A comprehensive and authoritative overview of ancient material culture from the late Pleistocene to Late Antiquity * Features up-to-date surveys and the latest information from major new excavations such as Qatna (Syria), Gobekli Tepe (Turkey) * Includes a diverse range of perspectives by senior, mid-career and junior scholars in Europe, USA, Britain, Australia, and the Middle East for a truly international group * Includes major reviews of the origins of agriculture, animal domestication, and archaeological landscapes * Includes chapters dealing with periods after the coming of Alexander the Great, including studies of the Seleucid, Arsacid, Sasanian, Roman and Byzantine empires in the Near East, as well as early Christianity in both the Levant and Mesopotamia * Fills a gap in literature of the Ancient Near East, dealing with topics often overlooked, including ethical and legal issues in antiquities markets and international scholarship

This catalog presents the entire corpus of 272 baked clay figurines and votive beds excavated at Medinet Habu by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago during their 1926-1933 campaign. The figurines represent women, women with children, men, deities, and animals. They date from the sixteenth century B.C. to the ninth century A.D., illustrating permanence and change in themes of clay figurines as well as stylistic development within each type. The group of votive beds and the stela made from votive bed molds is among the largest and most diverse collections of such material. Each object is fully described and illustrated and is accompanied by commentary on construction, symbolism, and function.

Originally coined to signify a style of pottery in southern Iraq, and by extension an associated people and a chronological period, the term "Ubaid" is now often used loosely to denote a vast Near Eastern interaction zone, characterized by similarities in material culture, particularly ceramic styles, which existed during the sixth and fifth millennia B.C. This zone extended over 2,000 km from the shores of the Mediterranean to the Straits of Hormuz, including parts of Anatolia and perhaps even the Caucasus. The volume contains twenty-three papers that explore what the "Ubaid" is, how it is identified, and how the Ubaid in one location compares to another in a distant location. The papers are the result of "The Ubaid Expansion? Cultural Meaning, Identity and the Lead-up to Urbanism," an International Workshop held at Grey College, University of Durham, 20-22 April 2006.

With this volume, the Epigraphic Survey returns to its series of publications dedicated to the reliefs and inscriptions of the Medinet Habu complex, a series inaugurated in 1930 with the publication of the war scenes and earlier historical records from the mortuary temple of Ramesses III ( Medinet Habu 1. Earlier Historical Records of Ramses III, The Epigraphic Survey, Oriental Institute Publications 8, 1930). The Ramesside temple and the High Gate were to occupy the efforts of the Survey for the next four decades, ending in 1970 with the appearance of Medinet Habu VIII . In resuming the Medinet Habu series, the Survey initiates what is envisioned to be a sequence of several volumes documenting the Eighteenth Dynasty temple of Amun and subsequent additions thereto, beginning with this publication of the reliefs in the six innermost rooms of the temple. These chambers were begun during the co-regency of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III and completed by the latter king during his sole reign. From the preface by Peter F. Dorman.

In recent years the study of the history of ancient Israel has become very heated. On the one hand there are those who continue to use the Bible as a primary source, modified and illustrated by the findings of archaeology, and on the other there are some who believe that primacy should be given to archaeology and that the Biblical account is then seen to be for the most part completely unreliable in historical terms.
This volume makes a fresh contribution to this debate by inquiring into the appropriate methods for combining different sorts of evidence -- archaeological, epigraphical, iconographical, as well as Biblical. It also seeks to learn from related historical disciplines such as classical antiquity and early Islamic history, where similar problems are faced. The volume features contribution from a strong team of internationally distinguished scholars, frequently in debate with each other, in order to ensure that there is a balance of opinion. Chapters focus on the ninth century BCE (the period of the Omri dynasty) as a test case, but the proposals are of far wider application. The result is a work which brings together in mutually respectful dialogue the representatives of positions which are otherwise in danger of talking across one another.
This volume will be essential reading for students and scholars of the Bible, as well as being of great interest to all for whom the Bible is a work of fundamental importance for religion and culture.

The author lays out the early Ptolemaic tax system, describes the changes in the capitation taxes during the reign of Ptolemy II, discusses the other state and temple revenues, and then reconstructs the prosopography and provenance of thirty-nine tax payers whose names occur frequently in these initial studies. Having then set the stage, the author provides editions of sixty-one ostraca from Harold Nelson's collection that include an important group of early Ptolemaic Demotic, Greek, and bilingual ostraca, mostly tax receipts. One late Ptolemaic account ostracon (Cat. no. 3) is also published here since it concerns the business of choachytes, who figure prominently in the group of early Ptolemaic ostraca. The book concludes with full indices, and each of the ostraca is illustrated in drawing and photograph.

Medinet Habu in western Thebes (modern Luxor) is among the most important sites in Egypt. It is dominated by the great mortuary temples of King Ramesses III (ca. 1182 b.c.), and Kings Aye and Horemheb (ca. 1324-1293 B.C.). It served as the seat of the regional government in the Late New Kingdom (ca. 1140 b.c.), and an important Coptic Christian community grew up within its great fortification walls. For nearly 1,500 years Medinet Habu played a central role in Egyptian religion, life, and politics. In 1924, the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago began the documentation of Medinet Habu. The Epigraphic Survey still works on the complete photographic and facsimile publication of the reliefs and inscriptions that appear on the temple walls. From 1926 to 1933, the Architectural Survey led by Uvo Holscher studied and later published the architectural features of the complex. The last facet of the documentation -- the publication of thousands of objects excavated at the site -- was interrupted by World War II. This book, the first of a projected multiple volume series, marks the resurrection of the project to publish the small finds. This volume presents 349 scarabs, scaraboids (including lentoids, cowroids, and buttons), heart scarabs and their Sons of Horus amulets, heart amulets, seals, and seal impressions on bullae, vessel stoppers, amphora handles, mudbricks, and funerary cones that date from approximately 1470 b.c. to the eighth century a.d. Each object is described and illustrated, and whenever possible, placed in its original archaeological context. The scarabs and scaraboids from Medinet Habu comprise one of the largest groups of such material excavated from any site inEgypt.

Deir el-Medina, the village of the workmen who built the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings, has bequeathed to us thousands of private records. A. G. McDowell presents translations of 200 of these, giving a unique and fascinating insight into the secret lives of Ancient Egyptian people.

An indispensable companion to any of the other volumes of Ancient Records of Egypt, the Supplementary Bibliographies and Indices facilitates direct access to specific information on the people, places, and inscriptions catalogued by James Henry Breasted. Exhaustively compiled and intelligently arranged, these indices include the kings and queens, temples and geographical locations, divine names, and titles and ranks encompassed by three thousand years of Egyptian history. Also provided are indices of all Egyptian, Hebrew, and Arabic terms mentioned in the texts, as well as a complete listing of the records with their location in Lepsius's Denkmaler. This first paperback edition of Ancient Records of Egypt features the important addition of bibliographies by Peter A. Piccione, together with an introduction that puts Breasted's historical commentaries into modern perspective. These bibliographies offer valuable guidance on new translations and modern treatments of the inscriptions included in Ancient Records of Egypt. Professor Piccione points the reader toward recent studies of Egyptian chronology and modern scholarship on Egyptian and Nubian history. He also provides information on anthologies of Egyptian texts in translation and topographical bibliographies that suggest further reading on specific ancient Egyptian monuments, texts, and reliefs.

With volume 4 of Ancient Records of Egypt, James Henry Breasted brings us to the end of the self-governed era of ancient Egyptian civilization. Chief among the documents contained in this volume are the inscriptions from the Medinet Habu Temple, one of the most completely preserved temples of Egypt, and the great Papyrus Harris, the largest (133 feet long) and most sumptuous papyrus extant, 95 percent of which Breasted was the first to study closely. Together these documents present a detailed record of the reign and benefactions of Ramesses III, whose reign lasted more than thirty years. Volume 4 includes intriguing records of the harem conspiracy and legal documents that indicate the extent of robberies of royal tombs. Records of the Nile levels at Karnak provide important chronological landmarks, while the Stela of Piye (Piankhi), which documents the Nubian kingdom already in existence as a full-fledged power, provides information on the internal political climate of Egypt during a time when no aggressive monarch controlled the whole country. Breasted also notes where these ancient Egyptian records intersect with accounts of the same events from other sources, such as the mutiny of Psamtik I's troops as inscribed on the alabaster statue of Nesuhor and as narrated by Herodotus. In effect, Ancient Records of Egypt offers a valuable dual record. On the one hand, Breasted presents the events and personages of ancient Egypt as recorded in the documents. On the other hand, he presents a history of the documents themselves. Fragmentary or partially destroyed, carved on temple and tomb walls or written on fragile scrolls of leather or papyrus, even inscribed on the coffins and temple linens of the royal and priestly mummy wrappings, these records offer an irreplaceable primary source on a fascinating civilization.

Every year thousands of enthusiasts, both amateur and professional, spend the summer months digging in the sands of Israel hoping to find items that relate in some way to the places or events depicted in the Bible. Thousands more view artifacts in museums and long to know the full stories behind them. Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, Volume II, is the essential book for all of them
In Ephraim Stern's sequel to Archaeology of the Land of the Bible," Volume I, by Amihai Mazar, this world-renowned archaeologist who has directed excavations in the Holy Land for many years offers a dramatic look at how archaeological research contributes to our understanding of the connections between history and the stories recounted in the Bible. Stern writes about various artifacts unearthed in recent years and relates them to the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian periods in the Bible. Accompanied by photographs and illustrations of rare ancient relics ranging from household pottery to beautifully crafted jewelry and sculpture. His discussions bring the biblical world to life.

Cave 11 at Qumran contained a number of extremely important well-preserved manuscripts such as the Temple Scroll which have been published elsewhere. This volume contains complete editions of the remainder of the Cave 11 manuscripts, including biblical scrolls such as Ezekiel and Psalms, as well as several important extra-biblical texts such as Jubilees, Melchizedek, Berakoth, and Hymns, and a new edition of the Targum of Job.

Originally published in 1968, this volume is being reissued to make the entire series available to students and scholars of biblical and post-biblical Judaism and early Christianity.

Originally published 1961, this volume is being reissued to make the entire series available to students and scholars of biblical and post-biblical Judaism and early Christianity. A companion volume contains the plates found in the original one-volume publication.

Originally published 1962, this volume is being reissued to make the entire series available to students and scholars of biblical and post-biblical Judaism and early Christianity. A companion volume contains the plates found in the original one-volume publication.

The biblical image of Eve has powerfully influenced ideas about women for the past two millennia. Yet, as Carol Meyers argues in Discovering Eve, the image of the first of women as subservient and dependent does not represent some irreducible historical truth. Rather, it represents the androcentric constructions of a group of urban elite males (including, most notably, the Apostle Paul and Rabbi Yohannan) who had a decisive effect on the founding of Judaeo-Christian traditions. Meyers produces convincing evidence, archaeological, scriptural, and sociological, that ancient Israelite woman fulfilled a role very different from that of the biblical Eve. The real Eve, she demonstrates, was a figure of some social substance, a strong and important figure in the social and familial milieux.

This volume, the second to publish the results of Seele's two seasons of excavations in Nubia, presents Neolithic, A-Group, and Post-A-Group remains from Qustul, Ballana, and Adindan. Neolithic remains were only found in a cave behind the village of Adindan and consist of sherds, some implements, a human skull, and fragments of decorated ostrich eggshell. The cave is comparable to caves found deep in Sudan and represents a northern extension of the cultures well known in the area of the second cataract. Also included in this volume are A-Group remains from cemeteries other than Cemetery L and Post-A-Group remains from two burials, dated between the end of A-Group and the beginning of C-Group, that can be compared with others in the region to identify a limited occupation in a period where none has been thought to exist in recent years.

This volume publishes all of the cuneiform tablets excavated at Tell Abu Salabikh in 1963 and 1965 with the exception of a very few fragments considered illegible. All other tablets are represented by a copy, by a photograph, or by both. Except for the copies of especially fragile tablets made in the field, preliminary copies were prepared from casts and photographs. Subsequently they were checked against the original tablets in the Iraq Museum.

The second volume of The Excavations in the Plain of Antioch describes a series of excavations in the Syro-Palestinian region. The three sites included in the report are Catal Huyuk, Tell al-Judaidah and Tell Tayinat, all situated in the central part of the Amuq valley around the city of Rihaniyyah.

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.

The Roman emperor Augustus gave his name to the age he dominated, from the latter half of the first century BC until the second decade of the following century. Yet he shared the age with several royal women who ruled parts of the Mediterranean world, in a symbiotic relationship with Rome. This book is the first detailed portrait of these remarkable women. Previous accounts of the period have centered on Augustus or Rome's allied kings, with scant attention to the women who ruled as their partners or on their own. The most famous of these is Cleopatra Selene, the daughter of the great Cleopatra VII of Egypt and her partner, the Roman magistrate Marcus Antonius. Her very survival following Roman victory over her mother's forces is itself noteworthy but she went on to rule Mauretania (northwest Africa) with her husband for more than twenty years. She even attempted to reconstitute her mother's legacy in this remote region and, like her mother, was an ardent patron of the arts and scholarship. Other women of note included in this book are Pythodoris of Pontos, who ruled northern Asia Minor for forty years, and Salome of Judaea, the sister of Herod the Great, who, while never queen, exercised significant power for nearly half a century. These and others - Glaphyra of Cappadocia, Dynamis of Bosporos, Abe of Olbe, and Mousa of Parthia - were all part of the interrelated dynasties of the Augustan Age. Their values and attitudes toward rule directly affected the emergent Roman imperial system, and their legacy survived for centuries through their descendants and the goals of the royal women of Rome, such as Livia and Octavia, the wife and sister of Augustus. Assimilating all of the historical and archaeological evidence, Cleopatra's Daughter recovers these extraordinary women from the dim shadows of the ancient past.

This work addresses the question of the Egyptian Hegemony during the 13th century BCE: its nature and its cultural processes, and the analysis of the Egyptian-style pottery in three Canaanite City-States is used to provide the proofs of the Egyptian presence there. The author has chosen the archaeological sites of Hazor, Megiddo and Lachish for a case study. Situated in three different regions of Southern Canaan, these three cities are known to be powerful and rich during the 13th century BCE. The Egyptian pottery of these sites has been identified and classified in a typology with numerous parallels to the Egyptian contemporaneous sites. A fabric analysis has been made from description of a fresh break section taken from each sample studied and, in a few cases completed by a petrographic analysis. All the data are gathered in an electronic database and can be consulted for further studies about this corpus. From the interpretation of the corpus, the author presents a spatial analysis of the Egyptian-Style pottery for each identified building in each site in order to shed light on an Egyptian presence at these cities and to qualify this presence.

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.