September 2015
Vol. 3, No. 9
Welcome to The Ancient Near East Today Vol. 3, No. 9! In this issue we cover over 350,000 years, from the advent of fire to the destruction of sites in Syria and Iraq.
We begin with Reinhard Pirngruber’s look at policemen in Mesopotamia. From there we turn to James Strange on Jewish life at Shikhin in the Southern Galilee, then Ron Shimelmitz discusses of new evidence for the first use of fire. Columba Stewart describes the work of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library, photographing Christian manuscripts in Syria and Iraq. We are pleased to present an image gallery of some of those manuscripts. Finally, we include a special set of links reviewing the ongoing destruction and looting of antiquities in Syria.
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Special Feature: Syria Destruction Update
News accounts and propaganda videos continue to report ISIL’s destruction of archaeological sites in Syria, and the ongoing devastation caused by the civil war. The Ancient Near East Today is sad to present a series of the most recent links discussing these situations.
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Shikhin Between Jews and Romans
By: James Riley Strange
Most archaeological sites in the ancient world are important for one reason or another. But every once in awhile, archaeologists uncover one that that helps them solve long-standing problems, or that opens up a new tin of questions that must be answered.
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Hill Museum & Manuscript Library: Manuscripts Image Gallery
Through the courtesy of Dr. Columba Stewart OSB and the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library, we are pleased to present a sample of monastic manuscripts scanned in Syrian collections. These pages provide a hint of the treasures that have been preserved and those that have been lost.
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Hill Museum & Manuscript Library: Working to Preserve the Manuscript Heritage of Syria and Iraq
By: Columba Stewart, OSB
The Hill Museum & Manuscript Library at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota (HMML) began in 1965 as a project to microfilm monastic libraries in Cold War Europe. The Benedictine monks of Saint John’s Abbey were concerned that their European heritage could be destroyed in a nuclear war, and were determined to take precautionary measures.
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Fire: a Burning Issue in Human Evolution
By: Ron Shimelmitz
ire is reflected in almost every aspect of our mundane existence; its use and control constitutes an essential part of material life. From cooking our meals to the various materials we use, the products of pyrotechnology, fire is also an intimate component in human social life.
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The Ancient Near East Today features contributions from diverse academics, a forum featuring debates of current developments from the field, and links to news and resources. The ANE Today covers the entire Near East, and each issue presents discussions ranging from the state of biblical archaeology to archaeology after the Arab Spring.
