Ancient Near East (Archaeology)

The influence of Mesopotamian Religion, which is generally based on the religious beliefs and practices of the Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian peoples, can be seen in the numerous theophoric names mentioned in cuneiform texts. The tradition of theophoric naming continues to exist among Muslims in this geography. It is noteworthy that the theophoric names in cuneiform texts and the theophoric names used by Muslims are remarkably similar, except for the gods referred to. While Muslims generally preferred names such as Abdullah (servant of Allah), Nurullah (light of Allah), Beytullah (the abode of Allah) and Ruhullah (spirit of Allah), in Ancient Mesopotamia names such as Warad-Sîn (servant of the god Sîn), Nūr-Šamaš (light of Šamaš), Šubat-Enlil (the abode of Enlil) and Šār-Issar (spirit of Issar (Ištar)) were used. This research, conducted with the historical-comparison method of the History of Religions discipline, clearly reveals the influence and continuity of Mesopotamian Religion.

Persepolis was a capital of the Achaemenid Persian Empire (ca. 560-330 BCE), located in present-day Iran. Darius I (ca. 550-486 BCE) terraced the site and began construction, intending Persepolis to replace Pasargadae (which served as an administrative center alongside Susa, Babylon and Ecbatana). The fortified city is famous for its carved limestone reliefs depicting processions of tribute bearers, royal presentation scenes and other motifs central to Achaemenid royal ideology. The reliefs and buildings were originally painted with many different colors, only traces of which remain. Persepolis was destroyed by Alexander the Great in 330 BCE and was not resettled (possibly because its mountainous location complicated its winter use). Building at Persepolis seems to have been ongoing and included palaces, throne halls, gates, royal tombs and other monumental buildings attributed mostly to Darius I, Xerxes I (519-465 BCE) and Artaxerxes III (ca. 425-338 BCE). Hundreds of cuneiform tablets written in Old Persian, Elamite and Babylonian Akkadian (found in the Treasury) offer insight into administration of the site. Other important finds include inscriptions on wall pegs and foundation slabs, and an extensive corpus of seals and sealings from tablet impressions, clay labels and bullae.

This picture has been contributed by Dr. Avinash Haridas,
Consultant Neurosurgeon, Head of the Department of
Neurosurgery and Director, Centre of Neurosciences, KVM
Hospital, Cherthala, Alappuzha, Kerala.

The majestic Brahminy kite (Red-backed sea eagle) is venerated
throughout Asia and is the contemporary representation of
‘GARUDA’ in ancient Indian mythology – the sacred humanoid
bird vehicle or “vahana” of Lord Vishnu. Garuda is also a part
of the Buddhist mythology. Statues are found on the walls of
Buddhist temples that symbolize the act of the bird protecting
the temple from snakes. It is the national emblem of Indonesia
and is the official mascot of Jakarta. In Malaysia, the island
paradise of Langkawi is named after it. For the people of
Borneo, it is the ultimate deity of incomparable qualities and
is the God of war. In Japanese Hindu‑Buddhist mythology, it
is known as “Karura” – a divine creature with a human torso
and bird-like head.

The Brahminy kite is found throughout the Indian subcontinent
as well as in South-east Asia and Australia. In India, it is a
familiar site along the western and eastern coastlines. It also
inhabits mangrove swamps and the forest areas along the
rivers and estuaries.

Over the years, I have tried taking its picture many times
but the distance between the camera and the bird has been
too long to get an appropriate picture. This bird of prey was
always found gliding high up in the sky, which has resulted
in less-than-ideal images. On this occasion, I was extremely
lucky to capture the current image at close quarters – it was
taken when this celestial bird briefly graced my uncle’s house
in Cherthala, Kerala.

This image was taken using a Canon EOS 1DX Mark II and the
EXIF data are as follows: Lens: Canon EF 100 mm f/2.8L Macro
IS USM; Focal length: 100 mm; Exposure: 1/160 sec; Aperture:
f/2.8; ISO: 400; Flash: fired.

Breastfeeding, which is the most important stage of a living being after birth, has a great place in religious and social terms in Ancient Mesopotamia. Depictions of breastfeeding, which are associated with concepts such as fertility, motherhood, abundance, nourishment and continuity of life, have been encountered since prehistoric times. Subsequently, in Mesopotamian (Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian) societies, breastfeeding and motherhood were both accepted as a natural process and were sacredized by being taken to a divine dimension. This motif was frequently identified with the Goddesses Ninhursag and Ištar in the beliefs of Mesopotamian societies, and these goddesses are depicted in the form of breastfeeding women. In this way, women's motherhood and fertility were sanctified, while the importance of women's reproductive and nourishing roles in society was emphasized. In addition, it is stated in cuneiform royal inscriptions and prophetic texts that kings were breastfed by goddesses. This is seen as a strong symbolic transmission expressing the legitimacy of their power. This study aims to examine the breastfeeding motif, which was frequently encountered in the thought and belief world of Ancient Mesopotamian societies from prehistoric times to the middle of the 1st millennium BC, in line with the data obtained from archaeological findings and cuneiform documents..

The truth is that Royce Erickson’s article makes all the difference to the geography of the Book of Tobit, showing that the angel Raphael knew perfectly well to where he was leading young Tobias, and that the book’s Media, Ecbatana and Rages do not stand in need of special interpretation.

Öz: Fırat'ın doğu kıyısındaki Neolitik bir yerleşme olan Akarçay Tepe, Çanak Çömleksiz Neolitik B (PPNB) dönemi boyunca meydana gelen sosyo-ekonomik ve teknolojik değişimlere dair önemli bilgiler sunmaktadır. Yerleşme, basit çözümlenmiş bina tiplerinden, daha karmaşık "Hücre Planlı Binalar"a kadar önemli bir mimari gelişimi ve buna bağlı olarak gelişen sosyal organizasyon ve hanehalkı özerkliğini yansıtmaktadır. Uzak bölgelerden temin edilen obsidiyen aletler de dahil olmak üzere farklı maddi kültür öğeleri, bina tipleri bölgesel ve bölgeler arası iletişim ağlarını ve kültürel etkileşimleri göstermektedir. Topluluk eşitlikçi bir anlayıştan, hane ekonomilerine geçişi, bir anlamda sosyoekonomik karmaşıklığın yavaş yavaş belirmeye başladığı bir süreci yansıtır, ancak bu durum hiyerarşik bir toplumun gelişimine yol açmamıştır. Akarçay Tepe'nin iyi korunmuş mimari kalıntıları ve mekân kullanımına ilişkin verileri, Orta Fırat bölgesinde erken tarım topluluklarının dinamik süreçlerinin daha iyi anlaşılması açısından önemlidir. Özellikle de bölgede yeniden yoğunlaşan araştırmalar düşünüldüğünde.

Sans tomber dans un déterminisme étroit, on peut quand même affirmer que l'histoire de l'Irak ne sera vraiment connue que le jour où, parallèlement au déroulement des faits politiques, on retracera la chronologie des déprédations occasionnées par le Tigre et l'Euphrate.

The article’s subject is the legitimation of the power of the Achaemenid kings, shown on the basis of preserved inscriptions from the era. These inscriptions have been repeatedly analysed in terms of linguistic and cultural studies. According to the author, they can also be helpful for the political science. For the purposes of this paper, legitimation is understood as processes leading to legitimacy, i.e., recognising a political system as proper and valid. The author distinguishes motifs used by the Achaemenids for this purpose. These are: the divine origin of power, references to tradition, the special attributes of the ruler, and the depreciation of political opponents. Among the Achaemenid inscriptions, there is almost always an invocation to the deity – Ahuramazda. This God is shown as the divine legislator and the creator of the material world and mankind. This element is extremely important in the context of the legitimacy of power, as it suggests the origin of royal power from the supreme, divine authority. The deity guides the Persian rulers, supports them in their battles and guarantees their reign. Divine origin makes the power held by the king a sacred gift. The reign and development of the empire thus become the fulfilment of God’s plan. Additionally, Ahuramazda is the creator of the cosmic order arta. Therefore, the ruler allied with him has the mandate to establish order on Earth. Along with the religious sanction of self-legitimisation of power, comes the demonisation of Achaemenid opponents. According to Max Weber, one of the types of legitimising power is “traditional rule” based on referring to the eternal orders. This type of legitimation is discernible in Old Persian inscriptions. In addition to religious and traditional sanction, rulers also made use of other measures to show that they were worthy of the throne. King Darius I has repeatedly indicated his fighting skills and integrity. In other inscriptions, one can find references to Persian beliefs, including the hatred of lies, described by Herodotus.

Tal-e Malyan as known as ancient Anšan, is located in the Beyza plain of Fars Province. Anšan was a centre of Elamite highland in the eastern of the Susiana plain and a significant cultural center of Elamite. William Sumner’s excavations from 1971 -1978 uncovered an administrative archive written in Middle Elamite language. The archive belongs to the Šutrukid dynasty (1210- 1100 B.C), the last dynasty of Middle Elamite period. The importance of the Anshan’s archive compared to the earlier Elamite archive is that the clay tablets are written in middle Elamite cuneiform, a tradition that was begun gradually from the first middle Elamite dynasty, the Kidinu period (1550- 1400 B.C) in Haft- Tepe archive. The Anšan archive reveals details about construction of a temple and delivering commodities to administration in the city of Anšan by Huteluduš-Inšušinak (1120-1110 B.C), the last Šutrukid king. Text contents are about movement of commodities inside and outside of the Anšan administration office. These commodities mainly included metals such as gold, silver and bronze, which were delivered as raw material to the administration to make statues and objects for temples. The individuals who were participating in administrative procedures included officials, clerks, skilled artisans and labourers. These individuals on their roles in archive and the type of received commodities are classified. The aim of this paper is to analyse the Anšan archive texts in order to present a comprehensive overview of its contents and its administrative framework. Through the examination of this archive, try to gain a deeper understanding of administrative procedures in the Elamite bureaucracy.

By submitting this thesis/dissertation electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained therein is my own, original work, that I am the sole author thereof (save to the extent explicitly otherwise stated), that reproduction and publication thereof by Stellenbosch University will not infringe any third party rights and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification.

The Armenian Highlands is considered one of the ancient cradles of
carpet-weaving where the carpet weaving traditions have been continuing for
millennia without any interruption.
There are a good of deal of proofs of weaving culture existence in
ancient Asia Minor and they can be traced back to times immemorial: already
remnants of various textiles, have been discovered from Çatal Höyük, many
samples of spindles of from dozens of archaeological sites of the Hittite
Anatolia proving that the textile weaving was developed in that region.
Remains of looms have been preserved from ancient times. Special studies
are dedicated to the Hittite textiles. However, it should be mentioned that
100
despite strong dispersion of the weaving and presence of various textiles and
fabrics in Hittite texts, according to experts no clear word or description for
rug or carpet is preserved in Hittite.
However, as our studies show, the comparison of some Hittite words
surviving in the Hittite texts with the Armenian parallels in the context of
other languages enable us to discover at least one possible word with the
meaning of ‘carpet’ or ‘cover’ in the Hittite language.
Examination of the latter in the context of different languages and
cultural phenomena we arrive at the following conclusions:
1.The Armenian word gorg offered as parallel to the Hittite kurka is
wrong, its etymology remains unclear to date;
2.In all probability, the Armenian kapert-karpet with its preliminary
meaning ‘piece of cloth’ has been borrowed from the Hittite TÚGkapart
TÚGkapartasamna meaning ‘a type of a fabric weaved from animal fur’,
which as a result of word semantic shift changed its meaning denoting one of
the most ancient occurrence in the Armenian culture – ‘a carpet weaved from
animal fur’.
3.The Armenian hiwsel may have etymologically related to the Hittite
GIŠḫuesas- ‘spindle’.
4.The Armenian tapast ‘carpet’, ‘cover’ has its possible parallels in a
number of ancient languages.
5.The words tappastu/dappastu preserved in Akkadian with meaning
‘carpet’ or ‘cover’ have their possible parallels in a number of languages,
including the Armenian tapast –‘carpet’, ‘cover’, and the Hittite tapašpa,
tapišša, tapašša ‘a type of clothing or probably a type of cover’ and in the
context of the above remarks a meaning of ‘carpet’ can be suggested.
6.The Armenian tapast ‘carpet’, ‘cover’ should be reviewed in the
context of the above linguistic material, that needs additional study to clarify the issue of its etymology.

Since 2014, the Italian Archaeological Mission in Nigin has been conducting excavation campaigns at Tell Zurghul/Nigin, 7 km south‐east of Tell al‐Hiba/Lagash, in the province of Dhi Qar, southern Iraq. The excavations clarified the period of occupation of the settlement between the mid‐5th and the end of the 3rd millennium BCE, when the city was finally destroyed and never reoccupied extensively. The prehistoric phases of the site are significant for the presence of a sequence of public buildings (probably of a temple nature), which point to the existence of organised and complex forms of settlement already in the 5th millen‐ nium BCE and the significant phenomenon of the first urbanisation in the 4th millennium BCE. The analysis of the presence and extent of occupational levels dating back to the beginning of the 3rd millennium BCE and, above all, the identification of ancient levels from the 3rd millennium BCE (Jemdet Nasr Period) show how the city developed over time and played an important role well before the rulers of the First Dynasty of Lagash in the mid‐3rd millennium BCE.

Uttarakhand, India. According to ancient texts and geological studies, the river originated from the following sources: i. Har-ki-Dun valley: This valley is considered the birthplace of the Saraswati River. The river is said to have emerged from the glaciers and snowfields North of the Har-ki-Dun valley. ii. Adi Badri: Located in the Garhwal region, Adi Badri is another site believed to be the source of the Saraswati River. A temple dedicated to the goddess Saraswati is situated here. iii. Manasarovar Lake: Some ancient texts suggest that the Saraswati River originated from the Manasarovar Lake in Tibet, which is considered a sacred lake in Hinduism. Our ancient texts and Itihas abound with references to the river, ▲ Kartikeya, son of Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva, was anointed the Commander of Deva forces on its banks, ▲ Pururava, the scion of Lunar Dynasty, met Urvashi while galloping along the Saraswati, ▲ Parshuram took bath in the purifying waters of the river after cleansing Earth of tyranny, ▲ Mahabharat War that ended an Era, was also fought along the banks of Saraswati!

Antiquity remains the horizon pursued by the works published herein. Its thread connects studies on Ancient History with other works that regard its influence in subsequent times, especially in European culture. To introduce the reader to the contributions selected for this volume, a good method is to walk backwards in time. Thus, we start in the 19 th century, with Music and Literature. The maestro Davide Nadali conducts the music that reverberates in the first article, regarding 19 th century Operas evoking Biblical figures of prophets, priests, impious kings and queens. Nebuchadnezzar or the mythical Semiramis, rulers of Babylonia, are two of the most interesting personages starring in such libretti, most of them composed by the talent of Nadali's own countryman, Rossini, Solera and, of course, Verdi. José das Candeias Sales, on his turn, raises interesting reflections on how our own compatriot, the novelist Eça de Queirós, fashioned the literary characters of two travel comrades in the Middle East, a German and a Portuguese. Although both men shared a common European and Christian background, Eça de Queirós uses the Holy Land as a mirror presenting each other's personalities and cultures very differently. José Jorge Gonçalves takes us still back further, to the 17 th century, with his depiction of the manner how a Benedictine chronicler, Friar Leão de São Tomás, conceived the origins of monasticism by relating it to the exempla of the ancient Hebrew prophets and other heterodox movements before the rise of Christianity. We must skip further back in time, right to Antiquity, where Nuno Simões Rodrigues, in the Greco-Roman world, tries to understand how the Athenian polis coped with the meddling between private and public spheres. L. Battini, on her side, inquires if ancient Mesopotamians, namely the Assyrians, left traces, in the surviving sources, of aesthetic judgments separating official "fine arts" from other arts and crafts, that would be considered, through a modern perspective, as "popular" or "minor". Adriaan de Man and Sandra Marques offer, in this volume, a short note as a preliminary study about ancient Greek vases in Portugal, probably Nikosthenic. It contributes for the knowledge about Greek artefacts in Portuguese collections, and also for its understanding among different styles, provenances and producers. Luna Watkins wishes to attain a somewhat more ambitious goal. The short note she presents reflects the groundwork she has been developing on the relationship between concepts and definitions in ancient Mesopotamian religion. Finally, the interview with Professor Pascal Vernus, the eminent French Egyptologist, is one of the highlights in this volume. We are all very grateful to the kindness he dispensed to us by sharing some of the stories and experiences of his life and career -it was only possible because of the not lesser consideration of our dear Colleague and Teacher,

For centuries, the West has been attracted to the exotic lands of the East and the cultures of the ancient world. One of the most intriguing is ancient Egypt, an African civilization that flourished during the third through the first millennium BC. In its prime, it was respected, revered, and sometimes feared. Neighboring lands were in awe of its powerful leadership, majestic architectural wonders, imposing statuary, and sophisticated decorative arts with its curious iconography and even stranger hieroglyphics. For many, Egypt held the key to understanding the world's deepest mysteries. It was the Phoenicians (ca. 1500-300 BC), a seafaring people who lived along the Mediterranean coast in city-states now part of Lebanon, Syria, and northern Israel, who first capitalized on the fascination with all things Egyptian, especially those small objects that were easily shipped and traded. Early entrepreneurs, they served as middlemen stopping at ports in North Africa, Cyprus, Crete, the Cyclades, mainland Greece, and parts of Mesopotamia. Among the goods they bartered were raw materials, Phoenician-made glass, and an array of Egyptian adornments composed of beads and amulets fabricated from metal, stone, faience, and glass. Amuletic forms that especially resonated with Phoenician trading partners were representations of household gods, the healing (sacred) eye of Horus, and the scarab. The latter was a potent symbol of rebirth and rejuvenation based on the life-cycle of the dung beetle (scarabaeus sacer) whose activities the Egyptians associated with the life-giving sun. Three-dimensional representations of scarabs, typically pierced for stringing and incorporated into rings, necklaces, pectorals, and bracelets, had been a mainstay of Egyptian jewelry since the second millennium BC and by end of the first millennium, can be found throughout the ancient Near East. Not all of these were Egyptian in originin fact, both the Greeks and the Etruscans had adopted or "borrowed" the beetle form which they inscribed with base designs that were meaningful within the context of their own

The Neo-Assyrian Empire, a significant power in the ancient Middle East during the first millennium BC, left behind a legacy of pottery types that serve as crucial archaeological evidence. Previous studies have categorized Assyrian pottery into two main groups: "Standard ware" and "Palace ware." This research focuses on identifying the characteristics of Neo-Assyrian pottery in the western and northwest regions of Iran. The examination of Neo-Assyrian pottery across the western, central, and eastern territories of the empire has been conducted and contrasted with that of Iron Age sites in the western and northwestern regions of Iran through the utilization of library research methodology. The inquiries that necessitate responses pertain to identifying the characteristics of Neo-Assyrian pottery in the western and northwestern areas of Iran, as well as determining the specific types of Neo-Assyrian pottery discovered in these areas. The findings demonstrate the presence of Neo-Assyrian "Standard ware" in the western, central, and eastern sectors, while "Palace ware" remains absent in the eastern territories. The analysis of Neo-Assyrian "Standard ware" typology and its comparison indicates its prevalence in the west and northwest of Iran. Given the significance of recognizing Neo-Assyrian pottery for scholars studying the Iron Age in these regions, a systematic and comprehensive typological framework for common and distinctive Neo-Assyrian pottery has been established in this study.

The Darband-i Rania Archaeological Project (DIRAP) as part of The British Museum Iraq Emergency Heritage Management Training Scheme has been excavating three sites in Iraqi Kurdistan since 2016: Qalatga Darband, Usu Aska and Murad Rasu. The most recent season of excavation was undertaken in autumn 2021 when all three sites, were investigated. The smallest of these is Murad Rasu, a multi-period tell site on the eastern shore of Lake Dokan. The fluctuating water levels of Lake Dokan are continually eroding the north and western sides of Murad Rasu and it is estimated that up to 30% of the northern edge of the tell has been lost over the last five years. Recent looting activity was also noted. This paper presents the latest findings from trenches dug at Murad Rasu targeted to establish a chronology of the site and record areas of robber pits, looting and erosion.

Incorporating perspectives from semiotics, collective memory, social psychology, and anthropology, this study offers a comprehensive view of the social identity of Kura-Araxes groups. This paper explores the Kura-Araxes community's adaptation and social cohesion in the context of displacement. Communities moving beyond familiar cultural zones face the dual challenge of adapting to new landscapes and maintaining social solidarity. Migrants often have to navigate fluctuating identities, balancing self-redefining in unfamiliar host areas with reaffirming their own cultural essence. By analyzing the Kura-Araxes material culture, this study investigates how the KA people addressed these social challenges to preserve cohesion despite displacements. We hypothesize that the Kura-Araxes communities utilized the representative qualities of pottery style to signify and keep their social and cultural identity in diaspora, transmitting collective memories as a form of semantic knowledge, across generations. Findings suggest that social identification was central to Kura-Araxes's resilience, fostering solidarity across their diaspora beyond their core region. Exploring shared social identity and collective memory as resilience factors offers valuable insights into the dynamics of diaspora processes and underscores their role in community resilience amid adversity.

Attributes of familial relationships, ascribed in biblical metaphors to YHWH and Israel, can be traced back to ancient Near Eastern mythological and diplomatic concepts. In Hosea 11, the dynamic between YHWH and Israel mirrors political and authoritarian conventions prevalent in that era. Israel is depicted as an adopted son of God, analogous to an Egyptian or Assyrian monarch whose authority derives from a divine heritage. Simultaneously, Israel assumes the role of a subjugated and devoted son, akin to a vassal subdued according to the norms of the ancient Near East. As a result, the characteristics of the chosen son in Hosea 11 blend attributes of both a king and a vassal, two entities who have no influence over their own chosen status. Consequently, Israel’s position is best described as that of a “divine vassal,” one whose privileges are affirmed, while his very existence and territorial rights remain in perpetual jeopardy.

During the 1960s excavations at Tall Dayr 'Alla, under the direction of Henk Franken, a substantial Late Bronze Age (LBA) temple complex was encountered on the northern slope. It consisted of a cella and at least 15 auxiliary rooms that yielded hundreds of ceramic vessels, as well as dozens of luxury objects. Famously, ten clay tablets were found bearing a yet undeciphered alphabetic script. Largely based on ceramic typology, the oldest temple phase A was dated to the 16th century BC, with the final destruction (Phase E) sometime after 1189 BC, as a faience vessel bearing the cartouche of the late Nineteenth Dynasty pharaoh Tawosret was found on the cella floor. Although the results were published (Franken 1992), their limited extent caused the temple to slip into relative obscurity in debates on the LBA southern Levant. Therefore the  Renewed Tall Dayr 'Alla Temple Project was started under the auspices of the University of Liverpool, co-directed by Diederik Halbertsma, Margreet Steiner, Eveline van der Steen, and Michel de Vreeze. A brief field season in October 2022 aimed to solve chronological issues of the temple sequence.

Since the 1990ies household archaeology has become an integral part of archaeological research in the Levant. For the Iron II period in Ancient Israel most research has been directed to the smaller provincial towns such as Tell en-Nasbeh, Tell Halif and Beer Sheba.
Surprisingly, the city of Jerusalem has not yet been touched although at least seventeen Iron II house complexes with some fifty rooms have been uncovered on the south-eastern hill by Kenyon and Shiloh, most of which have been published. Jerusalem’s evidence shows that there is a difference between the houses in the small towns and the capital.  Many dwellings seem to have functioned not only as living quarters but as workshops or shops as well. And unlike the house configuration in the smaller towns where complexes of several houses joined walls and courtyards, the Jerusalem houses stand alone, with streets between them. This may be caused the steep slope on which these houses were built, or it may indicate a different function of the buildings and/or a different composition of the households inhabiting the houses.
This contribution will address some of the questions that investigating the houses and household of Iron Age Jerusalem involve.

1 See for instance recent scholarly work on periodization and ethnographic perceptions, Emanuel Pfoh's treatment of the "erasure of memory" and 19 th century ethnographic representations of Palestine: "Victorian travellers, explorers and scholars in the Levant produced a series of ethnographic observations of Palestine's indigenous population essentially through biblical lenses. These perceptions sought ultimately to retrieve the biblical past in the context of the imperial present. At the same time, modern historiography about ancient Israel developed during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. While the full-blown allochronism and Orientalism of the early modern Western visitors to Palestine have in recent decades been surpassed by more critical insights in the scholarly assessment of the region, some traits from that Victorian ethnographic and Bible-centred gaze still linger in contemporary historical constructions of ancient Palestine through the concept of 'ancient Israel', notably in the conceptualisation and periodisation of such a history.

Hermes was the most beautiful and unpredictable god of Olympus: god shepherd, messenger, orator; with his winged sandals he ran quickly between heaven and earth. But are we sure that Hermes was a Greek god? What if he was the result of a syncretism of Eastern divinities?
This essay describes the metamorphoses of Hermes following a historical-comparative method.

He was 25-30 years of age when he died in a fire in the outskirts of ancient Gadir. He lived in the early sixth century (ca. 600-580 BCE), and archaeologists have named him 'Mattan', a Phoenician name taken from the ancient graffiti in the area. His body was found in recent excavations in the center of Cádiz, which have revealed the original urban core and subsequent phases of Gadir, the colony established by Tyre on the western shore of Iberia in the last quarter of the ninth century BCE. To make an Iron Age site relatable and engage the public, researchers decided to 'give a face' to ancient Gadir, the face of an actual Phoenician (see Figure .1). DNA extracted from Mattan's bones as well as those of other four individuals from different centuries (eighth and fourth centuries BCE and fourth-fifth century CE respectively) have revealed that genetic traits carried by these Gaditans correspond with the DNA of groups best represented in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, that is, in and around the ancient Phoenician homeland. All of them also carried genetic traits attested in western European populations, in their case indicating a degree of 'mestizaje' with inhabitants of local Iberian stock. 1 At Carthage, this same pattern was revealed by the DNA of the 'Man of Byrsa', also from the sixth century BCE, whose Levantine ancestry was complemented by a mitochondrial DNA sequence unique to western European populations, pointing in all likelihood to Iberia. 2 Whatever he called himself, Mattan was a man of Phoenician Gadir and he surely had an identity linked, in a broad sense at least, to the city in which he lived. In a dramatized video-montage at the archaeological site of Gadir, CSI-style investigators tie the recovery of Mattan's remains to the history of Tyre and Gadir, the vast networks that the Phoenicians spread throughout in the Mediterranean in pursuit of metal resources and new opportunities, and their religious and written culture, illustrated by the clay bullae used to seal papyrus scrolls found on site. The details add colour to the general framework. Laboratory analysis shows that Mattan was well nourished but suffered from a pathology that probably caused seizures, and that he fell and broke his leg while fleeing from the fire. 3 (Which gods did he call on for help at the end of his life, we wonder?) The seals found at Gadir, in turn, were made with clay from the Levant, not Iberia, and their iconography of Egyptianizing Phoenician style also signals their social origins, one of them probably stemming from priestly or royal circles. 4 Also intriguing is that the bullae were not broken and were found in

** Open Access **  Through a partnership between a local heritage foundation, an active archaeological field project, and a museum, we developed a novel educational programme for schoolchildren to introduce the full lifecycle of archaeological artifacts. Our programme demystifies heritage knowledge construction and presentation at the same time. During the summers of 2022 and 2023, multiple groups of children aged 7-15 visited an excavation and a museum in Armenia. Over the course of four days, each group gained hands-on experience while excavating on-site, conducting lab work and analysis, restoring their finds, and creating an actual public museum exhibit. Formal and informal assessment preliminarily indicates the effectiveness of the programme in providing a baseline of knowledge to support the public's involvement in future heritage-based decision-making. Our project also serves as an example of collaboration among a variety of different types of archaeological and heritage organizations.

It is not known exactly when the castle, located on a high bedrock next to the main road in the Söğütlü neighborhood of the Şavşat district of Artvin province, was built. However, it is thought that the castle was also used in the Middle Ages, when the Georgian Bagratid dynasty emerged on the stage of history in Klarceti and its surroundings in the late 8th century. Many architectural spaces were identified in the castle, where excavations and conservation works were carried out between 2007 and 2018, and some missing points about the historical past of the region were completed with the artifacts found. During the excavations, pithoi of different sizes were found, most of which were located in service and service units. 4 different cellar structures, a wine cellar, a wine production center and a gentleman's mansion are the places where these pithos were found. The largest of the pithos, whose sizes and volumes vary depending on the location, is located on the floor of the Bey Mansion. All of the pithos were placed on the floor of the spaces. Additionally, a lime mortar protection layer was created around it to increase its durability. As a result of the examinations made on these large-shaped earthenware vessels, it was seen that they were produced in the region, the form frequently preferred in the region was used, and they were compatible with the Middle Age examples in other regions of Anatolia. As a result, it is aimed to introduce pithos, which have not been studied in detail and have not been published before, to the literature with this paper.

Una de las piezas que constituyen un marcador objetivo de la práctica del tejido son las pesas de telar. Los instrumentos que estudiamos tienen la finalidad de contrapeso a la urdimbre del llamado «telar vertical de pesas», que estuvo muy extendido por el Mediterráneo antiguo desde al menos el IV milenio. Así pues, el telar vertical, con los hilos de la urdimbre tensados mediante pesos, es el único que utiliza pondera cerámicos. Para el estudio de los ejemplares de Ibiza conservados en el MAEF, hemos elaborado una tipología y hemos estudiado someramente cada uno de los tipos, su contexto y los paralelos para aproximarnos a su cronología. Como resultado, tenemos que el tipo redondo con dos perforaciones en la parte superior es el más común en época púnica y romana, mientras que el tronco-piramidal, que es muy escaso, sólo aparece en época púnica. Palabras clave: Pesas cerámicas, telar vertical, peso de forma redonda, peso en forma de pirámide truncada, Ibiza púnica.

Read the Open Access publication at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-05844-x 

Recent excavations at the Phoenician coastal site of Tell el-Burak, a large-scale agricultural production centre in use during 725-350 BCE, have uncovered the first Iron Age wine press in Lebanon. This discovery enabled a systematic, interdisciplinary study of its plaster, offering insights into ancient construction technologies. The analysis extended to two other plastered installations found in separate rooms within the complex, allowing for a comprehensive comparison. An integrated program of archaeometric analysis, including optical microscopy in polarising light, X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetry, and organic residue analysis, was applied to samples from these three structures to investigate plaster composition and technological variability. Previous studies identified the use of crushed ceramic fragments in a lime-based plaster. Now, new analyses provide deeper insights into the nature of the binder, revealing how the addition of ceramic sherds may have enhanced the plaster's mechanical properties and hydraulicity, making it a significant early example of hydraulic mortar. These findings confirm the existence of a local, innovative tradition of lime-plaster manufacture in southern Phoenicia. This investigation not only sheds light on the specific technological practices of Tell el-Burak, but also contributes to the broader understanding of Phoenician and Punic technological advancements in the Iron Age Mediterranean.

The alleged Phrygian migration from the southern Balkans to Anatolia has received extensive attention in the literature, and has dominated the discussion of Phrygia and the West. Supporters of the historicity of this migration typically follow ancient Greek historical narratives, but they also draw from archaeological and linguistic evidence from Anatolia and the north Aegean. My study revisits the ancient narratives which form the cornerstone of the migration theory, with particular emphasis on the traditions which localise king Midas and the early Phrygians to the land later occupied by the Macedonians. I side with the scholars who have questioned the historicity of these traditions and have situated them in the context of discourses on ethnicity and identity. Also, I argue that the formation of these traditions should be placed in the historical context of the Persian expansion into Europe and its immediate aftermath. As the Persian army marched through-and withdrew from-the north Aegean, different ethnic groups and their leaders, but especially the Macedonian rulers, found ample opportunity to promote political ambition and territorial expansion by forging, negotiating, and manipulating identity and Otherness.

A large, shallow bowl with two handles and three projections attached to its center was found at the Early Bronze Age Ib site of Tel Megiddo East during the excavations conducted by the Jezreel Valley Regional Project. The near-complete condition of the bowl enabled the accurate identification of additional fragments of comparable vessels found at the site itself, as well as at Tel Megiddo and contemporaneous sites across northern Israel. It is proposed that the attachments were designed to mimic bull horns, a trait that aligns with the prevalent bovine symbolism in the religious and cultural expressions of the Early Bronze Age in the Southern Levant. It is postulated that the manufacturing and utilization of these vessels held ritually significant implications during an era of escalating complexity, correlating with the region's initial attempts at small-scale urban development.

Abstract. The extensive clay sealing corpus discovered by A.H. Layard in Room LXI of Sennacherib’s Southwest Palace at Nineveh
is best known for the many examples of the Assyrian royal seal type impressed on tags and container sealings. Although the
royal seal type predominates, other official seals of the palace administration are also well represented. Our paper focuses
on the second most frequent seal type which bears as sole motif a scorpion surrounded by either a guilloche, a garland, or
simply the imprint of the seal mount. This seal type has been interpreted as the administrative seal of the Assyrian queen and
her household. In the following we will discuss the archaeological evidence from Nineveh that reinforces this interpretation.
Through the analysis of the backs of the clay sealings, we can better understand the function of the scorpion seal within the
palace administration.

Giv'at Rabbi In May 2020, a salvage excavation was conducted on the northeastern slopes of Giv'at Rabbi (Permit No. A-8754; map ref. 225354-667/737492-698; Fig. 1), following damage to antiquities during development works to widen Road 79. The excavation, on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority and funded by Netivei Israel National Transport Infrastructure Company, was directed by G. Leyfirer (field photography and flint processing), with the assistance of Y. Ya'akobi (administration), M. Cohen (surveying and drafting), A. Shapiro (GIS), H. Tahan-Rosen (pottery drawing); L. Perry-Gal (zooarchaeology), N. Getzov, I. Milevski and D. Shalem (pottery), L. Porat (pottery restoration), D. Gazit (studio photography), R. Be'eri (scientific guidance) and E. Shukron and B. Hana from the IAA North Region.

Among the various places mentioned in the Assyrian sources in connection with the events that followed the battle of Kištan and Ḫalpi (743 BCE), the toponym Sardaurriana/Sardurriana stands out as particularly enigmatic. Cited in the context of a military campaign in 736 BCE, part of Tiglath-pileser III's broader offensive launched in the aftermath of the 743 BCE confrontation against the coalition led by Sarduri II, son of Argišti of Urartu, and several Syro-Hittite rulers, Sard(a)ur(r)iana is listed among the Urartian fortresses annexed by the Assyrians in the region beyond Mount Nal. This

Tomb No. 1 (Donghachong) of the Buyeo Neungsan-ri Tomb complex (listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site), is a royal tomb of the Baekje Sabi Period. One wooden coffin unearthed there is an important relic of the funerary culture of the Baekje. This study examines the production techniques of gilt-bronze objects attached to the wooden coffin excavated from Donghachong. The base metal of the gilt-bronze object is pure copper, with single α phase crystals in a heterogeneous form containing annealing twins; Au and Hg are detected in the gilt layer. We suggest that the surface of the forging copperplate is gilded using a mercury amalgam technique; it is thought that the annealing twins of the base material formed during the heat treatment process for the sheet metal. The gilt layer is three to five times thicker for the gilt-bronze objects found near the foot of the coffin than those near the head. We estimate the plating process is carried out at least three times because three layers are identified on the plate near the head. Therefore, it is likely that the materials and methods used to construct the giltbronze objects found in different parts of the coffin are the same, but the number of platings is different. This research confirms the metal crafting techniques used in Baekje by the examination of production techniques of these gilt-bronze objects. Further, our paper presents an important example of restoration and reconstruction for a museum exhibition, through effective use of scientific analysis and investigation.

Poster v obrazovej aj textovej forme prezentuje najdôležitejšie momenty zhotovenia funkčnej galvanoplastickej kópie rímskeho džbánku. Archeologický nález-bronzový džbánok-bol objavený v roku 2010 v germánskom kniežacom hrobe z 2.st. n. l. spolu s ostatným kuchynským náčiním a nádobami, taktiež produktmi rímskej proveniencie. Jeho agilný presun z náleziska do laboratória umožnila samostatná nádoba s kazetovým puzdrom. V chemicko-konzervátorskom laboratóriu sa zafixovala do hrdla džbánku plastelína z dôvodu zabránenia kontaminácie vnútorného obsahu, ktorý sa neskôr dal na chemickú analýzu. Po manuálnom a mechanickom očistení len tvrdými štetcami s demineralizovanou H2O predmet absolvoval RTG prieskum. RTG snímky odkryli drobný predmet nachádzajúci sa vo vnútornej stredovej časti predmetu. Vizuálnym pozorovaním sa zase zistilo, že džbánok je vyrobený z viacerých komponentov zliatiny Cu vzájomne pospájaných do jedného celku. Galvanoplastické zhotovenie kópie z originálu rímskeho džbánku vzniklo na základe požiadavky prezentácie tohto solitérneho archeologického nálezu na výstavách, ale aj z dôvodu jeho trvalého umiestnenia v Archeologickom múzeu v Bratislave. Všetky výrobné postupy kópie trvali 3 mesiace pracovného času a finálna kolorovaná kópia dosiahla hmotnosť 251,524 g. Za jej maximálny objem možno považovať 400 ml t.j. 0,4 l. Podrobne opísané pracovné metódy a výrobné postupy aj s čiastočnou fotodokumentáciou už boli publikované v digitálnom zborníku z konferencie "Remeslo a kniha" uskutočnenej pod záštitou SNK v Martine v roku 2017. Poster vznikol v roku 2025 v rámci projektu Vega 2/0043/22.