Obsidian, a shiny volcanic glass, was first used to make vessels in the mid-sixth millennium BC in the Near East, although other stone had been exploited for vessel manufacture since the thirteenth millennium BC. Unlike the stone used to make the earliest vessels, which was acquired from local and regional sources, obsidian had to be obtained from volcanoes located hundreds of kilometers from where vessels were made and used. The obsidian from these sources had long been exploited for making tools and by the tenth millennium BC obsidian artifacts can be found in communities located far distant from the sources. Nevertheless, it was not until the mid-sixth millennium BC that it was used to make vessels and even then they are rare: less than 200 have been found spread over four millennia (c. 5400–1500 BC). This is perhaps in part due to obsidian’s exotic origins but also because its comparative hardness and brittle nature made it difficult to work.To obtain a wider perspective on the use of obsidian for making vessels this book looks briefly at the properties of obsidian and the characteristics of the relevant sources and gives an overview of how obsidian has been understood and used by various communities around the world. The main part of the book examines the obsidian vessels found in the Near East. Previous studies have tended to take a site-specific viewpoint but here the opportunity has been taken to adopt a more holistic and integrated approach. This approach brings together different aspects of the vessels, including the provenance of the obsidian from which they were made, their morphologies, evidence for techniques of manufacture and the socioeconomic contexts in which they were produced and used, and attempts to determine whether the use of obsidian was of itself meaningful or significant.

The modern discipline of archaeology developed in tandem with the expansion of European imperialism in the 19th and 20th centuries. Cyprus, ruled by Britain between 1878 and 1960, is a fascinating example of how archaeology was practiced and developed in a specific colonial context. This volume explores the mechanisms, the institutions and the characters who contributed to the development of Cypriot archaeology, often within a fraught political environment. The 23 papers in this volume address aspects such as the role of local agents within a colonial environment; changing attitudes towards and interpretations of cultural heritage; the export of excavated materials and their onward journeys; the development of legal frameworks to prevent looting, and their practical application; co-operation and competition between different nation-states at the peak and decline of empires; the conflicts caused by economic priorities; and the impact of institutions and individuals who attempted to support or control rights over the heritage of the island. Through the lens of British-period Cyprus they trace the evolution of institutions and practices that remain important for archaeology in Cyprus to this day.This volume will be of interest to archaeologists, cultural heritage practitioners, museums, and anyone with an interest in the history of Cyprus.

This book sketches the first archaeological history of the lower Sirwan/upper Diyala river valley of north-east Iraq and adjacent landscapes over a period of c. 12,000 years, from the earliest signs of human presence until the mid-first millennium BCE, based on data gathered between 2013 and 2023 by the Sirwan Regional Project (SRP).The central research objective of the SRP is to move beyond traditional historical topoi and their predominantly external and state-centric perspectives that have dominated narratives of the region thus far. Instead, we develop an in-depth, archaeological understanding of the nature of the region’s past communities, their cultural and economic practices, the modes of socio-political organisation they developed, adopted, and rejected, and their long-term developments.In order to reconstruct past Sirwan lifeways, the book interweaves regional-scale datasets with the results of ongoing and completed excavations at the Late Chalcolithic site of Shakhi Kora and the Late Bronze to Early Iron Age site of Kani Masi, as well as the results of a wide range of archaeological, Assyriological, art historical, and archaeometric analyses.

The essays in this book focus on archaeological approaches to the utilization of highland regions in southwestern and central Asia, examining the interplay between human communities and highland landscapes from the Paleolithic era to the present.Contributions combine case studies with theoretical considerations to explore adaptive strategies of movement. They discuss the significance of mobility within archaeological and anthropological discourse. Contributors engage with critical questions: How can archaeologists discern traces of movement and unravel material footprints of diverse mobility? How can they track shifts in mobility through time or regions? By systematizing observations on human spatial behavior across epochs and settings, these essays seek to test and refine traditional archaeological methodologies. They present nuanced frameworks and shed light on the adaptability and resilience of these communities.“Appropriating Height” aims to understand the human experience in highland environments. It is essential for those fascinated by the entanglement between people, place, and time, providing a comprehensive perspective on the legacy of human movement.This book is the second volume of a series published by the German-Iranian research cooperation “The Iranian Highlands: Resiliences and Integration in Premodern Societies”. The goal of the research project is to shine a new light on communities and societies that populated the Iranian highlands and their more or less successful strategies to cope with the many vagaries, the constant changes and risks of their natural and humanly shaped environments.

This year, with the centennial of Howard Carter’s discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, Martin Hense is presenting his meticulous research on the robberies that took place in the tomb of this Egyptian pharaoh, 3300 years ago. This book is the outcome of that research, presented like a true ‘cold case crime investigation’. Even though the tomb robberies took place more than 3300 years ago, the evidence for the way the robbers entered the tomb and the items they removed, could still be discerned when Howard Carter opened the tomb in 1922. Knowingly, but also unknowingly, Carter documented the last traces of evidence of these crimes. Now, one hundred years later in 2022, the evidence for the different robberies is presented through new analysis of the documentation of Howard Carter and his excavation team.

This companion volume to Literary Snippets: Colophons Across Space and Time (Gorgias Press, 2023) gives examples of colophons (and their translations) from the Ancient Near East up to the pre-modern world, in Akkadian, Hebrew, Arabic, Syriac, and Persian.

People of Anatolia: Past, Current and Future Research in the Biological Anthropology of Türkiye brings together, in one complete volume, some of the current research foci and trends of biological anthropology in Türkiye. The papers within this edited volume cover a multitude of topics, many of which complement and enhance each other, helping to demonstrate the strength and variety of research currently being performed in Türkiye by both domestic and foreign researchers. Furthermore, several of these papers examine large scale diachronic changes and highlight the importance of such holistic approaches and methodological considerations, and new trends in modern research by considering large scale patterns through time and space and the ‘bigger’ picture. For example, the application of multiple, more traditional macroscopic, biological anthropological analyses in conjunction with more modern techniques, such as biomolecular analyses.Biological anthropology in Türkiye has developed markedly since the days of primarily analysing skeletal and dental morphometrics of the skeleton and investigating race. This is particularly true since the 1990s when studies have examined skeletal remains from Anatolia within wider bioarchaeological contexts and research questions. Research agendas have accelerated particularly in the last decade with the introduction and application of new methodologies, including quantifiable scientific techniques which has increased the ability to not only tackle existing and earlier research questions with more specificity and in more depth, but also enables us to tackle a greater variety of research questions, as well as stimulating new ones.This volume demonstrates how complementary, as well as large-scale diachronic studies enhance our knowledge not only of changes in human behaviour and human-environment interactions through time, but also how these changes affected people at the individual, population, regional and pan-regional levels. One of the key messages from this edited volume, as a whole, is that multi-faceted and holistic approaches to exploring particular research agendas are both important and essential. While the individual papers in this volume may not necessarily always employ a multi-faceted or holistic approach, the combined reading of them does so. The types of data and information contained in the papers of this edited volume, therefore, will be of great interest and importance to the wider archaeological community in general. But particularly to Turkish students of archaeology, as well as Turkish/Türkiye-based and research focused archaeologists and specialists of biological anthropology and bioarchaeology and its sub-disciplines.

Byblos has played an extraordinary role in the history of the Mediterranean. From c. 3200 BC, it developed into the preeminent port of the region due to its strategic location at the foothills of the cedar forests of Mount Lebanon and its unique ties with the pharaohs of Egypt. An important religious center, Byblos was referred to as a Holy City in Hellenistic and Roman times. The city is synonymous with writing, a legacy that lives on through the Greek word for book. With a history that reaches back nearly 8900 years, this Lebanese coastal city is among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.Byblos: A Legacy Unearthed is the first anthology to be published on this remarkable city. This lavishly illustrated volume encompasses an extensive range of scholarly research, from the earliest archaeological expeditions to the latest discoveries. Its 43 chapters written by leading international experts, examine the city’s history from its Neolithic origins to the Medieval era.This book is a coproduction between the National Museum of Antiquities (The Netherlands) and the Ministry of Culture/Directorate General of Antiquities (Lebanon).

The period of Anatolian history between the death of the semilegendary king Midas of Gordion ca 700 BC and the advent of the Achaemenid Persian Empire ca 550 BC is dominated by certain narratives: the rise of the Mermnad Lydian Kingdom, from Gyges to Croesus; the demise of the Urartian Kingdom and ‘NeoHittite’type culture and polities; and the invasion of shadowy forces from the Steppe: Cimmerians, Scythians and Medes. The discoveries of Geoffrey and Francoise Summers’s project at the massive walled city on Kerkenes Dağı have changed the cultural history and texture of Anatolia during this time period, opening up insights into the spread of Phrygian culture and language and inviting further discussion of how the period is framed. This book honours their accomplishments by presenting papers addressing the dynamics and events of that period from various angles, and in various regions and places, as well as other interventions on Iron Age Anatolia, from dating of kings to rare and potentially influential medical techniques. The volume sheds light on and also advocates for further synthesis of the regional dynamics affecting the Mediterranean, Near East and Anatolia together, toward the production of revised, more nuanced narratives.

Martin Hense has been travelling to North Africa and West Asia to excavate and draw for more than 25 years. This book presents his reconstructions and archaeological drawings from various excavations with full colour illustrations. Reconstructing ancient ruins, with detailed knowledge of ancient architecture and building technology, he has become an expert over the years.

Olivier Nieuwenhuyse was a remarkable archaeologist whose work has transformed the study of later Neolithic societies in West Asia. He has inspired many colleagues and students in their own pursuit of archaeology. Through the analysis of material culture his aim was to reconstruct social meanings and practices of societies in the deep past. In this volume a series of colleagues and friends pay tribute to the scholarship of Olivier Nieuwenhuyse, who died much too young, and present a series of studies on the archaeology of Late Neolithic societies in West Asia.The volume includes a reflection on Olivier’s career in archaeology (Spoor). There are chapters on the key site of Tell Sabi Abyad, on which Olivier worked for many years, dealing with its buildings (Akkermans and Brüning), its funerary practices (Plug), and the use of bitumen at the site (Connan et al.). The next section on the book focusses on the analysis of tokens (Bennison-Chapman), figurines (Arntz, Düring), and ornaments (Belcher and Croucher), of various sites dating to the Late Neolithic in West Asia. Following this there are studies on the emergence of pottery in West Asia (Bartl, Özbal), the use of ceramic ‘husking trays’ (Balossi Restelli), and the design rules in various prehistoric pottery traditions (Bernbeck and Pollock). Finally, the last chapter presents new data on prehistoric Palmyra (Maqdissi and Ishaq).Colleagues working on Neolithic West Asia will find much of interest in this volume. We hope they will agree that this is a worthy tribute to the remarkable body of scholarship that Olivier Nieuwenhuyse has created.

Bradley J. Parker made numerous contributions to the field of archaeology and Assyriology on a broad array of topics spanning six millennia of archaeological history in both ancient Mesopotamia and the Andes. His varied research interests included the archaeology of empires and imperial dynamics, frontiers and borderlands, households and micro-archaeology, ethnoarchaeology, aerial drone mapping, and the politics of archaeology and nationalism. This volume contains a collection of essays from his friends, colleagues and former students that cover three broad themes: household archaeology, frontiers and borderlands, and the archaeology of empire. Our goal is to explore Bradley’s indelible legacy in the field of archaeology and how his work will contribute to academic discourses in the future.

“What Does This Have to Do with Archaeology?” is a collection of essays published on the occasion of Reinhard Bernbeck’s 65th birthday. The distinguished archaeologist Reinhard Bernbeck from the Institute of Near Eastern Archaeology at Freie Universität Berlin is an internationally highly esteemed colleague. This commemorative volume (Festschrift) reflects his great influence on many different areas of archaeological research from the Neolithic in Central Asia to contemporary archaeology in Europe. The essays are written by an international circle of colleagues who contributed scientific papers, photographs, and personal memories of joint research and scientific exchange with Reinhard Bernbeck. The book covers a wide range of subjects, from analytical discussions on ethnology, spatial theory, and digital archaeology to more practical considerations of research practices related to fieldwork, data management, and alternative modes of archaeological writing. Case studies provide insights into new investigations and re-interpretations of ancient material culture of Southwest and Central Asia. Other contributions address the political use of archaeology in the present, as well as the heritage management and the study of the most recent past.

During the roughly hundred years (ca. 1225 – 1125 BCE) that the Middle Assyrian dunnu at Tell Sabi Abyad was in operation, some forty-nine individuals were interred in graves of a striking diversity. In this book their burial type, location, orientation, position, grave goods and osteological data are analysed in order to generate new insights on Middle Assyrian society. Most graves appear to have been inhumation graves dug into abandoned spaces in and around the settlement. Men, women, and children were placed in mudbrick-lined cists, unlined pits, pre-existing architecture, and jars. Burial practices similar to those at Tell Sabi Abyad are found at many other Middle Assyrian sites, and suggest they were part of an overarching Middle Assyrian funerary repertoire. At the same time, Tell Sabi Abyad also contained cremation graves – a burial practice that is at odds with Mesopotamian views of the afterlife. These may belong to (Hurrian) deportees that chose to adhere to the funerary traditions of their homelands. The cremated remains were deposited in jars that were subsequently buried in the ground or buried at the place of the funeral pyre. While almost all graves contained some form of grave goods – usually consisting of items of bodily adornment and ceramic bowls placed close to the head and hands – the two graves with the most grave goods were both cremation graves. Their inventories contained sumptuous items of Middle Assyrian style and iconography, suggesting people of non-Assyrian backgrounds were just as capable of socio-economic success in Assyrian society.

Jebel Aruda, a prominent mountain ridge overlooking the Taqba Dam lake in northern Syria, was the location of a remarkable settlement that flourished between c. 3300 and 3100 BC during the so-called Uruk period. For the inhabitants the sacredness of this high place, evidenced by the discovery of a large temple complex, seems to have taken precedent over its impractical location far above the valley of the Euphrates River. The site was destroyed under unknown circumstances, leaving behind the spectacular remains of a well preserved temple complex and numerous houses filled with a rich collection of material culture and administrative tools such as bullae and tablets. A Dutch team excavated the site between 1972 and 1982 while the Tabqua Dam was under construction. These two volumes present the results of these excavations and subsequent research of the remains, with special emphasis on the relationship between the domestic architecture and the finds.These richly illustrated volumes aim to facilitate further research and analysis of an exceptional, short-lived Uruk period settlement, comprising domestic architecture associated with a monumental temple complex. It is intended to appeal to readers interested in Mesopotamia and ancient Syria, as well as archaeologists concerned with architectural and locational analysis in a broader perspective. Volume I presents the results of the excavation, with a discussion of the individual houses and the history of the temple buildings, together with the pottery corpus, the administrative artefacts and sealings, as well as shorter chapters on other material categories (flint, stone etc). The contents of each individual house are presented in Volume II.

Jebel Aruda, a prominent mountain ridge overlooking the Taqba Dam lake in northern Syria, was the location of a remarkable settlement that flourished between c. 3300 and 3100 BC during the so-called Uruk period. For the inhabitants the sacredness of this high place, evidenced by the discovery of a large temple complex, seems to have taken precedent over its impractical location far above the valley of the Euphrates River. The site was destroyed under unknown circumstances, leaving behind the spectacular remains of a well preserved temple complex and numerous houses filled with a rich collection of material culture and administrative tools such as bullae and tablets. A Dutch team excavated the site between 1972 and 1982 while the Tabqua Dam was under construction. These two volumes present the results of these excavations and subsequent research of the remains, with special emphasis on the relationship between the domestic architecture and the finds.These richly illustrated volumes aim to facilitate further research and analysis of an exceptional, short-lived Uruk period settlement, comprising domestic architecture associated with a monumental temple complex. It is intended to appeal to readers interested in Mesopotamia and ancient Syria, as well as archaeologists concerned with architectural and locational analysis in a broader perspective. Volume I presents the results of the excavation. In Volume II the contents of each individual house are listed and illustrated as discrete room assemblages, with the specific intention of making the evidence available for more detailed analysis of the relationship between material culture and architecture and to stimulate further research into aspects such as identity and the social structure of the settlement surrounding the temples.