93262 - Archaeology of the Indo-Iranian Frontier

Learning outcomes

The course aims to introduce the student to the complex field of archaeology of the Indo-Iranian borderland, a place of important phenomena of intersection between the Iranian and Indian worlds, in the pre-Islamic historical period, through the deepening of a monographic theme, different from year to year, addressed on the basis of the direct examination of historical, literary and archaeological sources, considered in the critical perspective of scientific research. At the end of the course, the student: - has acquired the specific knowledge of the monographic theme dealt with; - has developed the capacity for autonomous judgement in order to deal critically with the vast bibliography existing on the archaeology of the region; - has the necessary learning skills to deal with sources for archaeological research with rigorous methodology.

Course contents

The course concerns a single theme of the archaeology of the Indo-Iranic frontier, studied in a more detailed monographic perspective, with a particular attention towards critics and methodology.
The theme of the 2020-21 course is: "Clay and stucco sculpture, evolution of Buddhist art in the Indo-Iranian frontier from the Kushana period to the Islamic conquest".

The course intends to briefly present, through the analysis of some emblematic cases, the study problems concerning the material culture and the Buddhist religious architecture in the area known as the Indo-Iranian frontier.

In particular, the production of clay and stucco sculptures, a rich and prolonged attestation of which can be found in the area of the Indo-Iranian frontier, will be discussed.

The monographic part of the course will be preceded by some introductory lessons on geography, history and culture of the regions examined during the course.

For a better adherence to the methodological perspective of the course of study, some hours will be dedicated to the state of the art, in order to present the main actors of the archaeological research in the area.

Some hours will also be dedicated to the knowledge of the main institutions in charge of safeguarding cultural heritage in the area and of the main local and international archaeological collections, in order to illustrate strategies and problems concerning the cultural heritage protection and enhancement in the area.

 

Main Topics of the course:

• Geographical, historical, cultural and religious overview of the area.
• Fundamentals of history of Indian archaeology: the DAFA and the Italian Archaeological Mission in Afghanistan.
  
• The main archaeological collections in Italy and in the world.
• Fundamentals of Buddhist art and architecture.
• Tepe Sardar
• Kuh-e Khwaja
• Bamian

Readings/Bibliography

TEXTS FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE ORAL EXAM:

For an introduction to the archeology of the Indo-Iranian frontier:

• AA. VV., “L'archeologia dell'Iran. La frontiera Indo-Iranica”, in Enciclopedia Archeologica, III. Asia, Roma, Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana Treccani,2005. pp. 580-592. Reperibili anche sul sito internet della Treccani (www.treccani.it).
• F. Maniscalco, Arachosia. Terra d'incontro tra oriente e occidente, Roma, 2014. Only the following are mandatory: Capitolo II, "GLI EDITTI DI ASOKA DA KANDAHAR: PROBLEMI E CONSIDERAZIONI", Capitolo III, "IL DOMINIO DELL’ARACHOSIA DALLA DISFATTA DELL’IMPERO ACHEMENIDE ALL’ASCESA DI SELEUCO NICATORE" and CONCLUSIONI.
  
• B. Jacobs, “ACHAEMENID SATRAPIES”, Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition, 2011, available at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/achaemenid-satrapies

 

Monographic section:

• Filigenzi, A. and Giunta, R. (2015) The Italian Archaeological Mission in Afghanistan. In B. Cassar and S. Noshadi Keeping History Alive Safeguarding Cultural Heritage in Post-Conflict Afghanistan, 80-91. Kabul.
• Forgione, G. (2021) Clay-based sculptures: analysis of technical aspects and typologies. Parthica. Incontri di culture nel mondo antico, 23, 2021 [2022], 145-176.
• Kawami, Trudy S. (1987) "Kuh-e Khwaja, Iran, and Its Wall Paintings: The Records of Ernst Herzfeld": Metropolitan Museum Journal, v. 22 (1987) (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/kuhe_khwaja_iran_and_its_wall_paintings_the_metropolitan_museum_journal_v_22_1987)
  

 

For non-attending students, the following bibliography is added:

• R. Boucharlat, "Iran. Sistan-Baluchistan" , in P. Briant & R. Boucharlat, eds., L'archéologie de l'empire achéménide: nouvelles recherches (Persika, 6), Paris 2005, pp. 268-270.
  
• B. Genito, "Alla ricerca di un’archeologia perduta. Spunti e riflessioni su uno scavo di quaranta anni fa: Umberto Scerrato e il suo Sistan (In Search for a Lost Archaeology. Ideas and Thoughts on a forty years ago excavation: Umberto Scerrato and his Sistan)", in Museo Orientale, Umberto Scerrato, 291-302. Napoli, 2012. http://www.museorientale.unior.it/catalogo/files/assets/basic-html/index.html
• Soroor Ghanimati, “KUH-E ḴᵛĀJA,” Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition, 2015, available at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kuh-e-khvaja (accessed on 28 September 2015).

However, it is strongly recommended that non-attending students contact the teacher to arrange a specific programme and bibliography.

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For those who have not already attended courses dedicated to the archaeology of Iran, we recommend reading the following:

• J. Wiesehöfer, La Persia Antica, Bologna, 2003.

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Among the texts used by the teacher for the preparation of the frontal lessons, BUT NOT REQUIRED FOR THE ORAL EXAM, it is worth mentioning:

• Callieri, P. (2014) L'art du stuc à la lumière des trouvailles récentes. In P. Callieri Architecture et représentations dans l'Iran sassanide, 103-127. Paris.
• William B. Trousdale & Mitchell Allen (2022) The Archaeology of Southwest Afghanistan, Volume 1 Survey and Excavation. Edinburgo.

 

The list will be updated during the course.

 

Teaching methods

Frontal lessons with direct and critical examination of the archaeological and iconographic documentation through projection of images and distribution of didactic material (when possible also uploaded on the "Virtuale" site).

The aim of the course is to introduce the student to the main problems of the proposed research theme. Emphasis is placed on the methodological approach to research, in order to stimulate critical reflection on the part of the student.

Assessment methods

The examination consists of an oral interview to assess the critical and methodological skills matured by the student and the acquisition of basic knowledge in the field of the archaeology of the Indo-Iranian borderland.

The evaluation will take into account the student's ability to orientate within the sources and the bibliographic material in order to obtain useful information that will enable him to explain themes and problems and to know how to connect them.

In addition to the contents, students will be evaluated on the ability to synthesize and analyse archaeological themes and the ability to express themselves adequately and with appropriate language.

Full acquisition of these skills and an exhaustive knowledge of the matter will be assessed with excellence marks (27-30).

A predominantly mnemonic acquisition of course's contents and discontinuous language and logical skills will be assessed with discrete marks (24-26).

A minimum level of knowledge of the course contents combined with training gaps or inadequate language and logical skills will be evaluated with marks slightly above the sufficiency (18-24).

The absence of a minimal acquisition of the course contents combined with inadequate verbal expression and logical skills will be considered insufficient.

Teaching tools

Projection of images and distribution of didactic material in pdf, when possible also via the "Virtuale" site.

Office hours

See the website of Luca Colliva