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Image Title calendar2024-01-28

MAGNETIC INVESTIGATIONS IN THE SHAHRIZOR PLAIN, IRAQI KURDISTAN

Archaeological features, such as architecture etc. can be traced by high resolution and large-scale magnetometer prospecting. Moreover, soil magnetic data deliver additional information about the alteration of the ancient landscape. In combination with an archaeological survey, the geophysical results can provide information to reconstruct the spatial organization within these settlements as well as an epoch-spanning analysis of settlements and their role in urbanization processes and within settlement hierarchies.

Image Title calendar2024-01-28

Zarzi was used by groups of hunter-gatherers between 18,000 and 14,000 years ago.

The cave here at Zarzi was used by groups of hunter-gatherers between 18,000 and 14,000 years ago. Zarzi Cave was excavated by Dorothy Garrod in 1928 and by Iraqi archaeologist Ghanim Wahida in 1971.

Image Title calendar2024-07-25

Memorandum of Understanding Between Slemani antiquities and heritage Directorate and Kurdistan Geological Society Slemani Branch

Slemani antiquties and heritage Directorate signed a memorandum of understanding between our directorate as a government entity and Kurdistan Geologists Association Slemani Branch to further coordinate and serve these two fields in Kurdistan in general and Sulaimani in particular.

New exhibition of the archaeological investigations at Gird-i Yasin Tepe

Article Name

Yasin Tepe (Gird-i Yasin Tepe)

The site is one of the largest tell-type sites in the Slemani Governorate and contains rich archaeological remains from the Neolithic to the Islamic periods. Yasin Tepe Archaeological Project led by Chubu University has been conducting the archaeological investigation of the site since 2015 and the excavations continues since 2016. So far, we have identified intensive Iron Age (Assyrian period) occupations in the lower town area containing an elite residence and un-looted brick tomb.

Yasin Tepe is located in the western part of the Shahrizor Plain, ca. 30 km south of Sulaymaniyah. The site is one of the largest tell-type sites in the Sulaymaniyah Governorate. It measures ca. 700 × 600 m (40 ha) with 20 m in height. The consist of acropolis mound and the lower town.

Chubu University (Japan) expedition started the excavation of the site in 2016. Since then, we have identified extensive Iron Age (8th-7th centuries BCE) settlement in the lower town. Yasin Tepe was probably an important military and commercial city when the Assyrian Empire controlled Iraqi Kurdistan. The excavations continue to reveal the Iron Age history of Sulaymaniyah Governorate.

 

 

The Yasin Tepe exhibition was setup in the Slemani Museum in November 2023. It was carried out by Chubu University funded by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan. It is a part of the training program for the enhancement of the Slemani Museum. It is also intended to inform the public people about the importance of cultural heritage in the Slemani Governorate. 

 

The exhibition shows a bathtub coffin which was excavated from the un-looted brick tomb dated to the 8th-7th centuries BCE. The coffin was placed inside a tomb camber built with baked bricks and had a vaulted ceiling.

Next to the bathtub coffin, a showcase contains some selected finds which are stored in the Slemani Museum. Noteworthy is a bronze necklet with cuneiform inscription which was found in a room of the elite residence, southeast of the lower town. It shows the possibility that the temple of Nabû was erected at Yasin Tepe. Other major finds included the bronze lamp, pottery, and stamp seals excavated from the un-looted tomb. These objects inform us that there was a strong Assyrian cultural influence was present during the Iron Age at Yasin Tepe. (Shin Nishiyama: Chubu University, Japan).