A primary aim of the project is to employ modern archaeological techniques to date this 195 km long baked brick wall and place it within its landscape context. Although ostensibly to protect the inhabited lands of NE Iran from the incursion of nomadic groups from the central Asian steppe, there is clearly more to this wall than meets the eye. Discoveries by our Iranian colleagues, now confirmed by fieldwork in 2005, demonstrate that the wall is associated with a massive system of water supply consisting of earthen dams and canals. [read more]