Topography and settlement of Al-Mada’in. New observations

This paper presents some results of a study on the topography and settlement of the area of Al-Mada’in, in central Mesopotamia, one of the largest and most important complexes of ancient settlements in the world. Research was conducted following a multitemporal approach in which photo-interpretation of remote-sensing data is interpolated with the analysis of previous information of different nature (published and unpublished), collected during on-site surveys and excavations. Settlement models, connectivity and hypotheses on the location of ancient mega-sites are particularly addressed. Further studies on the area will considerably advance our knowledge of environmental planning, impact assessment, land use and settlement of Central Mesopotamia in the centuries preceding the Muslim conquest.