Gird-I Rostam in Iraqi Kurdistan, 2019 and 2022. Preliminary Results of the Second and Third Seasons of Excavations and of the Geological Survey, with Notes on the Radiocarbon Dates, the Palaeobotanical Remains, Three Amlash-Style Anthropomorphic Figurines and a Possible Old Aramaic Ostracon

The archaeological site of Gird-i Rostam, located in the easternmost part of Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah Governorate, has been subject to excavations since 2018, with a joint Kurdish-German-American team conducting three seasons of fieldwork, interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2019 and 2022 seasons yielded significant findings, shedding further light on the site’s architecture and material culture. Geological fieldwork undertaken in 2019 aimed to enhance understanding of the site’s environs, particularly concerning mineral deposits and resource exploitation. The excavations revealed a large wall with buttresses belonging to a massive fortification with a paved entrance that led to a gate chamber whose us can be dated to the Bronze/Iron Ages. Above this structure, a brick-paved floor with a cooking installation was unearthed, dated to the Parthian/Sasanian period. The Late Chalcolithic levels first exposed in 2018 were further investigated. Finds include a possible Old Aramaic ostracon and anthropomorphic terracotta figurines of an Early Iron Age type connected to the South Caspian site of Amlash. The analysis of palaeobotanical remains gained from flotation indicates the dominance of wheat as a cereal crop, with barley playing a minor role, suggesting a distinct plant economy when compared to other sites in northern Iraq. The evidence for water-demanding crops and the site’s proximity to the Shalair River point to favourable conditions for agriculture, at Gird-i Rostam.