Where the Egyptians have wall paintings, the ancient Near East has cylinder seals as the main source of illustrative material, covering a range of subject matter and periods not covered by relief sculptures. The seals are particularly attractive, and the inscriptions are rare examples of personal prayer from the ancient world. This volume continues the story of the cylinder seal styles of the second millennium BC beyond Babylonia in this internationally recognized series documenting the British Museum’s cylinder seals collection. The Isin/Larsa and Old Babylonian Periods of the early 2nd millennium BC merited a whole volume (Volume III), as did the succeeding Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian periods of the 1st millennium BC (Volume V) and the Pre-Achaemenid and Achaemenid periods of the 1st millennia BC-AD in Iran (Volume VI). However, between 2000 and 1000 BC whole series of regional glyptic styles were developed in various autonomous kingdoms and city states. Each of these has merited its own chapter or section within this current volume, with its own selection of photographs and catalogue entries. As the seals featured in this volume came from a number of different sites, they reflect a greater variety of styles than is the case with the single-period or single-origin groups of seals treated in the previous catalogues. There was also a greater exchange of seal-cutting expertise between the various kingdoms, and it is possible to make tentative suggestions as to seals possibly cut by the same craftsman.

The Assyrian empire was in its day the greatest empire the world had ever seen. Building on the expansion of the Middle Assyrian state in the late second millennium BC, the opening centuries of the first millennium witnessed a resurgence which led to the birth of a true empire whose limits stretched from Egypt to Iran and from Anatolia to the Persian Gulf. While the Assyrian imperial capital cities have long been the focus of archaeological exploration, it is only in recent decades that the peripheral areas have been the subject of sustained research. This volume sets out to synthesise the results of this research, bringing together the outcomes of key investigations from across the empire. The provincial archaeology of the empire is presented in a new light, with studies of the archaeological imprint of Assyria in present-day Israel, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. A wide range of methodological and interpretive approaches are brought to bear on the data. Analyses of environmental zones and ecofactual datasets, material culture and architectural traditions, the permeation of literacy and the use of para-literate systems form the platform for innovative and integrative evaluations and lead to a new appreciation for the diversity of local responses to the Assyrian expansion.

The sixteenth Current Research in Egyptology (CRE) conference was held from the 15–18 April 2015 at the University of Oxford and once again provided a platform for postgraduates and early career Egyptologists, as well as independent researchers, to present their research. These proceedings for CREXVI represent the wide range of themes that were offered by delegates during the conference. Papers focus on the theme of travel in ancient Egypt from a wide range of perspectives such as concrete or abstract travels, travel in space and time, travel inside, to, or from Egypt, travel in literature, travel of beliefs and ideas or travel of objects.

The city of Carchemish in the valley of the Euphrates river can be regarded as one of the iconic sites in the Middle East, a mound complex known both for its own intrinsic qualities as the seat of later Hittite power and Neo-Hittite kings, but also because its history of excavations included well known historical figures such as Leonard Woolley and T. E. Lawrence. However, because of its location within the military zone of the Turkish-Syrian border the site itself has been inaccessible to archaeologists for more than 90 years. Carchemish in Context summarises the results of regional investigations conducted within the Land of Carchemish Project in Syria, as well as other archaeological surveys in the region, in order to provide a regional, historical and archaeological context for the development of the city. A synthesis of the history of Carchemish is presented and a regional overview of the Land of Carchemish as it is defined by archaeological features and key historical references through to the early Iron Age. Insightful snapshots of the dynamics of an ancient state are revealed which can now be seen to have fluctuated dramatically in size throughout 700-800 years, in part depending upon the power of the king of Carchemish or the aggressions of external powers.The results from the Project provide an overview of the main trends of settlement in the region over 8000 years, using a combination of survey databases to both north and south of the Syrian-Turkish border and with a focus on the earlier phases of settlement from the Neolithic until the end of the Bronze Age when Carchemish became an outpost of the Hittite empire. The Iron Age is a period blessed by numerous historical records some of which can be traced in the modern landscape. Further chapters explore site-specific aspects of the regional archaeology, including a series of important sites on the Sajur river, some of which were positioned along the main campaign routes of the Assyrian kings. The close relationship between the nearby Early Bronze Age site of Tell Jerablus Tahtani and Carchemish are examined and the results from the 40 ha Carchemish Outer Town survey described, providing important new data sources regarding the layout, defences and dates of occupation of this significant part of the city. The Classical, Roman, Byzantine and Early Islamic occupations are also discussed in relation to what is known of occupation in the surrounding region.

The book contains the excavation and recording of Tomb A4 and its decorated burial chamber belonging to Niankhpepy the Black, whose son Pepyankh the Black built two communicating tombs A1 and A2 for his father and himself, then linking the chapel of Tomb A1 to the burial chamber of Tomb A4 via a sloping passage. This is an exceptional example of filial affection in ancient Egypt. The scenes and inscriptions as well as the architecture of Tomb A1 have been re-recorded and are published in this volume. Minor tombs with finds were discovered in the rock-cliff face in the area between Tombs A1 and A4, and have been dated to the late Old Kingdom/early First Intermediate Period.

Tille Höyük 3.1 presents the structures and stratigraphy of the important Iron Age sequence at Tille Höyuek, a mound at a crossing of the Euphrates in eastern Turkey. The site, which was excavated between 1979 and 1990 by the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, revealed ten major structural levels of the Iron Age, spanning the period from the 11th century to the 6th-4th centuries BC, as well as earlier and later remains, and the wide exposure of architecture provides a sequence of intelligible and impressive building plans. After the initial discussion of the background and methodology of their excavation, the successive levels are carefully described and fully illustrated. The earliest Iron Age occupation, simple buildings among the ruins of the Late Bronze Age, was followed by a major settlement of the Middle Iron Age, when the Neo-Hittite kingdom of Kummuh was at its height. Most impressive architecturally are a large palatial building centred on a courtyard paved with a pebble mosaic, which was probably built after the Assyrian annexation of Kummuh in 708 BC and continued in use through the seventh, and the excellently preserved Level X with many distinctively Persian architectural features (built in the latter half of the 6th or the early 5th century and probably lasting for a substantial time).

Tille Höyük 3.2 is one of the few Iron Age sites to have been excavated on the River Euphrates between Malatya and Carchemish on the Turco-Syrian border, at a crossing point on the west bank of the Euphrates, an area now almost entirely inundated by a series of dam schemes. It is the only one with a near-complete Iron Age stratigraphic sequence to be published in detail to date. The site was dug between 1979 and 1990 by the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara as part of the Turkish Lower Euphrates Rescue Project. The excavation revealed important architectural remains of the Early Iron Age, Neo-Hittite, Neo-Assyrian, and Achaemenid periods, spanning the eleventh to the fifth–fourth centuries BC. In this second (and final) volume of the report on the Iron Age levels, the pottery and objects are presented, together with chapters on seals and plant remains, along with a concluding discussion of the material covered in both Tille 3.1 and Tille 3.2. Lying on the margins of the Mesopotamian world, and with contacts with North Syria, North Mesopotamia, and the Levant, rather than with Anatolia or the Mediterranean, Tille provides vivid insights into the cultural history of the region during the Iron Age. Tille 3.2 covers the material culture of Iron Age Tille and aims to draw lessons from the experience of rescue excavation in the context of a major dam scheme in a previously unexplored area of North Mesopotamia (with important implications for the archaeology and chronology of the region), and discusses the significance of the site in its local and regional context.

This volume honors the career and contributions of Andrew M.T. Moore. Moore’s groundbreaking work at Abu Hureyra, Syria and excavations at Neolithic sites in Croatia have made him a pioneer in integrated interdisciplinary research in archaeology, expressing a deeply held conviction that developments in human culture can only be understood when embedded in an ecological approach. In this book, colleagues and former students of Moore, working in the Near East and Croatia, present current research, illustrating the continuing impact of Moore’s work on the early farming and herding peoples of the eastern Mediterranean. Contents Preface: People, Landscape, and Change in Prehistory Michael Chazan and Katina Lillios Andrew M.

The past is inextricably embeded in the present – whether we are aware of it or not. The present was shaped by the thoughts and deeds of those who went before, and our daily life largely plays out on a stage set by our ancestors. The seven contributors to this volume have taken their cue from ancient artefacts of the cultures of the Mediterranean and Near East that are kept in the National Museum of Denmark. The authors explain how these items were gathered in the first place at their remote places of origin, and why the collectors deemed the objects so important that they were willing to go through considerable trouble and expense to bring them to Denmark. Also, the demonstrate how the interpretation and perceived significance, thereby sketching important stages in the formative history of the National Museum.

The volume presents proceedings of the second international conference dedited to the study of relations between Egypt, the Aegean, the Levant and the Sudan in the 2nd and 1st millenia BCE.

8 peer-reviewede articles from Australian and international contributors.

This is the first monograph devoted solely to the ceramics of Cyprus in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods. The island was by then no longer divided into kingdoms but unified politically, first under Ptolemaic Egypt and later as a province in the Roman Empire. Submission to foreign rule was previously thought to have diluted - if not obliterated - the time-honoured distinctive Cypriot character. The ceramic evidence suggests otherwise. The distribution of local and imported pottery in Cyprus points to the existence of several regional exchange networks, a division that also seems reflected by other evidence. The similarities in material culture, exchange patterns and preferential practices are suggestive of a certain level of regional collective self-awareness. From the 1st century BC onwards, Cyprus became increasingly engulfed by mass produced and standardized ceramic fine wares, which seem ultimately to have put many of the indigenous makers of similar products out of business - or forced them to modify their output. Also, the ceramic record gradually became less diverse during the Roman Period than before - developments which we today might be inclined to view as symptoms of an early form of globalisation.

The Great Bend of the Euphrates River in North Syria and Southeast Anatolia was a strategic nexus of communications between different parts of the Ancient Near East and the Mediterranean. In spite of its potential for inter-regional studies, the area was largely neglected in the 20th century following the pioneering investigations of Sir Leonard Woolley, T. E. Lawrence and others at the historically renowned city of Carchemish. Modern dam-building near the city led to the excavation of threatened sites and these have revealed a much more complex picture in which, rather than simply a conduit for inter-regional networks, the bend attracted a unique concentration of varied communities from Neolithic times onwards. Jerablus Tahtani, a multi-period tell site beside Carchemish, was excavated by a team from the University of Edinburgh from 1992 to 2004 within the framework of the international Tishrin Dam Salvage programme. Results shed new light on the Uruk expansion in the 4th millennium BC, extraordinary Euphrates flood episodes in the 3rd millennium BC, the ‘second urban revolution’ in Early Bronze Age Syria and prehistoric developments at neighbouring Carchemish. This volume, the first major report on the site, deals with stratified mortuary evidence found at a Bronze Age fort that was built over the destroyed remains of an early 3rd millennium village. Most of the 70 graves belong to the time when Ebla claimed supremacy of the area. They are considered in terms of the role of burials in site abandonment processes. Special attention is given to a monumental tomb incongruously located at the entrance to this small fort. Its creation and life history are evaluated in the context of other highly conspicuous mortuary facilities in the region—monuments that served as places of social memory and vehicles for structuring a distinctive regional political trajectory within the Bronze Age of the Ancient Near East.

A varied and charming collection of 17 papers that bring something new about the people from many countries and backgrounds who travelled to, from and within Egypt and the Near East, either singly or as a group, and explored, observed and recorded, or stayed for a short period of time to improve their health or simply to enjoy the experience.While some travellers kept a diary or journal that has survived until today, others did not. Their travels have to be extracted from the wide range of manuscript sources that are thankfully retained in libraries and archives, or which still remain with their descendants. Sometimes, the name of a traveller is only contained in a few words within a single piece of correspondence or journal entry, yet from such small beginnings and through detective work to link the chance meetings between travellers with a location, or news of a shared event, it is often possible to chart part of a traveller’s journey and bring to life a person who has long been forgotten. These minor characters and their travails often bring a new perspective to well-known places and events.

Recent excavations on the border between Jordan and Syria have uncovered ancient building ruins that provide interesting materials revealing the domestic and working lives of the people who settled within the valley of Tall al Fukhãr in Wadi ash-Shallale. The volume provides a detailed and thorough examination of the excavations conducted between 1990 and 2002. The Scandinavian expedition, located on a 375m natural spur, revealed a rare quantity of pottery, antiques and ancient building structures that provided archaeologists with an insight into the social, economic and material developments that emerged from the Early Bronze Age 3600 BC. Tall al-Fukhãr commemorates centuries of historical artefacts that document the alternations mankind made to improve living standards, constructing modern day life as we know it.

There are countless references to Cyprus in Venice: in palaces, primarily that of Queen Caterina Corner, in the church of Saints Giovanni e Paolo, where the skin of Mark Antonius Bragadin (the staunch defender of Famagusta) is guarded, in the spices, and especially in the wine of Cyprus (Commandaria), that is today still recalled in Venetian sayings. The Venetian past, too, has many references in Cyprus where evidence is focused on the fortresses and fortifications of Nicosia, Famagusta and Kerynia and in the lions that adorn them as well as in traditional dishes and language. The papers presented here have been selected from 30 given at the 10th Annual Meeting of young researchers in Cypriot archaeology (POCA 10), held in Venice where it celebrated two important events: the 500th anniversary of the death of Caterina Cornaro (1454–1510) and the twinning of the cities of Venice and Larnaca. Papers cover a wide range of subjects reflecting the many centuries of trade in products (especially textiles) and the cultural exchange in ideas, religious practices and people between the island and City at various times from prehistory to the Ottoman period. Archaeological and historical data are brought together to showcase recent research.