Archeologia: nel cuore dell'antico impero Assiro scoperti centinaia di siti sconosciuti, bassorilievi, acquedotti e una necropoli

Il cuore dell’impero Assiro, che dominò l’antica Mesopotamia nel I millennio a.C., si svela alla missione archeologica dell’Università di Udine nell’Iraq settentrionale (Regione del Kurdistan iracheno). La prima campagna di ricerca ha portato alla scoperta di 239 siti archeologici finora sconosciuti di epoca compresa tra il IX millennio a.C. e il periodo medievale e ottomano, di cinque acquedotti dell’VIII-VII secolo a.C. e di una serie di grandi canali irrigui a essi collegati, di una vasta necropoli del XIX-XVIII secolo a.C. e di bassorilievi rupestri del VII secolo a.C. La missione ha inoltre iniziato il lavoro preliminare alla realizzazione di un grande parco archeologico-ambientale la cui creazione è stata chiesta all’Ateneo friulano dall’Unesco, che ne supervisionerà la realizzazione.

Quella promossa dall’Università di Udine è la prima ricerca archeologica intensiva, sistematica e interdisciplinare condotta su larga scala nella “Terra di Ninive”, un’area della Mesopotamia settentrionale di 2900 chilometri quadrati, a cavallo fra le province di Ninive (Mosul) e Dohuk. La regione è l’entroterra della grande città (750 ettari di superficie con una popolazione di circa 20 mila abitanti) che nel I millennio a.C. divenne la capitale dell’impero neo-assiro. La missione archeologica italiana in Assiria rientra nel “Progetto archeologico regionale Terra di Ninive” (PARTeN) coordinato dall’Ateneo friulano e finanziato dalla Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia attraverso Informest, dalla Provincia di Udine e dal Ministero degli Affari esteri.

La prima campagna è durata tre mesi, da luglio a ottobre. Vi ha partecipato un team composto da una trentina di persone fra docenti, studenti, specializzandi e dottorandi delle università di Udine, Venezia e Verona, nonché specialisti degli Atenei di Milano, Modena e Reggio Emilia, Venezia e dell’Istituto per le Tecnologie applicate ai Beni culturali del Cnr di Roma. «Le scoperte fatte finora sono andate ben oltre le più ottimistiche aspettative», sottolinea il direttore della missione, Daniele Morandi Bonacossi, professore di Archeologia del Vicino Oriente antico all’Università di Udine. Uno degli obiettivi più importanti delle ricerche appena concluse è costituito dalla ricostruzione geoarcheologica e topografica dell’imponente, e ancora poco conosciuto, sistema idraulico costruito fra VIII e VII sec. a.C. dal sovrano assiro Sennacherib (705-681 a.C.) per portare l’acqua a Ninive. «Al ramificato sistema irriguo delle zone retrostanti a Ninive – spiega Morandi Bonacossi – si collegano i primi acquedotti monumentali della storia e una serie di rilievi rupestri di grandi dimensioni raffiguranti il re e le principali divinità assire». 

Centinaia di siti archeologici sconosciuti. Un’intensa ricognizione del grande territorio compreso fra la valle del Tigri e il Monte Maqloub ha permesso di scoprire 239 nuovi siti archeologici databili fra la preistoria più antica (Epipaleolitico e Neolitico – 16.000 a.C. circa) e l’epoca islamica (inizio del XX secolo d.C.). I momenti di maggior insediamento nella regione corrispondono alla metà del III millennio a.C. e al periodo neo-assiro (IX-VII secolo a.C.), quando nell’entroterra di Ninive esistevano più di cento siti insediati fra città fortificate, villaggi e fattorie disperse in un grande territorio irrigato in maniera intensiva da canali e acquedotti del sistema idraulico di Sennacherib.

I bassorilievi rupestri e gli acquedotti. Alcuni dei risultati più importanti della prima campagna sono il frutto della ricognizione archeologica del sistema idraulico per approvvigionare d’acqua Ninive e irrigare la campagna del suo entroterra. Le ricerche dei grandi canali tagliati nella roccia o scavati nella terra dagli ingegneri assiri hanno permesso di scoprire cinque nuovi acquedotti costruiti con blocchi di pietra perfettamente lavorati e di individuare il percorso compiuto dal canale presso l’odierno villaggio di Faideh. Qui, sul fianco del canale, la missione dell’Università di Udine ha scoperto sei bassorilievi scolpiti nella roccia, parte di una serie straordinaria di nove bassorilievi quasi completamente sepolti dai detriti accumulatisi nei secoli. Di essi, fino ad oggi, erano noti solo tre, rappresentanti una processione con le principali divinità del pantheon assiro. «È un ritrovamento di portata eccezionale – evidenzia Morandi Bonacossi – e probabilmente altri bassorilievi saranno individuati nella prossima campagna quando il canale, già identificato per un tratto di circa 6 chilometri, sarà scavato in collaborazione con il direttore delle Antichità di Dohuk, Hassan Qasim». 

La necropoli paleo-assira. La missione udinese ha anche scoperto un’estesa necropoli a inumazione del periodo paleo-assiro (XIX-XVIII sec. a.C.) nel sito di Tell Gomel (V millennio a.C.), lungo il fiume Gomel nella pianura ai piedi del Monte Maqloub. La necropoli è costituita da una serie di ricche tombe a camera costruite con mattoni cotti e struttura ad arco. L’indagine archeologica di Tell Gomel ha documentato l’esistenza di un’occupazione ininterrotta del sito che va dal periodo Calcolitico all’epoca ottomana (circa 5000 a.C. – XX secolo d.C.). L’area si estende su una superficie di circa 16 ettari, ha un’acropoli che domina la pianura circostante da un’altezza di circa 40 metri e una vasta città bassa che si estende ai piedi dell’acropoli. «Il grande studioso inglese Sir Aurel Stein – spiega Morandi Bonacossi – nel suo Limes Report (1938-1939, pubblicato nel 1985) colloca nella pianura circostante Tell Gomel il campo di battaglia di Gaugamela, dove nel 331 a.C. Alessandro Magno sconfisse Dario III, aprendo così la strada alla definitiva conquista dell’impero persiano». 

Il parco archeologico-ambientale. Obiettivo del parco è tutelare e musealizzare il paesaggio culturale della “Terra di Ninive” rendendolo fruibile al pubblico. Al centro c’è il sistema idraulico di Sennacherib con i suoi monumenti (acquedotto di Jerwan) e i grandi rilievi rupestri di Maltai, Faideh, Shiru Maliktha e Khinis. «La creazione del parco e la definizione dei perimetri delle aree di protezione con vincolo archeologico – spiega Morandi Bonacossi – costituiranno la base di un’importante iniziativa di valorizzazione e disseminazione della conoscenza rivolta al grande pubblico e al turismo nazionale e internazionale che si fonderà sulla conservazione e musealizzazione dei siti, sulla proposta per l’inserimento del sistema idraulico assiro e dell’intero paesaggio culturale ad esso connesso nella World Heritage List dell’Unesco e sulla creazione di un sistema informativo geografico pubblicato su web (WebGis) accessibile al pubblico».

Il progetto PARTeN. È un’ampia ricerca multidisciplinare promossa dall’Università di Udine grazie al fondamentale sostegno della Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia attraverso Informest, nonché della Provincia di Udine e del Ministero degli Affari esteri. Obiettivo del progetto è ricostruire la formazione e l’evoluzione del paesaggio culturale e naturale della “Terra di Ninive” fra Paleolitico ed epoca islamica e garantirne la valorizzazione e la tutela in forme innovative. La ricerca si basa su una ricognizione archeologica di superficie a carattere regionale, integrata dallo scavo archeologico del sito di Tell Gomel. Il progetto mira a ricostruire i modelli d’insediamento nella regione, l’utilizzo e la gestione del suo territorio, soprattutto nelle sue risorse fondamentali, acqua e suoli agricoli. A ciò s’accompagna lo studio delle dinamiche insediative e demografiche, la ricerca sulla cultura materiale della regione e la sua evoluzione. Questi scopi s’integrano strettamente con la ricostruzione geo e bioarcheologica dell’ambiente naturale antico e della sua evoluzione come conseguenza di fluttuazioni climatiche globali e dell’impatto antropico. Al centro della ricerca vi sono altre problematiche specifiche, come lo studio del I millennio a.C., epoca in cui la regione costituiva il cuore geografico e politico dell’impero assiro. «Molto poco infatti – sottolinea Morandi Bonacossi – si sa dell’entroterra di Ninive e dei modelli d’insediamento e uso del territorio in questa regione così importante per il sostentamento della capitale».

After decades in which the complex political and military events that have marked the recent history of Iraq prevented foreign missions from conducting archaeological research in the field, an Italian archaeological expedition from the University of Udine has begun an extensive archaeological and palaeoenvironmental research project in the Region of Iraqi Kurdistan (northern Iraq). 

From July to the beginning of October 2012, the Italian Archaeological Mission to Assyria (IAMA), directed by Daniele Morandi Bonacossi (deputy director Marco Iamoni), has embarked on a new research endeavour called “Land of Nineveh Regional Project” (LoNRP) supported by research grants from the Region Friuli Venezia Giulia-Informest, the Udine Province and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Even at this early stage, the project has given exceptional results, such as the discovery of six unknown Assyrian rock reliefs representing a procession of deities along a stretch of the Assyrian canal probably built by Sennacherib at Faideh and of five aqueducts along the Khinis canal (s. below). 

The project is a wide-ranging interdisciplinary research project aimed at understanding the formation and evolution of the cultural and natural landscape of a most important part of northern Mesopotamia that bridges the provinces of Nineveh (Mosul) and Dohuk, from the Palaeolithic until the Islamic period, and enabling its valorisation and protection using innovative strategies. The research, conducted in a region of approximately 2900 km² delimited by the plain of Dohuk and the foothills of the Taurus to the N, Lake Eski Mosul to the W, the plain extending to Jebel Maqloub and the Bardarash region to the S and the River Al-Khazir to the E, is based on an archaeological survey combined with archaeological excavations at several selected sites. 

Research is primarily targeted to reconstruct patterns of settlement and land use within the region. This will be flanked by the study of settlement and demographic dynamics and the material culture of the region, together with a geo- and bio-archaeological reconstruction of the ancient natural landscape and its evolution under the influence of global climatic fluctuations and human impact. 

Together with this reconstruction of the regional cultural landscape over time, LoNRP is also focused on specific goals, such as the archaeological investigation of the formation process of the Assyrian Empire during the second and first millennia BC. Little is known about the modes of settlement and land-use in the area behind Nineveh, the city which was a main Assyrian religious centre during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages as a centre of worship of Ishtar, and became the geographic and political core of Assyria during Sennacherib’s reign (705-681 BC), the capital of a vast empire. LoNRP is the first intensive, systematic and interdisciplinary archaeological research project to be conducted in the heart of the Assyrian Empire. In this context, one of the most important objectives is the geoarchaeological and topographical restitution of the as yet little-known canal system built in the 8^th-7^th centuries BC by Sennacherib to bring water to Nineveh. This branching irrigation network in Nineveh’s hinterland was linked to outstanding monuments erected by Sennacherib: the first monumental aqueduct in history (Jerwan) and a series of impressive rock carvings in relief depicting the principal Assyrian gods (Khinis, Shiru Maliktha, Faideh and Maltai). 

Remotely-sensed imagery interpretation and field survey have led to the discovery of a remarkable number of sites (239). Nearly all of them fall in the range between less than a hectare and 4-5 ha in area. Only three sites are significantly larger: Ger-e-pan in the western piedmont plain to the south of Dohuk (15 ha), Jerrahiyah in the Ba’adreh piedmont plain (10 ha), and Tell Gomel in the Bardarash alluvial plain (16 ha). None of them, however, belongs to the class of the “giant” tells which are known from the adjacent Iraqi and Syrian Jezirah. The first results of the regional survey seem to suggest that between the 4^th mill. BC and the Islamic period, the Taurus piedmont area to the east of the Upper Iraqi Tigris Valley was not affected by widespread and substantial urbanization comparable to that found in the neighbouring regions. 

Three main settlement peaks have been recorded: the mid-third millennium BC, corresponding to the EJZ 3 period in the adjacent Jezirah (c. 2600-2350 BC), sees a massive occupation boom which, however, was not paralleled by the growth of large urban centres. The absolute peak in regional settlement, though, was reached during the Neo-Assyrian epoch, when the survey area located in Nineveh’s agricultural hinterland became the capital’s granary and the expanded settlement already recorded for the Middle Assyrian period further increased, leading to the occupation of nearly every settlement which has yielded surface ceramic assemblages. Finally, the Islamic period (in particular the Middle Islamic epoch) represented a further significant phase of flourishing settlement in the area. 

Extremely important results have been obtained also from the reconnaissance of Sennacherib’s irrigation system, which had already been studied through remotely-sensed imagery (Ur, J. 2005: Sennacherib’s Northern Assyrian Canals: New Insights from Satellite Imagery and Aerial Photography, Iraq67, 317-345), but to date has only been confirmed by fieldwork to a very limited extent (Oates, D. 1968: Studies in the Ancient History of Northern Iraq, London; Reade, J.E. 1978: Studies in Assyrian Geography, RA 72: 47-72 and 157-180). Two stretches of the king’s hydraulic system have been explored: a sector of the Faideh canal and part of the Khinis system.

The survey of the Faideh canal along the flanks of Jebel Al-Qosh has led to the identification of several portions in the area of the canal head, which was probably fed by a series of karst springs located in a small wadi on the northern flank of the mountain. The canal is almost everywhere buried under colluvial deposits and is still visible today only where wadis intersect its course and erosion has uncovered it. Where the canal reached the modern village of Faideh and turned south to circumvent the western part of the Jebel Al-Qosh, the Italian Archaeological Mission to Assyria discovered a series of rock-reliefs that had been carved into the rock into which the canal itself was cut. Along the Assyrian canal there are at least nine reliefs. Three of these are already known in the scientific literature (Reade 1978 and Boehmer, R.M. 1997: Bemerkungen bzw. Ergänzungen zu Ğerwan, Khinis und Faidhi, BaM 28, 245-249), while six new reliefs have been uncovered by IAMA. The reliefs, of which only the upper part can be seen at the surface, probably depict a procession of Assyrian gods (similar to those carved on the four Maltai panels), whose crowns are visible in the upper part of the rock panels. 

The collection of archaeological monuments and structures present at Faideh (including, e.g., stone walls built in the wadis that intersect the canal path, probably in order to protect it from flash-floods) constitutes an extraordinary and absolutely unique group of archaeological monuments. It is a matter of great urgency to develop a program of exploration, conservation, protection and management, to be implemented as soon as possible in cooperation with the Dohuk Directorate of Antiquities – and, if possible, UNESCO – with the aim of preventing the damaging of these exceptional reliefs, which will be jointly excavated with the DA of Dohuk during the following 2013 excavation campaign. 

Several stretches of the Khinis canal have also been investigated and recorded on the ground. To the south of the Khinis monumental site the canal, which was cut into the conglomerates of the Upper Bakhtiari Formation, is intersected by a series of deeply cut wadis with different catchment areas and widths. Five of these were crossed thanks to the construction of stone aqueducts, which were built with the same material (limestone blocks quarried at Khinis, see below), structure and technique as that at Jerwan. This exceptional discovery shows that the famous Jerwan aqueduct was not a unique and isolated construction, but that wherever it was necessary to bridge large wadis and deep ravines the Assyrian engineers built stone aqueducts. 

At the site of Khinis, behind the “Great Relief” and the famous sculptured canal head, a limestone quarry has been identified by Bachmann and Jacobsen and Lloyd (Bachmann, W. 1927: Felsreliefs in Assyrien, Bawian, Maltai und Gundük, WVDOG 52, Leipzig; Jacobsen, Th. and Lloyd, S. 1935: Sennacherib’s Aqueduct at Jerwan, OIP 24, Chicago). Jacobsen and Lloyd suggested that the limestone ashlars used to build the Jerwan aqueduct were quarried here. This hypothesis has been confirmed by a petrographic comparison between two limestone samples taken from Jerwan and the Khinis quarry. 

As is well known, the inclined surface giving access to the quarry located behind the canal head is dotted with dozens of circular pits with a diameter of about 0.8-1 m. On the basis of comparison with a similar evidence uncovered at the akītu-house built by Sennacherib in Assur, Bachmann suggested that these pits were used to plant trees or shrubs in order to create a garden behind the sculptured limestone monolith of the canal head. However, an analysis of ancient Roman quarrying techniques has shown that stone blocks were moved along the sloping surfaces of quarries on wooden rollers or drays. In order to better control these heavy loads, their descent was slowed by ropes attached to wooden poles or stanchions set in large rock-hewn pits of the same size and shape as those found at Khinis, and laid out in a similar arrangement. The same technique was also used until the 1960s in the Carrara marble quarries in Tuscany. The dozens of round pits seen in the Khinis quarry are very likely evidence of ancient Assyrian quarrying techniques. 

In cooperation with the Iraqi authorities IAMA will create an archaeological and natural park of the Dohuk region, including Sennacherib’s irrigation system and the related monuments of Khinis, Jerwan, Shiru Maliktha, Faideh and Maltai. The park’s purpose will be the conservation and opening to visitors of these monumental sites, associated with the preparation of a candidacy proposal for inclusion of the Assyrian canal system and the entire cultural landscape linked to it in the UNESCO World Heritage List, and the creation of a WebGIS available for public access. 

Finally, a test excavation was started at the site of Tell Gomel, located along the River Gomel near the modern town of Kalakchi. The archaeological survey conducted by IAMA has documented the existence at the site of a complete settlement sequence ranging from the Chalcolithic to the Middle Islamic and Ottoman periods (c. 5000 BC-early 20^th century AD). 

The site, which covers a total area of about 16 ha, features an elevated upper town (about 40 m above the surrounding plain) that dominates an extensive lower town. Due to its fairly large size and position in the centre of the fertile and richly watered plain of Bardarash, which is crossed by the Rivers Gomel, Nardush and Khazir (all tributaries of the Upper Zab), Tell Gomel may have played an important role in this region as its political and economic centre. 

Sir Aurel Stein in his Limes Report (1938-1939, published in 1985) placed the battlefield of Gaugamela in the plain surrounding Tell Gomel, where in 331 BC Alexander the Great defeated Darius III, thus definitively conquering the Persian Empire. 

A trial trench dug in the southern lower city of Tell Gomel has identified some unique Neo-Assyrian incineration graves and an underlying Khabur period cemetery with multiple burials in vaulted baked-brick graves.