The site of Alalakh is located in the modern province of Hatay, southern Turkey. The recent discovery of Iron Age levels at the site offered the perfect opportunity to shed new light on the Iron Age I and the beginning of the Iron Age II (12th-9th century BC). This paper will focus on the analysis of cooking vessels retrieved from the Iron Age levels of the site. Studies on cooking and food preparation activities represent a long-standing lacuna in the archaeology of the Ancient Near East. The analysis of cooking vessels’ typology and function can offer a deep understanding of social habits and cultural behaviours and add new data towards the interpretations of the Iron Age in the site and in the Northern Levant.
{"title":"Cooking in Iron Age Alalakh: Change and Continuity in Vessels’ Functional Role","authors":"M. Montesanto","doi":"10.36253/asiana-1543","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36253/asiana-1543","url":null,"abstract":"The site of Alalakh is located in the modern province of Hatay, southern Turkey. The recent discovery of Iron Age levels at the site offered the perfect opportunity to shed new light on the Iron Age I and the beginning of the Iron Age II (12th-9th century BC). This paper will focus on the analysis of cooking vessels retrieved from the Iron Age levels of the site. Studies on cooking and food preparation activities represent a long-standing lacuna in the archaeology of the Ancient Near East. The analysis of cooking vessels’ typology and function can offer a deep understanding of social habits and cultural behaviours and add new data towards the interpretations of the Iron Age in the site and in the Northern Levant.","PeriodicalId":430076,"journal":{"name":"Asia Anteriore Antica. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Cultures","volume":"8 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128873898","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A recent revision of an inscribed Old-Phrygian stamp seal of the Borow-ski Collection is nullified by new photographic documentation.
一个最近修订的旧弗里吉亚邮票印章的伯罗-斯基收集是无效的新的摄影文件。
{"title":"Reviving the Reading of an Old Phrygian Seal","authors":"Massimo Poetto","doi":"10.36253/asiana-1539","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36253/asiana-1539","url":null,"abstract":"A recent revision of an inscribed Old-Phrygian stamp seal of the Borow-ski Collection is nullified by new photographic documentation.","PeriodicalId":430076,"journal":{"name":"Asia Anteriore Antica. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Cultures","volume":"65 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117243840","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article focuses on handled stamp seals, their typological classification, archaeological contexts and geographic distribution. By analyzing a total of 679 seals (302 from good archaeological contexts) over a time period from the Early Bronze Age to the Iron Age, it was possible to point out that specific shapes can be considered typical for the Anatolian region, while others were adopted from Anatolia in the Levant or belong to specific site productions. The data have shown that of the three predominant types (Stalk, Domed and Modelled Domed Knob Seals), probably only one passed from Anatolia to the Northern Levant with a consequent proliferation of variants. All other types of handled stamp seals didn’t provide sufficient data in archaeological contexts to better define the dynamics of production or geographical displacement: therefore, it was only possible to present the general data and propose some hypotheses.
{"title":"Context and Shape: Geographical and Chronological Distribution of Handled Stamp Seals in Anatolia and Northern Levant","authors":"Caterina Vignolini","doi":"10.36253/asiana-1599","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36253/asiana-1599","url":null,"abstract":"This article focuses on handled stamp seals, their typological classification, archaeological contexts and geographic distribution. By analyzing a total of 679 seals (302 from good archaeological contexts) over a time period from the Early Bronze Age to the Iron Age, it was possible to point out that specific shapes can be considered typical for the Anatolian region, while others were adopted from Anatolia in the Levant or belong to specific site productions. The data have shown that of the three predominant types (Stalk, Domed and Modelled Domed Knob Seals), probably only one passed from Anatolia to the Northern Levant with a consequent proliferation of variants. All other types of handled stamp seals didn’t provide sufficient data in archaeological contexts to better define the dynamics of production or geographical displacement: therefore, it was only possible to present the general data and propose some hypotheses.","PeriodicalId":430076,"journal":{"name":"Asia Anteriore Antica. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Cultures","volume":"10 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128434822","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This contribution aims to use social history and social theory to investigate political power and compliance with authority in ancient Western Asia, through the case study of Neo-Assyrian imperial building projects. Our first aim is to discuss the realities of construction work in the Neo-Assyrian Empire, focusing on the building process both through literary sources and archaeological data. Our second goal is to understand the role played by these building sites in the strengthening of local and supra-local political orders, in the consolidation of social group boundaries, and in the construction of political subjectivities of the ancient social actors involved. Our reflection sheds light on the new interpretative possibilities – and challenges – that integrating social theories, archaeological work, and language technology may create.
{"title":"Building Walls, Social Groups and Empires: A Study of Political Power and Compliance in the Neo-Assyrian Period","authors":"Marta Lorenzon, C. Wallis","doi":"10.36253/asiana-1545","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36253/asiana-1545","url":null,"abstract":"This contribution aims to use social history and social theory to investigate political power and compliance with authority in ancient Western Asia, through the case study of Neo-Assyrian imperial building projects. Our first aim is to discuss the realities of construction work in the Neo-Assyrian Empire, focusing on the building process both through literary sources and archaeological data. Our second goal is to understand the role played by these building sites in the strengthening of local and supra-local political orders, in the consolidation of social group boundaries, and in the construction of political subjectivities of the ancient social actors involved. Our reflection sheds light on the new interpretative possibilities – and challenges – that integrating social theories, archaeological work, and language technology may create.","PeriodicalId":430076,"journal":{"name":"Asia Anteriore Antica. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Cultures","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125872251","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper discusses the spatial configuration of the Roman easternmost borderland in Mesopotamia through several case studies and, particularly, with the aid of declassified aerial and satellite imagery. Satellite pictures from the 1960s and 1970s have proved to be of incredible value for the archaeological research in the Near East, contributing to a solid advancement in the understanding of large-scale phenomena on long-term periods. This is particularly true for the so-called late periods of Mesopotamian history which – traditionally – suffer from an inexplicable lack of terrain data. Although the research has consistently improved in the las decade or so, the support of remote-sensing techniques has open new and fruitful research trajectories on the matter. I will employ legacy aerial data, CORONA and HEXAGON declassified satellite imagery and U2 aerial data to assess some case studies in the region and to provide new insights on such a contested space, now roughly comprised between northeastern Syria and northwestern Iraq.
{"title":"Over the Frontier. Remote Sensing Analysis of the Roman Eastern Borderland in Mesopotamia through Declassified Satellite and Aerial Imagery","authors":"R. Palermo","doi":"10.36253/asiana-1659","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36253/asiana-1659","url":null,"abstract":"This paper discusses the spatial configuration of the Roman easternmost borderland in Mesopotamia through several case studies and, particularly, with the aid of declassified aerial and satellite imagery. Satellite pictures from the 1960s and 1970s have proved to be of incredible value for the archaeological research in the Near East, contributing to a solid advancement in the understanding of large-scale phenomena on long-term periods. This is particularly true for the so-called late periods of Mesopotamian history which – traditionally – suffer from an inexplicable lack of terrain data. Although the research has consistently improved in the las decade or so, the support of remote-sensing techniques has open new and fruitful research trajectories on the matter. I will employ legacy aerial data, CORONA and HEXAGON declassified satellite imagery and U2 aerial data to assess some case studies in the region and to provide new insights on such a contested space, now roughly comprised between northeastern Syria and northwestern Iraq.","PeriodicalId":430076,"journal":{"name":"Asia Anteriore Antica. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Cultures","volume":"256 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123103018","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The discoveries of the 2004-2008 excavations at Tell Mardikh, ancient Ebla, in north-western Syria, and the following processing of the archaeological record have allowed for a re-examination the site’s trajectory between Early Bronze IVB and Middle Bronze I. Not only it was possible to gain a clearer picture of the site’s trajectory during Early Bronze IVB, the phase following the demise of Ebla’s Early Bronze IVA kingdom, but also to re-investigate how the site transitioned from the Early to the Middle Bronze Age at a deeper chronological scale, which was hampered before by the lack of sufficient stratified data. Moving from these insights, this paper offers a summary of the state of research on Ebla between the Early and the Middle Bronze Ages and proposes some ideas concerning this critical nexus in the site’s development. Moreover, unpublished stratified ceramic data are presented and examined that might allow current synchronisms between Ebla, the Middle Euphrates, and the Syrian Jazirah between the late 3rd and the early 2nd millennium BC to be re-considered, and to shed light on the site’s participation and role in region-wide processes that were taking place between the 3rd and the 2nd millennium BC. This way, this crucial connection in the developmental trajectory of Ebla and in the study of ancient Syria will be re-analysed offering insights into archaeology, chronology, and history.
{"title":"Ebla between the Early and Middle Bronze Ages: A Précis (and Some New Data)","authors":"M. D'andrea","doi":"10.36253/asiana-1199","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36253/asiana-1199","url":null,"abstract":"The discoveries of the 2004-2008 excavations at Tell Mardikh, ancient Ebla, in north-western Syria, and the following processing of the archaeological record have allowed for a re-examination the site’s trajectory between Early Bronze IVB and Middle Bronze I. Not only it was possible to gain a clearer picture of the site’s trajectory during Early Bronze IVB, the phase following the demise of Ebla’s Early Bronze IVA kingdom, but also to re-investigate how the site transitioned from the Early to the Middle Bronze Age at a deeper chronological scale, which was hampered before by the lack of sufficient stratified data. Moving from these insights, this paper offers a summary of the state of research on Ebla between the Early and the Middle Bronze Ages and proposes some ideas concerning this critical nexus in the site’s development. Moreover, unpublished stratified ceramic data are presented and examined that might allow current synchronisms between Ebla, the Middle Euphrates, and the Syrian Jazirah between the late 3rd and the early 2nd millennium BC to be re-considered, and to shed light on the site’s participation and role in region-wide processes that were taking place between the 3rd and the 2nd millennium BC. This way, this crucial connection in the developmental trajectory of Ebla and in the study of ancient Syria will be re-analysed offering insights into archaeology, chronology, and history.","PeriodicalId":430076,"journal":{"name":"Asia Anteriore Antica. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Cultures","volume":"39 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124237617","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The so-called libation arms found in Anatolia and the Eastern Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age, belong to the ceramic class Red Lustrous Wheel-made Ware, characterized by a very fine fabric, a careful cooking and a red slipped and polished surface. Even if they were thoroughly analyzed, it was generally assumed that these objects were linked to religious or cultic activities and destined to libatory action. However, no systematic investigation was carried out in relation to their finding contexts. This paper presents the results of a morphological and contextual analysis of this specific artifact. It offers suggestions for production areas, function and distribution on the base of a catalog that collects all the pieces found so far and on the analysis of each finding context. The data seem to indicate an Anatolian type of production unrelated to that of the Red Lustrous Wheel-made Ware, which is solely linked to religious activity.
{"title":"The arm-shaped vessels in Anatolia and the Eastern Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age: a morphological and contextual analysis","authors":"C. Fantoni","doi":"10.36253/asiana-1257","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36253/asiana-1257","url":null,"abstract":"The so-called libation arms found in Anatolia and the Eastern Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age, belong to the ceramic class Red Lustrous Wheel-made Ware, characterized by a very fine fabric, a careful cooking and a red slipped and polished surface. Even if they were thoroughly analyzed, it was generally assumed that these objects were linked to religious or cultic activities and destined to libatory action. However, no systematic investigation was carried out in relation to their finding contexts. This paper presents the results of a morphological and contextual analysis of this specific artifact. It offers suggestions for production areas, function and distribution on the base of a catalog that collects all the pieces found so far and on the analysis of each finding context. The data seem to indicate an Anatolian type of production unrelated to that of the Red Lustrous Wheel-made Ware, which is solely linked to religious activity.","PeriodicalId":430076,"journal":{"name":"Asia Anteriore Antica. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Cultures","volume":"227 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130882554","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lying between the central Anatolian plateau and the Euphrates region, the Elbistan plain represents an ideal environment for inspecting forms of cultural interconnection. During the Iron Age, this territory was marked by the presence of notable inscribed monuments, the study of which allowed scholars to establish relationships with the most significant Neo-Hittite dynasties. This region is also characterized by the presence of sets of anepigraphic portal lions, positioned seemingly at random in the open landscape and with no apparent relationship with coeval archaeological remains, which have never been concretely integrated into the historical picture. In this contribution, the iconographic and stylistic analysis of these sculptures will allow us to situate them in their chronological and historical framework. A computational spatial model is further used to evaluate the meaning of their positioning as markers of a visual networking system that may have represented the most significant thoroughfares to and from the Elbistan plain.
{"title":"Hic sunt leones. Iconographic analysis and computational modelling for the study of the Iron Age free-standing lions of the Elbistan plain (south-eastern Anatolia)","authors":"Francesco Di Filippo, Federico Manuelli","doi":"10.36253/asiana-1204","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36253/asiana-1204","url":null,"abstract":"Lying between the central Anatolian plateau and the Euphrates region, the Elbistan plain represents an ideal environment for inspecting forms of cultural interconnection. During the Iron Age, this territory was marked by the presence of notable inscribed monuments, the study of which allowed scholars to establish relationships with the most significant Neo-Hittite dynasties. This region is also characterized by the presence of sets of anepigraphic portal lions, positioned seemingly at random in the open landscape and with no apparent relationship with coeval archaeological remains, which have never been concretely integrated into the historical picture. In this contribution, the iconographic and stylistic analysis of these sculptures will allow us to situate them in their chronological and historical framework. A computational spatial model is further used to evaluate the meaning of their positioning as markers of a visual networking system that may have represented the most significant thoroughfares to and from the Elbistan plain.","PeriodicalId":430076,"journal":{"name":"Asia Anteriore Antica. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Cultures","volume":"27 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126155574","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The passage from the 3rd to the 2nd millennium BC in Inner Syria is still a matter for debate both in historical and archaeological studies. This is only partially due to lack of evidence: it is much the way one interprets the extant evidence that affects the discourse, emphasizing a break or a transition, and viewing this time as a period of crisis or not. In this article relevant archaeological evidence from the site of Tell Afis is revised and some new data, including 14C dates, are offered in order to resume discussion on the question. Focus will be specifically on pottery: by recovering various strands of development in the local pottery repertoires from the Early Bronze to the Middle Bronze, the article aims to contribute to the reconstruction of this archaeological phase at a regional level as well.
{"title":"The EB-MB Transition at Tell Afis: a Reappraisal","authors":"Candida Felli","doi":"10.36253/asiana-1180","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36253/asiana-1180","url":null,"abstract":"The passage from the 3rd to the 2nd millennium BC in Inner Syria is still a matter for debate both in historical and archaeological studies. This is only partially due to lack of evidence: it is much the way one interprets the extant evidence that affects the discourse, emphasizing a break or a transition, and viewing this time as a period of crisis or not. In this article relevant archaeological evidence from the site of Tell Afis is revised and some new data, including 14C dates, are offered in order to resume discussion on the question. Focus will be specifically on pottery: by recovering various strands of development in the local pottery repertoires from the Early Bronze to the Middle Bronze, the article aims to contribute to the reconstruction of this archaeological phase at a regional level as well. ","PeriodicalId":430076,"journal":{"name":"Asia Anteriore Antica. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Cultures","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129712337","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The Quweiq and Matkh plains, in north inland Syria, were densely settled areas during the Early Bronze Age, crossed by the River Quweiq, flowing north-south from the plateau of Gaziantep to disappear into the Matkh paleolake. The northern sector of the Nahr el-Quweiq was surveyed in 1970s, providing information on the 3rd millennium BC occupation of the Aleppo’s hinterland. However, to date, only little evidence is available from archaeological excavations carried out in the area, hampering to crosscheck the ceramic periodisation derived from the Nahr el-Quweiq survey, which has therefore been used, or referred to, for general comparisons only. The article aims at revising the chronology and connections of the Aleppo region during the EB I-IVA period in the light of recent excavations and surveys carried out in neighbouring areas (the Ebla region, the Middle Euphrates, the Sajur and Jabbul plains), ultimately exploring the role of the Aleppo region as a ‘bridge area’, which provided access to important commercial routes towards the Euphrates Valley, the ‘Amuq plain and the area of Gaziantep. The north-south axis – linking the Ebla region with Aleppo – had to be particularly important during EB IVA, when ḫalab appears to belong to the Ebla kingdom and was the seat of the cult of the Storm God as we learn from cuneiform texts from Palace G archives.
{"title":"Along and Across the Nahr el-Quweiq: EB I-IVA Ceramic Horizons and Interregional Connections","authors":"A. Vacca","doi":"10.36253/asiana-1203","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.36253/asiana-1203","url":null,"abstract":"The Quweiq and Matkh plains, in north inland Syria, were densely settled areas during the Early Bronze Age, crossed by the River Quweiq, flowing north-south from the plateau of Gaziantep to disappear into the Matkh paleolake. The northern sector of the Nahr el-Quweiq was surveyed in 1970s, providing information on the 3rd millennium BC occupation of the Aleppo’s hinterland. However, to date, only little evidence is available from archaeological excavations carried out in the area, hampering to crosscheck the ceramic periodisation derived from the Nahr el-Quweiq survey, which has therefore been used, or referred to, for general comparisons only. The article aims at revising the chronology and connections of the Aleppo region during the EB I-IVA period in the light of recent excavations and surveys carried out in neighbouring areas (the Ebla region, the Middle Euphrates, the Sajur and Jabbul plains), ultimately exploring the role of the Aleppo region as a ‘bridge area’, which provided access to important commercial routes towards the Euphrates Valley, the ‘Amuq plain and the area of Gaziantep. The north-south axis – linking the Ebla region with Aleppo – had to be particularly important during EB IVA, when ḫalab appears to belong to the Ebla kingdom and was the seat of the cult of the Storm God as we learn from cuneiform texts from Palace G archives.","PeriodicalId":430076,"journal":{"name":"Asia Anteriore Antica. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Cultures","volume":"2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129537514","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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