Escape-Migration-Interaction. Artifact-related diversity in Ancient Near Eastern contexts of the 3rd and 2nd millennium B.C.

• Applicant: Dr. Simone Mühl
• Subject Area: Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
• Term: since 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 290102820

The planned project Escape - Migration - Interaction. Artifact-related diversity in Ancient Near Eastern contexts of the 2nd and 3rd millennium B.C. investigates issues of cultural influence, changes in material culture and the diversity of ancient oriental cultures in a multidisciplinary research association. It will focus on models of refugee and migration movements which are explained through abrupt changes in cultural material (e.g. ceramics) in archaeological contexts. Explorations at the ancient settlement mound Gird-i Shamlu in the Shahrizor plain, which lies near the Iraqi-Iranian border in southern Kurdistan shall serve as a case study, which can shed light on a possible refugee movement, which took place in the region about 3,500 years ago. The project also includes the study of the ancient landscape of flight, which can be made visible by archaeological and archaeomagnetic prospections in order to explore the phenomenon in the urban environment of contemporary settlements.

• DFG Programme: Independent Junior Research Groups