LIVERANI, Mario, (Ed.) — Neo-Assyrian Geography

251 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LV N° 1/2, Januari-April 1998 252

ARCHEOLOGIE

LIVERANI, Mario, (ed.) — Neo-Assyrian Geography. (Quaderni di Geografia Storica). Università di Roma “La Sapienza”, Roma, (30 cm, X, 282). Datum boek ont- vangen: 30/05/96 This beautiful and very informative overview of current research on the Geography of the Neo-Assyrian empire is the fruit of a conference organized by the editor in Rome in 1993. The book, which comprises papers by the best scholars in the field, aims at offering an up-to-date and comprehensive guide to Assyrian Geography lato sensu, i.e. at creating a research tool which is not limited to the simplistic location of ancient sites but rather focused on the reconstruction of the diachronic evolution of the Assyrian socio-political system in its territorial projection by means of old and new research methods. The contributors are Assyriologists, Historians of the Ancient Near East, and Archaeologists with much experience in practical fieldwork in the vast territory once occupied by the Assyrian empire. In the light of the great variety and wealth of information presented it is impossible to give a pertinent account of every article; therefore, I shall limit my commentary to few short remarks. The volume contains 17 essays grouped in two parts. The first one is devoted to a regional analysis of the territorial extension of the NA empire from Iran to Palestine and to a discussion of its historical and political geography. The article by N. Postgate on the “home provinces” provides a view from the core area of the Assyrian Empire and is intended as a critical review of the relevant section of Forrer’s Provinz- einteilung des assyrischen Reiches. After a brief discussion of the terminology of the provincial system, the author focuses on the theory of the reform of the provincial system by Tiglath-pileser III put forward by Forrer and taken for granted by all following scholars. Postgate’s invalidation of Forrer’s theory of the introduction of the bel pakhiti system under Tiglath-pileser and his attribution to the reign of Adad- nirari III of the reorganization of some of the provinces, which were broken up into smaller units in order to curb the power of the local “dynasties” of governors, are well- grounded. Selected aspects of the geography of Babylonia after the transition from the Middle to the Neo-Babylonian period are discussed by J.A. Brinkman. In his essay the author focuses on the physical appearance of the countryside, restricting himself mainly to the hydrology of the western part of Baby- lonia, i.e. to the wandering of the Euphrates and its branches and to the impact on agriculture and trade caused by the shift in water resources. Most of the available evidence is derived from the Assyrian annals and letters and the Babylonian economic, legal and topographical texts. This tremendous mass of information is unfortunately only partially counter-balanced by archaeological and environmental evidence from geo-archaeological surveys and excavations conducted by Adams, Gasche, Gibson, Cole and others. The effort made by Brinkman to interlink these data results in a very interesting and complex picture of water, land and urbanism relo- cation in Babylonia in the early first millennium, but many other aspects of the natural and cultural landscape of the region, such as the ancient fauna and flora and the human impact on the natural landscape, to mention only the most significative, remain still a task for the future. 253 BOEKBESPREKINGEN — ARCHEOLOGIE 254

J.E. Reade offers a synthetic overview on the historical therefore entirely in the hands of Ahuni of Bit-Adini, who geography of Iran revising a previous study published by him- held towns and villages at a few kilometre’s distance from self in Iran 16, 1978. The long debated problem of the loca- the city. tion of Hubushkia is now convincingly solved locating From an archaeological perspective S. Mazzoni singles out the kingdom in the upper valley of the Lower Zab, around two phases in the process of urbanization of Northern Syria the Khaneh plain (cf. also the article by Lanfranchi; on the during the Iron Age. A first phase (Iron Age I, 12th-mid contrary in the same volume Salvini, following Kessler, is 9th century) was marked by new foundations and the replan- inclined to support a different location of Hubushkia along ning of older centres, and was connected with the flourish- the upper reaches of the Upper Zab, in the area of Hakkari/ ing of the Luwian and Aramaic kingdoms. The second stage Yüksekova). A further aim of Reade’s article is to define the (IA II-III, mid 9th-7th century), which coincides with the limits of Assyrian penetration in Iran combining textual and Assyrian conquest, was characterized only by the further archaeological sources and the linguistic evidence related to improvement of the urbanization process and is witnessed modern toponyms. in the archaeological record by the construction of outer and Some problems concerning the historical geography of lower towns in many centres, such as Til-Barsip and Kha- the border zone between Assyria and Urartu are discussed by datu. In short, the Assyrian conquest resulted as being inef- M. Salvini and K. Kessler, while H. Kühne presents a fective on the urbanization process of Syria since urbanism diachronic picture of the Assyrian settlement pattern in the had already been achieved through internal transformation lower Khabur valley and in the adjacent steppe of the Wadi during the very beginning of the Iron Age. On the contrary, {Ajij between 1250 and 610 BC. Although the title of the during the 7th century the loss of autonomy by the local king- contribution (“The Assyrians on the Middle Euphrates and doms caused a general decline of the urbanization process in the Khabur”) seems to place the discussion within a broader the whole region. geographical framework, the archaeological evidence of the The regional section of this proceedings volume ends with Middle Euphrates is taken into account only in a very lim- an essay by N. Na}aman on the province system and the set- ited way (for the publication of these data see e.g. Simpson tlement patterns in Southern Syria and Palestine in the NA 1983, Geyer-Monchambert 1987, Abdul-Amir 1988). For the period. Particularly interesting is the attempt by the author to MA period Kühne has reconstructed a three tier settlement assess the impact of the Assyrian mass deportations “on pattern along the Khabur supported by a regional irrigation demography, settlement distribution and economic activity” canal flowing on the eastern river bank to Dur-katlimmu. in the area of modern Israel and Transjordan by means of The present reviewer has shown elsewhere that neither in archaeological and textual evidence. The general conclusions the archaeological record nor in the distribution pattern of drawn for each area by Na}aman seem acceptable, but in the the MA settlements does any evidence whatsoever exist end they are often based on little hard archaeological evi- which could support the presence of a regional canal system dence, most of it being only circumstantial. Furthermore, his (Morandi Bonacossi 1996, 100-01). This was built only in reliance upon the overall numbers of deportees mentioned in the Late Assyrian period. During the 7th century the lower the Assyrian sources seems excessive. Khabur and the adjacent steppe give evidence of a very inten- The second part of the book (“Special Subjects”) deals sive occupation with a five tiered settlement hierarchy linked with a variety of specific and perhaps more innovative top- by means of a net of traffic routes to the centre of the Assyr- ics. Many contributions of this section do indeed succeed in ian empire. presenting a fresh new perspective on old problems by using The very interesting articles by J.D. Hawkins and S. Maz- new approaches. After a critical review of the history of his- zoni, devoted respectively to the political geography, and to torical geography from the period of the first discoveries to the settlement patterns and the new urbanization process of the Répertoire Géographique of Nougayrol, Kupper and Lee- North Syria and South-East Anatolia in the Iron Age are mans and the TAVO project directed by himself, Röllig points strictly connected, although the latter was placed in the sec- out the future tasks for historical geography. These range ond part of the volume. Hawkins’ contribution is mainly from the obvious identification of ancient sites, which, how- aimed at reviewing the substantial new documentary discov- ever, today should be pursued with a higher consciousness of eries of the last twenty five years relating to the Neo-Hittite its complexity and with new analytical procedures, to the less and Aramean states and at assessing their importance in obvious analysis of natural and rural landscapes and of their expanding our knowledge of this subject. The author presents interaction, to the study of ancient and modern forms of too many striking new sources on Malatya, Karkamish and nomadism and pastoralism, to end with the exploration of Til-Barsip, Kummuh and Gurgum, Sam}al and Unqi, Hamath the conceptual and ideological awareness and representation and Arpad, Que and Tabal to be able to survey them. I shall of the world by ancient man (or, less optimistically, by the therefore limit myself to add a new piece of evidence to the ruling class). Although much has been done in these fields composite picture presented by Hawkins on the Karkamish- during recent years, we cannot yet consider these topics and Til-Barsip area. Recent excavations on the site of Tell Shiukh the related sets of research methods fully achieved by all Fawqani, located 6 km downstreams from Karkamish on scholars working on the Ancient Near East. This is undoubt- the east bank of the Euphrates, have brought to light some edly not the case of the article by T.J. Wilkinson, in which NA cuneiform and Aramaic tablets dating to the second half the author draws attention to the Assyrian countryside, pre- of the 7th century BC (one of them has now been published senting a discussion of the settlement patterns and of the by Fales 1996). On one of the Aramaic tablets, a silver loan interaction between human culture and environment in Upper deed, the name of the site is recorded as Burmarina, which Mesopotamia during the Iron Age in the light of four case we know to have been seized by Shalmaneser III after Til- studies of Syria and Iraq. This leads him to ascertain that the Barsip in 856 BC (RIMA 3, A.0. 102.1, ii. 33-35). Around Late Assyrian settlement in the Jezireh was dominantly rural the mid 9th century, the eastern hinterland of Karkamish was and dispersed, thus significantly differing from the nucleated 255 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LV N° 1/2, Januari-April 1998 256 pattern of the Early and Middle Bronze Ages, and that dur- A final point which should be made in reviewing this book ing this period marginal (steppe) areas, such as that of the is: does this presentation achieve its very ambitious aim? No Wadi {Ajij and Hatrah, were colonized. The explanation of doubt that it does! However, as Liverani himself stresses in this dramatic change in the settlement patterns is sought in the post-scriptum of 1994 to his introduction to the 1993 con- the necessity of producing a great surplus of bulk food items ference, a slight inconsistence remains between the original to feed the growing Assyrian capitals (this could be the case (maximalist) aim of the conference to “provide a thorough of the rural settlement in the North Jezireh/Tell al-Hawa sur- view of Assyrian geography today” (p. X) and the (minimal- vey area) or the massive urban centres that administrated the ist, but realistic) final outcome of a “lively exemplification network of rural sites. Elsewhere (e.g. in the Kurban/Titrish of current research” (ibid.) with a series of thematic and con- area of the Turkish Euphrates) the growth in dispersed set- ceptual voids left in the resulting picture. Indeed, the broader tlement might be a relative figure linked to the difficulty in perspectives sketched by Liverani in his introduction have recognizing the Late Bronze Age sites. sometimes limited effects in the succeeding contributions. It D. Stronach’s survey of the cartographic, aerial and satel- is certainly true that the different scientific formation of the lite sources on the topography of Nineveh is followed by single authors is strongly reflected in the perspectives adopted P.E. Zimansky’s attempt to define the territory of Urartu as an in their articles, thus making the overall picture less homo- archaeological entity. The basic assumption of his paper is geneous than originally expected by the editor himself. But, that the uniformity of the Urartian archaeological assemblage on the other hand, the contributions by the authors of the (as reflected in the quite standardized fortress and temple “regional papers” which should have included in coherent architecture, in the metalwork, pottery and in the inscriptions) presentations “all different aspects, from settlement geogra- is only apparent and is the result of the way archaeology has phy to landscape, from political topography to economic fea- been practiced. Indeed, the author suggests that what we regard tures” (ibid.) are often one-sided (although excellent as for as a typical Urartian assemblage is a creation of the Urartian the specific topic discussed) and fail in the major task of state apparatus centered upon the network of fortresses. At the providing a critical, balanced and, above all, comprehensive other end of the settlement range, the remains of a village picture of NA Geography lato sensu. horizon are so scanty, due to the fact that non fortress sites To conclude, I would like to draw attention only to two have been investigated only in very few cases, that a diver- interrelated factors, which help in explaining the only partial sity between a state material assemblage and a domestic one accomplishment of the shift from an “old-fashioned Histor- can only be postulated. The excavation of small habitation ical Geography” to a true “Geographical History” (ibid.) that sites rather than of large citadels would allow us to verify this characterizes the volume edited by Liverani. First of all stimulating hypothesis. It can only be added that Zimansky’s the reconstruction of the Assyrian rural landscape outside the exhortation should be addressed also beyond the borders of main royal capitals and cities, of its shaping and settlement Urartu. as well as its relationship to the urban horizon is still heavily The last three essays of the book deal with the representa- inadequate due to the urbanocentric bias that has distinguished tion of space and territory on the NA reliefs and its connec- the archaeological research in the Assyrian core region and tion with the imperialistic ambitions of the Assyrian kings its periphery since the mid 19th century. This tradition clearly (M.I. Marcus), the riverine activity within the Assyrian affects also the contents of the volume presented here: only empire (F.M. Fales), and the ethno-linguistic character of the four articles (Brinkman, Kühne, Wilkinson and Fales) Jezireh and adjacent regions (R. Zadok). discuss in some way the rural horizon and landscape of the Particularly interesting are the two articles by Marcus and Assyrian empire. At the same time the inadequacy of the data Fales. While today there is a wide agreement on the basic privided by most of the archaeological excavations of the assumption of Marcus’ paper that the geographical arrange- so-called “historical” period should be stressed, which often ment of Assyrian historical narratives and the landscape fail in collecting all the relevant pieces of information for a imagery were also intended to support the territorial expansion comprehensive reconstruction of the life of ancient human programme of the empire, very innovative and fascinating is communities (cf. e.g. the insufficiency of the archaeological her gender-oriented approach to the analysis of Assyrian record currently available for the NA period), thus hindering iconography. The examination of the textual and iconograph- a true comparison with the extensive body of information ical evidence leads the author to suggest that the imagery of provided by the documentary sources. territorial conquest on Assyrian reliefs was linked to issues As the proceedings of the Rome conference show, the of male sexuality (the penetration and possession of foreign difficult but, thanks to this book, hopefully unrestrainable lands and peoples) and to the masculine connotation of the awareness of the complexity and variety of the issues ideology of kingship. Equally enticing is Fales’ vivid survey involved in the building of a new “Geographical History” of of the textual, iconographical, archaeological, and geograph- the Assyrian empire has been fully achieved by the most ical evidence on riverine floods and droughts, fords, ferries advanced part of current research. For this reason the volume and bridges, and downstream and upstream navigation on will prove to be a milestone in the field of Assyrian Geogra- rivers and canals. phy. The volume is edited very carefully, and the illustrations are well chosen although the photographs are not always of the best quality. A bibliography at the end of each article or REFERENCES a general bibliography at the end of the book (in order to ABDUL-AMIR, S.J., 1988. Archaeological Survey of Ancient Settle- avoid repetitions) would have assisted the reader in gaining ment and Irrigation Systems in the Middle Euphrates Region a general perspective on the impressive mass of relevant of Mesopotamia, Chicago. historical and archaeological sources today available on the FALES, F.M., 1996. An Aramaic Tablet from Tell Shiukh Fawqani, subject. Syria, Semitica 46, 81-121. 257 BOEKBESPREKINGEN — ARCHEOLOGIE 258

GEYER, B. - MONCHAMBERT, J.Y., 1987. Prospection de la Moyenne Periods (Fig. 28), or of percentages of urban versus rural sites Vallée de l’Euphrate: rapport préliminaire 1982-1985, M.A.R.I. for the same periods (Fig. 31), might be attacked as poten- 5, 293-344. tially misleading when we do not see the prologue or epilogue. MORANDI BONACOSSI, D., 1996. Tra il fiume e la steppa. Insedia- But one can equally argue that we do have contexts for the mento e uso del territorio nella bassa valle del fiume Khabur in epoca neo-assira, Padova. trends identified here, given by a host of more traditional SIMPSON, K.C., 1983. Settlement Patterns on the Margins of studies of this region and nearby areas; and it is refreshing Mesopotamia: Stability and Change Along the Middle Euphra- to see a closer analysis of a slice of the larger trends, about tes, Syria, Ann Arbor. which it is too easy to generalize. It is only by focusing on a relatively narrow span of time University of Udine, Daniele Morandi BONACOSSI that we can begin to deal with problems such as site settle- July 1997 ment and abandonment dynamics within historically-defined periods. Site abandonment can (either consciously or uncon- sciously) be part of a regional settlement strategy; and this ** aspect will be lost when we look exclusively at long-term * trends. Particularly in the marginal environment of the Lower Habur, where crop failures must have been frequent and even minor climatic oscillations would have had an impact, while MORANDI-BONACOSSI, Daniele — Tra il fiume e la the majority of people would have been sedentary agricul- steppa: insediamento e uso del territorio nella bassa valle turalists, they were surely not immobile. And as well as eco- del fiume Habur in epoca neo-assira. 2 T. (History of the nomic reasons for site abandonment within any period, there Ancient Near East, Monographs 1). Sargon, s.r.l., Padova, can be social and political reasons as well, especially in 1996. (30 cm, II, XVI, 296, ill.; Tavole: IV, 104). the Neo-Assyrian Period with its imperial rearrangements of Regional survey is a well-established practice in Meso- population. While the difficulty in identifying strategic aban- potamian archaeology, and there is by now a set of standard donment is particularly problematic in lengthy prehistoric questions which one expects to see in studies of this kind. So periods, it remains a neglected, but important, aspect of pop- it is a delight to encounter a regional survey which has done ulation dynamics during historical periods. something new and different. With relatively recent theoret- The theoretical paradigm for this volume’s restricted time ical developments in the reconstruction of ancient perceptions range (though not explicitly stated) comes from the Annal- of landscapes, there should be new questions being asked of iste school of historiography, specifically the version of regional surveys, reaching beyond how many sites were occu- Braudel and Chaunu, with their tripartite structure of depths pied per period, what points of period-to-period comparison of time. Theoretical archaeology is ahead of Mesopotamian exist, and what long-term patterning of settlement can be studies in testing this paradigm; but given the prehistoric outlined. The most sophisticated surveys of the Near East slant of most theoretical archaeologists, the Annaliste School published so far (i.e., Wilkinson & Tucker’s survey of the has not surprisingly not found much favour there, since its Northern Jazira, 1995) have already moved beyond these application to prehistory can be awkward. However, once we basic questions with identification of lines of communication, move into historical periods and into the types of data offered analysis of water resources and their means of exploita- by Mesopotamia, the Annaliste School may have found a nat- tion, and “off-site” archaeology. But there are many other ural niche. questions which can profitably be asked of Mesopotamian The book is set at the scale to interpret conjonctures, or material. Above all, there is the category of “mental maps”, mid-range economic and social cycles. Specific political with perceived distances and principal directions, derivable events, while they may have had a dramatic effect on many from textual references, which can be layered onto quanti- aspects of culture, are usually invisible in surveys; and even tatively-derived “factual” maps for enlightening contrast. in the rare case when the effects of an event are so devastat- Reconstruction of perceptions of landscape is a daunting ing that they might be visible in a regional settlement pattern task (and might be argued by the strictest of post-processu- (i.e., the deportation programmes of some Neo-Assyrian alists to be impossible), yet it is one of the most intriguing kings), the temporal refinement of the ceramic sequence for theoretical avenues to be opened in recent years; and the this area and time (as with most regions and periods) is not wealth of textual and archaeological material available for such that a specific cause and effect can be easily isolated. Mesopotamia makes it a natural direction for our field to The more gradual cycles of the longue durée are also scru- explore. One hopes that the XLIV Rencontre Assyriologique, tinized — the questions of ecological factors in cultural with its landscape theme, does not turn out to be a one-time change, and human modification and exploitation of the event. environment. The author admits that it is the long-term By limiting the time range covered to the Neo-Assyrian cycles which were identifiable in the landscape and that Period and by including textual material, this volume heads events and even mid-range changes were not really recog- in the direction of reconstructing the phenomenology of the nizable (which is not the same thing as having had no Mesopotamian landscape. (While the time range dealt with impact). in detail is restricted to the 400 years from the reign of Assur- This volume has usefully limited the space it covers, the Dan II onwards, ca. 950-600/550 BC, additional material Lower Habur basin from Hasseke to the junction of the Habur from the Mitanni and Middle Assyrian Periods is brought in with the Euphrates, plus the immediately adjacent steppe. to fill out the picture.) This restriction of time is risky in that By dealing with the steppe as well as the river valley, there it invites criticism over the identification of settlement trends is the opportunity to analyze variable economic strategies; — for instance the three-point graphs of variation in rank-size and the concentration on an area of marginal environment, distribution of sites from the Mitanni through Neo Assyrian neglected in most other studies of this type, is admirable. 259 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LV N° 1/2, Januari-April 1998 260

Morandi Bonacossi notes that the Lower Habur was already type overlap across these periods, and the number of tempo- one of the “internal” territories of the empire in the Middle rally-significant types is likely to be small, and the likelihood Assyrian Period and theorizes that it was increasingly per- of those specific types appearing on any site surface at the ceived as “central” (geographically and culturally) in the crucial moment is smaller still. In some cases, sites appear to Neo-Assyrian Period, which goes a long way to explaining have been assigned a date on the basis of only a few sherds. the surprisingly high, and somewhat economically illogical, While the biases of post-depositional process in site size density of settlement. assessment are acknowledged and fully discussed, those can The author’s goal is the reconstruction of what he terms a be approached systematically. But temporal mis-matching is “history of territory” in the Neo-Assyrian Period, integrating not a bias which can be dealt with in the same way. There is archaeological and textual material to produce a socio- also the unacknowledged problem that the two sites from economic study of the region. A lengthy list of objectives is which the pottery comparanda are drawn are imperial admin- given, including analysis of regional settlement structure, istrative centres and may not have had the same assemblage study of the inhabitants’ interaction with the environment, as smaller contemporary sites. The author notes that spatial and the economic and political organization of space, among analysis models encounter problems if all sites in the region other things. Reading all these ambitious objectives, one’s have not been located, but there is a problem of similar mag- initial reaction is that it will be impossible to do justice to nitude if the sites are not contemporary. Overall, the survey them all, so it is pleasantly surprising to see that the author analysis is slightly more ambitious than is warranted by the does come close to reaching his aims. data at hand. The book is clearly and logically organized, in chapters A six-stage hierarchy of settlement was derived from manip- covering methodology and objectives, human and physical ulation of the catalogue of sites of the Neo-Assyrian Period. geography and environment, textual sources, survey data and The author does acknowledge that a number of problems their statistical manipulation, and settlement systems and loom large in this process; beyond the contemporaneity and subsistence strategies. The numerous maps are truly useful, full-coverage issues there is that of how to fit site sizes sen- with a good balance of scale and detail. Objectives and meth- sibly into a hierarchy. Certainly the size of a site and its range ods of inquiry are meticulously laid out, and there is even an of functions and size of population are correlated, but not flowchart (Table 1) giving sources of data, types of infor- with great accuracy. And given the identification of a vari- mation provided by each, and four levels of synthesis. While ety of site topographical structures, there is the possibility the enthusiasm for scientific rigour is contagious, the lengthy that sites of the same size, but with varied internal layouts, explanation of methodology is slightly mechanical, and the could have offered entirely different sets of functions and thus precise organization sometimes does not really facilitate should have held different places in any site hierarchy. The integration of the material (for instance, the river valley and site hierarchy identified here is one of scale, but we really the steppe are dealt with separately, and it is likely that need one of function and perception. The author maneuvers people were in fact moving between these zones in the his way around most probems carefully and competently, yet periods studied). there is perhaps a tendency to grasp the quickest solution. Perhaps the main place where there is a weakness in the The scattered discussions of textual sources offer a depth section on spatial analysis models, where the theories inves- of detail and clever analysis of events, toponyms and tigated and applied hail from the 1970’s. The “New Archae- diachronic processes which make for one of the strongest ology” of that period has been superseded by other theories aspects of the book. Notable is the use of combined ceramic and concerns even among its initial proponents, but scholars and textual data for location of the western boundary of of Mesopotamia have not moved forward with them. There Assyrian control at the Balikh in the 13th century BC. is a pleasant but un-original discussion of the ecology-settle- However, a longer discussion of the potential pitfalls of using ment relationship, of the complex interlocking variables of pottery to assign areas of domination would have been wel- systems theory, and the idea of hierarchical settlement struc- come, given the acknowledged use of “official” pottery by ture (here dressed up as “landscape of power”). The statisti- client states and elites seeking to emulate a greater power, cal models of spatial organization used are the well-worn along with the noted holes in the Assyrian imperial network. “nearest-neighbour” and “rank-size” analyses.1) The variable importance attached to the Lower Habur basin A question also remains about the temporal precision of by the later Middle Assyrian and Neo-Assyrian kings, as the ceramic typology upon which the survey analysis is evidenced by intensity of military campaigns and tribute based. The three clusters identified (early Neo-Assyrian, demands, is clearly and convincingly explained, as is the late 9th — mid 8th c. BC; late Assyrian, mid 8th — end development of the area from a loosely-held territory into a 7th c. BC; post-Assyrian 612-mid 6th c. BC) are derived set of administrative provinces. mainly from excavations at Tell Sheikh Hamad and Tell Agaga Incorporation of botanical and zoological remains from (the types are published elsewhere). Morandi Bonacossi excavated sites with an overview of the ancient environment remarks on the difficulty of linking ceramic types to histori- based on pollen cores and other ecological studies links to cally-defined periods, yet he quickly leaps this weak link in the stated goal of landscape reconstruction. The emphasis on building a larger regional picture. There must be substantial critical carrying capacity, rather than maximum carrying capacity, and the author’s understanding of the possibility of fluctuations in both, avoids the generalities to which such cal- 1) There is brief discussion of a possibly more intriguing model, derived culations can be subject. And the evidence presented for from economics, of “percolation” or diffusion. However, the unconscious modern and ancient water sources, climatic conditions, and randomness implied by such a theory does not seem to apply to the well- land use is well integrated. A radical increase in number of ordered and curated landscape of the Neo-Assyrian empire, and the “nat- sites in the Neo-Assyrian Period is attributed to a influx of ural” groupings of sites which result from application of this model are rightly pointed out as difficult to verify. population (mostly deportees), and that increase is held to 261 BOEKBESPREKINGEN — ARCHEOLOGIE 262 have been supported not by traditional extensification of rain- (p. 21). Subsequent excavations by the University of Sydney fall agriculture but by a regional canal system and intensified led by Benton were conducted from January 2nd to February use of land. Traces of this canal system have been identified 28th 1995. The Australian expedition directed its attention since the 1930’s, but this is the first time these canals have not only to the already partially excavated tomb and its been integrated with other material and the date and func- immediate surroundings but also investigated several other tioning of the system, in terms of irrigation, transport and locations at the site, revealing two areas of interest: the flood regulation, have been adequately assessed. There is “Tombs” (square E) and the “Settlement” (squares B and C) also a full discussion of the overlapping economic scheme of — squares A and A1 did not reveal any artifact or other indi- pastoralism. cation of prehistoric human activity, square D contained only The analysis of site inter-relationships indicates a very reg- a loose sherd of coarse orange ware. In all squares excava- ular spacing of sites, and it is proposed that Tell Sheikh tion took place until sterile sand was reached. Hamad stands out as an anomaly, a much larger site than the The entire Umm an-Nar tomb and the adjacent area have regional system would seem to warrant. The explanation that been excavated revealing four separate — though related — its size is due to its place in the imperial, rather than just the burial locations: Tomb I is the Umm an-Nar structure, whilst regional, system, is convincing though brief; the very high the other three “Tombs” (II, III and IV) are simple interment percentage of urban centres attributed to the region in the pits dug in the contemporary surface. Interment pits II and Middle Assyrian Period is unfortunately less convincing. III are located directly against the outer facade of Tomb I and Many of the sites were found to be arranged in pairs on oppo- have similar dimensions, pit IV is smaller and lies several site sides of the river; this phenomenon has also been noted meters south of the tomb. Another interesting feature are for the upper Euphrates valley and is clearly related to loca- some 100 slabs of farush northwest of Tomb I. Even though tion of river crossings, but here in the Habur some of the sites it is clear that the arrangement of these slabs is not natural, are fortified, adding a new dimension to their placement, their function and meaning is unknown. For this feature as possibly related to north-south corridors of communication well as for the simple burial pits no Umm an-Nar parallels and to upkeep of the regional water system. The importance can be cited. Moreover, in these pits large amounts of cre- of the area as a communication and transport route is under- mated individuals were found — a type of interment not lined in the discussion of the steppe, which is shown to have attested elsewhere in the contemporary Near East and West- been colonized from the late 9th century onwards primarily ern Asia. The importance of the excavation is therefore for political reasons of security and road viability, rather than immediately immanent. for economic reasons. In this refreshing study, Benton combines data obtained Overall, this is a very ambitious, thorough, and clearly pre- from different disciplines and relates different sets of data sented study, covering an impressive quantity and range of with one another thus strengthening the argumentation by material. The integration of historical, environmental and establishing a clear coherence. Combined with careful exca- archaeological data is adept and very welcome and goes well vation — involving the systematic use of 1 mm mesh sieves beyond the superficial treatment usually given in such wide- — Benton’s approach has great potential. Subsequently, this ranging studies. The facts and interpretation are densely inter- monograph is able to go beyond the usual excavation report; woven, and there is not a wasted sentence throughout. beside presenting the excavation itself and the materials encountered, it also provides intriguing insights and inter- July 1997 A.M. MCMAHON pretations. In all four Tombs both males and females were represented ** as well as adults and subadults — elderly comprised a portion of the adult population. The minimum number of indi- * viduals is 121 — respectively 13, 57, 48 and 3 individuals in Tombs I, II, III and IV. The low amount of recorded indi- BENTON, J.N. — Excavations at Al Sufouh. A Third Mil- viduals in Tomb I is almost certainly due to the poor state of lennium Site in the Emirate of Dubai. (ABIEL I). Edi- preservation of the structure as well as of the skeletal mate- teurs Brepols, Bruxelles, 1996. (29 cm, 245, 1 plate). rial (pp. 39-40). The similarities between Tombs II and III ISBN 2-503-50503-1. clearly indicate that they reflect identical burial practices; the The site of Al Sufouh (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) complete corpses of as many as 60 individuals were placed consists of a series of low sandy mounds located 1 km from on a funeral pyre whilst still in a fleshed state. Most likely the present coast of the Arabian Gulf. In antiquity the site the pyre was made of Acacia wood while dungcakes were was situated along the shoreline as indicated by the nearby placed on top of the bodies. During the cremation process sabkha. A survey by Lehmann in 1988 had revealed prehis- temperatures of at least 700 to 800°C were reached. It appears toric remains and items all along its surface including so- that the “bodies were lain over each other fairly random with- called coastal Umm an-Nar pottery (p. 20). During construc- out reference to any specific orientation point and without tion work in 1994 part of a tomb of the Umm an-Nar type detailed attention to their physical relationship to each other” was uncovered. This internally segmented circular grave (p. 63). Included in the funeral pyre were also a large num- structure consisted of a wall of unworked farush blocks set ber of artifacts. After the cremation all remains were collected upon a masoned plinth and was faced with finely cut blocks and scooped up in the Tombs as indicated by burnt sand and of various sizes. A team of the Dubai Museum led by Qandil burnt farush fragments in all four cremation deposits. This conducted limited excavations inside this tomb while south was done most carefully and meticulously causing minimal of the structure a simple pit with cremated human remains loss and fragmentation of the bones and artifacts. was encountered. The team only isolated the boundaries of The Al Sufouh interments cover a relatively short period this pit leaving the deposition in situ for future investigation of time. Based upon the recovered materials they are dated 263 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LV N° 1/2, Januari-April 1998 264 between 2450 and 2300 B.C. The relative chronology of the is examined or discussed in any detail. And yet, their dis- Tombs and of the subsequent burial methods is also well covery fits within a larger regional framework: Barbar pot- established — and it is doubtful whether the results from tery has also been found at other settlements (Tell Abraq and radiocarbon tests can provide useful additional information. Nud Ziba) and burials (Wadi Munai}i and Shimal) in the A small amount of cremated bones was found in chamber 2 United Arab Emirates. Recently, chemical analysis has shown of Tomb I. The stratigraphy in this chamber clearly shows that the composition of Barbar sherds found at Tell Abraq is that cremation postdates the inhumation interments. Since this similar to Barbar pottery from Saar on Bahrain (Grave, Potts, is the only burial chamber that appeared “relatively undis- Yassi, Reade & Bailey 1996, Elemental characterisation of turbed” (p. 52) it is possible that a larger portion of Tomb I Barbar ceramics from Tell Abraq, AAE 7: 177-187) thus was used during the cremation phase (contra Benton, p. 66). making a very strong case for the import of Barbar pottery If this is indeed the case, it is possible to see a development to the Emirates. Their presence has always been interpreted from inhumation burial inside the tomb via cremation inside in light of the famous copper (and diorite) trade, linking Dil- the tomb to cremation in simple pits outside the tomb. mun with the Oman mountains. In explaining Barbar pottery Contrary to the communal inhumation burials of the Umm on sites along the Emirate coast the extraction of ochre should an-Nar period which were used for individual burials over a also be considered an important factor. Ochre from the island long period of time, the cremation interments represent sin- of Hormuz is well known, but the island of Bu Musa gle episodes involving large groups of indivuals. It means (offshore Ras al-Khaimah) also has deposits of red oxide that each cremation deposition represent a coherent and con- (Højlund & Andersen 1994, Qala}at al-Bahrain 1, p. 176). It temporaneous assemblage. This enabled Benton to establish is very interesting to note that characteristic late second mil- a relative chronology of the fine black-on-red ware — the lenium pottery — some of which may also have come from most conspicious pottery type which is especially associated Dilmun — has a similar spatial distribution (Tell Abraq, Shi- with Umm an-Nar graves, though it is also found in the set- mal, and Al-Qusais) as the Barbar pottery. This indicates tlements. Traditionally, this pottery is divided in groups Ia, that contact between the two areas showed great continuity Ib, IIa and IIb. Multivariate analysis of the Al Sufouh mate- even though the copper trade network had collapsed at the rial confirmed the validity of these categories (pp. 90-96). beginning of the second millennium B.C. Quite substantial The distribution of this black-on-red ware seems to indicate amounts of ochre have been excavated at Qal{at al-Bahrain that both groups co-existed: group I vessels were used over in City III contexts. a long period (probably covering the entire third millennium), In general, Excavations at Al Sufouh is a well integrated while group II vessels were restricted to the late third mille- and coherent study in which architectural, stratigraphical, nium. Since black-on-red ware is found at (almost) all Umm ceramical and skeletal information are treated equally. One an-Nar sites, this study represents a provisional attempt to of the most important conclusions of the detailed analysis establish a chronology of the Umm an-Nar pottery based on of the Tombs at Al Sufouh is that there are similarities as well internal evidence — a project which may have far reaching as distinct variations when compared to other Umm an-Nar implications because of the wide spatial distribution of this tombs (for instance Umm an-Nar, Hili, Ajman and Tell pottery throughout the Arabian Gulf. Abraq). “The presence of very similar categories of fine The systematic use of 1mm mesh sieves resulted in the wares in all tombs of the Umm an-Nar period provides an recovery of an unprecedented amount of artifacts (N=14.228). image of strong cultural unity across the peninsula, yet the The largest group was formed by the beads — primarily subtle variations in the execution of form and decoration indi- microbeads. The enormous amount of beads clearly reflects cate the existence of distinct, regional styles” (p. 90). This is the importance of this group of artifacts. The majority of also indicated by the character of the interments at Al Sufouh. the microbeads were sewn onto either garments or shrouds The existence of regional differences — at least during the (p. 112). The extreme paucity of artifacts made from marine final phase of the Umm an-Nar period — seems to be sup- resources is extremely striking; materials from the interior or ported by a-typical burial constructions and practices at the of foreign origin seem to have been favoured by the inhabi- inland site of Asimah in Ras al-Khaimah. Further research tants of Al Sufouh while a considerable amount of artifacts along this line, however, is only possible when similar detailed are clearly imports — thus placing the site of Al Sufouh publications of other Umm an-Nar sites appear. inside the intricate trade and exchange network of the late It is a major achievement that the publication of this impor- third millennium B.C. tant excavation at Al Sufouh has appeared in such a short Interestingly, areas B and C showed evidence of series of period after the excavations. Unfortunately, the preliminary alternating hearths, which were probably related to large scale nature of several important studies limits our understanding (?) preparation of marine resources, mainly shells and fish. of several key issues thus weakening some of the main con- But given the limited exposure — square B measured 5≈5m clusions of this study. Even though the volume provides us (reduced to 4.5≈3.2m), square C was 2≈5m (reduced to 1≈1m) with much information regarding the cremation practice, we — it is hardly surprising that it did not prove possible to are still left in the dark why this change in body treatment determine the exact nature and length of the occupation. The occured. Benton offers three possibilities for the inception absence of any architectural features visible along the surface of cremation interments at Al Sufouh: warfare, disease and as well as in the excavations might, however, be indicative changed ideology. Even though at least two Old Akkadian of seasonal occupation, especially since substantial shell-mid- kings campaigned in the region and the mention of an ensi dens appear to be lacking. of Magan during the reign of Amar-Sin (2046-2038 B.C.) The bulk of material encountered in the excavations at Al suggests that Magan may have become part of the Ur III Sufouh can be dated to the Umm an-Nar period, though a empire (Potts 1990, The Arabian Gulf in Antiquity, vol. I, number of red-ridged Barbar sherds were also collected (in p. 144), warfare is easily dismissed since there are no appar- square B). Regretfully, none of this intriguing Barbar material ent mortal wounds found on the recovered skeletal fragments. 265 BOEKBESPREKINGEN — ARCHEOLOGIE 266

Benton seems to favour a large epidemic disease in order to decorative program for transforming Hall 611 into a ‘Minoan explain for the cremation interments. However, the implicit hall’ within the Canaanite palace of Kabri’. notion that in order to eradicate any infectuous agents corpses Other exemples of Minoan wall painting from this period can best be disposed off by means of incineration is a mod- are known, such as the somewhat later frescoes in Yarim- ern one — in ancient societies the perception of diseases was Lim's palace in Alalakh, and fragments with bull leapers in probably very different from our rational scientific approach. Avaris. Niemeier postulates a ritual function for the Kabri Cremated human remains have also been encountered in ear- hall, based, however on rather thin evidence: the presence of lier Umm an-Nar tombs (Hili North, Shimal and Maysar). a pithos that was sunk into the floor, and the flower motive Although attested only on a small scale, it seems to indicate of the floor paintings, which he compares to the Garland fresco that the adoption of a new technique of body treatment is not on Knossos. as radical as might have been expected. As argued above, it It seems clear that Minoan artists were brought to Kabri to might be possible to show a chronological development in execute these decorations, but under what circumstances or on the burial methods at Al Sufouh — thus strongly suggesting what conditions remains unclear, especially since no Minoan a gradual change in the attitude towards the dead. Benton, artifacts were found whatsoever. however, does not seem to consider and ideological shift a The second article, by Michal Artzy, describes the finds at viable possibility and does not even discuss it. Notwith- Tel Nami in the Middle and Late Bronze ages. The Middle standing, it is absolutely clear that given our present haphazard Bronze age settlement, earlier than the palace at Kabri, shows knowledge we are not able to determine whether this shift is Nami as one of the harbours in the MBA coastal trade net- a local phenomenon or whether it represents a late develop- work. ment in Umm an-Nar burial practice. So far no interment pits Attention in this study however goes mostly to the Late containing cremated human remains have been reported from Bronze Age settlement, which is mainly 13th century, the other Umm an-Nar sites. It should, however, be made clear finale of the Late Bronze Age. It is clear from the finds that whether this absence pertains to lack of research or whether in this period Nami served as a port in some trade network, they are simply not there. and a large part of the article is dedicated to questions In conclusion, this study makes a strong case for detailed concerning this trade-route and Nami's place in it. Artzy con- excavation, research and publication of Umm an-Nar sites. vincingly argues for a connection between this part of the It shows the rich potential of an interdisciplinary contextual coast and Transjordan, via Tell es-Sa}idiyeh. The presence of approach in reconstructing many aspects of funerary behav- a number of Collared Rim Jars in Late Bronze Age Nami iour amongst the illiterate Umm an-Nar societies. It can there- may prove of considerable importance for the history of this fore only be regretted that this rigourous approach is applied whole region in the transitional period. solely to the “Tombs” and not to the “Settlement”. The excavators of Tel Miqne-Ekron have each contributed a paper. Rilland, October 1997 Eric OLIJDAM Trude Dothan describes the finds from Early Iron age Ekron, and stresses their relation to the Aegean world. Ekron ** was one of the first sites to be occupied by the Philistines, as is demonstrated by the material culture of this period: a num- * ber of cultic features, like the central hearth known from Aegean cult practice, pottery, metalwork. GITIN, Seymour (ed.) — Recent Excavations in Israel: A In Iron Age II the distinctive Philistine culture merged with View to the West: Reports on Kabri, Nami, Miqne- other influences, such as the Egyptian, Phoenician and Judean, Ekron, Dor, and Ashkelon / with contrib. by Michal but according to Seymour Gitin Ekron remained basically a Artzy, William G. Dever, Trude Dothan a.o. (Archaeo- Philistine city until the end of the Iron Age. logical Institute of America, Coll. and Confer. Papers, The Neo-Assyrian period saw a renewed expansion of 1). Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, Dubuque, 1995. Ekron at the end of the 8th century, in which it was trans- (28 cm, XIV, 122, ill., maps). ISBN 0-7872-0486-2. formed into a mass production centre for olive oil, with a belt This first volume of “colloquia and conference papers” of “factory buildings” each with a olive press installation. from the Archaeological Institute of America consists of This is a very interesting concept with regard to the economic seven papers presented at a colloquium organized by the organization of the Neo-Assyrian empire. Other finds may American School for Classical Studies in Athens and the throw light on the internal organization of the town: the mate- W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in rial remains, the four-horned altars, probably related to a Jerusalem, in an effort to bridge the gap between Classical house cult, certain functional groups of pottery, groups of and Near Eastern Archaeologies. loomweights, suggest that the workers actually lived in their The first article by Wolf Niemeier describes the fresco “factories”, probably with their families. A study into the use paintings in a Middle Bronze Age palace in Kabri. These very of space might prove useful. fragmentary paintings originally decorated the floor and walls Gitin takes it for granted that they were still Philistines, of one of the halls of the palace (a plan of the palace with the although there is very little to support that idea, the material different halls and rooms would have been helpful at this culture being a mixture of Judean, Egyptian, Phoenician, stage). No parallels for the floor decoration, which consists Assyrian, Aramean and other influences. of a chequeboard pattern filled in with blue and yellow flower The Assyrian policy of deportation and resettlement makes motives, are known until a much later period, but the com- it possible that Ekron in these days was occupied by a com- bination of technique and motive points to an Aegean origin. pletely new population. The wall paintings have their best parallels in the West Efraim Stern gives an overview of Aegean imports in Dor House in Akrotiri, Thera, and Niemeier sees the whole as “a starting in the 11th century and continuing into the 4th century, 267 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LV N° 1/2, Januari-April 1998 268 reflecting the situation on the entire Phoenician and Pales- style archaeology of layers, levels, bits and pieces on the one tinian coast and Cyprus. hand and current palaeo-anthropology on the other. As the Barbara Johnson and Lawrence Stager, in their article author recognises the book is not the palaeo-anthropology of “Ashkelon, wine emporium of the holy land” discuss the the late antique Palestinian dwelling. The sleeve summary wine trade in Ashkelon and Gaza in the Byzantine period, states “The conclusions touch the threshold of anthropolog- concentrating on the results of the excavation at Barnea, north ical and sociological research, but do not cross it”. However of Roman Ascalon. The two main types of wine jars, their it is asserted (p. 12) that the intent of the book is to “bridge provenience and distribution are discussed, and possible this gap” between archaeological and anthropological differences in function. Interesting is the authors' suggestion research. The book then represents itself as animated archae- that the popularity of these wines is at least partly related to ology; but in this case clearly the animation came before the spreading of Christianity in the western world. the archaeology, since the point d'appui of the study is the Finally, prof. Dever in an article titled “Orienting the study traditional modern Arab house of the Hebron region, not the of trade in Near Eastern Archaeology” tries to consolidate history of domestic building in Late Antiquity, nor (even less) his self imposed (but not so very universally accepted) role rabbinics. as Patriarch of Palestine Archaeology by quoting a number Since the book is so pronouncedly articulated into three of theoretical archaeologists and complaining about the lack sections, the inevitable consequence is to comment on the of data and the bad quality of excavations in the Levant, and virtues of each section separately. finally patting the other contributors on the head. The first chapter “Types of (Roman-Byzantine) Houses” It would have been preferable if he had done some real forms a useful repository of information concerning this work and made an effort to integrate these different articles important aspect of Palestinian antiquity. Something like sev- in order to see how they can contribute to the long term his- enty buildings are illustrated by drawings and/or photographs. tory of trade and economy of the region. The material is taken from standard archaeological reports If anything, this colloquium has shown the importance of but in some measure is supplemented by direct observation integration of Near Eastern and Classical archaeologists. Con- and investigation. It is not easy to classify and make coher- tacts between the two regions have been almost continuous, ent a diverse body of architectural remains, and it might well but questions concerning the nature of these contacts in the be difficult to get about coherently in this body. However in different periods, like the role of Egypt, and the nature of the remedy of this situation a table is provided (pp. 100-101) traded commodities, ask for a two-sided approach. This first listing fifty odd buildings. This completely transforms the effort is still very much one-way, concentrating on Aegean utility of the section. With its help the archaeological infor- influences in Palestine. Still, it is an excellent start. mation can be got at systematically by way of building type, location, period and function. Also entered are the number of Leiden, January 1997 Eveline J. VAN DER STEEN stories and the area of each building. Here it is just possible to make the suggestion that an additional virtue would have ** been the inclusion of direct page references to the treatment of the buildings in the text. In summary of this information * a few sensible conclusions are drawn (pp. 102-103) relating to chronological developments etc. In general housing in HIRSCHFELD, Yizhar — The Palestinian Dwelling in the Palestine became more opulent in Byzantine times, which is Roman-Byzantine Period. (Studium Biblicum Francis- anything but a common development. Above all the interest- canum, Collectio Minor, 34). Franciscan Printing Press, ing question is resumed of the incidence in Palestine of ecu- Jerusalem, 1995. (24 cm, 318, ill., bibliogr.). ISBN 965- menical Greek and Roman house types. Some peristyle 472-000-0. US $ 40.00. houses are found, but the multi-storied urban apartment house This is a very pleasingly produced book and obviously a (cf. at Ostia) does not occur. labour of great love. The sleeve summary provides an accu- The second chapter “The Traditional Palestinian House. rate exposé of its intent and content. The study grew out of Results of a Survey in the Hebron Hills” is central in every “field work carried out by the (Israeli) author in the Hebron sense to the content of the book — and makes in itself agree- hills of southern Judaea”. The motivating enthousiasm for able reading. Kind things are said and some sympathetic this work was occasioned by the surviving Arab houses of vignettes are drawn of people and places. However this is not the region built in a traditional style of solid stone masonry at all coffee table work. Nonetheless it is fair to remark that generally with vaulted roofing. The author perceived that the strength of the treatment is on the ethnological side. Due such buildings went back in essentials to dwellings attested attention is paid to the building construction which is illus- in Palestine during late antiquity. Consequently he made trated by good photographs and drawings, however there is a documentation of the archaeological record of private only a fair understanding of the building technology and houses in Palestine and trans Jordan during the Roman- some of the description of this is imprecise. The standard type Byzantine period, extending the temporal coverage on occa- of stone roofing of a square chamber is referred to as a cross sion for purposes of illustration into Mediaeval (Islamic and vault. This is to some degree misleading since it is not the Crusader) times. He then annotated this record by way of the form of monumental cross vaulting known from Roman and copious references to dwellings and house building in Rab- Romanesque architecture. The central crown of the roof is binic sources. The findings of these three separate fields of higher than the periphery so the roof is better described as a enquiry are set in studied apposition and some closing remarks shallow saucer dome, or domical vault — more precisely a are provided by way of “Summary and Conclusions”. lobate domical vault with the groins articulating the dome The book thus falls within the category of “animated into four lobes. It is thus the exact counterpart to a cloister archaeology”, a term used to distinguish between the old vault (pavilion vault). 269 BOEKBESPREKINGEN — ARCHEOLOGIE 270

These houses which range from very stark construction in one does not obtain results of a new dimension. This is the hills to a town house in central Hebron are unmistakeably specifically recognised by the author (p. 292). presented. They bring back many memories to archaeologists In the “Summary and Conclusions” the various sections active in Palestine before and at the middle of the century are given a sober resumée and no effort is made to inflate the who were often fortunate enough to live in them. Some fif- results of the study. It is worthwhile quoting the concluding teen dwellings were surveyed in close detail and they were remarks (p. 293). “The Roman-Byzantine period is recognised well chosen to give a good conspectus of the range of varia- as one of the greatest periods of prosperity in the history of tion in construction. Indeed the author justly comments Palestine… Naturally this climate of development and expan- (p. 179) on a housing complex at Edh Dhahiriya in the mar- sion was also reflected in the high standards of construction ginal desert area of the Hebron hills which is a museum of and planning of private dwellings. Yet while private con- building development. It “… consisted of a cave, an arched struction in Palestine, as in other parts of the Mediterranean, roofed stone house, (i.e. with flat terrace roof supported on was deeply influenced by the advanced building techniques transverse arches), a vaulted stone house (i.e. roofed with the common in Greece and Rome, domestic construction pre- standard lobate domical vault) and a new concrete house. If served a local eastern style, that most of the residents of the Shahin town house in the market area of Hebron (pp. 193- the country found to be both practical and functional. The 206) is added to this, we have sophisticated pendentives and continuing importance of the courtyard area, in which most fine plaster interior decoration in very good taste. Here stan- domestic activities were conducted, is evidence of a charac- dard Ottoman architecture is found mixed together with the teristic local dwelling culture in which the courtyard func- local Palestinian tradition. tioned as the central focus of daily life”. Apart from the light of social usage which serves to ani- It would be remiss to close the remarks on this nicely got mate archaeological remains of somewhat similar structures, up book without mentioning some anciliary matters. The ear- there arises first and foremost the question to what degree lier works of Dalman (in German) and of Tawfiq Canaan (in can it be reckoned that traditional modern structures resem- English) on the Arab house in Palestine are universally bling ancient buildings do, in fact, represent an unbroken line known and appreciated. However a lively literature on this of descent. This is a very basic question and one which goes subject has grown up over the past 50 years in Hebrew. This far wider than architectural limits. Archaeologists by neces- is virtually ignored outside Israel and it is advantageously sity or desire are driven continually to call into evidence the assessed, digested and cited in this book. Again the notes give records of modern anthropology to explain ancient features. much useful information about unpublished work in progress However it needs much evidence to explain the supposed or recently concluded carried out by Israeli students. Finally connection between the two. This may exist but it can not be the bibliography is very good. Besides covering fully the taken for granted. In this respect the author has been exem- Palestinian subject matter it gives well chosen references to plary in his statements (pp. 111-112). He raises the question the generalised architectural background. at the very beginning of his treatment of the traditional Arab house and notes that to establish a direct connection “requires Avignon, November 1996 G.R.H. WRIGHT thorough research based on the analysis of findings from past or future excavation of dwellings in post-Byzantine ** Palestine (p. 112). As ernest of this he is businesslike enough * to supply for reference a list of 11 significant examples of Islamic and Crusader dwellings which have been pub- FRANKFORT, H. — The Art and Architecture of the Ancient lished. Finally one very striking fact must be mentioned Orient. Fifth edition with supplementary notes and addi- here of which the author also takes due cognisance (pp. 258- tional bibliography and abbreviations by Michael Roaf 260). and Donald Matthews. New Haven & London 1996. The traditional modern Palestinian Arab house (peasant house) is essentially a one-roomed all purpose structure with The latest reprint of this justly famous work by one of the a court. Almost all Roman-Byzantine houses are designed great men of Ancient Near Eastern studies has been supple- with several rooms functionally differentiated. Indeed the pre- mented by Roaf and Matthews with occasional comments and sent survey does everything to validate Canaan's perception notes as well as extensive bibliographical additons; this sec- of the close affinity between the Palestine stone built peas- tion is appended at the end of the book, pp. 415-461. ant house and the cave dwelling. Arranged according to Frankfort's chapter sequence, the It is, in fact, in the third chapter entitled “The Components additional notes comment on general progress in the field of the Dwelling in Rabbinic Sources in (the) Light of Archae- covered by the chapter, followed by specific notes giving ological Finds and the Survey of the Traditional Palestinian new interpretations and data for Frankfort's statements. This House” where the author introduces general questions of the is not the place to comment on questions of detail, be it history of building both Palestinian and at large. This serves on Frankfort's statements or those of the editors. It struck somewhat to link together the ancient and the modern tradi- this reviewer, however, that Frankfort's treatment of Syria tional houses, and it provides the framework for hanging (although it is not a “unity” – p. 239) has not been com- information derived from the Rabbinic sources. The concep- mented on more than the editors do (p. 432ff.). Since the tual world inhabited by the rabbis (at once behaviourist yet fifties an enormous amount of archaeological as well as transcendent) is very idiosyncratic. Rabbinic cogitations often textual material has accrued, concerning the prehistory, the refer to work, workers and the workaday; and, indeed, itself third and the second millennium; that does seem to warrant was characterised by an artisan like quality. Many efforts a sharper profile of the Syrian regions than as merely a have been made to mine these strange galleries of anti-his- province of Mesopotamia (or of the Hittites, for that matter). toric pronouncements for historical information. The present That Frankfort thought so is understandable, but nowadays it 271 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LV N° 1/2, Januari-April 1998 272 can be defended that Northern and Western Syria did pro- together with a brief introduction on the museum's history, duce their own “culture” (e.g. seals, art, architecture) from as well as one on the history and culture of Mesopotamia. early times onward — never without contact with other The authors of the various contributions are L. Jacob-Rost, regions, but now recognizably Syrian. E. Klengel-Brandt, J. Marzahn and R. Wartke. The book is The editors' comments are necessarily eclectic, but to the different from the 1987 (1990) guide with the same title and point and informed, and enlightening for the general reader. written by the same people, which was published by the Roaf and Matthews deserve warm thanks for their work, museum before Germany's reunification. That guide was which enhances the value of this very good book; as they say arranged by room and had fewer color photographs. The pre- (p. 415), Art and Architecture has been a standard since it sent catalogue is a rewritten and differently organized ver- appeared, and their efforts have safeguarded that it will long sion in a different format (23.5 ≈ 21.5 cm, as against 23 ≈ remain just that. 14.5 cm for the older guide). Both ‘guide’ and ‘catalogue’ are valuable additions to one's library. November 1997 D. MEIJER ** *

KORTE AANKONDIGINGEN BULLES ET SCEAUX SASSANIDES de diverses collections. — Ph. Gignoux & R. Gyselen, with contributions by AL-GAILANI-WERR, Lamia (ed.) — Old Babylonian Cylin- A. Bivar. Paris, 1987, 307 pp., xxiii plates. der Seals from the Hamrin. London 1992. (Edubba 2, Bullae and seals from the collections of Fouroughi, Jaza- Nabu Publications). yeri, Mochiri, Pirouzan and one other, as well as from muse- One hundred and eighteen seals are illustrated in pho- ums in St. Petersburg, Tehran, Oxford, Yale, Bruxelles and tographs and drawings in this catalogue of finds from the Boston are catalogued in this volume. As the foreword makes Hamrin Valley, Iraq, to wit from Tell Suleimeh and Tell clear, the authors were not always in the position to acquire Halawa. Of each seal the material, measurements, prove- illustrations of the seals they saw in the various collections nience, excavation- and Iraq Museum filenumber are given. (although a good many have been illustrated). Hence the Apart from the description, often a short comment with pos- work gives an inventory of seals seen by the authors, and sible parallels is given — probably by Mrs al Gailani-Werr, which may since have been dispersed or even lost: these days although the names of the sites' excavators figure on the it is difficult to keep track of non-islamic antiquities in Iran. book's cover. Contrary to what the title suggests, however, The authors are to be commended for their work, which among all but 20 of the seals are from the Early Dynastic, Akkadian other things will help enormously in tracing many objects and Ur III periods. Some of the Suleimeh seals (a total of 99 when the scientific climate has become more hospitable. items in this catalogue) have been published before, in Sumer Researchers in this field will greatly appreciate the glossaries, 38 1982, and in Iraq 50 1988. concordances and appendices of shapes and materials. Of the ones published here for the first time, for instance no. 19 is very interesting. It shows an Early Dynastic skirted ** figure standing in front of a bed on which a supine human is * depicted; a table laden with vessels and food (?) completes the (worn) scene. The commentary suggests that a “sacred mar- DAMASZENER MITTEILUNGEN. — Bd. 4, 1989 (ersch. riage” is probable, but also mentiones the possibility of an 1990). X, 249 pp., 7 folding ill. pages, 66 pls. oneiromancer. One might also, however, be dealing with a mor- Three of the thirteen contributions in this extremely well- tuary ritual, or one for the sick. In view of the fact that the supine produced volume deal with Syria in the Pre-Roman era; figure seems to be naked, perhaps a death ritual is to be pre- the rest treat various aspects of the archaeology and ethno- ferred? No. 62, an Akkadian contest scene, is special because archaeology of Roman and later Syrian monuments and cities. the limestone seal was incised with deep, broad furrows. The ethno-archaeology is represented by a study by Helga See- We can be grateful to the editor for bringing these seals to den et alii, concerning rural settlement in the Syrian Jazirah our attention with clear photographs, especially at a time from prehistoric to modern times, and by one by A. Gangler when it is unclear when the final reports on the sites in ques- & H. Gaube about modern everyday life in Aleppo. tion will appear. There are a great number of printing and spelling errors, however, and the book's price is extremely ** high at 30,- pounds sterling. * November 1997 D. MEIJER ARCHÉOLOGIE ET HISTOIRE DE LA SYRIE, II: La Syrie de l'époque achéménide à l'avènement de l'Islam. Edité ** par J.-M. Dentzer et W. Orthmann. Saarbrücken 1989, * 591 p., ills. DAS VORDERASIATISCHE MUSEUM. Staatliche Museen Thirty contributions by almost as many authors shed light zu Berlin — Preussischer Kulturbesitz. Mainz 1992. on the social, political and economic history of later pre- islamic Syria, its archaeology, art history and geography. This volume is a lavishly illustrated catalogue of the main Well-illustrated with black-and-white photographs, maps and exhibited pieces that the Berlin Museum is famous for, line drawings, the various essays provide a much needed 273 BOEKBESPREKINGEN — ARABICA - ISLAM 274 overview of this cradle of human civilization; each essay is followed by its bibliography. The work will remain indis- pensible for years to come, even without the general index through which it would have gained immeasurably.

** *

MINUSCULE MONUMENTS OF ANCIENT ART. Catalogue of Near Eastern Stamp and Cylinder Seals collected by Virginia E. Balley. Exhibition Catalogue, the New Jersey Museum of Archaeology at Drew University, Madison, N.J. Madison, N.J. 1988. 53 (unnumbered) pages, 1 map, 1 table. This exhibition catalogue contains black-and-white photographs and short descriptions (by dr. Nancy Leinwand) of 183 objects which were on loan to the New Jersey Museum of Archaeology: 111 cylinder seals, 70 stamp seals and amulets, and one UrIII economic tablet with cylinder seal impression. Of each object the material is given, followed by area of origin, period and/or style, measurements and short description of the depicted scene; no parallels or remarks concerning the scenes or style in general are given. The photographs are of good quality, facilitating perusal of the booklet.