The Bronze Age in the Lebanon

The volume offers a selection of scholarly articles that present both new data and its interpretations and a reanalysis and synthesis of already existing data, ranging from the Early Bronze Age through the beginning of the Late Bronze Age. In geographical terms, the regions listed in its subtitle are the heart of the volume, but there are also important implications for the archaeology of the southern Levant, the Aegean, Cyprus and Anatolia. Thematically, the volume concerns cross-cultural connections and chronology, and their reciprocal relationship. The team working on the finds from Tell Dab'a presents a number of important syntheses. D. Aston's contribution offers a summary of the scholarship on the so-called Tell el-Yahudiyeh pottery, which is a crucial marker for synchronizing Egypt, the Levant, and Cyprus. K. Kopetzky's presentation of the Hyksos period pottery is a long-awaited summary of the key site for this subject. R. Scheistl discusses the local and foreign attributes in the mortuary tradition at Tell Daba. I. Forstner-Muller's presentation of a scimitar from 13th dynasty Tell Daba demonstrates the adoption of broader Mesopotamian weapons and martial symbols among Egyptianized Asiatics in the Delta. From the Lebanon, C. Doumet -Serhal's report on the excavations at Sidon offers a glimpse into the ground-breaking discoveries this site offers and will likely continue to produce for understanding the Early and Middle Bronze Age trade in the eastern Mediterranean and its relations to the Aegean. The latter is expanded upon by MacGillivray's discussion of what may be among the earliest Minoan import to the Levant. Y.M. Bou-Assaf discusses the architectural traditions of Byblos, which is complemented by J.P. Thalmann's synchronization of this site with his own excavations at Tell Arqa. A welcome summary is R. Pruzsinszky's and M. Heinz' discussion of the rare Levantine assemblage of cuneiform texts from Kamid el-Loz. P. Fischer's article on an enigmatic coastal (from Beirut?) import to the Jordan Valley is a case study on the interdisciplinary application of typology and petrography to long-distance trade. Three contributions from the Italian team excavating at Tell Mishrifeh/Qatna by Iamoni, Luciani, and Morandi-Bonacossi, treat the local simple ware, decorated and imported ware, and the Early Bronze-Middle Bronze Age transition, respectively. Lastly, relations between Syria and the eastern Mediterranean world (specifically Egypt) is underscored by Lagarce and Puytison-Lagarce in their article on the finds from Ras Ibn-Hani, one of Ugarit's ports.