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Egyptian vats and bread molds from the Early Bronze IB2 period are found in abundance on numerous sites in Southern Levant. During that time many groups of Egyptians settled across Canaanean towns and villages, which the archaeological material proves. The presence of kitchenware proves that they preserved their culinary traditions and still used this characteristic type of vessel. The latest excavations at Tel Erani (2013- 2018) resulted in finds of significant amounts of kitchenware concentrated around one building, as well as some hearths and flint tools, which relates well with this theory and suggests that a group of Egyptians indeed lived there among the local population during the end of the Early Bronze I period.
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The Sanctuary of Amun of the Temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahari was, starting from the early 18th century, gradually discovered, and has been analyzed by many researchers and scientists. In the late 19th century E. Naville was the first to concentrate to an significant extent on the Sanctuary rooms, which resulted in the elaboration of a vast architectural description prepared by Somers Clarke, his cooperator. In the early 20th century, Herbert Winlock conducted studies and analyses of the Sanctuary rooms. In 1961, a concession for conducting works was assigned to the Polish Station of Mediterranean Archaeology of the University of Warsaw, directed by Prof. Kazimierz Michałowski. Since that time, Polish Missions have conducted numerous architectural and conservation as well as epigraphic works, gradually ordering and reconstructing the Sanctuary.
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In 2015, an intaglio gem was discovered in Pylos (Messenia, Greece) from the beginning of the Late Bronze Age with a scene of two warriors in combat. This representation is part of a group of similar images on seals. The analysis of these objects allows the suggestion that the scenes depicted on them are based on the same story/myth. This story helped to build the ideology of the Mycenaean elites based on, among other things, the use of violence in social life and set patterns of behavior, while at the same time linking the Mycenaeans living in different parts of Greece, especially in Mycenae, Pylos and Vapheio. Perhaps it had an epic dimension similar to Homer’s much later work.
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Cyrus the Younger (born in 424/423 BC, died in 401 BC), son of the Great King Darius II (424/423-404 BC) and Queen Parysatis, is well known from his activity in Anatolia. In 408 BC he took power there as a karanos (Old Persian *kārana-, Greek κάρανος), a governor of high rank with extensive military and political competence reporting directly to the Great King. Holding his power in Anatolia, Cyrus had his own court there, in many respects modeled after the Great King’s court. The aim of this article is to show some aspects of functioning and organization of Cyrus the Younger’s court in Anatolia.
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Theban tomb no. 190 is one of the scant historical sources bearing evidence of several generations of a Theban priestly dynasty living in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. Presumably, the tomb’s owner Nesbanebdjed(et) performed his duties in the Karnak Temple of Khonsu under Nectanebo II. The present publication provides an improved copy of the hieroglyphic inscriptions in TT 190 and discusses the obvious relevance of identifying people with similar names known from the monuments as Nesbanebdjed(et)’s relatives. A list of the personal names is supplied. The statues Cairo JE 37075, JE 36579 and the stelae Budapest MBA 51.1928, Prague MN P 1636 are also discussed, but the stela from Budapest was not considered as a monument belonging to the members of the family in question.
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The subject of the paper is to present the so-called blockedout capitals excavated in Amathous related to, among others, Nabataean capitals type 1. The analyzed pieces constitute fragments of several different capitals belonging to supports of various types and scales once being parts of presently unknown buildings erected in the vicinity of Agora and in the area of the domestic dwellings west of the Agora. Most probably all of the fragments were parts of simplified capitals derived from Corinthian ones.
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The aim of the paper is to extend the standard set of ceramic vessels used for thermal processing of food with two forms: jugs and colanders. The paper presents the functional analysis of ceramic jugs and colanders made of cooking ware found in early Roman layers of the residential quarter of ancient Nea Paphos, excavated by the Polish Archaeological Mission of Warsaw University at Kato Paphos. The examination is based on the shape of the vessels, the fabric, as well as on specific traces of use visible on the pots, such as mineral deposit on the inside or soot on the outside surface.
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Despite the popularity of the cult of Mithras in Rome in the 4th century AD, the archaeological record provides evidence for only two tombs associated with the followers of Mithras. The lack of Mithraic burials is most likely linked with the pro-Christian bias towards the funerary material found in the Roman catacombs, which had dominated the catacomb scholarship since their re-discovery in the late sixteenth century. However, following a recent development in the understanding of how the subterranean cemeteries were used in antiquity, it is possible to begin a re-evaluation of the available material. An arcosolium from the Catacomb of SS. Peter and Marcellinus decorated with two separate dining scenes may shed new light on our knowledge about Mithraic burials in Rome. In the case of this particular tomb, the evidence suggests that the owner(s) of the arcosolium were most likely pagans, possibly followers of Mithras, who migrated to Rome from north of the Alps in the early 4th century AD.
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The objective of the article is to discuss the history of the acquiring of marble sculptures by Prince Władysław Czartoryski during his two stays in Italy: in Naples in 1889 and in Rome in 1891, based on preserved archival documents. The statues include such exquisite examples as a sculpture of Venus Medici from the beginning of the 1st century AD, as well as examples of compilations of ancient fragments that supposedly had previously belonged to the Roman Torlonia collection. Formal analysis of individual objects is expanded upon with information related to conservations they have been subject to.
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The Late Neolithic cultural landscape in southern Jordan waspoorly understood due to the deficiency of basic information. However, recent investigations are improving this situation. A good example is providedby the discovery of a Jericho IX pottery assemblage at Munqata’a near Tafileh, which offers a glimpse into the influence of an exotic culture onthe post-PPNB cultural landscape in southern Jordan. However, things are different in the al-Jafr Basin to the east, where a new adaptation strategy to cope with increasing aridification was sought within the context of the traditional PPNB outpost culture. The difference in cultural landscapes between the east and the west in this period ushers in the era of ‘the desertand the sown.’ In preparation for future comparative study, this paper briefly reviews past research outcomes in the basin and discusses the Late Neolithic cultural landscape at the arid margin of southern Jordan.
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The paper deals with one of several scientific topics mirrored in the history of Tell Keisan, specifically the relationships between Israel/Palestine, Cyprus, and Phoenicia, and is based primarily on the hitherto unpublished Cypriot decorated pottery finds from this site. The earliest occurrence of the Iron Age Cypriot imports at Keisan has been recorded in Stratum 8 (10th century BC), while their increased quantities appear in Strata 5 and 4 (c. 8th-7th century BC). The Black-on-Red ware is the most numerous, while the White Painted and Bichrome wares are quite rare. In Stratum 3 (580-380 BC), the number of Cypriot imports drops dramatically. This was probably the result of a rapid change in the political and then economic situation in this region. In 525 BC, Cyprus became part of the fifth Persian satrapy. This must have had a disastrous effect on the economic situation of some of the Cypriot regions and was one of the reasons for the total cessation of Cypriot imports to the Levantine mainland.
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The rocky hillock of Fabrika in the north-eastern most part of ancient Nea Paphos, founded during the late 4th century BC, is of key importance for understanding the early phase of the town planning, but at the same time very difficult to be methodically explored. Both its eminent location and geology made it a natural source of building material throughout the ages, greatly hindering any accurate reconstruction of the site development. However, the data collected so far strongly suggest that the arrangement of the southern part of the hill was of a cultic nature. Therefore, on undertaking a joint project with Université d’Avignon, we decided to focus the research on the southern part of the hill where, near the top of an Early Hellenistic theatre, there are rock-cut outlines of atemple possibly devoted to Aphrodite Paphia. During two seasons of field work (2018-2019), we retrieved some important information regarding both an original Hellenistic arrangement of the sacred area and its later (Late Roman/Byzantine and Medieval) use. Some new observations were also made regarding the topographical details of the area.
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The recent discovery – made during the 2018 campaign ofthe ‘Medieval Petra’ Mission of the University of Florence – of the residential al-Jaya Palace at the bottom of the hill of Shawbak’s ‘incastellato’ site is of particular relevance both for medieval and Islamic heritage in Jordan (no architecture of a comparable quality from the Ayyubid-Mamluk periodhas ever been found in the country) and mostly for the archaeological confirmation that underneath al-Jaya, lays the ancient medieval capital city of southern Jordan, founded by Saladin, on the same site of the castle-capital of the previous Crusader Lordship of Transjordan. This result represents a triple confirmation for the scientific program of the Mission: the productivity of the ‘Light Archaeology’ methodology that characterizes our approach; the real existence of the city whose foundation we had deemed to be able to propose (owing solely to the ‘light’ reading son the walls of the ‘castle’); and the excellence of the formal level of the building – perfectly matching the quality of the political and productive structures documented earlier in the castle – that speaks of a cultured and refined city and of an extraordinary strategic project that can be attributed to Saladin’s political intelligence. A project that gave back a new centrality to the entire southern Transjordan and started a settlement and political tradition that is the basis of modern Jordan itself (it is not accidental that the first capital of the state was Ma’an). Once the urban structure that has now appeared is understood, future research will be able to direct the excavations so as to address another great historical question which 2018 investigations have highlighted: we know the birth and begin to read the life of this extraordinary town, butwhen, how and why did it perish so much so that it was forgotten by history (and to be rediscovered by archaeology)? Perhaps for the first time, we will have an opportunity to study archaeologically an aspect of the historical crisis that, probably during the 15th century, engulfed the Arab-Islamicworld, opening the way for the Ottoman conquest. It is an intriguing perspective to be addressed in tandem with a renewed public archaeology program: conservative restoration, social valorization, broad communication directed both to the local communities and to the international public with the implementation of the master plan 2010-14, and, finally, tourist routes connecting Shawbak with the Petra area.
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The Italian Archaeological Mission ‘Medieval Petra’: archaeology of Crusader-Ayyubid Settlement in Transjordan started an archaeological excavation within the site of Petra, in the Corinthian Tombarea, during the 2015 and 2016 campaigns. The main aim was to clarify the presence and the nature of a potential medieval structure whose evidences were identified during the surveys of 2012 and 2013. This brief paper intend sto present some preliminary remarks on the excavation data coming from the stratigraphic analyses and from the ongoing study of the pottery findings related to the context.
More...Hermitic life in Christian Petra
A new interpretation of the pre-Crusader phase of the site follows from the identification of a pre-Crusader rock-cut chapel. In particular, in early mediaeval time, a monastic community at al-Wu’ayra and a number of hermitic cells surrounding a central fortified coenobium preceded the later military castle keep. The Crusaders profited by the presence of a Christian fortified settlement, easy to transform into a military installation by a simple addition of a number of buildings, which are identifiable by a chrono-typology of building techniques.The new program of research which started in 2017 aims at registering, surveying, and studying various hermitic installations around the perimeter of the town in order to contextualize this early medieval phase of al-Wu’ayrain the topography of Petra and contribute to the knowledge of a ‘minor’and underestimated aspect of the town in early Christian time. In fact, these monastic-hermitic settlements located in segregated spots of the peri-urbanarea, surviving the abandonment of the major churches of the town, can help to understand in a more realistic way the articulated forms of Christian presence and its duration until the late 19th century.
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This article consists of a study of two Egyptian paintings of the Russian-Polish painter Stefan Bakalowicz (1857-1947). The study seeks to establish the degree of authenticity and credibility of the represented patterns by finding the sources of archaeological inspiration — both in European Egyptian collections and in the Egyptological works used by artists in the 19th century — which inspired (or could potentially inspire) Bakalowicz to carry out the staging and reconstruction of ancient Egypt. Furthermore, the study focuses on Bakalowicz’s artistic approach and bias as a representative of the late Academicism at the turn of the 20th century. This research is based on the study of the arrangement, choice, and evocative scope of particular patterns as well as the role of fantasy in the service of a theatrical staging of the past Egypt. It also aims to discern elements relating to Egyptomania, Orientalism or even pure academism.
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The societies occupying the Nile Delta in the 4th millennium BC were not cut off from the neighboring regions of Upper Egypt and the Southern Levant. The Nile River, which served as a transport route between southern and northern Egypt, and the geographical proximity of the Southern Levant to the Nile Delta were probably both factors that allowed contact to occur between the regions. Whilst a significant number of Southern Levantine and Upper Egyptian imports have been found at Lower Egyptian cultural sites, the quantity of Lower Egyptian items from the same period found in the Southern Levant and in southern Egypt is more limited. This state of affairs did not occur by chance, which suggests that the scarcity of northern Egyptian finds outside Lower Egypt can probably be attributed to the nature of trade and the position of the Nile Delta in this period.Although our knowledge of the contact of the Delta with Upper Egypt and the Southern Levant is constantly expanding, many issues still remain unclear, including that of trading patterns. Archeological research currently being conducted in northern Egypt (mainly at Tell el-Farkha, Tell el-Iswid, Sais and Buto) has provided us with new material that adds to our understanding of the field. From the most recent excavation results, it would appear that from the very beginnings of its existence, the Tell el-Farkha site in the eastern Delta was as an important exchange center where the influence of the east and the south came together.The aim of this paper is to portray the interaction occurring between the Delta, Upper Egypt and the Southern Levant in the 4th millennium BC on the basis of material found at the excavation site of Tell el-Farkha in the eastern Nile Delta and to explain the role of the Nile Delta in political and cultural relations between these regions.
More...A View from Tell el-Farkha
This article focuses on potmarks from the Western, Eastern and Central Koms of the Tell el-Farkha site. They date back to the Protodynastic and Early Dynastic periods (up until the 1st Dynasty) and are associated with Phases 4 and 5 of the settlement. 91 of the potmarks have been identified and analysed. They were all incised on wet clay and covered either the inside or outside walls of bread moulds. 16 categories of patterns have been distinguished: cross, criss-cross, vertical and horizontal line combination, horizontal line, vertical line, curvilinear line, rectangular-like shape, animal-like shape, plant-like shape, star-like shape, arch-like shape, radial wheel shape, strokes on the rim, V-shaped sign, circle and semi-circle.
More...A Rejoinder to Eliot Braun
In a recent SAAC article, Eliot Braun (2012) has published a critique of my excavations at the late prehistoric site of Qiryat Ata. Reexamination of a site’s stratigraphy and reinterpretation of archaeological data are welcome, if their purpose is to truly enhance our understanding of the history of the site and thus gain a better understanding of the archaeological periods of its occupation. Such a reevaluation should be based on factual evidence, exacting analysis and the realization that even the same data can and is open to different interpretation. Reexamination of the data would strive to offer accurate and useful conclusions that could substantially augment our perception of the archaeological record and be a catalyst for future research and fruitful collegial discussion among scholars.The purpose of the following is to address the claims and allegations raised by Braun in his article. While some points of Braun’s critique may have their merit and provide a future basis for discussion, examination of his major points shows them to be basically unfounded.
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