Archäologische Untersuchungen zur Nordgrenze des mesopotamischen Kulturraums: Ausgrabungen in Giricano Tepe und Ziyaret Tepe (Türkei)
Final Report Abstract
The principal aim of the project, namely to examine the changing cultural allegiances of this region on the northern borders of Mesopotamia, was achieved. While not every period could be examined in detail, the combination of the two sites Ziyaret Tepe and Giricano provided insights that cover over three thousand years with some overlapping and a few gaps. Subsequent research at other sites has confirmed the conclusions reached in this project and has added details to those periods which were poorly represented. In general one can state that the region of the Upper Tigris was integrated into the Mesopotamian cultural zone in periods when there was a strong central power in Mesopotamia but pursued an independent cultural trajectory in times when Mesopotamia itself was weakest. This, however, occurred with a certain time lapse of about 50 years. Thus although Naram-Sin of Agade (c. 2200 BC) and Samsi-Addu of the Upper Mesopotamian kingdom (c. 1800 BC) exercised political and military control over the region, this did not express itself in the material culture recovered. The reason for this seems to be more economic than purely political. The incorporation of a region into a larger political entity led over time to the opening of borders and increased trade and economic exchange and as a result of these changes in the course of some decades the peripheral region adopted many of the cultural traits of the core. Although the core-periphery model is not as much in favour as it once was, in this case it fits the observed evidence well. Two main surprises came from this project. The first was the discovery of a jar with a small archive of cuneiform tablets dating to the latest Middle Assyrian occupation in the region. The significance of this find is discussed above: it has supra-regional implications and is vital evidence for the decline of the Middle Assyrian Empire not only in the Upper Tigris region but also in other regions. The second surprise was the discovery of hitherto unknown local cultures in the Late Early Bronze and Middle Bronze periods. It had been suspected that the Dark-Rimmed Orange Bowls (DROB) found on late Early Bronze Age sites in north-eastern Syria were not of local manufacture and it is now clear that they belonged to a much more extensive cultural repertoire. Equally important was the definition of two distinct phases of the Middle Bronze Age characterised respectively, by the presence of Red Brown Wash Ware and carinated deep Üctepe bowls. These late Early Bronze and Middle Bronze cultures are local indigenous cultures of the region and as such offer totally new insights into the cultural development of the Upper Tigris region. Numerous broadcasts on Turkish television programmes dealt with the findings of our project.
Publications
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2002. Archaeological Excavations at Ziyaret Tepe, 2000 and 2001. Anatolica 28: 47-89
Matney, T., M. Roaf, J. MacGinnis and H. McDonald
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2002. Ausgrabungen in Giricano (2000-2001). Neue Forschungen an der Nordgrenze des Mesopotamischen Kulturraums. Istanbuler Mitteilungen 52: 9-57
Schachner, A., P.V. Bartl and J. Heigermoser
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2003. Archaeological Investigations at Ziyaret Tepe, 2002. Anatolica 29: 175-221
Matney, T., J. MacGinnis, H. McDonald, K. Nicoll, L. Rainville, M. Roaf, M.L. Smith, and D. Stein
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2004. Das mittelassyrische Tontafelarchiv von Giricano/Dunnu-sa-Uzibi, Ausgrabungen in Giricano I, Subartu 14. Belgium: Turnhout
Radner, K., A. Schachner and M. Roaf
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2005. Archaeological Investigations at Ziyaret Tepe, 2003 and 2004. Anatolica 31: 19-68
Matney, T., and L. Rainville, T. Demko, S. Kayser, K. Köroglu, H. McDonald, J. MacGinnis, K. Nicoll, S. Parpola, M. Reimann, M. Roaf, P. Schmidt and J. Szuchman
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2005. The Bronze Age to Iron Age transition in the Upper Tigris region: new information from Ziyaret Tepe and Giricano. In: A. Çilingiroglu and G. Darbyshire (eds.). Anatolian Iron Ages V. London: 115-124
Roaf, M. and A. Schachner
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2005. The Middle Bronze Age on the Upper Tigris: New evidence from the excavations at Giricano and Ziyaret Tepe. Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran und Turan 37: 153-161
Bartl, P.V.
