Archaeology of the frontier in the Near East
The Summer School “Archaeology of the frontier in the Near East: material cultures, social networks, and historical analysis” will take place from the 1st to the 26th of June in south-eastern Turkey, that is to say in a region of great importance for the study of the subject.
The School will be in conjunction with the archaeological excavation carried out by the University of Pisa together with the Institute for the Study of the Ancient Mediterranean (CNR, Rome) and the Turkish Municipality of Yüreğir in the site of Misis (ancient Mopsouestia), on the right bank of the river Ceyhan.
The dominating position of Misis on the main communication route from central Anatolia to Syria and the Levant played a decisive role in its millenary history and early urbanization. The site was inhabited since the Neolithic period, became one of the capital cities in the Neo-Hittite period, and is also characterized by the presence of a system of fortifications in use from, at least, the Late Roman to the Medieval periods. In the Middle Ages ancient Misis changed hands frequently, passing from the Byzantines to the Arabs, the Turks, the Crusaders and maintaining the traces of them all.
The subject of the frontier will be taken into consideration from the theoretical point of view, with attention to some general cases. Teaching will focus on the Syro-Anatolian and Palestinian frontiers examined in a longue durée perspective in order to identify aspects of continuity and change in their territorial dimension. Linguistic variability and multiculturalism along frontiers will also be treated looking at both the ancient and the modern world. In addition, the military, political and religious situation of today Near East will be presented and discussed searching for its roots in the past.
Partecipants to the Summer School will have the chance to join the archaeological excavation at Misis, and to visit some of the main cities of the south-eastern frontier of Turkey, such as Antakya and Gaziantep, with their multifaceted ethnic and cultural traditions.
Coordinators
Course director: Giovanni Salmeri, Professor of Roman History, University of Pisa; Dott.Lett. (Catania)
Main instructors and tutors: Giovanni Salmeri (University of Pisa), Arturo Marzano (University of Pisa), Anna Lucia D’Agata (Istituto di Studi sul Mediterraneo Antico, CNR, Rome)
Period
01-26 June 2016: 4 weeks duration for 6 ECTS
Further info
Direzione Ricerca e Internazionalizzazione
Unità Cooperazione Internazionale
Lungarno Pacinotti, 44 56126 Pisa
e-mail: giovanni.salmeri@unipi.it