The Tell Baqrta Project in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
by Konstantinos Kopanias, Jason Ur, Claudia Beuger.
Publication Name: Forthcoming in: Proceedings of the Conference Provincial Archaeology of the Assyrian Empire, December 13-Saturday December 15 2012, University of Cambridge, edited by J. MacGinnis. Cambridge: McDonald Institute Monographs Series.
This paper was presented in the Conference The Provincial Archaeology of the Assyrian Empire. It focuses on Tell Baqrta, until recently an unknown site located 28 km south of Erbil. In the introduction of the paper the site is presented (K. Kopanias). In the next chapter the Neo-Assyrian sources are discussed, which show that Tell Baqrta can probably be identified with the Neo-Assyrian town Baqarru (J. MacGinnis). In the next chapter the pottery from the preparatory survey in 2011 (C. Beuger) and then the results of the systematic survey of 2012 are presented (J. Ur). The pottery find show that this site was in use from the Late Chalcolithic up to the Early Islamic period. The survey by Jason Ur also revealed that the size of this site reached a total of 95 ha. (950.000 m2) during the second half of the 3rd mill. BC. During that time Tell Baqrta seems to have been one of the largest sites in the Near East, bigger even than Ebla, Brak, Chuera, and slightly smaller than Mozan, Leilan and Hamoukar. In the last chapter a synopsis of the aforementioned results is offered, as well as a discussion of the question of the location of the kingdom of Qabra (K. Kopanias). It is suggested that Tell Baqrta could possibly have been the seat of this kingdom. Then the find of a sherd from an early 4th century BC Attic oinochoe is discussed. Several topographical aspects are examined concerning the return of the Ten Thousand of Xenophon from Kunaxa. It is suggested that the Greek texts do indeed support the theory of Layard that the capture of the Greek generals from Tissaphernes and the crossing of the river Lykos (i.e. the Great Zab) took place in the vicinity of Tell Baqrta. [1]
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