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KURD QABURSTAN ON THE ERBIL PLAIN: FIELD RESEARCH 2016–2017

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 November 2022

Glenn M. Schwartz ,
Andrew T. Creekmore III ,
Alexia Smith ,
Jill A. Weber  and
Lyndelle Webster
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Abstract

A 2016 study season and 2017 excavation season at the 95-hectare walled site of Kurd Qaburstan on the Erbil plain have generated a variety of new results. Geophysical survey on the lower town revealed details of the Middle Bronze occupation in the southeast part of the site, including the city wall, a large open area, streets, houses, and a monumental temple comparable to examples from Tell al Rimah, Aššur, and Larsa. Excavations confirmed the Middle Bronze date of the temple and explored further Middle Bronze contexts elsewhere on the lower town. On the High Mound North Slope, Middle Bronze occupation included a fortification wall and large-scale architecture inside it. On the High Mound East, Late Bronze architecture of apparent elite character was documented. Archaeobotanical analyses complementing the excavations reveal the existence of naan-style bread in both Middle and Late Bronze contexts. Given radiocarbon and ceramic results, the Middle Bronze occupation at Kurd Qaburstan is datable to c. 1800 B.C., while the Late Bronze phases on the High Mound East belong to an early LB horizon in the 16–15th centuries B.C., perhaps predating the imposition of Mittani political authority in the region.

نتج عن موسم الدراسة لعام 2016 وموسم التنقيب لعام 2017 في الموقع المسور الذي تبلغ مساحته 95 هكتارًا في كورد قابرستان في سهل أربيل مجموعة متنوعة من النتائج الجديدة . كشف المسح الجيوفيزيائي للبلدة السفلية عن تفاصيل الإستيطان من العصر البرونزي الأوسط في الجزء الجنوبي الشرقي من الموقع ، بما في ذلك سور المدينة ، ومنطقة مفتوحة كبيرة ، وشوارع ، ومنازل ، ومعبد ضخم مماثل لأمثلة من تل الرماح ، وآشور ، و . لارسا . أكدت الحفريات التاريخ البرونزي الأوسط للمعبد واستكشفت سياقات إضافية من البرونز الأوسط في أماكن أخرى من المدينة السفلى . على المنحدر الشمالي من التل المرتفع ، اشتمل الاحتلال البرونزي الأوسط على جدار تحصين وعمارة واسعة النطاق بداخله . في التل المرتفع الشرقي High Mound East ، تم توثيق عمارة ذات شخصية فاخرة واضحة من العصر البرونزي المتأخر . تكشف التحليلات الأثرية النباتية المكملة للحفريات عن وجود أقراص من الخبز في السياقات البرونزية الوسطى والمتأخرة . بالنظر إلى نتائج الكربون المشع والسيراميك ، فإن الاحتلال البرونزي الأوسط في كورد قبرستان يعود الى حوالي عام 1800 قبل الميلاد ، بينما تنتمي المراحل البرونزية المتأخرة على التل المرتفع الشرقي إلى أفق برونزي متأخر في القرنين السادس عشر إلى الخامس عشر قبل الميلاد ، وربما تسبق تاريخ فرض سلطة ميتاني Mittani السياسية في المنطقة .

Type
Research Article
Information
IRAQ , Volume 84 , December 2022 , pp. 189 - 230
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute for the Study of Iraq 2022

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