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Urkesh

PROJECT PUBLICATIONS / Articles

ARTICLES BY STAFF MEMBERS

October 2024

Alphabetical list of articles (or even book chapters; see section “Books”) published by staff members using primary data provided by the Expedition. Where available, click on the date to see the printed copy in PDF format. If an online version is independently available, click on the appropriate link below the title (all titles are lastly accessed on 19/12/2019).

Information about each author can be easily found on page Authors index, by clicking on the word ‘Info’ placed after the authors’ surnames.

A brief summary of the content is provided after each bibliographical entry and in some cases wider abstracts are offered. In these abstracts, sized in paragraphs, some peculiar keywords or relevant passages are bolded to strees the topic of each section.

When a review of a publication is available, it is indicated within curly brackets, with the link to the review itself.

All bibliographical entries are contained in this single file, which is sorted alphabetically by the name of the author(s). Please refer to the left side bar as a jump-off point for the retrieval of given items.

A separate file lists the entries chronologically.

Another separate file lists the entries in an alphabetical order, with only the name of the author and a short mention of the title.

NOTE:

  • the “chain-like”/hyperlink symbol () at the left of each bibliographical entry provides, by hovering the mouse cursor over it, the hyperlink to that very entry.

Total entries: 9.


A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z

Bonetti, Sophie ; Giorgio Buccellati

2003 “Conservation at the Core of Archaeological Strategy: The Case of Ancient Urkesh at Tell Mozan”
Conservation, The Getty Conservation Institute Newsletter 18, pp. 18-21

A new concept of ‘conservation’ is presented in this paper, describing innovative conservation technique adopted at Tell Mozan. To fulfil this goal, a strict relationship and collaboration between archaeologists, restorers, and conservators is developed.

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Marco De Pietri, 2019

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Buccellati, Federico

1998 “3-D Rendering and Animation at Tell Mozan/Urkesh”
in Buccellati, Giorgio & Kelly-Buccellati, Marilyn (eds), Urkesh and the Hurrians
Urkesh/Mozan Studies 3 = Bibliotheca Mesopotamica 26
Malibu: Undena Publications, pp. 51-62.

New technologies (such as CAD and XRF) can be applied on fiel dand laboratory to achieve a better analysis of both architectural remains and archaeological artefacts. As for structures, 3D renderings can provide archaeologists with a full volumetrical reconstruction of ancient buildings and 3D pictures support an in-depth study of objects and finds, also allowing a more ‘readable’ view on structures and artefacts.

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Marco De Pietri, 2019

2010 “The Monumental Temple Terrace at Urkesh and its Setting”
in Becker, J., Hempelmann, R. and Rehm, E. (eds), Kulturlandschaft Syrien- Zentrum und Peripherie. Festschrift für Jan-Waalke Meyer
AOAT 371
Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, pp. 71-85

“The temple terrace at Tell Mozan is one of the most impressive structures discovered to date in third millennium Syria” (p. 71). The temple Terrace at Urkesh [see here an overview] overview consists of a high terrace with a sloped ramp, a central plaza [see JP] JP, a revetment three meter high stone wall and a stone staircase [see J2] J2.

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Marco De Pietri, 2019

2012 “Wie wird ein Palast gebaut und warum?”
Trümpler, Charlotte & Breunig, Peter (eds), Werte im Wiederstreit – Von Bräuten, Muscheln, Geld und Kupfer [Ausstellungskatalog Wiesbaden]
Frankfurt am Main: Goethe Universität, pp. 31-34.

Urkesh’s history (presenting ensured remains from at least 3300 BC to 1400 BC, with an acme between 2400 and 1800 BC) can be investigated through the analysis of its buildings: one of the major structures (analysed in this contribution) is indeed the Royal Palace Royal Palace, built by Tupkish around 2250 BC.

This paper is based on a PhD research PhD research entitled Three-dimensional Volumetric Analysis in an Archaeological Context (Goethe University, Frankfurt; tutor: Prof. Dr. J.-W. Meyer; defended in 2014).

The history of the excavations within this area is briefly summarized and the major discoveries (mostly the glyptic evidence) are presented [see, briefly, Seals and seal impressions]Seals and seal impressions.

The structure of the Palace is described in detail (presenting 3D renderings) and an ethnographic interpretation of its function(s), basically as a storage place and a ceremonial space, is sketched out.

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Marco De Pietri, 2019

2014 “Understanding Households – A Few Thoughts”
in Buccellati, Federico; Helms, T. & Tamm, A. (eds), Houses and Households in Ancient Mesopotamia
Oxford: Archaeopress, pp. 35-42.

“Clearly the multivariate role that a house plays in society is very difficult, if not impossible, to identify from the archaeological context, and yet many attempts have been made, with quite a bit of success” (p. 35).

The understanding of the ancient concept and reality of household is for sure a tricky point in the archaeological thought. Because archaeologists deal with a ‘broken tradition’ [for this topic, see G. Buccellati, CAR, Broken tradition]G.Buccellati,CAR,Broken tradition, the reconstruction of the ancient meaning of a fact or of an archaeological entity is a slippery floor.

Nevertheless, the author proposes in this contribution some useful multidisciplinary approaches, such as ‘ethnographic analogy’, ‘ethnoarchaeological comparison’ and ‘landscape archaeology’. In detail, the author presents the specimen of the ‘Fortress of Elephant Hunter’ (in Burkina Faso): of this structure, F. Buccellati discusses the construction practices, the building phases, the function and context and (more generically) the rooftops, the gardens and farmland, the graves and the altars connected the aforementioned building.

A topic introduced in the paper also deals with the relationship between urban and rural spaces [for which see Liverani, M. Reconstructing the Rural Landscape of the Ancient Near East, “JESHO” 39/1 (1996), pp. 1-41 (JSTOR)] Liverani, M. Reconstructing the Rural Landscape of the Ancient Near East, “JESHO” 39/1 (1996), pp. 1-41 (JSTOR) a thematic very important also in studying ancient Urkesh’s landscape and society.

In the conclusions, the author stresses how the Burkina Faso example “presents archaeologists with an interesting study of the relationships between people and material culture” and how “the analysis of the Fortress presents a series of detailed case studies into the relationship between people and objects which can aid archaeologists in forming their own hypotheses regarding material coming from the archaeological record” (p. 41).

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Marco De Pietri, 2019

2014 “Diachronic Developments at the Central Monumental Complex of Ancient Urkesh (Tell Mozan)”
in Bieliński, Piotr; Gawlikowski, Michał; Koliński, Rafał; Ławecka, Dorota; Sołtysiak, Arkadiusz & Wygnańska, Zuzanna (eds), Proceedings of the 8th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. 30 April - 4 May 2012, University of Warsaw. Volume 1: Plenary Sessions, Township and Villages, High and Low. The Minor Arts for the Elite and for the Populace
Wiesbaden: Harrasowitz Verlag, pp. 313-319.

The monumental complex at Urkesh, developed during the fourth and the third millennium BC and represented by the construction of the Temple Terrace (with Temple BA Temple BA, at the same time of Palace AP Palace AP ), which “became a landmark for the region” (p. 313).

After the introduction (paragraph I) and the presentation of the chronological timespan (paragraph II), the author describes the geography, the environs and the hinterland (paragraph III), while paragraph IV focuses on the city walls and the AP Palace; instead, paragraph V describes the Temple Terrace and paragraph VI is devoted to the examination of the sealings from the Royal Palace (those belonging to king Tupkish Tupkish, to queen Uqnitum Uqnitum and other courtiers courtiers, specifically the nurse Zamena and the cook Tuli).

The conclusions (paragraph VII) sketch the importance of analysing the urban and the rural environments together (as a whole entity), describing the function of the sealings and their relationship between urban and rural areas.

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Marco De Pietri, 2019

2019 “Perception in Palatial Architecture: The Case of the AP Palace at Urkesh”
in Bietak, Manfred; Matthiae, Paolo & Prell, Silvia (eds), Ancient Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Palaces. Volume II. Proceedings of a Workshop held at the 10th ICAANE in Vienna, 25-26 April 2016
CAENL 8
Wiesbaden: Harrasowitz Verlag, pp. 31-40.

This paper contributes in providing a description on how the perception of architecture can be retrieved and understood on the base of the archaeological and architectonical evidence. The author offers a ‘perceptional description’ of the Royal Palace AP at Urkesh, underlining how it was a focal point in the landscape of Urkesh, with specific functional issues, such as the storage of materials and the public displaying of the royal power.

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Marco De Pietri, 2019

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Buccellati, Federico ; Nicolò Dell’Unto ; Maurizio Forte

2005 “The Tell Mozan/Urkesh Archaeological Project: an Integrated Approach of Spatial Technologies”
in Forte, Maurizio (ed.), The Reconstruction of Archaeological Landscapes through Digital Technologies
Oxford: BAR International, pp. 171-183.

This paper presents the application of new technologies in the study of archaeological remains (mostly structures).

After an introduction about Urkesh (paragraph 1) and its geography and history (paragraph 2), stressing the importance of the Royal Palace [see The Royal Palace Royal Palace] and the related glyptic material [see Seals and seal impressions Seals and seal impressions] for the recognition of the Hurrian identity of Urkesh’s inhabitants, the author describes the conservation strategy applied for the preservation of the Royal Palace (paragraph 3) [see Preservation Preservation].

Paragraph 4 displays the objects from the Royal Palace, offering a standard analysis of the material (for example, the description of a clay tablet found in a room of the building [room 3]), trying to connect the artefacts with their archaeological context. Sub-paragraph 4.1 presents the urban landscape of Urkesh, introducing some data from recent geophysical surveys and GPS micro-reliefs.

Paragraph 5 describes the ‘Browser edition’ of Urkesh data [see Record Record and Buccellati 2006 Buccellati 2006], explaining the usefulness of such a publishing approach.

Paragraph 6 defines the benefits of using digital technologies (mostly 3D renderings and reconstructions), allowing to (re)create a ‘virtual heritage’, outlined as “the digital information derived by perception, interpretation, learning, knowledge, communication of a cultural item; […] the virtual heritage [considered as] an ontology of the cultural heritage” (p. 175); the paragraph further investigates the modern technologies usually applied in archaeology.

Paragraph 7 relates with ‘Remote Sensing Applications’, offering “the reconstruction of a spatial virtual reality system dedicated to the investigation of the ancient Urkesh” (p. 176) [Figs. 6-8 displays respectively a Corona imagery, a Landsat 7 ETM 8 bands imagery and a SPOT Panchromatic imagery of Urkesh].

Paragraph 8 describes the use of LandStar-DGPS, “a satellite delivered GPS correction service providing 24 hour accurate and reliable real time precise positioning on land” (p. 178).

Paragraph 9 discusses the virtual reconstruction of the archaeological landscape within a diachronic interpretation of the territory.

Paragraph 10 reports photo modelling techniques used at Urkesh, while paragraph 11 give an account of the digital processing system.

Paragraph 12 relies with two case studies (the Royal Palace and a Hurrian tablet), testing the potentiality of the aforementioned techniques on both a macro and micro scale context.

The conclusions (paragraph 13) summarize the possible development of this system and its remarkable features: 1) the portability of the system; 2) a desktop virtual reality; 3) the development of a timeline of the site; 4) 3D renderings of both structures and finds (and the creation of a 3D archaeological, spatial georeferenced, environment; 5) a cultural and methodological contextualization; 6) simulations of an artificial ancient environment; 7) the multimedia and upgradeability of the system; 8) a friendly interface for scientific communication and edutainment; 9) fast time in data dissemination; 10) the accessibility of heterogeneous data in the same environment.

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Marco De Pietri, 2019

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Buccellati, Giorgio

2017 “Iconology in the Light of Archaeological Reason”
in Pavel S. Avestisyan and Yervand H. Grekyan (eds), Bridging Times and Spaces: Papers in Ancient Near Eastern, Mediterranean and Armenian Studies: Honouring Gregory E. Areshian On the Occasion of His Sixty-Fifth Birthday
Oxford: Archaeopress, pp. 49-60 [eISBN: 978-1-78491-700-5]

«The thrust of the iconological approach was to identify a unifying point of reference behind the formal details of iconography. This can help us approach cultural traditions for which there are no longer any living carriers. ‘Archaeological reason’ defines the conditions of possibility for reaching behind the gap and suggests ways to re-appropriate the lost experience. In this way we develop a semiotics that can be controlled formally, particularly through distributional and perceptual analysis» [Author’s abstract].

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Marco De Pietri, 2019

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