Dissertations

Dissertation on the KALAM activities in Iraq

Il popolamento della Mesopotamia meridionale dal V millennio a.C. alla metà del II millennio d.C.: uno studio di archeologia insediamentale sulla base di remote sensing, modelli predittivi e dati dalle ricognizioni sul campo by Valentina Orrù (PhD dissertation)

Supervisor: Nicolò Marchetti

Area of activity: Mesopotamian alluvium (Iraq)

Abstract: This research project aims to investigate and understand the development of settlement patterns and land-use strategies in the Mesopotamian alluvium, from Balad to Al-Qurna, between the 5^th millennium BCE and the mid-2^nd millennium CE. The study integrates the FloodPlains dataset, remote sensing, and machine learning methodologies to provide a comprehensive overview of the interaction between environment and society in one of Antiquity’s most dynamic landscapes. In previously unexplored regions, the recent Abu Ghraib survey represents the most significant case, focusing on deepening the understanding of settlement structures and ancient water management systems. This was made possible also by the automation of remote sensing analyses using artificial intelligence techniques, which were subsequently validated through field investigations. The integration of these approaches, with attention to paleoenvironmental studies, enables the construction of a detailed framework of settlement models and land-use dynamics, making a significant contribution to the study of ancient southern Mesopotamian settlement patterns.

Dissertations on KALAM activities in Uzbekistan

Progetto di valorizzazione e creazione di un parco archeologico: il sito di Kafir Kala, Samarcanda (Uzbekistan) by Giuseppe Noia (MA dissertation)

Supervisors:  Alessandro Iannucci, Simone Mantellini, Simone Zambruno

Area of activity: Kafir Kala

Abstract: The dissertation, considering the historical and cultural influences of Samarkand and Central Asia (mainly the region of Sogdiana), focused on the musealisation of Kafir Kala (Samarkand) and the creation of an archaeological park promoting the interaction between social groups with different cultural backgrounds. The project, in fact, aims at involving the local communities while offering visitors the opportunity to be active spectators to the archaelogical investigations throughout the site and its region.

Archeologia pubblica: l’uso dei social media come nuova via per coinvolgere la società contemporanea. Analisi comparativa tra progetti archeologici italiani e inglesi by Giulia Rinaldi (MA dissertation)

Supervisors: Andrea Augenti, Simone Mantellini

Area of activity: /

Abstract: The research evaluated the use of social media in archaeology through the analysis of over 200 Italian and English-speaking academic archaeological projects. The goal was to frame the differences existing between the two groups and whether the earlier stages of Public Archaeology are reflected in a more coherent use of the communication tools available nowadays. In detail, the dissertation aimed at: 1) reconstructing the history of Public Archaeology in Italy since its beginnings, in parallel with the developments in the Anglo-Saxon context, 2) defining how archaeological communication is applied in both offline and online interactions, 3) reconstructing the evolution of social media since the invention of the World Wide Web, and 4) analysing exemplar case-studies of archaeological projects which exploit social media.

L'Altro Trapassato: pratiche relazionali italiane e uzbeke intorno ai resti umani della necropoli di Kafir Kala, Uzbekistan by Andrea Laura Malatesta Paradisi (MA dissertation)

Supervisors:  Roberta Bonetti, Simone Mantellini

Area of activity: Kafir Kala, Naiman

Abstract:  The dissertation investigated the practices of respect and care implemented towards the human remains recovered during the archaeological excavation of the ancient cemetery of Kafir Kala, involving Italian and Uzbek members of the Italian-Uzbek Archaeological Project (PAIU) and the community of the nearby village of Naiman. The research originates from a particular sacrificial rite performed annually on the site by unskilled Uzbek workers: from this practice,  the dissertation aimed at reconstructing the emotional and relational dynamics set off by the encounter of modern investigators with ancient human remains, witnessed by the resulting care actions defined by the different cultural vocabularies.

Heritage, comunità e processi di valorizzazione turistica: un'analisi geografica del sito archeologico di Kafir Kala, Uzbekistan by Rebecca Silvagni (MA dissertation)

Supervisors:  Andrea Zinzani, Simone Mantellini

Area of activity: Kafir Kala

Abstract:  Using current tourism and heritage studies as a point of reference, the dissertation analysed the relationship between the archaeological site of Kafir Kala, the local community and the national and international institutions. It also investigated the contribution of the KALAM project in involving local inhabitants in the planning phase of an archaeological park to be created on the site. Data were collected through social research, conducting semi-structured interviews with various individuals related to the local archaeological landscape.

Geografia dell'heritage e comunità locali in Uzbekistan: il caso del parco archeologico di Kafir Kala by Alessandra Bachiorri (MA dissertation)

Supervisors:  Andrea Zinzani, Simone Mantellini

Area of activity: Kafir Kala

Abstract:  The dissertation revolved around the concept of cultural heritage, memory and identity within the communities that inhabit the archaeological landscape of Kafir Kala, and in relation with the institutions managing the site. These concepts were analysed through a geographical lens, aiming to create a comprehensive framework of the community and institutional perspectives of the territorial processes that developed over the past decades around the archaeological site. An ethnographic social research study allowed to survey the perspectives of the population and their personal relationship with Kafir Kala, from their historical knowledge of the site to oral traditions, and their thoughts about the future of the archaeological landscape within their everyday lives.