– New outstanding Achaemenid monumental complex in the periphery of the Persian Empire. – Magneto... more – New outstanding Achaemenid monumental complex in the periphery of the Persian Empire. – Magnetometer and ERT prospecting of adobe mud-brick architecture. – Test excavation, soil magnetic studies on top soils, mudbricks and excavation profiles.
13th International Conference on Archaeological Prospection, Aug 28, 2019
The archaeological site of Gumbati is located on the right bank of the Alazani River in the Kakhe... more The archaeological site of Gumbati is located on the right bank of the Alazani River in the Kakheti region, Georgia. Excavations in the 1990s (Knauß 2000: 119-130) revealed parts of a rectangular building made with mudbrick walls of 2m width on average. Its southern extension is almost 40m in length. Stone column bases, typical of an Achaemenid royal style well-known from ancient Persia were found around the building. Because of its architectural characteristics, it was interpreted as the remains of one of the administrative complexes controlling the Transcaucasus,
– Comparative measurements and analysis of 3D ERT and GPR results. – Evaluation of different ERT ... more – Comparative measurements and analysis of 3D ERT and GPR results. – Evaluation of different ERT data processing methods.
– Magnetometer prospection of a Bronze Age burial ground in Armenia. – Natural remanent magnetisa... more – Magnetometer prospection of a Bronze Age burial ground in Armenia. – Natural remanent magnetisation is the chief cause of anomalies. – Prehistoric gold mining near Sotk.
– Comparative measurements and analysis of 3D ERT and GPR results. – Evaluation of different ERT ... more – Comparative measurements and analysis of 3D ERT and GPR results. – Evaluation of different ERT data processing methods.
Between April and May 2019, an Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) survey was conducted in th... more Between April and May 2019, an Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) survey was conducted in the Bora Plain, with two main goals. The first goal was to continue the investigation of the qanat system, the underground irrigation system that was first identified on the surface in 2015 and further investigated in 2016-2018. The second goal was to investigate at a greater depth the archaeological features of the Dinka Settlement Complex that are visible in the magnetograms generated in 2016-2018 by Jörg Fassbinder and his team. Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) is an effective method for archaeological geophysicists to non-destructively receive detailed information about underground structures, whether they be natural or artificial. ERT has become increasingly important for bridging the gap between magnetometry and radar prospection methods, particularly when wet and clayey soil conditions make GPR prospecting impossible. Sophisticated computer programs that trigger multichannel electrodes, combined with inversion and data analysis software, allow the tracing of apparent resistivity in detail, even in areas located deep under the surface, and the production of multiple 2D and 3D modelled images. The Open Access version is already available for you - and indeed all the world - to download from here: https://epub.ub.uni-muenchen.de/74269/
13TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROSPECTION, 2019
The ancient city of Charax Spasinou was situated in southern Iraq near Basra, between the rivers ... more The ancient city of Charax Spasinou was situated in southern Iraq near Basra, between the rivers Tigris and Eulaios, at the modern location Jebel Khayaber. It offers the opportunity to study the layout and functionality of a major urban city dating from the Seleucid to the Sasanian period. The city was originally founded by Alexander the Great and given the name Alexandria (Campbell et al. 2019: 215). After its destruction by flooding, it was re-founded in BC 166/165 by the Seleucid king Antiochos IV and re-named Antiochia. This settlement was again destroyed by flooding. It was rebuilt under Hyspaosines and named Charax Spasinou (ancient Greek for ‘palisade of [Hy]spa[o]sines’). Due to its favourable location Charax became a very important harbour in the Persian Gulf area and a major trading point between India and Babylonia, supplying goods further up to the Mediterranean (Campbell et al. 2019). Charax was first identified with Jebel Khayaber in 1965, when distinctive ramparts with an average height of 4m to 6m were documented (Hansman 1967: 39). In 2016 Jane Moon, Robert Killick and Stuart Campbell (University of Manchester), together with Stefan Hauser (University of Konstanz) and the Iraqi State Board for Antiquities & Heritage, started a project to document and protect the ancient city of Charax Spasinou. The aim is to investigate the site through an integration of remote sensing technologies and surface survey as well as limited excavations in order to reconstruct the city layout, its chronology and to document its state of preservation for purposes of conservation and site management.
Uruk-Warka, UNESCO-world heritage site together with Ur and Eridu, can be claimed to be the world... more Uruk-Warka, UNESCO-world heritage site together with Ur and Eridu, can be claimed to be the world’s oldest megacity. Here the invention of handwriting and the scene of action of the oldest epic of humankind, the famous “Epic of Gilgamesh”, took place. The inner city covers an area of c. 555ha and was populated by c.40,000 people already in BC 3000. The diameter of the enclosed city is 4-5km; the city wall has a length of c.9km and is up to 8-25m wide. Uruk was inhabited for nearly 5000 years till the 3rd century AD. Its occupation ended when the Euphrates River changed its way towards west and since this time the site remained untouched as a huge heap of adobe mudbricks with a Ziggurat on top. Magnetometer measurements revealed a sophisticated water canal system, which provided access to the different city quarters, but also protected the inhabitants from the danger of annual flooding.
NEW GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROSPECTION , 2019
Yeha and the UNESCO world heritage site Aksum, both situated in the Ethiopian highlands, was the ... more Yeha and the UNESCO world heritage site Aksum, both situated in the Ethiopian highlands, was the centre of the ancient kingdoms of Di’amat and Aksumite. The ruins of these kingdoms spread all over the Tigray Plateau, show the wealth and influence of these civilisations. Both kingdoms achieved economic and political importance since there were focal points for the trade routes of ancient Egypt, South-Arabia and the Roman Empire to Africa and the Indian Ocean (D’Andrea et al. 2008: 152-154). Yeha is deemed to be the capital of Di’amat formed in the early first millennium BC (Gerlach 2014: 5-7). It shows a strong influence of Sabean culture, which might be connected to their dominance of the Red Sea region. However, the Ethio-Sabaean culture disappeared towards the mid-first millennium BC by unknown cause and was succeeded by the Aksumite kingdom. The area of Yeha has remained inhabited through the millenniums to present day and is today known for its ruins of the monumental structure Grat Be’al Gebri as well as the Great Temple. The motivation of the geophysical survey was to obtain more information about the existence of surrounding settlement structures and their organisation. The selection of the different prospecting areas was predetermined by the accessibility and the requirement for areal magnetometer prospection. The total Earth’s magnetic field measurements and the subsequent interpretations are complicated by the shallow magnetic inclination of 15°.
The project is an Ethiopian-German cooperation project (ARCCH and TCTB ) and supported and financed by the DFG (DFG-Projekt Yeha).
13th International Conference on Archaeological Prospection New Global Perspectives on Archaeological Prospection, 2019
The archaeological site of Gumbati is located on the right bank of the Alazani River in the Kakhe... more The archaeological site of Gumbati is located on the right bank of the Alazani River in the Kakheti region, Georgia. Excavations in the 1990s (Knauß 2000: 119-130) revealed parts of a rectangular building made with mudbrick walls of 2m width on average. Its southern extension is almost 40m in length. Stone column bases, typical of an Achaemenid royal style well-known from ancient Persia were found around the building. Because of its architectural characteristics, it was interpreted as the remains of one of the administrative complexes controlling the Transcaucasus,
13th International Conference on Archaeological Prospection New Global Perspectives on Archaeological Prospection, 2019
Ur, the city of the moon god and “Home of Abraham” was founded by settlers in the 4th millennium ... more Ur, the city of the moon god and “Home of Abraham” was founded by settlers in the 4th millennium BC. The remains of the site are located 345km south of Baghdad and 257km away from the Persian Gulf. It is one of the most prominent cities in Mesopotamia (Wooley 1934-1976). There is evidence that the occupation was ended by a flood, formerly attributed to the flood described in Genesis. Although the city is much smaller than Uruk, in the next (Early Dynastic) period Ur became the capital of southern Mesopotamia under the Sumerian kings of the 1st dynasty of Ur (25th century BC). The last king, who left his traces both at Ur and Uruk was the Achaemenian Cyrus the Great, whose inscription on bricks was found in recent excavations. The cities survived until the reign of Artaxerxes II. It was perhaps at this time that the Euphrates changed its course. With the breakdown of the whole irrigation system of Ur, its fields reduced to a desert and were finally abandoned. For this research, we used 2D and 3D Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) to unveil the underground structures of this city.
– New outstanding Achaemenid monumental complex in the periphery of the Persian Empire. – Magneto... more – New outstanding Achaemenid monumental complex in the periphery of the Persian Empire. – Magnetometer and ERT prospecting of adobe mud-brick architecture. – Test excavation, soil magnetic studies on top soils, mudbricks and excavation profiles.
13th International Conference on Archaeological Prospection, Aug 28, 2019
The archaeological site of Gumbati is located on the right bank of the Alazani River in the Kakhe... more The archaeological site of Gumbati is located on the right bank of the Alazani River in the Kakheti region, Georgia. Excavations in the 1990s (Knauß 2000: 119-130) revealed parts of a rectangular building made with mudbrick walls of 2m width on average. Its southern extension is almost 40m in length. Stone column bases, typical of an Achaemenid royal style well-known from ancient Persia were found around the building. Because of its architectural characteristics, it was interpreted as the remains of one of the administrative complexes controlling the Transcaucasus,
– Comparative measurements and analysis of 3D ERT and GPR results. – Evaluation of different ERT ... more – Comparative measurements and analysis of 3D ERT and GPR results. – Evaluation of different ERT data processing methods.
– Magnetometer prospection of a Bronze Age burial ground in Armenia. – Natural remanent magnetisa... more – Magnetometer prospection of a Bronze Age burial ground in Armenia. – Natural remanent magnetisation is the chief cause of anomalies. – Prehistoric gold mining near Sotk.
– Comparative measurements and analysis of 3D ERT and GPR results. – Evaluation of different ERT ... more – Comparative measurements and analysis of 3D ERT and GPR results. – Evaluation of different ERT data processing methods.
Between April and May 2019, an Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) survey was conducted in th... more Between April and May 2019, an Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) survey was conducted in the Bora Plain, with two main goals. The first goal was to continue the investigation of the qanat system, the underground irrigation system that was first identified on the surface in 2015 and further investigated in 2016-2018. The second goal was to investigate at a greater depth the archaeological features of the Dinka Settlement Complex that are visible in the magnetograms generated in 2016-2018 by Jörg Fassbinder and his team. Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) is an effective method for archaeological geophysicists to non-destructively receive detailed information about underground structures, whether they be natural or artificial. ERT has become increasingly important for bridging the gap between magnetometry and radar prospection methods, particularly when wet and clayey soil conditions make GPR prospecting impossible. Sophisticated computer programs that trigger multichannel electrodes, combined with inversion and data analysis software, allow the tracing of apparent resistivity in detail, even in areas located deep under the surface, and the production of multiple 2D and 3D modelled images. The Open Access version is already available for you - and indeed all the world - to download from here: https://epub.ub.uni-muenchen.de/74269/
13TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROSPECTION, 2019
The ancient city of Charax Spasinou was situated in southern Iraq near Basra, between the rivers ... more The ancient city of Charax Spasinou was situated in southern Iraq near Basra, between the rivers Tigris and Eulaios, at the modern location Jebel Khayaber. It offers the opportunity to study the layout and functionality of a major urban city dating from the Seleucid to the Sasanian period. The city was originally founded by Alexander the Great and given the name Alexandria (Campbell et al. 2019: 215). After its destruction by flooding, it was re-founded in BC 166/165 by the Seleucid king Antiochos IV and re-named Antiochia. This settlement was again destroyed by flooding. It was rebuilt under Hyspaosines and named Charax Spasinou (ancient Greek for ‘palisade of [Hy]spa[o]sines’). Due to its favourable location Charax became a very important harbour in the Persian Gulf area and a major trading point between India and Babylonia, supplying goods further up to the Mediterranean (Campbell et al. 2019). Charax was first identified with Jebel Khayaber in 1965, when distinctive ramparts with an average height of 4m to 6m were documented (Hansman 1967: 39). In 2016 Jane Moon, Robert Killick and Stuart Campbell (University of Manchester), together with Stefan Hauser (University of Konstanz) and the Iraqi State Board for Antiquities & Heritage, started a project to document and protect the ancient city of Charax Spasinou. The aim is to investigate the site through an integration of remote sensing technologies and surface survey as well as limited excavations in order to reconstruct the city layout, its chronology and to document its state of preservation for purposes of conservation and site management.
Uruk-Warka, UNESCO-world heritage site together with Ur and Eridu, can be claimed to be the world... more Uruk-Warka, UNESCO-world heritage site together with Ur and Eridu, can be claimed to be the world’s oldest megacity. Here the invention of handwriting and the scene of action of the oldest epic of humankind, the famous “Epic of Gilgamesh”, took place. The inner city covers an area of c. 555ha and was populated by c.40,000 people already in BC 3000. The diameter of the enclosed city is 4-5km; the city wall has a length of c.9km and is up to 8-25m wide. Uruk was inhabited for nearly 5000 years till the 3rd century AD. Its occupation ended when the Euphrates River changed its way towards west and since this time the site remained untouched as a huge heap of adobe mudbricks with a Ziggurat on top. Magnetometer measurements revealed a sophisticated water canal system, which provided access to the different city quarters, but also protected the inhabitants from the danger of annual flooding.
NEW GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROSPECTION , 2019
Yeha and the UNESCO world heritage site Aksum, both situated in the Ethiopian highlands, was the ... more Yeha and the UNESCO world heritage site Aksum, both situated in the Ethiopian highlands, was the centre of the ancient kingdoms of Di’amat and Aksumite. The ruins of these kingdoms spread all over the Tigray Plateau, show the wealth and influence of these civilisations. Both kingdoms achieved economic and political importance since there were focal points for the trade routes of ancient Egypt, South-Arabia and the Roman Empire to Africa and the Indian Ocean (D’Andrea et al. 2008: 152-154). Yeha is deemed to be the capital of Di’amat formed in the early first millennium BC (Gerlach 2014: 5-7). It shows a strong influence of Sabean culture, which might be connected to their dominance of the Red Sea region. However, the Ethio-Sabaean culture disappeared towards the mid-first millennium BC by unknown cause and was succeeded by the Aksumite kingdom. The area of Yeha has remained inhabited through the millenniums to present day and is today known for its ruins of the monumental structure Grat Be’al Gebri as well as the Great Temple. The motivation of the geophysical survey was to obtain more information about the existence of surrounding settlement structures and their organisation. The selection of the different prospecting areas was predetermined by the accessibility and the requirement for areal magnetometer prospection. The total Earth’s magnetic field measurements and the subsequent interpretations are complicated by the shallow magnetic inclination of 15°.
The project is an Ethiopian-German cooperation project (ARCCH and TCTB ) and supported and financed by the DFG (DFG-Projekt Yeha).
13th International Conference on Archaeological Prospection New Global Perspectives on Archaeological Prospection, 2019
The archaeological site of Gumbati is located on the right bank of the Alazani River in the Kakhe... more The archaeological site of Gumbati is located on the right bank of the Alazani River in the Kakheti region, Georgia. Excavations in the 1990s (Knauß 2000: 119-130) revealed parts of a rectangular building made with mudbrick walls of 2m width on average. Its southern extension is almost 40m in length. Stone column bases, typical of an Achaemenid royal style well-known from ancient Persia were found around the building. Because of its architectural characteristics, it was interpreted as the remains of one of the administrative complexes controlling the Transcaucasus,
13th International Conference on Archaeological Prospection New Global Perspectives on Archaeological Prospection, 2019
Ur, the city of the moon god and “Home of Abraham” was founded by settlers in the 4th millennium ... more Ur, the city of the moon god and “Home of Abraham” was founded by settlers in the 4th millennium BC. The remains of the site are located 345km south of Baghdad and 257km away from the Persian Gulf. It is one of the most prominent cities in Mesopotamia (Wooley 1934-1976). There is evidence that the occupation was ended by a flood, formerly attributed to the flood described in Genesis. Although the city is much smaller than Uruk, in the next (Early Dynastic) period Ur became the capital of southern Mesopotamia under the Sumerian kings of the 1st dynasty of Ur (25th century BC). The last king, who left his traces both at Ur and Uruk was the Achaemenian Cyrus the Great, whose inscription on bricks was found in recent excavations. The cities survived until the reign of Artaxerxes II. It was perhaps at this time that the Euphrates changed its course. With the breakdown of the whole irrigation system of Ur, its fields reduced to a desert and were finally abandoned. For this research, we used 2D and 3D Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) to unveil the underground structures of this city.
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Papers by Mandana Parsi
Plateau, show the wealth and influence of these civilisations. Both kingdoms achieved economic and political importance since there were focal points for the trade routes of ancient Egypt, South-Arabia and the Roman Empire to Africa and the Indian Ocean (D’Andrea et al. 2008: 152-154). Yeha is deemed to be the capital of Di’amat formed in the early first millennium BC (Gerlach 2014: 5-7). It shows a strong influence of Sabean culture, which might be connected to their dominance of the Red Sea region. However, the Ethio-Sabaean culture disappeared towards the mid-first millennium BC by unknown cause and was succeeded by the Aksumite kingdom. The area of Yeha has remained inhabited through the millenniums to present day and is today known for its ruins of the monumental structure Grat Be’al Gebri as well as the Great Temple.
The motivation of the geophysical survey was to obtain more information about the existence of surrounding settlement structures and their organisation. The selection of the different prospecting areas was predetermined by the accessibility and the requirement for areal magnetometer prospection. The total Earth’s magnetic field measurements and the subsequent interpretations are complicated by the shallow magnetic inclination of 15°.
The project is an Ethiopian-German cooperation project (ARCCH and TCTB ) and supported and financed by the DFG (DFG-Projekt Yeha).
Because of its architectural characteristics, it was interpreted as the remains of one of the administrative complexes controlling the Transcaucasus,
The cities survived until the reign of Artaxerxes II. It was perhaps at this time that the Euphrates changed its course. With the breakdown of the whole irrigation system of Ur, its fields reduced to a desert and were finally abandoned.
For this research, we used 2D and 3D Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) to unveil the underground structures of this city.
Talks by Mandana Parsi
Plateau, show the wealth and influence of these civilisations. Both kingdoms achieved economic and political importance since there were focal points for the trade routes of ancient Egypt, South-Arabia and the Roman Empire to Africa and the Indian Ocean (D’Andrea et al. 2008: 152-154). Yeha is deemed to be the capital of Di’amat formed in the early first millennium BC (Gerlach 2014: 5-7). It shows a strong influence of Sabean culture, which might be connected to their dominance of the Red Sea region. However, the Ethio-Sabaean culture disappeared towards the mid-first millennium BC by unknown cause and was succeeded by the Aksumite kingdom. The area of Yeha has remained inhabited through the millenniums to present day and is today known for its ruins of the monumental structure Grat Be’al Gebri as well as the Great Temple.
The motivation of the geophysical survey was to obtain more information about the existence of surrounding settlement structures and their organisation. The selection of the different prospecting areas was predetermined by the accessibility and the requirement for areal magnetometer prospection. The total Earth’s magnetic field measurements and the subsequent interpretations are complicated by the shallow magnetic inclination of 15°.
The project is an Ethiopian-German cooperation project (ARCCH and TCTB ) and supported and financed by the DFG (DFG-Projekt Yeha).
Because of its architectural characteristics, it was interpreted as the remains of one of the administrative complexes controlling the Transcaucasus,
The cities survived until the reign of Artaxerxes II. It was perhaps at this time that the Euphrates changed its course. With the breakdown of the whole irrigation system of Ur, its fields reduced to a desert and were finally abandoned.
For this research, we used 2D and 3D Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) to unveil the underground structures of this city.