EXCAVATION AND GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY AT KURD QABURSTAN ON THE ERBIL PLAIN, FIELD SEASON 2022

Abstract

Fieldwork at Kurd Qaburstan (ancient Qabra?) on the Erbil plain of northern Mesopotamia (Kurdistan Region of Iraq) in 2022 acquired a variety of new evidence on the Middle and Late Bronze occupations at the 95-hectare walled urban site. Geophysical survey revealed the existence of a probable palace in the Lower Town East, where excavations exposed a set of baked brick structures that were probably used for institutional storage and food processing. Large-scale Middle Bronze buildings were also explored on the High Mound North Slope (a burned building), the High Mound East, and in the temple on the Lower Town East. The faunal remains of the latter structure were dominated by young sheep/goat, implying ritualized uses of select animals. Late Bronze remains, exposed on the High Mound North and High Mound East, were small-scale domestic or industrial in character. Complementing the excavations, a study of Middle Bronze pottery offers details on pottery production and ceramic change, while zooarchaeological and archaeobotanical analyses supply further insights into the human-animal and human-plant relationships in this ancient urban community.