This volume offers a detailed architectural analysis of the Palace of King Tupkish at Tell Mozan (ancient Urkesh), built around 2250 B.C., and located in the foothills of the Taurus Mountains in Al-Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria.
The book studies the process of construction of the palace by examining the steps in the process through the chaîne opératoire method. In order to quantify these construction steps, the volume deals extensively with methodology through a series of algorithms by which the energetic investment in a construction project can be quantified. These algorithms are applicable in general to structures in stone and mudbrick, and can be used to define and compare the cost and value of such structures in a meaningful way. By combining the understanding of the individual steps in the process of construction with the general algorithms and the volumetric measurements from a precise 3D model of the Royal Palace, this study calculates the effort needed to construct the building.

Federico Buccellati has served as Field Director of the Mozan/Urkesh Archaeological Project since 2008.