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AP.html
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<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<title>Tupkish Palace</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="fab.css">
</head>
<body>
<h1>Federico Buccellati</h1>
<h2>The Palace of Tupkish</h2>
<p> During my fieldwork at Tell Mozan, ancient Urkesh, I spent several years
as part of the team excavating the AP Palace. My interest in the structure
continued, and it became the topic of my dissertation and first monograph:</p>
<h3> Three-dimensional Volumetric Analysis in an Archaeological Context: <br>
The Palace of Tupkish at Urkesh and its Representation</h3>
<h5> published with Undena Publications in 2016 in the <i>Bibliotheca
Mesopotamica</i> series as <a href="http://www.undena.com/BM.html#30" target="_blank">volume
30 / UMS 6</a> </h5>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<figure><img src="images/Palace.jpg" alt="AP Palace - Urkesh" title="AP Palace - Urkesh"
style="width: 31%;"> <img src="images/Palace%203D.jpg" alt="AP Palace 3D - Urkesh"
title="AP Palace 3D - Urkesh" style="width: 45.1%;"><figcaption><i>The
AP Palace at Tell Mozan, ancient Urkesh.</i></figcaption></figure>
</div>
<p> The volume is the final publication of the Royal Palace of Urkesh, built
around 2250 BC. Besides offering a detailed architectural analysis of the
structure, it deals extensively with methodology as a way to draw
significant conclusions about the economy and the social setting that made
its construction possible. </p>
<p> The analysis in chapters 2 and 6 is a major contribution to our
understanding of the public buildings of ancient Urkesh, and of palaces
from this region and time period. As a part of this analysis the
proportion of perimeter to area was used to support typological
definitions of rooms and an access analysis were used. These methods are
seldom (if ever) used in the field, but show promise within the framework
of architectural analysis.</p>
<p> A second portion of the monograph focuses on an understanding of the
process of construction, combining data from the archaeological record,
ethnographic parallels and textual evidence. This approach gives a deep
understanding of the process of construction in general, as well as giving
a series of 'algorithms' I developed from several sources (archaeological
record, experimental archaeology, anthropological studies, textual
sources) by which one can quantify the energy invested in the construction
project. These algorithms are applicable in general to structures in stone
and mudbrick, and as such can be used to define and compare the 'cost' and
value of such structures in a meaningful way. This proposes an objective
standard of measurement that can be used not only in archaeological, but
also in an ethnographic context.</p>
<p> The theoretical considerations brought up in chapter 4 introduce aspects
of theory which can be tied to the data presented in this study. Such a
link between theory and data is fundamental, and strengthens the
understanding of both. One strength of the approach lies in the direct tie
between the archaeological record and a discussion of more abstract
concepts such as ‘monumentality’ and ‘prestige’.</p>
<p> The monograph then presents a 3D model of the AP Palace at Tell Mozan,
done not as an aesthetically appealing product, but as an organic research
tool which can adapt to a changing archaeological reality as well as be a
heuristic model. Such a model, done 'for archaeologists, by
archaeologists', is a versatile tool for archaeology, and has real benefit
in both formulating and answering research questions, both in the course
of fieldwork as well as in secondary analyses. This 3D model is a telling
example of how such a model can contribute to reaching the research goals.</p>
<p> The methodological approach to architectural analysis done hand in hand
with ethnographic data and combined with 3D modeling techniques allows for
the application of the general algorithms gained in the third chapter to
the specific volumetrics of the Urkesh Palace. Such an approach allows
archaeologists to better understand concepts such as the value of
materials in architecture as related to studies of energetics; an approach
which highlights both the individuality of this structure while placing it
in a number of very interesting contexts, such as other Mesopotamian
monumental structures or palaces from other cultural contexts.</p>
</body>
</html>