Ricerc@Sapienza

The contribution analyses some of the main issue in the study of the ancient Near East and in the practice of Near Eastern archaeology facing the changes in university teaching and the political issues of the Near East

The Italian Archaeological Expedition to Nigin of Sapienza University of Rome and University of Perugia started excavations at Tell Zurghul in 2015: a survey and three excavations seasons were carried out in the period between 2016 and 2017. This volume presents the results of the archaeological explorations with the analysis of the stratigraphic and architectural contexts of Area A, B and D as well as the study of the pottery from the contexts so far investigated and the survey in Area C in the western sector of the site.

In recent years the chronological framework provided by the AMS 14 C dating has had a great impact on archaeological studies in the Near East, also affecting the previous synchronization of cultural events across the Mediterranean region. Here we present a consistent set of 14 C dates from the site of Arslantepe (Turkey) between the 5 th and the 3 rd millennium BC. A total of 86 samples of charred wood remains were previously dated by the beta counting method, already providing a general framing to this exceptionally long sequence.