Buccellati, G.
NOTE
1988
|
“2. Scope of the research,”
in G. Buccellati and M. Kelly-Buccellati (eds), The Soundings of the First Two Seasons, Mozan 1, Bibliotheca Mesopotamica 20, Malibu: Undena Publications, pp. 29-41.
See full text
In this section of the Mozan 1 volume, G. Buccellati and M. Kellt-Buccellati describe the major goals of their research and excavations at Urkesh/Tell Mozan.
In section 2.1, G. Buccellati presents some environmental consideration, framing the ancient site of Urkesh in its geographical landscape.
Section 2.2 is dedicated by a discussion (again by G. Buccellati) on historical considerations regarding Urkesh, analyzing some major historical souces about the city.
In the next section 2.3, G. Buccellati deals with some archaeological considerations about the most important aims of the archaeological excavation at Tell Mozan.
Section 2.4 offers a description (by G. Buccellati) of the methodological issues involved in the excavation at Tell Mozan.
[mDP – January 2023]
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1990
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“'River Bank,' 'High Country' and 'Pasture Land': The Growth of Nomadism on the Middle Euphrates and the Khabur,”
in S. Eichler, M. Wäfler, D. Warburton (eds.), Tell al-Hamidiyah 2, Göttingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht, pp. 87-117.
See full text
See abstract
The history of ancient Khabur region is displayed and discussed in this paper, focusing on some of the most relevant sites in the area (included Urkesh), taking into account both the archaeological and the textual evidence, hinting to a re-definition of the concept and the practical realization of 'nomadism' in ancient Northern Syria.
[mDP – November 2019]
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1997
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“Syria in the Bronze Age,”
in W.G. Dever, C.L. Meyers, J.D. Muhly, D. Pardee, J.A. Sauer (eds.), The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archeology in the Near East, Vol. 5, New York-Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 126-131.
See full text
A short introduction to the Syrian archaeology in the Bronze Age.
[mDP – May 2022]
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1998
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“Urkesh as Tell Mozan: Profiles of the Ancient City,”
in Giorgio Buccellati and Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati (eds.), Urkesh and the Hurrians, Urkesh/Mozan Studies 3,
Bibliotheca Mesopotamica 26, Malibu: Undena Publications, pp. 11-34.
See full text
See abstract
The author sketches in this paper an overview on the basic topographical display of ancient Urkesh, defining the position of the major structures and discussing the expansion of the city from the core to its periphery, outlining some wider insediamental traits in the area of Tell Mozan.
[mDP – November 2019]
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1999a
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“Urkesh and the Question of Early Hurrian Urbanism,”
in M. Hudson and B. A. Levine (eds.), Urbanization and Land Ownership in the Ancient Near East, Peabody Museum Bulletin 7, Cambridge: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography/Harvard University, pp. 229-250.
See full text
See abstract
The basic urbanization mechanisms at Urkesh are presented in this contribution, focusing on the development during time of a more complex social situation, based on the Palace institution. Comparisons with other adjacent towns are offered, complemented with quotations from textual sources (mostly of the mythological genre), such as the Myth of Silver.
[mDP – November 2019]
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1999b
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“The Royal Storehouse of Urkesh,”
in Michel Fortin (ed.), Syria, Land of Civilizations, Quebec: Musée de la Civilization, p. 170.
See full text
A brief but effective description of the system of the Royal Storehouse of Urkesh, specifically focusing on the function of sealing practices at the site.
[mDP – February 2021]
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2000a
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“Urkesh: archeologia, conservazione e restauro,”
Kermes 13, pp. 41-48.
See full text
See abstract
Restoration techniques newly developed at Tell Mozan for the conservation of ancient buildings are here presented and discussed, underlining the usefulness of this system both for scholars studying the site and for visitors or tourists visiting its ancient remains.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2000b
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“La figlia di Naram-Sin,”
Urkesh Folio, 1 (2000), 6 plates.
See full text
Italian version
See abstract
The sealings from Urkesh belonging to the daugther of Naram-Sin, Tar’am-Agade are the topic of the present contribution. Their discovery places Urkesh a one of the most important city of the second-half of the third millennium BC, when the royal family of Urkesh strenghted his power by means of a dynastic and wedding alliance with the Akkadian Empire.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2002
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“Beyond Clay and Beyond Paper,”
Backdirt, Fall 2002/Winter 2003, pp. 4-5.
See full text
See abstract
The paper briefly describes how the development at Tell Mozan of the 'Urkesh Global Record' digital system deeply contributed in the recording and diffusion of data through the web, including the site within a modern 'digital thought' of archaeology.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2003
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“A LU E School Tablet from the Service Quarter of the Royal Palace AP at Urkesh,”
Journal of Cuneiform Studies 55, pp. 45-48.
See full text
See abstract
The tablet labelled as A1j1, found in 1992 campaign at Urkesh and reporting a LU E school text, is presented in this contribution, comparing this item with other specimens found elsewhere.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2004
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Review of: “Anonymus (ed.), La civiltà dei Hurriti, La parola del passato. Rivista di studi antichi, vol. 55 Napoli: Gaetano Macchiaroli, 2000, pp. 424,”
Die Welt des Orients, pp. 209-214.
See full text
See abstract
This review provides the reader with a specific comment on a monography entirely devoted to the topic of the Hurrians' ethnical definition, collecting information and suggestion from papers by many authors (mostly Giorgieri, Pecorella and Salvini).
[mDP – November 2019]
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2005a
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“The Monumental Urban Complex at Urkesh,”
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
The purpose of this paper is the publication of the outcomings of the 16th excavation season at Tell Mozan (2003) focused on the exploration of the monumental urban complex of the ancient city of Urkesh, underlining the importance of some peculiar structures, such as the necromantic pit intended by archaeologists as a KASKAL.KUR.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2005b
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“The Perception of Function and the Prehistory of the State in Syro-Mesopotamia,”
in Brian D. Dillon and Matthew A. Bost (eds.), Archaeology Without Limits. papers in Honor of Clement W. Meighan, Lancaster (California): Labyrinthos, pp. 481-492.
See full text
See abstract
Urban revolution and its role towards the development of hurban society in ancient Northern Syria are discussed in this paper, retracing the different steps of this phaenomenon and analyzing its social impact on inhabitants and the general regional framework.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2006a
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“Conservation qua Archaeology at Tell Mozan/Urkesh,”
in N. Agnew and J. Bridgland (eds.), Of the Past, for the Future: Integrating Archaeology and Conservation, Proceedings of the Conservation Theme at the 5th World Archaeological Congress, Washington D.C. 22-26 June 2003, Los Angeles: The Getty Conservation Institute, pp. 73-81.
See full text
See abstract
The destructive nature of the archaeological work needs for the development of proper registration of data and the following conservation of the uncovered structures. The innovative conservation system firstly applied at Urkesh is here deeply described, stressing the benefits of this new setup of the archaeological site, perceived as an archaeological park as a whole.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2006b
|
“Presentation and Interpretation of Archaeological Sites: the Case of Tell Mozan, Ancient Urkesh,”
in N. Agnew and J. Bridgland (eds.), Of the Past, for the Future: Integrating Archaeology and Conservation, Proceedings of the Conservation Theme at the 5th World Archaeological Congress, Washington D.C. 22-26 June 2003, Los Angeles: The Getty Conservation Institute, pp. 152-156.
See full text
See abstract
After the proper excavation process, archaeologists are required to act towards two goals: the interpretation and preservation of the excavated structures and material and the presentation of the site to the wider public of scholars and tourists. The different strategies of preservation and presentation of Tell Mozan are here briefly outlined.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2006c
|
“An Archaeologist on Mars,”
in Seymour Gitin, J. Edward Wright and J.P. Dessel (eds.), Confronting the Past. Archaeological and Historical Essays on Ancient Israel in Honor of William G. Dever, Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, pp. 17-21.
See full text
See abstract
The problem of interpretation of archaeological remains is the core topic of this contribution, discussing on the perspective that any archaeologist has to apply both on the field and in the later post-excavation process. Culture is here defined as an entity nneding for a proper understanding by both specialists and common visitors, being able to re-link the archaeological remains with their original 'broken tradition'.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2006d
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“A Browser Edition of the Royal Palace of Urkesh: Principles and Presuppositions,”
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. 49-55.
See full text
See abstract
The recording system for data from Tell Mozan's excavation bases on a digital perspective structured within the frame of the so-called 'Urkesh Global Record', a 'browser edition' set up by means of a specific 'grammar' and of a 'structured fluidity' of the archaeological record.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2008
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Mozan as Urkesh: Archaeology in the Making
See full text
A general introduction about Urkesh/Tell Mozan as a Hurrian archaeological site.
[mDP – April 2020]
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2009
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“An Architectural 'Logogram' at Urkesh?,”
in Paola Negri Scafa and S. Viaggio (eds.), Dallo Stirone al Tigri. Dal Tevere all'Eufrate. Studi in onore di Claudio Saporetti, Roma: Aracne, pp. 23-29.
See full text
See abstract
The interpretation of ancient remains under a proper archaeological view does imply also the definition of some patterned structures connected to ancient culture's language: in this case, a specific 'logogram' related to the Sumerian sign for 'mountain' (KUR) was detected on actual walls of the precint of Urkesh's temple.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2010a
|
“The Semiotics of Ethnicity: The Case of Hurrian Urkesh,”
in J.C. Fincke (ed.), Festschrift für Gernot Wilhelm, Dresden: ISLET, pp. 79-90.
See full text
See abstract
The definition of ethnicity is always a difficult task and even more in the case of the identification of a Hurrian ethnical pattern; this topic is deeply investigated in this paper, aiming to define ethnicity on the base of actual, verified archaeological and cultural elements.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2010b
|
“The Urkesh Temple Terrace: Function and Perception,”
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. 87-121.
See full text
See abstract
The structure and the function of Urkesh's Temple Terrace is widely analysed in the present contribution, aiming to define the limits and features of ancient perception on this monumental structures.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2012a
|
“The Floodwaters of Urkesh and the Structural Coherence of the Urkesh Temple Complex,”
in P. Quenet and M. al-Maqdissi (eds.), “L'Heure immobile”. Entre Ciel et Terre. Mélanges en l'honneur d'Antoine Souleiman, Subartu 31, pp. 21-33.
See full text
Alternative online version (Academia.edu)
See abstract
A description of the central Temple Terrace of Urkesh, focusing on architectonical elements and on the structural features of the entire sacral complex. The history of occupation and use of the top-mound as a sacral place is then sketched in detail.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2012b
|
“Coerenza e storia. La Mesopotamia nell'ottica storiografica di 'Ordine e Storia': Istituzioni politiche, trasmissione del pensiero e percezione dell'assoluto,”
in Giorgio Buccellati et al. (eds.), Prima della Filosofia, Milano: V&P, pp. 113-124.
See full text
See abstract
The self-consciousness of ancient human being is here re-actualized on the base of both the 'urban revolution' and of the development of a religious 'perception of the absolute', which occurred after (and thanks to) the invention/diffusion of writing, perceived as a reification of the reality.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2012c
|
“Towards a Linguistic Model for Archaeology,”
Revue d'assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale 106 (2012/1), pp. 37-43.
See full text
Online version
“Archaeological theory has developed through a series of stages that, especially in Great Britain and the
United States, have relied heavily on current philosophical trends. Recent concerns have focused
especially on matters of interpretation, and two special areas of interest have been cognitive sciences
(C. Renfrew) and what was originally termed contextual archaeology (I. Hodder). I have been addressing
the same concerns, but from a different point of view.”
[mDP – January 2025]
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2013a
|
“When were the Hurrians Hurrian? The persistence of ethnicity in Urkesh,”
in J. Aruz, S. Graff and Y. Rakic (eds.), Cultures in Contact, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp. 84-95.
See full text
See abstract
The definition of Hurrian ethnicity is the topic of this paper, aimed to define the geographical and chronological framework of the beginning of the Hurrian identity and cultural perception as specific people. Both archaeological and textual elements help in sketching the borders and the paths of the process which led to the definition in antiquity of 'Hurrians as Hurrian', determining specific and objective clusters which also involved a peculiar role of Urkesh.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2013b
|
“The History of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology as a Research Paradigm,”
Backdirt 2013, pp. 14-20.
See full text
A brief history of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at the UCLA, stressing its origins and its peculiar purposes in the field of the archaeological research.
[mDP – January 2020]
|
2014a
|
“Konservierung der archäologischen Stätte Urkesh,”
Antike Welt. Zeitschrift für Archäologie und Kulturgeschichte [online journal].
See full text
Alternative online version
See abstract
The interpretation and presentation of the archaeological site of Urkesh are here discussed from the very beginning of the discovery to the current strategies of conservation and valorization, underlining the innovation of the browser edition of archaeological data and the innovative preservation system for architectural remains.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2014b
|
“Courage among the Ruins: A Sustainable Conservation Program in Time of War,”
Backdirt, December, pp. 102-112.
See full text
See abstract
This paper aims at defining how archaeologists' responsibility involves also (and probably mostly) the inclusion and valorization of the local community living nearby the ancient site of Urkesh; moreover, the current war-situation in Syria needs for new strategies of courage and braveness to maintaining the contacts with the local community of Tell Mozan, towards an increasing sense of involvement and mutual responsibility.
[mDP – November 2019]
|
2015a
|
“L'archeologia come presenza morale a Tell Mozan in Siria,”
Bollettino dell'Associazione Archeologica Ticinese 27, pp. 20-25.
See full text
See abstract
In a period of war, archaeology can represent an effective link between local communities in Syria and the entire world: thanks to the promotion of local involvement and the valorization of local crafting manufacture, today, the community of Tell Mozan deeply contributes to the conservation and the presentation of the site, towards a new vitality and a constant hope for the future.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2015b
|
“Tensional factors and compositional analysis: Crossovers between linguistics and art criticism,”
in P. Ciafardoni and D. Giannessi (eds.), From the Treasures of Syria, Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten, pp. 289-298.
See full text
See abstract
Linguistic analysis and archaeological data can be usefully linked and can communicate towards an effective shaping of ancient cultural features. 'Tensionality' represents here a key-point of this interpretative system, based on both linguistic and iconographic floors.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2016
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“Urkesh: For a Semiotics 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. 117-135.
See full text
“The particularity of the morphological organization of the sacred urban space can be understood in the light of an understanding of the forms as signs of an equally coherent religious vision, one that contrasts deeply with that of the Mesopotamian south, in spite of the partial similarity of forms. The glyptics of the royal court displays a naturalistic style that, by setting itself off from the religious sphere, enhances the latter's distinctiveness. The Temple Terrace is a mountain in ways that match the concept embodied in the southern ziggurat and yet differs sharply from it: it is the urban echo of a landscape that remains alive in the conscience of the people, in ways that contrast with the highly stylized southern realizations. The abi reflects a conception of the divine that is based on the close interaction of a one to one relationship: it is the sign of a conduit to the absolute that the southerners explicitly eschewed, in favor of a conception based on the recurrence of patterns. The coherence of the outward forms, and their longevity, are thus rooted in their association with values of which these forms are the outward signs. The sometimes nebulous concept of ethnic identity emerges here with clear and explicit formal traits.” (author's abstract on p. 117).
[mDP – January 2020]
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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].
DOI
See full text
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].
[mDP – May 2022]
|
2018
|
“A Children's Hermeneutics,”
Backdirt, December, pp. 32-37.
See full text
See abstract
In time of war (any war and anytime), children need to be perceived as a focus for any human being: under this respect, also an archaeologist has to ask how to behave and to contribute to the benefits of children in local communities affected by political and military conflicts. A concrete example is here presented, i.e. the involving of children from Italy and Tell Mozan in a 'dialogue program', exchanging ideas on themes such as 'heritage' and 'identity'. A simple (but brave) way of fighting war and sharing hope.
[mDP – November 2019]
|
2019a
|
“The First Gilgamesh. Conjectures About the Earliest Epic,”
in Pavel S. Avetisyan, Roberto Dan and Yervand H. Grekyan (eds.),
Over the Mountains and Far Away. Studies in Near Eastern history and archaeology presented to Mirjo Salvini on the occasion of his 80th birthday.
Archaeopress Publishing Ltd: Oxford, pp. 114-119.
See full text
“Out of the elements of the Sumerian cycle about Gilgamesh, a complex new epic was fashioned at the high point of
the Akkadian period. The paper argues in favor of such a high date for the first composition of the epic as a literary whole, and situates it in the context of the Akkadian imperial experiment” [author's abstract]. – As for Urkesh, the author displays a plaque (A7.36) depicting the friendly encounter between Gilgamesh and Enkidu.
[mDP – December 2019]
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2019b
|
“From Urkesh to Mozan. The itinerary of a project in wartime,”
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. 187-204.
DOI
See full text
“Building on a long experience with community engagement in prewar times, the Urkesh Extended Project has faced the problems caused by the current war in Syria by expanding the range of its activities and involving on many different levels the local communities. Here I touch first on a theoretical consideration: the notion of territorial legacy as linking the modern with the ancient inhabitants of the area of ancient Urkesh. I then illustrate two particular aspects of our work, namely, conservation and site presentation: both continued unabated during the war, and were even expanded. The response of the local people has been a major measure of success, with large numbers of visitors still coming to the site for a surprising form of war tourism” [author's abstract].
[mDP – December 2019]
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2019c
|
“Persistence of Tradition at Urkesh. The Temple Terrace from Protoliterate to Mittani,”
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. 340-354.
DOI
See full text
“The Temple Terrace of Urkesh had an extremely long history, spanning over more than two millennia. This is surprising because the structure, while monumental in scope, presents several features that are relatively ephemeral in nature, and could have been preserved only through special care and maintenance. The article outlines the configuration of the Temple Terrace, highlighting its structural make-up and coherence, which allowed for incidental changes in its component parts – until the moment, in its final century, when the structure itself was affected by a more radical change. Possible reasons are suggested that may explain this cultural phenomenon” [author's abstract].
[mDP – Febraury 2021]
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2020
|
“Degrees of Digitality. The Case of Excavation Reports,”
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. 247-258.
ISBN 978-3-96327-108-3 (Book) / ISBN 978-3-96327-109-0 (E-Book)
See full text
This paper presents many issues concerning the topic of digital publication of an excavation report. After a discussion about the very concept of “digital” and conceptual digitality, involving themes such as those of categorization and exo- and endogenous dimension of digitality (static vs. dynamic), the author moves to the presetation of the case of a browser edition offering as an example that of the Urkesh Global Record (UGR) [see here for a video on this topic]; this system allows to reach a better and dynamic data gathering, leading to this final conclusion: “Thus it is that the question of digitality becomes imperative for data gathering more than in perhaps any other case, given the necessity of having a system that maintains every single observation ever made during the excavation process. True digitality becomes then an issue that goes well beyond theory and abstraction, and becomes instead a most concrete imperative for keeping the archaeological process within the framework of an arguable analytical process.” (p. 255).
[mDP – December 2020]
|
Buccellati, G.
Kelly-Buccellati, M.
1988a
|
“1. Introduction,”
in G. Buccellati and M. Kelly-Buccellati (eds), The Soundings of the First Two Seasons, Mozan 1, Bibliotheca Mesopotamica 20, Malibu: Undena Publications, pp. 21-28.
See full text
In this Introduction, G. Buccellati and M. Kelly-Buccellati retrace the paths towards the discovery of Tell Mozan and the later recognition in it of the ancient city of Urkesh: “Tell Mozan is a major site in the piedmont area of Northern Syria, just below the mountain passes which lead to the Tur-Abdin range and the Turkish plateau. In spite of its size and its accessibility (practically on the main road between Amuda and Qamishli), it has escaped the attention it deserves” (p. 21).
[mDP – January 2023]
|
1988b
|
“5. Soundings on the High Mound - Introduction,”
(with a contribution by G.L. Bunnens and A. Roobaert)
in G. Buccellati and M. Kelly-Buccellati (eds), The Soundings of the First Two Seasons, Mozan 1, Bibliotheca Mesopotamica 20, Malibu: Undena Publications, pp. 57-64.
See full text
This chapter presents the soundings on the High Mound of Urkesh. In the Introduction (section 5.1, starting p. 57), G. Buccellati gives an oveview on the major results of the surface survey on the High Mound; in section 5.2 (starting pp. 59-60), G. Buccellati describes the stone building in Area B, discussing its horizontal articulation (sub-section 5.2.1, p. 59), its main stratigraphic sequence (sub-section 5.2.2, pp. 60-61), and its artifact distribution (sub-section 5.2.3, p. 61).
In section 5.3 (pp. 61-64), G.L. Bunnens and A. Roobaert describes the excavation of the so-called "mur d'enceinte" in Area K.
[mDP – January 2023]
|
1990a
|
“Tell Mozan,”
Syrian Archaeology Bulletin 2, pp. 4-7.
See full text
See abstract
This paper offers the results of UCLA's 5th and 6th archaeological missions at Tell Mozan (years 1988 and 1990), focusing on the large public building A1; furthermore, a topographical-geophysical survey of the mound, an analysis of anthropological and zoological remains, and the 'global record' are presented herewith.
[mDP – November 2019]
|
1990b
|
“Tell Mozan,”
Mille et une capitales de Haute-Mésopotamie. Les dossiers d'Archéologie 155, pp. 18-23.
See full text
See abstract
The present contribution retraces the paths towards the discovery of Tell Mozan and its identification with ancient Urkesh as well.
[mDP – November 2019]
|
1991a
|
“Mozan,”
American Journal of Archaeology 95/4 (October), pp. 712-714.
See full text
Alternative online version (JSTOR)
See abstract
The results of the 6th and the 7th excavation seasons (in 1988 and 1999, respectively) at Tell Mozan are here displayed, mostly focusing on third-millennium material from Temple BA and from the large public building A1.
[mDP – November 2019]
|
1991b
|
“1. Introduction,”
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. 3-9.
See full text
A brief introduction to the sixth excavation season at Urkesh/Tell Mozan:
- 1.1: The sixth season of excavation at Tell Mozan (pp. 3-4)
- 1.2: Archeological objectives (pp. 4-5)
- 1.3: The epigraphic finds (pp. 6-7; cf. Milano 1991)
- 1.4: Notes on third millennium ceramic chronology at Mozan (pp. 7-9)
- 1.5: An inscribed sherd from the fifth season (p. 9)
[mDP – January 2023]
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1994a
|
“Mozan,”
American Journal of Archaeology 98/1 (January), pp. 131-133.
See full text
Alternative online version (JSTOR)
See abstract
A report of UCLA's 7th excavation season at Tell Mozan (year 1992) in area F1 and AS, a stepped trench opened on the western side of the High Mound.
[mDP – November 2019]
|
1994b
|
“Mozan: Tales from a Hurrian (?) Storehouse,”
Backdirt, Spring, pp. 1,4-5,98.
See full text
See abstract
Sealings from Urkesh are here presented, stressing their importance as the northernmost evidence of cuneiform writing for the third millennium BC; a large storehouse exposed in sector B is then widely described as a possible 'house of the seal(s)'.
[mDP – November 2019]
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1995a
|
“Mozan, Tall,”
Reallexikon der Assyriologie 8 (5/6), pp. 386-393.
See full text
See abstract
This paper offers an overview on the history of excavations at Tell Mozan, displaying the chronology of the site, focusing on Temple BA and storeroom AK; some major epigraphic finds are then presented.
[mDP – November 2019]
|
1995b
|
“The Identification of Urkesh with Tell Mozan (Syria),”
Orient-Express 1995/3, cover page and pp. 67-70.
See full text
See abstract
The authors explain in this contribution why they decided to concentrate their efforts on Tell Mozan; moreover, the 'vault' in sector B of the Palace is described, together with its sealings and written materials; the existence and peculiarity of a 'Hurrian art' is then discussed.
[mDP – November 2019]
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1995-1996
|
“The Royal Storehouse of Urkesh: The Glyptic Evidence from the Southwestern Wing,”
Archiv für Orientforschung 42-43, pp. 1-32.
See full text
See abstract
Glyptic material (more than 600 seal impressions dating to the mid to late Akkadian period) from the Royal Storehouse (building AK) of Urkesh is here presented, analysing its peculiar features towards the determination of a specific 'Hurrian artistic tradition', further investigating the function of the seals and the storing practices at Urkesh.
[mDP – November 2019]
|
1996a
|
“The Seals of the King of Urkesh: Evidence from the Western Wing of the Royal Storehouse AK,”
Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Moregenlandes 86, pp. 65-100, pls. 1-7.
See full text
See abstract
Sealings of kings of Urkesh (mostly Tish-atal and Tupkish), are here introduced, underling the peculiarity of the title endan; later on, seals and sealings of queens and queen's household are also presented, offering for all of them a valuable palaeographical and iconographical analysis.
[mDP – November 2019]
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1996b
|
“Una manciata di secoli,”
Bollettino dell'Associazione Archeologica Ticinese 6, pp. 16-23.
See full text
See abstract
The paper describes archaeological activities and studies conducted in 1995 and 1996, mostly focusing on Urkesh's Royal Palace.
[mDP – November 2019]
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1996c
|
“Evidence for a Royal Palace at Tell Mozan/Urkesh,”
Orient-Express 1996/3, pp. 72-76.
See full text
See abstract
The results of the ninth excavation season at Tell Mozan (Summer 1996) are here presented, describing activities in Building AK (the Royal Storehouse of Tupkish), in Area A6 (Eastern Sector of the Storehouse), and in a Khabur residential area uncovered in Area A8, the first remains of a private house at Tell Mozan; terracotta figurines and glyptic assemblage are then discussed.
[mDP – November 2019]
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1997a
|
“Mozan, Tell,”
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East, vol. 4, pp. 60-64.
See full text
See abstract
An overview on different topics related to Tell Mozan: geographical location, physical description, previous investigations, chronology of the site, and the most important structures, together with the main finds.
[mDP – November 2019]
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1997b
|
“Urkesh. The First Hurrian Capital,”
Biblical Archaeologist 60, pp. 77-96.
See full text
See abstract
Mythological textual sources are here investigated to define the ethnicity of Urkesh's people, directly reconnecting the myth to a possible actual role played by the city in the trading of metals from the Taurus; moreover, sealings from Tell Mozan (over 1000 items) are presented, strengthening the development of a specific and coherent dynastic program. Two appendices describes some terracotta figurines and a small fragment of a school lexical tablet.
[mDP – November 2019]
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1997c
|
“The Seventh Season of Excavations at Tell Mozan, 1992,”
Chronique Archéologique en Syrie 1, pp. 79-84.
See full text
Alternative online version (Academia.edu)
See abstract
Report on the 7th excavation season at Tell Mozan (1992), presenting the topographical and geophysical surveys undertaken by the UCLA and by the University of California, Irvine; investigations in building AK are presented, sketching the structure of the complex and analyzing its rich glyptic material.
[mDP – November 2019]
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1998
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“The Courtiers of the Queen of Urkesh: Glyptic Evidence from the Western Wing of the Royal Storehouse AK,”
Subartu 4/2, pp. 195-216.
See full text
See abstract
Sealing belonging to Urkesh's king (Tupkish), to queen (Uqnitum), and to theirs courtiers are here described, representing a total amount of 164 rollings of 17 singular seals; these sealings presents a specific typology and style, here analyzed in detail.
[mDP – November 2019]
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1999
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“Das archäologische Projekt Tall Mozan/Urkeš,”
Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft zu Berlin 131, pp. 7-16.
See full text
See abstract
An overview on the archaeological mission at Tell Mozan/Urkesh: mythological texts, glyptic material, and other various artefacts arise the question about the Hurrian ethnicity of the city; Urkesh was evidently regarded as a 'mythological town', since some myths recognize the city as the home of the god Kumarbi; in the second part of the paper the main structures brought to light at Urkesh (together with some major finds) are presented.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2000a
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“The Royal Palace of Urkesh. Report on the 12th Season at Tell Mozan/Urkesh: Excavations in Area AA, June-October 1999,”
Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft zu Berlin 132, pp. 133-183.
See full text
See abstract
Area AA (the Royal Palace) at Urkesh has been further investigated in the 12th season, in 1999; the results of this archaeological campaign are reported herewith: the finding on sealings of the name of Tar’am-Agade (Naram-Sin's daughter); the investigations in Area C2 with the discovery of a sealings cache; the interpretation of an iwan structure as a possible scribal installation; the description of some structures on the exterior of the palace; the excavation in the residential quarters of the time of the 'Bitumen Use Ceramic Tradition'; a clay statuette of a female figure is introduced; a paragraph is devoted to the description of the main ceramic typologies; eventually, computer network and digital photography, together with conservation strategies are presented.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2000b
|
“The Royal Palace and the Daughter of Naram-Sin. Report on the 12th Season of Excavations June October 1999,”
Urkesh Bulletin, 3 (April 2000), pp. 3-39.
See full text
“The results of the 1999 Summer's excavations in the area of the royal palace of Urkesh were little short of extraordinary. We had started out with a view towards determining whether the structure was indeed the palace. Ther esult was gratifying because sufficient evidence was found to give a positive answer to our question. And in the process we were led to identify an even more complex architectural history than we had imagined. In addition, we found seal impressions [ARc1] of a new queen, Tar’am-Agade, who was the daughter of Naram-Sin, the king of Akkad” (p. 3).
[mDP – January 2020]
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2001a
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“City of Myth: In Search of Hurrian Urkesh,”
Archaeology Odyssey May/June, pp. 16-27.
See full text
See abstract
The mythological background (the Cycle of Kumarbi) of Hurrian myths related to Urkesh is firstly discussed in this contribution; the authors then report their own works on the site, started in 1984: the main structures and the major finds are presented; a discussion about the function and the actual use of sealings is then offered, underlining the local production of the seals and their typical and characteristic style; two side-boxes offer insights on Hurrian at Nuzi and on the methodological approach applied in the identification of Urkesh with Tell Mozan.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2001b
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“The Royal Palace at Urkesh and the Daughter of Naram-Sin,”
Les annales archéologiques arabes syriennes: revue d'archéologie et d'histoire [Damascus: Ministère de la Culture, Direction Générale des Antiqués et des Musées] 44, pp. 63-69.
See full text
See abstract
This paper presents sealings with the names of Tar’am-Agade (daughter of Naram-Sin), of Ewrim-Atal, and of Ishar-beli; moreover, the ceramic of the third millennium is briefly presented, the seriation of sherds suggesting a considerable degree of continuity within the third millennium BC; afterwards, the authors offer a description of some other main structures: a large royal building, the Storeroom AK, a large courtyard, the 'formal' wing of the Palace, a platform and an apsidal structure, and sector C (within the service wing of building AK) interpreted as a scribal place. Computer network and digital photography are also applied in this paper to the analysis of archaeological artefacts.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2001c
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“Überlegungen zur funktionellen und historischen Bestimmung des Königspalastes AP in Urkeš. Bericht über die 13. Kampagne in Tall Mozan/Urkeš: Ausgrabungen im Gebiet AA, Juni-August 2000,”
Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft zu Berlin 133, pp. 59-96.
See full text
English version
See abstract
Report summarizing the major results of the 13th campaign at Urkesh in 2000, aiming at defining the function and history of the Royal Palace AP and of the major glyptic mainds; eventually, some remarks about the conservation strategies applied on the main structures of the site are presented.
[mDP – November 2019]
|
2002a
|
“Die große Schnittstelle. Bericht über die 14. Kampagne in Tall Mozan/Urkeš: Ausgrabungen im Gebiet AA, Juni-Oktober 2001,”
Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft zu Berlin 134, pp. 103-130.
See full text
See abstract
Report of the major results of the joined mission of UCLA (14th campaign) and DOG at Urkesh in 2001: a historical analysis of the 'great interface' occurred between the Post-imperial Akkadian and the Ur III periods (around 2112 BC) is presented; excavations in Areas A9, A10, A14, A15 and A16 are described; a paragraph is devoted to the presentation of the major finds: two terracotta miniature heads (A14.7 and A15.226), a bronze bucket (A16.29), a hematite cylindrical seal (A9.138), and a male head in stone (A9.149); eventually, bioarchaeological analyses of human remains from Tell Mozan are displayed.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2002b
|
“Mozan/Urkesh: A New Capital in the Northern Djezireh,”
in Michel Al-Maqdissi, Maamoun Abdul Karim, Amr Al-Azm and Moussa Dib Al-Khoury (eds.), The Syrian Jezira: Cultural Heritage and Interrelations. Proceedings of the International Conference held in Deir ez-Zor, April 22nd-25th, 1996, Damascus: Ministère de la Culture, Direction Générale des Antiqués et des Musées, pp. 127-133.
See full text
See abstract
Urkesh is the only Hurrian capital archaeologically investigated, thus far: this paper describes the stratigraphy, the structure and the function of building AK, and the importance of the sealings found therein.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2002c
|
“Tar’am-Agade, Daughter of Naram-Sin, at Urkesh,”
in L. al-Gailani Werr, J. Curtis, H. Martin, A. McMahon, J. Oates and J. Reade (eds.), Of Pots and Plans. Papers on the Archaeology and History of Mesopotamia and Syria presented to David Oates in Honor of his 75th Birthday, London: Nabu Publications, pp. 11-31.
See full text
See abstract
This paper presents five sealings found in 1999 campaign in area AA, sector H2 in a cache, a dumping ground of door sealings: they belong to Tar’am-Agade, to an unnamed king (endan) of Urkesh, to Ewrim-atal, to Ishar-beli, and to a person named Unap-[...]; the last paragraph investigates the role of seal entitlement and use, underlining how Urkesh glyptic provides us with a wealth of typological information and with an insight on sealing practices at Tell Mozan.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2003
|
“Tell Mozan (Ancient Urkesh),”
in J. Aruz (ed.), Art of the First Cities. The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus, New York and New Haven: Metropolitan Museum of Art and Yale University Press, pp. 224-227.
See full text
See abstract
A discussion about the two copper alloy, lion-shaped foundation pegs kept at the MET and at the Louvre: their provenance from Tell Mozan is supported by the inscription directly quoting Urkesh, which has been definitely identified with Tell Mozan.
[mDP – November 2019]
|
|
2004 |
“Der monumentale Palasthof von Tall Mozan/Urkeš und die stratigraphische Geschichte des ābi,”
Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft zu Berlin 136, pp. 13-39.
See full text
See abstract
Report of DOG's excavation season in 2004 (connected to the previous UCLA's 15th campaign in 2002): a wide description is provided about the Royal Palace of Tell Mozan and about the stratigraphy and finds of the ābi.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2005
|
“Urkesh as a Hurrian Religious Center,”
Studi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici 47, pp. 27-59.
See full text
See abstract
Report of the 17th excavation season (2004) at Tell Mozan: the peculiar, historical role of Urkesh as a Hurrian religious center is stressed; the present excavation season aimed at better investigating and clarifing the ethnic valence of Urkesh's sacral and political spaces: the Temple Terrace (together with the ābi) and the Royal Palace.
[mDP – November 2019]
|
2007a
|
“Urkesh and the Question of the Hurrian Homeland,”
Bulletin of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences 75/2, pp. 141-150.
See full text
See abstract
The Hurrian homeland is the topic of this contribution. Urkesh is perceived as one of the most important Hurrian centers and its structures are here described: the Palace of Tupkish, the ābi, and the Temple Terrace. The connections of the site with the North and mostly with the Northern Early Transcaucasian culture and Anatolia in general are presented, discussing the Hurrian identity of Urkesh, moving from a historical question to its following historiographical interpretation, defining methodological criteria and data connected to semiotics, linguistics, onomastics, cults and mythology.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2007b
|
“Between Heaven and Hell in Ancient Urkesh,”
Backdirt 175, pp. 68-73.
See full text
See abstract
This paper focuses on sacral spaces at Urkesh, namely the Temple Terrace (with Temple BA) and the ābi, the necromantic pit leading to the Netherworld. Both the sacral area of the temple and the necromantic pit represent indeed a 'trait d'union' between the living and the ancestors.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2008
|
“The Ceramics of Urkesh: Statistics for a Browser Edition,”
in D. Bonatz et al. (eds.), Fundstellen Gesammelte Schriften zur Archäologie und Geschichte Altvorderasiens ad honorem Hartmut Kühne, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, pp. 315-326.
See full text
See abstract
The peculiar 'digital thought', implying a 'digital edition' of data, is applied at Urkesh also for ceramic recording. This coherent system led to the creation of a 'digital database of pottery' which consists of 'minimal constituents', 'frequencies', and 'correlations' allowing a whole understanting of the ceramic assemblage at Urkesh.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2009
|
“The Great Temple terrace at Urkesh and the Lions of Tish-atal,”
Studies on the Civilization and Culture of Nuzi and the Hurrians 18, pp. 33-69.
See full text
See abstract
Report of the 18th excavation season (2005) at Tell Mozan, entirely devoted to the description and interpretation of the Temple Terrace; a history of the research is sketched, describing previous excavations on the High Mound (from 1984 to 2004), investigating the development and the structural components of the Temple Terrace: the escarpment, the Plaza JP, the revetment wall J5, the monumental access J2, the glacis, and the Temple BA itself. The final paragraph discusses two hypotheses dealing with the two lion-shape statuettes of Tish-atal (revisiting their provenance and dating) and with the equation, at Urkesh, of NERGAL=Kumarbi.
[mDP – November 2019]
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2014
|
“... Nor North: The Urkesh Temple Terrace,”
in P. Butterlin et al. (eds.), Mari, ni Est, ni Ouest, Beirut: Institut français du Proche-Orient, pp. 441-461.
See full text
See abstract
The monumental Temple Terrace is the topic of this paper, focusing on EDIII and Mittani period and adding new results on structures pertaining the fourth millennium BC; two final paragraphs are devoted to the discussion of 'echoes of the mountain hinterland', underlining the connections between Urkesh and the surrounding mountainous area of the Tur-Abdin.
[mDP – November 2019]
|
2016
|
“26. Tell Mozan/Urkesh (Hassake),”
in Y. Kanjou and A. Tsuneki (eds.), A History of Syria in One Hundred Sites, Oxford: Archeopress Publishing Ltd., pp. 111-114.
See full text
A brief introduction about Urkesh, as for its history, architectural remains, and its main archaeological finds (sealings, a stone plaque showing Gilgamesh and Enkidu [A7.36]), and conservation trategies applied at the site.
[mDP – January 2020]
|
2017a
|
“Conserviamo il futuro,”
in Tracce, febbraio 2017, pp. 36-39.
See full text
A discussion about preservation and conservation of archaeological sites in Syria during wartime, aiming at describing different efforts of local archaeologists (and common people, too) to defend the archaeological heritage of ancient Syria.
[mDP – January 2020]
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2017b
|
“Community Archaeology 1984: At the Interface between Practice and Theory,”
in Backdirt 2017, pp. 34-38.
See full text
See abstract
The paper offers a discussion about the efforts undertaken by the Urkesh/Tell Mozan team to enhance the practice of a "community archeology", following four main goals: “1. Conservation: The exposed architecture continues to be in perfect condition, thanks to the simple but very effective conservation system we developed at the start of excavations in 1984, entirely based on local resources and know-how. 2. Site presentation: Our extensive signage system has been fully reactivated with around 200 signs explaining the site to visitors. In addition, in December 2016 we published an 80-page booklet in English, Arabic, and Kurdish. We get a considerable number of visitors at the site, all from the surrounding region. 3. Research: Three of our local assistants continue to work on the data in our archives and on the ceramics stored in the expedition house. Together with the local university, we host seminars where students can work on our material, both at the university and at our site, which is the only excavation site effectively available for such purposes. 4. Economic development: We support local women who produce traditional handicrafts (clothes, dolls, jewelry), which they can sell locally or ship to us” (from p. 34).
[mDP – February 2021]
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2017c
|
“Archaeology for a Young Future: The New Syrian Life of the Ancient City of Urkesh,”
Research Award 2017, pp. 227-243 (in English and Chinese).
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. 2017 Shanghai Archaeology Forum.
See full text
The paper, presented on the occasion of the delivery of the 2017 Shangai Archaeology Forum Award and published in the ceremony catalogue, describes in brief the history of the archaeological research at Urkesh/Tell Mozan, from its discovery to the present time, offering an overview on the methodological approaches applied in studying artefacts and in dealing with the engagement of local community of Mozan in the conservation of the ancient city of Urkesh.
[mDP – February 2021]
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2020a
|
“Archaeological Digital Narratives: The Case of Urkesh Ceramics,”
in Alexander Ahrens, Dörte Rokitta-Krumnow, Franziska Bloch, and Claudia Bührig (eds.), Drawing the Threads Together. Studies on Archaeology in Honour of Karin Bartl, marru: Studien zur Vorderasiatischen Archäologie, Vol. 10, Münster: Zaphon, pp. 380-397.
ISBN 978-3-96327-120-5 (Book) / ISBN 978-3-96327-121-2 (E-Book)
See full text
The paper offers an overview on the project of digitalization of the cermic material found at Urkesh/Tell Mozan on the Urkesh Global Record (UGR) [see here for a video on this topic], a digital publication of the ceramics in a browser version (see Urkesh Ceramic Typology). After a discussion on the topic of the concept of digital narrative, the authors describe the many functions of the browser, providing the reader with a guide to the utilization of the corpus of ceramic material from Urkesh (based on the notions of uni- and multi-linearity, on hyperlinks connecting the various information, on a systemic digital narrative), leading to the presentation of a specific ware narrative and a peculiar horizon narrative. Furthermore, this systes allows to create specific coda associated to each ceramic type, gaining a uniform and coherent categorization and description of all pottery from the site as a Urkesh Ceramic Universe.
[mDP – December 2020]
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2020b
|
“'I'm again not doing well...',”
in Backdirt 2020 (December) Archaeology and Pandemics, pp. 72-73.
See full text
The paper presents an hommage in memory of Gregory Areshian. mostly focusing on his own personal and scientific attitude towards archaeology and specifically on his work at Terqa.
[mDP – March 2021]
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2020c
|
“Distancing: One-on-One Heritage Archaeology across Three Continents,”
in Backdirt 2020 (December) Archaeology and Pandemics, pp. 92-97.
See full text
In this contribution the authors describe how to keep a strong contact and commitment with an archaeological site (namely Urkesh/Tell Mozan) even during a period of war and many troubles and even at distance. Three keywords are underscored: 1) conservation; 2) publication; public presentation. A new program is then described, named Urkesh One-to-One Project, particularly focusing on the possibility of maintaining a strong and effective contact to the site and the local community and encouraging the role of young scholars, students, and people engaged with the ancient city, distant in time but close in crossing continents and boundaries defined by the present war and pandemic situation.
[mDP – March 2021]
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forthc. a
|
“Temporal clustering at Urkesh. A structural analysis of strata, phases, horizons,”
in a forthcoming Festschrift.
See full text (restricted access: PW requested)
See figures (restricted access: PW requested)
[mDP – September 2022]
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forthc. b
|
“Un sistema multiplanare in atto. Lo Urkesh Global Record,”
UCSC.
See full text (restricted access: PW requested)
[mDP – December 2022]
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forthc. c
|
“The density of types. A website approach to archaeological typology,”
in Between variability and singularity: crossing theoretical, qualitative and computer-based approaches to types and typologies in archaeology
See full text (restricted access: PW requested)
[mDP – December 2022]
|
Kelly-Buccellati, M.
1988a
|
“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]
|
1988b
|
“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]
|
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
|
“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.
See full text
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
|
“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]
|
1996a
|
“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]
|
1996b
|
“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]
|
1998
|
“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]
|
2002
|
“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]
|
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]
|
2005a
|
“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]
|
2005b
|
“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]
|
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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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“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.
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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.
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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.
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“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.
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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
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“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
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“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.
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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
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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)
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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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