German archaeologists are to begin excavating three ancient settlements in the autonomous region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq.
The heritage sites are highly endangered - but not by Islamic State militants.
Tuebingen, Germany (dpa) - The cultural assets located in the autonomous region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq are endangered - but not by Islamic State militants, infamous for their destruction of ancient heritage sites.
Rather they face potential annihilation by a six-lane motorway and a planned international airport in Dohuk.
"The plains between the River Tigris and the Zagros Mountains were an important corridor between Mesopotamia and Anatolia, and Syria," says Peter Pfaelzner of the Institute for Ancient Middle Eastern Studies at Tuebingen University in Germany.
"The area has hardly been explored archaeologically even though surveys in the 1960s suggested there was reason to believe there are some great heritage sites there," he continues.
That's why in July he is going to begin excavations with a team of around 25 archaeologists.
Two years ago they began exploring the area around Dohuk using satellite pictures. When they found what they thought might have once been a settlement, they used cameras mounted on drones to take pictures and then made these into 3D models.
They have already found 92 potential settlements, including the lower town of Bassetki and two smaller settlements within a radius of five kilometres.
"Bassetki is the biggest town in the region which dates back to the early Bronze Age," says Pfaelzner.
It and one of the smaller settlements date back to between 3,000 and 2,000 BC, while the third is even older, he says. The researchers put it at around 4,000 BC, the Eneolithic period.
Pfaelzner wants to compare the sites and investigate what developments made it possible for such big cities to emerge.
He has to hurry to reach them before the bulldozers get there. "Every third hill under which the settlements are located are endangered by the building plans," says Pfaelzner.
"They're going to be made to make way for a motorway to Turkey and an airport. We want to act quickly and carry out the excavations. We want to show how important these places are and perhaps bring about a change in the building plans."
A joint project between Tuebingen University and the regional authorities responsible for the protection of heritage sites in the Iraqi city of Erbil have enabled Pfaelzner and his team to begin the dig together with archaeologists from Dohuk.
"Depending on what the researchers find, the local government's plans will be changed," says Abubaker Othman Zeineddin, the authority's director.
But that only applies to the plans for the motorway - not for the airport.
The authorities are very interested in working with foreign researchers and showcasing their cultural heritage.
"The Kurds have always fought for their freedom and for [the idea] that they need their own culture. The foreign researchers will help them to learn about their cultural history and to understand it," says Paola Sconza, who is to lead the excavations.
The country is still developing and tourism has not taken off yet, though Zeineddin wants to change that.
The authorities are working with around 50 universities in Europe and the United States, though they won't all be given permits to begin digging.
"The university must already have a built itself a reputation in this field," says Zeineddin.
He is not afraid of the threat from Islamic State extremists, although the city of Mosul, which was taken by the militants last year, is just an hour away by car from Dohuk.
"There has never been any fighting or attacks in Dohuk," says Zeineddin. "{The Islamic State] has only once crossed the border into the autonomous region."
That was in August last year. Then, Pfaelzner and his team spent a week in Turkey, only an hour away, until US airstrikes drove back the militants.
He also says he feels safe in Dohuk. "The autonomous region is hermetically sealed off by the military and the police. They don't let anybody in, it's an invisible border," he says.
"Inside the borders of the autonomous region everything's quite normal, daily life is completely normal."
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