Offering new insights based on recent archaeological discoveries in their heartland of modern-day Lebanon, Mark Woolmer presents a fresh appraisal of this fascinating, yet elusive, Semitic people. Discussing material culture, language and alphabet, religion (including sacred prostitution of women and boys to the goddess Astarte), funerary custom and trade and expansion into the Punic west, he explores Phoenicia in all its paradoxical complexity. Viewed in antiquity as sage scribes and intrepid mariners who pushed back the boundaries of the known world, and as skilled engineers who built monumental harbour cities like Tyre and Sidon, the Phoenicians were also considered (especially by their rivals, the Romans) to be profiteers cruelly trading in human lives. The author shows them above all to have been masters of the sea: this was a civilization that circumnavigated Africa two thousand years before Vasco da Gama did it in 1498. The Phoenicians present a tantalizing face to the ancient historian. Latin sources suggest they once had an extensive literature of history, law, philosophy and religion; but all now is lost. In this revised and updated edition, Woolmer takes stock of recent historiographical developments in the field, bringing the present edition up to speed with contemporary understanding.

This volume is the second joint publication of the members of the American-Egyptian archaeological team South Asasif Conservation Project, working under the auspices of the Ministry of State for Antiquities and directed by the editor. The Project is dedicated to the clearing, restoration, and reconstruction of the tombs of Karabasken (TT 391) and Karakhamun (TT 223) of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty, and the tomb of Irtieru (TT 390) of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty, on the West Bank of Luxor. This volume will cover the next three seasons of the work of the Project from 2012 to 2014. Essays by the experts involved in the work of the Project concentrate on new archaeological finds, reconstruction of the tombs' decoration and introduction of the high officials who usurped the tombs of Karakhamun and Karabasken in the Twenty Sixth Dynasty. The volume focuses particularly on the reconstruction of the ritual of the Hours of the Day and Night and BD 125 and 32 in the tomb of Karakhamun, the textual program of the tomb of Karabasken, as well as Coptic ostraca, faience objects, pottery, and animal bones found in the necropolis.Contributors: Julia Budka, Mansour Bureik, Diethelm Eigner, Erhart Graefe, Kenneth Griffin, Salima Ikram, Matthias Muller, Paul Nicholson, Elena Pischikova, Miguel Molinero Polo Elena Pischikova is the director of the American-Egyptian South Asasif Conservation Project. She is currently a research scholar at the American University in Cairo, and teaches at Fairfield University in Connecticut. She is the author of Tombs of the South Asasif Necropolis: Thebes, Karakhamun (TT 223), and Karabasken (TT 391) in the Twenty-fifth Dynasty (AUC Press, 2013).

A sweeping and lavishly illustrated survey of nearly four thousand years of human settlement and building activity in Jerusalem, from prehistoric times through the Ottoman period In this sweeping and lavishly illustrated history, Katharina Galor and Hanswulf Bloedhorn survey nearly four thousand years of human life and material culture in Jerusalem. They have organized their book chronologically, exploring fortifications and water systems as well as key sacred, civic, and domestic architecture. Distinctive finds such as paintings, mosaics, pottery, and coins highlight each period. They provide a unique perspective on the emergence and development of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and the relationship among the three religions and their cultures into the modern period.

In December of 2016, the University of the Aegean's Department of Mediterranean Studies held a symposium in Rhodes on the topic of "Religion, Politics, and Culture in the Mediterranean from the 8th to the 6th Centuries BC." The conference was organized by the Aegean Egyptology group and Laboratory of the Ancient World of the Eastern Mediterranean and was directed by Panagiotis Kousoulis. This volume publishes a selection of the papers presented at the symposium.

Sir John Soane's Greatest Treasure describes one of the most important antiquities ever found in Egypt - the beautiful calcite sarcophagus of the pharaoh Seti I. Re-discovered in 1817 in the tomb of Seti I in the Valley of the Kings by the flamboyant explorer Giovanni Belzoni, the sarcophagus now resides in Sir John Soane's Museum in London's Lincoln's Inn Fields. Leading Egyptologist John H. Taylor outlines the life of Seti I, the background to the creation of the sarcophagus, the excitement surrounding its re-discovery and the fascinating story of its journey to London and its acquisition by Sir John Soane. At the heart of the book is a fully illustrated interpretation of the complex imagery and hieroglyphic inscriptions which cover the delicately carved surfaces of the sarcophagus. The book also includes an essay by Helen Dorey on the celebrations held at the Museum to welcome the arrival of the sarcophagus of Seti I in 1825. Sir John Soane's Greatest Treasure is published to mark the 200th anniversary of the re-discovery of the sarcophagus in 1817, and to accompany a major exhibition at Sir John Soane's Museum, opening in October 2017.

In the long tradition of the archaeology of the eastern Mediterranean bodies have held a prominent role in the form of figurines, frescos, or skeletal remains, and have even been responsible for sparking captivating portrayals of the Mother-Goddess cult, the elegant women of Minoan Crete or the deeds of heroic men. Growing literature on the archaeology and anthropology of the body has raised awareness about the dynamic and multifaceted role of the body in experiencing the world and in the construction, performance and negotiation of social identity. In these 28 thematically arranged papers, specialists in the archaeology of the eastern Mediterranean confront the perceived invisibility of past bodies and ask new research questions. Contributors discuss new and old evidence; they examine how bodies intersect with the material world, and explore the role of body-situated experiences in creating distinct social and other identities. Papers range chronologically from the Palaeolithic to the Early Iron Age and cover the geographical regions of the Aegean, Cyprus and the Near East. They highlight the new possibilities that emerge for the interpretation of the prehistoric eastern Mediterranean through a combined use of body-focused methodological and theoretical perspectives that are nevertheless grounded in the archaeological record.

'Impeccably researched and beautifully written' David Wengrow 'Utterly original' Paul Strathern When it was found in 1922, the 3,300-year old tomb of Tutankhamun sent shockwaves around the world, turning the boy-king into a household name overnight and kickstarting an international media obsession that endures to this day. From pop culture and politics to tourism and heritage, and from the Jazz Age to the climate crisis, it's impossible to imagine the twentieth century without the discovery of Tutankhamun - yet so much of the story remains untold. Here, for the first time, Christina Riggs weaves compelling historical analysis with tales of lives touched by an encounter with Tutankhamun, including her own. Treasured offers a bold new history of the young pharaoh who has as much to tell us about our world as his own. 'Searching, masterful and eloquent' James Delbourgo

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.

This volume is a collection of paper by colleagues, friends and students, in honor of Jeffrey Chadwick. The papers cover the various topic that he has dealt with in his career, including biblical historical geography, and the archaeology and history of the Levant and its environs during the Bronze and Iron Ages, and the Second Temple Period. Following a preface and introduction about the honoree, the volume is divided into 4 sections: Biblical Historical Geography; Bronze Age Canaan and its Neighbors; Iron Age Israel and its Neighbors; Second Temple Israel.

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.

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.

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.

Pigs are among the most peculiar animals domesticated in the Ancient Near East. Their story, from domestication to taboo, has fascinated historians, archaeologists, and religious studies scholars for decades. Rejecting simple explanations, this book adopts an evolutionary approach that relies on zooarchaeology and texts to unravel the cultural significance of swine in the Near East from the Paleolithic to the present day. Five major themes are covered: The domestication of the pig from wild boars in the Neolithic period, the unique roles that pigs developed in agricultural economies before and after the development of complex societies, the raising of swine in cities, the shifting ritual roles of pigs, and the formation and development of the pork taboo in Judaism and, later, Islam. The origins and significance of this taboo have inspired much debate. Evolution of a Taboo contends that the well-known taboo described in Leviticus evolved over time, beginning with conflicts between Israelites and Philistines in the early part of the Iron Age, and later was mobilized by Judah's priestly elite in the writing of the Biblical texts. Centuries later, the pig taboo became a point of contention in the ethno-political struggles between Jewish and Greco-Roman cultures in the Levant; later still, between Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Through these conflicts, the pig taboo grew in power. As this rich account illustrates, it came to define the relations between pigs and people in the Near East and beyond, up to the present day.

Islam is the only biblical religion that still practices animal sacrifice. Indeed, every year more than a million animals are shipped to Mecca from all over the world to be slaughtered during the Muslim Hajj. This multi-disciplinary volume is the first to examine the physical foundations of this practice and the significance of the ritual. Brannon Wheeler uses both textual analysis and various types of material evidence to gain insight into the role of animal sacrifice in Islam. He provides a 'thick description' of the elaborate camel sacrifice performed by Muhammad, which serves as the model for future Hajj sacrifices. Wheeler integrates biblical and classical Arabic sources with evidence from zooarchaeology and the rock art of ancient Arabia to gain insight into an event that reportedly occurred 1400 years ago. His book encourages a more nuanced and expansive conception of "sacrifice" in the history of religion.

The term canonicity implies the recognition that the domain of literature and of the library is also a cultural and political one, related to various forms of identity formation, maintenance, and change. Scribes and benefactors create canon in as much as they teach, analyse, preserve, promulgate and change canonical texts according to prevailing norms. From early on, texts from the written traditions of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt were accumulated, codified, and to some extent canonised, as various collections developed mainly in the environment of the temple and the palace. These written traditions represent sets of formal and informal cultures that all speak in their own ways of canonicity, normativity, and other forms of cultural expertise. Some forms of literature were used not only in scholarly contexts, but also in political ones, and they served purposes of identity formation. This volume addresses the interrelations between various forms of canon and identity formation in different time periods, genres, regions, and contexts, as well as the application of contemporary conceptions of canon to ancient texts.

The history of Ancient Egypt has been studied in the region of Southeast Europe since the end of the nineteenth century. In some of the countries this was not the case for various reasons, but mainly because of the undeveloped scholarly capabilities and institutions, insufficient funds for archaeological research in Egypt, and the lack of cooperation with scholars from other countries. From the 1960s, however, this situation has changed for the better, firstly with the numerous publications of the diffusion of the Ancient Egyptian cults during Graeco-Roman period, and then with publications (articles, catalogues, books) on Ancient Egyptian collections in various museum institutions located in Southeast Europe. From the early 1990s one can trace the increased production of various scholarly papers in which researchers from Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Romania, and Bulgaria not only researched the Egyptian cults in the Roman Empire, but also on the various aspects of history, religion and literature of Ancient Egypt. Their work, however, was mostly unknown to the scholars outside the region primarily because the results were written in the native languages. This book will try to give a review of the history of the studies of Ancient Egypt done in Southeast Europe, and present some of the latest research. A History of Research Into Ancient Egyptian Culture in Southeast Europe comprises a selection of papers in which scholars from various institutions of the region reviewed the different aspects of past studies and the development of the research of the Ancient Egypt in some countries, along with recent research in the field. We hope that this publication will be useful for all scholars who are unfamiliar with the historiography of this region.

The special session in 2013, Languages of Southern Arabia, was the fifth in the Seminar for Arabian Studies special session series. This was the first special session with an explicit linguistic focus to be held at the Seminar, and aimed to bring together experts on the extinct and extant languages of southern Arabia to pave the way for identifying cultural, lexical, morphological, syntactic, phonological, and phonetic links between the language families, and to discuss advances in the field and future avenues of research. With papers dealing with Ancient South Arabian, the Modern South Arabian languages, and the Arabic dialects of the southern part of the Peninsula, this session examined and re-examined links within and between the language groups and further afield.

The Cairo Genizah is considered one of the world's greatest Hebrew manuscript treasures. Yet the story of how over a quarter of a million fragments hidden in Egypt were discovered and distributed around the world, before becoming collectively known as "The Cairo Genizah," is far more convoluted and compelling than previously told. The full story involves an international cast of scholars, librarians, archaeologists, excavators, collectors, dealers and agents, operating from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth century, and all acting with varying motivations and intentions in a race for the spoils. Basing her research on a wealth of archival materials, Jefferson reconstructs how these protagonists used their various networks to create key alliances, or to blaze lone trails, each one on a quest to recover ancient manuscripts. Following in their footsteps, she takes the reader on a journey down into ancient caves and tombs, under medieval rubbish mounds, into hidden attic rooms, vaults, basements and wells, along labyrinthine souks, and behind the doors of private clubs and cloistered colleges. Along the way, the reader will also learn about the importance of establishing manuscript provenance and authenticity, and the impact to our understanding of the past when either factor is in doubt.

Recently, a travel account and 700 photographs came to light by the hand of Leo Boer, a former student of the Ecole Biblique et Archeologique Francaise in Jerusalem who, at the age of 26 in 1953-4 visited many archaeological sites in the area of present-day Israel and the Palestinian Territories. These documents inspired 20 internationally-renowned scholars - many of whom excavated at the sites they describe - to report on what we know today of nine particular sites chosen from the many that Leo Boer visited 60 years ago: Jerusalem, Khirbet et-Tell ( i?), Samaria & Sebaste, Tell Balata (Shechem), Tell es-Sultan (Jericho), Khirbet Qumran, Caesarea, Megiddo, and Bet She'an. Rather than focusing on the history of these sites, the contributors describe the history of the archaeological expeditions. Who excavated these sites over the years? What were the specific aims of their campaigns? What techniques and methods did they use? How did they interpret these excavations? What finds were most noteworthy? And finally, what are the major misconceptions held by the former excavators? Several themes are interwoven amongst the contributions and variously discussed, such as'identification of biblical sites', 'regional surveys', 'underwater archaeology', 'archaeothanatology', 'archaeology and politics', 'archaeology and science', and 'heritage management'. This unique collection of images and essays offers to scholars working in the region previously unpublished materials and interpretations as well as new photographs. For students of archaeology, ancient or Biblical history and theology it contains both a detailed archaeological historiography and explores some highly relevant, specific themes. Finally, the superb quality of Boer's photography provides an unprecedented insight into the archaeological landscape of post-war Palestine for anyone interested in Biblical history and archaeology.

The tomb of Pepyankh the Black (D2) at Meir was published by Blackman in his series The Rock Tombs of Meir (vol. 5, London, 1953). The Australian Centre for Egyptology (ACE) rerecorded all the scenes and inscriptions in the chapel after these had been conserved by the Supreme Council of Antiquities, with many additional details surfacing. The ACE has also undertaken conservation work in the burial chamber which yielded interesting information on the decoration of burial chambers in the Old Kingdom. The tomb is one of the most completely decorated and preserved provincial tombs of the Old Kingdom with scenes covering various themes from the life of the tomb owner as well as the most complete scenes of the funerary procession. All the scenes and inscriptions are published in detailed, coloured photographs as well as line drawings. They are accompanied by a textual description of the scenes, translation of the hieroglyphic texts and a comparative analysis with other contemporary tombs.

The Neolithic site of Catalhoeyuk in Turkey has been world famous since the 1960s when excavations revealed the large size and dense occupation of the settlement, as well as the spectacular wall paintings and reliefs uncovered inside the houses. Since 1993 an international team of archaeologists, led by Ian Hodder, has been carrying out new excavations and research, in order to shed more light on the people who inhabited the site. The present volume reports on the results of excavations in 2000-2008 that have provided a wealth of new data on the ways in which humans became increasingly engaged in their material environment such that 'things' came to play an active force in their lives. A substantial and heavy involvement was with alluvial clays that surrounded the site. In the absence of large local stone, humans became increasingly involved in the extraction and manipulation of clay for a wide range of purposes - from bricks to ovens, pots and figurines. This heavy use of clays led to changes in the local environment that interacted with human activity, as indicated in the first section of the volume. In the second section, other examples of material technologies are considered all of which in various ways engage humans in specific dependencies and relationships. For example, large-scale studies of obsidian trade have drawn a complex picture of changing interactions between humans over time. The volume concludes with an integrated account of the uses of materials at Catalhoeyuk based on the analysis of heavy residue samples from all contexts at the site.

The Neolithic site of Catalhoeyuk in Turkey has been world famous since the 1960s when excavations revealed the large size and dense occupation of the settlement, as well as the spectacular wall paintings and reliefs uncovered inside the houses. Since 1993 an international team of archaeologists, led by Ian Hodder, has been carrying out new excavations and research, in order to shed more light on the people who inhabited the site. The present volume reports on the results of excavations in 2000-2008 that have provided a wealth of new data on the ways in which the Catalhoeyuk settlement and environment were dwelled in. A first section explores how houses, open areas and middens in the settlement were enmeshed in the daily lives of the inhabitants, integrating a wide range of different types of data at different scales. A second section examines subsistence practices of the site's inhabitants and builds up a picture of how the overall landscape was exploited and lived within. A third section examines the evidence from the skeletons of those buried within the houses at Catalhoeyuk in order to examine health, diet, lifestyle and activity within the settlement and across the landscape. This final section also reports on the burial practices and associations in order to build hypotheses about the social organization of those inhabiting the settlement. A complex picture emerges of a relatively decentralized society, large in size but small-scale in terms of organization, dwelling within a mosaic patchwork of environments. Through time, however, substantial changes occur in the ways in which humans and landscapes interact.