late Ottoman times were registered. Besides, 39 architectural monuments were documented, as well as the oldest rock reliefs in Mesopotamia, dating to mid 3rd millennium BC in village Gūnduk. Moreover, 91 caves and rock shelters were visited in search for Paleolithic and Pre-Pottery Neolithic remains. The remaining area of the project, belonging to the Erbil/Haūler province will be studied during the 2016 and 2017 seasons.