No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Tells are multi-layered, archaeological mounds representing anthropogenic landforms common in arid regions. In such contexts, the preservation of the archaeological record is mined by ongoing climate changes, shift in land use, and intense human overgrazing. Such natural and human-driven factors tune the response of archaeological soils and sediments to erosion. Geomorphology offers a plethora of tools for mapping natural and anthropogenic landforms and evaluating their response to unremitting weathering, erosional and depositional processes. Here, we present a geomorphological investigation on two anthropogenic mounds in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, with a special focus on the ongoing erosional processes mining their slope stability and threatening the preservation of the local archaeological landscape. Applying the revised universal soil loss equation model for soil loess derived from UAV imagery and implemented with geoarchaeological investigation, we assess the erosion rate along anthropogenic mounds and estimate the risk of losing archaeological deposits. We argue that a large-scale application of our approach in arid and semi-arid regions may improve our ability to (i) estimate the rate of soil and/or archaeological sediments loss, (ii) propose mitigation strategies to prevent the dismantling of the archaeological record, and (iii) schedule archaeological operations in areas of moderate to extreme erosion risk.

No abstract

The paper provides an overview on Big-DEA, a multidisciplinary project aimed at developing a comprehensive multi-level explanatory model for the development of an archaic State in the ancient Near East, using the exceptional case of Tell Mardikh, ancient Ebla (Syria), during the second half of the 3rd millennium. The project’s goal is the reconstruction of the archaic state organization through an integrated analysis of archaeological and epigraphic data. The interaction between humanities and hard sciences is adopted in order to build a multi-tier explanatory model regarding the territory under the control of the Ebla kingdom, considering anthropic and environmental data deriving from excavations, survey and textual sources. The way to managing and study such a large Big Data archive, which includes different datasets, is itself the main challenge of the project: the creation of a dedicated relational database management system (RDBMS) functional to the implementation of the available GIS platform and the development of an appropriate simulation framework.

Survey and excavation at Gird/Tell Helawa, a ca. 10-ha site located in the Erbil Plain, revealed an extensive LC 2-3 period (late 5 th to mid-4 th millennium BC) settlement, with domestic structures and at least one large building destroyed by fire, located on the top of the main mound. Several sealings bearing stamp seal impressions were found in the building, showing the presence of administrative activity at the site. The evidence from Helawa allows investigating the socio-economic organisation of a small-scale Late Chalcolithic community in northern Mesopotamia in comparison with new evidence from on-going excavations and surveys in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Résumé. Les prospections et les fouilles archéologiques deGird/Tell Helawa, site d'environ 10 ha dans la plaine d'Erbil, ont révélé une occupation extensive durant le Chalcolithique récent 2-3 (V e -IV e millénaires av. J.-C.), comportant des habitations et au moins un bâtiment monumental détruit par un incendie, situé sur le sommet du tell. Un certain nombre de sceaux portant des empreintes de cachets ont été trouvés dans le bâtiment, ce qui démontre l'existence d'activités administratives en ce lieu. Les données de Helawa permettent l'étude de l'organisation socio-économique d'une petite communauté du Chalcolithique récent du Nord de la Mésopotamie, en comparaison avec les résultats des prospections et fouilles archéologiques en cours au Kurdistan d'Iraq.

No abstract