5 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Researchers discovered clay tablets with ancient cuneiform writing, a game board, and large structural remains in Kurd Qaburstan

Tiffany Earley-Spadoni, associate professor of history at the University of Central Florida (UCF), and a researchers team have made important discoveries at Kurd Qaburstan, an urban-sized Bronze Age site in northern Mesopotamia, southwest of Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Researchers have made important discoveries, the objects date to about 1800 BCE, and include clay tablets with ancient cuneiform writing, a game board, and large structural remains, which could provide a wealth of information about this Middle Bronze Age city and shed light on Mesopotamia’s hidden history.

The clay tablets are the first of their kind found in the region and are still being interpreted. Studying the clay tablets may help historians understand the ancient city’s relationship to neighboring cities in the Middle Bronze Age – a period of northern Iraq’s history that is poorly understood.

For example, by studying people’s names, word choice and writing styles, scholars may better understand literacy in the region and the city’s cultural identity, Earley-Spadoni says in her fieldwork summary.

“We hope to find even more historical records that will help us tell the story of [the city] from the perspective of its own people rather than relying only on accounts written by their enemies,” Earley-Spadoni says. “While we know a great deal about the development of writing in southern Iraq, far less is known about literacy in northern Mesopotamian cities, especially near Erbil where Kurd Qaburstan is located.”



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



Today, Mesopotamia encompasses eastern Syria, southeastern Türkiye, and most of Iraq. Its name comes from the Greek for “between rivers” referring to the area between the Tigris River and the Euphrates.It is often regarded as the birthplace of urban civilization. These cities, preserved as towering tells, mounds formed by centuries of accumulated cultural debris, have captivated scholars for generations.

One of three clay cuneiform tablets discovered at the Middle Bronze Age site of Kurd Qaburstan in northeast Iraq. It was found in a debris-filled corridor in the lower town palace. Early interpretations of this tablet suggests dramatic events and possibly ancient warfare. Credit: Tiffany Earley-Spadoni
One of three clay cuneiform tablets discovered at the Middle Bronze Age site of Kurd Qaburstan in northeast Iraq. It was found in a debris-filled corridor in the lower town palace. Early interpretations of this tablet suggests dramatic events and possibly ancient warfare. Credit: Tiffany Earley-Spadoni

“We know quite a bit about Mesopotamian cities in the south, and that’s considered the traditional heartland of cities,” Earley-Spadoni says. “When people think about where cities first arose, they imagine cities in southern Iraq, like Uruk. We seek to fill in this gap in the scholarship by investigating a large urban site, one of the few that’s ever been investigated in northern Iraq.”

Earley-Spadoni and researchers have been working in two primary areas: the northwest residential neighborhoods and a newly discovered administrative complex identified as a lower town palace, which was theorized to exist based on findings made in 2022.

Researchers used technologies such as magnetometry, which allows researchers to peer through the ground to see architectural plans, to help excavate the site.

The research is valuable its own right and helps shed light on regional history and worldwide heritage, she says.

“The focus of the research is the organization of ancient cities, and it’s specifically the organization of Kurd Qaburstan,” Earley-Spadoni says. “You may have heard of King Hammurabi, who erected the famous law code. So, this is about that same time almost 4,000 years ago. We decided that this would be an interesting place to investigate what it was like to be an everyday person at a city during the Middle Bronze Age, which has been an understudied topic. People like to excavate palaces and temples, and very few residential areas have been excavated.”

Standing mudbrick architecture from a 10 meter by 10 meter excavation in the Kurd Qaburstan lower-town palace, view to north. Credit: Tiffany Earley-Spadoni
Standing mudbrick architecture from a 10-meter by 10-meter excavation in the Kurd Qaburstan lower-town palace, view to north. Credit: Tiffany Earley-Spadoni

Excavations in the palace revealed monumental architecture, human remains and evidence of destruction, suggesting a significant historical event. The complex, identified through geophysical surveys, is being excavated to establish its characteristics and better understand its function.

Digging in the northwest neighbourhoods revealed exterior courtyards, clay drainpipes, cups, plates, bowls and storage jars. Fine details on the pottery, and animal remains which include both game and domesticated animals suggest that there was a greater degree of wealth among ordinary residents than previously assumed for ancient Mesopotamian cities.

It is possible that the 4,000-year-old city is the hidden city of Qabra, referenced in Old Babylonian monuments.

“Kurd Qaburstan is believed to be ancient Qabra, an important regional center mentioned in the records of other city-states,” Earley-Spadoni says. “The presence of writing, monumental architecture, and other administrative artifacts in the lower town palace further supports this identification since the site must have been an important city of its time.”

The city’s historical importance could be even greater if it is identified as Qabra, a major regional center referenced in Old Babylonian monuments like the famed Stele of Dadusha, according to Earley-Spadoni.

“The first of the three tablets was discovered in a trash-filled deposit along with building rubble and human remains,” she says. “Its context suggests dramatic events, possibly evidence of ancient warfare. We hope our work in 2025 will tell us more about this story.”

The research and excavation efforts are funded through the U.S. National Science Foundation and in partnership with the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The work occurred from May to July 2024, with previous work conducted from 2013 to 2023 by a team from Johns Hopkins University that included Earley-Spadoni.

University of Central Florida (UCF)

Cover Image Credit: A portion of the excavated Mesopotamian site of Kurd Qaburstan. Researchers uncovered many pithoi – or storage jars – that contained historical artifacts that helped to contextualize Mesopotamian history. Credit: Tiffany Earley-Spadoni

Related Articles

King Scorpion’s Legacy: Violence, Divinity, and the Rise of the World’s First Territorial State

30 August 2025

30 August 2025

A barren desert today, the rocky landscape east of Aswan once served as the backdrop for one of history’s most...

Zeus Temple’s entrance was found in western Turkey’s Aizanoi Ancient City

31 July 2021

31 July 2021

During recent digs, the monumental entrance gate of the Zeus Temple sanctuary in the ancient city of Aizanoi, located in...

Native American artifacts from 1100 AD found in North America’s First City

20 June 2024

20 June 2024

Cahokia is the largest and most significant urban settlement of the Mississippian culture, known for creating massive earthen platform mounds...

Rare African Script Offers Clues to the Evolution of Writing Systems

4 February 2022

4 February 2022

The world’s very first invention of writing took place over 5000 years ago in the Middle East, before it was...

Antikythera underwater excavation digs up new discoveries “huge marble head”

20 June 2022

20 June 2022

The second phase of underwater archaeological research (May 23 to June 15, 2022) on the Antikythera shipwreck resulted in the...

Iron Age Fortification Unearthed on the Trave: A Forgotten Stronghold of the Roman Imperial Period

26 September 2025

26 September 2025

Archaeologists investigating the Stülper Huk, a headland on the River Trave located in the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein, have...

2000-Year-Old Roman Origins Confirmed for Elche’s Monumental L’Assut de l’Argamassa Dam

17 May 2025

17 May 2025

An archaeological research project has unveiled that the imposing L’Assut de l’Argamassa dam in Elche, Spain, long suspected to be...

A One-of-a-Kind Roman Tomb with Bilingual Inscription: The First Monumental Discovery in Dibra, Albania

4 September 2025

4 September 2025

Archaeologists have uncovered a monumental Roman-era tomb in Strikçan, near Bulqiza, in northern Albania’s historic Dibra region, approximately 90 kilometers...

New research reveals that Baltic amber was transported to the most westerly region of the continent more than 5,000 years ago

21 October 2023

21 October 2023

A team of scientists has identified the oldest pieces of Baltic amber ever found on the Iberian Peninsula, revealing that...

Italian Research Team May Have Found Plato’s Burial Site in Athens

23 April 2024

23 April 2024

Graziano Ranocchia, a papyrologist at the University of Pisa, said he found Plato’s exact burial place based on papyri findings...

Archaeologists Uncover Elegant Rare Blue Frescoes of an Ancient Sanctuary in Pompeii

10 June 2024

10 June 2024

Archaeologists digging away at ash covering the ancient city of Pompeii have uncovered a room with walls frescoed in an...

Archaeologists Discovered “Temple of the Emperors” in the Agora of the Ancient City of Nikopolis, Greece

30 May 2024

30 May 2024

The Greek Ministry of Culture declared that fresh discoveries had been made during archaeological excavations at the ancient Nikopolis Agora...

Mysterious Rods Found in 5,500-year-old Tomb identified to Be Earliest Drinking Straws

19 January 2022

19 January 2022

Russian archaeologists argue that the rods unearthed in an early bronze age tomb in the Caucasus are the oldest known...

For the first time, researchers discovered bioarchaeological evidence of familial embalming in early modern France

16 November 2024

16 November 2024

A unique discovery has revealed new insights into the burial rituals of early modern Western Europe: For the first time,...

Bujeok: Korea’s Ancient Magic That Still Shapes Modern Beliefs

4 October 2025

4 October 2025

How centuries-old talismans bridge archaeology, shamanism, and digital life in one of the world’s most advanced nations. South Korea, a...