Tell El Burak I

A unique monumental building dating to the early part of the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 1900-1700 BCE) was uncovered at the southern Lebanese coast by the joint Lebanese-German excavation project at Tell el-Burak. The impressive architecture of the building was exposed in eight excavation seasons during the years 2001-2011. Inside the largest room of the Monumental Building at Tell el-Burak the excavations brought to light the sensational discovery of Middle Bronze Age mural paintings in situ on lime plaster covering the inner faces of its completely preserved mud-brick walls. This volume edited by Jens Kamlah and Helene Sader consists of the final publications of all excavation results concerning the Middle Bronze Age at Tell el- Burak. It furthermore includes an introduction into the joint Lebanese-German excavation project, chapters related to the site and the final publication of the excavated remains of the Late Medieval Period.

Tell el-Burak is located in southern Lebanon, between Sidon and Sarafand. Excava tions by a joint AUB - University of Tubingen- GAI expedition started in Septemb er 2001. The aim of this archaeological project was to investigate the settlemen t formation of Lebanese coastal sites. Tell el-Burak yielded Middle Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Medieval Islamic remains. On the Tell summit, the Middle Bronze Ag e is represented by a massive mud-brick building and a pit burial, which is the subject of this thesis. The Tell el-Burak tomb was found in a very bad preservation state. It contained the remains of at least five individuals buried with ceramic vessels and bone in lays, all of which were highly damaged. The material studied consisted of 25 dia gnostic pottery sherds, in addition to two complete piriform juglets, Tell el-Ya hudiyeh ware with a so far unattested shape, and fragmented bone inlays. The rec onstruction and the study of the funerary material was essential for the dating of the mud-brick building because erosion had destroyed all its occupation floor s, making dating difficult if not impossible. The present study is a detailed description and discussion of the archaeological and stratigraphic context of the Middle Bronze Age tomb. It determined the tomb 's relationship to the neighboring mud-brick building and helped narrowing down the date of the latter's construction and use. This study also includes a comparison of the Tell el-Burak tomb and of its funer ary contents with other Middle Bronze Age tombs in Lebanon. This comparative stu dy helped place the Tell el-Burak discovery in its historical context and emphas ized its contribution to the understanding of Middle Bronze Age funerary traditi ons in Lebanon.

Tell el- Burak is located in southern Lebanon, between Saida and Sarafand. Excavations by a joint AUB- University of Tubingen- GAI expedition started in September 2001. The aim of this archaeological project was to investigate settle ment formation on the Lebanese coast. Tell el- Burak has been the focus of three continuous excavation seasons (2001- 2003) that have uncovered three areas of architectural finds, dating to the Mamluk/ Ottoman Period, and the Iron and Middle Bronze Ages. In Area I a Mamluk/ Ottoman Period structure was found overlaying a monumental mud- brick building. Area II yielded a massive wall that was first built in the Middle Bron ze Age and rebuilt later in the Iron Age. In Area III buildings dating from the Middle Iron Age (c. 800 B.C.) through to the Late Persian Period (c. 400 B.C.) were uncovered. Nearly 20, 000 sherds of pottery that belong to the Middle Bronze Age were found during the course of the exacavations. These were examined for chronologic al and geological information, to help understand the settlements historical contex t and economic role within the MBA. This study has helped confidently date the mud- brick building of Area I and retaining wall of Area II to the MBA II. In addition, this study has also improv ed our understanding of some the manufacturing traditions of ceramics during the MBA at Tell el- Burak and their relationship to the later Iron Age ones.

Located ca 50 km south of Beirut on the coast of Aussiyye is the site of Tell Bu rak. During 2001- 2003 a team from the American University of Beirut and the Uni versity of Tubingen investigated the tell to further the understanding of settle ment formation along the Lebanese coast. The tell yielded three occupation phases: Middle Bronze Age, Iron Age, and very recent levels from the Mamluk and early Ottoman period. The Mamluk and Ottoman r emains were all located on the peak of the tell where only ca. 0.50 m of the occ upation remained as a result of erosion. This thesis presents a study of the Mid dle and Late Islamic settlement: presenting the archaeological documentation rel ated to the Mamluk and Ottoman phase in an attempt at reconstructing the archite ctural elements as well as their stratigraphic sequence and building history. Th e thesis also deals with the pottery and the small finds retrieved in these leve ls, hence dating the occupation. The thesis is a study on a rural occupation found in the Near East. Placing the site in a historical and an architectural context contributes to a better archae ological understanding of that time and to an insight into the daily lives of th e people living in an era that has only recently interested near eastern scholar s.

The site of Tell el-Burak is located on the Lebanese coast on the shores of Addusieh 9km south of Sidon. A joint expedition by a Lebanese (American University of Beirut) German (University of Tubingen and the German Archaeological Institute) team was launched in 1997 to investigate its occupational sequence. During 5 excavation seasons (2001, 2002, 2003, 2005 & 2008) five areas have been excavated and three major building periods have been identified: Mamluk/Early Ottoman, Iron Age II and Middle Bronze Age II. --This study deals with the detailed stratigraphic analysis of the soundings that were made in squares 29/27, 29/28, 30/27 & 30/28 in Area I. The analysis of the excavation results followed the guidelines established by Edward C. Harris in his work Principles of Archaeological Stratigraphy (1989). As a result a matrix illustrating the physical relationship between the excavated contexts was created. In total, six phases of building, occupation and abandonment have been identified in the four squares under study. The thesis also examined the pottery and artifacts retrieved in these squares to establish the dating of the occupational phases.--As a result of this study the two construction and occupation phases of the mudbrick structure, and in the light of the new evidence, are dated to the Middle Bronze Age IIA. Furthermore, two later phases were dated to the Mamluk period. This thesis contributed to a better understanding of the occupation history of Area I of Tell el-Burak.

The Phoenicians created the Mediterranean world as we know it--yet they remain a poorly understood group. In this Handbook, the first of its kind in English, readers will find expert essays covering the history, culture, and areas of settlement throughout the Phoenician and Punic world.

"Representation of political power seems to have been necessary at all times in all complex urban societies. To secure order - to construct a certain social, ideological, religious, economic, and cultural stability - seems to be one of the main intentions of representation. When order breaks down or is threatened, political power comes under threat, and the cohesion of the community is also in jeopardy." "In times of impending change, crisis, or disorder, special effort is required to reassure the community of the rulers' ability to maintain stability. What those in power did to convince the affected communities of their qualities as rulers, that is, their representational strategies - especially in times of change - is the subject of this book, explored through examination of case studies drawn from the ancient Near East. The volume is divided into three thematic parts: "Reestablishment of Order after Major Disruption," "Changing Order from Within," and "Perceptions of New Order.""--BOOK JACKET.