Highlights
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Led by Associate , the U.S. National Science Foundation-sponsored is uncovering rare physical evidence revealing what life looked like nearly 4,000 years ago and how civilization has evolved over time.
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From siege-damaged buildings to human remains in destruction deposits, the findings the human toll of siege warfare in unusual detail.
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The discoveries show northern Mesopotamian cities like Qabra were sophisticated, fortified and politically significant.
At Kurd Qaburstan, an ancient site in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, a ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½-led team has uncovered the first substantial group of cuneiform tablets found in the Erbil region, along with evidence of large-scale destruction, mass graves and citywide fortifications. Together, the discoveries are providing one of the clearest archaeological records yet uncovered of siege warfare and urban life during the Middle Bronze Age.
βOur 2025 research produced clear archaeological evidence linking the site to the siege of Qabra, beginning with the first significant group of cuneiform tablets found on the Erbil Plain,β says Tiffany Earley-Spadoni, associate professor of history at ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ and director of the Kurd Qaburstan project. βSeveral tablets are dated within days of each other, matching the timeline of the cityβs fall.β
The project is supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation and conducted in partnership with the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Heritage in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The funded excavations took place during two summer seasons in 2024 and 2025.
A Lost Archive Emerges
Researchers recovered 20 cuneiform tablets and more than 100 administrative sealings from destruction layers within the Lower Town East Palace. The artifacts are being studied by epigraphers Paul Delnero (Johns Hopkins University) and Parker Zane (Yale University), along with art historian Marian Feldman (Johns Hopkins University).
The texts include palace administrative records and a letter that may reference a high-ranking official connected to Qabra. Some inscriptions may also correspond to the destruction described on the Victory Stele of Dadusha.
βMost of the tablets are administrative and provide a snapshot of palace life and the economy of the ancient city,β Earley-Spadoni says. βOne tablet appears to have been written by a high-ranking official in ancient Qabra.β
Evidence of Siege Warfare
Collapsed structures, burned layers and concentrated debris suggest a coordinated and possibly prolonged assault.
βThe two superimposed destructions match the historical sequence of the siege of Qabra and its conquest by Shamshi Addu,β Earley-Spadoni says. βThe charred debris, the large number of ceramic vessels and individuals who met untimely deaths and were buried in the destruction layers, provide the clearest archaeological case of Middle Bronze Age siege warfare yet discovered in northern Mesopotamia.β
The Human Toll of Conflict
Within the palace destruction layers, researchers discovered the remains of 17 individuals, studied by bioarchaeologist Andrea Zurek-Ost at Michigan State University.
βThe individuals were not formally buried and had no associated grave goods,β Earley-Spadoni says. βSome appear to have been left where they died, including possible palace workers. One individual was found face down over a stone basin.β
Researchers also uncovered a preserved street with an engineered drainage system and domestic spaces used for food processing and textile production, pointing to sophisticated infrastructure and economic activity.
Mapping an Ancient City at Scale
βThe evidence from Kurd Qaburstan shows that northern cities could be large, complex, and politically significant, with administrative systems, fortifications, and infrastructure comparable to those of the best-known southern sites.ββTiffany Earley-Spadoni, director of the Kurd Qaburstan Project
The team also completed a magnetometer survey covering more than 80 hectares (about 180 acres). The survey, which measures changes in Earthβs magnetic field to detect buried structures, was led by Andrew Creekmore III at the University of Northern Colorado. The survey revealed a monumental wall with bastions encircling the site.
The fortifications correspond with those depicted on the Victory Stele of Dadusha and support the identification of Kurd Qaburstan as the ancient city of Qabra.
Rewriting the Story of Northern Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is often associated with southern cities like Uruk, long viewed as the center of early urban civilization. Discoveries at Kurd Qaburstan are helping highlight the value of northern cities, Earley-Spadoni says.
βThe evidence from Kurd Qaburstan shows that northern cities could be large, complex, and politically significant, with administrative systems, fortifications, and infrastructure comparable to those of the best-known southern sites,β she says.
These discoveries build on a decade of prior excavation at Kurd Qaburstan by Johns Hopkins University, revealing a city long absent from the historical record.
βLaboratory investigations are underway, including isotopic and ancient DNA analyses of the 17 individuals,β Earley-Spadoni says. βThis work will help researchers understand their origins and relationships.β
Each discovery brings researchers closer to understanding how this ancient city functioned and how it ultimately fell.
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) under Award No. 2344957. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF. Work was conducted with the permission, support, and collaboration of the Directorate-General of Antiquities of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Director-General Kak Kaify Mustafa Ali, and the Erbil Department of Antiquities, Director Kak Nader Babakr.
