The Hittite language is the earliest preserved member of the Indo-European family of languages. It was written on clay tablets in central Asia Minor over a five hundred year span (ca. 1650-1180 B.C.) which witnessed the rise, the floruit, and the decline of many political powers in the Near East. The Hittite Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (CHD) is a comprehensive, bilingual Hittite-English dictionary. The CHD is not just a list of words and their meanings, but rather a dictionary that reflects and illustrates the ideas and material world of Hittite society through its lexicon. Published letter by letter, the CHD is a long-term project and the result of a painstaking process of cultural, historical, and lexical investigation for all those interested in Hittite culture and history. The CHD is the only such project in the English speaking world.

The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary was conceived to provide more than lexical information alone, more than a one-to-one equivalent between Akkadian and English words. By presenting each word in a meaningful context, often with a full and idiomatic translation, it recreates the cultural milieu and in many ways assumes the function of an encyclopedia.

Shiloh. The Pre-Hellenistic Remains -- The Danish Excavations at Tall Sailun, Palestine in 1926, 1929, 1932 and 1963.

Everyone who investigates pre-modern concepts of nature cannot avoid a critical reflection on the ancient understandings of it. Here, "nature" is understood in the sense of a seemingly untouched space, largely independent of human culture. While this concept of "nature" is prevalent in modern times, the reconstruction of ancient ideas is difficult in that concepts of nature, if at all present, emphasize other aspects. For example, the Greek term in pre-Hellenistic times defines the nature of a thing rather than an untouched environment. A word for "nature" in this sense has not been handed down to us in the remaining texts of the Ancient Near East and Classical Antiquity. Nevertheless, such concepts can certainly be reconstructed from descriptions of nature to be found in literature and the representations of natural elements in art. The present volume aims at identifying these concepts of nature in texts as well as in archaeological remains of the Ancient Near Eastern and the Greek culture from the Archaic to the Hellenistic period. Contributions from the fields of archaeology and philology are juxtaposed for each time period in chronological order. This arrangement provides a good overview of the concepts of nature prevailing throughout different period and cultures. | Der Begriff "Natur" wird in modernen, mitteleuropaischen Gesellschaften meist im Sinne eines vermeintlich unberuhrten Raumes verstanden, der weitgehend unbeeinflusst von menschlicher Kultur ist. Fur vormoderne Kulturen lassen sich solche Vorstellungen bzw. Konzepte sehr viel schwieriger nachweisen, da beispielsweise ein Wort fur "Natur" mit der eben genannten Bedeutung in den erhaltenen Texten des Alten Orients und der griechischen Antike so nicht uberliefert zu sein scheint. Gleichwohl werden durchaus Naturelemente in der antiken Literatur, der Flachenkunst sowie in antiken Monumenten beschrieben bzw. abgebildet sowie als integrative Bestandteile genutzt und funktionalisiert. Daraus lassen sich Konzepte von "Natur" herausarbeiten und rekonstruieren. Der vorliegende Band moechte solche "Naturkonzepte" in Texten, Artefakten und Denkmalern des Alten Orients und des griechischen Kulturraumes von der Archaik bis in den Hellenismus identifizieren und einen UEberblick uber die jeweils in einem bestimmten Zeit- und Kulturraum vorherrschenden Vorstellungen sowie deren diachrone Entwicklung geben.

European adventurers began exploring Palmyra's priceless Roman ruins in the 17th century, but it wasn't until the advent of photography that the public became aware of its scale and majesty. In 1885, the sight of Palmyra astounded members of the Wolfe Expedition as they journeyed home from Mesopotamia. The group's photographer, John Henry Haynes, documented the monumental temples, tombs and colonnades in more than a hundred invaluable images. Since then, Haynes and his work have largely been forgotten, and the forces of the self-styled Islamic State have destroyed the key monuments of this world-renowned site, including the glorious Temple of Bel. Haynes's images of Palmyra - published here for the first time - are all the more poignant. The Syrian city of Palmyra - known as ‘the Pearl of the Desert’ - was one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world. A key stop on the Silk Road, it was a vital link between the East and the West, and a prize fought over by successive conquering armies.

The famous 'Silk Roads' have long evoked a romantic picture of travel through colourful civilizations that connected the western and eastern poles of Eurasia, facilitating the exchange of exotic luxury goods, peoples, pathogens and ideas. But how far back can we trace such interaction? Increasing evidence suggests considerable time-depth for Trans-Eurasian exchange, with the expanding urban networks of the Bronze Age at times anticipating later caravan routes. Tying the Threads of Eurasia applies advanced GIS modelling and critical social archaeology to carefully selected material remains from these earlier connections in order to understand and explain macro-scale processes of interaction in the wider ancient Near East between 3000 and 1500BC. Evidence related to precious stone, metal and textile objects found in Transcaucasia, eastern Anatolia and Central Asia are examined critically and spatially to provide new insights into changing socio-economic relations within and beyond these case-study regions. This book will be of interest to archaeologists and historians researching routes of exchange and interaction, macro-scale historical change or GIS approaches to archaeology, and to specialists of the Bronze Age Near East, especially Anatolia, the Caucasus, Central Asia and Iran.

'Ritual Failure' is a new concept in archaeology adopted from the discipline of anthropology. Resilient religious systems disappearing, strict believers and faithful practitioners not performing their rites, entire societies changing their customs: how does a religious ritual system transform, change or disappear, leaving only traces of its past glory? Do societies change and then their ritual? Or do customs change first, in turn provoking wider cultural shifts in society? Archaeology possesses the tools and methodologies to explore these questions over the long term; from the emergence of a system, to its peak, and then its decay and disappearance, and in relation to wider social and chronological developments. The collected papers in this book introduce the concept of 'ritual failure' to archaeology. The analysis explores ways in which ritual may have been instrumental in sustaining cultural continuity during demanding social conditions, or how its functionality might have failed - resulting in discontinuity, change or collapse. The collected papers draw attention to those turbulent social times of change for which ritual practices are a sensitive indicator within the archaeological record. The book reviews archaeological evidence and theoretical approaches, and suggests models which could explain socio-cultural change through ritual failure. The concept of 'ritual failure' is also often used to better understand other themes, such as identity and wider social, economic and political transformations, shedding light on the social conditions that forced or introduced change. This book will engage those interested in ritual theory and practices, but will also appeal to those interested in exploring new avenues to understanding cultural change. From transformations in the use of ritual objects to the risks inherent in practicing ritual, from ritual continuity in customs to sudden and profound change, from the Neolithic Near East to Medieval Europe and Iron Age Africa, this book explores what happens when ritual fails.

While mortuary ruins have long fascinated archaeologists and art historians interested in the cultures of the Near East and eastern Mediterranean, the human skeletal remains contained in the tombs of this region have garnered less attention. In Bioarchaeology and Behavior, Megan Perry presents a collection of essays that aim a spotlight on the investigation of the ancient inhabitants of the circum-Mediterranean area. Composed of eight diverse papers, this volume synthesises recent research on human skeletal remains and their archaeological and historical contexts in this region. Utilising an environmental, social, and political framework, the contributors present scholarly case studies on such topics as the region's mortuary archaeology, genetic investigations of migration patterns, and the ancient populations' health, disease, and diet. Other key anthropological issues addressed in this volume include the effects of the domestication of plants and animals, the rise of state-level formations, and the role of religion in society. Ultimately, this collection will provide anthropologists, archaeologists, and bioarchaeologists with an important foundation for future research in the Near East and eastern Mediterranean.

The ancient city of Hatra is located 80 km southwest of the modern city of Mosul. The site reached its apogee during the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, arriving at the striking dimensions of c. 300 hectares and into a new role as the capital of a significant buffer state between the Parthian and Roman empires. This volume is devoted to the study of the landscape surrounding Hatra and of the development of this important city, drawing on published information gathered by Iraqi and foreign expeditions, as well as unpublished data garnered from over fifteen years of fieldwork at the site by the Italian Archaeological Expedition. The study of the landscape comprehends the morphology, hydrology and geology of the region and offers new proposals regarding the exploitation of natural resources and the development of regional and local routes through the territory under Hatra's political and military control during the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. The analysis of Hatra as an urban centre consists of a detailed study of the city's hydrology, street network and urban areas, with the purpose of detecting the principles behind the planning and development of the city. The main elements of the urban space are treated in this book: the Temenos area and the Small Shrines, the Necropoles, the Fortifications, the Houses, and the Palaces. Due to the cross-referencing of archaeological, historical and epigraphic data, new ideas have been proposed regarding the chronological phases of urbanism at Hatra, from its foundation up to the destruction of the city by the Sasanian army in AD 241. | La citta di Hatra si trova nella Jazira irachena a circa 80 km a sud-ovest di Mosul. Il centro raggiunse il suo apogeo durante il II-III sec. d.C., toccando l'impressionante estensione di quasi 300 ettari e divenendo la capitale di un influente stato cuscinetto, collocato tra l'impero partico e l'impero romano. Questo volume e dedicato allo studio del territorio e dell'urbanistica di questo importante sito antico, impiegando contestualmente informazioni edite, raccolte dalle varie missioni irachene e straniere che si sono avvicendate sul terreno, e inedite, provenienti dal vasto Archivio della Missione Archeologica Italiana a Hatra in piu di quindici anni di ricerche sul campo. Lo studio del territorio definisce un quadro dettagliato della morfologia, idrologia e geologia della regione e dell'area prossima al centro, oltre a proporre alcune nuove ipotesi interpretative sullo sfruttamento delle risorse ambientali, sull'articolazione della rete viaria periurbana e regionale e sull'estensione del territorio sottoposto al controllo politico e militare della citta durante il II e III sec. d.C. L'analisi urbanistica comprende uno studio approfondito dell'idrologia cittadina, della rete stradale e delle aree urbane, allo scopo di individuarne le principali caratteristiche ed eventuali regole nella pianificazione e nello sviluppo della citta. Nel libro sono inoltre analizzati i principali elementi che compongono il tessuto urbano: il Temenos e i templi minori, le necropoli, le difese cittadine, le case e i palazzi. Grazie all'utilizzo contestuale del dato archeologico, storico ed epigrafico, e stato inoltre possibile formulare nuove ipotesi sulle fasi urbanistiche e sulla cronologia di Hatra dalla fondazione alla sua distruzione, avvenuta per mano sasanide nel 241 d.C.

For the Gods are the opening words or incipit of the first inscribed votive artefacts dedicated to the principal deities of the Sumerian pantheon. They commemorate the construction or renovation of cities, temples, rural sanctuaries, border steles, in sum all the symbolically charged features of archaic states belonging thus metaphorically to supernatural tutelary overlords. Girsu (present-day Tello) is one of the earliest known cities of the world together with Uruk, Eridu, and Ur, and was considered to be in the 3rd Millennium the sanctuary of the Sumerian heroic god Ningirsu who fought with the demons of the Kur (Mountain) and thus made possible the introduction of irrigation and agriculture in Sumer. Girsu was the sacred metropolis and central pole of a city-state that lay in the Southeasternmost part of the Mesopotamian floodplain. The pioneering explorations carried out between 1877 and 1933 at Tello and the early decipherment of the Girsu cuneiform tablets were ground-breaking because they revealed the principal catalytic elements of the Sumerian takeoff - that is, a multiplicity and coalescence of major innovations, such as the appearance of a city- countryside continuum, the emergence of literacy, of bronze manufacture, and the development of monumental art and architecture. Because of the richness of information related in particular to the city's spatial organization and geographical setting, and thanks to the availability of recently declassified Cold War space imagery and especially the possibility to launch new explorations in Southern Iraq, Girsu stands out as a primary locale for re-analyzing through an interdisciplinary approach combining archaeological and textual evidence the origins of the Sumerian city-state.

The Artuqids were one of the successor dynasties that rose to power in the aftermath of the eleventh-twelfth century invasion of Western and Central Asia by the Seljuq Turks. While the political power of the Artuqids was limited to the Diyar Bakr, a small region in northern Jazira corresponding to Southeastern Turkey, their artistic legacy is noteworthy. The many surviving Artuqid monuments, built over three hundred years (early 12th - early 15th century), and their decoration exemplify the mastery of stone carving which is reflected in intricate designs and motifs. Mardin, alongside other Artuqid centers such as Amid, Mayyafariqin and Hisn Kayfa, was set within a larger zone of diverse Christian and Islamic artistic traditions. This book defines Mardin's artistic context in relation to the other Artuqid centers, as well as the neighboring zones that encompass Anatolia, the Caucasus, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Egypt. During the Artuqid period an original style developed in Mardin and the Diyar Bakr, which itself was rooted in a well-established local school of stone carving. Connected with Christian traditions found in the Syriac Tur 'Abdin and in Late Antique Syria, the decoration also compares with that of monuments in Armenia and Georgia, and resonates with artistic practices seen in areas controlled by the regional Muslim powers of the time: the Zangids, Ayyubids, Mameluks, Great and Anatolian Seljuqs and the Ilkhanids. The Artuqid buildings reflect the spirit of the time, when the Jazira served as an artistic platform, fostering the circulation of ideas that led to new inspiration, and open-minded rulers and patrons, curious and receptive to new creations, stimulated the creative efforts of architects, stone carvers and craftsmen. The decorated monuments also attest to the existence of significant economic wealth and the need to commission sophisticated buildings that magnified the political and social status of the ruling elite's.

Qatar: Evidence of the Palaeolithic Earliest People Revealed, with full text in both English and Arabic, tells the story of the long and difficult search to discover the identity of the first people to inhabit the sovereign State of Qatar, which is situated on a peninsula, that extends into the Arabian Gulf. The book synthesises the results of extensive fieldwork by the PADMAC Unit with the many diverse historical records and reports of investigations, beginning with Holgar Kapel's, in the early 1950s. The archaeology of the State of Qatar is an important part of the cultural heritage of the world. The loss of archaeological sites to urban and industrial development since the 1950s has been inevitable but the loss of over 30 years of Palaeolithic research in Qatar, an area of prehistoric significance, as a result of academic dissension, is certainly regrettable. The work of the PADMAC Unit in Qatar now marks the end of this Palaeolithic research hiatus.

L'ouvrage se propose de presenter la question essentielle de la consommation alimentaire dans le Proche-Orient ancien, notamment entre le IVe et le Ier millenaire av. J.-C. Grace aux decouvertes archeologiques et surtout grace a une abondante documentation textuelle, les historiens disposent aujourd'hui de sources fiables decrivant les approvisionnements des cites de Mesopotamie. Ainsi voit-on mieux la variete des produits disponibles, celle-ci etait largement plus grande que ce que l'on pouvait imaginer il y a peu. La transformation des ingredients fait aussi apparaitre des techniques insoupconnees a une epoque preindustrielle. La codification en recettes culinaires elaborees pour l'usage des temples reflete egalement un haut developpement. Les rituels religieux s'appuyaient sur un code alimentaire structure, dont les interdits et les tabous ne forment que l'une des facettes. Certains aspects de la vie quotidienne sont presentes sous un jour nouveau. Au premier chef le banquet qui est envisage comme une veritable institution modelant des comportements urbains. De fait, la representation des festins et des banquets dans les temples et les palais constituent des themes classiques de l'art et de la litterature antique. Comprendre l'importance du repas comme rite de cohesion sociale permet incidemment de mieux envisager des evenements qui se derouleront des siecles plus tard.

The treasure of Buseyra is preserved in the museum of Deir az-Zour in Syria. The coins in the hoard cover a large period from the Sassanian Sovereign Khusro II (590/1-628) until the terminal date 331H/ 941. These coins offer precious information, not only about a large number of mints but about the periods and quantities of minting activity. This treasure is important because it is the first complete hoard of the 10th century discovered in the al-Djazira area. According to Tomas Noonan, the Middle East and Central Asian hoards only amount to ten per cent of the treasures found in northern and eastern Europe and the Nordic countries. In comparing contemporaneous 10th-century silver hoards, and especially the relation between the numbers of coin dies and their representation of their products, we can obtain insights into the flows of money and the balance of payments for each area and each minting city.

This volume contains 23 articles written by 26 authors in order to express the extent of their respect and friendship for Christine Kepinski. The topics addressed in their papers reflect the scientific work of Christine Kepinski, who always promoted interdisciplinary approaches and developed multi-scale analysis from the object itself to regional study. Several papers are directly connected to fieldwork she conducted in Iraq and in Turkey: Haradum and the Middle Euphrates area, Tilbeshar and Kunara. Others are devoted to material study, notably glyptic, seals and sealing practices. Others evoke Syria: she never directed archaeological excavation there but she always integrated Syria in her studies. Finally, some are inspired by Christine Kepinski's interest for urban life. The chronological time span of the book as well as the various specialisations of the authors clearly show the great value of her scientific background guided by her taste for the Orient.

This publication provides the most updated information on the ceramic production (amphorae, cooking and coarse wares, ceramic building materials) of Salakta and the Ksour Essef district, in the Sahel region of Tunisia, from the 3rd century BC to the 7th century AD. This book deals with the history and the archaeology of Sullecthum/Salakta, the typology of the ceramic production (mainly amphorae), the chronology and the location of the workshops, the amphora stamps and contents, the distribution in the Mediterranean, and the organisation of production and trade. The author is Lecturer at the Institut Superieur des Etudes Appliquees en Humanites de Mahdia (University of Monastir, Tunisia). French text with English abstract.

Soil and water management is a major stake for the current Mediterranean countries. It was also an important challenge for past societies, especially since the Neolithic and the early well-established farming communities. the mastery of these vital resources accompanied the complexification of social organization. It also widely contributed, if not to impulse it, at least to structure it. This volume presents the results of the CEDRE multidisciplinary project NAHR IBRAHIM that was led on the Lebanese mountain centered around the Nahr Ibrahim valley (the famous Adonis valley in Antiquity), in the hinterland of the ancient city of Byblos. the mountain has been under-researched by archaeology and history due to the attractiveness of the prestigious coastal phoenician cities. The history of settlement patterns and the construction of agricultural mountainous landscapes since the Early Bronze Age is examined with comparisons from other regions surrounding the Mediterranean Basin.

Le volume Ras Shamra - Ougarit XXIV est dedie a la memoire de Pierre Bordreuil. Chercheur de renommee internationale, epigraphiste, professeur, Pierre Bordreuil avait rejoint, en 1971, l'equipe de la mission archeologique de Ras Shamra. L'ouvrage collectif, qui correspond aux Etudes ougaritiques IV, comprend seize articles auxquels ont contribue neuf membres de l'equipe de Ras Shamra et cinq chercheurs exterieurs a la mission. Plusieurs textes sont directement consacres a la personnalite et a l'oeuvre de Pierre Bordreuil. La plupart des etudes, qu'elles abordent l'archeologie ou les textes, sont des contributions a la civilisation ougaritique et plusieurs livrent des donnees inedites issues soit de l'exploitation des archives de la mission concernant les fouilles anciennes, soit des recherches de terrain actuelles sur le site de Ras Shamra et sur celui de Tell Shamiyeh.

De l'ile d'Aphrodite au Paradis perdu, itineraire d'un gentilhomme lyonnais, volume XXII de la serie Ras Shamra - Ougarit est un ouvrage collectif dedie a Yves Calvet, directeur de 1999 a 2008 de la composante francaise de la mission syro-francaise de Ras Shamra - Ougarit, site sur lequel il fouilla de 1978 a 2010. Fouilleur avant tout, mais aussi prospecteur, ceramologue, iconographe, epigraphiste, editeur: les contributions de quarante-deux auteurs reunies ici permettent de retracer l'itineraire de cet eminent archeologue lyonnais, du bassin de la Mediterranee aux confins de l'Arabie et aux rives du Golfe persique. La Grece et Chypre, l'Iran, l'Iraq, le Yemen, Koweit, la Syrie: Yves Calvet est un parfait representant de la Maison de l'Orient et de la Mediterranee, dont il est un des membres les plus anciens, un des "fondateurs" de cette institution, creuset de la recherche sur l'Orient ancien. Avec ses collegues de Lyon et d'ailleurs, il est parti a la conquete de contrees mythiques - le royaume de la reine de Saba, le pays de Dilmun, le Paradis perdu quelque part entre Tigre et Euphrate, le royaume de Baal, dieu de l'orage et des tempetes, et Chypre, l'ile de la belle Aphrodite -, reves lointains que les textes rassembles ici se chargeront de raviver.

This book proposes a new occupation model for the remains of Khirbet Qumran, the site associated with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Using the latest in virtual reality technology, the author reconstructs the site of Qumran and demonstrates that the site was initially built as a Hasmonean fortress, and was later expanded into a residence for a self-sufficient community responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Willi Heffening publishes here the Arabic version of the "sermon against laughter" attributed to Ephrem. Heffening accompanies the Arabic text with a brief introduction, a German translation, and a critical apparatus with variants from the Greek version.

Tas-Silg, on the south-east coast of the island of Malta, is a major multi-period site, with archaeological remains spanning four thousand years. A megalithic temple complex built in the early third millennium BC gave way to a Phoenician and Punic sanctuary dedicated to the goddess Astarte. The sacred place underwent major transformations in Roman times, becoming an international religious complex dedicated to the goddess Juno. Located on the maritime routes plied by mariners and traders, its fame did not escape the attention of the first-century BC orator Cicero. Excavated as part of a major archaeological project in the 1960s, the site of Tas-Silg lay abandoned for several decades. In 1996, the University of Malta renewed excavations at the site for ten seasons, uncovering Neolithic and Late Bronze Age occupation levels, and substantial deposits associated with ritual offerings of Punic date. This volume is the second monograph of the final publication of the excavations. It provides an account of the pottery and of the hundreds of inscribed pottery sherds that were recovered during the excavations. It forms a companion volume to the first monograph, which reports on the history of the site and other finds.

English Summary: The life work of the architect and art historian Christian Ewert was the investigation and analysis of west Islamic architectural adornment, from its flowering in the 10th Century through to the 12th Century. His last monograph, completed shortly before his death, expands our perspective by examining a closely related art form: Spanish-Islamic ivory sculptures. With great subtlety, and his usual meticulousness, the author lays out a thorough graphic documentation of the decorative surfaces of 21 boxes made of ivory, analyzes their decorative elements, and places them in comparison with examples of contemporaneous architectural design elements. With the founding of the magnificent palace city of Madinat al-Zahra' near Cordoba in 936 came an increased demand for luxury goods and, in light of the refined Caliph-emphasizing court ceremony and the influx of high-ranking foreign guests and ambassadors, the demand for gifts of honor. To fulfill that task, a master elite created a vast selection of variant forms of wealth that is difficult to fully register and is found in sculptures and in ivory carvings alike. German Description: Das Lebenswerk des Architekten und Kunsthistorikers Christian Ewert war die Untersuchung und Analyse des westislamischen Bauschmuckes, von seiner Blute im 10. Jahrhundert bis in das 12. Jahrhundert. Seine letzte, kurz vor seinem Tod abgeschlossene Monographie erweitert unsere Sicht durch die Untersuchung einer eng verwandten Kunstgattung: die spanisch-islamischen Elfenbeinskulpturen. Mit viel Feinsinn und gewohnter Akribie legt der Autor eine umfassende zeichnerische Dokumentation der Dekorflachen von 21 Buchsen und Kasten aus Elfenbein vor, analysiert deren Repertoire an Dekorelementen und setzt diese in Vergleich mit Beispielen des zeitgleich entstandenen Baudekors. Mit der Grundung der prunkvollen Palaststadt Madinat az-Zahra' bei Cordoba im Jahr 936 entstand ein erhohter Bedarf an Luxusgutern und, angesichts des verfeinerten, die Wurde des Kalifen betonenden Hofzeremoniells und des Zustroms hochrangiger auswartiger Gaste und Gesandtschaften, auch der Bedarf an Wurdegeschenken. Um dieser Aufgabe gerecht zu werden, schopfte eine Meisterelite einen uberbordenden, nur schwer vollstandig zu erfassenden Formen- und Variantenreichtum, der sich auf plastischem Bauschmuck und in Elfenbeinschnitzereien gleichermassen findet. Offenbar arbeiteten Baudekorateure und Elfenbeinschnitzern Seite an Seite und beeinflussten sich gegenseitig.

Dedicated to Professor Antonio Sagona on the occasion of his 60th birthday, this Festschrift commemorates his many contributions to the archaeology of the ancient Near East. Featuring 64 chapters, Context and Connection is focused largely but not exclusively on work conducted in eastern Anatolia and the southern Caucasus, those regions to which Professor Sagona has devoted his career. With contributions from his colleagues, students and mentors - and much collaboration between them - the volume is divided into six sections: Reflections, Cultural connections, Landscape studies, Artefacts and architecture, Scientific partnerships and Retrospectives and overviews. Containing reports on recent archaeological studies, as well as expositions of long-researched materials and sites, the chapters are intended to be of use to the specialist scholar and student alike. Comprehensively illustrated, and with abstracts in both Turkish and Georgian, this book addresses established and emerging questions facing Near Eastern archaeologists today.