Syro-Mesopotamian Studies – serie

The tablets recovered in Mozan during the sixth season of excavations in 1990 represent the northernmost find to date of well stratified cuneiform texts for the third millennium. They are accounts of people listed by name, profession and sometimes provenienceThe guage in which the texts are written is plausibly Old Akkadian, and so is a majority of personal names, but several names may be explained as Hurrian The date is that of the later portion of the Sargonic period. Besides providing a complete philological treatment of the texts, this fascicle briefly describes the archaeological context - a stratigraphically well defined deposit within a sizeable stone building; it also provides a brief report on the work of the sixth season of excavations.

The five tablets published here were discovered during the campaigns of 1982 and 1984 in the southern wing of Palace They represent the most recently discovered epigraphic finds from Ebla. The texts consist of accounts of goods under the control of the palace, deliveries of jars of wine, and deliveries of quantities of damp malt. As all of these tablets were recovered in the same general vicinity, it is suggested that the administrative bureau responsible for the handling of and accounting for wine and malt was located in this area. Of particular interest are the texts that recount the deliveries of wine and malt for they are typologically without parallel in the central archive. All five of these documents are datable to the last period of Ebla.

Two complementary articles dealing with the Sumerian tale Inanna's descent to the netherworld, with a survey of Near Eastern Venus deities. Buccellati proposes that the Inanna of the story was not only a divine person, but was, in addition, a statue on a ritual journey from southern to northern Babylonia (Kutha). Heimpel rediscovers that she was also, in addition to these two aspects, the planet Venus. One may wonder about this seemingly illogical con cept, but the conclusion appears to be inescapable -that the Sumer ians combined all three aspects in their belief about the same deity in the same tale.

This article presents a preliminary picture of the 1973-1975 excavations of the Tell Mardikh Royal Palace G dating to Early Bronze IVA ( ca. 2400-2250 B.C.). It was in 1975 that some 15,000 cuneiform tablets and fragments were found in the palace, some of them written in a new North- Westem Semitic language. The various sectors of the palace thus far excavated are described and the building is placed within its chronological and historical framework. Ceramic evidence pertaining to the chronology is published here in detail for the first time. The paper (given here in a translation by Dr. Frances Pinnock) was read at the 24th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale at Birmingham in July 1976.

This study focuses attention on a particular type of documents from the Ur III period which record gifts of silver rings to various individuals. These texts are analyzed as a structural type, as a part of a specific archive and in relationship to similar gift texts from other contemporary governmental offices. It is proposed that these gifts were part of a greeting ceremony. An investigation of offices located at Drehem which processed various goods encountered in gift texts leads to proposals on the administrative role and function of ancient Puzris- Dagan.

A pottery kiln for glazing ceramics was found during the second season of excavations in 1976 at Terqa, modern-day Ashara. It was situated to the south of the tell, just outside the perimeter of the ancient city. Nu merous ceramic vessels, glazed and unglazed, were found in or near the kiln. All of these finds may be dated to the twelfth century A.D., in the Ayyubid period.

Following a review of goals and procedures, the main substantive results pertaining to stratigraphy and architecture are described and illustrated. In the Second Millennium, besides some interesting jar burials, a considerable exposure was obtained of a Khana period residential quarter: the date established by epigraphic data confirms the conclusions reached on typological grounds in 1976, whereby a major artifactual assemblage can now be safely attributed to this otherwise unknown period. - In the Third Millennium strata we were able to identify a massive monumental structure as a city wall of which several portions could be traced along the perimeter of the tell: its structural make-up is evidenced, at least in part, by a large exposure at one end of the tell and by sounding at the opposite end. Just within the city-wall are well preserved remains of manu facturing and storage facilities (kilns and bins), followed in time by richly endowed burial.

One of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements of the world, Adana is a town in modern Turkey, on the Cilicia Plain. Of the 132 cylinder seals presented here, many types are still poorly known. This new material extends the known series of peripheral cylinder seals. A revised sphragistics terminology is tested on this material, in accordance with the terminology now in use.

A typological analysis of 96 objects found during the third season (September-December 1977). These objects, dating to the third and second millennia, include clay figurines, metal pins, weapons and tools, beads , rings and miscellaneous implements. A descriptive catalog provides a detailed entry for each item, with cross references to the Object Typology of the Second Season (TPR 3). Most objects are also illustrated in line drawings and half-tones.

The object of this paper is to present the main results of the Belgian excavations at Tell Abou Danne (Area of the lake of Djabbul) during the seasons 1977 and 1978. The chronology runs from the 7th century BC until the time of Augustus. Through levels I and II of the site, seven successive layers show the evolution of the main cultural features in a rural district of North Syria . Architectural remains, quality wares, lamps, figurines , glass works, metal and stone objects, and coins are taken into consideration. Their study reveals the multiplicity of the cultural influences in the area during the three last quarters of the first millennium BC and the increasing importance of the Mediterranean centers of civilisation.

The primary objectives of this research were to (1) establish an overall orientation and framework for future analysis of this type at Terga and (2) to determine on a preliminary basis the relationship of ceramics and soils of two sites in the Near East: ancient Terga (modern Ashara in Syria) and Dilbat (modern Tell Deylem in Iraq). The long-term objective of this sourcing was to contribute data toward the reconstruction of social, political and economic trends. A truly interdisciplinary effort was required , as several universities and analytical techniques were utilized-atomic absorption, optical emission, thin section, botanical and computer analyses. A general attempt was made to suggest and formulate a continuum of research standards, from the original field collection of samples to the actual laboratory analysis; this standardization would establish an overall climate of reproducibility and credibility. The most important substantive results are found in the areas of ceramic composition, ceramic clay / (soil) relationships, atomic absorption and computer refinement for archaeological analysis.

A recording system based on tokens, spread throughout the Near East from the early Neolithic on, is proposed as a demonstrable antecedent of the cuneiform writing system. Consisting of a rich and differentiated repertory of shapes and markings, this token system is more complex than a simple system of un-differentiated counters. A first attempt at an inventory of the most representative shapes of tokens from throughout the Near East is provided, including all the documentation presently available to me. On this basis a preliminary comparison is made with signs found on the earliest tablets, and an interpretation is suggested for the identification of some of the existing tokens . Finally, a developmental scheme is proposed to explain the transition from tokens and bullae as prototypes of writing to a full-fledged writing system of impressed and incised signs.

The single epigraphic find of the second season came from the surface, not far from one of the regular excavation units. It is a small administrative document of the same type as those from Mari dated to the period of the akkanakku's. Its importance lies in the inherent implications of (1) close links with Mari at that period, (2) well established archival procedures at Terqa earlier than known heretofore, and (3) possibly a special linguistic affiliation for Terqa in the early periods.

A typological analysis of 30 objects found during the second season, all dating to the third and second millennia, including a stamp seal; clay figurines; metal pins, weapons and tools; rings and miscellaneous implements. A descriptive catalog provides a detailed entry for each item, most of which are also illustrated in line drawings and half-tones.

A typological analysis of 30 objects found during the second season, all dating to the third and second millennia, including a stamp seal; clay figurines; metal pins, weapons and tools; rings and miscellaneous implements. A descriptive catalog provides a detailed entry for each item, most of which are also illustrated in line drawings and half-tones.

This article deals with the West Semitic nomadic tribe of the Rabbeans who at the time of the Mart archives belonged to the Benjaminite con federation and controlled one of the mixed urbantribal states on the upper Middle Euphrates. It traces the history of the tribe to the end of the Late Bronze and examins its role in the struggle of the contem poraneous great powers. Then, after a long historical, it shows the descendants of the Rabbeans re-emerge, under the same name, in the same area, and in a very similar political role, during the struggle for Syria in the first century B.C.