Juan Manuel Tebes (éd.), Unearthing the Wilderness. Studies on the History and Archaeology of the Negev and Edom in the Iron Age (Ancient Near-Eastern Studies, Suppl. 45)

Depuis plus d’une cinquantaine d’années, le Néguev et le sud de la Transjordanie suscitent une attention particulière de la part des archéologues spécialistes de l’âge du Fer, notamment en raison du rôle de ces régions dans le commerce du cuivre et de l’encens. Cet intérêt est toujours vif, et la recherche archéologique sur ces régions plus active que jamais, comme en témoigne ce volume, qui est la publication d’une journée d’étude éponyme tenue à Jérusalem le 12 décembre 2010. Il comprend di..

Recherches récentes sur les origines de Pétra

De 2009 à 2011, le programme archéologique franco-allemand Early Petra, mené sous l’égide conjointe de l’Agence Nationale de la Recherche et de la Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, a coordonné les efforts de plusieurs équipes travaillant sur les phases anciennes de la capitale nabatéenne. Ce programme s’est conclu par un colloque international tenu en décembre 2011 à l’Université Humboldt de Berlin, publié par M. Mouton et S. Schmid sous le titre Men on the Rocks. The Formation of Nabataean Pe..

Report on the Fourth Excavation Season (2011) of the Madâ'in Sâlih Archaeological Project

This volume is the report on the results of the fourth excavation season of the Saudi-French Archaeological Project at Madâ'in Sâlih, ancient Hegra in the Nabataean kingdom, in north-west Saudi Arabia (MAEE, SCTA, CNRS, Univ Paris 1, IFPO). Apart from the results obtained in the different excavation areas (both in the residential area and in tomb IGN 117), the reader will find a study on the cairns/tumuli of the site (W. Abu-Azizeh) as well as intermediary reports on the geophysical detection (Chr. Benech), the fauna (J. Studer) and the pottery (C. Durand).Ce volume constitue le rapport sur les résultats de la quatrième campagne de fouilles de la mission archéologique franco-saoudienne de Madâ'in Sâlih, l'ancienne Hégra des Nabatéens, dans le nord-ouest de l'Arabie Saoudite (MAEE, SCTA, CNRS, Univ. Paris 1, IFPO). Outre les résultats obtenus dans les différents chantiers (dans la zone résidentielle et dans le tombeau IGN 117), le lecteur trouvera une étude synthétique sur les cairns/tumuli du site (W. Abu-Azizeh) ainsi que des rapports intermédiaires sur la détection géophysique (Chr. Benech), la faune (J. Studer) et la céramique (C. Durand)

Strontium isotope evidence for Pre-Islamic cotton cultivation in Arabia

With a view to understanding the dynamics of ancient trade and agrobiodiversity, archaeobotanical remains provide a means of tracing the trajectories of certain agricultural commodities. A prime example is cotton in Arabia, a plant that is non-native but has been found in raw seed and processed textile form at Hegra and Dadan, in the region of al-ʿUlā, north-western Saudi Arabia—sites of critical importance given their role in the trans-Arabian trading routes during Antiquity. Here, we demonstrate that the measurement of strontium isotopes from pre-cleaned archaeological cotton is methodologically sound and is an informative addition to the study of ancient plant/textile provenance, in this case, putting forward evidence for local production of cotton in oasis agrosystems and possible external supply. The presence of locally-grown cotton at these sites from the late 1st c. BCE–mid 6th c. CE is significant as it demonstrates that cotton cultivation in Arabia was a Pre-Islamic socio-technical feat, while imported cotton highlights the dynamism of trade at that time

The Aramaeans in Southern Syria: New Archaeological Data

Of all Aramaean kingdoms, Aram-Damascus is probably the most famous, but it remains one of the least known. Due to a lack of fieldwork, it long appeared as a blank spot on the archaeological map of Iron Age Syria. Since the late 1990’s, however, several Syrian-French fieldwork projects in the Hauran – the basaltic region of Southern Syria – have provided new data on this southern march of the kingdom. Based on the results of these projects and on a reassessment of the previous archaeological and textual evidence, this lecture will address the settlement patterns and material culture of Iron Age Hauran, with particular emphasis on the issues of state formation and cultural identity. Following a period of fluctuating settlement in Iron Age I, Iron Age II sees the emergence of a hierarchized settlement pattern structured by a series of regional centres, probably reflecting the formation of the kingdom of Aram-Damascus. Interestingly, the architecture, artistic productions and pottery of these sites suggests that, in many ways, the Aramaeans of Southern Syria were culturally closer to their Israelite neighbours than to their alleged kinsmen from Central and Northern Syria. Judging by the data at hand, it seems that this settlement phase ended around the end of the 8th century BCE, due either to the Assyrian conquest, a major drought episode or a combination of both

The Political History of North-west Arabia from the 6th to the 1st Century BCE: New Insights from Dadān, Ḥegrā and Taymāʾ

International audienceBased on the spectacular development of North-Arabian archaeology and epigraphy in the last fifteen years,this paper aims to reappraise the sequence and chronology of political powers in north-west Arabia during the secondhalf of the 1st millennium BCE. To this end, it summarises the epigraphic and archaeological evidence from the sitesof the al-ʿUlā area (notably Dadān and Ḥegrā) and confronts it with the recently published data from the third mainarchaeological site in north-west Arabia: Taymāʾ. This review of the evidence not only supports an early dating of theLihyanite kingdom (late 6th to mid-3rd century BCE?) and the hypothesis of a hitherto unknown Late Hellenistic politybased at Ḥegrā (later 3rd to mid-1st century BCE?), but it also leads to reassess the extent of Achaemenid and Ptolemaicinvolvement in north-west Arabia

Compte-rendu de: Francesca MAZZILLI, Rural Cult Centres in the Hauran. Part of the Broader Network of the Near East (100 BC – AD 300). Oxford, Archaeopress, 2018. 1 vol. broché, 200 p., 57 ill. (ARCHAEOPRESS ROMAN ARCHAEOLOGY, 51). Prix : 32 £. ISBN 978-1-78491-954-2.

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La mission archéologique de Thaj (Arabie du Nord-Est). Résultats des quatre premières campagnes de fouille (2016-2019)

International audienceFondé au début de l’époque hellénistique et occupé jusqu’à la veille de l’Islam, Thāj est le plus grand site préislamique connu sur la rive arabe du Golfe. Composé d’une ville fortifiée de 40 ha, de faubourgs et d’une nécropole d’un millier de tumuli, le site était une étape majeure sur la route caravanière reliant l’Arabie du Sud à la Mésopotamie. Entreprises en 2016, de nouvelles fouilles archéologique franco-saoudiennes jettent un nouvel éclairage sur l’organisation, la chronologie et la culture matérielle de cette grande cité caravanière d’Arabie orientale