Archaeology, Epigraphy, Philology

Abstract

Archaeology, Epigraphy, Philology Christopher T. Begg, Randy C. Payne, William J. Urbrock, Michael W. Duggan, Frederick E. Greenspahn, and Joseph E. Jensen 1849. [Euphrates Banded Wares] Sawssan Alachkar, "Euphrates Banded Wares et leur contexte funéraire. Un nouveau bilan," Syria 95 (2018) 197-211. In the Middle Euphrates region of the Early Bronze Age, two categories of ceramics, both of luxurious quality, are particularly well represented, i.e. Euphrates Banded Ware and Black Euphrates Ware. In this article, A. surveys a corpus of several hundred vessels, seeking to determine the relationship between the two types and their contexts. While both have been found in funerary, domestic, palatial, and religious contexts, they are concentrated in graves, especially in the case of certain morphological types. The comparative analysis of the two pottery categories in relation to the various types of tombs attested for the EBA period does not yield clear results, apart from a possible link between Euphrates Banded Wear and pit graves and graves with built chambers. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 1850. [Tochni-Lakkia, Cyprus] Georgia M. Andreou, Artemis Georgiou, Thomas M. Urban, Kevin D. Fisher, Sturt W. Manning, and David A. Sewell, "Reconsidering Coastal Archaeological Sites in Late Bronze Age Cyprus: Tochni-Lakkia and the South-Central Coastscape," BASOR 382 (2019) 33-69. The Cypriot Late Bronze Age (1680/1650–1100 b.c.e.) has attracted particular attention due to textual and material evidence suggesting engagement with the international maritime trade networks of the eastern Mediterranean. A longstanding scholarly preoccupation with interregional trade has encouraged the development of theoretical models that aim to reconstruct the economy of the island and generally view Late Cypriot coastal sites as gateway communities channeling copper to the eastern Mediterranean. Previous studies have also highlighted the local and regional significance of these communities and have shed light on their complex economic networks. In this article, the authors use data from coastal Tochni-Lakkia to add nuance to smaller-scale regional interactions along the south-central coast of Cyprus. Maps, photographs, and drawings accompany the article. [Adapted from published abstract—R.C.P.] 1851. Erez Ben-Yosef, "Biblical Archaeology's Architectural Bias," BARev 45 (6, 2019) 54-55, 63. Radiocarbon dates for excavations at Faynan (headed by Thomas E. Levy and Mohammad Najjar) and Timna (headed, by B.-Y.) demonstrate that the local copper industry, evidently operated by the local (semi-)nomadic (agro-)pastoralist tribes of the ʿArabah Valley, thrived during the 11th-9th centuries b.c.e. Here is evidence, minus stone architecture construction, of a strong and centralized biblical-era nomadic kingdom, the biblical Edom.—W.J.U. [End Page 668] 1852. [Hwaraman] Fereidoun Biglari and Sonia Shidrang, "Rescuing the Paleolithic Heritage of Hwaraman, Kurdistan, Iranian Zagros," NEA 82 (2019) 226-35. Construction of Darian Dam on the Sirwan River at Hwaraman, Kurdistan, between 2009 and 2015 provided an opportunity to investigate this region of the Central Western Zagros. Salvage excavations carried out at a number of sites along the Sirwan River revealed evidence of human occupation spanning over fifty thousand years from the Middle Paleolithic through to nomadic and herding seasonal sites of the late Islamic period. Four caves and rock shelters contained Middle Paleolithic, Upper Paleolithic, and Epipaleolithic deposits, while one small cave yielded Pleistocene/Holocene paleontological remains. [Adapted from published abstract—V.H.Μ.] 1853. [Tell Keila] Sylvie Blétry, Hélène Duval, Chloé Giardi, Teddy Loupmon, and Ayman Rjoob, "Tell Keila, résultats de quatre années de recherches," Syria 95 (2018) 213-43. The site of Tell Keila located in the Hebron governorate (Palestinian territories), although known from ancient sources and identified by numerous surveys, was never excavated until recently. In situ research has confirmed that the site was occupied from the Bronze Age to the Ottoman period, apparently without interruption. That research revealed the presence of a Middle Bronze rampart, a habitat dating at least as early as the Late Bronze Age on the top of the tell, and to the south, a peripheral area...