Archaeological Landscapes of the Near East

Society for American Archaeology Book Award Winner Many fundamental studies of the origins of states have built upon landscape data, but an overall study of the Near Eastern landscape itself has never been attempted. Spanning thousands of years of history, the ancient Near East presents a bewildering range of landscapes, the understanding of which can greatly enhance our ability to infer past political and social systems.
Tony Wilkinson now shows that throughout the Holocene humans altered the Near Eastern environment so thoroughly that the land has become a human artifact, albeit one that retains the power to shape human societies. In this trailblazing book—the first to describe and explain the development of the Near Eastern landscape using archaeological data—Wilkinson identifies specific landscape signatures for various regions and periods, from the early stages of complex societies in the fifth to sixth millennium B.C. to the close of the Early Islamic period around the tenth century A.D.
From Bronze Age city-states to colonized steppes, these signature landscapes of irrigation systems, tells, and other features changed through time along with changes in social, economic, political, and environmental conditions. By weaving together the record of the human landscape with evidence of settlement, the environment, and social and economic conditions, Wilkinson provides a holistic view of the ancient Near East that complements archaeological excavations, cuneiform texts, and other conventional sources.
Through this overview, culled from thirty years' research, Wilkinson establishes a new framework for understanding the economic and physical infrastructure of the region. By describing the basic attributes of the ancient cultural landscape and placing their development within the context of a dynamic environment, he breaks new ground in landscape archaeology and offers a new context for understanding the ancient Near East.

History

Wilkinson, T. J.

Middle East

University of Arizona Press

Society for American Archaeology Book Award Winner Many fundamental studies of the origins of states have built upon landscape data, but an overall study of the Near Eastern landscape itself has never been attempted. Spanning thousands of years of history, the ancient Near East presents a bewildering range of landscapes, the understanding of which can greatly enhance our ability to infer past political and social systems.Tony Wilkinson now shows that throughout the Holocene humans altered the Near Eastern environment so thoroughly that the land has become a human artifact, albeit one that retains the power to shape human societies. In this trailblazing book—the first to describe and explain the development of the Near Eastern landscape using archaeological data—Wilkinson identifies specific landscape signatures for various regions and periods, from the early stages of complex societies in the fifth to sixth millennium B.C. to the close of the Early Islamic period around the tenth century A.D.
From Bronze Age city-states to colonized steppes, these signature landscapes of irrigation systems, tells, and other features changed through time along with changes in social, economic, political, and environmental conditions. By weaving together the record of the human landscape with evidence of settlement, the environment, and social and economic conditions, Wilkinson provides a holistic view of the ancient Near East that complements archaeological excavations, cuneiform texts, and other conventional sources.
Through this overview, culled from thirty years' research, Wilkinson establishes a new framework for understanding the economic and physical infrastructure of the region. By describing the basic attributes of the ancient cultural landscape and placing their development within the context of a dynamic environment, he breaks new ground in landscape archaeology and offers a new context for understanding the ancient Near East.

This is a report on a detailed survey conducted within an area of 100 km2 along the south (left) bank of the River Euphrates (Firat Nehri) in southeastern Turkey. The survey provided a fourteen period sequence of settlement covering a span of 8,000 years. Population growth during the late Chalcolithic and the mid-late Early Bronze Age appears to have resulted in the gradual removal of woodland from the area. During the latter peak, a network of nodal settlements developed within cultivable lowlands, and formed part of a moderately well-integrated hierarchy of villages and small towns. Following a late Bronze Age-early Iron Age decline in visible remains of settlement, population again increased during the Seleucid-Hellenistic Period to reach a peak in the late Roman-early Byzantine times. By this time, all cultivable land was under either extensive or intensive cultivation and the limestone uplands probably formed rough pasture. There followed, during the seventh-tenth centuries AD, a remarkable decline in remains of sedentary occupation, which only recovered slightly in the Medieval period. Several hundred years of poorly documented settlement followed which culminated in the establishment, probably by the nineteenth century, of the modern network of settlements. A substantial growth in total cultivated area appears to have resulted from large-scale mechanization during the twentieth century.

Town and Country in Southeastern Anatolia, Volume 1: Settlement and Land Use at Kurban Höyuek and Other Sites in the Lower Karababa Basin (Oriental Institute Publications)

Gurney, David

McDonald, M. M. A.

Miller, N. F.

Ancient Civilizations

Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago

The city of Carchemish in the valley of the Euphrates river can be regarded as one of the iconic sites in the Middle East, a mound complex known both for its own intrinsic qualities as the seat of later Hittite power and Neo-Hittite kings, but also because its history of excavations included well known historical figures such as Leonard Woolley and T. E. Lawrence. However, because of its location within the military zone of the Turkish-Syrian border the site itself has been inaccessible to archaeologists for more than 90 years. Carchemish in Context summarises the results of regional investigations conducted within the Land of Carchemish Project in Syria, as well as other archaeological surveys in the region, in order to provide a regional, historical and archaeological context for the development of the city. A synthesis of the history of Carchemish is presented and a regional overview of the Land of Carchemish as it is defined by archaeological features and key historical references through to the early Iron Age. Insightful snapshots of the dynamics of an ancient state are revealed which can now be seen to have fluctuated dramatically in size throughout 700-800 years, in part depending upon the power of the king of Carchemish or the aggressions of external powers. The results from the Project provide an overview of the main trends of settlement in the region over 8000 years, using a combination of survey databases to both north and south of the Syrian-Turkish border and with a focus on the earlier phases of settlement from the Neolithic until the end of the Bronze Age when Carchemish became an outpost of the Hittite empire. The Iron Age is a period blessed by numerous historical records some of which can be traced in the modern landscape. Further chapters explore site-specific aspects of the regional archaeology, including a series of important sites on the Sajur river, some of which were positioned along the main campaign routes of the Assyrian kings. The close relationship between the nearby Early Bronze Age site of Tell Jerablus Tahtani and Carchemish are examined and the results from the 40 ha Carchemish Outer Town survey described, providing important new data sources regarding the layout, defenses and dates of occupation of this significant part of the city. The Classical, Roman, Byzantine and Early Islamic occupations are also discussed in relation to what is known of occupation in the surrounding region. Table of Contents Chapter 1. Introduction, by T.J. Wilkinson and Edgar Peltenburg Chapter 2. Sketch History of Karkamish in the Earlier Iron Age Iron I-IIB, by J.D. Hawkins and M. Weeden Chapter 3. The Land of Carchemish and its Neighbours During the Neo-Hittite period (c. 1190-717 BC), by Michael Brown and Stefan Smith Chapter 4. Long-term Settlement Trends in the Birecik-Carchemish Sectors, by Dan Lawrence and Andrea Ricci Chapter 5. The Landscapes of Carchemish, by T.J.Wilkinson Chapter 6. The Scent of Empire on the Sajur, by Jesper Eidem Chapter 7. Carchemish in the Third Millennium: A View From Neighbouring Tell Jerablus Tahtani, by Edgar Peltenburg Chapter 8. Investigations of Iron Age Carchemish: The Outer Town Survey of 2009 and 2010, by Eleanor Wilkinson and Andrea Ricci Chapter 9. The Carchemish Region Between the Hellenistic and Early Islamic Periods, by Paul Newson Chapter 10. Sixty Years of Site Damage in the Carchemish Region, by Emma Cunliffe Chapter 11. Discussion, by T.J. Wilkinson and Edgar Peltenburg Appendix. The Land of Carchemish Survey (Syria), 2006-2010: Site Gazeteer, by T. J. Wilkinson, Dan Lawrence and Andrea Ricci

Carchemish in Context (BANEA Monograph)

Peltenburg, Edgar

Barbanes Wilkinson, Eleanor

Oxbow Books

Between 1966 and 1973, the British Institute of Persian Studies conducted seven seasons of excavation and survey at Siraf, which was a major city on the Iranian shore of the Persian Gulf that played a leading role in the network of maritime trade that supplied Western Asia with the products of India, the Far East and Eastern Africa between A.D. 800 and 1050. This volume synthesizes the written evidence of the history of Siraf, and outlines what we know about the character of the city, the ways in which its inhabitants exploited the hinterland and its role in the maritime trade of the Indian Ocean. This volume introduces the excavations carried out at the site and the range of finds that were recovered (Chapter 1), the written evidence that relates to Siraf (Chapter 2), the cities' urban topography (Chapter 3), its hinterland (Chapter 4), the nature of settlement in the neighboring high valleys (Chapter 5) and Siraf's place in the wider historical and geographical contexts (Chapter 6). The volume also includes digital versions of the original maps of the site produced in the 1970s. This is the first volume in a new series that has been established by the British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS) in conjunction with Oxbow Books, which will publish archaeological research in Iran that has been sponsored by BIPS.

Siraf: History, Topography and Environment (British Institute of Persian Studies, Archaeological Monograph Series)

Whitcomb, Donald

Petrie, Cameron A.

WHITEHOUSE, David

The Gorgan Wall stretches for over 200km through northern Iran. Guarded by over 30 forts, it is longer than Hadrians Wall and the Antonine Wall put together and is the most monumental ancient border defense system between Central Europe and China. Yet few have heard of it. Until recently, dating proposals ranged over more than a millennium, and majority opinion attributed the wall to the Parthians (3rd century BC 3rd century AD). Scientific dating has now established that this massive monument was created in the 5th/6th century AD and belongs to one of the largest and most long-lasting empires of antiquity, that of Sasanian Persia (3rd-7th centuries AD). Stretching from modern Pakistan to Mesopotamia and into Central Asia and the Arabian Peninsula, the empire conquered in the early 7th century much of the Levant and advanced as far as the Bosporus. Investigations between 2005 and 2009 by a team of archaeologists makes clear that such expansion was made possible through one of the largest and most well organized military systems of antiquity, together with targeted investment in border defense and the empires agriculture. In the hinterland of the wall there were massive square fortifications, of some 40 ha size each, one of which has yielded traces of dense occupation, probably neat rows of army tents. The Late Sasanian era also saw the foundation of a city, more than twice the size of Roman London at its prime, demonstrating that the area was prosperous enough to sustain a sizable urban population. Substantial manpower was required for these construction projects. Brick production for the Gorgan Wall depended on thousands of kilns that received water via major canals. The wall cut through a landscape that already a millennium earlier was heavily settled and irrigated by canals which enabled a flourishing culture to emerge in the steppe. The Gorgan Wall project has shed light on what made one of antiquity's largest empires and earlier civilisations succeed. Table of Contents SECTION A: RESEARCH CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND 1.Introduction 2. History of Research SECTION B: FIELD RESEARCH 3. The Landscapes of the Gorgan Wall (Tony J. Wilkinson, Hamid Omrani Rekavandi, Kristen Hopper, Seth Priestman, Kourosh Roustaei and Nikolaos Galiatsatos) 4. The Brick Kilns Alongside the Gorgan Wall 5. The Architecture of the Gorgan Wall 6. Forts, Fortlets and Watchtowers on the Gorgan Wall 7. The Brick Kilns Alongside the Tammisheh Wall 8. The Architecture of the Tammisheh Wall 9. The Forts on the Tammisheh Wall 10. Mountain Strongholds and Refuges Above the Tammisheh Wall 11. Linear Earthworks Of More Recent Date – Timeless Responses To A Continuous Threat 12. Sasanian Campaign Bases 13. A Sasanian City In The Gorgan Plain: Dasht Qal‘eh 14. Early Urban Expansion Into The Steppe: Qelich Qoineq SECTION C: SPECIALIST CONTRIBUTIONS 15. The Underwater Survey of the Tammisheh and Gorgan Walls (Julian Jansen Van Rensburg, Francesco Caputo, Hamid Omrani Rekavandi, Eberhard W. Sauer, Bardia Shabani and James Ratcliffe) 16. Archaeomagnetic Studies Of Features Along The Gorgan And Tammisheh Walls (Cathy M. Batt and David P. Greenwood) 17. OSL Dating (Jean-Luc Schwenninger and Morteza Fattahi) 18. Sasanian Ceramics From The Gorgan Wall And Other Sites On The Gorgan Plain (Seth M.N. Priestman) 19. Vessel Glass and Beads (Birgitta Hoffmann) 20. Animal Bones (Marjan Mashkour, Valentin Radu and Richard Thomas) 21. Charcoal (Imogen Poole and Rowena Gale) 22. Bitumen (Richard Evershed) SECTION D: CONCLUSIONS 23. History of the Walls and of the Sasanian Military Build-up in the Gorgan Plain: A Microcosm of a Powerful Empire Appendices 19th-Century Sources On The Physical Remains Of The Gorgan Wall Bibliography Persian translation of introduction, table of contents and title page (Amin Nazifi)

Persia's Imperial Power in Late Antiquity: The Great Wall of Gorgan and the Frontier Landscapes of Sasanian Iran (British Institute of Persian Studies, Archaeological Monograph Series)

Sauer, Eberhard

Rekavandi, H. Omrani

Nokandeh, J.

The present study forms part of the author's long-term research strategy that is aimed at examining the growth of towns, rural settlements, and the rural landscape over much of the last ten thousand years. Emphasis is upon the retrieval of information from surface surveys, and at the same time, the integration of cultural change within both the local environmental context and long-term environmental change. It must be emphasised that the surveys under discussion, collectively called the Sweyhat Survey, were small and rather detailed studies of some 60 sq. km of land around Tell es-Sweyhat, Syria, and the thirty sites therein on the east bank of the Euphrates River; the surveys were conducted in 1974, 1991, and 1992. The survey area is nested within a broader "area of interest," which comprises the area of the upper Lake Tabqa salvage project.

On the Margin of the Euphrates: Settlement and Land Use at Tell es-Sweyhat and in the Upper Tabqa Area, Syria (Oriental Institute Publications)

Wilkinson, Tony

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Wilkinson, T. J.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Wilkinson, T. J.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Wilkinson, T. J.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Archaeological Landscapes of the Near East

Archaeological Landscapes of the Near East

Town and Country in Southeastern Anatolia, Volume 1: Settlement and Land Use at Kurban Höyuek and Other Sites in the Lower Karababa Basin (Oriental Institute Publications)

Carchemish in Context (BANEA Monograph)

Siraf: History, Topography and Environment (British Institute of Persian Studies, Archaeological Monograph Series)

Persia's Imperial Power in Late Antiquity: The Great Wall of Gorgan and the Frontier Landscapes of Sasanian Iran (British Institute of Persian Studies, Archaeological Monograph Series)

On the Margin of the Euphrates: Settlement and Land Use at Tell es-Sweyhat and in the Upper Tabqa Area, Syria (Oriental Institute Publications)