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Title: Reconstructing Modes of Pottery Production and Acquisition at a Middle Assyrian Dunnu: The Case of Muqable

HENSE, Oliver

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 can be inferred that the dunnu at Muqable was owned by the governor of Mardama (modern Bassetki). While the dunnu itself didn’t yield traces of a permanently established pottery production on site, small scale local production at Muqable is attested by fragments of unfired pottery, which was probably conducted seasonally or on demand. Pot marks which appear both at Muqable and Bassetki link the pottery production of both sites. Additionally, connections to ceramic traditions outside of the Assyrian one are attested by the occurrence of a particular type of cooking pot. The case study of the pottery from Muqable and the inter-site relations with Bassetki and other sites, supplemented by textual sources, enable us to reconstruct modes of pottery production and acquisition at a Middle Assyrian dunnu which can be compared and contextualized with the findings for other dunnus, like the one at Tell Sabi Abyad. Through the lens of pottery analysis, this study can contribute to a better understanding of the underlying organisation of craft and society in the Middle Assyrian Period.

Session 2. Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Ancient Economies [info]