Graduate Symposium in Ancient Near Eastern Studies (GSANES)

Abstracts

Keynotes

Early Mesopotamian Urban Form and Urban Fringes at Ur, Lagash, and Nippur

Emily Hammer (University of Pennsylvania)

Many southern Mesopotamian cities were continuously inhabited for thousands of years, resulting in meters of accumulated cultural strata. Therefore, excavators could only expose small windows relevant to the periods of initial urban growth. Further, early excavations focused overwhelmingly on monumental buildings of city centers, encouraging an elite-centered view of urban life. With geospatial techniques, we are finally in the last years gaining the tools and spatially extensive datasets to develop a wider perspective on early Mesopotamian cities, from their cores to their edge zones. In this talk, I’ll present results from ground survey, drone photogrammetry, and geophysical survey at the early Mesopotamian cities of Ur (Tell al-Muqayyar), Lagash (Tell al-Hiba), and Nippur (Nuffar), and I’ll discuss what these results suggest about the structure and evolution of Mesopotamian cities as well as what they suggest about the experience of early urban life.

Searching for the Ghost Landscapes of Mesopotamia

Hervé Reculeau (University of Chicago)

Be it through geology, archaeology, or epigraphy, reconstructing past environments always starts with understanding the present: like their modern counterparts, ancient landscapes are the combined result of millions of years of natural formation and millennia of human intervention. Both natural phenomena and in- and off-site anthropological activities have left traces, under and above ground, that need to be recovered and interpreted. Among those, ancient texts—be they inscribed on monumental rock reliefs or on humble clay tablets—offer an emic perspective from the ancient inhabitants on their lived environments but can be difficult to understand from our much remote linguistic and cultural perspective. The environmental history of early Antiquity is an incomplete puzzle, made of traces that must be identified, interpreted, and integrated into a broader discourse, by nature interdisciplinary.

In recent decades, off-site surveys and remote sensing have transformed our understanding of the archaeological landscapes of the ancient Near East, while advances in paleo-environmental science have made it increasingly possible to study together changes in societies and the environment at large—even though many challenges still remain. In many cases, however, a more integrated approach combining these breakthroughs with textual data remains a desideratum.

For this keynote lecture, I would like to use Mesopotamia as a case-study to present the data and methods used to reconstruct ancient Mesopotamian environments through geology, palaeoclimatology, site and landscape archaeology, and the historical study of cuneiform documents. Because landscapes are palimpsests, some ancient environments, like the landscapes of irrigation from the Bronze Age, exist only as “ghost landscapes”—absent from the archaeological record and invisible to the tools of Landscape Archaeology, they only survive in the piecemeal information provided by thousands of cuneiform tablets written at the time when they were in existence. Once collected and assembled, this underexploited resource offers the possibility to expand the study of ancient Mesopotamian landscapes beyond the periods documented by material remains, and to offer a diachronic view of their evolution during the Bronze and the Iron Age.

Abstracts

Graduate Student Presenters

From the Hittite Frontier to the Phrygian Heartland: Landscape and Power in Polatlı

M. Ali Akman (Brown University)

Polatlı, located on the eastern bank of the Sakarya River in Central Anatolia, southeast of modern-day Ankara, holds a significant place in the region's history. While it is widely known for Gordion, the Phrygian capital recently inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List, the area's importance dates back to the Early Bronze Age and includes major urban centers in the Late Bronze Age. During this period, Polatlı served as a frontier zone for the Hittite Empire and later emerged as a core region under the Phrygians. This study examines how settlement patterns and monumental structures shaped the landscape of Polatlı and explores the political structures inferred from these changes. The analysis uses a combination of remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) to investigate these dynamics. Declassified satellite imagery and Sentinel-2 infrared data were used to identify mounds and tumuli, while formal GIS techniques were applied to reconstruct mobility patterns and analyze intra-site visibility. The results show that the inhabitants of Polatlı employed diverse strategies to adapt to their environment, with significant Hittite and Phrygian interventions leaving lasting imprints on the landscape. While the Hittites restructured settlement patterns to connect regional centers with their core territories, an apparent strategy of centralization, the Phrygians left a distinctive mark through the construction of over 190 burial mounds scattered throughout the region. I argue that the centralized political structures established during the Late Bronze Age laid the groundwork for later transformations. The contrasting strategies of the Hittites and Phrygians highlight different approaches to landscape organization and political control, and offer insights into imperial strategies on the Polatlı landscape.

Identifying Irrigation Systems and Farms in the Eridu Region Based on Archaeological Survey

Ali Alghanim (University of Al-Qadisiyah)

The Eridu region in southern Mesopotamia was occupied from the sixth until the early first millennium BC, and its archaeological landscape remains well-preserved. The present study has identified and mapped a vast, intensive, well-developed network of artificial irrigation canals. The present study has implemented a combination of geological, geomorphological, remote sensing, historical and archaeological approaches. Geological and geomorphological maps of the region were reviewed. Satellite images of different resolutions and times, including historic Corona imagery, were used. Fieldwork was carried out, including ground-checking of the remote sensing work and collecting drone images and camera photography. The methods and criteria for differentiating natural and artificial canals were carried out, including canal patterns, topographic cross-sections, crevasse splays, marshes, meandering, cut-offs and oxbow lakes, and stream directions. A vast, intensive, well-developed network of artificial irrigation canals has been identified and mapped. More than two hundred primary and large irrigation canals have been identified. These main canals are directly connected to the region's ancient course of the Euphrates. The length of these canals measures between 1 to 9 km, and their width is between 2 and 5 m. Moreover, more than four thousand minor and branch canals connected to the main canals have been identified. These branch canals are 10 to 200 m long, while the width is between 1 and 2 m. More than seven hundred farms have been identified, and minor or branch canals are usually around the perimeter of each one. The area of each farm is between 500 and 20,000 sqm. It seems that the ancient course of the Euphrates stayed in its riverbed most of the time the farms were occupied and only moved laterally within its riverbed. There were no avulsions or significant river shifts in the region, so it seems that the primary canals could connect with the river continuously. Both sides of the river were canalized and farmed, although farmers exploited the northern side more heavily than the southern side.

How the Turntables: Adaptation and Changing Settlement Patterns with the Roman Urbanism in Central Anatolia

Cem Almurat (Bryn Mawr College)

This paper explores the Roman methods of annexing Central Anatolia into their empire, particularly focusing on the emergence and development of urbanism as a proxy for cultural, political, and economic integration, particularly in the historical regions of Galatia and northeastern Pisidia. After the annexation of Galatia in 25 BCE, the Romans strategically established new colonies and cities as regional urban centers in areas with different settlement patterns prior to their arrival. These urban centers, equipped with sophisticated infrastructure and extensive urban frameworks, served as pivotal focal points for the cultural, economic, and religious integration of local societies into the Roman Empire. Over time, these urban centers underwent gradual expansion, with the addition of new monuments and public spaces, and societies living in the highlands began to occupy fertile lands around these new cities. By employing a comparative approach to the society and urban development of two Augustan-era foundations in Central Anatolia—Ankara and Pisidian Antioch (Yalvaç, Isparta, Turkey)—this study aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the role of urbanization in integrating diverse populations and marginal areas into the Roman Empire and transforming settlement patterns in the countryside. 

Outpost at the Edge of the Wilderness: The Continuity of Sacred Landscape from Iron Age to Hasmonean Qumran

Jacob Ferrier (New York University)

No scholarly work has been devoted to the religious character of Iron Age Qumran and only recently have some scholars begun advocating for the apparent cultic activity of the Hasmonean site. With the raison d'être of the Sect stated within the Community Rule to “prepare the way in the wilderness” to fulfill the oracle of Isaiah 40:3, it reasons that the physical landscape selected by the Sect was of paramount importance and featured prominently in their religious formulations. Yet, scholarship has failed to answer the question of why the Sect chose the Iron Age ruins of Qumran specifically upon which to build when numerous other ruined settlements were available in the Buqei’a Plateau. I propose the following revaluation of the site to tentatively answer this question. First, the Iron Age site possessed a religious character not evident through cultic or ritual objects (as none were found) but rather through its walled living spaces creating domains of restricted access and most importantly through its topographic prominence; both of which were subsequently utilized by the Hasmonean Sect to create their community of purity thus demonstrating the continuity of sacred space. And second, as Qumran was founded in the Iron Age in the hinterlands of Benjamin and Judah in order to express political power against Moab and Edom, so too did the Hasmonean settlement sit on the edge of the political border of Palestine and thus, the Sect saw the ‘wilderness’ of Isaiah as the extremity of political power mixed with their eschatological predictions. Therefore, settling Qumran as an outpost at the edge of the wilderness functioned both as a religious and political mandate by the sect stemming from the Isaiah oracle making the remnants of the Iron Age site and the landscape of Qumran a fitting choice for the later Sect.

Where are the Ancient Egyptian Farmers?

Margaret Greene (Brown University)

While farmers were the majority of the population in pharaonic Egypt, their existence has seldom been explored by scholars. This is due to issues of archaeological preservation—in most cases, the only settlements preserved are those that sit outside of the floodplain, and that were occupied by laborers who supported the royal mortuary cult. The settlements often feature large-scale granary buildings, capable of holding grain in excess of what would be needed by a single household. Thus, scholars discuss these granaries as evidence for a ‘rations’ distribution system, organized by the state or local authorities. The idea of a ‘rations’ distribution system and state management of agricultural land dominates discussions of how ancient Egyptian farmers would have engaged with their environment. 

To elaborate on this previous work, in this presentation, I will consider various approaches to better understand how the ancient Egyptian farmer would have engaged with the state in grain consolidation, evidenced by these granaries. The primary method I will employ to achieve this is ethnographic comparison, rarely used in Egyptological studies compared to other areas of ancient Mediterranean archaeology. I will discuss how the small farmer in modern Egypt interacts with state-run grain storage, used in the nationwide subsided bread program. With this example, I hope to reveal that the state, rather than being a benevolent provider of ‘rations,’ was likely a more ambiguous or even exploitative force in the lives of farmers. Finally, this ethnographic example will reveal the limited usefulness of these large-scale granaries to understand the lives of farmers and will point to the need for new excavations with a focus on how farmers themselves would have engaged with their environment.

Within the Mountains: The Mountain Imagery and Its Naturalistic Turn during the Reign of Sennacherib

Kai Huang (Peking University, School of Arts)

Among the many significant changes in art during the reign of Sennacherib, the ubiquitous rhombus-shaped textures representing mountains stand out as one of the most important visual markers. As early as the Sumerian period, circular or rhombus-shaped clusters were used to depict mountains, becoming a crucial iconographic element. However, the artisans of Sennacherib's era reimagined this method, moving beyond past symbolic representations to exhibit a distinct shift towards a naturalistic aesthetic.

This shift is evident in the rearrangement of landscape elements within the imagery. In the preceding Mesopotamian art history, mountains were always depicted as protrusions of a certain shape, often isolated and symbolic, with the iconographic textures confined solely to their interiors. In the art of Sennacherib’s reign, however, we see for the first time the depiction of mountains as background environment. Figures in the images are placed within the netlike mountain textures, rather than merely moving along the ridgelines. This integration marked a departure from earlier symbolic isolation and paved the way for a more landscape-like narrative space.

Furthermore, the mountains themselves are depicted with a richness of structural layers. The compositions sometimes feature another expanse of mountains beyond the ridgelines, thereby creating a sense of "near mountains" and "distant mountains" or “hill among mountains.” In some depictions, the artists even show downward-facing trees below upward-growing ones, using their visual language to convey the idea of a "mountain valley."

These innovations redefine the relationship between figures and their environment, introducing a new visual experience. The perspective shifts from "people on the mountains" or "people outside the mountains" to "people within the mountains.” It is this immersive perspective that highlights the background environment in the visual narratives, elevating the mountains from mere geographical markers to aestheticized landscapes in their own right.

Exploring the significance of Nippur’s riverine and agricultural landscape in Enlil & Ninlil ll.1-12

Ishbel Russell (Johns Hopkins University)

What role can landscape play in shaping and constraining narrative? And how and why might we think of landscape as erotic? This paper explores these questions through the Sumerian literary text Enlil & Ninlil, which opens with a 12-line description of the southern Babylonian city of Nippur. Across a series of parallel nominal clauses, it lays out the city’s riverine and agricultural landscape of canals, quays, wells, and irrigated fields. A number of these features are verifiably part of Nippur’s historical geography, such as the pu2-lal3 (’date-syrup-well’), the kar-ĝeštin-na (’the quay of wine’) and the I7-nun-bi-ir-du (likely ’the canal going towards its prince’), the last of which plays a key role in the ensuing narrative. However, the description incorporates rare and esoteric writings, such as dur2-ĝešĝešnimbar (’date-palm-place’) as a name for Nippur, and otherwise unattested locations like the i7-šal-la (perhaps ‘fine canal’). Moreover, it omits temporal markers and some narratively significant locations, particularly Enlil’s E2-kur and Ninlil’s Ki-ur2.

What is the significance of this series of topographical features and their descriptions? Drawing on Steve Tinney and M. Érica Couto-Ferreira’s work on erotic metaphor in Sumerian texts, this paper argues that Enlil & Ninlil ll.1-12 conveys significant erotic subtext. Moreover, I consider the implications of these lines’ position as Enlil & Ninlil’s introductory passage. Scholars such as Sara J. Milstein have highlighted introductions’ significant impact on a text’s reception and interpretation. Thus, the introduction is fertile ground for foreshadowing and shaping the coming narrative. Ultimately, I argue opening the text with emphasis on a timeless but spatially specific setting, a wet, riverine, eroticised environment, situates Enlil and Ninlil’s non-normative sexual contact in the narrative proper within a liminal landscape between the man-made and the natural, the urban and the wild.

Landscape and Environment in Sumerian Proverb Collection 2

Mason Wilkes (Johns Hopkins University)

The curriculum for Old Babylonian scribal students was divided into two general stages. The first part included rigorously copying out basic sign lists and pronunciation exercises while the second involved reproducing full works of literature. Sumerian proverb collections acted as an intermediate bridge between those two stages, in which the student encountered hundreds of playful cuneiform sentences at a time in list-like fashion. Such exercises frequently drew imagery from the everyday world, including and especially the landscape and environment of southern Mesopotamia, but they tend to be very difficult to understand. This paper draws on my recent dissertation, a re-edition of Sumerian Proverb Collection 2, to share entirely updated translations of every entry in that text referencing landscapes or environments. From just over a dozen such instances, it can be demonstrated that, like most Sumerian literature, city life was portrayed as ideal while natural life was dangerous and exposed: water drowns, the sun burns, and natural predators are everywhere. Proverbs did not convey much wisdom per se, but taught appreciation for the powers of cuneiform literature, so this paper will focus on explaining what made each proverb satisfying in its scribal context, including philological arguments that improve older translations.

Temporal Landscapes of Commerce: The Role of Credit and Debt in Structuring Time and Space in Old Assyrian Society

Taha Yurttas (Harvard University)

This paper explores the interplay between the temporal frameworks embedded in credit systems and the spatial landscapes of Old Assyrian trade. Drawing on textual evidence, it examines how credit arrangements—such as interest rates, repayment schedules, and caravan transit times—synchronized activities across the long distance between ancient Anatolia and Assyria. The premise is that credit and debt actively structured merchants’ perceptions and management of time, within the context of an expansive trade network. To succeed, Old Assyrian merchants and their Anatolian neighbors had to navigate both physical and temporal landscapes simultaneously. For instance, repayment schedules needed to align with geographic and seasonal factors, such as weather conditions, terrain challenges, festivals and harvest cycles. These dynamics are evident in the extensive archives of Old Assyrian merchants and are also reflected, in varied formats, within the few Anatolian archives available. This paper argues that the temporal landscape in economic documents was inseparable from the environmental and logistical realities of the trade, as reflected in merchants' perceptions of time, distance, and environmental challenges.