“The Seventh Season of Excavations at Tell Mozan, 1992,”
Chronique Archéologique en Syrie 1, pp. 79-84.
See text [Academia.edu]
The results of the 7th excavation season at Tell Mozan (1992) are here reported by the two co-directors of the mission.
After a brief paragraph of introduction on Urkesh (with the mention of the Outer Ring of the city, enclosing ca. 140 hectares and datable to the mid third millennium BC), the authors quote the topographical and geophysical surveys undertaken by S.M. Hughey (UCLA) and by J. Ericson and M. Peterson (University of California, Irvine), respectively.
Then, the authors describe the investigations at Building AK [AK projection], a large storehouse later recognized to be a part of the Royal Palace. The physical features of the buildings are described (mostly as regards sectors A, an antechamber and B [see sector B], on the West side): in this latter sector, in a niche, around 80 sealings have been discovered, 26 of them carrying an inscription. The inference is that this area could have been a E2KIŠIB, i.e. ‘the room of the seal’, a place where discarded box or door sealings were deposited.
The works continued in sector C, probably a large central court.
Furthermore, it seems likely that a city gate was located not far from building AK, since along its Southern wall a major street was uncovered. All the building can be dated to the third millennium BC (and its construction will be later attributed to Tupkish, around 2250 BC).
The major finds from building Ak are then listed and examined: the aforementioned 26 inscribed sealings, the LU E school tablet carrying a professional list [for which, see Buccellati 2003; cf. school tablet on the Urkesh Website], and a docket, sealed on both sides and inscribed with 100 Akkadian numerals (about the epigraphical finds); another item from this area was a bearded man figurine (already discovered in 1990), dated to ED III to Early Akkadian period.
About the glyptics, it is important to remark that “The Mozan seal cutters emphazised the heads of the figures both in size and in a way the eye is shown” (p. 83), thus creating a new ‘expressionistic style’. Another peculiarity in Urkesh glyptics can be envisaged in the arrangements of motifs on some seals, showing a perfect ability in disposing figures in the seal field. A typical scene, stressing the dynastic program of the royal court, is represented by the gesture of children touching the lap of the king, a clear indication of filiation and respect (together with legitimacy of the offspring).
At the time this paper was delivered, the excavation had not yet reached the bottom of the accumulation where the sealings where deposited: thus, for further data about other sealings found in the same context, see later contributions by the same authors [mostly, Buccellati, Kelly-Buccellati 1996a and Buccellati, Kelly-Buccellati 1996b].
Back to top: Giorgio Buccellati and Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati 1997