Bridging the Gap: Disciplines, Times, and Spaces in Dialogue Volume 3 Sessions 4 and 6 from the Conference Broadening Horizons 6 Held at the Freie Universität Berlin, 24–28 June 2019 (Coppini, Cyrus, Golestaneh eds.), 2022
This paper explores the development of the centre of Hatra from the first settlement to the fall ... more This paper explores the development of the centre of Hatra from the first settlement to the fall of the city in AD 240/1. Published and unpublished archaeological, historical, and epigraphical data have been used to propose the different phases
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Papers by Enrico Foietta
new light on the way of cooking, drinking and banqueting
at Hatra during the 2nd and 3rd cent. CE in
North Mesopotamia, testifying local and shared customs.
New interpretation will be given especially on
bread and flour production for the identification of
particular structures attested in the archaeological context
and on different productive and specialized areas
identified thanks to the discovery of other findings.
L’articolo riguarda una rivalutazione generale del "palazzo fortificato" di Khirbet Jaddalah (Iraq), costruito tra Hatra e Ashur durante il II e III sec. d.C. Il sito è stato studiato in stretta relazione con il paesaggio circostante (km 20 x 20) per la presenza di molte attestazioni archeologiche, specialmente forti quadrangolari. Il modello di insediamento, l'ubicazione delle strutture fortificate, le caratteristiche della società e dell'ambiente del Regno di Hatra sostengono l'impiego di una strategia di difesa in profondità piuttosto che l'idea di una difesa lineare di confine.
study about the movable altars and burners in stone
from Hatra (2nd-3rd cent. AD). The catalogue comprehends
all the published objects from the Iraqi Expeditions
and burners from the Building A and the
North Street discovered by the Italian Expedition at
Hatra. The find-spots, the possible functions and the
comparisons will be analysed in order to shed light
on this interesting class of objects.
the valley of Shami, in nowadays Khuzestan, about 30 km north of the modern city of
Izeh (Iran), on October 2013. The site, already investigated in 1936 for a few days by Sir
Marc Aurel Stein following the accidental discovery of outstanding antiquities now in the
Iran Bastan Museum, Tehran, namely the amazing bronze statue portraying a nobleman in
Parthian dress, revealed traces of monumental terraces built in undressed stones and placed,
at different elevations, following the natural slope of the valley. The terraces must have sup-
ported large buildings, or even complexes of buildings of various type, size and technique,
almost certainly made for religious purposes, progressively plundered over the centuries.
The religious complex at Kal-e Chendar, considered in the archaeological literature as one
of the most reputed religious places of Hellenistic and Parthian Elymais, was however of
particular type as a wide cemetery occupied the areas surrounding the terraces, at least at
a given moment, thus implying that the religious and funerary functions were here strictly
interrelated. The tombs, underground saddle or flat-roofed chambers made in undressed
stones, seem to have been part of more articulated funerary complexes, in which corridors,
sometimes stepped, were used as walkways to other – buried or semi-buried – structures.
The monumental impression of some tombs leads to an aristocratic milieu. The funerary
goods testify to the customs of a wealthy plutocracy, well accustomed to the cultural and
artistic trends of the Hellenistic and Parthian upper classes.
new light on the way of cooking, drinking and banqueting
at Hatra during the 2nd and 3rd cent. CE in
North Mesopotamia, testifying local and shared customs.
New interpretation will be given especially on
bread and flour production for the identification of
particular structures attested in the archaeological context
and on different productive and specialized areas
identified thanks to the discovery of other findings.
L’articolo riguarda una rivalutazione generale del "palazzo fortificato" di Khirbet Jaddalah (Iraq), costruito tra Hatra e Ashur durante il II e III sec. d.C. Il sito è stato studiato in stretta relazione con il paesaggio circostante (km 20 x 20) per la presenza di molte attestazioni archeologiche, specialmente forti quadrangolari. Il modello di insediamento, l'ubicazione delle strutture fortificate, le caratteristiche della società e dell'ambiente del Regno di Hatra sostengono l'impiego di una strategia di difesa in profondità piuttosto che l'idea di una difesa lineare di confine.
study about the movable altars and burners in stone
from Hatra (2nd-3rd cent. AD). The catalogue comprehends
all the published objects from the Iraqi Expeditions
and burners from the Building A and the
North Street discovered by the Italian Expedition at
Hatra. The find-spots, the possible functions and the
comparisons will be analysed in order to shed light
on this interesting class of objects.
the valley of Shami, in nowadays Khuzestan, about 30 km north of the modern city of
Izeh (Iran), on October 2013. The site, already investigated in 1936 for a few days by Sir
Marc Aurel Stein following the accidental discovery of outstanding antiquities now in the
Iran Bastan Museum, Tehran, namely the amazing bronze statue portraying a nobleman in
Parthian dress, revealed traces of monumental terraces built in undressed stones and placed,
at different elevations, following the natural slope of the valley. The terraces must have sup-
ported large buildings, or even complexes of buildings of various type, size and technique,
almost certainly made for religious purposes, progressively plundered over the centuries.
The religious complex at Kal-e Chendar, considered in the archaeological literature as one
of the most reputed religious places of Hellenistic and Parthian Elymais, was however of
particular type as a wide cemetery occupied the areas surrounding the terraces, at least at
a given moment, thus implying that the religious and funerary functions were here strictly
interrelated. The tombs, underground saddle or flat-roofed chambers made in undressed
stones, seem to have been part of more articulated funerary complexes, in which corridors,
sometimes stepped, were used as walkways to other – buried or semi-buried – structures.
The monumental impression of some tombs leads to an aristocratic milieu. The funerary
goods testify to the customs of a wealthy plutocracy, well accustomed to the cultural and
artistic trends of the Hellenistic and Parthian upper classes.
This volume is devoted to the study of the landscape surrounding Hatra and of the development of this important city, drawing on published information gathered by Iraqi and foreign expeditions, as well as unpublished data garnered from over fifteen years of fieldwork at the site by the Italian Archaeological Expedition.
The study of the landscape comprehends the morphology, hydrology and geology of the region and offers new proposals regarding the exploitation of natural resources and the development of regional and local routes through the territory under Hatra’s political and military control during the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD.
The analysis of Hatra as an urban centre consists of a detailed study of the city’s hydrology, street network and urban areas, with the purpose of detecting the principles behind the planning and development of the city. The main elements of the urban space are treated in this book: the Temenos area and the Small Shrines, the Necropoles, the Fortifications, the Houses, and the Palaces. Due to the cross-referencing of archaeological, historical and epigraphic data, new ideas have been proposed regarding the chronological phases of urbanism at Hatra, from its foundation up to the destruction of the city by the Sasanian army in AD 241.
Questo volume è dedicato allo studio del territorio e dell’urbanistica di questo importante sito antico, impiegando contestualmente informazioni edite, raccolte dalle varie missioni irachene e straniere che si sono avvicendate sul terreno, e inedite, provenienti dal vasto Archivio della Missione Archeologica Italiana a Hatra in più di quindici anni di ricerche sul campo.
Lo studio del territorio definisce un quadro dettagliato della morfologia, idrologia e geologia della regione e dell’area prossima al centro, oltre a proporre alcune nuove ipotesi interpretative sullo sfruttamento delle risorse ambientali, sull’articolazione della rete viaria periurbana e regionale e sull’estensione del territorio sottoposto al controllo politico e militare della città durante il II e III sec. d.C.
L’analisi urbanistica comprende uno studio approfondito dell’idrologia cittadina, della rete stradale e delle aree urbane, allo scopo di individuarne le principali caratteristiche ed eventuali regole nella pianificazione e nello sviluppo della città. Nel libro sono inoltre analizzati i principali elementi che compongono il tessuto urbano: il Temenos e i templi minori, le necropoli, le difese cittadine, le case e i palazzi. Grazie all’utilizzo contestuale del dato archeologico, storico ed epigrafico, è stato inoltre possibile formulare nuove ipotesi sulle fasi urbanistiche e sulla cronologia di Hatra dalla fondazione alla sua distruzione, avvenuta per mano sasanide nel 241 d.C.
The extraordinary side-spouted gold jug hereby presented and discussed was found in the Royal Tomb III discovered under room 57 in the North-West Palace at Nimrud. The gold jug was, with other astonishing grave goods probably belonging to Hamâ (an Assyrian queen unknown up to recent times), in bronze Coffin 2, one of the three coffins placed in the antechamber. The aim of this study is not only to shed light on this unique vessel, investigating the method of manufacture, decoration, and functional aspect, but also to identify the possible workshop and date range of production. The comparison with coeval archaeological findings places it within a historical framework of artistic, economic and socio-political interactions. The combined results of these analyses suggest that the golden jug, instead of a gift or tribute, may have been produced for the royal court in the Neo-Assyrian international cultural milieu, into which manifold traditions coexisted.
The study of the landscape of the Kingdom of Hatra uses an interdisciplinary methodology with the integration of survey data, remote sensing techniques and historical and cartographic sources, as the Tabula Peutingeriana. It has allowed to reconstruct with a reasonable certainty the road network of the region, detecting a significant number of hollow-ways, traces of ancient routes, easily identifiable on CORONA images and aerial photographs. The research conducted confirms and integrates the study published in 2003 by Stephan Hauser and David J. Tucker, who identified two main regional routes in the region and a diffuse network of streets around Hatra, the capital centre with an extension of approx. 300 he, and some of the main settlements of the area in this period.
Two hypothetical tracks were used by nomadic or semi-nomadic tribes allied to Hatra for crossing the Jazirah up to the Euphrates in an apparently ‘no men lands’ without settlements for the worst climatic and environmental conditions. This tracks allowed probably also in ancient time the exploit of the salt marshes, quoted in Hatran inscriptions.
The defensive system of the Kingdom of Hatra did not comprehend the existence of fortified limes. However, some forts of the Parthian period are connected by routes, allowing a quick connection for troop displacement.
The funerary inscriptions found in Tomb IIU show that the burial belonged to Mulissu-Mukanishat-Ninua, Assurnasirpal's wife, even if at least 13 individuals -males, females, children- were buried in the following decades into three bronze coffins located in the antechamber. Coffin no. 2, the lower of the two coffins on the antechamber eastside, stood out for its astonishing grave goods. These include a side-spouted gold jug (I.M. 115618), whose shape and decoration, characterized by figurative repoussé bands, provide clear indications of the rich international repertoire of the artefacts at the Assyrian court. The vessel analysis (shape, iconography, functional purpose) and comparison with coeval materials lead to postulate that it could have been committed by the court in the context of a cultural milieu into which manifold traditions coexisted, or even maybe an object imported into Assyria as a gift or tribute.
The paper concerns the results of a general revaluation of the fortifications, using published and unpublished information belonging to the Italian Expedition. The large amount of data, including 2500 images, notebooks and commented plans, has been gathered within a GIS-database, produced from the topography of the Italian Expedition. Thanks to this revaluation, a new chronology of the defences can be proposed.
An important part of this work regards the study of the city gates, including their architectural elements and the archaeological findings. According to these data, it is possible to suggest that the city-gates were complex spaces where different functions probably coexisted.