The Location of Alashiya
New Evidence from Petrographic Investigation of Alashiyan Tablets from El-Amarna and Ugarit
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4535356 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Yuval Goren (0000-0003-4430-8691), Shlomo Bunimovitz, Israel Finkelstein (0000-0002-5643-2158), Nadav Na’aman (0000-0003-4353-8081), Nadav Na''Aman, Nadav Na'Aman |
| Year | 2003 |
| Volume | 107 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 233-255 |
| Publication date | 2003-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Archaeology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-9114 • E-ISSN: 1939-828X |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.3764/aja.107.2.233 |
| OpenAlex | W2334500162 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 31 |
| References cited | 2 |
Ancient Near Eastern archives of cuneiform texts contain tablets whose origin is unknown. Letters often do not contain the name or address of the sender. Moreover, the locations of some ancient Near Eastern countries and cities have not yet been clearly established. Hence we perform a research program that intends to fill this gap through a systematic provenance study of the Amarna letters and other Near Eastern texts using petrographic and geochemical methods. So far, over 300 tablets have been analyzed. This paper presents the provenance of the Alashiya letters from Amarna and Ugarit as well as an assemblage of Cypro-Minoan texts from Cyprus. Petrographic and chemical examinations indicate that the Amarna letters from Alashiya originate from the area on the margin of the Troodos Mountains in Cyprus. Various lines of evidence make it clear that the raw material was collected by the scribes in their immediate vicinity and not transported over large distances. Within Cyprus, either Kalavasos-Ayios Dhimitrios or Alassa Paliotaverna/Pano Manadilaris are identified as the source of official Alashiyan letters. Since the geopolitical configuration of Late Bronze Age Alashiya is still unclear, the implications of our conclusions for this vexed issue are discussed
Ancient history · Archaeology · Cuneiform · Petrography · Provenance · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Ancient Near East History · Geology · History · Paleontology
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Becoming Urban
A World of Goods
Royal Gift Exchange between Mycenae and Egypt
Writing and Society in Ancient Cyprus
Alashiya
The Innovation and Adoption of Iron in the Ancient Near East
Red Lustrous Wheelmade ware
Enkomi and Egypt
Comparing Similar Ground‐penetrating Radar Surveys Under Different Moisture Conditions at Kalavasos‐ Ayios Dhimitrios , Cyprus
Manufacturing Technology
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New insights into Levantine copper trade
Aegean Interest on the Uluburun Ship
The Proximity Principle and the Egyptian Levant in the Late 18th Dynasty
A Newly Discovered Tablet‐Making Facility in Nineveh
Reconsidering Coastal Archaeological Sites in Late Bronze Age Cyprus
Imitations, transpositions
Telling Stories
Writing Away
Waterways and the Political Geography of South-East Cyprus in the Second Millennium Bc
Tarsis era Tarteso? Lo que los textos bíblicos dicen (y no dicen)
Testing the Limits
A Provenance Study of the Gilgamesh Fragment From Megiddo
Opium trade and use during the Late Bronze Age
A technological study of Assyrian clay tablets from Nineveh, Tell Halaf and Nimrud
Opium or oil? Late Bronze Age Cypriot Base Ring juglets and international trade revisited
The Cemetery of Hala Sultan Tekke, Cyprus
Exploring Aredhiou
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Ceramics, trade, provenience and geology
| Unique citing works | 31 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,55 |
| Citation span | 2006 - 2026 (21) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 27 |