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Adelheid Otto

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Fakultät für Kulturwissenschaften, Faculty Member

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Address: Germany

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Simon M . Halama

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Janoscha Kreppner

Universität Münster

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Andreas Schachner

German Archaeological Institute

Friedhelm Pedde

Julius-Maximilians - Universität Würzburg

Andreas Müller-Karpe

Philipps University Marburg

Vuslat Müller-Karpe

Philipps University Marburg

Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

Riko Süssenguth

Philipps Universität Marburg

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Papers by Adelheid Otto

Otto.et al.Ausgrabungen in Fāra /Šuruppak 2022

MDOG 156, 2024

In spring 2022, 120 years after the first excavations, a team from LMU Munich, in collaboration w... more In spring 2022, 120 years after the first excavations, a team from LMU Munich, in collaboration with the University al-Qadissiya (Diwaniyah), carried out excavations in Fāra, ancient Šuruppak. An important result of the short excavation campaign was to confirm that successful research is possible despite the recent heavy destruction. A combination of non-invasive methods (geophysics, survey and aerial photography) and limited, precisely targeted excavations led to the first systematic documentation of ED II and ED IIIa period neighbourhoods and houses, including installations and mobile inventory. The large building in the centre was probably the main temple, which was surrounded by planned streets. Numerous discarded sealings of the ED II period were found in ‘Graben Ide’, where the 1902 excavations had already uncovered many similar ones, and which have long been regarded as diagnostic of the Mesilim period. They now turn out to be remains from a neighbouring building that must have had administrative functions.

A Companion to Ancient Near Eastern Art

In ancient Near Eastern studies, the term glyptic, derived from Greek glyphein (to engrave, to ca... more In ancient Near Eastern studies, the term glyptic, derived from Greek glyphein (to engrave, to carve), exclusively designates carved seals whose designs were engraved on the material in reverse and appeared in relief when the seal was impressed on soft material, most often clay. There were two basic types of seals: stamp seals and cylinder seals, or, rarely, a combination of the two. Stamp seals were in continuous use from the seventh millennium bce until the Seleucid period and even later; in fact, they are still in use today. Usually one flat or slightly convex side bears a carved design, while the other side can be shaped as a knob, cone, scarab, or other animal. A cylinder seal is a small cylindrical artifact into whose convex matrix the design was engraved, enabling an endless band of images to be produced. From the mid-fourth millennium bce onward, the cylinder seal progressively replaced the stamp seal in Mesopotamia, Syria, and western Iran, while in other regions of the Near East (such as Palestine or the Iranian plateau) stamps continued to be used. The cylinder found its way to these regions only during periods of intensive economic and political exchange with Mesopotamia, for example, in Anatolia during the Old Assyrian Colony period in the early second millennium bce. Why did the cylinder seal replace the stamp seal? One theory argues that rolling was faster than impressing, and therefore better suited to covering large surfaces. The essential advantage, however, was probably that the cylinder could accommodate more information on its surface. As a result, it Glyptic Adelheid Otto

Basins in the Temples of Ebla, Syria and Upper Mesopotamia:: An Essential Cult Requisite?

Tell Bazi (Aleppo)

Official Seal Motifs at Larsa and Ur in the 19TH Century BC

De l'Argile au Numerique, 2019

Between Feasts and Daily Meals

The centrality of commensality-eating and drinking together in a common physical and social setti... more The centrality of commensality-eating and drinking together in a common physical and social setting-in people's everyday lives makes it a particularly important location from which to explore social relations and the working of politics. The recent focus in archaeology and related disciplines on feasting and other special commensal occasions needs to be balanced by attention to daily commensality, in which crucial elements of social reproduction take place. I highlight two particular forms of commensal practices, hospitality and provisioning, that resonate with many of the cases discussed in the papers in this volume. Finally, I point to a largely neglected area of study in archaeology, that of hunger and its implications for the politics of commensality.

Revisiting Fara: Comparison of merged prospection results of diverse magnetometers with the earliest excavations in ancient ˇSuruppak from 120 years ago

by Adelheid Otto and Jorg W E Fassbinder

Archaeological Prospection, 2022

Ancient ˇSuruppak, today Fara, was one of the major Sumerian cities in Mesopotamia. It was situat... more Ancient ˇSuruppak, today Fara, was one of the major Sumerian cities in Mesopotamia. It was situated along one of the ancient watercourses of the Euphrates River. Findings date it back to the Jemdet Nasr period around 3000 BC with a continuous occupation until the end of the Ur III period around 2000 BC. Fara was first explored and excavated by the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft in the years 1902 and 1903 under the direction of Walter Andrae. Multiple excavation trenches with lengths up to 900 m transect the 1 km2 wide mound and are still visible today which enables us to georeference the excavation maps. Today, the 2.2 km2 wide archaeological area is dry and without any vegetation. Thousands of deep looting pits are covering the majority of mound which not only destroyed its upper metres but also challenge the application of geophysical prospection methods and their interpretation. The magnetometer prospecting of selected areas on and around the mound was carried out with three devices, two total field magnetometers and one gradiometer. The individual survey areas were combined in post-processing by applying a high-pass filter on the total field data sets and multiplying the vertical gradiometer data sets by a factor of two. This approach provides visually uniform magnetograms, despite being obtained by different devices, which simplifies subsequent visual interpretation. These magnetograms
enable us to review, and to extend the results of the old excavations. The
comparison show a good correlation in accuracy to the old drawings and positive identification of the already excavated features with magnetometry. Highlights of the survey are the discovery of the city wall confirming its existence, the layout of a unique building complex in the centre of the mound, likely a temple, traces of canals inside the city and an evaluation of magnetometer prospection over a looted area.

From Pottery to Chronology: The Middle Euphrates Region in Late Bronze Age Syria

The Inventory of the Temple at Tall Bazi

Professional Women and Women at Work in Mesopotamia and Syria (3rd and early 2nd millennia BC): The (rare) information from visual images

The Role of Women in Work and Society in the Ancient Near East, 2016

Organization of Late Bronze Age cities in the Upper Syrian Euphrates Valley

Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East Madrid April 3 8 2006 Actas Del V Congreso Internacional De Arqueologia Del Oriente Proximo Antiguo Vol 2 2008 Isbn 978 84 8344 142 8 Pags 715 731, 2008

Schenkungen von Mittani-Königen an die Einwohner von Basiru. Die zwei Urkunden aus Tall Bazi am Mittleren Euphrat

Zeitschrift Fur Assyriologie Und Vorderasiatische Archaologie, 2006

... 23). Die Zitadelle von Bazi wurde auf einem natürlichen Berg angelegt und erhebt sich 60 m ü... more

A. Otto und B. Einwag. Banat-Bazi in Nordsyrien und seine mögliche Identifikation mit Armanum / Armium des 24./23. Jh. v. Chr.

Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologenverbandes 42.2, 2011

A.Dietz – A.Otto. Wettergott(heiten). B. Archäologisch. In Syrien und Mesopotamien

Reallexikon für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie 15, 2016

Private and State in the Second Millennium B.C. from an Archaeological Perspective

R. de Boer and J.G. Dercksen (ed.), Private and State in the Ancient Near East. Proceedings of the 58th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale at Leiden, 16-20 July 2012, 2017

Basins in the Temples of Ebla, Syria and Upper Mesopotamia: An Essential Cult Requisite?

by Adelheid Otto and Marta D'Andrea

P. Matthiae, F. Pinnock, M. d’Andrea (ed.), Ebla and Beyond. Ancient Near Eastern Studies after Fifty Years of Discoveries at Tell Mardikh. Wiesbaden , 2018

Shala. B. Archäologisch

Reallexikon für Assyriologie 11, 2008

Regen. B. In der Bildkunst

Reallexikon für Assyriologie 11, 2007

Wasser. B. Archäologisch

Reallexikon für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie 15, 2016

Umma, Shara Temple. The Images of the Seal Impressions

N. Ahmed Al-Mutawalli, K. Salim Ismail, W. Sallaberger, Bullae from the Shara Temple. Cuneiform Texts from the Iraqi Excavations at Umma (Jokha), 2019

Seal images are rare among the hundreds of seal impressions on the bullae. Sizeable figurative sc... more

Otto.et al.Ausgrabungen in Fāra /Šuruppak 2022

MDOG 156, 2024

In spring 2022, 120 years after the first excavations, a team from LMU Munich, in collaboration w... more In spring 2022, 120 years after the first excavations, a team from LMU Munich, in collaboration with the University al-Qadissiya (Diwaniyah), carried out excavations in Fāra, ancient Šuruppak. An important result of the short excavation campaign was to confirm that successful research is possible despite the recent heavy destruction. A combination of non-invasive methods (geophysics, survey and aerial photography) and limited, precisely targeted excavations led to the first systematic documentation of ED II and ED IIIa period neighbourhoods and houses, including installations and mobile inventory. The large building in the centre was probably the main temple, which was surrounded by planned streets. Numerous discarded sealings of the ED II period were found in ‘Graben Ide’, where the 1902 excavations had already uncovered many similar ones, and which have long been regarded as diagnostic of the Mesilim period. They now turn out to be remains from a neighbouring building that must have had administrative functions.

A Companion to Ancient Near Eastern Art

In ancient Near Eastern studies, the term glyptic, derived from Greek glyphein (to engrave, to ca... more In ancient Near Eastern studies, the term glyptic, derived from Greek glyphein (to engrave, to carve), exclusively designates carved seals whose designs were engraved on the material in reverse and appeared in relief when the seal was impressed on soft material, most often clay. There were two basic types of seals: stamp seals and cylinder seals, or, rarely, a combination of the two. Stamp seals were in continuous use from the seventh millennium bce until the Seleucid period and even later; in fact, they are still in use today. Usually one flat or slightly convex side bears a carved design, while the other side can be shaped as a knob, cone, scarab, or other animal. A cylinder seal is a small cylindrical artifact into whose convex matrix the design was engraved, enabling an endless band of images to be produced. From the mid-fourth millennium bce onward, the cylinder seal progressively replaced the stamp seal in Mesopotamia, Syria, and western Iran, while in other regions of the Near East (such as Palestine or the Iranian plateau) stamps continued to be used. The cylinder found its way to these regions only during periods of intensive economic and political exchange with Mesopotamia, for example, in Anatolia during the Old Assyrian Colony period in the early second millennium bce. Why did the cylinder seal replace the stamp seal? One theory argues that rolling was faster than impressing, and therefore better suited to covering large surfaces. The essential advantage, however, was probably that the cylinder could accommodate more information on its surface. As a result, it Glyptic Adelheid Otto

Basins in the Temples of Ebla, Syria and Upper Mesopotamia:: An Essential Cult Requisite?

Tell Bazi (Aleppo)

Official Seal Motifs at Larsa and Ur in the 19TH Century BC

De l'Argile au Numerique, 2019

Between Feasts and Daily Meals

The centrality of commensality-eating and drinking together in a common physical and social setti... more The centrality of commensality-eating and drinking together in a common physical and social setting-in people's everyday lives makes it a particularly important location from which to explore social relations and the working of politics. The recent focus in archaeology and related disciplines on feasting and other special commensal occasions needs to be balanced by attention to daily commensality, in which crucial elements of social reproduction take place. I highlight two particular forms of commensal practices, hospitality and provisioning, that resonate with many of the cases discussed in the papers in this volume. Finally, I point to a largely neglected area of study in archaeology, that of hunger and its implications for the politics of commensality.

Revisiting Fara: Comparison of merged prospection results of diverse magnetometers with the earliest excavations in ancient ˇSuruppak from 120 years ago

by Adelheid Otto and Jorg W E Fassbinder

Archaeological Prospection, 2022

Ancient ˇSuruppak, today Fara, was one of the major Sumerian cities in Mesopotamia. It was situat... more Ancient ˇSuruppak, today Fara, was one of the major Sumerian cities in Mesopotamia. It was situated along one of the ancient watercourses of the Euphrates River. Findings date it back to the Jemdet Nasr period around 3000 BC with a continuous occupation until the end of the Ur III period around 2000 BC. Fara was first explored and excavated by the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft in the years 1902 and 1903 under the direction of Walter Andrae. Multiple excavation trenches with lengths up to 900 m transect the 1 km2 wide mound and are still visible today which enables us to georeference the excavation maps. Today, the 2.2 km2 wide archaeological area is dry and without any vegetation. Thousands of deep looting pits are covering the majority of mound which not only destroyed its upper metres but also challenge the application of geophysical prospection methods and their interpretation. The magnetometer prospecting of selected areas on and around the mound was carried out with three devices, two total field magnetometers and one gradiometer. The individual survey areas were combined in post-processing by applying a high-pass filter on the total field data sets and multiplying the vertical gradiometer data sets by a factor of two. This approach provides visually uniform magnetograms, despite being obtained by different devices, which simplifies subsequent visual interpretation. These magnetograms
enable us to review, and to extend the results of the old excavations. The
comparison show a good correlation in accuracy to the old drawings and positive identification of the already excavated features with magnetometry. Highlights of the survey are the discovery of the city wall confirming its existence, the layout of a unique building complex in the centre of the mound, likely a temple, traces of canals inside the city and an evaluation of magnetometer prospection over a looted area.

From Pottery to Chronology: The Middle Euphrates Region in Late Bronze Age Syria

The Inventory of the Temple at Tall Bazi

Professional Women and Women at Work in Mesopotamia and Syria (3rd and early 2nd millennia BC): The (rare) information from visual images

The Role of Women in Work and Society in the Ancient Near East, 2016

Organization of Late Bronze Age cities in the Upper Syrian Euphrates Valley

Proceedings of the 5th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East Madrid April 3 8 2006 Actas Del V Congreso Internacional De Arqueologia Del Oriente Proximo Antiguo Vol 2 2008 Isbn 978 84 8344 142 8 Pags 715 731, 2008

Schenkungen von Mittani-Königen an die Einwohner von Basiru. Die zwei Urkunden aus Tall Bazi am Mittleren Euphrat

Zeitschrift Fur Assyriologie Und Vorderasiatische Archaologie, 2006

... 23). Die Zitadelle von Bazi wurde auf einem natürlichen Berg angelegt und erhebt sich 60 m ü... more

A. Otto und B. Einwag. Banat-Bazi in Nordsyrien und seine mögliche Identifikation mit Armanum / Armium des 24./23. Jh. v. Chr.

Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologenverbandes 42.2, 2011

A.Dietz – A.Otto. Wettergott(heiten). B. Archäologisch. In Syrien und Mesopotamien

Reallexikon für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie 15, 2016

Private and State in the Second Millennium B.C. from an Archaeological Perspective

R. de Boer and J.G. Dercksen (ed.), Private and State in the Ancient Near East. Proceedings of the 58th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale at Leiden, 16-20 July 2012, 2017

Basins in the Temples of Ebla, Syria and Upper Mesopotamia: An Essential Cult Requisite?

by Adelheid Otto and Marta D'Andrea

P. Matthiae, F. Pinnock, M. d’Andrea (ed.), Ebla and Beyond. Ancient Near Eastern Studies after Fifty Years of Discoveries at Tell Mardikh. Wiesbaden , 2018

Shala. B. Archäologisch

Reallexikon für Assyriologie 11, 2008

Regen. B. In der Bildkunst

Reallexikon für Assyriologie 11, 2007

Wasser. B. Archäologisch

Reallexikon für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie 15, 2016

Umma, Shara Temple. The Images of the Seal Impressions

N. Ahmed Al-Mutawalli, K. Salim Ismail, W. Sallaberger, Bullae from the Shara Temple. Cuneiform Texts from the Iraqi Excavations at Umma (Jokha), 2019

Seal images are rare among the hundreds of seal impressions on the bullae. Sizeable figurative sc... more

50 Jahre Vorderasiatische Archäologie in München

by Kai Kaniuth and Adelheid Otto

50 Jahre Vorderasiatische Archäologie in München, 2022

This open access publication in German and English can be downloaded at: https://oa-fund.ub.uni-m... more This open access publication in German and English can be downloaded at: https://oa-fund.ub.uni-muenchen.de/id/eprint/35/

Abstract: This volume celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Institute for Near Eastern Archeology at Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich. It draws from archives, research and administrative data, but above all from the memories of its members since its foundation in 1970. The history of the institute, teaching experience and research achievements are the three intertwined cornerstones between which the contributions move. The vivid image of a community of practitioners is both a tribute to the past and an encouragement for further exploration of the "cradle of cultures".

Der vorliegende Band feiert das 50-jährige Bestehen des Instituts für Vorderasiatische Archäologie der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Er schöpft aus Archivalien, Forschungs- und Verwaltungsdaten, vor allem aber aus den Erinnerungen seiner Mitglieder seit der Gründung im Jahr 1970. Institutsgeschichte, Lehrerfahrungen und Forschungsleistung sind die drei vielfach ineinander verwobenen Eckpunkte, zwischen denen sich die Beiträge bewegen. Das lebendige Bild einer Gemeinschaft von Praktizierenden ist zugleich Würdigung des Vergangenen und Werbung für eine weitergehende Erforschung der „Wiege der Kulturen”.