Kelly-Buccellati, M.
1988a
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“3. The High Mound: Introduction and Surface Collection,”
(with a contribution by S.M. Hughey)
in G. Buccellati and M. Kelly-Buccellati (eds), The Soundings of the First Two Seasons, Mozan 1, Bibliotheca Mesopotamica 20, Malibu: Undena Publications, pp. 43-48.
See full text
In this chapter, M. Kelly Buccellati offers an introduction to the archaeological research on the High Mound of Urkesh/Tell Mozan. The sections in this chapter are devoted to the following topics: 3.1: General Introduction (starting p. 43); 3.2: Distributional Patterns (starting p. 44); 3.3: Conclusions (p. 45); 3.4: Mozan Ware Descriptions (pp. 43-47).
A final section (3.3, pp. pp. 47-48), by S.M. Hughey, presents some notes on mapping the ancient site of Urkesh.
[mDP – January 2023]
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1988b
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“6. Artifacts from the Excavations,”
in G. Buccellati and M. Kelly-Buccellati (eds), The Soundings of the First Two Seasons, Mozan 1, Bibliotheca Mesopotamica 20, Malibu: Undena Publications, pp. 65-82.
See full text
In this chapter, M. Kelly-Buccellati describes the main artifacts found from the excavations at Urkesh/Tell Mozan in the first years: section 6.1 (starting p. 65) is devoted to the ceramics, while sections 6.2 (starting p. 67) and 6.3 (starting p. 81) deal with seal impressions and other objects, respectively.
[mDP – January 2023]
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1990a |
“Three Seasons of Excavation at Tell Mozan,”
in S. Eichler, M. Wäfler, D. Warburton, Tall al-Hamidiya 2, Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis: Series Archaeologica 6, Freiburg, Schweiz and Göttingen: Universitatsverlag Freiburg and Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, pp. 119-132.
See full text
See abstract
Report of three excavation seasons at Tell Mozan (1984-1986): after a geographical description of Urkesh's landscape and position, the author defines the reason of the choice to excavate at Tell Mozan; then, she describes the city wall, the cylinder seal impressions found in the Royal Palace, the Temple BA, and the Outer City.
[mDP – November 2019]
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1990b
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“A New Third Millennium Sculpture from Mozan,”
in A. Leonard and B. Williams (eds.), Essays in Ancient Civilization Presented to Helene J. Kantor , SAOC 47, Chicago: University Press, pp. 149-54, pl. 26.
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See abstract
A small double-side stele is here presented, for sure one of the best sculptural objects from Tell Mozan, coming from Temple BA's area. The piece can be dated to EDIII or to the Akkadian period. After a remark about the naturalistic features of its representations, the author concludes declaring how “the Mozan stele can be placed in an intermediary position between those stylistic characteristics of EDIII art and those of the Akkadian period and as such present us with fresh and innovative aspects of northern Syrian art in the third millennium” (p. 154).
[mDP – November 2019]
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1990c
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“Trade in Metals in the Third Millennium: Northeastern Syria and Eastern Anatolia,”
in P. Matthiae, M. Van Loon, and H. Weiss (eds.), Resurrecting the Past: A Joint Tribute to Adnan Bounni, Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut, pp. 117-130.
See full text
See abstract
This paper explores trades in metals in the third millennium BC, focusing on the North-Eastern Syria, explaining the key-role of Urkesh within this framework; a paragraph reconstructs the trade patterns in the third millennium BC, from the Halaf period, throughout the Ubaid, the Uruk and the ED periods, stressing the Southern connections of Urkesh, underlining how “in Syro-Mesopotamia interregional exchange networks developed early” (p. 125), already in the fifth millennium BC with obsidian trade.
[mDP – November 2019]
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1996a
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“Nuzi Viewed from Urkesh, Urkesh Viewed from Nuzi: Stock Elements and Framing Devices in Northern Syro-Mesopotamia,”
Studies on the Civilization and Culture of Nuzi and the Hurrians 8, pp. 247-268.
See full text
See abstract
The papers discusses Urkesh's glyptic material in comparison with other specimens coming from the later seals and sealings from Nuzi; the final section of the contribution is instead devoted to the question of Hurrian ethnicity of Urkesh's inhabitants, stressing how “attempting to attribute art, or indeed any aspect of material culture, to a specific ethnic group needs to be approached with a great deal of caution and with theoretical awareness” (p. 266).
[mDP – November 2019]
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1996b
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“Seals in Ancient Mesopotamia and Seals of God in Revelation,”
Rivista della Facoltà di Teologia di Lugano 1, pp. 79-100.
See full text
See abstract
In this paper, the author presents specimens of seals from the fourth, the third and the second millennium BC, discussing their original function and purposes, mostly to guarantee the identity of a person within letters of legal transactions.
[mDP – November 2019]
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1998
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“The Workshops of Urkesh,”
in Giorgio Buccellati and Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati (eds.), Urkesh and the Hurrians, Urkesh/Mozan Studies 3,
Bibliotheca Mesopotamica 26, Malibu: Undena Publications, pp. 35-50.
See full text
See abstract
This contribution is devoted to the analysis and of glyptic and stone materials from Urkesh, trying to define how, where and to what purpose they have been realized; a peculiar focus is given to Tell Mozan's workshops: “It is difficult to determine how many seal carvers would have been working for the Urkesh dynasts and their courtiers. [...] The artistic climate within some Urkesh workshops stimulated innovating thinking on the part of both artists and patrons. [...] The detail to which the artists went to convey the dynastic message is also impressive and must reflect the very real concerns of the patrons. [...] Evidence for this type of creativity and intense collaboration is otherwise rare in the ancient Near East” (pp. 49-50).
[mDP]
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2002
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“Ein hurritischer Gang in die Unterwelt,”
Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft zu Berlin 134, pp. 131-148.
See full text
English version
See abstract
The underground necromantic pit called ābi is investigated in detail in this paper, suggesting the possible function of such a structure, discovered in 1999 campaign in Area A12 of the Royal Palace AP, dating between 2300 BC and 2100 BC. The author strengths the interpretation of the structure as a Hurrian ābi, describing the possible nocturnal rituals that could take place within the pit, outlining the historical meaning of the rituals performed in the ābi. The alleged triple equation Area A12 = ābi = KASKAL.KUR (as a passage to the Netherworld') seems to be validated by both textual and archaeological evidence.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2004 |
“Andirons at Urkesh: New Evidence for the Hurrian Identity of Early Trans-Caucasian Culture,”
in A. Sagona (ed.), A View from the Highlands: Archaeological Studies in Honour of Charles Burney, ANES Supplement 12, Herent: Peeters, pp. 67-89.
See full text
See abstract
At Urkesh some andirons (also called in literature 'firedogs') have been uncovered: these finds also strengthen the relationship between Urkesh and the Ealy Trans-Caucasian culture (ETC), extending in modern Georgia and Armenia. The possible ancient trade routes are reconstructed, also speculating about the system of control of these important zones (mostly the Mardin pass, just to the North of Tell Mozan): to strengthen the idea of contacts between Urkesh, Early Anatolia and ETC, sealings and seals decorations and motifs are compared, underlining communal way of carvings and of portraying images.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2005a
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“Introduction to the Archaeo-zoology of the ābi,”
Studi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici 47, pp. 61-66.
See full text
See abstract
The well-known underground structure of the ābi, interpreted as a 'channel to the Netherworld', is here discussed for what concerns its archeo-zoological remains: after a description of the structure itself, the author describes its function on the base of archaeological and archeo-zoological evidence.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2005b
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“Urkesh and the North: Recent Discoveries,”
Studies on the Civilization and Culture of the Nuzi and the Hurrians 15, General Studies and Excavations at Nuzi 11/1, pp. 3-28.
See full text
See abstract
This paper investigates the connection of Urkesh with Southern Mesopotamia and with the ETC in the North, in the light of archaeological evidences, mostly the glyptic material. Comparisons with other Anatolian and Mesopotamian seals and sealings strengthens the idea of such a connection.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2006
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“Gilgamesh at Urkesh? Literary Motifs and Iconographic Identification,”
in P. Butterlin et al. (eds.), Les espaces syro-mésopotamiens: dimensions de l'experience humaine au proche-orient ancien : volume d'hommage offert à Jean-Claude Margueron, Turnhout: Brepols, pp. 403-414.
See full text
See abstract
This contribution analyses in detail the possibility of a cultural presence of the epos of Gilgamesh at Urkesh, as attested by literary and iconographic motifs. Many glyptic or stone depictions form a pattern or a cluster of evidence clearly hinting to the epos of Gilgamesh. The author presents two important inferences: 1) “A significant thematic development that we know from the Old Babylonian Gilgamesh story would already have been so popular in the late third millennium as to have become the subject of a figurative representation and not in this case on cylinder seals but on a stone plaque” 2) “Arguments have been presented elsewhere for the specific ethnic nature of Urkesh as a Hurrian city. Since it seems likely that our plaque was carved in Urkesh, the presence of a Gilgamesh motif in this city attests to the third millennium Hurrian familiarity with these tales and their participation in the proliferation of these pan-Syro-Mesopotamian stories” (pp. 410-412).
[mDP – November 2019]
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2010a
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“Mozan/Urkesh in the Late Chalcolithic Period,”
in J. Becker, R. Hempelmann, and E. Rehm (eds.), Kulturlandschaft Syrien - Zentrum und Peripherie - Festschrift für Jan-Waalke Meyer, AOAT 371, Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, pp. 261-290.
See full text
See abstract
This paper explores the Late Chalcolithic Period at Mozan: evidences of LC pottery have been excavated since 2005, in a stratified context; the author presents the different contexts of the retrieval of LC material at Urkesh, namely the Temple BA, the Plaza JP, and the revetment wall in the central Terrace edge J3. Then, the author offers a general description of LC ceramic typologies and fabrics. In the end, the author underlines how climatic and geographical conditions allowed Urkesh to emerge in the framework of LC Northern Syria, mostly because of its peculiar position on the way towards Anatolia, where metal ores where situated.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2010b
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“Uqnitum and Tar’am-Agade, Patronage and Portraiture at Urkesh,”
in J.C. Fincke (ed.), Festschrift für Gernot Wilhelm, Dresden: ISLET, pp. 185-202.
See full text
See abstract
The discoveries of sealings belonging to Uqnitum and to Tar’am-Agade allows us to speculate about concepts of 'patronage' and 'portraiture' at Urkesh. The author proposes the idea of a 'visual communication' displayed through glyptic materials, comparing the iconography of the seals of these two eminent women; she also stresses how messages related to a dynastic program aimed to encourage the power of the royal couple and the legitimate succession of their children, as openly communicated via specific iconographic features and gestures.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2012
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“Apprenticeship and Learning from the Ancestors: The Case of Ancient Urkesh,”
in W. Wendrich (ed.), Archaeology and apprenticeship: Body Knowledge, Identity and Communities of Practice, Tucson: University of Arizona Press, pp. 203-223.
See full text
See abstract
Apprenticeship and its mechanisms are the topic of this paper, focusing not only in Urkesh, but broadening the discussion also to ancient Mesopotamia and Syria as a whole discourse. This transmission of knowledge and consciousness is investigated in this paper both under a direct way (from teacher to student) and an indirect one, through emulation or experimentation. As far as archaeology concerns this discourse, the concept of 'broken tradition' emerges as a key-topic. Evidence for apprenticeship are investigated, analysing the role of scribes, of seal carvers and the function of ancient 'tablet houses' (ancient methods of apprenticeship are reported), mostly during the Old Babylonian period. As for Urkesh, the author recalls the founding at Urkesh of a school tablet, showing practice on the reverse. Reverence for traditional or ancient knowledge is exemplified by the practice of seal carving, whose training cannot be, unfortunately, better regained.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2013
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“Landscape and Spatial Organization: An Essay on Early Urban Settlement Patterns in Urkesh,”
in D. Bonatz and L. Martin (eds.), 100 Jahre archäeologische Feldforschungen in Nordost-Syrien, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, pp. 149-166.
See full text
See abstract
This papers analyses patterns of urban organization and the role of landscape for ancient Urkesh: “The site is located close to stone sources in nearby foothills, as well as other natural resources in the mountains such as wood and especially copper from the Ergani area. Notably it was important to be near but not too near the Mardin Pass” (p. 149). This strategic position of Tell Mozan represents one of its key-points in the relationships with both the Northern (Anatolian and Transcaucasian) and the Southern (Mesopotamian) milieus; this geographical space also shaped human thought and ancient space organization and the mythological background related to Urkesh guaranteed a clear meaning of the site as a cultic place and as an ancestral land (as the city of the god Kumarbi).
[mDP – November 2019]
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2015
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“Power and Identity Construction in ancient Urkesh,”
in P. Ciafardoni and D. Giannessi (eds.), From the Treasures of Syria, Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, pp. 111-130.
See full text
See abstract
This paper tries to reconstruct both the ancient political and personal identities of Urkesh and its inhabitants, analysing both an 'urban' and a 'personal' identity. After an introduction about the definition of the concept of 'identity', here perceived as both 'relational' and 'contextual', the author shows how these two features can be outlined thanks to Urkesh evidence and, above all, throughout its rich glyptic material.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2016a
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“Women's Power and Work in Ancient Urkesh,”
in S.L. Budin and J.M. Turfa (eds.), Women in Antiquity: Real Women across the Ancient World, London and New York: Routledge, pp. 48-63.
See full text
See abstract
This contribution is devoted to an analysis of the role and figure of women in ancient Urkesh's society, as depicted via glyptic material and clay figurines. The author underlines the peculiarity of the women depictions at Urkesh: “From the immediacy of the Urkesh seal iconography, combined with the seal inscriptions, we can obtain a glimpse of the life of the women at that court. This is only the case of the Urkesh women-not the Urkesh men. The seal impressions we have for Tupkish himself [...] are realistic, but the male members of the court [...] all have heraldic scenes which do not reflect their 'work.' Even though these seal impressions all came from the same contexts as those of Uqnitum and her attendants, these male retainers have chosen to represent themselves only with more conventional designs” (p. 60).
[mDP – November 2019]
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2016b
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“Urkesh: The Morphology and Cultural Landscape of the Hurrian Sacred,”
in P. Matthiae and M. D'Andrea (eds.), Ebla e la Siria dall'età del Bronzo all'età del Ferro, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei: Atti dei convegni Lincei 304, Roma: Bardi Edizioni, pp. 97-115.
See full text
“Hurrian religious concepts differed notably from Mesopotamian ones. In the ancient city of Urkesh (modern Tell Mozan) we have found, through our excavations, evidence for the awareness and ritual adoption of both Hurrian and Mesopotamian religious practices. Most notable for Hurrian religion is the monumental abi constructed as an underground shaft lined with stones and containing a series of stratified magic circles. The abi rituals, known from Hurrian texts found in later Hittite archives, focus on calling up deities of the Netherworld. Mesopotamian religious practices are exemplified by an Akkadian period seal with a scene of the enactment of a sacrifice and by altanni vessels of which we have excavated one complete and a number of incomplete examples. The 4th millennium temple terrace had already constructed on it a niched building on a low platform, presumably a temple of a type known in the south. Temple BA and a stone revetment wall were built in Early Dynastic III. Serious efforts were made to protect the base of this wall. The Temple Plaza has a unique stratigraphy in that it was kept clean for over a thousand years. The explanation for this enigma connects Urkesh with the Kura-Araxes culture to the north” [author's abstract on p. 97].
[mDP – January 2020]
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2016c
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“The Urkesh Ceramics Digital Book,”
in Paola Corò, Elena Devecchi, Nicla De Zorzi, and Massimo Maiocchi with the collaboration of Stefania Ermidoro and Erica Scarpa (eds.), Libiamo ne' lieti calici. Ancient Near Eastern Studies Presented to Lucio Milano on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday by Pupils, Colleagues and Friends
Alter Orient und Altes Testament, Vol. 436
Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 2016. pp. 721-733.
See full text
The paper describes the development of the project of digital publication of the corpus of ceramics found at Urkesh/Tell Mozan (see also the related webpage Urkesh Ceramic Analysis).
[mDP – February 2021]
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2018a
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“Celebrating Life in Mesopotamia,”
Celebrating Archaeology. Tributes to Lloyd Cotsen.
Backdirt, Annual Review of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA, December 2018, pp. 58-64.
See full text
Full volume
See abstract
Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati discusses in this paper the role and the meaning of celebrations in ancient Mesopotamia, with a focus on the site of Urkesh (Tell-Mozan). Indeed, celebrations and festivals were not only perceived as mere “spare time”, but as “occasions to affirm connections among the people, their gods, and their city” (p. 58). Such as occasions (connected with religious festivals, weddings and funerals) are attested by mean of different architectonical, iconographical and textual sources: aside of public feasts, also personal celebrations are documented in evidences from three Syrian sites, namely Urkesh, Ebla, and Mari. Furthermore, the role of women within these celebrations is particularly stressed and analyzed, mostly for what regards the role played by the queen within the royal couple.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2018b
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“Urkesh Insights into Kura-Araxes Social Interaction,”
in Attilla Batmaz, Giorgi Bedianashvili, Aleksandra Michalewicz and Abby Robinson (eds.), Context and Connection.
Studies on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East in Honour of Antonio Sagona, OLA 268, Peeters: Leuven, Paris, Bristol (CT), pp. 107-123.
See full text
“The core values of the Kura-Araxes culture are seen as a fundamental driver for the long continuity of the culture and allowed them to successfully negotiate their interactions with new cultural environments and social groups. New data from the Mozan/ancient Urkesh excavations in the Khabur plains is interpreted as resulting from the presence in the city of Kura-Araxes groups. Their integration into the Urkesh urban culture is contrasted with their negative experience in Arslantepe. It is suggested that the contrast is due to the Kura-Araxes social and cultural affinities with the urbanised Hurrians in Urkesh. The Kura-Araxes long association with mountainous environments and emphasis on fire rituals show a strong identification with the volcanic nature of these mountains. The Kura-Araxes primordial memory of volcanic eruptions are reflected in the Hurrian myths of Kumarbi and his son Ullikummi” [author's abstract].
[mDP – December 2019]
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2019a
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“Images of Work in Urkesh,”
in M. D'Andrea, M.G. Micale, D. Nadali, S. Pizzimenti and A. Vacca (eds.),
Pearls of the Past. Studies on Near Eastern Art and Archaeology in Honour of Frances Pinnock, marru, Studies in Near and Middle Eastern Archaeology 8, Münster: Zaphon, pp. 413-427.
See full text
See abstract
The sealings found at Urkesh provide us with information not only about the royal couple and its courtiers, but also valuable data about working activities at the site. After a description of the main features of Urkesh's glyptics, the author presents sealings related to common people and describes craft production at Urkesh. The conclusions stress the importance of such an evidence in reconstructing ancient (palatial or not) crafting and service activitie at Urkesh, remarking the peculiar realism and expressionism of these representations.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2019b
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“Urkesh ceramic evidence for function,”
in A. Pieńkowska, D. Szeląg and I. Zych (eds.),
Stories told around the fountain. Papers offered to Piotr Bieliński on the occasion of his 70th birthday , Warsaw: University of Warsaw Press; PCMA UW., pp. 285-304.
DOI
See full text
See abstract
“A14 is a well defined stratigraphic space, adjacent to a ceremonial platform and to the abi, the underground passage to the Netherworld. Some significant ceramic assemblages were found there, and an analysis of their function suggests that they were used for storage of dry goods in function of events that would take place in connection with
the ceremonial features nearby” [author's abstract].
[mDP – December 2019]
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2019c
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“Emulation as a Strategy of Urkesh Potters and its Long Term Consequences,”
in Caucasian Mountains and Mesopotamian Steppe. On the Dawn of the Bronze Age. Festschrift in Honour of Rauf M. Munchaev's 90th Birthday
Moscow: ИАРАН, pp. 355-361.
DOI
See full text
“The purpose of this article is the examination of the ceramics from Urkesh Phase 4 (dated to ca 2100–1900 B.C.) from the point of view of a fundamental aspect of the ceramic production in this time period, emulation and experimentation. This research leads to broader conclusions regarding the development of painted pottery first within the later part of Phase 4 and then continuing to emerge as the most important type of ceramic decoration throughout much of the second millennium. In other words I am reconstructing a situation within which the reemergence of painted ceramic decoration began in Phase 4b with an emulation of ceramics produced by ancient potters. This emulation conditioned the sensitivity of local potters and set the stage for them to take up the idea of painted ceramic decoration when it was reintroduced” [author's abstract].
[mDP – Febraury 2021]
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2020a
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“The Urkesh Mittani Horizon: Ceramic Evidence,”
in Michele Cammarosano, Elena Devecchi and Maurizio Viano (eds.), talugaeš witteš. Ancient Near Eastern Studies Presented to Stefano de Martino on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday, Kasion. Publikationen zur ostmediterranen Antike/Publications on Eastern Mediterranean Antiquity 2, Münster: Zaphon, pp. 237-256.
See full text
See abstract
This contribution, presented on the occasion of the 65th birthday of Stefano de Martino, describes the ceramic evidence at Urkesh related to the Mittani period; the author mostly focuses on pottery found on the Temple Terrace, triyng to reconstruct the Mittanian occupation at Urkesh, by analyzing ceramic samples with typical Mittanian shape, decoration, and ware types.
[mDP – May 2020]
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2020b
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“Continuity and Innovation at Urkesh in the ED III Period,”
in Maria Elena Balza, Paola Cotticelli-Kurras, Lorenzo d’Alfonso, Mauro Giorgieri, Federico Giusfredi e Alfredo Rizza (eds.),Città e Parole, Argilla e Pietra. Studi offerti a Clelia Mora da allievi, colleghi e amici,
Biblioteca di Athenaeum 65, Bari: EDIPUGLIA, pp. 296-310.
ISBN 9788872289389 / ISSN 1721-3274
See full text
This contribution, presented within the Festschrift for Clelia Mora, describes (through the analysis of the ceramic evidence), the continuity of culture at Urkesh/TellMozan in the ED III Period, specifically on the area of the Temple Terrace.
[mDP – December 2020]
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2020c
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“To Sift or Not to Sift... Research on the Effectiveness of Sifting,”
in Nadja Cholidis, Elisabeth Katzy, and Sabina Kulemann-Ossen (eds.),
Zwischen Ausgrabung und Ausstellung. Beiträge zur Archäologie Vorderasiens. Festschrift für Lutz Martin, marru: Studien zur Vorderasiatischen Archäologie, Vol. 9, Münster: Zaphon, pp. 259-265.
ISBN 978-3-96327-108-3 (Book) / ISBN 978-3-96327-109-0 (E-Book)
See full text
This contribution discusses about the importance of sifting soil on an archaeological excavation, this case Urkesh, in order to ensure that any small find, specifically unbaked seal impressions at Urkesh, can be correctly recognised and collected. A specific method has been applied: “We decided to conduct an experiment whereby all the soil from a small locus was first processed by using our usual methods. These usual methods mean that in every locus the objects are recorded individually and boxed separately. The other items (ceramics, lithics and bones) are collected in their entirety and stored separately. These groups are given q-lot numbers with a designation indicating their content. The letter q in this case stands for 'quantity', that is objects collected in quantity and triangulated within a relatively small matrix [...]. The excavator of a given feature collects the material in separate bags labeled with the q-lot numbers pertinent to that feature. Each bag is used for only one type of object [...]. In a second step we sifted the excavated dirt to see what had been missed. In addition to the information we received on what was missed, our sifting experiments gave us an insight into how long it takes to sift a given amount (with our mechanized system [...] a relatively short period of time) and the manpower needed to do this.” (p. 259).
[mDP – December 2020]
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Kelly-Buccellati, M.
Omar, J.
2004-2005
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“Urkesh Ceramics from the Palace Area,”
Les annales archéologiques arabes syriennes: revue d'archéologie et d'histoire [Damascus: Ministère de la Culture, Direction Générale des Antiqués et des Musées] 47-48 (2004-2005), pp. 45-61.
ToC
[mDP – February 2021]
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Kharobi, Arwa
2018
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“Les vivants et les morts d'Urkesh (nord de la Syrie) : les différents modes d'inhumation au bronze moyen,”
Meded. Zitt. K. Acad. Overzeese Wet/Bull. Séanc. Acad. R. Sci. Outre-Mer 64/2, pp. 201-226.
[DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4066520]
See full text
“Discovered between 1998 and 2004, the funerary area of Tell Mozan, located in the upper town of Urkesh (the Hurrian's political and economic capital), has delivered a hundred graves dating from the early second millennium BC and remained until now unpublished. The archaeo-anthropological study that I carried out on this remarkable ensemble aimed, at first, to shed light on new funerary practices for this period in this Mesopotamian region, then in a second time, to present a complete vision funerary conceptions and the relation to death in the ancient society of Urkesh. This study relies, on the one hand, on the archaeo-thanatological data (setting up deposits and analysis of the environment of the tomb), and on the other hand, on the biological data (age, sex and condition health of the deceased). While the majority of Urkesh burial sites fall within the funerary norms of the period and the region, others are more atypical, such as the disposition of the corpse and the number of associated objects. In addition, fire structures and deposits of animal remains associated with the graves seem to be related to the biological identity of the deceased. In addition, the study of the organization of the funeral space highlights groupings according to the age and sex of the deceased. Finally, there seems to be an evolution of funerary practices between the two phases of use of the necropolis that reflects changes in social organization during this transition” [author's abstract].
[mDP – February 2021]
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Kharobi, A.,
Buccellati, G.,
Courtaud, P.,
Duday, H.
2014
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“Le Feu et la Mort: Des Structures de Combustion Associées à des Sépultures à Tell Mozan (Nord-Est de la Syrie) au Bronze Moyen,”
in P. Bieliński, M. Gawlikowski, R. Kolinski, D. Lawecka, A. Soltysiak and Z. Wygnanska (eds.), Proceedings of the 8th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. 30 April-4 May 2012,University of Warsaw. Volume 2. Excavation and Progress Reports, Posters, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, pp. 667-675.
See full text
See abstract
This paper investigates the connection between some combustion structures (the tannurs and the andirons) found nearby tombs, on the High Mound of Tell Mozan. After an introduction about the site and the different burial practices of the Middle Bronze age in Syria, the authors describe Mozan as far as its burial areas. In sum, 8 tombs clearly presented traces of fire: the position of the tombs just above the firing places and their proximity to high temperature caused by fire could explain the traces of burning on the human skeletons (it is important to remember that the matrix of the soil all around the graves is mostly composed of clay, a material that conducts heat very well). Another possibility is to consider the firing structures as a landmark denoting the presence of tombs of important people nearby.
[mDP – November 2019]
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Kharobi, A.,
Courtaud, P.,
Duday, H.
2014
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“The Place of Children in the Ancient Society of Urkesh (Tell Mozan, Northeastern Syria) in the Middle Bronze Age (2000-1600 BC): An Archeothanatological Approach,”
Paléorient 40.1, pp. 135-147.
See full text
See abstract
The present paper presents a discussion about children's burial at Urkesh, dating to the Khabur Ware period (ca. 2000-1600 BC). The osteological observation of these human remains “has provided evidence of age-related characteristics. Indeed, the funerary treatment of the children has proven to have been different from that of the adults” (p. 59, abstract). After an introduction about Urkesh itself, the authors move to describe the two main burial strategies of children, i.e. the 'jar burials', and the 'earth pits'.
[mDP – November 2019]
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Kharobi, A.,
Buccellati, G.
2017
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“The Dignity of the Dead. The Case of Ancient Urkesh and Modern Tell Mozan, Syria (2000-1600 BC),”
Paléorient 43/2, pp. 165-175.
See full text
See abstract
After a discussion of the concept of 'ancient perception', i.e. the way through which ancient people perceived and considered themselves and their life experiences, the topic of this paper moves directly on graves at Urkesh. Human burials are considered within a 'territorial legacy', i.e., also today, when excavating a tomb, archaeologists have to face the problem of been dealing with human remains (i.e. men or women) of people who settled at Urkesh many centuries ago. A final discussion deals with the comparison between archaeological and anthropological observations and 'funeral' texts from second- and first-millennium Mesopotamia.
[mDP – November 2019]
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Liverani, M.
1991
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“2. The Archaeological Context,”
in L. Milano, G. Buccellati, M. Kelly-Buccellati (eds),
The Epigraphic Finds of the Sixth Season, Mozan 2, Syro-Mesopotamian Studies 5/1, Malibu: Undena Publications, pp. 10-14.
See full text
A presentation of the archaeological context of the sixth excavation season at Urkesh/Tell Mozan:
[mDP – January 2023]
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Mahmoud, Y.
2019
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“Through the Eyes of the Ancients. The Perception of Beauty in 3rd Millennium Syria,”
in SANEM 3, pp. 255-261.
See full text
“The archaeological record is a channel that leads to the understanding of ancient life and the evolution of
thought, in this case through the corpus of human representations from the cities of Ebla, Mari and Urkesh. We take a look through their eyes, and see what they deemed as beautiful” [author's abstract on p. 255].
[mDP – August 2020]
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Maiocchi, M.
2011
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“A Hurrian Administrative Tablet from Third Millennium Urkesh,”
Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 101, pp. 191-203.
See full text (preprint)
See abstract
A small Hurrian tablet found in 1997 at Tell Mozan is fully published in this paper. The tablet, labelled as A7.341, is well preserved and can be dated to the third millennium BC (on the base of both palaeography and stratigraphy). The author also includes a palaeographical comparison with other documents from Southern Mesopotamia and with two other tablets found at Urkesh. Further sections deal with the description of the stylus used to write the inscription, the sign alignment and the analysis of some noteworthy signs.
[mDP – November 2019]
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Milano, L.
1991
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“3. Philological presentation,”
in L. Milano, G. Buccellati, M. Kelly-Buccellati (eds),
The Epigraphic Finds of the Sixth Season, Mozan 2, Syro-Mesopotamian Studies 5/1, Malibu: Undena Publications, pp. 15-26.
See full text
A presentation of the major epigraphic finds in the sixth excavation season at Urkesh/Tell/Mozan:
[mDP – January 2023]
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Qassar, H.
2022
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“Engaging young generation in cultural heritage: Urkesh One-on-One Project,”
DirittoPolitecnico.it, 2022, online.
Online version
“A great deal of the archaeological work is about discovery and interpretation. We discover the physical remains and then develop a narrative of history based on these remains. When the Syrian upheaval started in 2011, the archaeological team of Tell Mozan/ancient Urkesh was no longer able to return to the site to excavate. However, during the years of the physical absence from the site, other discoveries in Syria took place, through the moral and virtual presence of the Urkesh archaeological team. And a whole new narrative of modern history, related to Urkesh and its local communities, has been written in the last decade. This article will present the Urkesh One-on-one project as a model of an outreach program to engage youngsters in cultural heritage. It will then present a reflection on the broader social impact of the program.” (Author's abstract).
[mDP – October 2023]
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Recht, L.
2014a
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“Perfume, women and the underworld in Urkesh: exploring female roles through aromatic substances in the Bronze Age Near East,”
Journal of Intercultural and Interdisciplinary Archaeology 1, pp. 11-24.
See full text
See abstract
After a general introduction on Urkesh, the author discusses the necromantic pit known as ābi and its connection with a 'lady', represented by a small ceramic anthropomorphic vessel (A12.108) portraying a female figure. The author describes the item in detail and then moves to interpretation of its function: as already proposed by M. Kelly-Buccellati, “this anthropomorphic vessel [...] has suggested contained perfumed oil used during rituals taking place in the ābi”. In conclusion, “the ancient texts make it clear that aromatic substances existed and were used in a variety of contexts beyond modern cosmetic usage [...]. This must also have been the case at ancient Urkesh and the broader region of northeastern Syria. The most likely vessels that may have contained such liquids or ointments come from cult contexts, including the monumental channel to contact the deities of the netherworld. The perfumes may have had not only cosmetic uses, but also have been appreciated for their medicinal properties and therefore part of healing rituals” (p. 21).
[mDP – November 2019]
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2014b
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“Tell Mozan ceramics: Munsell colours,”
Frankfurter elektronische Rundschau zur Altertumskunde 24, pp. 12-46.
See full text
See abstract
In this paper, the ceramics found at Tell Mozan are analysed on the basis of the 'Munsell Soil Color Charts'. The specific procedure applied at Tell Mozan is explicated and some specimens of actual analysis are then provided, offering statistics about Tell Mozan's ceramic exterior colours and the relationship (of equivalence or diverging) between exterior and interior colours, also connecting shapes and ware types with respective colours. Furthermore, pottery is compared (as regards the colour) with other fire clay objects from Tell Mozan (i.e., miniature wheels, discs, sealings, sling balls, plaques, human and animal figurines).
[mDP – November 2019]
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2015
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“Identifying sacrifice in Bronze Age Near Eastern iconography,”
in Nicola Laneri (ed.), Defining the Sacred,
Oxford and Philadelphia: Oxbow Books, pp. 24-37.
See full text
See on-line article version
Flyer
See abstract
This paper deals with the identification and reconstruction of ancient sacrificial practices in the ancient Near East and at specifically at Urkesh, using as main sources the archaeological and glyptic evidence from Tell Mozan: “Careful criteria sensitive to the wide array of religious practices in the ancient Near East can be set up to identify sacrifice in the iconography, and combined with other ancient material such as written sources and archaeological contexts, and theories proposed by modern scholars, these can be used to suggest further depictions and references to sacrificial rituals and their individual elements. Once carefully identified, we can begin to make inferences about the content of the practices of sacrifice in the ancient Near East - occasion, manner of killing, equipment used, participants (both animal and human), functions and locations” (p. 34).
[mDP – November 2019]
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2018
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“'Asses were buried with him': Equids as markers of sacred space in the third and second millennia BC in the Eastern Mediterranean,”
in Louis Nebelsick et al. (eds.), Sacred space: Contributions to the archaeology of belief,
Warsaw: Institute of Archaeology, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, pp. 65-94.
See full text
Alternative online version (Academia.edu)
See abstract
The paper focuses on the sacrifice and deposition of asses or equids together with an important deceased (as in the case, e.g., of Ur-Nammu's burial). After an introduction devoted to the story of the introduction and diffusion on equids in the Mediterranean, the author devotes two paragraphs to the analysis of the different species attested by archaeological samples and to the identification of equid remains according to osteological analyses. The concept of 'liminality' of equid burials is then analysed, describing this peculiar burial system connected to specific tombs at Urkesh. An appendix reports a catalogue including equids in graves in the Aegean and in the Near East.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2019
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“Animals as social actors: Cases of equid resistance in the ancient Near East,”
Cambridge Archaeological Journal 29/4 (November), pp. 1-14.
See editor's webpage
DOI
See abstract
After a general introduction to the topic, the author analyses the relationship between humans and other animals, the 'danger of animal', the concept of a 'social actor' at Urkesh. Afterwards, she investigates the presence of equids in the Bronze Age Near East, pushing back in time their encounter with human beings, mentioning terracotta equid figurines from Tell Mozan, together with other figurines (or depictions) from Mary, Ur, Nippur and Egypt.
[mDP – November 2019]
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Thompson-Miragliuolo, J.
1988
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“4. The Outer City: Introduction and Surface Collection,”
in G. Buccellati and M. Kelly-Buccellati (eds), The Soundings of the First Two Seasons, Mozan 1, Bibliotheca Mesopotamica 20, Malibu: Undena Publications, pp. 49-56.
See full text
In this chapter, J. Thompson-Miragliuolo describes the major finds from the surface collection in the Outer City of Urkesh/Tell Mozan.
After an introduction by G. Buccellati and M. Kelly-Buccellati (section 4.1, starting p. 49), in section 4.2 (starting p. 50) the Author outlines the surface collection.
Section 4.3 (starting p. 53) is devoted to the presentation of some relative percentages of the assemblage from the surface collection, while in
section 4.4 (starting p. 55) Thompson-Miragliuolo discusses about distributional patterns.
[mDP – January 2023]
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Twair, Pat and Samir
1997
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“The Kingdom of the Lion,”
Aramco World 2.
See full text
See online version
A brief but insightfull discussion about Urkesh's sealings, in the paths of the reconstruction of the Hurrian presence at Tell Mozan.
[mDP – April 2020]
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van Ginneken, P.
2000
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“De Hurrieten van Tell Mozan,”
Spiegel Historiael 6, Issue 35, pp. 262-269.
In this paper (in Dutch) the author summarizes in detail the paths of the excavations at Tell Mozan/Urkesh, undertaken by Buccellati and Kelly-Buccellati, starting from 1984 onwards.
See full text
See abstract
After a general introduction, sketching the academic and archaeological profiles of the excavators (including their previous works at Terqa and Amuda), the paper retraces the beginning of the survey in the area of Tell Mozan toward its identification with Urkesh. A brief note is also devoted to recall the importance of the Tiš-atal lion and inscription kept at the Louvre Museum (AO 19937-19938). The paper continues in telling the history of the Mittanian kingdom, exposing its relationship with the Hittites and Egypt during the second millennium BC and ends with some 'latest news' regarding the recent (at the time of the publication) excavation season in 1999.
[mDP – November 2019]
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Wettstein, C.
2004
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“Disegno archeologico,”
Bollettino dell'Associazione archeologica ticinese 16, pp. 24-27.
See full text
Alternative online version
A paper stressing the importance and relevance of archaeological drawing even in presence of other more technologically sophisticated ways of documenting artifacts.
[mDP – January 2024]
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Zarins, J.,
Hauser, R.
2014
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The Domestication of Equidae in Third-Millennium BCE Mesopotamia.
Bethesda (Maryland): CDL Press.
[NB: the hyperlink provided here above refers to an author's summary; a PDF version is not available, so far. A review of this paper, by Benjamin Arbuckle, can be read in “JNES” 75/1 (2016), pp. 174-176].
See full text
Authors' abstract
See abstract
This book presents a comprehensive discussion of the philological, historical, and archaeological evidence for the range of equidae known now from much of Western Asia after a century of intense study and excavation. The study provides a unique perspective from the viewpoint of field archaeologists on the complex issues associated with the physical study of the remains of equidae and their associated terminology in cuneiform sources as well as their artistic representation. The study integrates diverse and recently excavated data, which reflect a wide geographical and chronological range, with cuneiform sources and new artistic finds to create a synthesis that will serve as a basis for all future research on the subject. The volume includes numerous illustrations, photos, and charts that enhance the presentation of the data: equid representations recovered in Royal Storehouse AK at Urkesh are as well included in this catalogue. - [Summary adapted by mDP from authors' abstract].
[mDP – November 2019]
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NOTE
As for Giorgio Buccellati's publications, see in detail his personal webpage at this link.
