#  The Fortifications of Hatra 

 



The project aims to produce a comprehensive study of the fortifications of Hatra, based on data recorded by the Italian Archaeological Expedition of the University of Torino between 1986 and 1989. Located in northern Iraq within a semi-arid steppe environment, the site originated as a village between the late fourth and early third centuries BCE. Its principal phase of urban development occurred between the first and third centuries CE, when it became the capital of a Parthian-allied buffer state. The city was ultimately destroyed in 240/241 CE by the Sasanian army and was never subsequently reoccupied.

At its apogee, Hatra extended over approximately 300 hectares and was structured around a vast central Temenos housing the principal temples, encircled by residential quarters interconnected through a complex street network. Despite multiple international excavation campaigns, only a limited portion of the site has been systematically investigated. The fortifications constitute one of Hatra’s most significant features, both in terms of their remarkable state of preservation and their longstanding reputation for impregnability in Roman literary sources.

The defensive system comprised a main pseudo-circular wall with regularly spaced towers, supplemented by an outer wall and ditch, as well as a probable inner defensive circuit added shortly before the Sasanian siege. Monumental gates and towers, some designed to accommodate artillery, attest to a high level of military engineering. The publication, directed by [**Enrico Foietta**](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/people/enrico-foietta) (University of Torino), will offer a new, comprehensive analysis of the fortifications, examining their characteristics, construction techniques, primary and secondary functions and chronology. Specialist appendices will address the illegal trenches on the western bastion (Massimo Vidale, University of Padova) and the graffiti discovered at the city gates (Ilaria Bucci, Durham University), thereby enriching the current understanding of these important defensive structures.



 

 [   ![General Plan of Hatra](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-06/Fig.%201.jpg?itok=Q7gczkee) 

  <div class="hwp-media-gallery--caption-content"><p class="hwp-media-gallery--item\_\_title">General Plan of Hatra</p><div class="hwp-text-block"><p><span lang="IT">General plan of Hatra showing the numbering of the principal defensive elements (HatraGIS).</span></p></div></div>   

 ](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/2026-06/Fig.%201.jpg) General Plan of Hatra

 



 [   ![The Great Iwans and Twin Iwans within the Temenos area ](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-06/Fig.%202.JPG?itok=QISmHEDF) 

  <div class="hwp-media-gallery--caption-content"><p class="hwp-media-gallery--item\_\_title">The Great Iwans and Twin Iwans within the Temenos area </p><div class="hwp-text-block"><p><span lang="IT">The Great Iwans and Twin Iwans within the Temenos area (Hatra, 2022).</span></p></div></div>   

 ](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/2026-06/Fig.%202.JPG) The Great Iwans and Twin Iwans within the Temenos area

 



 [   ![Main curtain wall: eastern sector of the fortifications ](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-06/Fig.%203.JPG?itok=WCVdqXh3) 

  <div class="hwp-media-gallery--caption-content"><p class="hwp-media-gallery--item\_\_title">Main curtain wall: eastern sector of the fortifications </p><div class="hwp-text-block"><p><span lang="IT">Main curtain wall: eastern sector of the fortifications  (Hatra, 2022)</span></p></div></div>   

 ](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/2026-06/Fig.%203.JPG) Main curtain wall: eastern sector of the fortifications

 



 [   ![Tower 121 in the foreground, eastern sector of the curtain wall ](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-06/Fig.%204.JPG?itok=yYeLDJ_T) 

  <div class="hwp-media-gallery--caption-content"><p class="hwp-media-gallery--item\_\_title">Tower 121 in the foreground, eastern sector of the curtain wall </p><div class="hwp-text-block"><p><span lang="IT">Tower 121 in the foreground, eastern sector of the curtain wall (Hatra, 2022)</span></p></div></div>   

 ](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/2026-06/Fig.%204.JPG) Tower 121 in the foreground, eastern sector of the curtain wall

 



 [   ![Massive Tower MTXIX and the associated ditch, northern sector of the curtain wall](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-06/Fig.%205.JPG?itok=3h9iEUHu) 

  <div class="hwp-media-gallery--caption-content"><p class="hwp-media-gallery--item\_\_title">Massive Tower MTXIX and the associated ditch, northern sector of the curtain wall</p><div class="hwp-text-block"><p><span lang="IT">Massive Tower MTXIX and the associated ditch, northern sector of the curtain wall (Hatra, 2022).</span></p></div></div>   

 ](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/2026-06/Fig.%205.JPG) Massive Tower MTXIX and the associated ditch, northern sector of the curtain wall

 



 [   ![The four principal city gates](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-06/Fig.%206.jpg?itok=gaCaa3UE) 

  <div class="hwp-media-gallery--caption-content"><p class="hwp-media-gallery--item\_\_title">The four principal city gates</p><div class="hwp-text-block"><p><span lang="IT">The four principal city gates. The E. and N. Gates: fully excavated by Iraqi expeditions (plans after Ibrahim 1986 and al-Salihi 1980); hatched areas indicate the excavated portions of the W. Gate, while the S. Gate remains unexcavated (after Andrae 1912)</span></p></div></div>   

 ](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/2026-06/Fig.%206.jpg) The four principal city gates

 



 

 



 



 

 See also:- [ Mesopotamia ](/sponsored-projects-area/mesopotamia)
- [ 2026 Sponsored Projects ](/sponsored-projects-year/2026-sponsored-projects)