Stefano Valentini

The GaRKAP (i.e., Ganja Region Kurgan Archaeological Project) is a joint Azerbaijani-Italian project in western Azerbaijan that investigates the spread of the tradition of burying the dead in funerary chambers covered with circular tumuli (i.e., kurgans) in the southern Caucasus during a period ranging from the fourth to the first millennia BCE. This paper will present the results of the first two seasons (2018 and 2019) of the archaeological work performed in the two regions investigated by the project that are: the area directly north of the modern city of Ganja (i.e., the northern section of the Heydar Aliyev Park), where numerous kurgans of the Late Bronze/Early Iron Age are located; and, the steppe region of Şadılı-Uzun Rama along the valley of the Kurekçay, a creek affluent of the Kura river in the Goran-boy district, where the preliminary reconnaissance survey has identified ca. 205 kurgans dating back to the Kura-Araxes period as well as to a Late Bronze/Early Iron Age archaeological phase.

The Ganja Region Kurgan Archaeological Project (GaRKAP) is a joint Azero-Italian project that aims at investigating the spread of the tradition of burying the dead in large funerary chambers covered with circular tumuli-that is, kurgans-in the southern Caucasus during a period ranging from the fourth to the first millennium BCE. It is in this region that large numbers of kurgans, dating to the Early Bronze Age (that is, the Kura-Araxes period) through to the Iron Age, have been identified. In particular, the funerary tumuli dated to the Kura-Araxes period reveal a common mortuary custom of multiple human depositions inside a large chamber that is burnt at the conclusion of ritual practices; the Late Bronze/ Early Iron Age burials, on the other hand, are smaller in size and usually present single or double human depositions, furnished with bronze objects and, in some circumstances, the skeletal remains of equids. This paper will present the results of the first season of the archaeological work performed in western Azerbaijan, in the Ganja-Gazakh region. More specifically, it is focused on 󰀁) the city of Ganja, where a series of Late Bronze/Early Iron Age kurgans are located, and 󰀂) the steppe of Uzun Rama, along the valley of a creek affluent of the Kura River in the Goranboy district, which is marked by the presence of large kurgans dated to the late fourth millennium BCE and characterised by collective burials.* Introduction (N. Laneri and B. Jalilov)

The Hirbemerdon Tepe Archaeological Project was initiated in 2003 as part of a broader cultural heritage rescue project associated with the construction of the Ilısu Dam and planned as part of a scienti c collabora- tion between the University of Catania, the Istituto per l’Africa e l’Oriente and the Archaeological Museum of Dıyarbakir.
The site is located on the western bank of the Tigris river about 100 km southeast of the modern city of Dıyarbakir. During the 10 years of archaeological work performed at the site 11 archaeological phases were recorded starting from the fourth millennium BC until the XIXth century AD.
This volume represents the  nal report on the studies of the material culture belonging to this long chrono- logical sequence that was unearthed during the excavations and aims at allowing the interested scholars at reconstructing the history of the settlement as well as a broader sociocultural landscape that involved other social groups inhabiting the upper Tigris region as well as other Anatolian and Mesopotamian regions.

The tradition of burying the dead in burial mounds (kurgans) started in the late fifth millennium B.C.E. in the northern Caucasus and then spread south to the rest of the Caucasus, eastern Anatolia and northwestern Iran during the Bronze and Iron Age. The propagation of the kurgan tradition, as well as the territorial, political, social, and cultural values embedded in their construction and their symbolic relation to the surrounding landscape are under debate. It is with the purpose of defining the origin, distribution and development of the use of kurgans in such a broad region that an International workshop was organized in Florence by CAMNES and CNRS. The workshop aimed at examining chronological issues, cultural dynamics at inter-regional scale, rituals and burial patterns related to these funerary structures. The beliefs and ideologies that possibly connected the “kurgan people” over such a wide geographical area, as well as past and present theoretical frameworks, were also discussed. This volume is thus the result from the contributions that were presented during those two days (29-30 March 2018) of intense confrontation on this topic.

The first volume opening the series D of "Studien zur Urbanisierung Nordmesopotamines" is represented by the proceedings of an international workshop hold during the VI ICAANE 2008 in Rome. The workshop aimed to enlarge the current perspective on the socioeconomic exchanges that occurred during the Late Third and Early Second millennium BC between communities inhabiting Northern Mesopotamian and Southeaster Anatolian regions. The 19 contributions are divided into two sections. The first one ('Environment, Landscape and Settlement Pattern') aims to define how the settlements located in the different regions of the Syrian Jazirah and the Upper Valleys of the Tigris and the Euphrates reacted to the historical and climatic events that, during the Late Third millennium BC, brought to a halt the phenomenon of urban revolution that characterized these regions during the Third millennium until the advent of the Old Akkadian Empire. Moreover, it tries to establish the relationship between these different regions focusing on the positive outcomes that the socioeconomic crisis of the Late Third millennium brought about. The second section ('Site's Analyses and Material Culture') provides different archaeological case studies focusing mainly on the regions of the Upper Tigris valley and the Syrian Jazirah with new results of recent researches and excavations; some contributions show clear connections between these two regions on the base of the material culture. The conclusion is provided by a synthesis of the transformations in the societal organization of the communities in Northern Mesopotamia and Southeaster Anatolian regions and a comparison of the different options explaining the changes.

The tradition of burying the dead in burial mounds (kurgans), usually consisting of a funerary chamber limited by stone or brick slabs and covered by dirt and gravel, started in the fourth millennium BCE in the northern Caucasus and then spread south to the rest of the Caucasus regions, eastern Anatolia and northwestern Iran during the Bronze Age and Iron Age. The spread of the kurgan tradition, as well as the territorial, political, social, and cultural values embedded in their construction and their symbolic relation to the surrounding landscape are under debate. The workshop aims to examine chronological issues, cultural dynamics at interregional scale, rituals and burial patterns related to these funerary structures. The beliefs and ideologies that possibly connected the "kurgan people" over such a wide geographical area, as well as past and present theoretical frameworks, will also be discussed.

CONSTRUCTING KURGANS:
BURIAL MOUNDS AND FUNERARY CUSTOMS IN THE CAUCASUS, NORTHWESTERN IRAN AND EASTERN ANATOLIA DURING THE BRONZE AND IRON AGE

FLORENCE (ITALY) - 29/30 March 2018
Ex-Church of San Jacopo
Via Faenza 43

ABSTRACT

The tradition of burying the dead in burial mounds (kurgans), usually consisting of a funerary chamber limited by stone or brick slabs and covered by dirt and gravel, started in the fourth millennium BCE in the northern Caucasus and then spread south to the rest of the Caucasus regions, eastern Anatolia and northwestern Iran during the Bronze Age and Iron Age. The spread of the kurgan tradition, as well as the territorial, political, social, and cultural values embedded in their construction and their symbolic relation to the surrounding landscape are under debate. The workshop aims to examine chronological issues, cultural dynamics at inter-regional scale, rituals and burial patterns related to these funerary structures. The beliefs and ideologies that possibly connected the "kurgan people" over such a wide geographical area, as well as past and present theoretical frameworks, will also be discussed.

KEYNOTE LECTURE

Adam Smith

Goldwin Smith Professor of Anthropology (Cornell University, USA)

“Cult, Charisma, and Kingdom: Bronze Age Funerary Rituals in the Southern Caucasus”

Further info and abstract submission form at: https://camnes.org/constructing-kurgans-workshop

The GaRKAP (i.e., Ganja Region Kurgan Archaeological Project) is a joint Azerbaijani-Italian project in western Azerbaijan that investigates the spread of the tradition of burying the dead in funerary chambers covered with circular tumuli (i.e., kurgans) in the southern Caucasus during a period ranging from the fourth to the first millennia BCE.
This paper will present the results of the first two seasons (2018 and 2019) of the archaeological work performed in the two regions investigated by the project that are: the area directly north of the modern city of Ganja (i.e., the northern section of the Heydar Aliyev Park), where numerous kurgans of the Late Bronze/Early Iron Age are located; and, the steppe region of Şadılı-Uzun Rama along the valley of the Kurekçay, a creek affluent of the Kura river in the Goranboy district, where the preliminary reconnaissance survey has identified ca. 205 kurgans dating back to the Kura-Araxes period as well as to a Late Bronze/Early Iron Age archaeological phase.