DIGGING FOR LOST TREASURE IN DARBANDYKHAN
By Lara Fatah

Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq
Oct 30 2006

An Italian team of archeologists travel to the Berkl area near
Darbandykhan to lay the groundwork for an extensive excavation of a
Sassanian monument, due to take place in the Spring.

Once upon a time, or as the Kurds would say, habu nabu, there was an
Armenian King, Nerses, that ruled the Sassanian Empire (226-651 AD),
which included Kurdistan within its borders. Standing high on a hill
in the Berkl area near Darbandykhan is one of the only known remaining
Sassanian monuments, and it is a monument to King Nerses.

The location of the monument has been known since the turn of the
last century, but due to the unrest that followed in the region, it
was not until the present day that the site could be professionally
excavated. In conjunction with the Kurdistan Regional Government
(KRG), an Italian team of archeologists from the Instituto Italiano
per l’Africa e l’Oriente, is currently carrying out a short research
dig at the site, in order to prepare for the full excavation they
intend to do in the spring.

Examining the actual monument has not been easy, because not only are
there later constructions on top of it, an earlier excavation that
removed some of the inscribed stones of the monument, had caused
other stones to become scattered. The Italian team also fears that
some of the bricks may have been looted over the past 10-15 years.

"We have known for a few years what the general gist of what is
inscribed on the two main walls, but fully excavating the site, will
allow us to understand the inscription and how it fits into what we
already know," says Barbara Faticoni, one of the archeologists.

"This is the second most important known inscription from the Sassanian
period, so it is very important that we now have the chance to study
it in depth," she adds.

Faticoni is looking to when the team returns in the spring to complete
their work and is excited to learn more about the actual structure
of the monument; "Because there are so few surviving examples of
Sassanian architecture, I’m looking forward to determining how the
monument actually looked, it’s important for us to learn these things,
we will hopefully be able to reconstruct some of the monument too,"
she enthuses.

Faticoni is obviously passionate about the site as she confidently
strides around its perimeter in her dusty work clothes and her
sun-kissed face. She is a stark contrast with the three young Kurdish
girls the Italians are training, who in their clean and pressed
jeans with large sombrero-esque hats perched on their heads hover
uncertainly on the perifieries of the site.

"I think they are a little scared of doing something wrong and I’m
not sure they realized we would actually involve them in the process,
but it is the best way for them to learn," says Faticoni.

Working with Faticoni on the dig is Fabrizio Sinisi, the linguistic
expert, who says that the only real problem that they have encountered
is a language barrier.

"Communicating with the Kurdish workers has been fun at times, but
even that is not too big a problem because we are used to working
in foreign countries," he says. Sinisi also says that while the
monument may look impressive sitting on its hill in the countryside
around Darbandykhan, its distance from the town has given them a
few logistical problems. Although the team was winding down its
research dig and refilling all the trenches that they had dug, they
were enthusiastically anticipating their return when they will not
only complete the excavation but open an Italian cultural center in
Erbil and start teaching at the University of Salahaddin.

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