2,989 research outputs found
Archaeological Map of the Middle Zeravshan Valley. The Southern Sector. Volume I: Samarkand City
No full textThe book presents the archaeological maps of the Samarkand region conducted by the University of Bologna. This volume, dedicated to the district of Samarkand city, is the first of a series that includes 6 volumes. The series is edited by A. E. Berdimuradov (Institute of Archaeology in Samarkand, Uzbekistan), Simone Mantellini (University of Bologna, Italy), and the late Maurizio Tosi (University of Bologna, Italy). An international scientific board, which includes recognized specialist of Central Asia and archaeological methods, ensures this series the highest scientific standar
Irrigation Systems in Samarkand
No full textDealing with the irrigation systems in the Samarkand oasis with a historical perspective means discussing both the canals watering the territory and the city supply. Commonly considered as the major center in the trade network along the Silk Road, since ancient times, the wealth of Maracanda (Samarkand in Greek sources) is based on a mixed economy, combining the irrigated agriculture in the floodplain with breeding and herding in the uncultivated steppe. However, like many other areas of Central Asia with low rainfall (ca. 350–400 mm/year) and arid environmental conditions, Samarkand and its territory could develop because of a complex irrigation network. The water of the Zeravshan, which is the third longest river of Central Asia, gives rise to the whole system. Springs and wells are less important and usually connected to the water supply in rural mountain areas
Preface: Boris V. Andrianov and the Archaeology of Irrigation
No full textAncient Irrigation Systems in the Aral Sea Area is the English translation of Boris Vasilevich Andrianov’s work, Drevnie orositelnye sistemy priaralya, concerning the study of ancient irrigation systems and the settlement pattern in the historical region of Khorezm, around the southern Aral Sea (today northern Uzbekistan and western Kazakhstan). This work holds a special place in the Soviet archaeological school because of the results obtained through a multidisciplinary approach
combining aerial archaeological surveys, fieldwork and excavations with disciplines such as geography, botany and geology. This translation has been enriched by the addition of introductions written by several eminent scholars from the region regarding the importance of the Khorezm Archaeological-Ethnographic Expedition, the figure of Boris V. Andrianov and his landmark study almost 50 years after the original publication
A city and its landscape across time: Samarkand in the ancient Sogdiana (Uzbekistan)
No full textLocated in the heartland of Central Asia, Samarkand has always been an economic, cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious hub along the ancient Silk Road. A regional approach, based on a GIS remote sensing assessment followed by field validation, was used here to reconstruct the urban evolution of Samarkand in connection with its hinterland. The basic archaeological features in the landscape (anthropic mounds, canals and burials) allowed us to reconstruct the main forms of land use and resource exploitation according to site distribution and chronology. If Samarkand was established as early as the Achaemenid period (late 6th century BCE), the evidence dated to that time from its hinterland is scarce. A first significant increase occurred during the post-Hellenistic centuries (3rd-1st centuries BCE), and reached the peak at the time of the most intense trade along the Silk Road just before the major changes following the Arab conquest of the early 8th century CE. Data also demonstrated how the development of Samarkand must be closely linked with a proper exploitation of its territory. A massive and complex irrigation system in the floodplain ensured the supply of water necessary to develop extensive farming and daily-life activities, while rain-fed foothills were used as pastures
Archeologia del Paesaggio
No full textIntervista rilasciata alla trasmissione RAI Community, Puntata 27 del 10 Novembre 2015 (minuti 27:00-33:00
Aquam Ducere II. Proceedings of the Second International Summer Scho- ol “Water and the City: Hydraulic Sy- stems in Roman Age” (Feltre, 24th -28th August 2015), a cura di Eugenio Tam- burrino, Seren del Grappa, Edizioni DBS, 2018, 238 pp.
No full textAquam Ducere II. Proceedings of the Second International Summer Scho- ol “Water and the City: Hydraulic Sy- stems in Roman Age” (Feltre, 24th
-28th
August 2015), a cura di Eugenio Tam- burrino, Seren del Grappa, Edizioni DBS, 2018, 238 pp., con illustrazioni BN
Il volume raccoglie gli atti della Seconda Summer School Internazionale dedicata
all’ingegneria idraulica in epoca romana tenutasi a Feltre nell’agosto 2015. Que- sto volume segue il primo, pubblicato nel 2016 sempre a cura di Eugenio Tam- burrino
GIS and remote sensing for a preliminary assessment of the archaeological landscape in the Eblaite chora (Syria)
No full textThe paper focuses on the preliminary assessment of the archaeological landscape around Tell Mardikh-Ebla (Syria). The ERC funded Ebla Chora Project allowed to conduct a systematic collection of findings from the site and its surrounding neighbors. The information from previous surveys was combined with the data from spatial datasets (topographical maps, aerial photos, satellite images, DEMs) in order to provide a first inventory of sites of the Eblaite chora. A preliminary interpretation of the development of settlement pattern and territory exploitation is now possible, especially for the Early Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC) when Ebla was the capital of a vast kingdom. Many potential sites were also detected, however their validation requires a field inspection which is currently suspended because of the civil war
Investigating the Core of the Urban Asset of the Site : Excavation of Trench 9
No full textThe new investigation program at Banbhore focused on Trench 9. Two campaigns revealed the presence of three buildings located at the corners of an important street intersection. The excavation of Building 1 unearthed two main occupational phases. The latest, dated to the 12th-early 13th centuries CE, is characterized by the division in three rooms, where mud floors were alternated to anthropic fillings containing a large quantity of artefacts, especially ivory offcuts. The earliest phase, opened only partially, shows the presence of two pavements made of fired tiles. They were replaced after a dramatic event, which also caused the rebuilding of the main perimeter walls. The excavation of the South-North street between buildings 1 and 3 unearthed several street levels, which used a large quantity of ivory wastes in their preparation
Uzbek-Italian Archaeological Project "Samarkand and Its Territory"
No full textThe Uzbek-Italian Archaeological Project – UIAP “Samarkand and Its Territory” began in 2001 as a collaboration between the University of Bologna – Department of History and Cultures (formerly Archaeology) and the Institute of Archaeology of the Uzbek Academy of Sciences. The main financial sponsors are the University of Bologna, the International Mediterranean and Oriental Studies Association– ISMEO (formerlyIsIAO), and the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
The project’s purpose was to make a diachronic study of the city of Samarkand, which was for a long time the capital of ancient Sogdiana and an important crossroads on the Silk Road, and its relationship to settlement dynamics and landscape transformations from the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages. Research concerned both regional and local scales and focused on specific topics such as human-environment interactions, the relationship between sedentary farmers and semi-mobile pastoralists, and the development of irrigation systems. Activities included: geoarchaeological surveys; investigation of key sites (Kafir Kala, Boyssartepa, and minor sites); study of the material culture and faunal remains; preparation ofGIS models, remote sensing, and cartography
Survey Around Banbhore
No full textA preliminary survey around the fortified settlement of Banbhore has been done in December 2018 in order to provide a first assessment of the anthropic evidence in this area. A fieldwork was done using both historical and recent satellite images as basemap and a handle GPS for data acquisition. The fieldwork resulted in the identification of ca. ten sites. The most relevant ones are two possible kilns for fired bricks, located NW of the citadel and part of the large “industrial area” already identified by F. A. Khan. On the other side, at the edge of the outer town at East, three mounds made of stepped stone walls shaped a likely bridge allowing the passage over the cree
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