WHAT THE EXCAVATIONS, GEOPHYSICAL & GEOMORPHOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS OF ZIYARET TEPE TELL: RESULTS FROM AN ASSYRIAN 'CITY OF CLAY' AT THE EDGE OF EMPIRE

Ziyaret Tepe -- one of the few sites in SE Turkey in which cuneiform tablets have been found -- was an important urban centre at the northern frontier of the Assyrian Empire ~900-600 BC. Contemporary and newly translated texts suggest it was the provincial capitol of Tushhan, which was apparently abandoned around the time when Ninevah was sacked by the Medes and the Babylonians ~612 BC. Our geophysical investigations, excavations, and geomorphic surveys have delineated the areal extent of the mounded settlement located on a strath terrace of the Upper Tigris. Subsurface gradiometry maps and a trench at the settlement edge revealed a 6.5m wide city wall made entirely of mudbricks in a casemate fashion. Pilot GPR (ground penetrating radar) surveys ground-truthed unprocessed profiles with excavated features. Assyrian building materials have properties of high attentuation and low transmissivity at the radar frequencies (50 and 100 MHz) and transmitter power (400 V) used. Although observed signal penetration (3-4 m below ground surface) was low, significant larger features were detected. Velocities calculated from CMP (common mid point) surveys reflect the dominant sediment size of geological and cultural materials [0.06-0.09 m/ns; clay-silt, respectively]. Archaeological features with distinctive radar facies include mudbrick walls, baked tiles, set (inlaid) floors, and cobble pavements. However, the signal-to-noise ratio was very low in this environment. Data acquisition suffered artefacts sourced from surface metal objects (e.g. wheelbarrows, horse carts, pipelines), military aircraft, crop furrows, people, and animals (e.g. excavators, shepherds, flocks).