Excavation and research program The site of Takht-i Sangin, located in southern Tajikistan and north of ancient Bactria, lies at the confluence of the Vakhsh and Pandj rivers, which together form the Amu Darya. Positioned on a narrow strip of land between the river and a mountain range (Aktau), the site was first identified in…
Excavation and Research program The Archaeological Mission of Southern Tajikistan conducted fieldwork at Takht-i Sangin, located in the southern part of the country on the right bank of the Amu Darya in 2015 and 2017. In 2016 and 2019, the mission carried out surveys in several valleys (Kafirnigan, Vakhsh, Tayr-su, Yakh-su) and the surrounding area…
Collective Projects Developed collaboratively, evolving, and broadly open across the humanities, the Collective Projects encourage joint work beyond the chronological or geographical boundaries specific to the teams over the course of a five-year project or longer. Serving as meeting places for the members of the UMR, these projects are led by at least two internal…
The responsibility of preserving cultural heritage, inherent to archaeology, is an important aspect of the team’s work, particularly through its expertise for countries in situations of war or crisis (Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Ethiopia) and in designing preservation programs (earth architecture, prevention of modern urbanization: Kuwait, Tajikistan). Similarly, the handling (inventory, cataloging) of the scientific and…
The study of inscriptions, cultural practices, and archaeological artifacts from excavations and surveys is inseparable from the study of sites and paves the way for a better understanding of the intellectual and material life of past civilizations. This research is a key element for understanding exchanges and their geographical expansion, ideas and artistic movements, and…
The ways of appropriating and organizing peri-urban space and territory (territory organization and protection, circulation and access [roads, stations], resource management [irrigation, quarries/mines]), whether they have led to the formation and development of dense or dispersed settlements (cities, villages, settlements on arid margins), or result from the activity of these settlements in their immediate environment…
Studies on buildings, whether rural or urban, and on the urbanization of regional centers are at the heart of our programs and have accelerated in recent years, in particular with the survey campaigns of houses in southern Syria by the OrAM team (M. Gelin, F.Villeneuve, P.-M. Blanc, Th. Fournet, etc.), the IFPO and the French…
The years 2003-2004 were mainly devoted to the publication of our research in Yemen. Indeed, since the excavations at Shabwa could not continue – for reasons beyond our control – it quickly became necessary to start publishing them. Initially, the manuscript for the fourth volume of the Shabwa Excavations was completely revised and then sent…
the archaeological site The site of Cyrrhus-Nebi Houri is located near the Syrian-Turkish border. The city, covering nearly 65 hectares and the capital of Cyrrhestica, was founded by Seleucus I and then successively occupied during the Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic periods. Its location on the main routes leading from Antioch to the Euphrates or towards…
the archaeological site Dura-Europos on the Euphrates is located in the southeast of Syria, near the current border with Iraq. The city, covering just over 60 hectares and situated at a crossing point of the Euphrates, was a stop along the routes that led from east to west. It is believed to have been founded…
Mathilde Gelin, Shaker Al Shbib (DGAMS, Idlib) The city of Apamea on the Orontes, founded by Seleucus I, was one of the major cities of the Tetrapolis, which controlled access of the Seleucid Empire to the Mediterranean. It then experienced significant occupation during the Roman period, followed by the Byzantine and medieval periods. Regular excavations…
Publications in preparation The Archaeological Atlas of Palmyra The most ambitious program is the archaeological atlas of Palmyra, an international project involving Syria, France, Germany, Poland, and Japan. The most ambitious program is the archaeological atlas of Palmyra, an international project involving Syria, France, Germany, Poland, and Japan. Significant work has been carried out in…