|
|
Article: The Bekhme dam project in Kurdistan Iraq: a threat to the archaeology of the archaeology of the upper Zagros river valley.
- Article from:
- International Journal of Kurdish Studies
- Article date:
- January 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Kurdish Library. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Introduction
Owing to unusual circumstances in Iraq in the early 1990s the building of a dam across the Greater Zab River in the vicinity of a small village called Bekhme was stopped and the project abandoned. With this termination, the archaeology of this part of the Greater Zab River, called the Sapna Valley, was given a reprieve. Known sites of archaeological interest were spared, including Zawi Chemi Shanidar, an open village site dating back to the 11th millennium B.P. and the 4-5th century A.D. respectively (Solecki, Rose, 1980), at least three monasteries and one synagogue site. Shanidar Cave, an important Stone Age site with a long prehistory, lies above ...