The rocky shores of the eastern Mediterranean has always been at the forefront of the history of the ancient world, many great empires have extended their reach into this cross roads of the ancient world, this meeting of cultures has led to interesting mixtures in the stratigraphic record. Tel Dor is an interesting site because of its long history of occupation stretching back to the 13th century BC. In the Roman period Tel Dor was to reach its height though economically and culturally overshadowed by the great city of Caesarea a mere 10km to the south it still was a thriving provincial town, after the dissolution of the Seleucid empire, Pompey the great granted Tell Dor its autonomy though it was latter incorporated into the province of Syria (Nitschke2011:146-147). Though Tel Dor was first excavated in 1924 by John Garstany of director of Department of Antiquities of the British Mandate, modern excavation is mostly done by the University of Washington and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. This paper shall attempt to show that the discoveries made from the Roman show that the city thrived in this period even in the shadow of nearby Caesarea and expand on what might be done in future excavations to show that Tel Dor is not just a marginalized footnote in history.
Among the intriguing features of Tel Dor found in the 21st century The Industrial complex of area D4b is perhaps the most perplexing. In 2004 a trench was dug in area D4 revealing a single large building that initially led to confusion about its purpose, the initial hypothesis was that due to the presence of a hypocaust was that this had to be a bath house which no roman town ever seems to be without (Sharon 2004). Further exploration in 2005 to 2006 cast doubt on t...
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...channels were beneath the main street. (enc 363)
Though Tel Dor has been excavated on and off for almost a century there is still much research to be done in the future. Perhaps something that could be done would be to look at Tel Dor’s relationship with Caesarea to the south as well as its hinterland to ascertain what kind of economic exchange Tel Dor was involved with during the Roman period. Another direction further research could go would be to expand on excavation in the harbor especially in looking for the wreaks of Roman merchant shipping and there cargos.
As the research at Tel Dor goes on we can hope that the important discoveries made here will tell us more about life in a city in the world of ancient Rome I am sure that there are many great cultural treasures to be found at this sprawling site in the land that is the great crossroad of civilization.
Schliemann’s archaeological breakthrough was instigated 6.5 km from the Aegean Sea in Turkey. In 1865, German-American adventurer Schliemann arrived at what was assumed to be Troys location. After reading the Iliad and inspecting the “Tell of Hissarlik” he was convinced he had found Troy. Schliemann believed that the Iliad was so true that it must be based on history, and his discovery of one of the many promising tells in the area motivated him to begin his dig. He discovered that this Tell had nine major levels and large walls, like Homer described. He claimed that the second (Troy II) was Homers ‘Citadel of Priam’. However if Schliemann and Homers Troy were the same, literature did not confirm.
Renfrew, Colin. The Emergence of Civilisation: The Cyclades and the Aegean in the Third Millennium B.C. London: Metheun 1972.
The Trojan War and its characters are detailed in the writings of Homer, Vergil, Dante and many others. It is a fantastical tale of a decade-long siege of a powerful city by a massive pan-hellenic force. However, even though it has proved to be such a rich source of inspiration for writers, poets and artists throughout history, it is debated whether it actually took place. Heinrich Schliemann famously said “I have gazed on the face of Agamemnon.” on discovering tombs with the bodies of Mycenaean chieftains in Turkey. The German businessman-turned-archaeologist claimed to have discovered the city of Troy at the hill now called Hisarlik – about three miles from the Dardanelles. However, his claims are still disputed today. Before tackling the question of whether the Trojan War actually occurred, we must ask in what form. What exactly do we mean by “the Trojan War”? There is no definitive version of the events in the war, as our knowledge of it comes from a myriad different sources. Then we should consider Schliemann’s discoveries, and the other archaeological evidence for the Trojan War. Finally, after we have defined “Trojan War” in context of archaeology and historical fact, we must then draw conclusions about the extent to which archaeology proves its historical authenticity.
During the years of 3500 BC to 2500 BC, the geography of a land often impacted a civilizations development in great measures. Depending on the resources available or the detriments present due to certain topographical characteristics like rivers or deserts, a civilization could flourish or collapse. By studying the geographic features of growing societies like the Nile, Euphrates, and Tigris Rivers as well as the Mediterranean Sea of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the link between developing cultures and geography will be examined through sources, including Egypt: Ancient Culture, Modern Land edited by Jaromir Malek and Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization by Paul Kriwaczek. To determine the extent of its influence, this investigation will attempt to compare and contrast the role of geography in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, focusing on the civilizations’ various periods of development and settlement.
The description of the Axumite port of Adulis in the document “Periplus of The Erythraen Sea”, provides an idea of the influence and importance that Axum had on the rest of the World. This port allowed the Roman Empire to tap into many exotic product from India and the African interior that were not accessible in earlier times. The author describes the many exotic imports and exports that arrive, and
...y report I was a bit behind and couldn’t clearly find much information while I was due in to hand in my research. I couldn’t rely much on some sites as they could have been edited and stated information that wasn’t relevant to what I was focusing on. Overall I learnt a lot while doing this research and I have better understanding of the Roman buildings and how the Roman society was in that time.
As archaeological work on Predynastic Egypt continues, in future years we can expect considerable new evidence that will further reshape our understandings of the rise of Egyptian civilization. The field is increasingly benefiting from the use of modern techniques such as remote sensing, physical dating, and analytical techniques. As the amount of evidence builds, the rise of complex civilization in the Egyptian Nile Valley during the crucial two millennia from 5000–3000 b.c. will become ever clearer.
Having served in U.S. Army thirty years ago, from a military point of view, I see a strategic spread of fully incorporated cities (friendlies marked in green), colonies with hostiles (marked in red), and on the coast in Antium, a colony with citizens enjoying Latin Rights. It looks deliberate to me that next to hostil Praeneste and Velitrae are cities with fully incorporated Roman citizens. Because Tibur is on a river (pun intended), having complete control makes because of commerce and strategic value. With Antium, being far from Rome would have been easier to manage with a placated
The Iliad alone would never have been a reliable source without archaeological evidence to verify the actuality of a Trojan war. Therefore archaeologists have been working on the site known as hissarlik since the 1800’s to uncover truths about the myth. Frank Calv...
Of the well-known Etruscan cities, the majority are virtually unexplored, and some of them are now buried underneath new towns that arose before the archaeologists could find out where these cities were. Others have been found by accident and had only a brief and limited excavation time. There are seven major centres in the Etruscan territory. They were: Tarquinii, Caere, Vulci, Vetulonia, Volaterrae, Clusium and Veii. Tarquinii was the first Etruscan centre to respond to an external desire for its metals by completing the process of urbanization.
Gates, Charles. Ancient Cities: The Archaeology of Urban Life in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece, and Rome. London: Routledge, 2003. Print.
Late Helladic fortification walls on the Greek mainland are found surrounding citadels, not the entire city or site. The citadels seem to have housed central administration and housing for an elite class of citizens. They were built on hills, presumably as another layer of fortification. I will examine the sites of Gla, Midea, Tiryns, and Mycenae to look for similarities and differences in the design and architecture of their fortifications, as well as, arguments about the purpose of the fortifications at these sites. I will also explore how some sites were hindered or helped defensively and economically by their location and their use of fortifications.
Deckker, Zilah. National Geographic Investigates Ancient Rome Archaeolology Unlocks the Secrets of Rome's Past (NG Investigates). New York: National Geographic Children's Books, 2007. Print.
Most of the cemeteries found in the Southern Levant during the Early Bronze Age IV are composed of shaft tombs. The details differ from site to sites and sometimes within the same site (e.g. Jericho). At some of the sites, such as those nea...
Boëthius, A., Ling, R., & Rasmussen, T. (1978). Etruscan and early Roman architecture. New Haven: Yale University Press.