In Context the Reade Festschrift

In Context The Reade Festschrift edited by I.L. Finkel and St J. Simpson Archaeopress Archaeology Archaeopress Publishing Ltd Summertown Pavilion 18-24 Middle Way Summertown Oxford OX2 7LG www.archaeopress.com ISBN 978-1-78969-607-3 ISBN 978-1-78969-608-0 (e-Pdf) © Archaeopress and individual authors 2020 Cover image: Ceramic tile depicting an Assyrian scribe, from a desk and escritoire by William Burgess, 1865-67 (© Manchester Art Gallery / Bridgeman Images) All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owners. This book is available direct from Archaeopress or from our website www.archaeopress.com Contents Preface ��v Irving Finkel and St John Simpson J.E. Reade: a bibliography of works (1963-2020) �� vi PART ONE: Mesopotamia Daesh granaries and Palaeolithic Nineveh ��3 Massimo Vidale, Stefania Berlioz, Rwaed Al-Lyla and Ammar Abbo Al-Araj Ur, Lagash and the Gutians: a study of late 3rd millennium BC Mesopotamian archaeology, texts and politics ��11 Juris Zarins New light on an old game ��43 I�L� Finkel A Seleucid cult of Sumerian royal ancestors in Girsu ��56 Sébastien Rey The sins of Nippur ��82 Aage Westenholz A royal chariot for Sargon II ��90 Ariane Thomas The gods of Arbail ��101 John MacGinnis The development of Neo-Assyrian narrative art: toward Assurbanipal’s Ulai river reliefs��119 Mogens Trolle Larsen The harpist’s left hand: A detail from the ‘Banquet Scene’ of Assurbanipal in the North Palace at Nineveh ��127 Irene J� Winter The population of Nineveh ��135 Simo Parpola Annihilating Assyria ��141 St John Simpson PART TWO: Foreign connections Bleached carnelian beads of the Indus Tradition, 3rd millennium BC: origins and variations ��169 J� Mark Kenoyer i Iconographic evidence of Mesopotamian influence on Harappan ideology and its survival in the royal rites of the Veda and Hinduism ....................................................................................................................183 Asko Parpola The Joint Hadd Project and the Early Bronze Age in south-east Arabia ...................................................................191 Maurizio Cattani The location of Mešta in archaeological context ...........................................................................................................203 Stefan Kroll Assyrians in Transjordan ......................................................................................................................................................209 Jonathan N. Tubb Of Kushite kings and sacred landscapes in the Middle Nile valley ��215 Julie R. Anderson PART THREE: Discovery and reception ‘Un coup terrible de la fortune:’ A. Clément and the Qurna disaster of 1855 .........................................................235 D.T. Potts The William Kennett Loftus legacy to the north: Near Eastern materials in Newcastle upon Tyne ................245 Stefania Ermidoro ‘Two unpublished drawings of excavations at Nimrud’ revisited ��258 Tim Clayden A bit of a bull and a bit of a puzzle ......................................................................................................................................274 John Russell George Scharf and Assyrian sculpture ..............................................................................................................................281 Henrietta McCall and Michael Seymour Casting the ruins: creating Assyria through plaster and paint ..................................................................................304 Paul Collins Index ...........................................................................................................................................................................................318 ii A royal visit: J.E. Reade guides Princess Margaret at the opening of the Early Mesopotamia Gallery at the British Museum, 17th July 1991 iii iv Preface Irving Finkel and St John Simpson Julian Edgeworth Reade is a rare scholar among scholars and a rare curator among curators, for whom the very idea of a Festschrift as tribute from close colleagues seems the most natural thing in the world. The length and breadth of his published output is clear at a glance from the bibliography that we have included below, which illustrates the extraordinary nature of what he has committed to paper before and during his years as the British Museum’s indispensable curator for Mesopotamia, and ever since. Julian has always had the benefit of a first-class intellectual brain characterised by a neat and tidy memory, supported by effortless recall of detail. These qualities are coupled with an undying curiosity for investigation and the working out of answers. This set of characteristics has led to an astonishing contribution: ideas, scrupulously supported, with implications, corrections and new understandings delivered with a lucid and convincing clarity. Anything Julian has ever written has always been, and will always be, worth reading and rereading. Julian’s years in the Museum in what was known on his arrival in 1975 as the Department of Western Asiatic Antiquities – later styled that of the Ancient Near East and now the Middle East – proved to make the best use of his many strengths. His work on old collections, unattended or overlooked items, and deep research in the archives, are a monument in themselves and have often brought lasting order where it never reigned before. Specifically his achievements include a complete volume of object registration, hand written and illustrated, the Early and Later Mesopotamia galleries and long-term management of the Art and Empire travelling exhibition. At the same time his understanding of literally millennia of archaeological material and how each individual item should be approached and explained has been spellbinding to staff and public alike. His publications are not only extensive and broad- based, but often embody different disciplines; he is equally at home in very detailed collection scholarship, the deep understanding of all things Assyrian, Near Eastern landscape and geography, chronology, art, interconnections with Dilmun, Magan and Meluhha, south-east Arabia, carnelian beads, and the history of Mesopotamia in general. His archaeological work has encompassed sites in northern Iraq (Nimrud, Tell al-Rimah and Tell Taya), Oman (Ras al- Hadd) and Sudan (Dangeil). It is also characteristic of Julian to recognise the potential of whole new fields, whether it is the importance of the Akkadian period in northern Iraq, coastal Oman or the Indian Ocean in antiquity. The coverage and arrangement of the contributions invited for this volume reflect this breadth clearly, and all participants have worked with Julian, corresponded with him or admired his work. More than one editor has remarked to us that any article submitted by Dr Reade as a finished work had no need of the editor’s pen. Everyday discussion on an object brought in, rediscovered in the reserve collection, or requiring assessment for loan or exhibition, was always full of new ideas and excitement. Julian has always been proud of the title of Professor that was awarded him during a teaching stint at Copenhagen. Few fellow workers in the fields represented in this volume can have had greater entitlement to the honour. In Context: The Reade Festschrift (Archaeopress 2020): v–v J.E. Reade: a bibliography of works (1963-2020) PhD Privately circulated reports and papers 1970. The Design

Load more