The Seminary's Kelso Museum of Near Eastern Archaeology will host Jesse Casana, associate professor of anthropology at Dartmouth College, Thurs., Nov. 3, 2016, for two lectures under the theme "Reports from the Field: A Survey in Northern Iraq and Monitoring Destruction in Syria."

The lectures are free and open to the public. Join us for one or both!

6:00 p.m. Exploring the Borderlands of Mesopotamia: Archaeological Investigations in the Upper Diyala River Valley, Iraq

As co-director of the Sirwan Regional Project, Jesse Casana is currently working to document the Sirwan/Upper Diyala Valley in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, an ecologically diverse landscape that straddles the Zagros Mountains and the lowland plains of southern Mesopotamia. The valley offers a laboratory for analyzing economic and political relationships among ancient communities who inhabited very different upland and lowland environments. Professor Casana’s presentation will highlight key discoveries to date, including a rich record of previously little-known Neolithic cultures, a vast Kassite period (later second millennium BCE) administrative complex, and extensive and well-preserved ruins of the Parthian and Sasanian periods (250 BC-AD 650).

8:30 p.m. Satellite Imagery-based Monitoring of Cultural Heritage Destruction in the Syrian Civil War

Since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, the rich archaeological and cultural heritage of Syria and northern Iraq has faced severe threats, ranging from direct-combat related damage, to widespread looting, to ISIS’s intentional demolitions of historic monuments. The continued inaccessibility of the conflict zone has made it nearly impossible to produce accurate assessments of these threats. Professor Casana will report results of an ongoing effort, undertaken in collaboration with the American Schools of Oriental Research and the US Department of State, to use high-resolution satellite imagery to monitor destruction and looting. Results reveal unexpected patterns in the timing, severity, and location of damage, helping us to understand better the evolving cultural heritage situation in Syria as well as offering robust data for future reconstruction and preservation efforts.

The Seminary's Kelso Museum of Near Eastern Archaeology will host Jesse Casana, associate professor of anthropology at Dartmouth College, Thurs., Nov. 3, 2016, for two lectures under the theme "Reports from the Field: A Survey in Northern Iraq and Monitoring Destruction in Syria."

The lectures are free and open to the public. Join us for one or both!

6:00 p.m. Exploring the Borderlands of Mesopotamia: Archaeological Investigations in the Upper Diyala River Valley, Iraq

As co-director of the Sirwan Regional Project, Jesse Casana is currently working to document the Sirwan/Upper Diyala Valley in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, an ecologically diverse landscape that straddles the Zagros Mountains and the lowland plains of southern Mesopotamia. The valley offers a laboratory for analyzing economic and political relationships among ancient communities who inhabited very different upland and lowland environments. Professor Casana’s presentation will highlight key discoveries to date, including a rich record of previously little-known Neolithic cultures, a vast Kassite period (later second millennium BCE) administrative complex, and extensive and well-preserved ruins of the Parthian and Sasanian periods (250 BC-AD 650).

8:30 p.m. Satellite Imagery-based Monitoring of Cultural Heritage Destruction in the Syrian Civil War

Since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, the rich archaeological and cultural heritage of Syria and northern Iraq has faced severe threats, ranging from direct-combat related damage, to widespread looting, to ISIS’s intentional demolitions of historic monuments. The continued inaccessibility of the conflict zone has made it nearly impossible to produce accurate assessments of these threats. Professor Casana will report results of an ongoing effort, undertaken in collaboration with the American Schools of Oriental Research and the US Department of State, to use high-resolution satellite imagery to monitor destruction and looting. Results reveal unexpected patterns in the timing, severity, and location of damage, helping us to understand better the evolving cultural heritage situation in Syria as well as offering robust data for future reconstruction and preservation efforts.