Back to the Archive: The Challenge of Old Excavation Data from Ancient Mesopotamia

The analysis of scientific archives has emerged in the previous decades as an important element in the study of archaeological sites. While the theoretical and practical roots of this approach date to the early 1960s, the onset of the digital era provided the real breakthrough by enhancing and quickening data collection, elaboration and sharing through different media. In the paper, using a case study of ancient Kish, an important capital of Southern Mesopotamia, I will show how a single scholar can contribute to the study and reconstruction of an old excavation. The paper will raise the specific challenges affecting single scholar research. A working protocol will be proposed and evaluated based on the case study of the ancient Mesopotamian site of Kish.