1,720,996 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
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
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
The Dargom Canal and the Early Settlement of the Middle Zeravshan Valley
No full textThe article presents the preliminary results of the investigation on the Canal Dargom (Samarkand, Uzbekistan
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
Urbanscape vs. Landscape or Urbanscape as Landscape? A case from ancient Samarkand (Sogdiana)
No full textLocated in the middle of Central Asia, Samarkand has always been a major socio-political entity of ancient Sogdiana. Despite its fame connected to the rich trade along the Great Silk Road and its monumental Timurid architecture, historically Samarkand developed in a close association with its hinterland. This paper presents the results of the activities of the “Samarkand and Its Territory” Project, which unveiled a more complex relationship between the urban landscape of the city and its regional connections. Started in 2001, the joint Uzbek-Italian Archaeological Expedition conducted research at both regional and local scales, based on a multidisciplinary approach and a specific focus on the study of the ancient irrigation system. According to the information available from Afrasiab (the ancient Samarkand), the major urbanization of this region is usually dated as early as the Achaemenid period (7th-6th centuries BC). However, data from regional surveys and stratigraphic excavations of targeted sites, suggest that this process took place later, during the Hellenistic and post-Hellenistic centuries (4th century BCE-1st century CE), and it can be explained as the result of the symbiotic relationship between the settled farmers and the semi-nomadic pastoralists
Landscape archaeology and irrigation systems in Central Asia: a view from Samarkand (Uzbekistan)
No full textThousands of archaeological mounds and relicts of irrigation canals characterize the Central Asian landscape. Unlike the Near East and Mesopotamia, which have both a long experience in landscape archaeology, in Central Asia this approach is still limited. Only recently, new cooperation programs between local institutions and international teams, as well as improved methods and technologies in recording and analyzing spatial data, have allowed for new season of research in this area of the ancient world.
Data from the Samarkand oasis (Uzbekistan) have been already used, though preliminarily, to reconstruct the historical interactions between man and the environment in this region. The main goal of this paper is to rather use the case of Samarkand to introduce some problems connected to the identification and dating of multilayered anthropic mounds (tepa) and abandoned irrigation canals. After a brief comparison between the landscape archaeology tradition in Central Asia, Mesopotamia and the Near East, methods and results from the Uzbek-Italian Archaeological Expedition in Samarkand are presented. Finally, the main markers used in chronological attribution will be considered in an attempt to provide some insights on both the benefits and limits of such a methodological approach
Reading the Great Silk Road in the Samarkand Oasis from the Activities of the Uzbek-Italian Archaeological Expedition
No full textThe paper presents the result of the two Italian archaeological expeditions at Samarkand: 1) University of Bologna (2001-present), working on the archaeological map, the study of the irrigation systems, and the excavations at the sites of Kafir Kala and Boyssartepa; 2) University of Naples L'Orientale (2008-present), focusing on the excavation of the settlement of Kojtepa
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