- Department of Archaeology
Ghent University
Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 35
B-9000 Gent
Belgium
- Funerary Archaeology, Archaeology, Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Neolithic Archaeology, Mesopotamian Archaeology, Ancient Near Eastern Art, and 16 moreBronze and Iron Ages in Eastern Mediterranean (Archaeology), Iranian Archaeology, Assyriology, Cypriot Archaeology, Syria (Archaeology), Levant Prehistory, Phoenicians, Late Bronze Age archaeology, Cypriot Bronze Age, Anatolian Archaeology (Archaeology), Ancient Near East (Archaeology), Ancient Mesopotamia (History, Religion, Culture, Ancient Near East, and Landscape Archaeologyedit
- Dr. Joachim Bretschneider is Professor of Near Eastern Archaeology at the Department of Archaeology at the University... moreDr. Joachim Bretschneider is Professor of Near Eastern Archaeology at the Department of Archaeology at the University of Ghent (Belgium). He received his PhD in Near Eastern Archaeology from the University of Münster (Germany) in 1990 and was lecturer and professor at the Near Eastern Department of the KU Leuven until 2014.
In Syria, he directed the German excavations at Tell Beydar between 1993-2000. Since 1999 he leads the Belgian Excavation Mission at Tell Tweini (Syria). Currently, he is director of the Belgian participation in the Saudi-Belgian Research Project at Al-Ghat/Saudi Arabia and in 2014 he co-initiated the Pyla-Kokkinokremos excavation on Cyprus.
His main research interests focus on the transition Late-Bronze - Early Iron Age in the Levant and Eastern Mediterranean, the development of early urbanism in the Near East, inter-regional contacts, glyptic in administrative systems and Ancient Near Eastern art. He has written over 100 journal articles, books, book chapters, and reviews. His most recent book (Jans G. & Bretschneider J., Seals and Sealings of Tell Beydar/Nabada) analyses the glyptic material of an Early Bronze Age official household in Northern Mesopotamia.edit
Public buildings reflect the investment of social resources and are usually interpreted as the embodiments of political, social, religious and economic power. The architecture of such buildings is often especially devised to reflect the... more
Public buildings reflect the investment of social resources and are usually interpreted as the embodiments of political, social, religious and economic power. The architecture of such buildings is often especially devised to reflect the performance of this power, incorporating a symbolism that served as a signpost for a particular social order. This symbolism was especially carried by monumentality and enhanced by scale, location, decoration, materials and visual impact. By making particular use of the natural landscape and the artificially created environment, the monumentality of public buildings helped to improve social cohesion and legitimated a particular societal system. Moreover, their intergenerational use gave such buildings great potential for communication and remembrance, especially during specific ceremonies. This volume is the reflection of an international conference which brought together specialists from two sides of the Eastern Mediterranean, the Near East and the Aegean, two areas that interrelated at different levels and at different moments during the Bronze Age, in order to examine how public architecture was used within this process.
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Les fouilles syro-belges de Tell Tweini, entamées en 1999, ont pour but d‘étudier l'histoire du site dans son contexte syro-mésopotamien. Cette recherche archéologique et historique s‘intègre dans un programme d‘études interdisciplinaires... more
Les fouilles syro-belges de Tell Tweini, entamées en 1999, ont pour but d‘étudier l'histoire du site dans son contexte syro-mésopotamien. Cette recherche archéologique et historique s‘intègre dans un programme d‘études interdisciplinaires qui a pour but de récréer l'environnement dans lequel les civilisations du Levant se sont développées. Située dans une zone de contact entre le monde Egéen et le Nord de la Mésopotamie, la ville antique de Tweini, probablement Gibala possède une importance historique et culturelle considérable.
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"An archaeological and historical study
based on eight seasons of excavations at Tell Tweini (Syria)
in the A and C fields (1999-2007)"
based on eight seasons of excavations at Tell Tweini (Syria)
in the A and C fields (1999-2007)"
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Research Interests: Cypriot Archaeology, Late Bronze Age archaeology, Cypriot Bronze Age, Aegean Late Bronze Age, the Sea Peoples, XIX - XX Dynasty in Egypt, the Hittites, the Late Bronze Age in the Eastern Medittaranean, and 9 moreCyprus and the East Mediterranean, Late Bronze Age Near East and Eastern Mediterranean, Aegean, Cypriot & East Mediterranean Archaeology, Cyprus Archaeology, Archaeology of Cyprus, Bronze Age Cyprus, Late Bronze Age Cyprus, Cypriot Pottery, and Late Bronze Age Levant
The aim of the joint Saudi Arabian-Belgian Al-Ghat field project was three-fold: the study of the iconographical and textual material incised on rocks, a survey and study project looking for early human activity in the area, and the... more
The aim of the joint Saudi Arabian-Belgian Al-Ghat field project was three-fold: the study of the iconographical and textual material incised on rocks, a survey and study project looking for early human activity in the area, and the topographical documentation of significant sites. The rich textual and iconographic material in the Wadi Markh area adds to the importance of the Al-Ghat region for the ancient history of Saudi Arabia. In bringing forward evidence of prehistoric cultural connections to Africa as well as the Levant, the project contributes to the unravelling of the early expansion history of
our species in a landscape different from today.
our species in a landscape different from today.
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The article presents results from the first seasons of excavation at Tell Tweini. We will focus primarily on architectural remains, ceramic, bone (Bea De Cupere) and botanical remains (Patricia Vandorpe)...
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Abstract To help the interpretation of possible olive processing residues at archaeological sites, this study examines the changes which occur in pre-and post-charring breakage surfaces of olive stones at tissue level. Fresh olives were... more
Abstract To help the interpretation of possible olive processing residues at archaeological sites, this study examines the changes which occur in pre-and post-charring breakage surfaces of olive stones at tissue level. Fresh olives were experimentally broken before and after charring and heated to different temperatures (230, 330, 430° C) in oxidising and non-oxidising conditions.
Research Interests: Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, International Relations, Old Testament, and 23 moreBiology, Writing, Syria, Palaeoecology, Radiocarbon Dating (Earth Sciences), Medicine, Multidisciplinary, Ugaritic Studies, Syria (Archaeology), Bronze Age, Biblical Hebrew, Humans, Radiocarbon Dating (Archaeology), Sea Peoples, Ugarit, Radiometric Dating, PLoS one, North Syrian archaeology, Syria Archeology, Ougarit, Eastern Mediterranean, Archéologie Phénico-punique, and Archeology
Research Interests: Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Geology, Climate Change, Palynology, and 12 moreMediterranean archaeology, Quaternary, Iron Age, Abrupt Climate Change, Bronze Age, Radiocarbon Dating, Varves, Food Availability, Archaeology of Societal Collapse, Eastern Mediterranean, Large Scale, and Interglacial Climate Variability
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"During the 2000 excavation season a built tomb comprising three chambers and a passageway was uncovered below the floor in the main room of late Early Dynastic/ Early Jezirah IIIb Temple A on the acropolis of Tell Beydar. What is most... more
"During the 2000 excavation season a built tomb comprising three chambers and a passageway was uncovered below the floor in the main room of late Early Dynastic/ Early Jezirah IIIb Temple A on the acropolis of Tell Beydar.
What is most striking about this burial is indeed not the grave goods themselves – though indicative of elite status and certainly wealth (21 bronze objects, 2 silver (?) and 65 ceramic) they are not unusual. Indeed the lack of more jewelry or gold objects is perhaps notable. But the indications of ritual actions performed in conjunction with the burial is highly significant and offers substantial clues to the identity of the individual therein. The adze was carefully broken just below the head; the broken staff placed in the dead man’s hand, the adze head placed just to the side of where it would have been if unbroken. The largest of the daggers (the most likely to have been an actual, used weapon) was stabbed into a carefully made pile of stones. A large animal, possibly equid , was butchered and placed beneath a similar pile of stones. A figurine, perhaps representing the ‘spirit’ of the man, was cut in two. Except for the last of these, whose meaning is uncertain, these actions relate not simply to the cessation of life but to the cessation of office or role. The adze is a symbol of power; the dagger and equid (?) the tools of a warrior. The personal ornaments though silver were simple – the diadem perhaps may indicate high status, but there was no jewelry besides the bracelet, and even the beads found were not from a necklace worn by the deceased. Indeed the diadem and possibly the bracelet are themselves probably functional – indicative of a particular rank and not simply general wealth.""
What is most striking about this burial is indeed not the grave goods themselves – though indicative of elite status and certainly wealth (21 bronze objects, 2 silver (?) and 65 ceramic) they are not unusual. Indeed the lack of more jewelry or gold objects is perhaps notable. But the indications of ritual actions performed in conjunction with the burial is highly significant and offers substantial clues to the identity of the individual therein. The adze was carefully broken just below the head; the broken staff placed in the dead man’s hand, the adze head placed just to the side of where it would have been if unbroken. The largest of the daggers (the most likely to have been an actual, used weapon) was stabbed into a carefully made pile of stones. A large animal, possibly equid , was butchered and placed beneath a similar pile of stones. A figurine, perhaps representing the ‘spirit’ of the man, was cut in two. Except for the last of these, whose meaning is uncertain, these actions relate not simply to the cessation of life but to the cessation of office or role. The adze is a symbol of power; the dagger and equid (?) the tools of a warrior. The personal ornaments though silver were simple – the diadem perhaps may indicate high status, but there was no jewelry besides the bracelet, and even the beads found were not from a necklace worn by the deceased. Indeed the diadem and possibly the bracelet are themselves probably functional – indicative of a particular rank and not simply general wealth.""
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Den Ausgangspunkt der Untersuchungen zur Topographie von Herrschergräbern in Syrien im 3. Jt. v. Chr. bilden die Grabkomplexe von Tell Beydar, Ebla, Mari und Tell Bi’a. Die unterirdischen Grabanlagen mit ihren reichen Befunden... more
Den Ausgangspunkt der Untersuchungen zur Topographie von Herrschergräbern in Syrien im 3. Jt. v. Chr. bilden die Grabkomplexe von Tell Beydar, Ebla, Mari und Tell Bi’a. Die unterirdischen Grabanlagen mit ihren reichen Befunden verändern grundlegend unsere Kenntnisse zu den Herrschergräbern des 3. Jahrtausends v. Chr. in Nordmesopotamien. Neben einer vergleichenden Analyse der verschiedenen Grabanlagen steht der Grabbau in seinem topographischen Kontext im Mittelpunkt der Ausführungen.
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In Syrië, waar vandaag de oorlog in alle hevigheid woedt, groeven archeologen een 4.300 jaar oud paleis op. Meer dan 1.500 zegels en verzegelingen vertellen over het leven in een van de oudste paleizen van Noord-Mesopotamië. Nabada,... more
In Syrië, waar vandaag de oorlog in alle hevigheid woedt, groeven
archeologen een 4.300 jaar oud paleis op. Meer dan 1.500 zegels
en verzegelingen vertellen over het leven in een van de oudste paleizen van Noord-Mesopotamië.
Nabada, machtige stad in
Noord-Mesopotamië
Nabada bereikte zijn culturele hoogtepunt rond
het midden van het derde millennium v. Chr. Toen
was de politieke en economische macht van de
regio geconcentreerd in een aantal grote steden
zoals Kisch, Lagash, Umma, Ur en Uruk in Irak en
Tell Chuera, Ebla, Nagar, Urkish, Nabada en Tuttul
in Syrië.
Nabada diende onder andere als rust- en bevoorradingsplaats
voor internationale handelskaravanen
die de grote centra van het Middellandse
Zeegebied, Mesopotamië en Anatolië verbonden.
In de eerste helft van het derde millennium v. Chr.
bouwden de eerste bewoners van Tell Beydar een
circulaire nederzetting van 600 meter in diameter.
Op het einde van de 25ste eeuw werd Nabada
onder het bewind van Nagar (Tell Brak) geplaatst.
Een ringvormige omwalling van vijf meter breed
beveiligde de stad. Het paleis en de tempels van
Nabada in het centrum van de stad werden nog
extra beschermd door een massieve binnenmuur.
Veel muren van het paleiscomplex, opgetrokken
uit ongebakken leemtichel, zijn tot vier meter hoog
bewaard, inclusief de deuropeningen.
Rond 2.300 v. Chr. veroverden de Akkadiërs de
stad, waarna ze werd verlaten. De benedenstad
werd vanaf 1.500 v. Chr. opnieuw bewoond door
de Mitanni. In de 7de eeuw v. Chr. bouwden de Assyriërs
een nieuwe stad op de ruïnes van de Mitanni
archeologen een 4.300 jaar oud paleis op. Meer dan 1.500 zegels
en verzegelingen vertellen over het leven in een van de oudste paleizen van Noord-Mesopotamië.
Nabada, machtige stad in
Noord-Mesopotamië
Nabada bereikte zijn culturele hoogtepunt rond
het midden van het derde millennium v. Chr. Toen
was de politieke en economische macht van de
regio geconcentreerd in een aantal grote steden
zoals Kisch, Lagash, Umma, Ur en Uruk in Irak en
Tell Chuera, Ebla, Nagar, Urkish, Nabada en Tuttul
in Syrië.
Nabada diende onder andere als rust- en bevoorradingsplaats
voor internationale handelskaravanen
die de grote centra van het Middellandse
Zeegebied, Mesopotamië en Anatolië verbonden.
In de eerste helft van het derde millennium v. Chr.
bouwden de eerste bewoners van Tell Beydar een
circulaire nederzetting van 600 meter in diameter.
Op het einde van de 25ste eeuw werd Nabada
onder het bewind van Nagar (Tell Brak) geplaatst.
Een ringvormige omwalling van vijf meter breed
beveiligde de stad. Het paleis en de tempels van
Nabada in het centrum van de stad werden nog
extra beschermd door een massieve binnenmuur.
Veel muren van het paleiscomplex, opgetrokken
uit ongebakken leemtichel, zijn tot vier meter hoog
bewaard, inclusief de deuropeningen.
Rond 2.300 v. Chr. veroverden de Akkadiërs de
stad, waarna ze werd verlaten. De benedenstad
werd vanaf 1.500 v. Chr. opnieuw bewoond door
de Mitanni. In de 7de eeuw v. Chr. bouwden de Assyriërs
een nieuwe stad op de ruïnes van de Mitanni
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During the past eleven years, excavations at Tell Tweini, Syria have focused on different periods visible in the archaeological record. Both the Bronze and the Iron Age periods are well attested and have been examined extensively... more
During the past eleven years, excavations at Tell Tweini, Syria have focused on different periods visible in the archaeological record. Both the Bronze and the Iron Age periods are well attested and have been examined extensively
Recently, however,traces of an Early Iron Age settlement, often lacking at neighbouring sites, have been uncovered at Tell Tweini.
In the Eastern Mediterranean, the period spanning the time between the end of the 13th and the 12th centuries B.C.E. is known as a period of crisis during which the
significant Aegean, Cypriot, Anatolian and Levantine centres deteriorated. Immediately after 1200 B.C.E., the entire Mediterranean region was faced with catastrophic
obliterations (Lehmann 2001). Considerable destruction and ash layers have been observed at numerous sites in the Levant. Once important sites at the Syrian coast,
like Ugarit, were abandoned and destroyed along with many other Mediterranean cities, never to be rebuilt. For this entire period, known as the Dark Ages, the archaeological
and in particular the historical sources are especially scarce.
Based on recently excavated data from Tell Tweini, significant knowledge about the development of urbanisation, architecture, pottery, burial customs and art in the Northern Levant during the post-Ugaritic period can be acquired. Multidisciplinary
studies, combined with an analysis of the architectural structures and archaeological inventory, have allowed obtaining initial information on a complex and obscure period in the history of the Ancient Near East.
Recently, however,traces of an Early Iron Age settlement, often lacking at neighbouring sites, have been uncovered at Tell Tweini.
In the Eastern Mediterranean, the period spanning the time between the end of the 13th and the 12th centuries B.C.E. is known as a period of crisis during which the
significant Aegean, Cypriot, Anatolian and Levantine centres deteriorated. Immediately after 1200 B.C.E., the entire Mediterranean region was faced with catastrophic
obliterations (Lehmann 2001). Considerable destruction and ash layers have been observed at numerous sites in the Levant. Once important sites at the Syrian coast,
like Ugarit, were abandoned and destroyed along with many other Mediterranean cities, never to be rebuilt. For this entire period, known as the Dark Ages, the archaeological
and in particular the historical sources are especially scarce.
Based on recently excavated data from Tell Tweini, significant knowledge about the development of urbanisation, architecture, pottery, burial customs and art in the Northern Levant during the post-Ugaritic period can be acquired. Multidisciplinary
studies, combined with an analysis of the architectural structures and archaeological inventory, have allowed obtaining initial information on a complex and obscure period in the history of the Ancient Near East.
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The 13th century BC witnessed the zenith of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean civilizations which declined at the end of the Bronze Age, ~3200 years ago. Weakening of this ancient flourishing Mediterranean world shifted the political... more
The 13th century BC witnessed the zenith of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean civilizations which declined at the end of the Bronze Age, ~3200 years ago. Weakening of this ancient flourishing Mediterranean world shifted the political and economic centres of gravity away from the Levant towards Classical Greece and Rome, and led, in the long term, to the emergence of the modern western civilizations. Textual evidence from cuneiform tablets and Egyptian reliefs from the New Kingdom relate that seafaring tribes, the Sea Peoples, were the final catalyst that put the fall of cities and states in motion. However, the lack of a stratified radiocarbon-based archaeology for the Sea People event has led to a floating historical chronology derived from a variety of sources spanning dispersed areas. Here, we report a stratified radiocarbon-based archaeology with anchor points in ancient epigraphic-literary sources, Hittite-Levantine-Egyptian kings and astronomical observations to precisely date the Sea People event. By confronting historical and science-based archaeology, we establish an absolute age range of 1192–1190 BC for terminal destructions and cultural collapse in the northern Levant. This radiocarbon-based archaeology has far-reaching implications for the wider Mediterranean, where an elaborate network of international relations and commercial activities are intertwined with the history of civilizations.
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The political and military history of Syria in the 3rd quarter of the 3rd millennium is primarily known from the Ebla Archives, which cover a period of less than 50 years before the Akkadian domination. Aside from the archives and the... more
The political and military history of Syria in the 3rd quarter of the 3rd millennium
is primarily known from the Ebla Archives, which cover a period of less than 50
years before the Akkadian domination. Aside from the archives and the royal
inscriptions of Sargon and Naram-Sin, mentioning military campaigns to the
North and the destruction of Mari and Ebla, textual evidence, including seal inscriptions,
is scarce.
The already lively dispute concerning the historical reconstruction of military
events at the end of the Early Dynastic period and the beginning of the Akkadian
hegemony in Syria can be enriched by the recently unearthed seal impressions
from Mari and Tell Beydar. During the Early Dynastic as well as the
Akkadian period important historic or military events were often translated to
historical documents as well as to royal art.
is primarily known from the Ebla Archives, which cover a period of less than 50
years before the Akkadian domination. Aside from the archives and the royal
inscriptions of Sargon and Naram-Sin, mentioning military campaigns to the
North and the destruction of Mari and Ebla, textual evidence, including seal inscriptions,
is scarce.
The already lively dispute concerning the historical reconstruction of military
events at the end of the Early Dynastic period and the beginning of the Akkadian
hegemony in Syria can be enriched by the recently unearthed seal impressions
from Mari and Tell Beydar. During the Early Dynastic as well as the
Akkadian period important historic or military events were often translated to
historical documents as well as to royal art.
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The Holocene vegetation history of the northern coastal Arabian Peninsula is of long-standing interest, as this Mediterranean/ semiarid/arid region is known to be particularly sensitive to climatic changes. Detailed palynological data... more
The Holocene vegetation history of the northern coastal Arabian
Peninsula is of long-standing interest, as this Mediterranean/
semiarid/arid region is known to be particularly sensitive to climatic
changes. Detailed palynological data from an 800-cm alluvial
sequence cored in the Jableh plain in northwest Syria have been
used to reconstruct the vegetation dynamics in the coastal lowlands
and the nearby Jabal an Nus¸ayriyah mountains for the period
2150 to 550 B.C. Corresponding with the 4.2 to 3.9 and 3.5 to 2.5
cal kyr BP abrupt climate changes (ACCs), two large-scale shifts to
a more arid climate have been recorded. These two ACCs had
different impacts on the vegetation assemblages in coastal Syria.
The 3.5 to 2.5 cal kyr BP ACC is drier and lasted longer than the 4.2
to 3.9 cal kyr BP ACC, and is characterized by the development of
a warm steppe pollen-derived biome (1100–800 B.C.) and a peak of
hot desert pollen-derived biome at 900 B.C. The 4.2 to 3.9 cal kyr
BP ACC is characterized by a xerophytic woods and shrubs pollenderived
biome ca. 2050 B.C. The impact of the 3.5 to 2.5 cal kyr BP
ACC on human occupation and cultural development is important
along the Syrian coast with the destruction of Ugarit and the
collapse of the Ugarit kingdom at ca. 1190 to 1185 B.C.
Peninsula is of long-standing interest, as this Mediterranean/
semiarid/arid region is known to be particularly sensitive to climatic
changes. Detailed palynological data from an 800-cm alluvial
sequence cored in the Jableh plain in northwest Syria have been
used to reconstruct the vegetation dynamics in the coastal lowlands
and the nearby Jabal an Nus¸ayriyah mountains for the period
2150 to 550 B.C. Corresponding with the 4.2 to 3.9 and 3.5 to 2.5
cal kyr BP abrupt climate changes (ACCs), two large-scale shifts to
a more arid climate have been recorded. These two ACCs had
different impacts on the vegetation assemblages in coastal Syria.
The 3.5 to 2.5 cal kyr BP ACC is drier and lasted longer than the 4.2
to 3.9 cal kyr BP ACC, and is characterized by the development of
a warm steppe pollen-derived biome (1100–800 B.C.) and a peak of
hot desert pollen-derived biome at 900 B.C. The 4.2 to 3.9 cal kyr
BP ACC is characterized by a xerophytic woods and shrubs pollenderived
biome ca. 2050 B.C. The impact of the 3.5 to 2.5 cal kyr BP
ACC on human occupation and cultural development is important
along the Syrian coast with the destruction of Ugarit and the
collapse of the Ugarit kingdom at ca. 1190 to 1185 B.C.
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Tell Tweini lies in the ancient region of Northern Phoenicia, the coastal area of Syria, around 30 kilometers south of the modern harbour town of Lattakia (Fig. 1).1 The Tell is located just outside the limits of the modern town of... more
Tell Tweini lies in the ancient region of Northern Phoenicia, the coastal area of Syria, around 30 kilometers south of the modern harbour town of Lattakia (Fig. 1).1 The Tell is located just outside the limits of the modern town of Jebleh, ancient Gibala/Gabala, 1.7 km from the sea, at the ...
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Research Interests: Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Geology, Climate Change, Palynology, and 12 moreMediterranean archaeology, Quaternary, Iron Age, Abrupt Climate Change, Bronze Age, Radiocarbon Dating, Varves, Food Availability, Archaeology of Societal Collapse, Eastern Mediterranean, Large Scale, and Interglacial Climate Variability
Excavations in northern Syria reveal the metropolis of Nabada, founded 4,800 years ago. Its elaborate administration and culture rivaled those of the fabled cities of southern Mesopotamia. IN 1993 AND 1994 excavators made a surprising... more
Excavations in northern Syria reveal the metropolis of Nabada, founded 4,800 years ago. Its elaborate administration and culture rivaled those of the fabled cities of southern Mesopotamia.
IN 1993 AND 1994 excavators made a surprising discovery: a collection of clay tablets with a meticulous record of the palace's daily accounts. Since then, we have found 216 tablets inscribed with a cuneiform script familiar from southern Mesopotamia. Most of the tablets were part of the floor of a house; they had evidently been discarded and reused as building material. We came across a heap of trash thrown over the palace wall, including many tablets. These written documents date to 2350 B.C.E., their age making them an important key to the culture.
The tablets are curious in one aspect: the script is Sumerian, but the language is Semitic. Philologists assume that Semites migrated into Mesopotamia around the end of the fourth millennium B.C.E., intermingling with Sumerians and finally dominating Mesopotamian civilization. They adopted the Sumerian script—the only one available—to express their own language. The tablets of Tell Beydar represent the largest collection of Old Semitic texts found in the Kha-bu-r area.
The Semitic royal cities of Mari and Ebla had yielded archives of this period. Mari, discovered in the 1930s, lay halfway between southern and northern Mesopotamia and formed a link between the two cultures. Around 2400 B.C.E. it ruled much of the region to its north. Ebla, in western Syria, was discovered in 1968 by an Italian team led by Paolo Matthiae of the University of Rome "La Sapienza." Here the archaeologists found an extensive archive of cuneiform tablets, which describe trade relations with Nagar and Mari. Nagar was said to lie on an international trade route between the mountains, which were rich in ores, and southern Mesopotamia, with its major center at Kish.
IN 1993 AND 1994 excavators made a surprising discovery: a collection of clay tablets with a meticulous record of the palace's daily accounts. Since then, we have found 216 tablets inscribed with a cuneiform script familiar from southern Mesopotamia. Most of the tablets were part of the floor of a house; they had evidently been discarded and reused as building material. We came across a heap of trash thrown over the palace wall, including many tablets. These written documents date to 2350 B.C.E., their age making them an important key to the culture.
The tablets are curious in one aspect: the script is Sumerian, but the language is Semitic. Philologists assume that Semites migrated into Mesopotamia around the end of the fourth millennium B.C.E., intermingling with Sumerians and finally dominating Mesopotamian civilization. They adopted the Sumerian script—the only one available—to express their own language. The tablets of Tell Beydar represent the largest collection of Old Semitic texts found in the Kha-bu-r area.
The Semitic royal cities of Mari and Ebla had yielded archives of this period. Mari, discovered in the 1930s, lay halfway between southern and northern Mesopotamia and formed a link between the two cultures. Around 2400 B.C.E. it ruled much of the region to its north. Ebla, in western Syria, was discovered in 1968 by an Italian team led by Paolo Matthiae of the University of Rome "La Sapienza." Here the archaeologists found an extensive archive of cuneiform tablets, which describe trade relations with Nagar and Mari. Nagar was said to lie on an international trade route between the mountains, which were rich in ores, and southern Mesopotamia, with its major center at Kish.
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To help the interpretation of possible olive processing residues at archaeological sites, this study examines the changes which occur in pre- and post-charring breakage surfaces of olive stones at tissue level. Fresh olives were... more
To help the interpretation of possible olive processing residues at archaeological sites, this study examines the changes which occur in pre- and post-charring breakage surfaces of olive stones at tissue level. Fresh olives were experimentally broken before and after charring and heated to different temperatures (230, 330, 430°C) in oxidising and non-oxidising conditions. The structures obtained by the experiment were studied with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the characteristics for the different temperatures, oxidation regimes and pre- or post-charring fractures were recorded. Furthermore, the experimental specimens were compared with recent and possibly old fractures of several archaeological olive stones from Tell Tweini, Syria. Criteria to infer their formation are discussed. These criteria could be developed further through more experimental replication and additional charring variables, and verified extensively on archaeobotanical assemblages in future studies. The described structures and alterations in the olive stones can be observed using reflected light microscopy, which would allow the proposed approach to be rather easy to apply in practice.
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KULeuven. ...
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KULeuven. ...
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The Saudi-Belgian research in the Al-Ghat region - an area with a very rich history located in the Alhamada valley in North Central Saudi Arabia - was inspired by the Abdulrahman Al-Sudairy Foundation and His Excellency Marc Vinck, the... more
The Saudi-Belgian research in the Al-Ghat region - an area with a very rich history located in the Alhamada valley in North Central Saudi Arabia - was inspired by the Abdulrahman Al-Sudairy Foundation and His Excellency Marc Vinck, the Belgian ambassador in Saudi Arabia. The project works under the aegis of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), Riyadh and the KU Leuven. The project is directed by Mr. Mohammed Ali Alsalouk (SCTA) and by Prof. Joachim Bretschneider (KU Leuven). The survey project looking for early human activity in the region, coordinated by Prof. Philip Van Peer, is one of the sections of the overall Al-Ghat project. The first three study seasons were conducted from 2012 through 2014.
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Belgian-Saudi scientific cooperation at Al-Ghat, Riyad 16.03 - 18.03.2014: Exhibition of the joint archaeological project in Al-Ghat rigion on the occasion of the Econmic mission to Saudi Arabia with Princes Astrid
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A fifth joint excavation campaign between the Universities of Ghent, Louvain and the Mediterranean Archaeological Society took place at Pyla-Kokkinokremos from the 27th of March until the 26th of May. The site of Pyla-Kokkinokremos... more
A fifth joint excavation campaign between the Universities of Ghent, Louvain and the Mediterranean Archaeological Society took place at Pyla-Kokkinokremos from the 27th of March until the 26th of May.
The site of Pyla-Kokkinokremos represents a singularly short-lived settlement in the island’s Late Bronze Age history. Established only a generation or so prior to its eventual abandonment in the early 12th century BC, the site provides important evidence relating to the crucial period at the end of the 13th and the beginning of the 12th century BC. Former excavations suggest the entire plateau of ca. 7 ha to have been densely occupied. Excavated parts on the plateau were laid-out regularly within a perimeter ‘casemate’ wall. During the 2018 season excavations continued both on the west and east lobe in an effort to better understand the layout, organisation and functional specialisation of the settlement.
The site of Pyla-Kokkinokremos represents a singularly short-lived settlement in the island’s Late Bronze Age history. Established only a generation or so prior to its eventual abandonment in the early 12th century BC, the site provides important evidence relating to the crucial period at the end of the 13th and the beginning of the 12th century BC. Former excavations suggest the entire plateau of ca. 7 ha to have been densely occupied. Excavated parts on the plateau were laid-out regularly within a perimeter ‘casemate’ wall. During the 2018 season excavations continued both on the west and east lobe in an effort to better understand the layout, organisation and functional specialisation of the settlement.
Research Interests: Near Eastern Archaeology, Levantine Archaeology, Late Bronze Age archaeology, Bronze and Iron Ages in Eastern Mediterranean (Archaeology), Aegean Late Bronze Age, and 7 moreCyprus and the East Mediterranean, Sea Peoples, Archaeology of the Levant, Archaeology of Cyprus, Mediterranean archaelogy, The Sea Peoples, and Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology
The site of Pyla-Kokkinokremos, located ca. 15 km east of Larnaka along the coast of Cyprus, represents a singularly short-lived settlement in the island’s Late Bronze Age history. Established only a generation or so prior to its eventual... more
The site of Pyla-Kokkinokremos, located ca. 15 km east of Larnaka along the coast of Cyprus, represents a singularly short-lived settlement in the island’s Late Bronze Age history. Established only a generation or so prior to its eventual abandonment in the early 12th c. BC, the settlement is a valuable ‘time capsule’ of the Late Cypriot IIC/IIIA (1230-1170 BC) critical phase.
Research Interests:
Located on the southeast coast of Cyprus, Pyla-Kokkinokremos was only founded a few decades prior to its eventual abandonment at the beginning of the 12 th c. BC. This limited occupation makes the site an excellent case study to explore... more
Located on the southeast coast of Cyprus, Pyla-Kokkinokremos was only founded a few decades prior to its eventual abandonment at the beginning of the 12 th c. BC. This limited occupation makes the site an excellent case study to explore the impact of the so-called crisis years on the island. Since the settlement was never reoccupied and has an overall lifespan of less than fifty years, Pyla's material culture can be considered a 'time capsule' for this LC IIC-IIIA critical phase.
Research Interests:
The Department of Antiquities has announced the completion of the 2016 excavation season at the Late Bronze Age site of Pyla-Kokkinokremos, near the village of Pyla in the Larnaca District
Research Interests:
The Department of Antiquities, Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works announces the completion of the 2016 excavation season at the Late Bronze Age site of Pyla-Kokkinokremos, near the village of Pyla in the Larnaca District.... more
The Department of Antiquities, Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works announces the completion of the 2016 excavation season at the Late Bronze Age site of Pyla-Kokkinokremos, near the village of Pyla in the Larnaca District.
According to an official press release, the excavations are conducted under the direction of Prof Joachim Bretschneider (University of Ghent & KU Leuven), Dr Athanasia Kanta (Mediterranean Archaeological Society) and Prof. Dr Jan Driessen (Université Catholique de Louvain) and took place from March 27th to April 24th 2016.
According to an official press release, the excavations are conducted under the direction of Prof Joachim Bretschneider (University of Ghent & KU Leuven), Dr Athanasia Kanta (Mediterranean Archaeological Society) and Prof. Dr Jan Driessen (Université Catholique de Louvain) and took place from March 27th to April 24th 2016.