Ancient Lagash: Current Research and Future Trajectories

In 2015, the Italian Archaeological Expedition to Nigin started the exploration of Tell Zurghul concentrating on two main areas (Area A and B) and operating a survey of the north-western sector of the city (Area C). The present communication presents the results of the operations carried out at Nigin focusing on the new evidence of the phases of occupation of the city from the 5th to the 4th millennium BC that provide additional information on the historical and archaeological development of the ancient region of Lagash. Actually, in light of the recent discoveries at Tell Zurghul, this paper also intends to point to the future trajectories of the archaeological exploration of both the city of Nigin and the other major urban centers of the region (Lagash and Girsu) and the neighboring landscape (existence of smaller settlements, morphology of the landscape, presence of water sources): the resumption of new archaeological explorations in the ancient city-state of Lagash can explain the phenomena of formation of urbanism and the management of landscape and environment.

Schlagworte: Gudea, Tell Zurghul, Nigin, Nanshe, Lagash, Ubaid, Uruk, Jemdet Nasr

Recent excavations carried out by the Sapienza Università di Roma and the Università degli Studi di Perugia at Tell Zurghul, in the Lagash region (Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq), have revealed a long occupational sequence, with earlier levels dating back to the Ubaid period. This article presents the results from the excavations carried out in 2015 in Area B, a low mound located at the southern edge of Tell Zurghul, rising about 4m above the surrounding plain. Preliminary results showed a multi-layer occupation, uncovered at the top of Mound B, dating to Ubaid 4, while stray shards dating to Ubaid 2/3 from previous excavations, undertaken by R. Koldewey in 1887, suggest an even earlier occupation that remains to be clarified by future research. Data from Area B are all the more relevant because they help to better define this period in the region of Lagash, barely touched by previous research which instead focused on the areas of Ur, Eridu, ‘Oueili, and Uruk, all in the south-west plain.

Schlagworte: Southern Mesopotamia, Lagash region, Tell Zurghul, Ubaid

Transitional phases are usually characterized by multiple transformations, such as social, economic, cultural or ethnic. They are generally difficult to analyze because of the numerous events or internal influences. The transitional phase from the Uruk Culture to the Early Dynastic one, throughout the Jemdet Nast period, is one of these difficult phases. So far, the Jemdet Nasr period is still a little-known period. In southern Mesopotamia, Jemdet Nasr evidence has been recovered at the site of Uruk, Ur, Girsu and Fara. The new archaeological activities at Tell Zurghul, with the discovery of a transitional Late Uruk/Jemdet Nasr phase and a Jemdet Nasr phase in Area A, have provided new data regarding the passage from the 4th to the 3rd millennium BC in southern Mesopotamia and, more precisely, in the Lagash region.

Schlagworte: Southern Mesopotamia, Tell Zurghul, Nigin, Uruk, Jemdet Nasr, Lagash region

Recent fieldwork conducted by the Italian Archaeological Expedition at Tell Zurghul, ancient Nigin, has revealed evidence of a 3rd millennium BC phase mainly consisting of pottery sherds, inscribed bricks and clay cones scattered on the site surface. This paper examines the data gathered in Area C, located in the western part of the site, through a preliminary survey carried out during the 2015 first campaign. This sector was selected for the presence of a 160m-long ridge that rises 5m above the surrounding plain and for its exceptionally dense concentration of surface material. The first results of this work, including a preliminary analysis of the pottery and artifacts collected as well as observations on the features visible on the ground, provide some elements for reconstructing the use of this sector of the ancient city.

Schlagworte: Southern Mesopotamia, Tell Zurghul, 3rd Millennium BC, survey, industrial area, ceramic production

In this paper, we discuss the preliminary results of the Tell al-Hiba Publication Project’s reanalysis of the excavations of the Tell al-Hiba Expedition in Areas A, B, and G at Tell al-Hiba, ancient Lagash. This work occurred as part of an ongoing project to produce final reports on the Expedition’s six seasons of excavation at the site. For each area, we describe the architectural levels, discuss the contents, and offer chronological and functional interpretations. We also give new or updated plans for some of the structures. The excavators discussed many of these remains in preliminary reports. As a result of this reanalysis, we offer some interpretations that differ from those published previously – most notably, those concerning the functions of the buildings in Area B, the Bagara of Ningirsu. Additionally, we discuss in greater detail a number of contexts that received only cursory mention in earlier works.

Schlagworte: Bagara of Ningirsu, Ibgal of Inana, religious architecture, Early Dynastic I, Early Dynastic III

Tell al-Hiba, ancient Lagash, was one of the largest settlements in southern Mesopotamia during the second half of the 3rd millennium BC and one of three major cities in the eponymous city-state of Lagash. The Tell al-Hiba Expedition, a joint project of the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, conducted six seasons of fieldwork at the site between 1968 and 1990. The excavations uncovered extensive remains from the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, including two temple complexes and a craft production center. Thus far, this work has only appeared in preliminary reports. The Tell al-Hiba Publication Project, led by Holly Pittman, is currently producing the final reports on the Expedition’s discoveries. In this paper, we summarize the history of excavations at Tell al-Hiba and discuss the methodology and goals of the project.

Schlagworte: City-state of Lagash, Tell al-Hiba, relational databases, publication of archival materials, Tell al-Hiba Publication Project

Elizabeth Carter surveyed Tell al-Hiba, the ancient city of Lagash, in the winter of 1984, systematically recording surface artifacts over the course of two months. Her results, published in preliminary form, presented an impressionistic overview of demographic and functional trends at Lagash across space and through time. As part of the ongoing Tell al-Hiba Publication Project, a revised ceramic typology was used to update the original field data and bring them into a Geographical Information System (GIS), to attain quantitative and spatial rigor with the survey material as well as produce thematic maps for presentation. This paper thus offers a robust model of spatial patterns of occupation at Lagash over the course of two millennia, with an emphasis on settlement expansion and contraction. Ultimately, it describes the original survey project and current digitization process, especially as it concerns intrasite spatial analysis and the use of spatial statistics to extract as much information as possible from the data. This study nuances understandings of early urbanism at al-Hiba while suggesting broader spatial and organizational phenomena within southern Mesopotamian cities during the Early Bronze Age.

Schlagworte: Lagash, Tell-al-Hiba Publication Project, archaeological survey, Urbanism, GIS, intrasite spatial analysis, point pattern analysis, kernel density estimates

The unpublished ceramic corpus retrieved during six seasons of excavation at the site of al-Hiba is the largest dataset of such material from the southern Mesopotamian alluvium. As part of the al-Hiba Publication Project, this dataset has been organized in a formal typology and subjected to statistical analysis to detect chronological development and spatial distribution on the site. While the corpus fits well within the general Mesopotamian evolution of ceramic production during the 3rd and 2nd millennia, on a more detailed level there is distinct regional variation. Certain ceramic types known elsewhere are absent, while others appear to be local to the region. With the final publication of the al-Hiba ceramic corpus in sight, this paper presents a few preliminary observations demonstrating a higher degree of regionalization in southern Mesopotamian ceramics than previously assumed.

Schlagworte: al-Hiba, Lagash, 3rd Millennium BC, ceramics, typology, regionalization

The present paper presents the most recent archaeological surveys in the region of Lagash, in southern Iraq. In particular, it points out the diachronic development of the occupation in the area, specifically in relation with the neighboring landscape and the ecosystem. The waterscape of the entire region, deeply characterized and affected by the marshes, contributed to the economy of the dynasties of rulers and people living there, in a very strong balanced relationship between built space and environment.

Schlagworte: Sealand, Lagash, Mesopotamia, marshes, water environment

Girsu (modern Tello) was considered to be the sanctuary of the patron-god Ningirsu and the sacred metropolis of the Lagash state. Due to the site having been extensively excavated between 1877 and 1933 by four French expeditions and heavily plundered especially between 1909 and 1929, its topographical layout has considerably changed over the past 138 years, i.e., since the first exploration by Ernest de Sarzec in 1877. Today massive amounts of excavation spoil completely conceal, at least for the central mounds of the site, any significant landscape features of the archaic city. A new interdisciplinary research project re-examined the archaeological evidence by means of remote sensing, enhanced by ground reconnaissance, new site explorations, and the reassessment of the textual sources, leading to a reconstruction of the city’s ancient landscape. This paper’s primary aim is to present the first results of this research.

Schlagworte: Girsu, Gudea, Early Dynastic, Sumerians