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Under the Old Neighborhood: In Iraq, an Archaeologist's Paradise
NY Times ^ | August 23, 2005 | JAMES GLANZ

Posted on 08/22/2005 9:28:43 PM PDT by neverdem

ERBIL, Iraq - If a neighborhood is defined as a place where human beings move in and never leave, then the world's oldest could be here at the Citadel, an ancient and teeming city within a city girded by stone walls.

Resting on a layer cake of civilizations that have come and gone for an estimated 7,000 to 10,000 years, the Citadel looms over the apartment blocks of this otherwise rather gray metropolis in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The settlement rivals Jericho and a handful of other famous towns for the title of the oldest continuously inhabited site in the world. The difference is that few people have heard of the Citadel outside Iraq. And political turmoil has prevented a full study of its archaeological treasures.

While there may be confirmed traces of more ancient settlements in Iraq, said McGuire Gibson, a Mesopotamian archaeologist at the University of Chicago, the people have all vanished from those places.

"The thing about Erbil is that it is, in fact, a living town," Dr. Gibson said. "It goes back at least to 5,000 B.C.," he said. "It might go back further."

Among the peoples that have lived in this neighborhood are the Hassuna, Akkadians, Sumerians, Assyrians, Medes, Persians, Greeks, Parthians and Abbasids.

In 1964, when Kanaan Rashad Mufti and his prominent family were part of the neighborhood, a floor in his father's house, near the mosque, collapsed during some renovations.

Underneath was a whole series of rooms from some previous civilization, possibly the Abbasids, said Mr. Mufti, who is now director of antiquities in western Kurdistan. There is nothing that Iraqi archaeologists would like more than to begin systematic digs through those layers, said Donny George, director of the Baghdad Museum.

"I have so much in mind," Dr. George said, expressing scientific eagerness "to make..."

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; US: District of Columbia; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: anthropology; erbil; godsgravesglyphs; history; iraq
Here's the URL of a timeline of of northern Iraq and Erbil.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/08/22/science/erbil.large.jpg


Georg Gensler (1973)/Photo Researchers, Inc.
The Citadel, a city within a city in Erbil, Iraq, is girded by stone walls and is arguably among the world's oldest neighborhoods.


Max Becherer/Polaris, for The New York Times
The 3,000 residents of the Citadel, mostly Kurdish, are the latest in a line of peoples living on what was probably an agricultural village up to 10,000 years ago.


Max Becherer/Polaris, for The New York Times
Historians hope to excavate parts of the Citadel to find artifacts much older than this statue of the 12th-century historian Mabarek Ahmed Sharafaddin.


Max Becherer/Polaris, for The New York Times
The 100-foot-high Citadel at the center of Erbil was formed as ancient civilizations built on top of previous ones.


Max Becherer/Polaris, for The New York Times
Women walk through the Citadel, a city built on top of itself for thousands of years.


Max Becherer/Polaris, for The New York Times
An aerial view of the Citadel.


Max Becherer/Polaris, for The New York Times
The Kurdish Textile Museum is located just outside the city's walls.


Max Becherer/Polaris, for The New York Times
Residents of the Citadel carry home gas tanks for cooking.


Max Becherer/Polaris, for The New York Times
A Kurdish man participates in Friday prayers at a mosque in the center of the Citadel.


Max Becherer/Polaris, for The New York Times
Much of Erbil's history is not known, but it can be traced back to at least 5,000 B.C. Excavation will uncover more of its rich history.

1 posted on 08/22/2005 9:28:44 PM PDT by neverdem
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To: neverdem; SunkenCiv

Impressive! Thanks for posting it.

Definite GGG PING.


2 posted on 08/22/2005 10:58:15 PM PDT by FairOpinion
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To: El Gato; JudyB1938; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Robert A. Cook, PE; lepton; LadyDoc; jb6; tiamat; PGalt; ..
Beware, if you have dial-up service and not some kind of broadband, this thread is downloading 10 pics of Erbil, Iraq.

10 Planets? Why Not 11?

The Other Brain Also Deals With Many Woes

Practicing Medicine Without a Swagger

FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list. Anyone can post these unrelated links as they see fit.

3 posted on 08/22/2005 11:11:39 PM PDT by neverdem (May you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows that you're dead.)
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To: neverdem

Thanks, neverdem. I always look forward to your postings.


4 posted on 08/23/2005 3:19:28 AM PDT by GummyIII (If you have the ability, it's your responsibility." Marine Sgt. John Place, Silver Star recipient)
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To: neverdem
Wow. Great post.
5 posted on 08/23/2005 5:55:03 AM PDT by clyde asbury (Whoa-o, here she comes. She's a bad reader.)
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To: neverdem; FairOpinion; blam; Ernest_at_the_Beach; StayAt HomeMother; 24Karet; 3AngelaD; asp1; ...
Thanks Fairopinion for the ping. Dialup surfers beware, lots of graphics in message one of this thread.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. Thanks.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on or off the
"Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list or GGG weekly digest
-- Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)

6 posted on 08/23/2005 10:03:15 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Down with Dhimmicrats! I last updated by FR profile on Sunday, August 14, 2005.)
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To: neverdem

Great pictures! Another great post from Neverdem!


7 posted on 08/23/2005 12:57:10 PM PDT by Blumtoon
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To: neverdem
I have dial up service and the pics downloaded really fast. I wonder if my IP has been taking vitamins?
8 posted on 08/23/2005 8:17:53 PM PDT by Bellflower (A new day is Coming!)
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