Kurd Qaburstan

Kurd Qaburstan, is an ancient Near East archaeological site in Erbil Governorate, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq , It is considered one of the most important The archaeological hills in Erbil 22 kilometers southwest of Erbil. It lies halfway between the Upper and Lower Zab rivers. The modern village of Yedi Kizlar covers to southeastern part of the lower town. The site dates back to the late 3rd millennium BC but was primarily occupied during the first half of the 2nd millennium, in the Old Babylonian and Mitanni periods. It has been suggested as the site of the ancient city of Qabra. Nearby promising excavations are at Tell Baqrta and Qasr Shemamok (Kilizi).[1][2]

Kurd Qaburstan
Kurd Qaburstan
Kurd Qaburstan is located in Iraq
Kurd Qaburstan
Shown within Iraq
LocationErbil Governorate, Iraq
Coordinates35°59′24″N 43°51′36″E
Typesettlement
History
Founded3rd millennium BC
PeriodsBronze Age, Islamic
Site notes
Excavation dates2013 to present
ArchaeologistsGlenn Schwartz, Andrew Creekmore
ConditionRuined
OwnershipPublic
Public accessYes

Archaeology

A regional survey by the Erbil Plain Archaeological Survey led by Jason Ur of the Harvard University identified the location (Site 31, Kurd Qaburstan, UTM 397479 E/3983250 N) from satellite imagery and examination of the site. From the 1960's CORONA image it appeared to be a large walled city. The 11 hectare central mound (with a modern cemetery at its highest point) is 17 meters in height with a lower town rising about 3 meters above the plain. The site has an area of around 118 hectares and the surrounding city wall (encompassing 105 hectares) is preserved to the height of between 1 and 3 meters and had bastions every 20 meters.[3][4]

Excavation field seasons by a Johns Hopkins University team led by Glenn Schwartz and Andrew Creekmore have been held in 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2022 (with a study season in 2016). In 2013 a geophysical survey was begun and seven small (6 x 10 meters) sample sections were opened. Mitanni era remains were found on the upper mound and middle Islamic remains in the lower town and the city wall was confirmed. In 2014, the geophysical survey was continued (totaling 30 hectares by seasons end) augmented by surface sherd collection. Five trenches on the upper mound found three phases of Mitanni occupation including a cylinder seal. A trench in the lower town found Middle Bronze residential occupation. A trench on the south slope of the upper mound found two Middle Bronze phases with the lower firmly Old Babylonian period. A Neo-Babylonian era grave (with "stamp seals, a cylinder seal, bronze toggle pins, and a bronze fibula") was also excavated there. In 2017, continued work in the lower town showed that the Middle Bronze construction was bedded on virgin soil at a depth of 3 meters showing that the lower town was first occupied then. Continued geophysical work located a monumental Middle Bronze temple in the lower town which was confirmed by test excavation. In 2022 a 19 x 4 meter trench was excavated on the high mound north slope on a large Middle Bronze building showing signs of having been burnt. Three 10 meter by 10 meter trenches were begun in the eastern lower town. Continued magnetometry showed a large structure in the northern lower town, possible a palace.[5][6][7]

History

The upper mound of Kurd Qaburstan was first occupied early in the 3rd millennium BC. Occupation spread to the lower town early in the 2nd millennium BC (Middle Bronze Age) and the city reached its maximum extent during the Old Babylonian period and into the Mitanni period (Late Bronze Age). Afterward, occupation was very light and restricted to the upper mound through the Sassanian period.[8]

Qabra

It has been proposed that the site is the location of Qabra, known from Old Babylonian period texts. Qabra is not recorded before or after and it is assumed that it was known by that name for only a short time. It is known that Qabra, and its king Bunu-Eshtar, were attacked by a coalition of Ekallatum, under Shamshi-Adad I and Eshnunna, under Dadusha (c. 1862 to 1818 BC) and then occupied by Shamshi-Adad I (after a long siege) and afterward his son Ishme-Dagan. For its part Eshnunna received the "spoils" of the city. Then, after a brief period of independence under ruler Ardigandi it fell to the city of Kakmum under its ruler Gurgurrum. The primary sources of this knowledge are from the Stele of Dadusha, Stele of Shamshi-Adad (in the Louvre), texts from Mari, and texts from Shemshara.[9][10][11][12][13]

See also

References
  1. Rouault, Olivier and Masetti-Rouault, Maria Grazia, "French Excavations in Qasr Shemamok-Kilizu (Iraqi Kurdistan): The First Mission (2011)", in Tradition and Innovation in the Ancient Near East: Proceedings of the 57th Rencontre Assyriologique International at Rome, 4-8 July 2011, edited by Alfonso Archi, University Park, USA: Penn State University Press, 2015, pp. 481-490, 2015
  2. Konstantinos Kopanias, Claudia Beuger, John MacGinnis, and Jason Ur, "The Tell Baqrta Project in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq", In The Provincial Archaeology of the Assyrian Empire, edited by John MacGinnis, Dirk Wicke, and Tina Greenfield, Pp. 117-128. Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, 2016
  3. UR, JASON, et al., "Ancient Cities And Landscapes In The Kurdistan Region Of Iraq: The Erbil Plain Archaeological Survey 2012 Season", Iraq, vol. 75, pp. 89–117, 2013
  4. Ur, Jason, et al. "The Erbil Plain Archaeological Survey: Preliminary Results, 2012–2020.", Iraq 83, pp. 205-243, 2021
  5. Schwartz, G. M., Brinker, C. D., Creekmore, A. T., Feldman, M. H., Smith, A., & Weber, J. A., "Excavations at Kurd Qaburstan, a Second Millennium BC Urban Site on the Erbil Plain", Iraq, 79, 213-255, 2017
  6. Schwartz, G., Creekmore, A., Smith, A., Weber, J., & Webster, L., "Kurd Qaburstan On The Erbil Plain: Field Research 2016–2017", Iraq, vol. 83, pp. 1-42, 2022 doi:10.1017/irq.2022.2
  7. Glenn Schwartz, "Kurd Qaburstan, A 'Second Generation' Urban Site on the Erbil Plain", Presented at The 81st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Orlando, Florida. 2016
  8. Schwartz, G., "Kurd Qaburstan, A Second Millennium BC Urban Site: First Results of the Johns Hopkins Project", in Kopanias, K., & MacGinnis, J. (Eds.). The archaeology of the Kurdistan region of Iraq and adjacent regions, pp. 385-401, Oxford: Archaeopress, 2016 ISBN 978-1784913939
  9. Eidem, Jesper, "News from the Eastern Front: The Evidence from Tell Shemshāra", Iraq, vol. 47, pp. 83–107, 1985
  10. Charpin, Dominique, "Données nouvelles sur la régoin du Petit Zab au XVIIIe siècle av. J.C.", Revue ďassyriologie et d'archéologie orientale 98, pp. 151-178, 2004
  11. Eidem, Jesper; Læssøe, Jørgen, "The Shemshara archives 1. The letters", Historisk-Filosofiske Skrifter, vol. 23, Copenhagen: Kongelige Danske videnskabernes selskab, 2001 ISBN 87-7876-245-6
  12. Ismail, B.K., and A. Cavigneaux, "Dādušas Siegesstele IM 95200 aus Ešnunna: Die Inschrift", Baghdader Mitteilungen 34, pp. 129-156, 2003
  13. MacGinnis, J., "Qabra in the Cuneiform Sources", Subartu 6-7, pp. 3-10, 2013

Further reading
  • Jason Ur, "The Archaeological Renaissance in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq", Near Eastern Archaeology, vol. 80, no. 3, pp. 176–187, 2017
  • Kopanias, Konstantinos, John MacGinnis, and Jason Alik Ur., "Archaeological projects in the Kurdistan region in Iraq.", The Directorate of Antiquities of Kurdistan, pp. 1-52, 2015.
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