During excavations at the Middle Kingdom settlement site of Kahun Petrie assembled a corpus of over 600 objects (mainly sherds but also a few wooden implements) incised with marks. These are now housed in British Museum, The Petrie Museum and the Manchester Museum, and constitute the largest corpus of Middle Kingdom marks from one site still accessible. The material was only partially published by Petrie and the marks have never been analysed in relation to the objects on which they are incised. The first step has been to compile a catalogue of all incised objects. This is presented as accompanying data. Chapter 1 offers a reconstruction of the excavation at Kahun based on Petrie's published and unpublished records, to gain a better understanding of the excavation, the site, and also how the material now in England was assembled. In the second chapter the pottery types with marks are described and compared with the contemporary pottery corpus of the Eastern Delta and Memphis/Fayum region. The intent is to propose a chronological sequence for the pottery and the marks, and also to check whether the marks are characteristic of a limited range of pottery types, or are widespread. Chapters 3 and 4 discuss respectively the typology of the marks incised before and after firing. In Chapter 5 the sites where Middle Kingdom pottery incised with marks has been excavated are assembled and listed from North to South. Chapters 6 and 7 discuss the other two classes of objects with marks recovered at Kahun: foreign pottery and wooden tools. The last chapter offers a general overview, including a comparison of the marks incised on pottery with other marking systems and also with the emerging 'alphabetic' scripts of the Late Middle Bronze Age.

The aim of this research is to investigate the functions of ceramic vessels from two well-defined contexts at Tell Ahmar that have been dated to the Middle Bronze Age II (c. 1800-1600 BC). In addition, correlations between socioeconomic activities and ceramic production at a local and regional level are further investigated. Since there is no one-to-one relation between vessel type and vessel function, the research adopts a multi-dimensional approach formed by the following hierarchical investigations. Firstly, a ceramic typology for the Middle Bronze Age pottery from Tell Ahmar, the first to be undertaken, is constructed to provide a working platform for further analyses. Secondly, interpretations of vessel functions are made based on the techno-morphological implications of vessel use. Moreover, since the ceramic assemblage under investigation represents the systemic inventory of artefacts in use in the rooms at the time of the site abandonment, function of the rooms and relative associations with the composition of the ceramic room assemblage at Tell Ahmar are investigated. In addition, comparative analysis from Northern Mesopotamian and Syrian sites are used in conjunction to suggest functional activities for the defined vessel shapes at Tell Ahmar. Inferences of vessel function are finally supported by the results of ceramic residue analysis and by epigraphic and iconographic evidence of vessel use. Functional activities (i.e. transport, storage and processing) are further discussed in order to make socioeconomic inferences at both local and regional levels. This analysis indicated that one of the major activities at Tell Ahmar was associated with long-distance transport and storage, while for those shapes characterised by a perforated base, an association with beer production is suggested. At a regional level, a general similarity of vessel shapes is noted, this being stronger among the Euphrates River Valley sites than in Inner Syria or in the Khabur Valley. However, when these similarities are examined in detail, ceramic production indicates some local distinctions. These variations, which are not associated with any ancient political boundaries, may be explained in terms of local preferences and requirements that emerged within long-distance flourishing relationships established during this period.

Au cours de la seconde partie de l’âge du Bronze moyen, soit entre le XVe et le début du XIIIe siècle avant notre ère, des bracelets, parures de cheville, épingles et torques sont produits et enfouis en quantité importante dans la moitié nord de l’Europe atlantique, essentiellement en contexte de dépôt non funéraire. Il s’agit d’un moment particulier, au cours duquel ce phénomène des dépôts évolue, notamment à travers l’accroissement considérable de la masse métallique enfouie et immergée. S’il concorde certainement avec une forte augmentation de la production, elle ne suffit pas à expliquer la quantité pléthorique d’objets en bronze retirés du circuit économique.Par l’inventaire détaillé des ornements corporels en bronze et leur classement typo-technologique, ainsi qu’à travers des analyses spatiales et statistiques, il a été démontré que l’attribution typologique des objets de parure nécessitait d’être affinée et aussi précise que pour les autres catégories d’objets, fournissant des informations cruciales d’un point de vue culturel. Cette classification renouvelée distingue désormais 14 types d’épingles, 2 types de torques et 27 types de parures annulaires, au sein desquels se répartit l’essentiel des productions de parure du Bronze moyen atlantique 2 mises au jour en France atlantique, y compris les productions imitées ou importées depuis les régions voisines.D’un point de vue technologique, l’un des apports majeurs de ce travail est la démonstration de l’emploi prédominant de la technique de la fonte à la cire perdue pour la fabrication des parures annulaires à tige pleine. Des modalités de découpe de la cire ont également pu être identifiées. L’hypothèse avancée et étayée par des exemples concrets irait dans le sens de la segmentation de colombins et de plaques de cire, permettant l’obtention de préformes, ensuite cintrées et décorées individuellement avant la fonte.Le fait de mener cette étude sur une aire géographique étendue a permis d’envisager différents réseaux de production/diffusion des parures en bronze. Des particularismes locaux ont notamment pu être identifiés, caractérisés par le dépôt de types d’objets dont la diffusion est extrêmement restreinte, ou encore par des associations d’objets dans les dépôts qui dénotent avec celles des zones directement voisines géographiquement.À l’échelle régionale, plusieurs groupes ont pu être identifiés, caractérisés par l’enfouissement de certains types de parures dont la combinaison entre la morphologie et le décor lui sont propres. L’analyse typo-technologique fine a permis de déterminer quelles étaient les productions enfouies préférentiellement dans une zone, mais aussi de repérer les éventuelles importations, affinités ou influences visibles à travers les ornements corporels. Les interactions à différentes échelles entre les groupes ont ainsi pu être évaluées, permettant de préciser les contours du domaine atlantique. Des échanges à très longue distance ont eu lieu durant le Bronze moyen, visibles notamment par l’importation de matériaux (ambre balte, verre proche-oriental, etc.), mais aussi d’objets de parure, particulièrement visibles entre la France atlantique, le sud de l’Angleterre, le Lüneburg et le Schleswig-Holstein. Si la nature de ces échanges ne peut à ce jour être envisagée précisément, il est tentant de l’interpréter en termes de circulation d’individus, peut-être par le biais d’échanges matrimoniaux. Les parures annulaires sous toutes leurs formes sont en effet très souvent sollicitées dans ce cadre, dans les sociétés actuelles ou passées.En définitive, les ornements corporels en bronze s’avèrent être d’excellents indicateurs, justifiant le choix de ce prisme pour l’étude des sociétés du Bronze moyen atlantique. Ce travail a participé à caractériser plus précisément cette période, mais ouvre également de nombreuses perspectives, aussi bien sur les plans culturels que socio-économiques, techniques et symboliques. / During the second part of the Middle Bronze Age, between, XVth and beginning of the XIIIth century BC, many bronze bracelets, anklets, pins and torcs are produced and buried in the northern part of Atlantic Europe, mainly within hoards. This constitutes a peculiar moment, in which this hoard phenomenon evolves, particularly through a significant increase of the buried and immersed metallic mass. If it is evidently consistent with a strong increase of the production, it does not completely explain the plethoric quantity of bronze objects removed from the economic circulation.Through the detailed inventory of bronze ornaments and their typo-technologic classification, but also their spatial and statistics analysis, it has been showed that the ornament typological attribution required being as accurate as other object categories, providing crucial information about cultural interpretation. This revised classification identifies 14 types of pin, 2 of torcs and 27 of bracelets and anklets. These types form the major part of Middle Bronze Age 2 bronze ornament production yet discovered in Atlantic France, including imitating productions and importations from neighbouring areas.Concerning the technological aspect, one of the main contributions of this research is the demonstration of the predominant use of lost-wax-casting technique in the production of plain bracelets and anklets. A technique of wax slicing has been highlighted: clear examples from Bignan and Trégueux hoards indicate that strips and coils were cut in a wax drafts then individually curved and decorated, before smelting.This study concerns a wide geographical area, allowing considering different production/diffusion networks. Local specificities have been identified through the presence of types whose area of diffusion is clearly restricted/which have a restricted area of diffusion or by the hoard composition distinguishable from the neighbouring areas.Several groups are identified at a regional scale, characterized by the burying of a certain type of ornaments whose morphology and ornamentation are specific of a distinct area. The precise typo-technological analysis identify/allows to identify productions which are preferentially deposited in a specific area, but also to recognize the possible importations, affinities and influences visible through ornaments. Interactions between these groups have been estimated at different scales, allowing clarifying the outlines of the Atlantic space.Long-distance trades have been detected during Middle Bronze Age through the importation of materials (Baltic amber, Middle East glass, etc.), but also ornaments, particularly visible between Atlantic France, the South of England, Luneburg and Schleswig-Holstein. If it is not possible to reconstruct precisely the nature of these trades, it could be tempting to interpret them in terms of people circulation, maybe by matrimonial exchanges. Ornaments are often use in this context in modern or ancient societies.Finally, bronze ornaments are proven to be excellent indicators for the study of Atlantic Middle Bronze Age societies. This research has contributed to a better understanding of this period from a cultural, socio-economic, technical and symbolic matter.

Kinet H&ouml / y&uuml / k with its 3.3 ha size, is multi-period site located on the iskenderun Gulf of Eastern Cilicia. The research subject is: Middle ronze II (1800-1600 .C) burnt uilding complex located in the east terrace of the mound. The part of the building that has been exposed is representing the general characteristics of Levantine style monumental architecture of MBII with its 50 m exposure. The primary goal of the thesis is to understand the function of this specific building in its local context and to compare the building with similar building in Anatolia, Syria and the Levant to see the cultural interaction that is visible in the architectural evidence. Thje widely accepted conventions for the mound size and the settlement activity patterns are re-examined in the final chapter on the basis of the contradictory relationship between the size of the settlement and the monumental architecture at Kinet H&ouml / y&uuml / k.

Yes / A series of massive geophysical anomalies, located south of the Durrington Walls henge monument, were identified during fluxgate gradiometer survey undertaken by the Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project (SHLP). Initially interpreted as dewponds, these data have been re-evaluated, along with information on similar features revealed by archaeological contractors undertaking survey and excavation to the north of the Durrington Walls henge. Analysis of the available data identified a total of 20 comparable features, which align within a series of arcs adjacent to Durrington Walls. Further geophysical survey, supported by mechanical coring, was undertaken on several geophysical anomalies to assess their nature, and to provide dating and environmental evidence. The results of fieldwork demonstrate that some of these features, at least, were massive, circular pits with a surface diameter of 20m or more and a depth of at least 5m. Struck flint and bone were recovered from primary silts and radiocarbon dating indicates a Late Neolithic date for the lower silts of one pit. The degree of similarity across the 20 features identified suggests that they could have formed part of a circuit of large pits around Durrington Walls, and this may also have incorporated the recently discovered Larkhill causewayed enclosure. The diameter of the circuit of pits exceeds 2km and there is some evidence that an intermittent, inner post alignment may have existed within the circuit of pits. One pit may provide evidence for a recut; suggesting that some of these features could have been maintained through to the Middle Bronze Age. Together, these features represent a unique group of features related to the henge at Durrington Walls, executed at a scale not previously recorded. / The University of Bradford Research Development Fund and the University of St Andrews funded this open access publication. / Supplementary data can be found at https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue55/4/supp-text.html

Many MBA buildings have been studied from different points of views and approaches / however, their spatial patterns were scarcely investigated. This thesis aims to assess the usefulness of Depth Analysis, a sub-method of Space Syntax, in the understanding of spatial patterns of MBA palaces. The palaces of key MBA sites, Acemh&ouml / y&uuml / k, Tell Mardikh and K&uuml / ltepe, were selected for the analysis. In the conclusion it is suggested that Depth Analysis can be a very useful method in understanding the configuration of spaces when there is sufficient available data. An equally successful application of this method lies in the comparative analysis of different buildings.

Yes / The first archaeobotanical studies of the Middle Bronze Age lakeshore settlement demonstrate the enormous potential of this site for appropriate analyses. On the basis of the well-preserved layers a multitude of plant remains and wide diversity of species are present at this site. Evidence of emmer, spelt, tetraploid naked wheat, hulled barley, peas and broad beans conforms to the basic cultural crop spectrum of the Middle Bronze Age. The wild plants originate from various locations in the direct vicinity and allow an insight into the landscape at that time. Numerous wild plants were intentionally used by the settlers. Fruits gathered include cornelian cherries, hazelnuts, crab apples and a diversity of berries. Furthermore, archaeobotanical analyses support observations already made on site that within the settlement there are at least two functionally different areas. While in section 50/51 the layers contain the remains of daily food preparation, section 7 indicates a link to animal fodder. / National Geographic

This master thesis deals with middle bronze age and late bronze age pottery from site Emporio on Chios island. The aim of the thesis is to review older excavation that was provided by British School at Athens under direction of Sinclair Hood. The focus is set on new sorting of pottery mainly from Areas D and F, description, style analysis and making new Catalogue. Important contribution is new dating of stratigraphic contexts and ceramic material as well as newly published fragments of pottery. In the following chapters author also discusses relations with areas outside Chios based on analogies of ceramic finds.

Ce travail est consacré au culte rendu aux dieux à Ougarit dans son contexte syrien. Le but est d’avoir recours à toutes les sources archéologiques, iconographiques, archéozoologiques et épigraphiques pour appréhender les cultes qui étaient rendus aux dieux à Ougarit. Pour saisir la spécificité des cultes pratiqués à Ougarit, mais aussi leur ressemblance avec ceux de la même zone culturelle, je me suis proposé d’établir une comparaison avec d’autres cultes, par exemple ceux qui étaient pratiqués dans la région du nord de la Syrie à l’âge du Bronze moyen Alalaḫ, Qatna, Mari, Terqa, Tuttul, Ekalte et à l’âge du Bronze récent comme à Emar. Cela m’a permis, notamment d’étudier les liens entre ces différentes manières de pratiquer le culte. L’importance de cette étude réside dans la confrontation et la nouvelle présentation des différentes sources. Cette étude essaie de faire la lumière sur plusieurs points concernant le culte d’Ougarit, notamment le culte officiel et familial, ainsi que la place qu’il occupait à l’âge du Bronze moyen et récent. / This work is a study of ritual and cult at Ugarit within its broader Syrian context. The aim is to present and analyze a corpus of relevant documents, which derive from a variety of sources, be they archeological, iconographic, epigraphic, or archeozoological, in order better to define, not only which cults were practiced at Ugarit, but also to highlight their similarities with the religious practices documented in neighboring cultural areas, especially in north Syria during the Middle and Late Bronze Age. The comparative data thus derive from Alalakh, Qatna, Mari, Terqa, Tuttul and Ekalte for the Middle Bronze Age and Emar for the Late Bronze Age. Several problems particular to the cult at Ugarit are explored, such as the difference between official (public) and family (private) worship, but these are set against the background of the Middle and Late Bronze Age setting. The importance of the study lies in its comparative approach, casting light on the similarities, despite the obvious differences in worship.

A travers notre étude, nous avons voulu mieux comprendre la nature, ainsi que l'impact, des contacts culturels entre le Levant nord (région comprise entre la côte syro-libanaise et la vallée de l’Oronte) et ses voisins au Bronze moyen. L'analyse d'une partie du mobilier céramique, métallique, rocheux, osseux et vitreux - issu d'une trentaine de sites archéologiques du Levant nord - a permis de mettre en évidence diverses influences iconographiques mais également technologiques provenant essentiellement de la région méditerranéenne (d'Egypte, d'Anatolie et du Monde égéen) et de Mésopotamie. La multiplication des échanges diplomatiques et commerciaux a rendu possible la circulation des biens et des personnes ainsi que la transmission de savoir-faire et de procédés techniques méconnus jusqu'alors des artisans levantins nord. Nous assistons à cette période à un véritable essor des artisanats tels que la métallurgie, la faïencerie et l'ivoirerie. / This study aims to understand contacts, and their impacts, between North Levant (area situated between the syro-lebanese coast and the Oronte valley) and his neighbors during the Middle Bronze Age. The analysis of the ceramics, metallic productions, stone, bony and vitreous items - coming from thirty archaeological tells of North Levant - revealed various stylistic and technological cultural influences from Mediterranean's area (from Egypt, Anatolia and Aegean world) and Mesopotamia. The multiplication of diplomatic and commercial relationship promotes people and good's movement but also permits transmission of expertise and manufacturing process unknown by North Levantine craftsmen. This period is characterized by a real progress of metallurgy, faiences and ivory crafts.