Proceedings of the 9th International Congress

on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East

Volume 1

ICAANE 9, Vol 1neu.indd 1

12.02.2016 09:45:56

Proceedings
of the 9th International Congress
on the Archaeology
of the Ancient Near East
913 June 2014,
Basel
Edited by
Rolf A. Stucky, Oskar Kaelin and Hans-Peter Mathys

2016

Harrassowitz Verlag Wiesbaden

ICAANE 9, Vol 1neu.indd 2

12.02.2016 09:45:56

Proceedings
of the 9th International Congress
on the Archaeology
of the Ancient Near East
Volume 1
Travelling Images
Transfer and Transformation of Visual Ideas
Edited by Oskar Kaelin
Dealing with the Past: Finds, Booty, Gifts,
Spoils, Heirlooms
Edited by Rolf Stucky
Collections at Risk: Sustainable Strategies for Managing
Near Eastern Archaeological Collections
Edited by Andrew Jamieson

2016

Harrassowitz Verlag Wiesbaden

ICAANE 9, Vol 1neu.indd 3

12.02.2016 09:45:56

Cover illustration: Gino Caspari, Columbia University.

Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek

Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen
Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet
ber http://dnb.dnb.de abrufbar.
Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the internet
at http://dnb.dnb.de.

For further information about our publishing program consult our

website http://www.harrassowitz-verlag.de
Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, Wiesbaden 2016
This work, including all of its parts, is protected by copyright.
Any use beyond the limits of copyright law without the permission
of the publisher is forbidden and subject to penalty. This applies
particularly to reproductions, translations, microfilms and storage
and processing in electronic systems.
Printed on permanent/durable paper.
Printing and binding: Memminger MedienCentrum AG
Printed in Germany
ISBN 978-3-447-10587-3

ICAANE 9, Vol 1neu.indd 4

12.02.2016 09:45:57

Proceedings, 9 th ICAANE, Basel 2014, Vol. 1

Contents
Acknowledgment 9
Paolo Matthiae
Opening Speech, 9th ICAANE, Basel, June 9, 2014

11

Travelling Images Transfer and Transformation of Visual Ideas

15

Oskar Kaelin
Man or Superman? Transfer and Transformation of Visual Ideas in Royal Representations

17

Enrico Ascalone Zohreh Baseri

New Archaeological Finds from Ziwiye. Preliminary Notes on the Ziwiye Seals Corpus

31

Ellen Belcher Karina Croucher

Exchanges of Identity in Prehistoric Anatolian Figurines

43

Joel S. Burnett
Egyptianizing Elements in Ammonite Stone Statuary: The Atef Crown and Lotus

57

Barbara Couturaud
Image and Ideology at the End of the Early Bronze Age: The Example
of the Figurative Inlaid Panels of Mari

71

Rita Dolce
Headless Mortals and Gods. Some Remarks on Decapitation in the Ancient Near East

83

Silvia Festuccia
Sport Representation: Transfer Images of Agonistic Contests

99

Pamela Fragnoli Chiara Mallegni

Society and Visual Image Transmission. The Painted Pottery During the Early Bronze Age
at Arslantepe and in the Malatya-Elaz Area

111

Cheryl Hart
An Analysis of the Iconographic Rosette Motif as a Means of Non-Verbal Communication:
A Case Study The Rosette Motif and its Association with Solar Symbolism

125

David Ilan
The Crescent-Lunate Motif in the Jewelery of the Bronze and Iron Ages in the Ancient Near East

137

Contents

Ergul Kodas
Le socle/cou des crnes surmodels: une nouvelle approche sur leur phase dutilisation

151

Sara Kuehn
Vestiges of the Ourobros in the Medieval Islamic Visual Tradition

165

Julia Linke
The Kings of Urartu in the Visual World

179

Marta Lorenzon
The Iconography of Mudbrick Production and Construction throughout the Mediterranean:
Egypt and the Near East

191

Lauri Mntyl
Modeled after a Palace of the Land of Hatti: hilani Suites in the Neo-Assyrian Empire

201

Paolo Matthiae
Pouvoir et prestige: Images gyptiennes pour le panthon et la royaut palosyrienne

213

Diederik J. W. Meijer
Mesopotamian Temple Roofing and Realism and Naturalism in Art

235

Elisabeth Monamy
Images. Mouvements imags. Les orthostates aramens

247

Batrice Robert Loc Daverat

Modeling Images by Shaping Ceramics

255

Elisabeth Wagner-Durand
Visual Narration in Assyria Versus Static Art in Babylonia Making a Difference
in the 1st Millennium B.C.

269

Yasmina Wicks
The Journey of a Visual Idea: Bronze Bathtub Coffins in Elite Neo-Assyrian,
Neo-Babylonian and Neo-Elamite Funerary Contexts

281

Olga Zolotnikova
The Storm-God with a Battle-Axe on the Early 1st Millennium BC Reliefs
from Eastern Anatolia/Northern Syria

295

Contents

Dealing with the Past: Finds, Booty, Gifts, Spoils, Heirlooms

307

Rolf A. Stucky
Dealing with the Past

309

Anne-Birte Binder
Documentation, Publication, and Reception by and of Anton Moortgat

313

Mara Dolores Casero Chamorro

Sealing the Present with the Past

325

A. Cellerino E. Foietta E. Quirico

A Decorated Gold Jug from Nimrud Royal Tomb III

335

Silvana Di Paolo
The Modern Life of Ancient Near Eastern Antiquities in Italy:
Polyvalent Objects for the Construction of Cultural Meanings

349

Sebastian Hageneuer
The Influence of Early Architectural Reconstruction Drawings in Near Eastern Archaeology

359

Abbas Hosseini
A Descriptive Survey Concerning Archaeological Efforts in the Qajar Era

371

Ahmed Fatima Kzzo

The Ancient Past in the East, from the East: an Oriental Perspective (Syria, Saudi Arabia)

379

Frances Pinnock
Dealing with the Past at Ebla. Ancestors Cults and Foreign Relations

395

Miller C. Prosser
Re-Imagining Imaging for Archaeological and Philological Projects

407

Elisa Roberger
Dedicated Objects and Memory Construction at the Itar-Kittum Temple at Ili

419

Federico Zaina
Tell Ingharra-East Kish in the 3rd Millennium BC: Urban Development,
Architecture and Functional Analysis

431

Contents

Collections at Risk: Sustainable Strategies

for Managing Near Eastern Archaeological Collections

447

Michael T. Fisher Gil J. Stein

Aks of War: A Digital Museum Inventory for a War-Torn Afghanistan

449

Youssef Kanjou
Protection Strategies and the National Museum of Aleppo in Times of Conflict

465

Cheikhmous Ali Martin Makinson Philippe Quenet

Syrian Museums under Threat: an Overview

477

Dianne Fitzpatrick
Quantifying the Problems and Counting the Costs of Near Eastern Archaeological Collections:
Five Case-Studies

493

Hamed Salem
Palestinian Archaeological Collections and Lessons of Conflicted Situations

505

Silvia Perini
Syrian Cultural Heritage in Danger: A Database for the National Museum of Aleppo

521

Andrew Jamieson
New Uses for Old Collections: Community and Curriculum Engagement Using Near Eastern
Archaeological Collections

533

Elisabeth Vlling
Textiles as Cultural Heritage in Fieldwork and Repositories

543

Proceedings, 9 th ICAANE, Basel 2014, Vol. 1, 431445

Federico Zaina

Tell Ingharra-East Kish in the 3rd Millennium BC:

Urban Development, Architecture and Functional Analysis
Extensive archaeological excavations at Kish have exposed a complex archaeological stratification which spans the entire 3rd millennium BC. This paper aims at critically reviewing
the results achieved by the Anglo-American expedition and to provide a new interpretation of the urban and architectural development of Tell Ingharra/East Kish during the Early
Dynastic period. New synchronized stratigraphical sequences of selected areas, together
with renewed plans and sections, have been produced on the basis of the unpublished
documentation and materials kept in the Ashmolean Museum of Oxford and in the Field
Museum of Chicago.

1. Introduction
The city of Kish was one of the most important Mesopotamian centres of the Early Dynastic
period1 (henceforth ED). Archaeological evidence from this period has been provided by
almost a century of excavations and surveys.2 However, as the results of the fieldwork have
1 This new project concerning Kish has been conducted by the author since 2007 under the supervi-

sion of Nicol Marchetti (University of Bologna), and since 2012 it has been co-supervised as a
PhD project also by Frances Pinnock (University of Rome) and Pascal Butterlin (University of
Paris 1), to all of whom I would express my gratitude. I am very grateful also to Paul Collins (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford) and to Jim Phillips and Karen Wilson (Field Museum, Chicago) for their
permission to study the unpublished documentation and materials from Kish.
2 The first systematic excavations at Kish were undertaken by French archaeologists in the 1910s (de
Gennouillac 1924; 1925). Between 1922 and 1933 an Anglo-American joint expedition surveyed
the entire area known as Kish, and also investigated most of its mounds (for an historical and bibliographical review of the excavations, see Moorey 1978 and Gibson 1972). In recent years a Japanese
expedition uncovered further evidence of the Early Dynastic occupation near Tell A and in the area
of the Plano-convex building (Mastumoto 1991; Mastumoto/Oguchi 2002; 2004).

432

Zaina

been mistakenly interpreted3 and cursorily published by the first excavators (Lloyd 1969),
our understanding of the site remains far from being complete. To date, most of our knowledge on the archaeological evidence is principally due to the reappraisals of Moorey (1964;
1978), Gibson (1972) and Algaze (198384)4 while other information can be gleaned from
textual sources (Gregoire 1996; Gelb 1970; Gelb et al. 1991; Westenholz 2014). Although
these studies shed new light on the archaeology and history of Kish, several issues remain
open, some of which will be here considered.
In this paper I will first aim to provide a fresh reconstruction of the stratigraphy and the
architecture of the ED contexts at Tell Ingharra, taking into account selected excavation
areas. In the second instance, I will seek to understand activities and buildings function
through time. The final goal will be that of proposing a new hypothesis on the settlement
pattern and urban organization of East Kish5 during the 3rd millennium BC. To this aim,
unpublished documents and materials kept at the Ashmolean Museum of Oxford and the
Field Museum of Chicago have been newly analyzed by the author.

2. Back to Ingharra: A Brief Stratigraphic and Architectural

Reassessment
Tell Ingharra was the most extensively explored area of the ancient Kish, and also provides
the best known archaeological sequence of the 3rd millennium BC site. Although the quality
of the excavations and the recording methods affected the reanalysis of most of the contexts,
at least three areas, the Y, YW and YWN soundings yielded enough data to attempt an
architectural and urban reconstruction (fig. 1).

3 Detailed information on the excavation methods applied at Kish can be gathered from several

unpublished letters, among which are those by Watelin to Langdon on 21st January 1930, 9th February 1930 and 24th February 1930.
4 For a recent reassessment of the archaeological sequence of the Y sounding at Tell Ingharra, see
also Zaina 2011.
5 I will use the term east Kish instead of Hursagkalama which, according to the textual evidence,
came into use only from the Ur III period (Moorey 1978: 81).

Tell Ingharra-East Kish in the 3rd Millennium BC: Urban Development

433

Fig. 1. Topographic map of Tell Ingharra (redrawn after de Gennouilac 1925, pl. 43).

This renewed study consisted in the digitization and analysis of the unpublished documentation6, together with hundreds of finds, which have been newly described, drawn and
6 For this purpose I designed a method to test the reliability of the data, identifying four catego-

ries divided in two macro-groups regarding the type of sources and the type of information they
provided: 1) PRIMARY SOURCES (written or taken on the field): Letters written on the field,
object cards, drawings, photos; 2) SECONDARY SOURCES (based on the primary ones sometimes reinterpreting them): Scientific publications, Newspaper articles, letters written out of the
field by third people; 3) PRIMARY INFORMATION: Elevation or spatial distribution of walls,

434

Zaina

photographed. New georeferenced maps of Kish as well as detailed maps of Tell Ingharra7
were also produced together with new plans and stratigraphical sections. This approach has
been also applied to additional excavation areas which will be briefly discussed in order to
provide a further support for the urban analysis.

2.1 Y Sounding
The Y sounding is a 70 x 20 m area excavated between 1927 and 1931 in the SW part of Tell
Ingharra (Watelin/Langdon 1934). It provided an almost uninterrupted sequence of domestic and perhaps public buildings, spanning almost the entire 3rd millennium BC. According
to the new stratigraphic sequence here proposed, eight structural phases (from 3b to 10),
ranging from the early ED I to the early Akkadian period, can be distinguished in the first
6 m of the sounding (fig. 5; table 1), while two more domestic building occupations (1ab to
3a), dating to the Jemdet Nasr period, were recovered in the small cut below, reaching the
virgin soil at 9 m.8
An updated study of the architectural evidence using the unpublished documentation
revealed that the area was occupied by some domestic dwellings at least from the ED I
period onwards and, for a shorter period (perhaps from the ED I to the ED IIIa), by a religious building as well.
The better preserved remains belong to the ED I period (phases 3b and 4a) and consist of
several houses divided by a long road oriented NE-SW and by three perpendicular alleys
(fig. 2). The identification of the alleys is based on some architectural elements of the houses
such as the alignment or the thickness of the walls. Therefore, according to this reconstruction, alleys 2 and 3 can be confidently recognized, while alley 4 remains conjectural. As
the urban and architectural analyses allowed researchers to isolate five different buildings
(at least for phases 3b and 4a), further data permit to proceed with the reassessment of the
floors, burials, installations; 4) SECONDARY INFORMATION: Elevation or spatial distribution
of objects. Information with a high value for the reconstruction of the context may consist of data
from letters or cards (Primary sources) that indicate the precise location or elevation of a floor or
wall (Primary information), while those obtained from publications or articles written for example
many years later (Secondary source) or even not by the excavators (although based on their data),
have a smaller value.
7 In the absence of georeferenced maps, the grid plans of Tell Ingharra are made of 25x25 m squares.
In addition, as a local coordinate system was missing, the new grid was provided with new letters
(on the abscissa) and numbers (on the ordinate).
8 At the bottom of the sounding in the pit down to 9 m, some levels were found dating from the JN
to the beginning of the ED I period. In his unpublished autobiography, T.K. Penniman states that
Ubaid and Uruk sherds are said to come from the lowest level of the sounding. Nevertheless, a
single pottery sherd, now kept in the Pitt Rivers Museum of Oxford (PRM 1950.5.25), can be dated
to the Uruk period. This sherd is mentioned, but not published by Moorey (1978, Microfiche 2, D
02) as coming from -3/-5 m below the plain level (i.e. 0 m) in the Y sounding.

Tell Ingharra-East Kish in the 3rd Millennium BC: Urban Development

435

Fig. 2. Y sounding. Urban layout of phase 4a (ED I).

archaeological data. As already suggested by Gibson (1972) and Moorey (1966; 1978), the
concentration of intramural graves only in the eastern part of the area supports the theory
which considers the western side of the Y sounding to be occupied by public buildings.
In particular, a meticulous new study of the burial distribution9 showed how the SW building (House 1) is actually the only one in the area without associated intramural burials. A
further, though inconclusive, proof of the presence of a religious building is also given by
the finds. At least two votive plaques, some cuneiform tablets and several inlays10 were
retrieved in the area of the SW public building.

9 The Y sounding has been continuously expanded and deepened in the course of excavations. A

first step towards re-contextualization consisted in the re-association of the burials to the campaign
in which they were excavated. Then, thanks to the detailed description provided by H. Field and
T. K. Pennimans unpublished letters, it has been possible to collect more stratigraphic notes and to
propose a refinement of the spatial location of the majority of the burials.
10 Two votive plaques (one kept in the Field Museum, FM 231711, the other for which only the excavation number V 780 is available), two cuneiform tablets (Housed in the Ashmolean Musem, AN
1929.836, AN 1930.752) and two shell and ivory inlays (FM 228437, FM 228355) were found in
the ED I layers (phase 34).

436

Zaina

2.2 YW Sounding
The second case study is the YW sounding. This 20 x 15 m area was opened 20 m northwest of the Y sounding and cut down to the water table (7 m) where the early ED I remains
were uncovered. Although some stratigraphical and chronological insights, both Moorey
(1966: 3233; 1978: 114) and Gibson (1972a: 194) suggested that no precise sequence can be
reconstructed. On the contrary, the new reconstruction proposed here includes 8 structural
phases dating from the early ED I to the ED IIIb. This sequence shows a remarkable similarity with the Y sounding (fig. 5; table 1) with at least three neat stratigraphical connections
(see below).
Unfortunately, due to the paucity of data, it has been possible to reconstruct the architectural evidence of just a couple of phases. In addition, the spatial distribution of the objects
was not recorded by the Anglo-American archaeologists, thus making any functional analysis purely conjectural. We can therefore presume that the small quarter, dug within YW
mainly consisted of domestic houses11 and perhaps a public building.

2.3 YWN Sounding

The new reconstruction of the stratigraphical and architectural sequence of the YWN sounding has revealed two building phases (fig. 3), one at the plain level (0 m), while the other at
about 1 m below that (Zaina i. p. a).
Although no architectural plan has been produced for the upper level (Phase 2), a reconstruction of the lower one (Phase 1) can be attempted by comparing sketch plans with
archival photographs. In addition, on the basis of the artifacts discovered on the floors, it is
possible to infer the function of the structures.
According to the new plan, a large building, oriented NW-SW and having at least 15
rooms separated from the poor remains of a smaller unit by a street about 4 m wide, can be
recognized. Both structures were made of mudbrick walls preserved to a height of approximately 2 m and of variable thickness, coated with a whitish plaster. The inner floors and the
street were made of organic debris (Watelin/Langdon 1934: 48) which is taken to mean
beaten earth flooring.
Although the limited excavation, the complex plan of the building and the lack of information about the context of the finds do not permit a full understanding of the structures, some
general conclusions can be reached. The relatively large number of rooms in the building as
well as its dimensions suggests a wealthy and extended household.

11 The only relevant difference with the Y sounding regards the lack of graves throughout the YW

phase. According to Gibson (1972a, 90) this evidence suggests that the ED cemetery was restricted
to the Y area.

Tell Ingharra-East Kish in the 3rd Millennium BC: Urban Development

437

Fig. 3. YWN sounding. Reconstructed plan of phase 1 and stratigraphic section.

The architectural evidence can be partially integrated with the analysis of stratified materials. Indeed, the presence of cylinder seals together with tools and containers could indicate
small scale administrative as well as domestic activities. The rooms of Phase 1 were filled
with a thick packing of clayish soil sealed by the pavements of phase 2, suggesting that the
rooms were cleared and the building was rebuilt with the same plan (fig. 3). The general plan
of this building was probably maintained into Phase 2, when a new beaten earth flooring
was established at the plain level (i.e. 0 m) following the filling with clay soil and leveling
of the earlier rooms.
The artifacts from phase 2 ranging from working tools, containers, and administrative
objects to jewellery and other lite goods, are interpreted as indicators of a wealthy household where some administrative and other small scale manufacturing activities could have
taken place.

438

Zaina

Fig. 4. General view of Tell Ingharra from south-west. In the foreground the uppermost layers of the Y
sounding, in the background the Great Ziqqurat Z.1 (to the right) and part of the Small Ziqqurat Z.2 (to
the left) (Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford).

2.4 The Ziqqurats and the ZY Sounding

Two massive ziqqurats were found by the archaeologists on Tell Ingharra (fig. 4), one at the
southern end (Z.1) while the other in the centre of the main mound (Z.2) (Watelin/Langdon
1934: 45, 5556). Both Mackay and Watelins efforts were concentrated on the larger one
(Z.1) for which information has to be gleaned mostly from the unpublished sources.12 A
detailed account on the excavation of the ziqqurats has been already done by Moorey (1978:
8788), and I will thus focus on its dating as well as on its relation to the surrounding ED
structures. The impressive superimposed walls of plano-convex mudbricks belonging to
the bigger ziqqurat were exposed during the investigations in the Y and ZY soundings.
Their foundations cut through the ED III phases until the Flood Stratum and the overlying
layers (8) which run below them. Therefore, although a direct stratigraphical connection
with the buildings in the Y or ZY sounding is missing, it is reasonable to suppose that these
monumental complexes were built at the end of the ED IIIa during the monumentalization
of the city (corresponding to Y 910, YW 67, YWN 1 and the Palace A, cf. fig. 5), as also
suggested by both Gibson (1972, 112) and Moorey (1978, 88). A further support to this
12 Watelin to Langdon 3rd January 1931; 16th February 1931; 3rd March 1931.

Tell Ingharra-East Kish in the 3rd Millennium BC: Urban Development

439

Fig. 5. Compared stratigraphy of the evidence from the 3rd millennium BC excavated at East Kish.

hypothesis is the interpretation of the Red Stratum as part of the mudbrick collapse of the
ziqqurat (Gibson 1972, 308 fig. 61).
The ZY sounding is the southernmost area opened on the main mound of Ingharra which
revealed ED structures. This 10 x 10 m square was cut 6 m down until the water table was
reached. The archaeologists produced only a sketch plan of the lowermost building phases13,
found at 6 m and probably dating to the ED I, while the rest of the sequence has not been
recorded.

2.5 Tell A and Area JA

Two more areas in the southern part of Tell Ingharra gave substantial evidence of the Early
Dynastic period at Kish. On Tell A, the excavation revealed an extended cemetery covering the massive the Palace A (Mackay 1925; 1929). Despite the previous studies already
provided a general stratigraphical reconstruction of the area (Moorey 1970), a more refined
hypothesis based on Mackays notes is here proposed. As for the 3rd millennium BC, this
study recognizes three phases, dating between the early ED IIIa and the early Akkadian
13 Watelin to Langdon 3rd March 1931.

440

Table 1. Chronostratigraphy of the 3rd millennium BC occupation at East Kish.

Zaina

Tell Ingharra-East Kish in the 3rd Millennium BC: Urban Development

441

periods. The earliest evidence (phase 1) was reached in a few soundings and did not provide
sufficient architectural data (Moorey 1970: 8991). Overlying and cutting this early layers is
the massive multi-phase complex known as Palace A (phase 2) and built somewhere around
the middle or late ED IIIa. This building remained in use for a short period and after its
destruction, at the end of the ED IIIb, the entire area was used as a cemetery (Phase 3).
To the south-west, another area called JA and excavated by a Japanese expedition between
1980s and 1990s, revealed the remains of an ED building in level 2 (Mastumoto 1991: 280
283). This was interpreted by the archaeologists as part of a temple, probably contemporary
with Palace A. Although this last interpretation needs further investigations to be fully
embraced, the pottery assemblage confirms the ED IIIab dating and thus the contemporaneity of the building with Palace A.

3. The Urban Development of Tell Ingharra in the Early Dynastic Period

The new analysis of the soundings at Tell Ingharra allows to attempt a reconstruction of the
development of the 3rd millennium BC occupation at East Kish. This correlation is based on
the stratigraphical connections (fig. 5), listed below:
1. Three archaeological phases (1. Water Level, 2. Flood Stratum, 3. Red Stratum) are
attested in both the Y and YW sounding at the same elevation.
2. The ziqqurat complex must be earlier than the Red Stratum (which represents its collapse) but later than phase 8 in the Y sounding where the foundation of the Ziqqurat partially
cut the buildings.
3. The elevation of the upper floors of the building phases in the YWN sounding (12)
correspond to those in the YW sounding (78).
4. At the lowest level of the ZY sounding (6 m below the plain level), the archaeologist
reached the Water Table, as in the Y (3b) and YW sounding (1a).
Moreover, in the case of imprecise, feeble or unavailable stratigraphical correlations, some
comparisons between both the pottery assemblages and other classes of finds have been
made in order to provide further support to each correlation. This has been particularly
helpful for correlating the more distant Tell A, where the archaeological sequences of areas
A and JA have been reconstructed and tentatively connected to phases 8 to 11 of the Y
sounding (Table 1).
The newly emerging picture is one of a long, continuous occupation of the site from Jemdet
Nasr to the Akkadian period. From an archaeological standpoint, I propose 11 macro-phases
of occupation, at least for the eastern part of Kish. From an historical perspective, this

442

Zaina

Fig. 6. Reconstruction of urban development of East Kish during ED I and ED IIIa-b based on the
archaeological excavations and survey data.

sequence can be grouped into at least 5, perhaps 6, major episodes of the history of Kish,
among which the first relevant occupation attested dating to the ED I and the urban development and monumentalization of the late ED IIIa were the two key periods (Table 1).

Tell Ingharra-East Kish in the 3rd Millennium BC: Urban Development

443

In this perspective, a tentative reconstruction of the settlement pattern and urban organization of east Kish during two phases of the 3rd millennium BC, the ED I and ED IIIab, is
here proposed.
In the ED I period, at least the southern half of Ingharra was inhabited (fig. 6). The archaeological evidence of this period (Y sounding, phases 35; YW sounding, phases 13; ZY
lowest levels) suggests the presence of wealthy households and at least one religious building (Y sounding, house 1, phase 3 onwards) involved in long distance trade and small scale
administration, probably together with specialized productive activities.
This layout appears to be maintained until at least the ED IIIa, when a massive reorganization and monumentalization of the site took place (fig. 6). One or maybe two ziqqurats (Z.1
and Z.2) and an lite building (Palace A) were built in the central and southernmost parts
of Ingharra, while to the north another large scale building (the PCB, cf. Zaina i. p. b) as
well as a large residential quarter were found (Stone 2013: 165, fig. 8.4). The resulting urban
layout of the YWN sounding buildings (phase 1) corresponding to that of both the Y sounding (phases 910) and the YW sounding (phase 67), together with the orientation of the
ziqqurats, as well as that of the small temple in area JA (phase 2) and Palace A uncovered to
the south, appear to be coherent.
If we integrate these data with the survey by Gibson14 (1972: 58), it seems very likely that
during the whole ED the area of Tell Ingharra had a strong urban density. This situation was
increasingly nuanced to the west and north, where the survey revealed only scattered evidence related to the ED I and ED III. Nevertheless, the hypothesis that views Tell Ingharra
and Tell Uhaimir as independent villages does not seem entirely convincing (Moorey 1978;
Gibson 1972a; Yoffee 2004)15, particularly in light of the presence of the Plano-Convex
Building and area JP (Mastumoto/Oguchi 2004) halfway between the two main mounds, as
well as the recent archaeological evidence brought to light through satellite imagery (Stone
2013: 165).

14 Another strong component in the reconstruction of the ancient urban landscape of Kish, is the

channel system. We know from texts that at least from the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC the
city was cut by two main streams named Meenlila and Buranuna (Carrou 1991; Gianni Marchesi
p.c.). To date, our most updated interpretation on the location of the channels comes from the
survey carried out by McG. Gibson (1972). Therefore, in the absence of more detailed data, Gibsons proposal will be followed here.
15 Although Gibson himself (1972b: 115116) leaves open the possibility that at least during the entire
ED, the whole area was considered as a single urban entity under the name of Kish.

444

Zaina

These new archaeological interpretation provided new insight for the reconstruction of the
urban layout of Kish during the Early Dynastic period, whose extension during the ED III
period might have reached several hundred hectares (Yoffee 2004: 57; Marchesi/Marchetti
2011: 97103).16
This flourishing period ends abruptly at the end of the ED IIIb, with a violent destruction attested in several areas, such as the two lite buildings (i.e. Palace A and the PCB),
the Y (phase 10) and YW (phase 7) soundings and the Ziqqurat itself. During the Akkadian
period, Kish seems to be mostly occupied by graveyards and small squatter buildings. Its
partial regeneration as a smaller centre starts at the very end of the 3rd millennium BC with
the erection of a massive building, called Monument Z (phase 13), close to the ziqqurats of
Ingharra.

Bibliography
Algaze, G. 198384. Private Houses and Graves at Ingharra. A Reconsideration. Mesopotamia 1819,
135195.
Carrou, F., 1991. Etudes de gographie et de topographie sumriennes II. A la Recherche de lEuphrate au
IIIe Millenaire, Acta Sumerologica 13, 111156.
Gelb, I. J., 1970. Sargonic Texts in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Materials for the Assyrian Dictionary
V. Chicago.
Gelb, I. J./Steinkeller, P./Whiting Jr., R. M., 1991. Earliest Land Tenure System in the Near East: Ancient
Kudurrus. Oriental Institute Publication 104. Chicago.
Genouillac, H. de, 1924. Premires recherches archologiques Kich I. Paris.

1925. Premires recherches archologiques Kich II. Paris.

Gibson, McG., 1972a. The City and the Area of Kish, Miami.

1972b. The Archaeological Use of Cuneiform Texts. Pattern of Occupation at the City of Kish. Iraq
34/2, 113123.

Gregoire, J.-P., 1996. Archives Administratives et Inscriptions Cuniformes, Ashmolean Museum

Bodleian Collection Oxford. Contribution lhistoire sociale, conomique, politique et culturelle
du Proche-Orient Ancien. AAICAB 1, Les Sources 1. Paris.
Lloyd, S., 1969. Back to Ingharra. Iraq 31, 4048.
Marchesi, G./Marchetti, N., 2011. Royal Statuary in Early Dynastic Mesopotamia, Winona Lake.
Mastumoto, K., 1991. Preliminary Report on the Excavations at Kish/Hursagkalama, 19881989.
al-Rfidn 12, 261290.
16 Contra Weiss (1975: 439, table 1), who states that Kish must have reached a maximum extension of

about 50 hectares during the ED III.

Tell Ingharra-East Kish in the 3rd Millennium BC: Urban Development

445

Mastumoto, K./Oguchi, H., 2002. Excavations at Kish, 2000. al-Rfidn 23, 116.

2004. News from Kish: the 2001 Japanese Work. al-Rfidn 25, 14.

Moorey, P. R. S., 1966. A Reconsideration on the Excavations on Tell Ingharra (East Kish). Iraq 28, 1851.

1970. Cemetery A at Kish: Grave Groups and Chronology. Iraq 32, 86128.

1978. Kish Excavations 19231933: with a Microfiche Catalogue of the Objects in Oxford
Excavated by the Oxford-Field Museum, Chicago, Expedition to Kish in Iraq, 19231933, Oxford.

Stone, E., 2013. The Organization of a Sumerian Town: The Physical Remains of Ancient Social Systems.
H. Crawford (ed.), The Sumerian World. London, 156178.
Watelin, L. Ch./Langdon, S., 1934. Excavations at Kish, Vol. IV. Paris
Weiss, H., 1975. Kish, Akkad and Agade. Journal of the American Oriental Society 95/3, 434453.
Westenholz, A., 2014. A Third Millennium Miscellany of Cuneiform Texts. Cornell University Studies in
Assyriology and Sumerology 26. Bethesda.
Yoffee, N., 2004. Myths of the Archaic State. Evolution of the Earliest Cities, States and Civilizations.
Cambridge.
Zaina, F. 2011. Il sondaggio Y a Ki. Cronologia, stratigrafia ed architettura. G. Guarducci/S. Valentini
(eds.), Il futuro dellarcheologia. Il Contributo dei Giovani Ricercatori. Atti del IV Convegno
nazionale dei giovani archeologi, Tuscania (VT) 1215 maggio 2011. Roma, 195204.

i. p. a. A Radiocarbon Date from Early Dynastic Kish and the Stratigraphy and Chronology of the
YWN Sounding at Tell Ingharra. Iraq 77.

i. p. b. Craft Administration and Power in Early Dynastic Mesopotamian Public Buildings.

Recovering the Plano-convex Building at Kish. Paleorient 41.

Federico Zaina, Sapienza Universit di Roma/Universit Paris 1 Panthon Sorbonne.