College of Archaeology

The master’s thesis entitled “Characteristics of Mosul’s ancient road systems and alleys – an applied study” was defended in the Department of Archeology at the College of Archeology, University of Mosul, on Sunday, April 14, 2024. In the hall of Dr. Behnam Abu Al-Souf and part of it was attended by Assistant Professor Dr. Yasser Jaber Khalil, Assistant Dean of the College for Scientific Affairs, Assistant Professor Dr. Muhammad Muharib Ali, Head of the Archeology Department, and a number of college staff.
The thesis presented by the student (Wasan Ali Younis) dealt with the characteristics of the alleys, which were represented by two directions. The first was a physical and tangible direction, represented by their physical characteristics in terms of winding, twisting, wideness, and narrowness, and their architectural formations and colors resulting from the naturalness of their building materials, and the second represented a tangible direction linked to emotional characteristics in the souls of the users.
The study addressed the meanings of the designations of roads and alleys, their synonyms, their development, and the jurisprudential provisions of their organization, as well as the general features of the alleys and roads of Mosul, relying mainly on the field study, which included residential shops, whose alley measurements were taken and photographed, then their plans were drawn and the architectural elements were studied.
The study aims to highlight the importance of roads and alleys as a basis in the urban planning of Islamic cities, as their planning and regularity reflect the extent of the city’s progress and development, and their importance comes from the urban aspect as they are a foundational structure for the Islamic city, which is linked to all its plans to connect them together.
The viva committee was chaired by Professor Dr. Ibrahim Hussein Khalaf from the University of Samarra/ College of Arts/Department of Archaeology, and the membership of Assistant Professor Dr. Akram Muhammad Yahya and Assistant Professor Dr. Farhan Mahmoud Elias, and under the supervision and membership of Assistant Professor Dr. Haitham Qasim Muhammad.