We present the geomorphological map of the northwestern part of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, where the landscape expresses the tectonic activity associated with the Arabia-Eurasia convergence and Neogene climate change. These processes influenced the evolution of landforms and fluvial pathways, where major rivers Tigris, Khabur, and Great Zab incise the landscape of Northeastern Mesopotamia Anticlinal ridges and syncline trough compose the Zagros orogen. The development of water and wind gaps, slope, and karsts processes in the highlands and the tilting of fluvial terraces in the flat areas are the main evidence of the relationship between tectonics, climate variations and geomorphological processes. During the Quaternary, especially after the Last Glacial Maximum, fluctuating arid and wet periods also influenced local landforms and fluvial patterns of the area. Finally, the intensified Holocene human occupation and agricultural activities during the passage to more complex societies over time impacted the evolution of the landscape in this part of Mesopotamia.

Tells are multi-layered, archaeological mounds representing anthropogenic landforms common in arid regions. In such contexts, the preservation of the archaeological record is mined by ongoing climate changes, shift in land use, and intense human overgrazing. Such natural and human-driven factors tune the response of archaeological soils and sediments to erosion. Geomorphology offers a plethora of tools for mapping natural and anthropogenic landforms and evaluating their response to unremitting weathering, erosional and depositional processes. Here, we present a geomorphological investigation on two anthropogenic mounds in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, with a special focus on the ongoing erosional processes mining their slope stability and threatening the preservation of the local archaeological landscape. Applying the revised universal soil loss equation model for soil loess derived from UAV imagery and implemented with geoarchaeological investigation, we assess the erosion rate along anthropogenic mounds and estimate the risk of losing archaeological deposits. We argue that a large-scale application of our approach in arid and semi-arid regions may improve our ability to (i) estimate the rate of soil and/or archaeological sediments loss, (ii) propose mitigation strategies to prevent the dismantling of the archaeological record, and (iii) schedule archaeological operations in areas of moderate to extreme erosion risk.

During the last century, Grotta Romanelli (Southern Italy) has been a reference site for the European Late Pleistocene stratigraphy, due to its geomorphological setting and archaeological and palaeontological content. The beginning of the sedimentation inside the cave was attributed to the Last Interglacial (MISs 5e) and the oldest unearthed evidence of human occupation, including remains of hearths, was therefore referred to the Middle Palaeolithic. Recent surveys and excavations produced new U/Th dates, palaeoenvironmental interpretation and a litho-, morpho- and chrono-stratigraphical reassessment, placing the oldest human frequentation of the cave between MIS 9 and MIS 7, therefore embracing Glacial and Interglacial cycles. These new data provide evidence that the sea reached the cave during the Middle Pleistocene and human occupation occurred long before MISs 5e and persisted beyond the Pleistocene- Holocene boundary.

The Romanelli Cave in south-east Italy is an important reference point for the so-called ‘Mediterranean province’ of European Upper Palaeolithic art. Yet, the site has only recently been subject to a systematic investigation of its parietal and portable art. Starting in 2016, a project has recorded the cave's interior, discovering new parietal art. Here, the authors report on a selection of panels, featuring animal figures, geometric motifs and other marks, identifying the use of different types of tools and techniques, along with several activity phases. These panels are discussed with reference to radiocarbon dating of nearby deposits, posing questions about chronology, technology and wider connections between Upper Palaeolithic cave sites across western Eurasia.