This study analyses the social and symbolic value of the material culture, in particular the pottery production and the architecture, and the social structure of the local communities of a broad area encompassing Eastern Anatolia, the South Caucasus and North-western Iran during the last phase of the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. This broad area is known from the Assyrian texts as 'Nairi lands'. The second part of the study, furnishes a reassessment of pottery production characteristics and theories, as well as of the socio-economic structure and issues, tied to the sedentary and mobile local communities of the Nairi lands. The study brings into focus the characteristics, the extension and the distribution of Grooved pottery, along with other pottery typologies, by providing an accompanying online catalogue with detailed descriptions and high-resolution images of the pots and sherds obtained from public and private institutions in Turkey and Armenia. Moreover, the socio-political organisation and subsistence economy issues are addressed in order to advance a possible reconstruction of the social structure of the Nairi lands communities. Particular attention is devoted to the pastoral nomad component and the role played within the Nairi phenomenon. The study includes a very large corpus of text images and high-resolution color images of the pottery of the area under examination, gathered by the author in order to offer a reliable tool and compendium.

Recent archaeological discoveries within the Upper Tigris region in Southeastern Turkey offer a unique opportunity to understand the dynamics of the Assyrian Empire borderlands. Within a few years most of the region will be irreversibly submerged, due to the construction of the Ilisu dam, the biggest hydroelectric power plant project in Turkey. It is of paramount importance to understand and record as much data as possible about the local communities and the foreign connections that flowered in this area.

This volume presents the proceedings of the workshop 'Archeologia a Firenze: Citta e territorio', organized by CAMNES, Centre for Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies, in collaboration with the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Toscana, in April 2013. This event experienced an extraordinary participation by experts in the field, and resulted also in a significant success in terms of public archaeological awareness. Almost twenty years after the exhibition 'Alle origini di Firenze' and the publication of its Catalogo, which is considered a signal point in Florentine archaeology, the workshop provided an opportunity for discussion between all those who conducted research, protection and enhancement of the archaeological heritage of Florence thanks to the presentation of the most recent excavations. Moreover, the origins of the city that took the leading role during the Renaissance were discussed, finding in its roots the very reasons for its glorious destiny. The sessions, organized in chronological order - from prehistoric to medieval topics - were supplemented by contributions concerned with conservation and enhancement of the historic landscape whose reconstruction through research and excavation activities constantly requires new discussions and often additional reflections.