“Das archäologische Projekt Tall Mozan/Urkeš,”
Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft zu Berlin 131, pp. 7-16.
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Starting with a mythological introduction, this paper displays an overview on the archaeological mission at Tell Mozan/Urkesh. Myths quoting this city were found in the Hittite capital, dating to the second half of the second millennium BC and this textual evidence is supported by the two Tish-atal lions, with the related inscriptions, mentioning an endan (i.e. king) of Urkesh.
All these clues hint to the question of the Hurrian ethnicity and the archaeological finds from Urkesh help in better define this topic.
After a section dedicated to the identification of Tell Mozan with Urkesh, the authors briefly summarize the paths towards the discoveries of structures and sealings (showing a peculiar typology) at Tell Mozan, recalling the partnership (started in 1996) with the Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft and the subsequent jointed missions.
The works at Tell Mozan were conducted within the frame of a specific methodology, aiming at the development of a proper historical analysis of the evidence. Urkesh is clearly also a 'mythological town', since some myths recognize the city as the home of the god Kumarbi, tutelar and polyad deity of the town (as Enlil for Nippur and Marduk for Babylon).
The authors present in the second part of the paper the main structures brought to light at Urkesh, mostly datable to the third millennium BC: Temple BA, tombs (in detail tomb K1, OH2 and BH), Building AK (a part of Tupkish's royal palace, where many sealing have been discovered), Area F1 (where two tablets in Akkadian but with Hurrian names, dating to the reign of king Šar-kali-šarrī of Akkad). Mentions to some major finds can also be retrieved within this last section.
[M. De Pietri – November 2019]