Italian archaeological expedition to Nigin, Southern Iraq. New results from recent excavations

Tell Zurghul, the ancient Sumerian Nigin in the ancient State of Lagash, is currently excavated by a joint Italian archaeological expedition of Sapienza University of Rome and the University of Perugia since 2014. The paper presents the results of the most recent excavation campaigns carried out in 2017, covering two areas (A and B). Recent agreements with the Departments of Geology of both Perugia and Rome aimed at the study of the hydrogeological morphology of the site with a special focus on the investigation of the areas once covered by water, i.e. the presence of marshes and canals, as Gudea of Lagash mentions them in his inscriptions. Furthermore, the study also encompasses the analysis of the ancient shape of the city across time, from the Ubaid to the late third/beginning of the second millennium BC.