Defining the Early Bronze IV pottery assemblage in southern Mesopotamia and the Akkadian settlement patterns in the QADIS Survey Project

The 2016–2018 QADIS survey project, conducted jointly by the University of Bologna and the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH), has investigated the southeastern quarter of the Al Qadisiyah province. The main activities conducted there included analysis of satellite imagery in order to identify potential archaeological sites, ground-truthing, random collection of diagnostic surface materials from sites, intensive collection of diagnostic surface materials at ten sites and some shallow test soundings at four sites. This paper discusses not only the chronological reliability of the current ceramic indicators in southern Mesopotamia for the Early Bronze IV period, but also, according to the so-defined pottery assemblage, starting from the data of the intensive collection of surface materials carried out at the site of QD049–Bismaya/Adab, integrated by the superficial test soundings conducted there, the EB IV settlement patterns in the QADIS survey region.