The archaeological exploration of Tell Mardikh started in 1964 and, since the first campaigns, some of the most influential archaeologists of the time considered it one of the most promising excavations in the Levant. In 1968, the discovery of a basalt bust bearing the dedicatory inscription of Ibbit-Lim, king of Ebla, allowed to propose that the large archaeological site was ancient Ebla, usually located North of Aleppo, and not to the South. In 1975, the spectacular, and revolutionary discovery of the Royal Archives of 2350-2300 BC took place. After 1975, the Ebla Expedition was engaged in the systematic exploration of large areas of the Lower Town, with the discovery of the great residential palaces, of some temples, of the fortified buildings on the earthwork ramparts, of some quarters of private houses, and of the city gates of the great Old Syrian town. The publication of the Archives and of the archaeological discoveries led Ignace J. Gelb, the late dean of the Oriental Institute of Chicago, to say that the Italians had discovered at Ebla a new history, a new language, a new culture. Paolo Matthiae, the Director of the Ebla Expedition, published, since the beginning of the research, many studies about aspects of material culture, artistic productions, architectural, and urban structures, chronological and historic matters. These studies appeared in Italian, in international scientific journals as well as in miscellaneous volumes, and are therefore scattered and sometimes not easy to access. Forty-two of these contributions of particular value for an evaluation of Ebla discoveries, published between 1980 and 2010, and all in English language, are now collected in the volume edited by Francis Pinnock.

This volume represents a first attempt to conceptualise the construction and use of composite artefacts in the Ancient Near East by looking at the complex relationships between environments, materials, societies and materiality.

This Handbook is a state-of-the-field volume containing diverse approaches to sensory experience, bringing to life in an innovative, remarkably vivid, and visceral way the lives of past humans through contributions that cover the chronological and geographical expanse of the ancient Near East. It comprises thirty-two chapters written by leading international contributors that look at the ways in which humans, through their senses, experienced their lives and the world around them in the ancient Near East, with coverage of Anatolia, Egypt, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Syria, and Persia, from the Neolithic through the Roman period. It is organised into six parts related to sensory contexts: Practice, production, and taskscape; Dress and the body; Ritualised practice and ceremonial spaces; Death and burial; Science, medicine, and aesthetics; and Languages and semantic fields. In addition to exploring what makes each sensory context unique, this organisation facilitates cross-cultural and cross-chronological, as well as cross-sensory and multisensory comparisons and discussions of sensory experiences in the ancient world. In so doing, the volume also enables considerations of senses beyond the five-sense model of Western philosophy (sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell), including proprioception and interoception, and the phenomena of synaesthesia and kinaesthesia. The Routledge Handbook of the Senses in the Ancient Near East provides scholars and students within the field of ancient Near Eastern studies new perspectives on and conceptions of familiar spaces, places, and practices, as well as material culture and texts. It also allows scholars and students from adjacent fields such as Classics and Biblical Studies to engage with this material, and is a must-read for any scholar or student interested in or already engaged with the field of sensory studies in any period.

In Ebla , Paolo Matthiae presents the results of 47 years of excavations at this fascinating site, providing a detailed account of Ebla’s history and archaeology. Ebla grew from a small Early Bronze Age settlement into an important trading and political centre, which endured until its final destruction in c. 1600 BC . The destruction of its royal palace c. 2300 BC was particularly significant as it preserved the city’s rich archives, offering a wealth of information on its history, economy, religion, administration, and daily life. The discovery of Ebla is a pivotal moment in the history of archaeological investigations of the twentieth century, and this book is the result of all the excavation campaigns at Tell Mardikh- Ebla from 1964 until 2010, when field operations stopped due to the war in Syria. Available for the first time in English, Ebla offers a complete account of one of the largest pre-classical urban centres by its discoverer, making it an essential resource for students of Ancient Near Eastern archaeology and history.

Raccolta di articoli in onore di Marcella Frangipane riguardo il sito archeologico Arslantepe, in Antaolia orientale

This volume focusses on ashlar masonry, probably the most elaborate construction technique of the Eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age, from a cross-regional perspective. The building practices and the uses of cutstone components and masonries in Egypt, Syria, the Aegean, Anatolia, Cyprus and the Levant in the 3rd and 2nd millennium BC are examined through a series of case studies and topical essays. The topics addressed include the terminology of ashlar building components and the typologies of its masonries, technical studies on the procurement, dressing, tool kits and construction techniques pertaining to cut stone, investigations into the place of ashlar in inter-regional exchanges and craft dissemination, the extent and signifi cance of the use of cut stone within the communities and regions, and the visual eff ects, social meanings, and symbolic and ideological values of ashlar.

The Tall al-Hamman Excavations, Volume 1 is the first in a series of reports on the Tall al-Hammam Excavation Project, directed by Steven Collins of Trinity Southwest University and assisted by Gary Byers and Carroll Kobs, assistant dig directors. Co-author Mike Luddeni has been dig photographer since the inception of the Project. Excavations began in Jordan in 2005–2006 and have continued annually, without break, up to the present. This volume presents an overview of the site, with a period-by-period overview of Tall al-Hammam and its relationship to other sites in the vicinity in the Jordan Valley. It also includes the pottery profiles and assemblages and artifacts discovered in the course of these seasons. Future volumes will include in-depth excavation reports for specific areas of the Tall.

An insightful historical account of Phoenicia that illustrates its cities, culture, and daily life Hélène Sader presents the history and archaeology of Phoenicia based on the available contemporary written sources and the results of archaeological excavations in Phoenicia proper. Sader explores the origin of the term Phoenicia; the political and geographical history of the city-states Arwad, Byblos, Sidon, and Tyre; and topography, climate, and natural resources of the Phoenician homeland. Her limited focus on Phoenicia proper, in contrast to previous studies that included information from Phoenician colonies, presents the bare realities of the opportunities and difficulties shaping Phoenician life. Sader’s evaluation and synthesis of the evidence offers a corrective to the common assumption of a unified Phoenician kingdom. Features Historical as well as modern maps with the locations of all relevant archaeological sites Faunal and floral analyses that shed light on the Phoenician diet Petrographic analysis of pottery that sheds light on trading patterns and developments

A diachronic, yet nuanced study of Amorite identity from Mesopotamia to Egypt over a millennium of Bronze Age history.

The Orontes Valley in western Syria is a land ‘in between’, positioned between the small trading centres of the coast and the huge urban agglomerations of the Euphrates Valley and the Syro-Mesopotamian plains beyond. As such, it provides a critical missing link in our understanding of the archaeology of this region in the early urban age. A Land in Between documents the material culture and socio-political relationships of the Orontes Valley and its neighbours during the second half of the 3rd millennium BCE. The authors demonstrate that the valley was a chief conduit for the exchange of knowledge and goods that fuelled the first urban age in western Syria. This lays the foundation for a comparative perspective, providing a clearer understanding of key differences between the Orontes region and its neighbours, and insights into how patterns of material and political association changed over time.