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Reflections on the Edge of the Excavation

From the elements do far discovered, it would seem that the first inhabited nucleus of AK9 was a village of huts, built towards the end of the Eneolithic Age (NMZ III). It is quite probable that at the beginning the site was lived in only periodically, by groups of nomadic shepherds and that eventually, the flowering of the settlement reached 'break-out' point and new groups migrated here.

Usually a process of this kind matures within a rather limited geographical area and we can therefore hypothesise that AK9 was dependent on a settlement situated quite near to it, in Margiana. The environment in which AK9 was situated, between two arms of the ancient delta of the Murghab, lent itself favourably to agriculture and animal breeding. We should remember that at the same time, periodical inundations were exploited (as in Egypt in Mesopotamia) in order to fertilise the land. The first attempts at irrigation with water courses appeared only during the Bronze Age, when a new metallurgical technology had taken root. This process that has been noted markedly at Ilginly and Altyn Tepe where, in 1992, Bruno Marcolongo localised an important irrigation system based on the Tedjen (MARCOLONGO B. a, MOZZI P. : 1992, 1997 e 1998). Today, while we are still waiting to extend archaeological research at other sites in the oasis of Adji Kui, we can only observe that a few objects of AK9 hint at affinities with the levels of NMZ III at Altyn Tepe and also the eneolithic sites in the valleys of the Gorgan, Atrek and Sumbar.

During the successive phase (sub-phase 1B), and despite the limitations imposed on us by the upper layers, AK9 already appears to have been an articulated and extensive settlement. During this period, which we believe we can attribute to the Early Bronze Age (the beginning of NMZ IV), the habitations were already comfortable, being provided with a rather elaborate type of fireplace inside. Of particular importance is the find of two small female idols, of archaic conception, which are evidence of the cult of the Mother God.
Example of a pastoral settlement at the end of the IV and beginning of the III millennia BC ( seal cylinder from Khafaje, Baghdad Museum.
Example of a pastoral settlement at the end of the IV and beginning of the III millennia BC ( seal cylinder from Khafaje, Baghdad Museum.

Early Sumerian-Elamite Presence

During sub-phase 2A , which corresponds to the beginning of NMZ V' , the settlement gradually became a more stable entity and the huts and temporary shelters constructed by nomadic shepherds were replaced. The first nucleus of a walled village emerges which we have only been able to research minimally, since it developed under the levels of the mature phase. Here we have made a few discoveries which would also suggest the presence of a Mesopotamian nucleus, perhaps settled here by chance in the village, perhaps one of several causes of the transformation of a temporary encampment becoming a fixed settlement.

Among these finds, the following stand out: a highly sophisticated bronze bridle holder made locally, in the building composed of rooms n.170-174-175, near a cosmetics bottle, a circular metal mirror, a bronze application stick and the foot of an alabaster goblet. As we have already mentioned, the bridle holder is similar to two other examples, in the Louvre and the Metropolitan Museum and, having been examined by Pierre Amiet, they have been attributed to the Ur DA III b period, that is, between 2500 and 2350 BC. Specialists today believe that the second quarter of the III millennium BC marks the beginning of Sumerian expansion, above all on the commercial level.P. Amiet reminds us that at the beginning of this period, that is towards 2700 BC, the ethnic component of Mesopotamian culture had superseded that of Elam, bringing back Susa, the capital, into the Sumerian orbit. He also recalls that the dynamism of Mesopotamian civilisation was due to the Sumerian city-states seeking mineral wealth and the sources of products of prestige, stimulating merchants and adventurers to travel further and further (2007: p 61 and following).
Finds attributable to subphase I, found at Adji Kui
Finds attributable to subphase I, found at Adji Kui

To the north, they came into contact with the nomads of the valleys of Luristan and to the south with the copper and precious stones of Oman, the ancient land of Magan. To the east was the alabaster and chlorite of Kerman and the lapis lazuli of the Indus. Now after these finds at AK9, we can imagine that Sumerians and Elamites sought to reach the mines of the Indus Valley by way of a north-east passage, an "Oases Road" which snaked across the Lut desert. For the whole of the III millennium and for a good part of the II, the horse was reserved for pulling parade chariots or for war. A question arises regarding our bridle holder: what was a parade chariot doing in an out-of-the-way village in Margiana? If we are looking for a reasonable explanation, we should keep in mind that Mesopotamian commerce over long distances was the prerogative of the king or of the temple, and both entrusted their commercial missions to members of'the nobility. This rule was only modified at the beginning of the Il millennium, when mercantitism was recognised as a free and independent activity. For the whole of the III millennium, noble merchants sent along the caravan routes sought to organise their work by creating settlements of mercantile colonies, called karû, throughout the territories they intended to operate in.

Originally, the term karû referred to the banks of a river where the merchants set up their wares. However, from the end of the III - beginning of the Il millennium, this term became familiar beyond Mesopotamia, to Anataolia, the Caspian and the Inidan Ocean, to indicate a quarter where merchants grouped together.

Research carried out on this subject, abave all by Cécile Michel (see bibl.), has shown that we are dealing with a clichet remained virtually unaltered from the III to the I millennium BC, not only with regard to juridical and organisational methods but also to building schemes which regulated the organisation of the colony quarter. A typical model is the karû of Kaniš, which dates from the XIX century BC and which we find repeated in its general plan virtually everywhere. Perhaps it happened in the Main Complex of AK9. If this is so, we could say that in all probability there was a small commercial Sumerian-­Elamite colony at AK9 from the beginning of NMZ V, that is between 2500-2400 BC. This period corresponds to the second phase of the Ancient Sumerian Dynasty (3000-2340 BC), characterised by initial attempts at organising commercial activity over long distances.

The Turreted Citadel

Sub-phase 2B , corresponding perfectly to the Akkadian Period (2334-2193 BC), is dominated by the construction of the city wall, which transformed the village into a fortified citadel. Practically speaking, this transformation required the demolition of some pre-existing habitations, readaptation of others and the construction ex-novo of quarters protected by the city wall. All this reflects the existence of a precise project which would have been difficult to realise with just the limited strengths and technical capabilities of the inhabitants of the Oasis.

Let us try to make a few calculations. If we take into consideration only the external and internal city walls plus the 20 attached towers, "simply" built - that is, without any infrastructure of reinforcement or embellishment (walkways, spurs, pillars, stairs etc.) - at least 700 metres of wall, on average 1 metre wide and a minimum of 3 m high, must have been built. It would have required the production and laying of about 200,000 standard size bricks.

Now, according to the works already mentioned by P.Basaglia and V.M. Masson, and also those of A. V. Ikonnikov and G.S. Stepanov (1971.87), already consulted during a preceding intervention in the so-called farm of AKI (ROSSI-OSMIDA G.., UDEUMURADOV B.- 2003, 66 e .segg.), there must have been an average of 10 men capable of making about 70 bricks per day. If we add to that transport and laying, these 10 men would have taken 140 days to lay 65, 000 bricks.
AK9 corner S/W.
AK9 corner S/W.
During sub-phase 2A, the inhabitants of AK9 were not particularly numerous and it has been estimated that there were less than one hundred entities, including women and children. This figure is typical of the Early Bronze Age. If we take into account those people needed for the survival of the community (agricultural workers, shepherds, those who prepared food, gathered wood etc.) and also the sick, handicapped, infants and young children who could not work, it would seem reasonable to suppose that this task fell on only about twenty men who would obviously have represented the entire "workforce" of the village. Therefore, if we apply the parameters suggested by the authors cited above, it would seem that these twenty men would have required about 170 days to make 158,000 bricks and for transport and laying, a further 140 days. To this calculation should also be added idle time, unforeseen events and incidental work which would have influenced the speed of completion of the enterprise.It should also be remembered that, in order to make the bricks, a mixture kneaded in wide ditches where water was canalised (or transported) was necessary. These ditches were dug with the tools at their disposal, mostly made of wood, which they also used to collect the clay and knead the mixture. To this mixture was added straw and hay as a degreasing element. Paleobotanical analysis has shown that these elements are typical of a well-defined climatic period, summer to autumn. This means that the period dedicated to building work was reduced even further. Moreover, the builders had to make a base of glyna in order to create a foundation, prepare the mortar and the protective plaster which would be applied to the wall structure. As a result, taking all this into consideration, the execution of such a demanding task, if carried out purely with the workforce available in the village of A K9 (or its immediate surroundings), would have taken about three to four years, a period during which the economy of the village would have come to a complete stop and the population reduced to basic survival level. Three to four years would have been psychologically onerous as well, taking into account that life expectancy was around thirty.

 

So why? Is it reasonable to think that a village, up to yesterday purely agricultural and pastoral, suddenly decides to paralyse itself for four years in order to build a fortified city wall? Moreover, why also carry out an "urban" project which involved solutions typical of military architecture when, up to then, villages had, according to Margian tradition, never been fortified? To what end? I think there is some reasonable doubt attached to this whole idea, which must make us try to widen our horizons a little in order to find a plausible explanation. Up to this moment the Mesopotamian, Elamite and Margian city-states had kept a balance of power between each other. One did not seek to prevail over another. None of them had ever considered the destruction of a neighbour, as that would have upset this delicate balance of power. Because of this state of affairs, Sumerian architecture presents no examples of defensive structures, in the real sense of the term, as Schmokel, Chierici, Laroche and Arborio Mella (see bibl.) have demonstrated. Even the primitive settlement of AK9, which contained a probable karû of Mesopotamian type, was not protected up to this time by fortified walls. However, towards 2330 BC, Sargon of Akkad arrived on the scene and destroyed the old equilibrium between the polis in order to create an imperialistic state.

As Jean Daniel Forest writes: 'By attacking the privileges of the traditional nobility and offering to ordinary individuals the possibility of social promotion (in particular within the army), the Sargonids divided function and status. By devolving wealth upon those people who were promoted by merit, that is towards new social classes, they both favoured commercial relations which had already begun to stabilise during the preceding era, and accelerate the definitive appearance of an economic order which, up to then, had only been in gestation." (1997:243).
The construction of a city at the end of the III millenium BC, documented by a stele from Ur-Nammu (about 2100 BC), founder of the III dynasty of Ur.
The construction of a city at the end of the III millenium BC, documented by a stele from Ur-Nammu (about 2100 BC), founder of the III dynasty of Ur.

In practice, the Akkadians maintained and developed the currents of commercial traffic drawn up by the Sumerian ex-colonies and limited themselves to substituting the preceding ruling class with their own meritocracy, who were charged with administering and "defending" the territories assigned to them. Organising territorial defence: here is a new departure. On the other hand, it was obvious that, by unleashing "wars of conquest", the conqueror had to acknowledge the possibility of his being conquered as well. Therefore it became necessary to provide for a system of defensive architecture under the guidance of the new Empire of Agadé. The Akkadians almost immediately concentrated their attention on the Margian front, organising a line of fortified defences which, even if episodic and rarefied, were checked on the eastern Bactrian front. In this case, however, more than being a collective project of seif-defence, it is more correct to perceive it as a series of individual initiatives promoted by a few polis in order to safeguard their commerce. The case of the important caravan junction at tiny Shortughai, which traded lapis lazuli from Badakhshan and betwen 2300 and 1600 had never been fortified", is illuminating. The reasons which encouraged this choice are not hard to seek. Without doubt it was necessary to cope with those who had been displaced by the Akkadian conquests and also the bands of nomad marauders which infested the region. However, perhaps the Akkadians also hoped to build a bridgehead in Margiana in order to expand further into Bactria. This must have led the Bactrians to förtify their citadels placed immediately to the east of the Oxus.

Be that as it may, the Akkadians were undoubtedly interested in Margaian and it was by no means by pure chance that here arose the first Elamite-type fortresses(cfr: P.AMIET: 2007, 65). Among the oldest seems to have been that of AK9, since archaeological and laboratory evidence directs our attention to 2300-2200 BC as the period in which the city wall, protected by 20 rectangular towers, came into being. This is a typical Elamite plan from the end of the III millennium which, in order to be carried out in a relatively brief time (given the circumstances), presupposes costs which could only be borne by a central power which undertook to use a consistent workforce, perhaps augmented by the army and/or by forced levies and the setting-up of a global project which, we find, was applied also to other Margian sites. One objection to this thesis has sometimes been the lack of pottery evidence, since the splendid Mesopotamian-Elamite pottery, usually present in commercial colonies open to the west, is sadly absent. However, it must be said that even pottery of the Indus Valley is absent, even if close contact with the latter culture has long been documented.We shall have the opportunity to return to this argument in the next volume, which will be dedicated in particular to a description of the finds. I would like, however, to say in advance that many forms of Margian pottery have undoubtedly been influenced by Mesopotamian-Elamite models, even if the decoration is limited to graffiti motifs, in accord with the Margian environment. Regarding the fact that up to now we have found no trace of any pottery exported from the south, in my opinion it should be seen as a simple law of market economics. Here, as in Bactria, there was probably no demand for this product and so any commercialisation of it was unjustified.

The Mature Period

As we have already said, once the city walls had been constructed, construction was begun on the keep which dominates the N sector, together with some reconstruction of pre­existing structures (sub-phase 3A); then, after a few decades, a considerable growth in population took place (sub-phase 3B) which brought the citadel to its maximum urban potential, occupying every available space within the walls.

From stratigraphic elements and laboratory analyses, we can date the construction of the keep to between 2100 and 2000 BC which means at the end of NMZ V (Lecomte­-Francfort) or the end of NMZ V - beginning of NMZ VI (Masson-Berezkin).

At present, the use this important building was put to is by no means clear, despite the fact that it possesses considerable dimensions and has a regular plan which presupposes a clearly articulated project from the beginning. Similar structures, which can be interpreted as either fortresses, caravanserais, palaces or temples, are fairly common among the architecture of southern Bactria and Margiana. Several authors have placed them  at the beginning of the NMZ VI period, between 2000 and 1800 BC.

Project for the fortification of the city of Eninnu engraved on a diorite statue of Gudea and known as "The architect and his project" (about 2100 BC), Louvre Museum.
Project for the fortification of the city of Eninnu engraved on a diorite statue of Gudea and known as "The architect and his project" (about 2100 BC), Louvre Museum.

However, the affinity between the fortified plan and a contemporary one of the Mesopotamian Mari III period (2200-1800 BC) is remarkable. It is worth noting the project of the city wall of Eninnu, which is etched on a diorite statue of Gudea, in the Louvre. The "architect of the plan" (2125-2110 BC), shows a system of fortification based on walls furnished with square towers, which recalls Akkadian tradition.

Only a few decades after the construction of the keep, a growth of population occurred in AK9 which coincides with the maximum urbanisation of the citadel and is apparent through the construction or extension of numerous habitations. Translated into figures and applying Masson's paleodemographic estimates, AK9 must have had a population of 6-700 inhabitants, the maximum possible given the type of structure involved.

Collapse and End

It was, perhaps, the aggressive policy of the Sargonids which led to the destabilisation of the old city-state system, which led to counter- pushes by the dispersed populations and the formation of new imperial hegemonies in Syria, Mesopotamia and Iran. So much so that Forest interprets the rebellion of the Gui of the Zagros as a kind of nemesis which brought down the Empire of Agadé.

With the fall of the Empire (about 2230 BC) an era of confusion was inaugurated, which led to the rebirth of regionalism with the birth of a series of principalities. Subsequently, the dynasty of Ur IIl (Neo-Sumerian era) managed restore national unity for a further century: 2120-2020 BC. J. D. Forest writes with reference to Ur III: After a period of disorder characterised by struggles for autonomy, the state was reformed under the III Dynasty of Ur, but this time on a different basis. Whilst the Akkadian State, fundamentally predatory, existed by sacking ever more distant regions, the State of Ur III, administrator and manager, sought to exploit the resources of the kingdom itself. With Ur as the capital and Ur-Nammu which harvested the inheritance of the Sargonids and restored unity to the country, a real apparatus of state appears without doubt for the first time in the history of Mesopotamia. (1997,244).

Evidence of this period has also been found in nearby AK1, where an administrative centre which kept the bullae and cretulae of the oasis has been identified. Drawing a distinction during this phase between the two citadels could not be easier. AK1, organised like a caravenserai, would have taken on an administrative and commercial role while AK9 contained the military command. This would justify the presence there of thousands of armaments that could be thrown (above all raw clay projectiles), distributed as they are along the perimeter of the citadel and stationed in key points, while in AK1 they are almost completely absent.
Strategic plan of Mari III (about 2200-1900 BC). The towered city walls run externally along a pomerium while, within, the keep stands out.
Strategic plan of Mari III (about 2200-1900 BC). The towered city walls run externally along a pomerium while, within, the keep stands out.

This division of roles, which continued also during the Elamite dynasty of Simash (2220-­1850 BC), was also the cause of the decline of AK9, impoverished by a movement of people to AK1. Archaeological evidence documents a progressive exodus, with abandonment of the more peripheral buildings and a tendency to occupy areas immediately behind and within the keep.

An unequivocal sign of this exodus is the use of old habitations first as burial areas for infants and then as rubbish heaps. We have a clear sensation of a tendency to withdraw inside the castle, a contraction of the inhabited area which pushed the last few inhabitants (perhaps less than fifty, perhaps some nomadic ones) to seek refuge inside a building which was, by its very nature, much easier to defend.

When, in 1850 BC, the classical Elamite state of Sukkalmahhu decided to cease using land routes (too costly to protect) in favour of the sea, the colonial garrisons in Margiana were withdrawn. For AK9 this signalled abandonment and its end and its ruins, from about 1500 BC, were lived in and exploited from time to time by nomads and seasonal shepherds.

Supply of bullets for slingshot stacked on the floor of the room n. 28, sub-phase 3B (2000-1800 BC). Below: Assyrian slingers. From a bas-relief of Ninive of the British Museum (I mill. BC).
Supply of bullets for slingshot stacked on the floor of the room n. 28, sub-phase 3B (2000-1800 BC). Below: Assyrian slingers. From a bas-relief of Ninive of the British Museum (I mill. BC).
AK1 lasted longer, also because it was here that the people of the oasis settled and, for good or ill, reorganised their lives after the withdrawal of the Elamites. Moreover, situated as it was on the so-called Silk Route which connected the Oxus to the Caspian, it always served as a point of reference for passing caravans at least until the Seljuk period, as is shown by an uninterrupted sequence of finds collected during the course of the limited research carried out there.

In any case, all scholars agree that the definitive collapse of this system, which plunges the history of Margiana into darkness until the Achaemenid Era, can be dated to around 1500 BC.

(ibid., p. 122-137)

 

Source: Rossi Osmida, G.: Adji Kui Oasis. Vol.I: The Citadel of the Figurines.Venice: Il Punto Edizioni 2007.