2024-01-28

NEW INVESTIGATIONS IN THE ENVIRONMENT, HISTORY, AND ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE IRAQI HILLY FLANKS: SHAHRIZOR SURVEY PROJECT 2009–2011

Recent palaeoenvironmental, historical, and archaeological investigations, primarily consisting of site reconnaissance, in the Shahrizor region within the province of Sulaymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan are bringing to light new information on the region’s social and socio-ecological development.

2024-01-11

The testing trench is located on the Bnawasuta-Penjwen project

The Directorate of Archeology and Culture of Sulaimani continued their work and activities by conducting a test trench excavation in an area of 17 dunams in front of Bashmakh international gate, approximately 600 meters away.

2025-01-17

Halaf and Late Chalcolithic occupations at Shakar Tepe in the Shahrizor Plain, Iraqi Kurdistan: Preliminary report of the 2023 excavations

The Shahrizor Plain is one of the ideal fields for tracking the transition from Neolithic village life in the Fertile Crescent to Urbanisation which occurred in Mesopotamia because of its geographical location connecting the mountainside valleys along the Zagros and the downstream Diyala River that flows into the Tigris. Our field project aims to obtain archaeological materials to unveil this process. Following the first excavations at Shakar Tepe conducted in 2019, we excavated two additional areas at this site in 2023, including one of the three satellite mounds that were newly identified around the main mound. The cultural remains of the Late Halaf settlement uncovered from Operation B at Shakar Tepe II date back to approximately 5600–5400 calBC. On the other hand, Operation C at Shakar Tepe I yielded a thick deposit of the Late Chalcolithic occupations dated to ca. 3800–3600 calBC. The recovered materials fill the time ranges in the late prehistoric chronology of the site and will contribute to our understanding of the historical role of this region in the transition from Neolithisation to Urbanisation.

Darband-i Rania Archaeological Project, with an area in excess of 70 ha a special interest in the first millennium BC

Darband-i Rania Archaeological Project the Darband-i Rania Archaeological Project was a project directed by Dr. John MacGinnis of the British Museum, carried out in co-operation with the General Director of Antiquities of Kurdistan, the Directorate of Antiquities and Heritage of Raparin and the Directorate of Antiquities and Heritage of Slemani. The aim of the project was to explore the occupation of the pass through the fortified systems constructed to defend it, with a special interest in the first millennium BC. The permit granted by the General Directorate allowed the investigation of three sites, Qalatga Darband, Usu Aska and Murad Rasu.

Qalatga Darband

Qalatga Darband is the largest of the sites investigated, with an area in excess of 70 ha. Enclosed by fortifications, all dating to the early Parthian period. The two most prominent buildings investigated were (i) a large square fort situated within the wider fortified area, identified through satellite imagery, mapped by geophysical prospection ground-truthed by targeted excavations; and (ii) a monumental manor house measuring 23 m square, with a lower storey built of stone walls with alternating square and circular columns on the outer phase, and an upper storey of mud brick, the building was rooved with Mediterranean-style terracotta roof tiles. The most striking finds in the building are the remains of Hellenistic sculpture, the most notable of which a statue of a naked male are and a statue of a seated female.

Usu Aska

The second site to be investigated was Usu Aska, a fort inside the pass itself, on the southern side, dated to the Neo-Assyrian period. The site consists of massive fortification walls connected to a fortified knoll (now an island when the lake is high) at the northeastern end. The successive jumbles of collapsed masonry, particularly on the inner (mountain) side, show that the fortification were damaged by earthquakes and subsequently rebuilt on multiple occasions.

Murad Rasu

The last site to be investigated was Murad Rasu, a traditional mounded site which has suffered heavy erosion from the waters of Lake Dokan. Murad Rasu has occupations from the Uruk period to the Ottoman period (not necessarily continuous). The most alluring feature is the remains of a palace built of mud brick and tentatively dated to the early second millennium BC. The one room excavated to date was full of massive pithoi storage jars, very likely a magazine for storing of grain controlled a local administrative authority.