Archaeology, Epigraphy, Philology
- Archaeology, Epigraphy, Philology
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In 1937, the British archaeologist John Garstang (1876–1956) excavated several trenches at the site of A. and M.’s title as part of the so-called Neilson Expedition in Cilicia. The site is located in “Plain Cilicia,” approximately 2 km from the modern coastline (ca. 11 km east of modern-day Mersin, and 17 km west of Tarsus, roughly located by the ancient/modern road connecting these two cities). After these short trial excavations, however, Garstang’s interest shifted to the site of Mersin/Yumuktepe, where he then excavated for several years. Apart from two very brief preliminary reports on his Kazanli Höyük excavations, which he published in the journal Annals of Archaeology and Anthropology of the University of Liverpool, not much is known about Garstang’s work at the site. Unpublished photographs held in the Special Collections of University College London (UCL) do, however, shed new light on Garstang’s work there. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.]
During the Early Bronze Age in northern Mesopotamia, the so-called “Metallic Ware” was produced in small quantities, but was of exceptional quality. A.’s article presents a hitherto unpublished series of this pottery, deriving from a survey carried out in the Upper-Khabur region of the Syrian Jezirah. Morpho-typological classification of the artifacts in question makes possible a comparison of these with other such items from sites elsewhere in the Jezirah and the middle Euphrates, this leading to the conclusion that the corpus dates to the Early Jezirah periods 2–4 (ca. 2700–2150 b.c.). The distribution of the artifacts at the surveyed sites shows that the presence of Metallic Ware was concentrated in the northern part of the Khabur area. This finding lends support to the hypothesis of the existence of a production zone in south-eastern Anatolia in the above period that made use of the region’s special clay deposits. This pottery appears in a context marked by the emergence of bronze metallurgy and urbanization. However, a direct link between the Metallic Ware and the foundation of the circular towns known as Kranzhügel seems unlikely, given the current state of our knowledge of the geographical distribution of these two phenomena. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.]
The Islamic shrine known as Joseph’s Tomb is dedicated to the OT patriarch of that name, and since early in its history has been an important site for all religious communities in Palestine, despite disagreements about the status of the patriarch. The authors describe the shrine following its restoration in 2005. New drawings of the main shrine and annexes are presented, and the architecture of the shrine is traced over time, using biblical, [End Page 58] Byzantine, and more recent sources. In its restored form, Joseph’s Shrine reflects Ottoman-Islamic style maqam architecture. [Adapted from published abstract—V. H. M.]
A jewelry hoard uncovered in Megiddo in destruction debris securely dated to the Early Iron I period was found 30 m from the Canaanite palace of the city in Stratum VIIA. Three groups of objects from the finds are presented here: a bundle of silver objects; a necklace made of electrum, carnelian, and...
