2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Urban landscape and functions of cities in the ancient West Asia

Planned Research

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Project Area	The Essence of Urban Civilization: An Interdisciplinary Study of the Origin and Transformation of Ancient West Asian Cities
Project/Area Number	18H05445
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Research in a proposed research area)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Review Section	Humanities and Social Sciences
Research Institution	University of Tsukuba
Principal Investigator	Yamada Shigeo 筑波大学, 人文社会系, 教授 (30323223)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	柴田大輔筑波大学, 人文社会系, 教授 (40553293) 西山伸一中部大学, 人文学部, 教授 (50392551) 池田潤筑波大学, 人文社会系, 教授 (60288850) 唐橋文中央大学, 文学部, 教授 (80453679) 春田晴郎東海大学, 文化社会学部, 教授 (90266354)
Project Period (FY)	2018-06-29 – 2023-03-31
Keywords	古代メソポタミア / 楔形文字学 / 西アジア考古学 / 都市
Outline of Final Research Achievements	The following themes were investigated: Sacrificial rituals at Lagash in the Early Dynastic period; city landscape and administration of Tabatum/Tabetu in the Old Babylonian and Middle Assyrian periods; administration at the city of Emar in the Middle Babylonian period; city plans and ritual traditions at Assur, Kalhu, Dur-Sharrukin, and Nineveh in the Neo-Assyrian period; the society of Babylon in the Arsacid period. These investigations were made especially based on cuneiform sources, and revealed aspects of the development and variations in the landscape and social structure of Mesopotamian cities through the ages. The excavations at Yasin Tepe in Iraqi Kurdistan were conducted, and they uncovered important structures and materials, such as large buildings, an undisturbed tomb, and remains of water courses. Thus, they clarified the structure and landscape of the principal provincial city of the Assyrian Empire.
Free Research Field	アッシリア学（楔形文字学）
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	前３千年紀から紀元前後までの西アジア諸都市に由来する楔形文字資料を分析することで、メソポタミアとシリアの諸都市における都市プラン、都市景観、行政、社会構造、祭儀伝統を研究し、その多様性、歴史的変遷を通時的に把握することができた。また、イラク・クルド自治区のヤシン・テぺ発掘調査においては、新アッシリア時代の大型建物、未盗掘墓とその副葬品、運河とみられる水路跡など注目すべき発見があり、これを関連する西アジアの遺構や考古遺物との比較考察し、楔形文字文書史料と突き合わせて分析することで、アッシリア帝国の地方行政、建築様式、宗教文化、物質文化の広がりについて新たな知見がもたらされた。