Abstract
In geology, archaeology and epigraphy, reconstructing the past begins with the present. In this first conference, we will focus on data and methods for reconstructing ancient Mesopotamian environments, using geology, paleoclimatology, site and landscape archaeology, and the historical study of cuneiform documents. This methodological introduction will serve as a starting point for the following presentations, which will show, through a number of case studies, how these ghost landscapes manifest themselves in their variety of forms and states of preservation, what can be said about them and what will probably always be unknown.
