Ziyaret Tepe

Chapter 1
The origins of Assyria and its culture
Assyria
Cuneiform script
The environmental overview
GAP and the Ilısu Dam
The mound at Ziyaret Tepe
The operation areas
Dating the occupation of the mound
The abandonment of the city in the 11th century BC
Assyrian ethnic diversity
A long tradition of deportation
The Assyrians in the northern territories
Outpost of the Roman Empire
The medieval period
The Ottoman period
The village of Tepe

Chapter 2
The excavation team gets down to work
Introducing the team
A day in the life of the dig director
Geophysics
Registration of the finds
Drawing at Tepe
An artist in residence
Photography on site

Chapter 3
Work on the Tušhan excavations begins
The royal palace
Mud brick: unsung star of the archaeologist’s world
The palace cremation burials
Burial practices
The gods of the land
The Tušhan city wall
Forts along the River Tigris
The southern gate to the city
The military barracks by the city wall
Beer for the troops
Elite residences
Wine... the drink of the elite
Evolution of the roof
The administrative complex
The pebble mosaics
Preparing food and drink
Feasts
Bread

Chapter 4
Ziyaret Tepe reveals its rich and varied finds
The Tušhan archive
The fall of the Empire
Seals and sealings
Weights and measures
Tokens
Board games
Artefacts of ivory and bone
Textiles and wool
Archaeobotany: Farming and food production
Zooarchaeology: Reading the bones
Decorative ivoryReading the ceramics
Ceramic disks
The working of iron in the Middle Iron Age
The humble nail
Copper and bronze
Jewellery
Ground stone
Chipped stone
Sweeping the floors
Beads

Chapter 5
Conservation and communication
Diyarbakır Museum
Communicating the excavation results
The new museum in Diyarbakır
The end of the Assyrian Empire and the fall of Tušhan
Director’s epilogue
Appendix A: A-Z of the operation areas
Appendix B: The team
Index
Sponsors