This link provides data used for eBayScraper, a tool to scrape eBay and apply Natural Language Pr... more This link provides data used for eBayScraper, a tool to scrape eBay and apply Natural Language Processing (NLP) to study the antiquities/cultural heritage market.
A model of irrigation agriculture is applied to southern Mesopotamian for the areas around Nippur... more A model of irrigation agriculture is applied to southern Mesopotamian for the areas around Nippur and Uruk. Field systems around late third millennium BC (Ur III period) cities are modeled in order to understand the effects of salinization and what strategies might limit progressive salinization that hinders agricultural yields. Scholars have long suspected that progressive salinization may constrain irrigation agriculture in southern Mesopotamia. This is not only demonstrated by modeling, but methods to mitigate the effects of salinization and promote the resilience of agricultural systems are presented. Strategies that incorporate fallowing regimes and which promote natural and/or engineered leaching create resilient agricultural systems in which ancient farmers could have made decisions about when to crop and irrigate based on the effects of salinization. Simulation results not only demonstrate to what extent and under what conditions salinization could be limited, but also model...
The chapter presents a spatial interaction entropy model that addresses the dynamics of urban gro... more The chapter presents a spatial interaction entropy model that addresses the dynamics of urban growth using sites from the Late Uruk period in southern Mesopotamia as examples. The model addresses to what extent geography, transportation, and factors that make locations attractive for trade and settlement affect why some settlements grow while others stabilize or diminish in size through time. The results show that geographic and transport factors can enable some regions, such as the northern and central alluvium in southern Mesopotamia, to have some initially favourable advantages for urban growth. In contrast, greater attraction to specific centres and decreasing mobility of goods and people to many towns enable sites such as Uruk to rapidly grow through positive feedback effects without natural population increase. This growth also influences other settlements’ populations and use of the transport infrastructure, where aggregation of population to few centres leads to a large numb...
The extraction of raw clay for the manufacture of mudbricks, pottery, tablets and figurines is ra... more The extraction of raw clay for the manufacture of mudbricks, pottery, tablets and figurines is rarely described in the cuneiform record. Nevertheless, an examination of the sources reveals that the people of ancient Mesopotamia selected the raw material according to their needs from ‘clay pits’ (clay deposits) or other locations. Ritual texts in particular identify the origin of the clay used for the creation of magical figurines. When an exorcist was instructed to take clay from a clay pit, he first had to ritually appease and compensate the pit for its subsequent exploitation. The origin of clay for mudbricks and tablets is given in specific instances; that of potter’s clay can only be deduced from archaeological and anthropological observations.
This computational model of irrigation agriculture is used to study the effects of salinization i... more This computational model of irrigation agriculture is used to study the effects of salinization in Mesopotamia. Scholars have long suspected that central and southern Mesopotamia present environments which limited agricultural production over long-term periods. In regions such as central Mesopotamia, where salinization likely affected settlement in different periods but was more manageable than in more southern regions, fallowing regimes, natural and engineered leaching, and decisions made on when to crop were strategies applied in order to limit the effects of salinization. The model is used to assess the effectiveness of these coping strategies by incorporating projected climate, soil, and landscape conditions with agricultural practices. The simulation results not only demonstrate the effectiveness and limitations of techniques to inhibiting progressive salinization but can be compared with the archaeological record in order to determine if the results correspond to past events and help to interpret past settlement history.
Theories on the establishment and propagation of political movements through mobilization have em... more Theories on the establishment and propagation of political movements through mobilization have emerged and evolved over the last half century. Among the major theoretical frameworks that have been advanced are resource mobilization theory, political process theory, and culture theory. However, despite these developments, relatively few methodological approaches have applied bottom-up computational modeling and simulation in explaining movement development in conflicts. With developments made in computational methods, the integration of social theory with modeling and simulation is a natural progression in creating tools that allow analysts, policy makers, and researchers the means to assess the successes or failures of political movements during armed struggles. This article presents an agent-based model and simulation that applies several frequently used theoretical approaches to political mobilization and explores the extent to which group resources and identity shaped conflicts i...
Tell al-Wilaya (ancient Kesh ?) is one of the few sites to be excavated in the area near Kut in I... more Tell al-Wilaya (ancient Kesh ?) is one of the few sites to be excavated in the area near Kut in Iraq. The important findings of an Iraqi expedition in the 1950s made it clear that this area, if investigated systematically, would yield valuable information on the Tigris-side of the alluvium. To halt the looting that was destroying the site in the 1990s, the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage mounted a rescue campaign in 1999-2000, which has resulted in this report. The looting of the offices of the State Board and the Iraq Museum in 2003 made it difficult to assemble full documentation on the Wilaya excavations, but the sample given here allows a glimpse of the great potential that Wilaya still would have had except for the resumption of massive looting in 2003.
A combination band saw, scroll saw and jigsaw having multiple blades driven by a common power sou... more A combination band saw, scroll saw and jigsaw having multiple blades driven by a common power source through a system of pulleys and belts, the jigsaw and scroll saw of which are activated by means of a belt-activated drive rod and piston rod system. The band saw is carried by a series of pulleys and the combination saw may be operated with all three blades simultaneously in operable position, or, in the alternative, each blade may be activated individually.
The looting of cultural heritage sites has been a growing problem and threatens national economie... more The looting of cultural heritage sites has been a growing problem and threatens national economies, social identity, destroys research potential, and traumatizes communities. For many countries, the challenge in protecting heritage is that there are often too few resources, particularly paid site guards, while sites can also be in remote locations. Here, we develop a new approach that applies deep learning methods to detect the presence of looting at heritage sites using optical imagery from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). We present results that demonstrate the accuracy, precision, and recall of our approach. Results show that optical UAV data can be an easy way for authorities to monitor heritage sites, demonstrating the utility of deep learning in aiding the protection of heritage sites by automating the detection of any new damage to sites. We discuss the impact and potential for deep learning to be used as a tool for the protection of heritage sites. How the approach could be ...
This link provides data used for eBayScraper, a tool to scrape eBay and apply Natural Language Pr... more This link provides data used for eBayScraper, a tool to scrape eBay and apply Natural Language Processing (NLP) to study the antiquities/cultural heritage market.
A model of irrigation agriculture is applied to southern Mesopotamian for the areas around Nippur... more A model of irrigation agriculture is applied to southern Mesopotamian for the areas around Nippur and Uruk. Field systems around late third millennium BC (Ur III period) cities are modeled in order to understand the effects of salinization and what strategies might limit progressive salinization that hinders agricultural yields. Scholars have long suspected that progressive salinization may constrain irrigation agriculture in southern Mesopotamia. This is not only demonstrated by modeling, but methods to mitigate the effects of salinization and promote the resilience of agricultural systems are presented. Strategies that incorporate fallowing regimes and which promote natural and/or engineered leaching create resilient agricultural systems in which ancient farmers could have made decisions about when to crop and irrigate based on the effects of salinization. Simulation results not only demonstrate to what extent and under what conditions salinization could be limited, but also model...
The chapter presents a spatial interaction entropy model that addresses the dynamics of urban gro... more The chapter presents a spatial interaction entropy model that addresses the dynamics of urban growth using sites from the Late Uruk period in southern Mesopotamia as examples. The model addresses to what extent geography, transportation, and factors that make locations attractive for trade and settlement affect why some settlements grow while others stabilize or diminish in size through time. The results show that geographic and transport factors can enable some regions, such as the northern and central alluvium in southern Mesopotamia, to have some initially favourable advantages for urban growth. In contrast, greater attraction to specific centres and decreasing mobility of goods and people to many towns enable sites such as Uruk to rapidly grow through positive feedback effects without natural population increase. This growth also influences other settlements’ populations and use of the transport infrastructure, where aggregation of population to few centres leads to a large numb...
The extraction of raw clay for the manufacture of mudbricks, pottery, tablets and figurines is ra... more The extraction of raw clay for the manufacture of mudbricks, pottery, tablets and figurines is rarely described in the cuneiform record. Nevertheless, an examination of the sources reveals that the people of ancient Mesopotamia selected the raw material according to their needs from ‘clay pits’ (clay deposits) or other locations. Ritual texts in particular identify the origin of the clay used for the creation of magical figurines. When an exorcist was instructed to take clay from a clay pit, he first had to ritually appease and compensate the pit for its subsequent exploitation. The origin of clay for mudbricks and tablets is given in specific instances; that of potter’s clay can only be deduced from archaeological and anthropological observations.
This computational model of irrigation agriculture is used to study the effects of salinization i... more This computational model of irrigation agriculture is used to study the effects of salinization in Mesopotamia. Scholars have long suspected that central and southern Mesopotamia present environments which limited agricultural production over long-term periods. In regions such as central Mesopotamia, where salinization likely affected settlement in different periods but was more manageable than in more southern regions, fallowing regimes, natural and engineered leaching, and decisions made on when to crop were strategies applied in order to limit the effects of salinization. The model is used to assess the effectiveness of these coping strategies by incorporating projected climate, soil, and landscape conditions with agricultural practices. The simulation results not only demonstrate the effectiveness and limitations of techniques to inhibiting progressive salinization but can be compared with the archaeological record in order to determine if the results correspond to past events and help to interpret past settlement history.
Theories on the establishment and propagation of political movements through mobilization have em... more Theories on the establishment and propagation of political movements through mobilization have emerged and evolved over the last half century. Among the major theoretical frameworks that have been advanced are resource mobilization theory, political process theory, and culture theory. However, despite these developments, relatively few methodological approaches have applied bottom-up computational modeling and simulation in explaining movement development in conflicts. With developments made in computational methods, the integration of social theory with modeling and simulation is a natural progression in creating tools that allow analysts, policy makers, and researchers the means to assess the successes or failures of political movements during armed struggles. This article presents an agent-based model and simulation that applies several frequently used theoretical approaches to political mobilization and explores the extent to which group resources and identity shaped conflicts i...
Tell al-Wilaya (ancient Kesh ?) is one of the few sites to be excavated in the area near Kut in I... more Tell al-Wilaya (ancient Kesh ?) is one of the few sites to be excavated in the area near Kut in Iraq. The important findings of an Iraqi expedition in the 1950s made it clear that this area, if investigated systematically, would yield valuable information on the Tigris-side of the alluvium. To halt the looting that was destroying the site in the 1990s, the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage mounted a rescue campaign in 1999-2000, which has resulted in this report. The looting of the offices of the State Board and the Iraq Museum in 2003 made it difficult to assemble full documentation on the Wilaya excavations, but the sample given here allows a glimpse of the great potential that Wilaya still would have had except for the resumption of massive looting in 2003.
A combination band saw, scroll saw and jigsaw having multiple blades driven by a common power sou... more A combination band saw, scroll saw and jigsaw having multiple blades driven by a common power source through a system of pulleys and belts, the jigsaw and scroll saw of which are activated by means of a belt-activated drive rod and piston rod system. The band saw is carried by a series of pulleys and the combination saw may be operated with all three blades simultaneously in operable position, or, in the alternative, each blade may be activated individually.
The looting of cultural heritage sites has been a growing problem and threatens national economie... more The looting of cultural heritage sites has been a growing problem and threatens national economies, social identity, destroys research potential, and traumatizes communities. For many countries, the challenge in protecting heritage is that there are often too few resources, particularly paid site guards, while sites can also be in remote locations. Here, we develop a new approach that applies deep learning methods to detect the presence of looting at heritage sites using optical imagery from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). We present results that demonstrate the accuracy, precision, and recall of our approach. Results show that optical UAV data can be an easy way for authorities to monitor heritage sites, demonstrating the utility of deep learning in aiding the protection of heritage sites by automating the detection of any new damage to sites. We discuss the impact and potential for deep learning to be used as a tool for the protection of heritage sites. How the approach could be ...
Tell al-Wilayah and the Eastern Watercourses of Iraq
Saturday, November 21st: 13.00, SOAS, Main... more Tell al-Wilayah and the Eastern Watercourses of Iraq
Saturday, November 21st: 13.00, SOAS, Main Building, L 67, London
Since the Iraqi excavations in the early 2000s at Tell Al-Wilayah, on the very East of the southern Iraqi alluvium (See the attached map), the site has been extensively looted. These excavations have recently been published in part. This large site is found in an anomalous position with regard to site distribution in southern Iraq, reasonably exposed by comparison to the main centres of settlement, from which it is separated by some distance and a poorly understood ancient landscape. The distribution of ancient watercourses in the area leading to it is still particularly unclear. An interesting collection of Sargonic Akkadian texts from the official Iraqi excavations is currently being prepared for publication by Abather Saadoon from the University of Baghdad, who is on a research visit to SOAS at the moment. We are taking this as an opportunity to hold an informal workshop on Tell Al-Wilayah, where issues of landscape, identification, history and economy can be discussed with a specific focus on this site. There will be a number of informal presentations with plenty of time for discussion afterwards. The times outlined below are for orientation purposes only.
13.00: Introduction: Mark Weeden 13.30: The Excavations at Tell Al-Wilayah: Mark Altaweel 14.30: ‘Sumer’s eastern gateway? The significance of Kesh (Wilayah?) In the early-mid third millennium BC’: Roger Matthews 16.00: The watercourses around Tell Al-Wilayah: Jaafar Jotheri 17.00: Texts from Tell Al-Wilayah: Abather Saadoon 18.00: Second millennium evidence relating to the geography of eastern Iraq: Andrew George
Understanding patterns of conflict and pathways in which political history became established is critical to understanding how large states and empires ultimately develop and come to rule given regions and influence subsequent events. We employ a spatiotemporal Cox regression model to investigate possible causes as to why regions were attacked by the Neo-Assyrian (912-608 BCE) state. The model helps to explain how strategic benefits and costs lead to likely pathways of conflict and imperialism based on elite strategic decision-making. We apply this model to the early 9th century BCE, a time when historical texts allow us to trace yearly campaigns in specific regions, to understand how the Neo-Assyrian state began to re-emerge as a major political player, eventually going on to dominate much of the Near East and starting a process of imperialism that shaped the wider region for many centuries even after the fall of this state. The model demonstrates why specific locations become regions of conflict in given campaigns, emphasizing a degree of consistency with which choices were made by invading forces with respect to a number of factors. We find that elevation and population density deter Assyrian invasions. Moreover, costs were found to be more of a clear motivator for Assyrian invasions, with distance constraints being a significant driver in determining where to campaign. These outputs suggest that Assyria was mainly interested in attacking its weakest, based on population and/or organization, and nearest rivals as it began to expand. Results not only help to address the emergence of this empire, but enable a generalized understanding of how benefits and costs to conflict can lead to imperialism and pathways to political outcomes that can have major social relevance.
Data for: Davies, T., Fry, H., Wilson, A., Palmisano, A., Altaweel, M., Radner, K. (2014). Applic... more Data for: Davies, T., Fry, H., Wilson, A., Palmisano, A., Altaweel, M., Radner, K. (2014). Application of an Entropy Maximizing and Dynamics Model for Understanding Settlement Structure: The Khabur Triangle in the Middle Bronze and Iron Ages. Journal of Archaeological Science, 43 141-154. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2013.12.014
This book investigates the long-term continuity of large-scale states and empires, and its effect... more This book investigates the long-term continuity of large-scale states and empires, and its effect on the Near East’s social fabric, including the fundamental changes that occurred to major social institutions. Its geographical coverage spans, from east to west, modern-day Libya and Egypt to Central Asia, and from north to south, Anatolia to southern Arabia, incorporating modern-day Oman and Yemen. Its temporal coverage spans from the late eighth century BCE to the seventh century CE during the rise of Islam and collapse of the Sasanian Empire.
The authors argue that the persistence of large states and empires starting in the eighth/seventh centuries BCE, which continued for many centuries, led to new socio-political structures and institutions emerging in the Near East. The primary processes that enabled this emergence were large-scale and long-distance movements, or population migrations. These patterns of social developments are analysed under different aspects: settlement patterns, urban structure, material culture, trade, governance, language spread and religion, all pointing at movement as the main catalyst for social change. This book’s argument is framed within a larger theoretical framework termed as ‘universalism’, a theory that explains many of the social transformations that happened to societies in the Near East, starting from the Neo-Assyrian period and continuing for centuries.
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Papers by Mark Altaweel
Saturday, November 21st: 13.00, SOAS, Main Building, L 67, London
Since the Iraqi excavations in the early 2000s at Tell Al-Wilayah, on the very East of the southern Iraqi alluvium (See the attached map), the site has been extensively looted. These excavations have recently been published in part. This large site is found in an anomalous position with regard to site distribution in southern Iraq, reasonably exposed by comparison to the main centres of settlement, from which it is separated by some distance and a poorly understood ancient landscape. The distribution of ancient watercourses in the area leading to it is still particularly unclear. An interesting collection of Sargonic Akkadian texts from the official Iraqi excavations is currently being prepared for publication by Abather Saadoon from the University of Baghdad, who is on a research visit to SOAS at the moment. We are taking this as an opportunity to hold an informal workshop on Tell Al-Wilayah, where issues of landscape, identification, history and economy can be discussed with a specific focus on this site.
There will be a number of informal presentations with plenty of time for discussion afterwards. The times outlined below are for orientation purposes only.
13.00: Introduction: Mark Weeden
13.30: The Excavations at Tell Al-Wilayah: Mark Altaweel
14.30: ‘Sumer’s eastern gateway? The significance of Kesh (Wilayah?) In the early-mid third millennium BC’: Roger Matthews
16.00: The watercourses around Tell Al-Wilayah: Jaafar Jotheri
17.00: Texts from Tell Al-Wilayah: Abather Saadoon
18.00: Second millennium evidence relating to the geography of eastern Iraq: Andrew George
Understanding patterns of conflict and pathways in which political history became established is critical to understanding how large states and empires ultimately develop and come to rule given regions and influence subsequent events. We employ a spatiotemporal Cox regression model to investigate possible causes as to why regions were attacked by the Neo-Assyrian (912-608 BCE) state. The model helps to explain how strategic benefits and costs lead to likely pathways of conflict and imperialism based on elite strategic decision-making. We apply this model to the early 9th century BCE, a time when historical texts allow us to trace yearly campaigns in specific regions, to understand how the Neo-Assyrian state began to re-emerge as a major political player, eventually going on to dominate much of the Near East and starting a process of imperialism that shaped the wider region for many centuries even after the fall of this state. The model demonstrates why specific locations become regions of conflict in given campaigns, emphasizing a degree of consistency with which choices were made by invading forces with respect to a number of factors. We find that elevation and population density deter Assyrian invasions. Moreover, costs were found to be more of a clear motivator for Assyrian invasions, with distance constraints being a significant driver in determining where to campaign. These outputs suggest that Assyria was mainly interested in attacking its weakest, based on population and/or organization, and nearest rivals as it began to expand. Results not only help to address the emergence of this empire, but enable a generalized understanding of how benefits and costs to conflict can lead to imperialism and pathways to political outcomes that can have major social relevance.
The authors argue that the persistence of large states and empires starting in the eighth/seventh centuries BCE, which continued for many centuries, led to new socio-political structures and institutions emerging in the Near East. The primary processes that enabled this emergence were large-scale and long-distance movements, or population migrations. These patterns of social developments are analysed under different aspects: settlement patterns, urban structure, material culture, trade, governance, language spread and religion, all pointing at movement as the main catalyst for social change. This book’s argument is framed within a larger theoretical framework termed as ‘universalism’, a theory that explains many of the social transformations that happened to societies in the Near East, starting from the Neo-Assyrian period and continuing for centuries.