About UTARP

The Upper Tigris Archaeological Research Project (UTARP) is a multi-year archaeological excavation and survey project aimed at defining archaeological correlates of ancient imperialism, colonialism and culture contact in an area that was, for much of Mesopotamian history, a frontier zone between the centralized states of Mesopotamia and the much less centralized cultures of its Anatolian periphery. By combining both regional and intensive archaeological surveys with excavations at several key archaeological sites in the Upper Tigris River Valley of southeastern Anatolia this project will contribute to the growing body of literature on ancient empires and the formation and mutation of culture in frontier zones.

UTARP is also a rescue project. Until recently the southeastern corner of modern Turkey was, from an archaeological point of view, virtually unexplored. However, archaeological research in this area was greatly intensified with the announcement by the Turkish government of ambitious development plans for the area. As part of the Southeastern Anatolian Development Project (G.A.P.), the Turkish government is in the process of constructing a series of dams on the major waterways in southeastern Turkey. These dams are intended to produce electrical energy for industrial development and supply water for large-scale irrigation schemes. The economic benefits of such an ambitious development project are obviously very high, but at the same time the construction of these dams and the development in terms of industry and agriculture pose a considerable threat to the rich, and largely undocumented, cultural remains of the region.

UTARP began in 1998 when the director studied ceramic collections in the Diyarbakir Museum in southeastern Turkey and visited several sites in the Upper Tigris River Valley one hour east of Diyarbakir. During the summer of 1999 UTARP team members conducted salvage excavations at the site of Boztepe, and carried out intensive surveys in and around the site of Talavash Tepe. During the summers of 2000 and 2001 UTARP undertook excavations at the large multi-period mound of Kenan Tepe. The site of Kenan Tepe is located about fifteen kilometers east of the modern town of Bismil just off the Diyarbakir to Batman highway in southeastern Turkey. It stands on a limestone outcropping commanding a beautiful view of the Tigris river as it winds its way through the Upper Tigris River Valley. Kenan Tepe is a relatively large mound measuring about five hectares in size and more than twenty meters in height. We plan to continue digging at Kenan Tepe for the next five to seven years.

Excavations at Kenan Tepe present us with a unique opportunity to examine archaeological correlates of imperialism, colonialism, culture contact and hybridization in various periods of ancient Near Eastern history. It is our hope that we will eventually be able to evaluate how imperialism and colonialism in various periods shaped and reshaped culture and settlement in this frontier zone by addressing questions such as: the nature of the relationship between the indigenous inhabitants of the valley and the Neo-Assyrian colonists during the Iron Age; the similarities and differences between Ubaid period occupation at Kenan Tepe and in Mesopotamia proper; the nature of Middle Bronze settlement in the valley and its relationship with contemporary cultures in Syria and Mesopotamia; and the demographic profile of the post-Hellenistic population. Data collected in the Upper Tigris River region will also aid us in analyzing how interaction in this frontier zone shaped political and cultural change in both Mesopotamia and highland Anatolia.

Ubaid Conference at the University of Utah (February 19-21, 2009)

Between Agriculture and Urbanism: Exploring the Ubaid 'Developmental Bridge' in Mesopotamian Prehistory

In an effort to address the gap in our current understanding of the development of complex societies in the Middle Eastern Prehistory, a conference entitled Between Agriculture and Urbanism: Exploring the Ubaid 'Developmental Bridge.' in Mesopotamian Prehistory will be held at the University of Utah from February 19th to February 21st, 2009.

The conference website is located here: http://www.mec.utah.edu/bau/