Abstract: Since 2023, the Italian Historical and Archaeological Mission in Kurdistan (MiSAK), in collaboration with the Department of Cultural Heritage of the University of Bologna and the Directorate of Antiquities and Heritage of Garmian, has been conducting research at the archaeological site of Gawr Tepe (KRI, Iraq). The settlement, inhabited from at least the Sasanian period until the 13th century CE, is distinguished by a monumental stucco-decorated palace, whose plasters and mortars show close correspondences with the composition of the stuccoes themselves.In cooperation with the Conservation Science Laboratory of the University of Bologna, a comparative and diachronic study of gypsum-based materials (mortars, plasters, and stuccoes) has been initiated. The research combines different analytical techniques, including X-ray diffraction and granulometric analysis of aggregates, to investigate composition, production technologies, raw material selection, and alteration processes. This protocol, designed to yield comparable datasets, aims to reconstruct technological traditions, trace potential regional production networks, and document diachronic changes in gypsum-based construction and decorative techniques. Beyond enhancing our understanding of Sasanian and early Islamic material culture, this research also provides a methodological framework for future investigations and conservation interventions across the region.
eartHeritage – PRIN 2022JL5HLY
