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Digging For Lost Treasure In Darbandykhan

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  • Digging For Lost Treasure In Darbandykhan

    DIGGING FOR LOST TREASURE IN DARBANDYKHAN
    By Lara Fatah

    Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq
    Oct 30 2006

    An Italian team of archeologists travel to the Berkl area near
    Darbandykhan to lay the groundwork for an extensive excavation of a
    Sassanian monument, due to take place in the Spring.

    Once upon a time, or as the Kurds would say, habu nabu, there was an
    Armenian King, Nerses, that ruled the Sassanian Empire (226-651 AD),
    which included Kurdistan within its borders. Standing high on a hill
    in the Berkl area near Darbandykhan is one of the only known remaining
    Sassanian monuments, and it is a monument to King Nerses.

    The location of the monument has been known since the turn of the
    last century, but due to the unrest that followed in the region, it
    was not until the present day that the site could be professionally
    excavated. In conjunction with the Kurdistan Regional Government
    (KRG), an Italian team of archeologists from the Instituto Italiano
    per l'Africa e l'Oriente, is currently carrying out a short research
    dig at the site, in order to prepare for the full excavation they
    intend to do in the spring.

    Examining the actual monument has not been easy, because not only are
    there later constructions on top of it, an earlier excavation that
    removed some of the inscribed stones of the monument, had caused
    other stones to become scattered. The Italian team also fears that
    some of the bricks may have been looted over the past 10-15 years.

    "We have known for a few years what the general gist of what is
    inscribed on the two main walls, but fully excavating the site, will
    allow us to understand the inscription and how it fits into what we
    already know," says Barbara Faticoni, one of the archeologists.

    "This is the second most important known inscription from the Sassanian
    period, so it is very important that we now have the chance to study
    it in depth," she adds.

    Faticoni is looking to when the team returns in the spring to complete
    their work and is excited to learn more about the actual structure
    of the monument; "Because there are so few surviving examples of
    Sassanian architecture, I'm looking forward to determining how the
    monument actually looked, it's important for us to learn these things,
    we will hopefully be able to reconstruct some of the monument too,"
    she enthuses.

    Faticoni is obviously passionate about the site as she confidently
    strides around its perimeter in her dusty work clothes and her
    sun-kissed face. She is a stark contrast with the three young Kurdish
    girls the Italians are training, who in their clean and pressed
    jeans with large sombrero-esque hats perched on their heads hover
    uncertainly on the perifieries of the site.

    "I think they are a little scared of doing something wrong and I'm
    not sure they realized we would actually involve them in the process,
    but it is the best way for them to learn," says Faticoni.

    Working with Faticoni on the dig is Fabrizio Sinisi, the linguistic
    expert, who says that the only real problem that they have encountered
    is a language barrier.

    "Communicating with the Kurdish workers has been fun at times, but
    even that is not too big a problem because we are used to working
    in foreign countries," he says. Sinisi also says that while the
    monument may look impressive sitting on its hill in the countryside
    around Darbandykhan, its distance from the town has given them a
    few logistical problems. Although the team was winding down its
    research dig and refilling all the trenches that they had dug, they
    were enthusiastically anticipating their return when they will not
    only complete the excavation but open an Italian cultural center in
    Erbil and start teaching at the University of Salahaddin.

    http://web.krg.org/articles/article_d etail.asp?LangNr=12&RubricNr=&ArticleNr=14 528&LNNr=28&RNNr=70
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