A bit of Assyrian imperial culture: the fragment of an inscribed pottery bowl from Gird-e Rūstam (Iraqi Kurdistan)

Radner, Karen (8. June 2021): A bit of Assyrian imperial culture: the fragment of an inscribed pottery bowl from Gird-e Rūstam (Iraqi Kurdistan). In: Altorientaliische Forschungen, Vol. 48, No. 1: pp. 118-124

Abstract

A key find from the 2018 excavations at the settlement mound of Gird-e Rūstam (Gird-i Rostam) in the easternmost part of the Kurdish Autonomous Region of Iraq, directly on the border with Iran, is an inscribed pottery sherd that can be assigned to the Neo-Assyrian period, more specifically the late 8th or 7th century BC. Albeit small, the sherd certainly belongs to a “carinated bowl”, which is a typical wine-drinking vessel of that time, and preserves a few signs of a cuneiform inscription in Akkadian language and Neo-Assyrian script. It is suggested that the reconstructed text contains mention of the local toponym Birtu-ša-Adad-remanni “Fortress of Adad-remanni”. This place is located in the border region between the Assyrian Empire and the kingdom of Mannea, which raises the possibility that Gird-e Rūstam could be identified with Birtu-ša-Adad-remanni.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Keywords: Gird-e Rūstam (Gird-i Rostam); Iron Age; Assyrian Empire; Mannea; carinated bowl; cuneiform inscription; wine consumption
• Faculties: History and Art History > Department of History > Ancient History
• Subjects: 900 History and geography > 930 History of ancient world (to ca. 499); 900 History and geography > 950 History of Asia
• ISSN: 0232-8461
• Language: English