This is a web view of the BH7 Book of Abstracts.
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The substantial change that has been experienced by archaeology in recent decades has involved, among other things, the importance gained in archaeological research by the contribution of other sciences and the ever more widespread awareness of the need for regular interaction with them. The researc…
This study will explore the long-term population dynamics and human-environment interactions in the Eastern Anatolian Highlands, from the Chalcolithic Age (c. 5000-3500 BCE) to the Iron Age (c.1200-330 BCE). The mountainous geography and harsh climatic conditions separated Eastern Anatolian Highland…
The study conducted, never done in Selinus (Sicily - Italy), on the road systems and negative signs found along the streets of the Urban Sanctuary, use a spread variety of methodologies: from 3D scanning to space syntax analysis, from lidar mapping to 3D GIS. The study allow to reconstruct how chang…
For nearly a century, archaeological studies of 4th millennium BCE Southwest Asia have focused on the founding narrative of the State, searching for signs of ‘social complexity’ based on evidence from a small number of key sites. However, many of these studies suffer from a core-centrism, overlookin…
The site of Zeytinli Bahçe Höyük, located near Birecik in the province of Şanlıurfa (Turkey), offers valuable insights into the cultural history of the Middle Euphrates Valley across millennia. Its strategic position and extensive stratigraphic sequence, spanning from the 4th millennium BC to the la…
This paper examines the enduring cultural influences on domestic spaces in Hellenistic Bactria and Mesopotamia through the lens of spatial analysis, also employing VGA (visual graph analysis). By focusing on vernacular architecture, which emphasizes the use of local materials and responds to geograp…
During the Late Quaternary, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) played a pivotal role in several major human events, including the dispersal of Homo across Asia and Europe, the origins of agriculture, early urbanization, and the formation of the first state entities. A geoarchaeological approach was used…
Red Slip Ware (RSW) is one of the most significant pottery productions of Middle Bronze Age in Central Anatolia. Its formal characteristics made it a case study to investigate the evolution of pottery traditions between the Kārum period and the Old Hittite one. The aim of this paper is to propose a …
This talk explores the complex relationship between economy and diplomacy in the ancient Near East, focusing on the transfer of objects as a key component of diplomatic exchange. Drawing on a wide range of written sources, the talk will analyze how gifts and tribute were used as instruments of polit…
In the second millennium BCE, pottery suitable for long-distance transport of contents, such as oil, food, and raw materials, began to be produced and distributed across regions in the Eastern Mediterranean. One such group of pottery is known as "Black Lustrous Wheel-made Ware." This pottery was dis…
Interregional trade in the Gulf during the first millennium has been yet demonstrated. It was, in fact, a steady flow of multidirectional exchanges. Our paper aims to analyse the impact of the trade in the Gulf viewed from the Oman Peninsula. It is not, indeed, what materials they exchanged or how d…
The study and understanding of Egyptian social and political mechanisms have significantly evolved in recent decades, providing clearer insights into Egypt's power structures. However, many questions remain unresolved, particularly regarding the interpretative models scholars should apply to make se…
This study aims to explore how environmental changes influenced survival strategies and social development in the ancient city of Ebla during the 3rd millennium BCE. It focuses on the city's response to environmental challenges such as floods and droughts, and how these challenges impacted its socia…
Muqable is situated in the Selevani-Plain in the Duhok Governorate of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq. The level 5 settlement was identified as a Middle Assyrian dunnu, i. e. a fortified farmstead that was granted to an individual by the Assyrian king. Based on textual evidence from the site itself, it…
While raw materials such as metal and ceramics have been extensively studied in the context of ancient Mesopotamian economic processes, bitumen has received comparatively less attention. Widespread in Mesopotamia both geographically and temporally, bitumen was involved in most aspects of subsistence…
The First Millennium BC saw the development and spread of Greek fiscal institutions like tax farming, state monopolies, banking, coinage, and auctions. These practices gradually reached Egypt from the Near East and the Greek world, but Alexander the Great's campaigns and eventually Ptolemaic rule in…
An important source of information about the intricate social and economic dynamics of the earliest urban cultures is the study of debt contracts in ancient Mesopotamia. These documents, far from being merely econimic tools, were deeply embedded in social relations, shaping networks of power and dep…
In this paper, I will first analyse the limited evidence on debt and credit in Pharaonic Egypt (3000-330 BCE). Specifically, I will focus on (1) the social, legal, and political statuses of both lenders and borrowers, (2) the nature and size of loans, (3) the reasons behind loan practices, and, most…
For the modern era the so-called Libyan Glass Area, located approximately 800 kms from the Nile Valley in the Great Sand Sea of the Egyptian Western Desert, was discovered and first mentioned by the French Consul of Jeddah, Fulgence Fresnel, in 1846. Yet, the actual scientific discovery of the area …
It has long been observed that ritual practices integrated with and even influenced the economic system of societies Worldwide, and such was no different in Southeast Arabian Iron Age. However, the dynamics behind it have never been adequately understood. In many sites, such as Bithnah, Mudhmar, or …
Using examples from previous fieldwork in NE Iran and the South Caucasus, and current fieldwork in southern Iraq, I will discuss the value of diachronic, multi-scalar and multidisciplinary approaches to unpacking and interpreting the complex archaeological landscapes of southwest Asia. In addition t…
This paper explores the settlement patterns and economic landscapes of the mid to late 2nd millennium using unpublished data from the Tal’Afar Plain Survey to understand the changing agricultural management strategies which spanned the Mittanian (ca. 1600-1400 BCE) and Middle Assyrian periods (ca. 1…
The Northern Levant, at the beginning of the first millennium BCE, experienced a phase characterized by the floruit of different kingdoms known in the literature as Syro-Anatolian states. Tell Afis, the ancient Hazrek, was the capital of one of these new kingdoms. This site has been excavated for mo…
Lake Sevan in Armenia has always had a strategic role in the South Caucasus, as well as Lake Van and Orumiyeh. During the Bronze Age, a dense occupation that changed over time but was always functional to the control of access to the lake and the resources that characterise the nearby mountainous ar…
What were the first cities like ? This is a significant question, challenging to answer with our modern perspectives. Classical theories propose that the first cities marked the shift from nomadic, agrarian lifestyles to complex urban societies. However, evidence for these lifestyles in early cities…
“War is politics by other means” and “no army can march on an empty stomach” are two adages that are rarely combined in historical studies. In this presentation, I will argue two points: first, that during their Levantine campaigns, the Egyptians of the 18th Dynasty established a logistical network …
The study of the built environment has long been a concern of archaeologists exploring how social structures influence architectural planning and how architecture itself affects the reproduction of social boundaries. Nonetheless, open public areas have been mostly excluded from this framework as sim…
This paper presents a preliminary contextualization of the Late Chalcolithic evidence emerged at the site of Gird-i Matrab and their meaning in relation to phenomena of early urbanism in Northern Mesopotamia. Gird-i Matrab is a multi-period site, with a long sequence of occupation, from the 5th mill…
This paper presents a preliminary analysis of the Prehistoric landscape resulting from the survey campaigns carried out in 2023-2024 by the Piedmont Region Archaeological Project (PiRAP) within the Zagros Foothills of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. One of the PiRAP project's goals is to study the set…
In the eastern region, from Mesopotamia to Central Asia, passing through Iran, the iwan is one of the Parthian period’s most visible and characteristic architectural ‘design’ element. Generally defined as a room closed on three sides by walls, usually covered by a barrel vault and completely open on…
The Ninevite 5 culture (Early Bronze Age) is formed by a heterogeneous assembly of sites of very varied sizes, distributed in a wide area of the northern Mesopotamian plains. Most of those settlements have not been studied from a global perspective due to modern-day political borders and unmatching …
The sack of Nineveh in 612 BCE, and the subsequent collapse of the Neo-Assyrian empire, are crucial events in the record of pre-Classical southwestern Asia. Indeed, contemporary evidence for destructive actions has been recorded at several sites across northern Mesopotamia, mostly from palatial and …
Since Glueck’s first systematic survey in 1934, many excavation and survey projects have focused on the Early Bronze Age of Jordan, but some areas are better known than other for the fourth and third millennia BCE. Current maps of the Early Bronze Age in the Madaba region are focused on a few major …
The application of new environmental modelling techniques to the ancient kingdom of Ugarit, modern Ras Shamra, in the second half of the 2nd millennium B.C. allows a quantitative reconstruction of the resources present in the area, leading to the identification of primary subsistence strategies and …
The Abu Ghraib Survey Project has been carried out jointly by the University of Bologna and the SBAH in the district of Abu Ghraib between October 2022 and January 2024, under the direction of N. Marchetti. During its three campaigns, part of the project focused on the intensive survey of the Kassit…
Historical landscapes and the interaction between natural-cultural environment and architecture is the focus of this paper. I use an extension of Lefebvre’s theory of space to create a theoretical framework to approach the historical landscapes, and their evolution. I discuss that different natural …
Located in the Borazjan plain of Bushehr province, north of the Persian Gulf, the modern village of Dehqaed sits near a cluster of ancient mounds that mark the remains of a long-lost townOur project focuses on the investigation of the ancient Dehqaed site, which has been largely underexplored in pre…
Using examples from previous fieldwork in NE Iran and the South Caucasus, and current fieldwork in southern Iraq, I will discuss the value of diachronic, multi-scalar and multidisciplinary approaches to unpacking and interpreting the complex archaeological landscapes of southwest Asia. In addition t…
This paper examines the persistent chronological challenges in Iron Age research from the Northern Jordanian Plateau, which obstruct accurate interpretations of settlement patterns and sociopolitical structures. Despite ongoing research, gaps in the current chronology prevent a comprehensive reconst…
In spite of recent progress in identity studies in Egyptology, the diversity visible in material culture and practice often is forced to fit into rigid cultural boxes, like ‘Egyptian’ or ‘Nubian’. The simplistic culture-historical view does not make space for the multifaceted identities and group me…
Throughout the history of the Ancient Near East, the lowland civilizations of Mesopotamia and the Iranian Highlands have maintained dynamic interactions that influenced both regions. These exchanges contributed to a blending of cultural traits, especially evident on the Iranian Central Plateau, whic…
Material culture - in the absence of textual sources and in the context of limited iconographic manifestations such as those of the Middle Bronze Age southern Levant - is a valuable tool for understanding how people in past societies constructed identities and forged connections across space and tim…
Recent research in Northern Mesopotamia has raised the question of both when and how the Ubaid period collapsed in the peripheral areas of Greater Mesopotamia: aim of this paper is to contribute to this debate by analysing Late Ubaid and Early Post-Ubaid settlements in eastern Anatolia. Over the las…
I propose to present the results of a systematic analysis of the anthropological data (burial practices, ceramics and artefacts, depositions) offered by the excavations in 12 sites along the Diyala River and the Middle Tigris in Mesopotamia, covering the second half of the 2nd millennium. I wish to …
This paper aims to explore patterns in food preparation and consumption between the Halaf and Ubaid periods (5500-4500 BCE) in the Eastern Tigris region in Mesopotamia through an integrated analysis of fire installations and ceramic vessels. Using the site of Helawa in the Erbil Plain as the main ca…
The history of the Southern Levant during the Early Bronze Age (ca. 3800-1950 BCE) is marked by progressive urbanization and a rich variety of material culture. The urban dynamics of this region have sparked extensive debate over conceptual and chronological issues concerning urban development, phas…
Recent finds from the Storm God temple area at Karkemish, consisting in a figured ostrakon and an incised small limestone block, provide an opportunity to reassess the evidence for popular art in the Northern Levant during the early Iron Age in connection with cultic contexts and other forms of non-…
The site of Tell Mardikh/ancient Ebla is highly renowned for the richness of its material culture, especially for what concerns Early Bronze Age IVA-B and Middle Bronze Age I-II. Indeed, this abundance of data has made possible, since the beginning of the excavations in 1964, to offer detailed and s…
Niğde-Kınık Höyük, located on the northeastern edge of the Bor-Ereğli plain in southern Cappadocia, occupies a pivotal position along major ancient trade and communication routes connecting Central Anatolia with the Levant. This location underlines the site's historical significance, making it a foc…
The koine in which the cultures of the Mediterranean lived during Protohistory promoted the reception of new influences and the inclusion and/or adaptation of diverse customs. In this context, fashion and textiles played a crucial role as vehicles for the transmission of ideas and models rooted in a…
This research investigates the phenomenon of Minonaizing frescoes, studying five sites located in the Levant and Egypt (Alalakh, Qatna, Tell el-Burak, Tell el-Dab’a, Tel Kabri). Past research on the archeological data and the technological studies on the plaster fragments have established that the f…
This paper aims to outline the chronological and cultural markers that characterized the pottery production in the Erbil Plain (Kurdistan Region of Iraq) during the Late Iron Age (6th – 4th BCE) and the Hellenistic period (331-141 BCE), focusing on elements of continuity from the Assyrian tradition …
This paper, which is the outcome of my MA thesis, wishes to investigate the crucial role that sarcophagi played in shaping social identity in Late Period Egypt (second half of the First Millennium BCE). By taking into account a wide sample of artefacts coming from all over the country and by analyzi…
Investigations at the site of Jrarat have been undertaken as part of the Armenian-Italian archaeological mission operating in Kotayk since 2013 (Kotayk Survey Project). The site, located in the Marmarik River valley, is distinguished by a cemetery area that shows a very long, non-continuous human pr…
In the 1st century BC, Cilicia underwent significant changes with the decline of the Seleucid Empire and the rise of Roman influence. The Romans brought stability and reduced piracy after Cilicia became a Roman province However, Greek continued to be the primary language of the local population, whi…
The paper is an attempt to re-evaluate the interpretation of the visual identity of Akhenaten and his family. Based on the most representative sources, such as the Cairo relief TR 10.11.26.4 I will argue that the new visual identity of the royal family was created not only with the innovative, but a…
A wide distribution of incense burners suggests they held an important place in antiquity’s ritual and private life. Researchers mainly focus on incense burners from the Levant and Mediterranean regions, where numerous specimens can be categorised within this object group. Few original examples seem…
Excavations in 2023 and 2024 at Kani Shaie, located in the Bazian Basin, Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan have continued to explore the transition between the Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age (late 4th – early 3rd millennia BCE). Here, several successive phases of occupation feature large scale s…
Miniature pottery represents a category of material culture of great symbolic and ritual value in Old Kingdom Egypt, and is widely attested in temple and funerary contexts all over the Memphite area. However, its spatial distribution remains partially unexplored, as much as the functional differenti…
Scholars of Mediterranean history have long emphasized the role of islands as central hubs in early human mobility. Sicily, the largest Mediterranean island, has frequently been discussed in relation to exchange networks. One area where Sicily has been largely overlooked is in the Iron Age trade of …
The libbu inaššīšu or nīš libbi corpus (lit. raising of heart/ emotion/ thoughts) (Couto-Ferreira 2009; Zisa 2021), spanned across Old Babylonian period to first millennium BCE, deals with the diagnoses and recovery of “sexual desire” in Ancient Mesopotamia. Despite having dealt as a repertoire conc…
The Hawara mummy portraits, first discovered by WM Flinders Petrie in 1888, present a fusion of classical art styles and Egyptian burial practices. Spanning from 100 BC to AD 300, they serve as snapshots into the lives and deaths of elite individuals at Arsinoe, during a transformative period of Egy…
At the end of the 3rd millennium BCE in southern Mesopotamia, kitchen complexes equipped with large ovens were associated with temples and ziggurats. These complexes indicate the organisation of feasting as part of regular religious ceremonies within temple estates. Prior to the installation of stan…
In the last decades, the debate on the relationship between urban and marginal areas has become increasingly lively, attempting to escape the dichotomy of centre and periphery. The Arad Plain is a privileged place to observe these interactions in the Southern Levant. In this area, during the 4th mil…
The replacement of shell fishhooks with copper fishhooks marked a significant advancement for coastal fishing communities in South-Eastern Arabia and the Gulf during the late 4th to early 3rd millennia BCE. This paper aims to analyze the archaeological contexts and typological features of these arti…
Building on the author’s ongoing PhD research, this paper will explore the funerary contexts of the Levant during the Middle Bronze Age by delving into the various elements of material culture, - pottery, jewellery, weapons, and other personal items -, discovered in the tombs. The varied composition…
Those aspects of material culture that we choose to display everyday inevitably take on a form of nonverbal communication that speaks of one’s perceived identity and may permeate several layers of the objects in question: raw material, technology, manufacturing process, shape and function. How can w…
The site of Dalma Tepe is considered the origin of a prehistoric tradition in northwest Iran, dating to the 5th millennium BC. Although the site was briefly investigated in the 1960s, only a few additional sites attributed to the "Dalma tradition" have been identified since, and a comprehensive regi…
During the excavations campaigns in 1946-49 , Iraqui archaeologist Fuad Safar described more than 190 graves in Eridu Cemetery . Here we report new insights into construction tecnique emerged from 10 never excaved before graves . These graves have been dug during the archaelogical mission of Sapienz…
More than fifty years after the discovery of the royal archives of Ebla, the royal Eblaite ideology remains largely a mystery, due in part to the fundamentally economic-administrative nature of the documentation. In this context, the bird known as buru4mušen stands out for being one of the most myst…
Compared to gold, silver was rather rare in Ancient Egypt during the 2nd millennium, mainly due to the scarcity of its sources in the Nile Valley. Nevertheless, silver objects appear in greater quantities in several contexts, which are predominantly funerary in nature. These items, often of personal…
Moulded bricks are considered one of the architectural trademarks of Late Bronze age Mesopotamia and SW Iran. New moulded bricks were recovered during the first campaign of 2024 by the Iraqi-Italian archaeological expedition at ‘Aqar Qūf by the University of Bologna and the Iraqi SBAH, directed by N…
Mishrifeh, ancient Qatna, is a site located in the mid-Orontes Valley in central-western Syria and was excavated by a Syro-Italian-German Expedition from 1999 to 2010. The Italian mission excavated various areas of the upper and lower town, exposing a stratigraphic sequence from the Early Bronze Age…
Using examples from previous fieldwork in NE Iran and the South Caucasus, and current fieldwork in southern Iraq, I will discuss the value of diachronic, multi-scalar and multidisciplinary approaches to unpacking and interpreting the complex archaeological landscapes of southwest Asia. In addition t…
The identification, preservation, and showcasing of prehistoric heritage assets, whether natural or cultural, face numerous challenges. These challenges stem from the unique nature of evidence from this period, which is characterized by its low visibility, distinct material culture, absence of textu…
The present study involves a cross-contextual analysis of local awareness regarding the archaeological site and the degree of emotional involvement and participation of local people in two different contexts. The first case is the archaeological site of Arslantepe (Turkey), investigated for more tha…
The conservation and restoration procedures on cultural heritage nowadays are regulated by a series of international codes, charters and recommendations, as well as by the national laws of each country. These legal codes detail and explain the different actors, criteria and methodologies involved in…
This paper investigates ways to bridge the gap between the public and Near Eastern archaeology, focusing on how interactions in excavations taken by non-archaeologists are influential in shaping further activities to the broader public in museum settings. Drawing on Professor Paulo Freire’s critical…
This thesis explores the architecture of Sasanian Zoroastrian fire temples and their connection to the astrological concepts of melothesia and chronocratoria. Melothesia refers to the influence of celestial bodies on different parts of the human body, while chronocratoria deals with the rulership of…
The University of Udine’s “The Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project” (LoNAP), in close cooperation with the Duhok Directorate of Antiquities & Heritage, has been working on the creation of the “Archaeological Park of the Duhok Governorate Ancient Irrigation System”. This will be the first ever…
‘Engagement, ‘outreach’, ‘participation’ and other similar words are all terms that have been used when referring to any public activity in archaeology and heritage practice. Different terminologies reflect the variety of perspectives on the topic of public engagement in archaeology as well as the a…
This contribution presents a Ph.D. project based at Sapienza Università di Roma, in collaboration with the Cultural Heritage and Ethics Research Unit of the CNR CID Ethics and ISPC. The project aims at identifying and analyzing ethical issues in “sensitive” contexts within the MENA region, beginning…
This paper explores the public response to “The mummy of Ramses. The immortal pharaoh,” a multisensory exhibition held at the Museum of Near East, Egypt, and Mediterranean at Sapienza University of Rome. Created in collaboration with FabLab SAPeri&Co., the event allowed visitors to interact dire…
The phenomenon of archaeological collecting, which flourished in the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries in Europe, has also produced a series of public and private collections in Italy, which today have largely merged into museum institutions. The paper presents the results of the census and prelimi…
This poster presents the preliminary results of an on-going research on the forms and spaces of mudbrick architectures in greater Mesopotamia during the Seleucid period (late 4th – late 2nd c. BCE), and particularly in rural contexts. Through the analysis of case studies from the upper Euphrates reg…
The poster presents an ongoing research about the coastal district of Ĝirsu-Lagaš province: it addresses its landscape context and the location of the main anthropic elements and urban settlements attested in the numerous written artefacts found in Ĝirsu. New epigraphic and archaeological methodolog…
This study explores how prehistoric agropastoral societies adapted to environmental constraints for survival, focusing on the causal relationships between ecological factors, subsistence strategies, social organization, and survival decisions. Building on the work of Palacio et al. (2022, Plos one,1…
The present research investigates the mutual relations between the built environment and social interactions in the architecture of Neo-Assyrian palaces (911 – 612 BCE). Studies on urban planning and architecture of the Neo-Assyrian period can be distinguished into two main approaches: on the one ha…
In the Malatya Plain, nestled between the mountains of Eastern Anatolia and about ten kilometres from the Euphrates River, lies the site of Arslantepe. The settlement has been the subject of extensive archaeological research and excavations by the MAIAO (Sapienza University of Rome) since 1961, show…
This article provides a detailed translation of stanzas 1-9 of Yasna 3, along with a comparative analysis of the Pahlavi commentaries found in two of the oldest Yasna manuscripts, 400_Pt4 from the Iranian tradition and 500_J2 from the Indian tradition. By focusing on these critical texts, the study …
This poster explores the significance of Neolithic statuary in the Levant, focusing on the period from approximately 8,000 to 6,500 BCE. During this transformative era, the emergence of agricultural societies led to profound shifts in cultural and artistic expression. The statuary, often depicting h…
This paper presents an ongoing study delving into the socio-economic dynamics and technical specialization observed in lithic industries across the Navkur and Erbil Plains in Iraqi Kurdistan and in the Upper Euphrates region in southeastern Turkey during the early to middle phases of the Late Chalco…
The study of seals from the VIA period of Arslantepe (Late Chalcolithic 5, 3400-3100 BCE) is based on the analysis of 2145 clay sealings coming from a same architectural context. These sealings, used to seal containers and preserved for accounting purposes, primarily for managing goods, have made it…