ABSTRACT
The chora of Ebla has been defined by selecting different ecological variables, with a predominantly west-east transect, which also includes the steppe to the south-east of Tell Mardikh. Paolo Matthiae of Sapienza University of Rome is the Principal Investigator of the Ebla Chora Project (ECP), and Nicol Marchetti of the Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna is a Beneficiary responsible for landscape studies. The Italian Expedition by Sapienza University of Rome has carried out systematic excavations at the site of Tell Mardikh/Ebla between 1964 and 2010, often with two yearly campaigns in spring and fall during the last fifteen years. The discovery in 1975 of the Royal Archives ignited a flow of new studies, which eventually resulted in the establishment of a new academic discipline, Eblaitology. The history of topographical mapping at Ebla and in the ECP region highlights the shifting political and research frameworks that succeeded one another in the area.
