Archives Scrapbooks

The image is a page from the "Alumni Bulletin" dated June 8, 1929. The article is titled "Harvard Excavations in Iraq" and discusses an archaeological expedition at Nuzi near Kirkuk, carried out by the Fogg and the Semitic Museums in conjunction with the American School at Baghdad. The expedition, led by Dr. Robert H. Pfeiffer, was conducted over two seasons, from 1927 to 1929.

Key points from the article include:

• The excavation explored about 100 rooms and uncovered various objects such as bronze, pottery, and bone artifacts.
• Significant discoveries included cuneiform tablets, which were sent to the Nippur Museum at Baghdad for study and publication.
• The excavation was hampered by the latest floodwaters, which restricted work to the uppermost stratum.
• The site dates back to around 1500 B.C., and evidence suggests the city was destroyed by rising water levels.
• A notable find was a letter from a king of the Mitanni, providing insights into the political landscape of the time.
• The settlement at the site is believed to predate the mid-3rd Millennium B.C., with evidence of multiple periods of occupation and destruction.
• The excavation uncovered various artifacts, including pottery, tools, and ornaments made of lapis lazuli, silver, and gold.
• The discovery of a splendid burial at Ur raised expectations for future findings.

The article is accompanied by a photograph showing the eastern end of the excavation of the Principal Mound at Nuzi, with a portion of the 300 rooms and courts exposed as of December 28.

The image is a page from an alumni bulletin dated June 3, 1929, detailing the Harvard Excavations in Iraq, specifically at Nuzi near Kirkuk.

Key points from the text include:

1. Expedition Details:

   • The Harvard Expedition at Nuzi, supported by the Fogg Museum and the American School at Baghdad, had a successful season.
   • The excavation, led by Dr. Robert H. Pfeiffer, continued from 1927 to 1929.
   • During the first season, 300 rooms and courts were explored, and about 700 clay tablets and artifacts such as pottery, bronze, and bone objects were found.

2. Discovery and Historical Context:

   • The artifacts date back to about 1500 B.C., when the city of Nuzi was destroyed by the Assyrians.
   • Evidence from the tablets shows the city’s occupation by the Mitanni, a known civilization around this time.
   • The site's stratigraphy indicates repeated periods of occupation and abandonment, with the earliest settlement dating to the middle of the 3rd Millennium B.C.

3. Artifact Return and Property:

   • All the tablets found during the expedition were returned to the National Museum at Baghdad.
   • The other artifacts are now the property of Harvard’s museums.

4. Work Progress:

   • The excavation was nearing completion, with a shaft sunk through characteristic variations of pottery and other debris.
   • The lower depths contained ancient burials with lapislazuli, silver, and gold artifacts, hinting at the splendor of past burials at Ur.

This summary captures the essence of the archaeological activities, findings, and the historical context presented in the alumni bulletin.

The image shows a page from an "Alumni Bulletin" dated June 3, 1929, titled "Harvard Excavations in Iraq." The page features a black-and-white photograph of an archaeological excavation site, specifically the eastern end of the excavation of the principal mound at Nuzi. The caption notes that a portion of the 300 rooms and courts was explored in the 1928-29 season.

The text beneath the photograph describes the expedition at Nuzi near Kirkuk, carried out by the Fogg and the Semitic Museum, with cooperation from the American School at Baghdad. Dr. Robert H. Pfeiffer led the expedition, which continued the work started in 1927 by Dr. Speiser. The excavation explored about 100 rooms, adding to the 300 rooms examined the previous year. Significant findings included 700 written clay tablets, various objects like bronze vessels, pots, and weapons. The finds were divided between Harvard and the Iraqi authorities, with some tablets to be returned to the National Museum in Baghdad. The excavation focused on the uppermost stratum, dated around 1500 B.C., a city destroyed, possibly by the Assyrians. Evidence suggested earlier settlements, with alternating periods of occupancy and desolation. The season concluded with the excavation of a shaft revealing ancient burials, adorned with lapis lazuli, silver, and gold, similar to notable burials at Ur, raising high expectations for future discoveries.

The image is a page from the June 1929 issue of the "Harvard Bulletin," detailing the Harvard Excavations in Iraq, specifically at the site of Nuzi near Kirkuk.

Summary:

Title: Harvard Excavations in Iraq

Content:

1. Image:

   • The photograph on the page shows the eastern end of the excavation of the principal mound at Nuzi. The image depicts part of the extensive ruins and excavated areas, illustrating the scope of the archaeological work.

2. Text:

   • Expedition Details:

     • The excavation was conducted by the Fogg and the Semitic Museums of Harvard University, in cooperation with the American School at Baghdad, led by Dr. Robert H. Pfeiffer.
     • The dig began in 1927 and continued into the 1928-29 season.

   • Findings:

     • Over the course of the first season, around 300 rooms were wholly or partially explored.
     • The team found approximately 700 written clay-tablets and a vast array of artifacts made of bronze, pottery, bone, etc.

   • Historical Context:

     • The artifacts date back to around 1500 B.C., a period when the city was destroyed, presumably by the Assyrians who were gaining power.
     • The tablets include correspondence from a king of Mittani, who ruled around the time just named.
     • The earliest settlement on the site seems to date back to the middle of the 3rd millennium B.C.
     • There were repeated periods of occupancy, interspersed with periods of desolation, with various artifacts found in different strata indicating these changes.

   • Excavation Progress:

     • The focus of the excavation work had been confined mostly to the uppermost stratum, lying above the latest floor-level.
     • At the time of writing, the work for the season was nearly completed, with a shaft sunk through various strata to virgin soil. This deeper exploration uncovered ancient burials with personal adornments, including lapis lazuli, silver, gold, remnants of textiles, and cylinder seals.

Overall, the report highlights the significant findings and the historical importance of the excavation at Nuzi, providing insights into the ancient civilizations that once inhabited the region.

The image is a page from an Alumni Bulletin dated June 3, 1929. It contains an article titled "Harvard Excavations in Iraq," specifically detailing the findings at Nuzi near Kirkuk.

The article describes an archaeological expedition to Nuzi, which was conducted by the Fogg Museum and the Semitic Museum, in collaboration with the American School at Baghdad. The excavation was led by Dr. Robert H. Pfeiffer and began in 1927, continuing through 1928-29. A significant portion of the text focuses on the exploration of the first 300 rooms out of the 3000 rooms and courts uncovered.

Key points from the article include:

• The excavation uncovered about 700 written clay tablets, along with various artifacts such as bronze, pottery, and bone objects.
• The Iraqi authorities generously divided the finds between Harvard and the National Museum in Baghdad.
• The site's uppermost stratum, dating from around 1500 B.C., was examined, revealing a city destroyed by the Assyrians, with evidence of a rising Mitanni kingdom.
• The tablets found provide direct evidence of the city's date and historical context, with one tablet being a letter from the king of the Mitanni.
• The site shows repeated periods of occupation and desolation, with artifacts from various strata.
• The article mentions the discovery of lavish burials in the lower depths, including personal adornments made of lapis lazuli, silver, and gold, indicating high expectations for future findings.

The photograph included with the article shows the eastern end of the excavation at Nuzi, depicting the area with some people present for scale.

The image is a page from an "Alumni Bulletin" dated June 3, 1929, detailing Harvard Excavations in Iraq.

The headline reads "Harvard Excavations in Iraq" and features a photograph captioned "Eastern End of the Excavation of the Principal Mound at Nuzi. Portion of the 300 Rooms and Courts Explored in 1928-29."

The text provides information about the excavation conducted by the Fogg and Semitic Museums, with cooperation from the American School at Baghdad, led by Dr. Robert H. Pfeiffer. The excavation started in 1927 and continued into 1928-29, uncovering 100 rooms and adding another 300 rooms to those already explored. The findings included around 700 written clay-tablets and numerous objects such as bronze, pottery, bone, etc. The Iraqi authorities were generous in sharing the finds, and many artifacts were returned to the National Museum at Baghdad.

The text also mentions that the work focused on the uppermost stratum, which was dated to approximately 1500 B.C. This was around the time when Assyrians were rising to power, and evidence suggests that the city was destroyed by them. The tablets provide clues about the Mitanni people, who were contemporaneous with the Assyrians. The site's occupation dates back to the middle of the 3rd Millennium B.C., with alternating periods of habitation and desolation.

In the final part of the excavation, a shaft was sunk through layers of soil revealing ancient burials adorned with lapis lazuli, silver, and gold, reminiscent of the splendid burials at Ur. The findings raised high expectations for future discoveries.

The image is a page from an Alumni Bulletin dated June 3, 1929. The heading of the page reads "Harvard Excavations in Iraq". There is a black and white photograph at the top showing an archaeological excavation site described as the "Eastern End of the Excavation of the Principal Mound at Nuzi," with visible trenches and some individuals working or standing around.

Below the photograph, there is an article describing the Harvard-led archaeological expedition at Nuzi near Kirkuk, carried out by the Fogg and the Semitic Museum with cooperation of the American School at Baghdad. The article mentions the leader Dr. Robert H. Pfeiffer and details the progress of the excavation which began in 1927 and continued through 1928-29. It discusses the discovery of 300 rooms and courts explored in the initial season, and an additional 700 clay-tablets and numerous objects such as bronze, pottery, and bone.

The text also notes the cooperation of Iraqi authorities and the division of findings with Harvard. It goes on to describe the historical significance of the layers uncovered, including references to destruction around 1500 B.C. by the Assyrians, and findings from the Mittanni period and the 3rd millennium B.C. The article ends by mentioning a promising burial discovery with personal adornments like lapis lazuli, silver, and gold.

The page itself is aged with some browning around the edges, and handwritten at the top left is the date and publication name: "Alumni Bulletin June 3, 1929."

This image shows an opened vintage publication with text and a black-and-white photograph on the left page. The publication is titled "Alumni Bulletin June 3, 1929" with a subtitle "Harvard Excavations in Iraq."

The photograph is captioned "Eastern End of the Excavation of the Principal Mound at Nuzi. Portion of the 300 Rooms and Courts Explored in 1928-29." It presents an archaeological excavation site with several individuals working. Some people are atop the mound, while others appear to be on ground level, engaged in various activities associated with an excavation, such as digging or examining the site. The landscape is barren and dusty with discernible excavation sections.

The article begins with a mention of the expedition at Nuzi near Kirkuk, involving the Fogg Museum and the Semitic Museum, in collaboration with the Baghdad Archaeological School. It discusses the history behind the site believed to have been destroyed around 1500 B.C., outlines the results and significance of the finds, such as clay tablets and inscriptions, and notes that the items discovered are to be shared between Harvard and the National Museum at Baghdad.

The right page of the publication is blank, and the overall condition of the pages seems to be well-preserved, albeit showing signs of age with some discoloration. The book or bulletin is bound with a black or dark-colored binding that is visible on the right edge of the image.

The image shows an open book titled "Alumni Bulletin June 3, 1929", featuring an article titled "Harvard Excavations in Iraq." The page includes a black-and-white photograph and accompanying text.

Photograph Description:

• The photograph depicts the Eastern End of the Excavation of the Principal Mound at Nuzi.
• The image shows an archaeological site with visible ruins, including stone structures and walls.
• The site appears to be in an arid, desert-like environment, with sparse vegetation and a clear, open sky.
• Several individuals are visible in the photograph, likely archaeologists or workers, standing on and around the ruins. They appear to be engaged in excavation or observation activities.
• The ruins are partially excavated, with layers of earth and stone exposed, indicating ongoing archaeological work.

Text Description:

• The text below the photograph provides context about the excavation at Nuzi near Kirkuk, carried out by the Fogg and the Semitic Museum, in cooperation with the American School at Baghdad.
• The leader of the expedition is identified as Dr. Robert H. Pfeiffer.
• The excavation focused on the Principal Mound at Nuzi, which was the largest mound explored during the 1928–29 season.
• Key findings include:
  • Exploration of approximately 300 rooms in total.
  • Discovery of about 700 written clay tablets, along with numerous objects made of bronze, pottery, bone, etc.
  • Evidence of settlement dating back to around 1500 B.C., including tablets referencing a king named Mitanni.
  • Artifacts found in successive floors and strata, indicating repeated periods of occupation and abandonment.
  • Discoveries of pottery, burials, and personal adornments, including lapis lazuli, silver, and gold.
• The text notes that the work was restricted to the uppermost stratum, lying just above the latest floor level.
• The finds were divided between Harvard and Iraqi authorities, with tablets intended for study and publication before being returned to the National Museum in Baghdad.

Overall Context:

The page provides a historical account of an archaeological excavation conducted by Harvard University in the early 20th century, highlighting significant discoveries at the site of Nuzi. The combination of the photograph and descriptive text offers a glimpse into early archaeological practices and the importance of the findings for understanding ancient Mesopotamian civilizations.

The image is of an open book with two pages visible. The top page has a title "Harvard Excavations in Iraq" and a black and white photograph of a group of people at an excavation site. The bottom page has a text written in a small font. The text is about the Harvard Expedition at Nuzi near Kirkuk, carried out by the Foggy and the Semitistic Museum at Harvard. The expedition began in 1927 and continued in 1928-29. The excavation of the largest mound at Nuzi, which was destroyed by the Assyrians around 1500 B.C., yielded over 700 objects in clay tablets, pottery, bone, etc. The tablets will be returned to the National Museum at Baghdad, while the other materials will be divided between Harvard and other museums.