Sebastiano Soldi | Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) (original) (raw)
Books by Sebastiano Soldi
Papers by Sebastiano Soldi
níĝ-ba dub-sar maḫ. Studies on Ebla and the Ancient Near East presented to Amalia Catagnoti. Edited by Elisabetta Cianfanelli and Fiammetta Gori, 2024
This article deals with an unpublished stone figurine belonging to the class of so-called Spectac... more This article deals with an unpublished stone figurine belonging to the class of so-called Spectacle Idols from the collections of the National Archaeological Museum of Florence. The object is described and contextualized within the class of similar materials from other museums' collections and from controlled stratigraphic excavations.
Antiquity, 2023
Dates differ by up to 150 years in the protracted debate around the chronology of the Middle Bron... more Dates differ by up to 150 years in the protracted debate around the chronology of the Middle Bronze Age Near East. Here, the authors present radiocarbon and ceramic evidence from destroyed buildings at Zincirli, Türkiye, that support the Middle Chronology. Ceramics from late Middle Bronze Age sites in Syria and Anatolia, and Bayesian modelling of 18 well-stratified radiocarbon samples from site destruction contexts attributable to Hittite king Ḫattusili I, indicate a date in the later seventeenth century BC. Since the Northern Levant connects the Mesopotamian and Eastern Mediterranean second-millennium BC chronologies, this evidence supports the convergence of these long-debated schemas, with implications for the start of the Late Bronze Age and the rise of empires.
Proceedings of the 12th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, 2023
Recent excavations by the Chicago-Tübingen Expedition at Zincirli, ancient Sam’al, in south-easte... more Recent excavations by the Chicago-Tübingen Expedition at Zincirli, ancient Sam’al, in south-eastern Turkey, have revealed a small but relevant collection of Red Slip Ware dated to the local Iron Age II. The presence in the local inventories of such pottery clearly shows connections with the material culture of northern inland Syria, also confirmed by the general assemblage of locally made Iron Age pottery. At the same time, this collection offers the chance of investigating this phenomenon from this northernmost location, bridging north Syria and southern Anatolia. The aim of this paper is to analyze this issue, contextualizing Zincirli’s evidence within its proper archaeological documentation and identifying possible relationships with the neighbouring areas between the 9th and 7th century BC.
Ὁ παῖς καλός. Scritti di archeologia offerti a Mario Iozzo per il suo sessantacinquesimo compleanno, a cura di B. Arbeid, E. Ghisellini e M.R. Luberto, Monte Compatri (Roma) 2022, Edizioni Espera, 2022
This paper deals with the story behind the acquisition of an Old-Syrian seal of the region of Ale... more This paper deals with the story behind the acquisition of an Old-Syrian seal of the region of Aleppo which was found in 1901 in the area of a late-Roman graveyard dated to the 3rd-4th century AD in Vicenza, in northern Italy. The seal was found in the field of Mr Pietro Tapparelli, owner of the area of the excavations, and was initially thought to be of Assyrian-Babylonian provenance. The Director of the Royal Archaeological Museum of Florence (now National Archaeological Museum), Dr Luigi Adriano Milani, was the first in identifying it as “Hittite”, as at that time the Syrian material culture of the Second Millennium BC. was defined. Milani decided to buy the seal to increase the “pre-Hellenic” collections of the Florence Museum and after the exchange of several letters with the owner and other stakeholders and a long negotiation, he succeeded in obtaining it to display it in the Glyptic Collection of the Museum.
Rivista di Studi Fenici, 2021
This paper presents new ceramic data from the excavations conducted by the Chicago-Tübingen Expe... more This paper presents new ceramic data from the excavations conducted by the Chicago-Tübingen Expedition at Zincirli, the capital of the Iron Age kingdom of Sam’al, in south-eastern Turkey. Excavations in the lower town and on the citadel mound revealed a small but relevant collection of Red Slip Ware dated to the local Iron Age II and III. The local
pottery inventory shows clear connections with the material culture of northern inland Syria, especially with the sites of the Amuq, the Idlib and Aleppo plains and the Euphrates area. !e sample of Zincirli shows that Red Slip is abundant and associate to Cypriot-style painted wares in the early Iron Age II (9th – middle of 8th century BCE) and tends to decrease, to almost disappear, in the Iron Age III (mid 8th – 7th century BCE). In this later period the pottery production seems to be gradually affected by the Assyrian presence in the region, as Sam’al is included into the realm of the Neo-Assyrian empire, with the adoption of some new pottery types and glazed decorations, and the abandonment of the local red slip treatment.
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 2021
Recent excavations at the site of Zincirli Höyük in southeastern Turkey have revealed significant... more Recent excavations at the site of Zincirli Höyük in southeastern Turkey have revealed significant remains of the Middle Bronze Age II period, with evidence for local food (and probably wine) production and storage, textile production, and administrative activities. Certain cylinder seal and vessel types further indicate that the site was well-integrated into a contemporary exchange network linking the Euphrates, North Syria, and central Anatolia. The newly discovered complex includes the massive Hilani I, heretofore attributed to the Iron Age but now believed to be a Middle Bronze Age temple rather than a bīt ḫilāni palace. This preliminary report presents architecture, ceramics, and small finds associated with this complex, DD, which comprises, in addition to Hilani I, two well-provisioned buildings (DD/I and DD/II), a street, and exterior work spaces, and was destroyed in a conflagration in the mid-17th century b.c.e. Ongoing research by the Chicago-Tübingen Expedition seeks to illuminate the function of Complex DD and Hilani I, as well as the regional significance of the site, including its political relationship to nearby Tilmen Höyük/Zalwar, destroyed in the campaigns of Ḫattušili I, and its role in the trade of luxury commodities such as wine and textiles.
Metropolitan Museum Journal, 2017
This paper deals with the employment and diffusion of "Assyrian glazed hands" (also called "Ishta... more This paper deals with the employment and diffusion of "Assyrian glazed hands" (also called "Ishtar hands") during the early 1st millennium B.C. in Northern Mesopotamia and Northern Syria. These objects were made in clay, almost always covered by a green glazed surface, in the shape of a hand, with fingers represented as in a cupped hand or fist and were supposed to protrude from the walls of ancient Assyrian palaces and temples. The paper aims at reassessing the documentation, exploring the archaeological record of glazed hands in their provenance contexts, and establishing connections with other visual and material records which can lead to a better understanding of these artefacts in the Assyrian heartland and in the Northern Levant.
Please download the article from the Metropolitan Museum of Art link (see below) or send an email at sebastiano.soldi@gmail.com to request an e-copy. Thanks!
Studi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici Nuova Serie (SMEA NS), 2019
This article presents the results of the renewed excavations at Zincirli Höyük, in the İslahiye ... more This article presents the results of the renewed excavations at Zincirli Höyük, in the İslahiye valley in the province of Gaziantep in southeastern Turkey, focusing on the local ceramic assemblage and on some imported items. The excavations both in the lower town and on the citadel mound have yielded abundant documentation useful to analyze the local pottery horizon in the period of Iron Age II and III and connect it to contemporary assemblages of northern inland Syria and southeastern Anatolia. The presence of Assyrian and Phoenician imported items is extremely relevant not only to anchor the relative chronology of materials, but also to understand the relationships and exchanges taking place in the ancient kingdom of Sam’al in the timespan between the 9th and 7th centuries BC.
http://smea.isma.cnr.it/?post_type=portfolio&p=2178
Asia Anteriore Antica. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Cultures, 2019
The aim of this paper is to discuss the issue of the employment of coloured glazed devices in arc... more The aim of this paper is to discuss the issue of the employment of coloured glazed devices in architecture in the Iron Age Northern Levant, in light of current researches and archaeological evidence from old and recent excavations in Northern Syria and Southern Anatolia. Glazed ceramics from Tell Afis (Syria) and Zincirli (Turkey) are discussed in light of their provenance contexts, comparing such artefacts with a wide spectrum of visual sources both from the Northern Levant and North Mesopotamia. This analysis aims at understanding the possible function of these glazed ceramics, hypothesizing their possible employment in the architectural decorations of ancient buildings.
https://riviste.fupress.net/index.php/asiana/article/view/78
Syria, 2009
Recent archaeological excavations by the University of Pisa at the site of Tell Afis, in the dist... more Recent archaeological excavations by the University of Pisa at the site of Tell Afis, in the district of Idlib, have shed new light on Syrian culture in the Iron Age, bringing new evidence from one of the largest Aramaean settlements in western Syria. The massive city wall in the lower town and a large sacred building of the in antis type on the acropolis show how this site was flourishing between Iron Age II and III, from the times of the independent Aramaean kingdom of Lu‘ash until its submission to the Assyrian king and its transformation into an Assyrian province. The most recent excavation results strengthen the hypothesis of the identification of Tell Afis with Aramaean Hazrek, also confirming the continuity of occupation of the site and the persistence of its main religious building in the Assyrian period, when the site is recorded as Hatarikka, the seat of an Assyrian governor. Elements of Aramaean tradition gradually mix with objects of Assyrian culture giving a vivid picture of the continuity of the local material culture as it absorbed innovative foreign elements.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2017
Eighteen glazed objects from Nimrud, Hasanlu and Borsippa dated to a period from the ninth to six... more Eighteen glazed objects from Nimrud, Hasanlu and Borsippa dated to a period from the ninth to sixth century BCE were analysed by micro X-ray fluorescence (μ-XRF), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and micro-Raman spectroscopy (μ-Raman). While calcium antimonate (CaSb 2 O 6) and lead pyroantimonate (Pb 2 Sb 2 O 7) were the main white and yellow opacifiers of the glazes, respectively, white sodium antimonate (NaSbO 3) was also sporadically observed in the Nimrud glazes. Copper sulphide associated with cassiterite (SnO 2) was used as colouring agentor probably as opacifierin a green glaze from Hasanlu. Cassiterite associated with the slag of Cu-Sn copper alloys was also observed in a green glaze from Nimrud suggesting a close tie between metallurgy and glaze-making. Pyromorphite (Pb 5 (PO 4) 3 Cl) and arsenian pyromorphite were observed in spherical forms embedded in the yellow glazes of Nimrud and Borsippa.
Between Syria and the Highlands. Studies in Honor of Giorgio Buccellati and Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati (SANEM, 3), S. Valentini, G. Guarducci (eds), 2019
This paper aims at providing a general overview on the Iron Age II and II Red Slip production in ... more This paper aims at providing a general overview on the Iron Age II and II Red Slip production in Northern Levant, with special reference to the ceramic assemblage from Tell Afis, Chatal Höyük and Zincirli, emphasizing common features and differences.
in Gavagnin K., Palermo R. (eds), Imperial Connections. Interactions and Expansions from Assyria to the Roman Period. Proceedings of the 5th "Broadening Horizons" Conference, Udine 5-8 June 2017 (West & East Monografie 3), Trieste: EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste, pp. 165-182., 2020
The aim of this paper is to give some insights on the results coming from the renewed excavations... more The aim of this paper is to give some insights on the results coming from the renewed excavations in Zincirli, in south-eastern Turkey, carried out by the Chicago-Tübingen Expedition, in order to analyze and bring new data to the discussion of the mutual relationships between Assyria and local communities in the northern Levant during the period of expansion of the kings of Assur into the Syrian and Anatolian far West. The northern Levant in the first half of the first millennium BC provides interesting case studies for the various levels of interaction between Assyria and the neighbouring regions. According to historical sources the region between southern Anatolia and northern Syria is included into the boundaries of the Neo Assyrian empire, with a remarkable increase of land control by the central power. Through the analysis of the archaeological data from the site of Zincirli, ancient capital of the kingdom of Sam’al, we try to identity, and see in which degree, intercultural processes can be detected and explained through the support of material culture. Luwian and Aramaean city-states, with their peculiar culture deeply rooted into Syrian Bronze Age and Anatolian background, confront themselves with the impact of Assyrian expansion from the campaigns of Ashurnasirpal II to the definitive inclusion into the empire by Tiglath-pileser III and Sargon II. Can we assume elements of material culture as an asset to identify different levels of identities and interaction through this outgoing process?
S. Mazzoni, S. Soldi (eds), Syrian Archaeology in Perspective. Celebrating 20 Years of Excavations at Tell Afis (Ricerche di Archeologia del Vicino Oriente 4), Pisa 2013, pp. 199-222., 2013
This article presents an overview of the attestation and distribution of Iron Age Red Slip Ware a... more This article presents an overview of the attestation and distribution of Iron Age Red Slip Ware at Tell Afis, in northwestern Syria. The aim of the paper is to show the impact of this pottery class at the site, analysing its distribution between the lower town and the acropolis. The analysis is specifically focused on the typological inventory of Area G, on the eastern side of the mound, where a detailed stratigraphic sequence dated to the local Iron Age II and III was excavated, highlighting a period when Afis passed from being an independent Aramaean capital to a center controlled by the Assyrians.
níĝ-ba dub-sar maḫ. Studies on Ebla and the Ancient Near East presented to Amalia Catagnoti. Edited by Elisabetta Cianfanelli and Fiammetta Gori, 2024
This article deals with an unpublished stone figurine belonging to the class of so-called Spectac... more This article deals with an unpublished stone figurine belonging to the class of so-called Spectacle Idols from the collections of the National Archaeological Museum of Florence. The object is described and contextualized within the class of similar materials from other museums' collections and from controlled stratigraphic excavations.
Antiquity, 2023
Dates differ by up to 150 years in the protracted debate around the chronology of the Middle Bron... more Dates differ by up to 150 years in the protracted debate around the chronology of the Middle Bronze Age Near East. Here, the authors present radiocarbon and ceramic evidence from destroyed buildings at Zincirli, Türkiye, that support the Middle Chronology. Ceramics from late Middle Bronze Age sites in Syria and Anatolia, and Bayesian modelling of 18 well-stratified radiocarbon samples from site destruction contexts attributable to Hittite king Ḫattusili I, indicate a date in the later seventeenth century BC. Since the Northern Levant connects the Mesopotamian and Eastern Mediterranean second-millennium BC chronologies, this evidence supports the convergence of these long-debated schemas, with implications for the start of the Late Bronze Age and the rise of empires.
Proceedings of the 12th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, 2023
Recent excavations by the Chicago-Tübingen Expedition at Zincirli, ancient Sam’al, in south-easte... more Recent excavations by the Chicago-Tübingen Expedition at Zincirli, ancient Sam’al, in south-eastern Turkey, have revealed a small but relevant collection of Red Slip Ware dated to the local Iron Age II. The presence in the local inventories of such pottery clearly shows connections with the material culture of northern inland Syria, also confirmed by the general assemblage of locally made Iron Age pottery. At the same time, this collection offers the chance of investigating this phenomenon from this northernmost location, bridging north Syria and southern Anatolia. The aim of this paper is to analyze this issue, contextualizing Zincirli’s evidence within its proper archaeological documentation and identifying possible relationships with the neighbouring areas between the 9th and 7th century BC.
Ὁ παῖς καλός. Scritti di archeologia offerti a Mario Iozzo per il suo sessantacinquesimo compleanno, a cura di B. Arbeid, E. Ghisellini e M.R. Luberto, Monte Compatri (Roma) 2022, Edizioni Espera, 2022
This paper deals with the story behind the acquisition of an Old-Syrian seal of the region of Ale... more This paper deals with the story behind the acquisition of an Old-Syrian seal of the region of Aleppo which was found in 1901 in the area of a late-Roman graveyard dated to the 3rd-4th century AD in Vicenza, in northern Italy. The seal was found in the field of Mr Pietro Tapparelli, owner of the area of the excavations, and was initially thought to be of Assyrian-Babylonian provenance. The Director of the Royal Archaeological Museum of Florence (now National Archaeological Museum), Dr Luigi Adriano Milani, was the first in identifying it as “Hittite”, as at that time the Syrian material culture of the Second Millennium BC. was defined. Milani decided to buy the seal to increase the “pre-Hellenic” collections of the Florence Museum and after the exchange of several letters with the owner and other stakeholders and a long negotiation, he succeeded in obtaining it to display it in the Glyptic Collection of the Museum.
Rivista di Studi Fenici, 2021
This paper presents new ceramic data from the excavations conducted by the Chicago-Tübingen Expe... more This paper presents new ceramic data from the excavations conducted by the Chicago-Tübingen Expedition at Zincirli, the capital of the Iron Age kingdom of Sam’al, in south-eastern Turkey. Excavations in the lower town and on the citadel mound revealed a small but relevant collection of Red Slip Ware dated to the local Iron Age II and III. The local
pottery inventory shows clear connections with the material culture of northern inland Syria, especially with the sites of the Amuq, the Idlib and Aleppo plains and the Euphrates area. !e sample of Zincirli shows that Red Slip is abundant and associate to Cypriot-style painted wares in the early Iron Age II (9th – middle of 8th century BCE) and tends to decrease, to almost disappear, in the Iron Age III (mid 8th – 7th century BCE). In this later period the pottery production seems to be gradually affected by the Assyrian presence in the region, as Sam’al is included into the realm of the Neo-Assyrian empire, with the adoption of some new pottery types and glazed decorations, and the abandonment of the local red slip treatment.
Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 2021
Recent excavations at the site of Zincirli Höyük in southeastern Turkey have revealed significant... more Recent excavations at the site of Zincirli Höyük in southeastern Turkey have revealed significant remains of the Middle Bronze Age II period, with evidence for local food (and probably wine) production and storage, textile production, and administrative activities. Certain cylinder seal and vessel types further indicate that the site was well-integrated into a contemporary exchange network linking the Euphrates, North Syria, and central Anatolia. The newly discovered complex includes the massive Hilani I, heretofore attributed to the Iron Age but now believed to be a Middle Bronze Age temple rather than a bīt ḫilāni palace. This preliminary report presents architecture, ceramics, and small finds associated with this complex, DD, which comprises, in addition to Hilani I, two well-provisioned buildings (DD/I and DD/II), a street, and exterior work spaces, and was destroyed in a conflagration in the mid-17th century b.c.e. Ongoing research by the Chicago-Tübingen Expedition seeks to illuminate the function of Complex DD and Hilani I, as well as the regional significance of the site, including its political relationship to nearby Tilmen Höyük/Zalwar, destroyed in the campaigns of Ḫattušili I, and its role in the trade of luxury commodities such as wine and textiles.
Metropolitan Museum Journal, 2017
This paper deals with the employment and diffusion of "Assyrian glazed hands" (also called "Ishta... more This paper deals with the employment and diffusion of "Assyrian glazed hands" (also called "Ishtar hands") during the early 1st millennium B.C. in Northern Mesopotamia and Northern Syria. These objects were made in clay, almost always covered by a green glazed surface, in the shape of a hand, with fingers represented as in a cupped hand or fist and were supposed to protrude from the walls of ancient Assyrian palaces and temples. The paper aims at reassessing the documentation, exploring the archaeological record of glazed hands in their provenance contexts, and establishing connections with other visual and material records which can lead to a better understanding of these artefacts in the Assyrian heartland and in the Northern Levant.
Please download the article from the Metropolitan Museum of Art link (see below) or send an email at sebastiano.soldi@gmail.com to request an e-copy. Thanks!
Studi Micenei ed Egeo-Anatolici Nuova Serie (SMEA NS), 2019
This article presents the results of the renewed excavations at Zincirli Höyük, in the İslahiye ... more This article presents the results of the renewed excavations at Zincirli Höyük, in the İslahiye valley in the province of Gaziantep in southeastern Turkey, focusing on the local ceramic assemblage and on some imported items. The excavations both in the lower town and on the citadel mound have yielded abundant documentation useful to analyze the local pottery horizon in the period of Iron Age II and III and connect it to contemporary assemblages of northern inland Syria and southeastern Anatolia. The presence of Assyrian and Phoenician imported items is extremely relevant not only to anchor the relative chronology of materials, but also to understand the relationships and exchanges taking place in the ancient kingdom of Sam’al in the timespan between the 9th and 7th centuries BC.
http://smea.isma.cnr.it/?post_type=portfolio&p=2178
Asia Anteriore Antica. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Cultures, 2019
The aim of this paper is to discuss the issue of the employment of coloured glazed devices in arc... more The aim of this paper is to discuss the issue of the employment of coloured glazed devices in architecture in the Iron Age Northern Levant, in light of current researches and archaeological evidence from old and recent excavations in Northern Syria and Southern Anatolia. Glazed ceramics from Tell Afis (Syria) and Zincirli (Turkey) are discussed in light of their provenance contexts, comparing such artefacts with a wide spectrum of visual sources both from the Northern Levant and North Mesopotamia. This analysis aims at understanding the possible function of these glazed ceramics, hypothesizing their possible employment in the architectural decorations of ancient buildings.
https://riviste.fupress.net/index.php/asiana/article/view/78
Syria, 2009
Recent archaeological excavations by the University of Pisa at the site of Tell Afis, in the dist... more Recent archaeological excavations by the University of Pisa at the site of Tell Afis, in the district of Idlib, have shed new light on Syrian culture in the Iron Age, bringing new evidence from one of the largest Aramaean settlements in western Syria. The massive city wall in the lower town and a large sacred building of the in antis type on the acropolis show how this site was flourishing between Iron Age II and III, from the times of the independent Aramaean kingdom of Lu‘ash until its submission to the Assyrian king and its transformation into an Assyrian province. The most recent excavation results strengthen the hypothesis of the identification of Tell Afis with Aramaean Hazrek, also confirming the continuity of occupation of the site and the persistence of its main religious building in the Assyrian period, when the site is recorded as Hatarikka, the seat of an Assyrian governor. Elements of Aramaean tradition gradually mix with objects of Assyrian culture giving a vivid picture of the continuity of the local material culture as it absorbed innovative foreign elements.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2017
Eighteen glazed objects from Nimrud, Hasanlu and Borsippa dated to a period from the ninth to six... more Eighteen glazed objects from Nimrud, Hasanlu and Borsippa dated to a period from the ninth to sixth century BCE were analysed by micro X-ray fluorescence (μ-XRF), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and micro-Raman spectroscopy (μ-Raman). While calcium antimonate (CaSb 2 O 6) and lead pyroantimonate (Pb 2 Sb 2 O 7) were the main white and yellow opacifiers of the glazes, respectively, white sodium antimonate (NaSbO 3) was also sporadically observed in the Nimrud glazes. Copper sulphide associated with cassiterite (SnO 2) was used as colouring agentor probably as opacifierin a green glaze from Hasanlu. Cassiterite associated with the slag of Cu-Sn copper alloys was also observed in a green glaze from Nimrud suggesting a close tie between metallurgy and glaze-making. Pyromorphite (Pb 5 (PO 4) 3 Cl) and arsenian pyromorphite were observed in spherical forms embedded in the yellow glazes of Nimrud and Borsippa.
Between Syria and the Highlands. Studies in Honor of Giorgio Buccellati and Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati (SANEM, 3), S. Valentini, G. Guarducci (eds), 2019
This paper aims at providing a general overview on the Iron Age II and II Red Slip production in ... more This paper aims at providing a general overview on the Iron Age II and II Red Slip production in Northern Levant, with special reference to the ceramic assemblage from Tell Afis, Chatal Höyük and Zincirli, emphasizing common features and differences.
in Gavagnin K., Palermo R. (eds), Imperial Connections. Interactions and Expansions from Assyria to the Roman Period. Proceedings of the 5th "Broadening Horizons" Conference, Udine 5-8 June 2017 (West & East Monografie 3), Trieste: EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste, pp. 165-182., 2020
The aim of this paper is to give some insights on the results coming from the renewed excavations... more The aim of this paper is to give some insights on the results coming from the renewed excavations in Zincirli, in south-eastern Turkey, carried out by the Chicago-Tübingen Expedition, in order to analyze and bring new data to the discussion of the mutual relationships between Assyria and local communities in the northern Levant during the period of expansion of the kings of Assur into the Syrian and Anatolian far West. The northern Levant in the first half of the first millennium BC provides interesting case studies for the various levels of interaction between Assyria and the neighbouring regions. According to historical sources the region between southern Anatolia and northern Syria is included into the boundaries of the Neo Assyrian empire, with a remarkable increase of land control by the central power. Through the analysis of the archaeological data from the site of Zincirli, ancient capital of the kingdom of Sam’al, we try to identity, and see in which degree, intercultural processes can be detected and explained through the support of material culture. Luwian and Aramaean city-states, with their peculiar culture deeply rooted into Syrian Bronze Age and Anatolian background, confront themselves with the impact of Assyrian expansion from the campaigns of Ashurnasirpal II to the definitive inclusion into the empire by Tiglath-pileser III and Sargon II. Can we assume elements of material culture as an asset to identify different levels of identities and interaction through this outgoing process?
S. Mazzoni, S. Soldi (eds), Syrian Archaeology in Perspective. Celebrating 20 Years of Excavations at Tell Afis (Ricerche di Archeologia del Vicino Oriente 4), Pisa 2013, pp. 199-222., 2013
This article presents an overview of the attestation and distribution of Iron Age Red Slip Ware a... more This article presents an overview of the attestation and distribution of Iron Age Red Slip Ware at Tell Afis, in northwestern Syria. The aim of the paper is to show the impact of this pottery class at the site, analysing its distribution between the lower town and the acropolis. The analysis is specifically focused on the typological inventory of Area G, on the eastern side of the mound, where a detailed stratigraphic sequence dated to the local Iron Age II and III was excavated, highlighting a period when Afis passed from being an independent Aramaean capital to a center controlled by the Assyrians.
Proceedings of the 7th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, 2012
This paper focuses on a peculiar class of objects found in the area of the Iron Age Temple AI on... more This paper focuses on a peculiar class of objects found in the area of the Iron
Age Temple AI on the acropolis of Tell Afis, in north-western Syria. Funnels with
a flat exterior, sometimes covered with a whitish-green glaze, have been found
all around the large sacred building, and can be interpreted as architectonic
devices. Only a few comparisons are available from other sites in the Near
East but similar items have been found in Zincirli in a building dated to the
age of king Barrakib and others have been found in Sargon II’s palace at
Khorsabad. Insights for their possible function can be sought in other classes
of materials, such as clay temple models from Cyprus and Palestine although
their exact function remains uncertain.
G. Garbati, T. Pedrazzi (eds), Transformations and Crisis in the Mediterranean. “Identity” and Interculturality in the Levant and the Phoenician West during the 12th -8th Centuries BCE. Proceedings of the International Conference Held in Rome , CNR, May 8-9 2013. Rome: Fabrizio Serra editore., 2015
The northern Levant in the first half of the 1st millennium B.C.E. offers an interesting case stu... more The northern Levant in the first half of the 1st millennium B.C.E. offers an interesting case study for identities in evolution across the span of a few centuries. According to historical sources the region between southern Anatolia and northern Syria is included into the boundaries of the Neo Assyrian empire, with a remarkable increase of land control by the central power. Through the analysis of a few cases in the region, we try to discuss the approach of modern archaeology to the levels of perception of social and political identity, and see in which degree intercultural processes can be identified and explained through the support of material culture. Luwian and Aramaean city-states, with their peculiar culture deeply rooted into Syrian bronze Age and Anatolian background, confront themselves with the impact of Assyrian expansion from the campaigns of Ashurnasirpal II to the definitive inclusion into the empire by Sargon II. Can we assume elements of material culture as an asset to identify different levels of identities through this outgoing process ? Which classes of objects can fit at best the needs for the definition of identity and its changes through a new socio-political situation ? The question may remain open to everlasting discussions, but a few cases from inner northern Levant sites, especially Tell Afis and Zincirli, can help to discuss this stimulating and topical perspective.
Archaeology for Cooperation. Afis - Deinit and the Museum of Idlib. Activities in the frame of the MEDA Project.
The paper describes a carinated bronze bowl found in 2007 in the area of Temple AI on the acropol... more The paper describes a carinated bronze bowl found in 2007 in the area of Temple AI on the acropolis of Tell Afis, in north-west Syria. The shape and style of the artefact and its stratigraphic provenance lead to attribute it to a northern Syrian or, most likely, Neo-Assyrian workshop of the late 8th or 7th century B.C. (Iron Age III). Though the exact stratigraphic location is not provided, the vessel could have been part of the furniture of the sacred building during the Neo-Assyrian period of the settlement, to be identified with the Iron Age town of Hazrek/Hatarikka.
Agoge : Atti della Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni Archeologici, 2006
Recent excavations in the upper Khabur area (northern Syria) and in northern Mesopotamia shed new... more Recent excavations in the upper Khabur area (northern Syria) and in northern Mesopotamia shed new light on mid 2nd millennium BC material culture. The appearance of the so-called Nuzi Ware is one of the few distinctive trademarks of the beginning of the Mitannian period, roughly corresponding to Late Bronze Age I (XVI-XV century BC). Pottery production in the early Mitannian stages is characterized by a strong continuity with the ceramic assemblages of the previous phases, dating to the Old Babylonian period. Across this transitional period, chronologically to be placed in the course of the XVI century BC, it is possible to observe some features of the painted pottery, such as shapes and iconographical motifs, which gradually lead to the introduction of the proper light-on-dark painted Nuzi Ware. The stratigraphical evidence from various sites of the area allows to follow the process of development of painted ceramics and to regard Nuzi Ware as the final stage of a series of gradual experimentation taking place in the core of the Mittani state at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age.
Proceedings of the 4th International Congress of the …, Jan 1, 2008
Luci dalle tenebre. Dai lumi degli Etruschi ai bagliori di Pompei. Catalogo della mostra, Museo dell'Accademia Etrusca di Cortona, 2021
Luci dalle tenebre. Dai lumi degli Etruschi ai bagliori di Pompei. Catalogo della mostra, Museo dell'Accademia Etrusca di Cortona , 2021
La Tutela Tricolore: i custodi dell'identità culturale. Catalogo della mostra. Firenze, Gallerie degli Uffizi, Aula Magliabechiana, 20 dicembre 2016 - 14 febbraio 2017, 2016
La tesi prende in esame la ceramica del Ferro II e III proveniente dall'Area G di Tell A... more La tesi prende in esame la ceramica del Ferro II e III proveniente dall'Area G di Tell Afis (Siria). La ricca documentazione di ceramica Red Slip di quest'area, insieme all'analisi delle altre classi ceramiche provenienti dai medesimi contesti, risulta di estremo interesse per ...
This paper presents a selection of the material culture from the Middle Bronze II and Iron II and... more This paper presents a selection of the material culture from the Middle Bronze II and Iron II and III at Zincirli Höyük in relationships with the area of Karkemish and the Euphrates region. Recent excavations at Zincirli carried out by the Chicago-Tübingen Expedition have revealed new outstanding sets of data which allow to establish good chronological parallels in a comparative regional framework. The new assemblage from well preserved Middle Bronze II contexts is especially relevant, since it revealed a complex pottery inventory to be dated to the mid-17th century BCE, showing elements of an entangled network and long-distance trade stretching from central Anatolia to the Euphrates and to the eastern Mediterranean. After a long gap with very discontinuous data, the material culture of Zincirli shows in Iron II and III a strong continuity with North Syria and the ‘Amuq, with an increasing influence of Assyrian shapes and types. After the annexation of the kingdom of Sam’al into the Assyrian empire in the second half of the 8th century BCE, some specific elements seem to point at the area of Karkemish and the Euphrates as the region from where such influences were elaborated and spread out towards the West.
Cette semaine, c'est Sebastiano Soldi du Musée archéologique de Florence qui est invité à présent... more Cette semaine, c'est Sebastiano Soldi du Musée archéologique de Florence qui est invité à présenter ses recherches sur l'influence du banquet oriental en méditerranée. Tout le monde est bienvenu! rendez-vous jeudi 25 octobre à 10h au local NB 7ART (Campus du Solbosch; Bibliothèque des sciences humaines)
Cette conférence est organisée dans le cadre du séminaire d'archéologique grecque qui, cette année, a pour titre : "L’artefact comme « acteur » de changement culturel. A la croisée des mondes étrusque et grec".
Workshop “The Cup of Dyonisos: New approaches to the kantharos”, Columbia University, New York, 2... more Workshop “The Cup of Dyonisos: New approaches to the kantharos”, Columbia University, New York, 22nd April 2016, organized by Prof. Francesco De Angelis (Columbia University), Prof. Larissa Bonfante (New York University) and Dr. Delphine Tonglet (The Metropolitan Museum of Art).
Met Fellows Talk “Contexts of Use and re-use”, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 18th Mar... more Met Fellows Talk “Contexts of Use and re-use”, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 18th March 2016
Workshop “Pigments, Paints and Polychromies in the Ancient Near Eastern Context: Experiencing and... more Workshop “Pigments, Paints and Polychromies in the Ancient Near Eastern Context: Experiencing and Reconstructing Colors in the Ancient Near East”, ASOR Annual Meeting, Atlanta (U.S.A.), 18th-22nd November 2015
Workshop “The Iron I to Iron II Transition in the Northern Levant”, ASOR Annual Meeting, San Dieg... more Workshop “The Iron I to Iron II Transition in the Northern Levant”, ASOR Annual Meeting, San Diego (U.S.A.), 19th-22nd November 2014
Il concetto di "identità culturale" costituisce ormai da tempo una delle nozioni più utilizzate i... more Il concetto di "identità culturale" costituisce ormai da tempo una delle nozioni più utilizzate in sede di interpretazione dei dati e di ricostruzione storica. La sua applicazione, tuttavia, rimane al centro di un acceso dibattito che vede contrapporsi l'uso ormai acquisito del termine "identità" e la negazione della sua validità come strumento di indagine. Anche il concetto di "etnicità", nella accezione di "identità collettiva", è oggetto di una serrata critica. La nozione di identità, del resto, appare ambigua: nel termine sono insite istanze di stabilità e coerenza (identità = essere uguali a se stessi), in contrapposizione agli elementi distintivi della formazione di un gruppo sociale: la "trasformazione" e la relazione continua con l'"altro".
Workshop “The Chicago-Tübingen Archaeological Project in Sam‘al”, Tübingen (Germany), 23rd-24th J... more Workshop “The Chicago-Tübingen Archaeological Project in Sam‘al”, Tübingen (Germany), 23rd-24th June 2014, organized by Prof. David Schloen (Chicago), Prof. Peter Pfälzner (Tübingen) and Dr. Virginia Herrmann (Tübingen)
Antiquity, 2023
Dates differ by up to 150 years in the protracted debate around the chronology of the Middle Bron... more Dates differ by up to 150 years in the protracted debate around the chronology of the Middle Bronze Age Near East. Here, the authors present radiocarbon and ceramic evidence from destroyed buildings at Zincirli, Türkiye, that support the Middle Chronology. Ceramics from late Middle Bronze Age sites in Syria and Anatolia, and Bayesian modelling of 18 well-stratified radiocarbon samples from site destruction contexts attributable to Hittite king Ḫattusili I, indicate a date in the later seventeenth century BC. Since the Northern Levant connects the Mesopotamian and Eastern Mediterranean second-millennium BC chronologies, this evidence supports the convergence of these long-debated schemas, with
implications for the start of the Late Bronze Age and the rise of empires.
Asia Anteriore Antica, 2023
AsiAnA Vol. 5 – 2023 Table of contents Dalila M. Alberghina Smelting Metals, Enacting Rituals. Th... more AsiAnA Vol. 5 – 2023
Table of contents
Dalila M. Alberghina
Smelting Metals, Enacting Rituals. The Interplay of Religious Symbolisms and Metallurgical Practices in the Ancient Eastern Mediterranean 3
Alfonso Archi
State Production and Market at Ebla – Animal and Wool Values 23
Giacomo Casucci
A Culinary Perspective on North-Central Anatolia: An Overview of Cooking
Facilities across the Late Bronze and Iron Ages 41
Candida Felli
Re-collecting Sherds: Rescue Activities of Archaeological Materials from Tell Afis, Syria 73
Marina Pucci, Corrado Alvaro, So!a Bartolozzi, Margherita Carletti,
Lorenzo Castellano, Caterina Fantoni, Federica Lentini, Mariacarmela
Montesanto, Burak Yolaçan
Living in the Lower Town at Kınık Höyük (Niğde). Preliminary Report on the
2021-2022 Campaigns in Anatolia 81
Zsolt Simon
A Goddess and a City or How to Read the Hieroglyphic Luwian Sign MANUS+MANUS 131
Livio Warbinek, Federico Giusfredi
Maliya, Malija, Malis, Athena. From Kizzuwatna to the Aegean: Borrowings, Translations, or Syncretisms? 139