Abu Tbeirah and the Marshland: Dreaming Everyday Life in the Ahwar of the 3rd Millennium BCE

Abstract

As already highlighted by archaeologists and ethnographers, there is a strong connection between the life in 3rd millennium BCE Sumer and the ethnographic traditions of the Marsh Arabs, still inhabiting the Ahwar of southern Iraq. This unique continuity is at the base of the admission in the UNESCO WHL of Ur, Uruk and Eridu, together with the Marshland as a mixed property.

Recent excavations at the archaeological site of Abu Tbeirah, located near Nasiriyah, are enriching our knowledge on these aspects of long continuity with novel data, obtained with an up-to-date methodology. The paper will thus describe the ancient environmental setting of the site, the water management inside the Tell, the fauna, the flora and their exploitation, and the material culture.