Perception in Palatial Architecture: the Case of the AP Palace at Urkesh

Buccellati, F. 2019. “Perception in Palatial Architecture: The Case of the AP Palace at Urkesh.” In Ancient Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Palaces, edited by M. Bietak, P. Matthiae, and S. Prell, 2:31–40. CAENL 8. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz

New radiocarbon-based assessment supports the prominence of Tell Lachish during the Later Bronze Age IB-IIA

This article presents a new suite of radiocarbon (14C) dates for the lower portion of the Late Bronze Age (LBA) sequence of Area S, Tel Lachish. The results show that the lowest levels reached by Ussishkin in the 1980s (S-2 and S-3) date significantly earlier than was previously thought. Level S-3, with its monumental architecture, belongs in the 2nd half of the 15th century BCE, as does the commencement of Level S-2. The laminated deposit of S-2 continues through the first half of the 14th century BCE, coinciding at least in part with the Amarna period. This redating leads to improved agreement between archaeological and textual evidence regarding the presence of a substantial, prominent settlement at Lachish during LB IB-IIA, from the reign of Thutmoses III through the Amarna period.ISSN:0033-822

Dynamics of Wind Setdown at Suez and the Eastern Nile Delta

BACKGROUND: Wind setdown is the drop in water level caused by wind stress acting on the surface of a body of water for an extended period of time. As the wind blows, water recedes from the upwind shore and exposes terrain that was formerly underwater. Previous researchers have suggested wind setdown as a possible hydrodynamic explanation for Moses crossing the Red Sea, as described in Exodus 14. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This study analyzes the hydrodynamic mechanism proposed by earlier studies, focusing on the time needed to reach a steady-state solution. In addition, the authors investigate a site in the eastern Nile delta, where the ancient Pelusiac branch of the Nile once flowed into a coastal lagoon then known as the Lake of Tanis. We conduct a satellite and modeling survey to analyze this location, using geological evidence of the ancient bathymetry and a historical description of a strong wind event in 1882. A suite of model experiments are performed to demonstrate a new hydrodynamic mechanism that can cause an angular body of water to divide under wind stress, and to test the behavior of our study location and reconstructed topography. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Under a uniform 28 m/s easterly wind forcing in the reconstructed model basin, the ocean model produces an area of exposed mud flats where the river mouth opens into the lake. This land bridge is 3-4 km long and 5 km wide, and it remains open for 4 hours. Model results indicate that navigation in shallow-water harbors can be significantly curtailed by wind setdown when strong winds blow offshore

Die Siegel aus Areal F/II in Tell el-Dab'a : erster Vorbericht

Die Grabung des Österreichischen Archäologischen Institutes Kairo zusammen mit dem Institut für Ägyptologie der Universität Wien im sog. Areal F/II, westlich von Tell el-Dabca, hat seit 2006 die erste bisher bekannte palatiale Anlage der frühen Hyksoszeit freigelegt. Diese Entdeckung erweitert unsere Kenntnisse der Architektur und der materiellen Kultur dieser noch zu schlecht bekannten Phase der ägyptischen Geschichte. In diesem Beitrag soll ein Vorbericht über die erste Kampagne zur Bearbeitung der Siegel aus diesem Areal gegeben werden