An exploration of the social and military role of the Shardana mercenaries in Egypt during the 13th to the 11th centuries BC. In Italian.

Throughout the past three decades, Nadav Na'aman has repeatedly proved that he is one of the most careful historians of ancient Canaan and Israel. With broad expertise, he has brought together archaeology, text, and the inscriptional material from all of the ancient Near East to bear on the history of ancient Israel and the land of Canaan during the second and first millenniums B.C.E. Many of his studies have been published as journal articles or notes and yet, together, they constitute one of the most important bodies of literature on the subject in recent years, particularly because of the careful attention to methodology that Na'aman always has brought to his work. Collected here are 23 essays on the Hurrians, the Egyptians and their presence in the Levant during the second millennium B.C.E., Canaanite city-states, the Amarna Letters, and the neighbors of Canaan in the north, such as Alalakh and Damascus. The essays range over such topics as scribes and language, archaeology, cultural influences, and the interrelations of the great powers during this period. The volume includes indexes of ancient personal names, place-names, and biblical references.

Excavations in the town of Elephantine between 1972 and 1991 uncovered more than 1600 clay seals, cylinder seals and various other sealing materials, forming one of the largest and most important seal assemblages from an urban Early Dynastic and early Old Kingdom site. At the heart of this substantial study is a catalogue of types, inscriptions and names, supported by an analysis of royal administration on the island of Elephantine, its social organisation and its professions. German text, English summary.

Combining archaeological and environmental evidence with iconographic analysis, this study examines the place of the dog in pre-Pharaonic Egypt. After a discussion of the types of fox, jackal and hyena that would have inhabited Palaeolithic and prehistoric Egypt, Gransard-Desmond discusses the domestication of the dog, the development of different types, the history of the relationship between man and dog, the different uses made of dogs and their role in religion. In addition to seals, decorated tablets, figurines and paintings, the inclusion of dog figures in burial assemblages hints at their special place in early Egyptian society. Includes a catalogue of objects and sites. French text.

A narrative history of the cavalcade of archaeologists, charlatans, thieves, self-promoters, and sightseers who have flocked to the Nile Valley since early times to study - or steal - the wonders of ancient Egypt. The scandalous rape of Ancient Egypt is a historical vignette of greed, vanity, and dedicated archaeological research. It is a tale vividly told by renowned archaeology author, Brian Fagan, with characters that include the ancient historian Herodotus; Theban tomb robbers; obelisk-stealing Romans; Coptic Christians determined to erase the heretical past; mummy traders; leisured antiquarians; major European museums; Giovanni Belzoni, a circus strongman who removed more antiquities than Napoleon's armies; shrewd consuls and ruthless pashas; and archaeologists such Sir Flinders Petrie who changed the course of Egyptology. Fagan's classic account of the cavalcade of archaeologists, thieves, and sightseers who have flocked to the Nile Valley since ancient times. Featured in this edition are new accounts of stunning recent discoveries, including the Royal Tombs of Tanis, the Valley of Golden Mummies at Bahariya, the Tomb of the Sons of Ramses, and the sunken city of Alexandria (whose lighthouse was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World). Fagan concludes with a clear-eyed assessment of the impact of modern mass tourism on archaeological sites and artifacts.

This detailed examination of the architecture of the tombs of Egyptian officials during the 18th Dynasty is based on a catalogue of Theban tombs. Making geographical and chronological comparisons, Wasmuth discusses evidence for architectural innovations, particularly in the extremely elaborate layout of chambers and passages. The study is illustrated throughout with tomb plans while the catalogue includes details of inscriptions and epithets as well as descriptions of the tomb design. German text.

For everyone who's read the Bible and wondered what David's harp, or Nebuchadnezzar's sackbut and cornett really were, Jeremy Montagu, retired curator of Oxford's Bate Collection of Historical Instruments, has composed an astoundingly thorough investigation and explanation of the musical instruments that pepper the pages of Western Civilization's most holy book. This is a detailed study of all the musical instruments mentioned in the Bible, using the resources of linguistics, organology, and ethnomusicology to identify and describe them. Every reference to an instrument is noted and all the misconceptions of translation are corrected. The Bible, as we know it in English, is a translation, and the history of biblical translations into Aramaic, Greek, Latin and other languages is one of guesswork. The substitution of the musical instruments from the translator's era for those of the original author is as common as it is overlooked. Jubal did not have an organ, nor David a harp. This book uses all the resources available to establish what each instrument really was, what it looked like, and how it was played and is arranged in the same order as the King James Bible, with explanation where this differs from other versions in English. As well as a full bibliography, there are three indexes. The first is of Biblical Citations so that readers may check every mention in the Bible from its chapter and verse. The second is a quadrilingual parallel citation in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and English, so that each reference can be crosschecked. The third is a general index. The four biblical languages, Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin, are used to the full, and the original texts are cited frequently. There are 18 illustrations, some of which are archeological remains, some ethnographic parallels, and one is of the sole biblical instrument still in regular use: the ram's horn which brought down the walls of Jericho. Musical Instruments of the Bible is perfect for university theology and comparative religion depa

Recent books about Jesus and early Christianity can be divided into two kinds: those that examine the life and work of the historical Jesus prior to his death and those that reconstruct events between JesusGCO death and the writings of the first Gospels. SawickiGCOs provocative book challenges the results of both kinds of research by using both archaeology and anthropology to situate Jesus clearly in his Galilean cultural context. Sawicki contests recent portraits of Jesus as a Mediterranean peasant, a Cynic sage, or the convener of a fellowship of equals. In addition, she calls into question readings of ancient Galilee that emphasize it as a society marked simply by economic stratification or by an GC honor-shameGCY sociology. Rather, she discovers the Galilean JesusGCO indigenous cultural idiom in its material structures for the negotiation of kinship, the management of labor, the distribution of commodities, and the construction of gender. SawickiGCOs book is the first to balance classical urban archaeology against the more recent archaeology of villages and of local and regional commerce. It frames current issues in Jesus research in terms that can guide both ongoing village excavations in Israel and responsible exegesis of the Gospels in church and academy. Marianne Sawicki is the author of Seeing the Lord: Resurrection and Early Christian Practices. For: Seminarians; graduate students; biblical archaeologists

From the first major discoveries a century ago, the painted portraits of Roman Egypt were a revelation to scholars and the public alike, and the recent finding of a new cache of these gilded images, which made national headlines, have only heightened their mystery and appeal. Published to coincide with a new major exhibition of these portraits, "Ancient Faces" is the most comprehensive, up-to-date survey of these astonishing works of art.
Dating from the later period of Roman rule in Egypt, shortly before the birth of Christ, the painted mummy portraits are among the most remarkable products of the ancient world, a fusion of the traditions of pharonic Egypt and the Classical world. They are historical and cultural objects of outstanding importance and beauty, superb works of art that represent some of the earliest known examples of life-like portraiture. Though the subjects of the portraits believed in the traditional Egyptian cults, which offered them a firm prospect of life after death, they also wished to be commemorated in the Roman manner, with their fashion of dress and adornment signaling their status in life. Despite their ancient history, these portraits speak to the modern eye with a beauty and intensity that would be lost to portraiture until the Renaissance.

This study focuses on the origins and development of resource exchanges between the regions bordering the Nile and the Red Sea, in the protohistoric period (3rd and 2nd millennium BC). Andrea Manzo looks at the geography, resources and routes of communication, textual and archaeological evidence relating to the exchange of objects and resources during this period. The political, social and belligerent implications of exchanges are considered and it is argued that exchange routes may have more to do with politics than the ecology or geography. French text.

This is a readable introduction to the religious traditions of the ancient Israelites, the people of the Hebrew Bible. It sets forth the biblical and extra-biblical evidence concerning their beliefs, myths, and ritual practices.

The most impressive legacy of the Dynasty of Akkade (ca. 2310-2160 B.C.E.) was the widespread, popular legends of its kings. Dr. Westenholz offers an annotated edition of all the known legends of the Akkadian kings, with transliteration, translation, and commentary. Of particular interest to biblical scholars is the inclusion of "The Birth Legend of Sargon," which is often compared to Moses in Exodus.

The most impressive legacy of the Dynasty of Akkade (ca. 2310-2160 B.C.E.) was the widespread, popular legends of its kings. Dr. Westenholz offers an annotated edition of all the known legends of the Akkadian kings, with transliteration, translation, and commentary. Of particular interest to biblical scholars is the inclusion of "The Birth Legend of Sargon," which is often compared to Moses in Exodus.

In this long awaited edition Baumgarten presents all the known Qumran Cave 4 manuscripts of the Damascus Document on the basis of J. T. Milik's original transcriptions. These eight manuscripts antedate the two medieval Cairo Geniza texts (CD) by more than a millennium and are indispensable for all future literary and historical studies on one of the major foundational works of the Qumran community. For the first time we have the paraenetic beginning and ending of the work, as well as major additions to the legal corpus found in one of the medieval texts. The laws of this corpus and the historical identification of the Jews who formulated them were earlier in this century the subject of much controversy, but have since been largely ignored in Qumran scholarship. Some even suggested that they were not an integral part of the Damascus Document. It is now apparent from the expanded corpus that the interpretation of biblical law was a central concern of the Qumran community. Among the new subjects treated are such matters as the ethical arrangement of marriages, the role of women in the sect, and the legal status of fetal life. These laws are found side by side with allusions to the cosmic conflict of light and darkness and a view of history in which periods of wrath are ordained to precede the end of days.

This volume continues the publication of the series of biblical Dead Sea Scrolls that were discovered in Cave 4 at Qumran. It contains twenty-four Hebrew manuscripts of the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, and Kings. These texts antedate by a millennium those that had previously held the title of the earliest surviving Hebrew biblical manuscripts. They document a pluriformity acceptable in the ancient biblical textual tradition before the text became standardized later in the Christian and Rabbinic period.

For over one hundred years archaeologists have explored the land of Israel, investigating such fascinating topics as the migrations of the patriarchs, the Israelites’ conquest of Canaan, and the establishment of the monarchy by David and Solomon. In this book some of Israel’s foremost archaeologists present a thorough and up-to-date survey of this research, providing an assessable introduction to early life in the land of the Bible.   The authors discuss the history of ancient Israel from the Neolithic era (eighth millennium B.C.E.) to the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the First Temple in 586 B.C.E. Each chapter describes a different era as seen through relevant archaeological discoveries. The reader is introduced to the first permanent settlements in the land of Israel, the crystallization of the political system of city-states, the nature of Canaanite culture, the Israelite patterns of settlement, and the division of the country into the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. The lavishly illustrated text explores and demonstrates developments in religious practices, architecture, technology, customs, arts and crafts, warfare, writing, cult practices, and trade.   The book will be a delightful and informative resource for anyone who has ever wanted to know more about the religious, scientific, or historical background to the events described in the Bible, or to current developments in the Middle East.

This volume contains a collection of compositions from cave 4 at Qumran written during the Second Temple period and linked to the Hebrew Bible through text, characters, themes, or genre. While some of the documents represent a reworking, rewriting, or paraphrase of biblical books, all greatly enhance our understanding of biblical interpretation during the period and the phenomenon of pseudepigraphy.

The Living Inca Town presents a rich case study of tourism in Ollantaytambo, a rapidly developing destination in the southern Peruvian Andes and the starting point for many popular treks to Machu Picchu. Tourism is generally welcomed in Ollantaytambo, as it provides a steady stream of work for local businesses, particularly those run by women. However, the obvious material inequalities between locals and tourists affect many interactions and have contributed to conflict and aggression throughout the tourist zones. Based on a number of research visits over the course of fifteen years, The Living Inca Town examines the experiences and interactions of locals, visitors, and tourism brokers. The book makes room for unique perspectives and uses innovative visual methods, including photovoice images and pen and ink drawings, to represent different viewpoints of day-to-day tourist encounters. The Living Inca Town vividly illustrates how tourism can perpetuate gendered and global inequalities, while also exploring new avenues to challenge and renegotiate these roles.

Sepphoris was an important Galilean site from Hellenistic to early Islamic times. This multicultural city is described by Flavius Josephus as the “ornament of all Galilee,� and Rabbi Judah the Prince (ha-Nasi) codified the Mishnah there around 200 CE. The Duke University excavations of the 1980s and 1990s uncovered a large corpus of clay oil lamps in the domestic area of the western summit, and this volume presents these vessels. Richly illustrated with photos and drawings, it describes the various shape-types and includes a detailed catalog of 219 lamps. The volume also explores the origins of the Sepphoris lamps and establishes patterns of their trade, transport, and sale in the lower city’s marketplace. A unique contribution is the use of a combined petrographic and direct current plasma-optical emission spectrometric (dcp-oes) analysis of selected lamp fabrics from sites in Israel and Jordan. This process provided valuable information, indicating that lamps found in Sepphoris came from Judea, the Decapolis, and even Greece, suggesting an urban community fully engaged with other regional centers. Lamp decorations also provide information about the cosmopolitan culture of Sepphoris in antiquity. Discus lamps with erotic scenes and mythological characters suggest Greco-Roman influences, and menorahs portrayed on lamps indicate a vibrant Jewish identity.

At the height of her career, Bell journeyed into the heart of the Middle East retracing the steps of the ancient rulers who left tangible markers of their presence in the form of castles, palaces, mosques, tombs and temples. Among the many sites she visited were Ephesus, Binbirkilise and Carchemish in modern-day Turkey as well as Ukhaidir, Babylon and Najaf within the borders of modern Iraq. Lisa Cooper here explores Bell's achievements, emphasizing the tenacious, inquisitive side of her extraordinary personality, the breadth of her knowledge and her overall contribution to the archaeology of the Middle East. Featuring many of Bell's own photographs, this is a unique portrait of a remarkable life.

Arising from a conference organized by the British Archaeological Association in Palermo in 2012, this book includes 16 papers that explores points of contact across the Latin, Greek and Islamic worlds between c. 1000 and c. 1250.