Sunset over Lake Dokan (October 2014).
Since initiation of the Rania project in 2012 it was clear that many of the archaeological sites in the Flood-zone of Lake Dokan had suffered substantial damage since the formation of the lake in 1959. Shemshara itself is a good example, which inspired surveys of other sites in a similar position. In subsequent years the project has taken advantage of autumns when the lake was particular low to do survey with a primary focus on sites in the Flood-zone.
Mapping and geo-physics at the site of Gulek (October 2014).
In October 2014 a large number of sites, for comparison also outside the Flood zone, were visited. Several were mapped and surface finds collected.
Salvage excavation at Araban (October 2015).
In October 2015 several more sites in the flood zone were surveyed, and small test excavations made in two sites, one of these the newly discovered Late Uruk site of Araban.
Survey of an island site in the southwestern sector of Lake Dokan (December 2023).
In December 2023 Lake Dokan was at its lowest since 2010, and we cooperated in a small "Winter"-survey conducted in the field by colleagues from the Sulaymania and Raparin Antiquity Directorates. Navigating by boat the southwest sector of Lake Dokan it was possible to survey several sites identified by the 1955 Iraqi survey, but since never visited by archaeologists. A short video can be found in the section 'Navigate our sites'.
Salvage excavations at Baiz Agha (September 2025).
In September-October 2025 Lake Dokan was even lower than in 2023 and our project devoted itself almost entirely to surveys and test excavations in the Flood-zone. A handful of archaeological sites never registered before were visited and sampled, and test excavations done on three important sites, usually inundated or only accessible by boat, but during this period exceptionally reachable by car.
Thanks to all these efforts we now have a much better, but still far from complete overview of the settlement history of the Rania Plain. Major new insights include a better comprehension of the important post-Chalcolithic Ninevite 5 period (early 3rd Mill. BC), and the traces of Middle Assyrian (late 2nd Mill. BC) imposition on the plain.
In the page Navigate our Sites more details can be found on a few selected sites. To safeguard the sites from looting we unfortunately cannot indicate precise coordinates for those not already well-known from other open sources.