Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati

     One of the most characteristic structures at Urkesh is indeed represented by the underground necromantic pit called ābi [see mostly Urkesh website].
     This paper investigates in detail the possible function of such a structure, discovered in 1999 campaign in Area A12 of the Royal Palace AP and provisionally labelled as 'underground structure W', dated between 2300 BC and 2100 BC.
     After a general introduction to the topic (section 1), section 2 describes the structure itself, its architecture (the rounded chamber, the squared room and the nature of the accumulations within the pit) and the major finds (most noteworthy, the anthropomorphic vessel A12.108 [cf. Buccellati and Kelly-Buccellati 2001], the inscribed sealing A12.82 (see pictures under item's no.) and animal bones [see Di Martino 2005 for the analysis of faunal remains].
     Section 3 faces the challenge of interpretation, understanding the structure on the base of ancient written sources (mostly Hurrian and Hittite texts, quoting the term ^(d)ābi) and archaeological comparisons with similar structures (interpreted as KASKAL.KUR) at Ḫattuša and (possibly) at Yazılıkaya.
     Section 4 further strengths the interpretation of the structure as a Hurrian ābi, describing the possible nocturnal rituals that could take place within the pit.
     Section 5 investigates the historical meaning of the rituals performed in the ābi: necromantic practices are attested in Mesopotamian and Anatolian sources (and in the Bible, too) and similar cultic activities were acted in the area of the ābi (also including the mudbrick platform in Area X, for which see e.g. Buccellati 2005) to worship chthonian deities: thus, the triple equation Area A12 = ābi = KASKAL.KUR, as a 'passage to the Netherworld' seems to be validated by both textual and archaeological evidence.

[M. De Pietri – November 2019]