TABLE OF CONTENTS. Acknowledgments... List of Tables... List of Figures... CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH AIMS

Transcription

1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments List of Tables List of Figures xiii xv xix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH AIMS 1.1 Introduction The Geography and Environment of Syria and Lebanon EBA Nomenclature and Chronology Southern Levantine Terminology Northern Levantine Terminology High, Middle or Low : Chronological Debates Research Aims of the study CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW: EBA EXPLORATION 2.1 Introduction Contrast between the Northern and Southern Levant The 19 th Century: The Genesis of Exploration Expansion Post World War I Exploration The Coastal Zone Inland Syria The EB IV Period in the North: The Discovery of Hama Ebla and the Re discovery of Western Syria Rescue Archaeology: The Tishrin and Tabqa Dams Urban Development in the Northern Levant Western Inland Syria The Euphrates Recent Developments in the West: 1975 to Urbanism on the Margins The End of the EBA: Collapse or Continuity? Summary and Conclusion

2 viii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 3 TELL NEBI MEND: INTRODUCTION AND STRATIGRAPHY 3.1 Preamble Location The Tell Nebi Mend Project: A Short History The French Excavations The British Excavation 1975 to Tell Nebi Mend in the Early and Middle Bronze Ages Trench I: Introduction Stratigraphy of Trench I: Phasing Phase K Phase L Phase M Phase N Phase O Phase P Phase Q Phase R Trench I Summary Revised Trench I Phasing: The Late Bronze to Early Bronze Age Final Stratigraphic Conclusions CHAPTER 4 THE TELL NEBI MEND CERAMIC TYPE SERIES 4.1 Introduction Early Bronze Age Ceramic Studies The Northern Levant Defining the EB III IV in Western Syria and the Lebanon The Tell Nebi Mend Type Series Method Residuality and the Tell Nebi Mend Ceramic Assemblage Stratigraphic Distribution of Ceramic Materials Terminology Fabric Types and Descriptions Comparison with Mathias Fabric Descriptions The Type Series Cooking Pots ii Discussion of the TNM Cooking Pot Types

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS ix Jars ii Medium to Large Jars iii Discussion of the TNM Medium to Large Jar Types iv Small Jars v Discussion of the TNM Small Jar Types Basins ( Flower Pots ) ii Discussion of the TNM Basin/ Flower Pot Types Bowls ii Fine, Medium and Deep Bowls iii Discussion of the TNM Fine, Medium and Deep Bowl Types iv Trays v Discussion of the TNM Tray Types vi Platter Bowls vii Discussion of the TNM Platter Bowl Types Goblets ii Discussion of the TNM Goblet Types Jugs and Juglets ii Discussion of the TNM Jug and Juglet Types Miniature Vessels ii Discussion of the TNM Miniature Vessels Bases ii Discussion of the TNM Base Types Surface Treatment Discussion of the Corpus Period 1 (Phases R to P): The EB III Period 2 (Phases O to M): The EB III-IV Transition and the EB IV ii Defining the EB IVA EB IVB Ceramic Transition Period 3 (Phases L to K): The EB MB Transition Summary and Conclusion CHAPTER 5 ELITE EMULATION AND THE GOBLET CULTURE OF THE EB IV 5.1 Introduction The Archaeology and Anthropology of Drinking Early Alcohol Consumption in the Near East: A Brief Overview Elite Emulation and the Southern Levantine EB IV Elite Emulation in the North: The TNM Goblet Corpus in Context Summary and Conclusion

4 x TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 6 COMPARATIVE STRATIGRAPHY: TELL NEBI MEND IN CONTEXT 6.1 Introduction Method The Lebanon Tell Arqa Byblos Sidon Tyre Western Syria Tell Mishrifeh Hama al Rawda Tell Qarqur Tell Mardikh Tell Afis Ras Shamra The Plain of Antioch: The Amuq Umm el Marra North eastern Syria: The Euphrates, Balikh and Khabur Tell Banat and Tell Kabir Tell es Sweyhat Tell Hadidi Selenkahiye Tell Hariri Tell Brak Southern Syria: The Black Desert Khirbet al Umbashi Relative and Absolute Dating: Tell Nebi Mend in Context Tell Nebi Mend in the Late Third Millennium BCE Landscape ii A Relative Chronological Conclusion Radiocarbon: A New Chronological Horizon ii The Tell Nebi Mend Dates Excursus A: EB IV Destructions: Human Agency and/or Natural Disaster Preamble Ebla and the Destruction of Palace G Discussion: The Origin of the Destruction Later EBA Destruction Horizons in the Lebanon and Western Syria Summary and Conclusion

5 TABLE OF CONTENTS xi CHAPTER 7 THE END OF THE EBA: TELL NEBI MEND IN CONTEXT 7.1 Introduction The Archaeology of Collapse and Regeneration Theories Bearing on the End of the EBA Climate Change Natural Disaster Invasion The EB MB Transition: The Archaeological Evidence The Euphrates and Jezireh Western Inland Syria and the Lebanon The EB MB Transition: The Tell Nebi Mend Perspective The Evidence Discussion The End of the EBA: Climate Change, Natural Disaster or Invasion? Summary and Conclusion CHAPTER 8 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 8.2 Areas for Future Investigation BIBLIOGRAPHY FIGURES APPENDIX A Tell Nebi Mend Wall List