Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project

The Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project, initiated in 2012 by the Italian Archaeological Mission to Assyria of the University of Udine, directed by Prof. Daniele Morandi Bonacossi, aims to reconstruct the formation and transformation of the cultural and natural landscapes of this central region of Northern Mesopotamia and to provide for their protection and management in innovative ways. The research is based on a regional archaeological field survey, combined with the archaeological excavation of the site of Tell Gomel which will begin in the forthcoming field season, and a geo- and bio-archaeological reconstruction of the ancient natural landscape and its evolution as a result of global climatic fluctuations and human impact. The region studied by the project encompasses more than 2900 km2 and consists of the area delimited by the plain of Dohuk and the Northern Iraqi foothills to the north, the lake formed by the Eski Mosul Dam to the west, the plain extending to the east.