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Akkadica 134 (2013), pp. 203-207.
Libri Novi
IAMONI, M. The Late MBA and LBA Pottery
Horizons at Qatna. Innovation and Conservation
in the Ceramic Tradition of a Regional Capital
and the Implications for Second Millennium
Syrian Chronology (Studi Archeologici Su Qatna
2), Forum Editrice Universitaria Udinese, Udine,
2012. (360 p.). ISBN 978-88-8420-729-6.
For those interested in regional chronol-
ogy in Syrias Middle and Late Bronze Age,
this book is of key importance. Marco Iamoni
presents a study of the ceramics found at Qatna
and a detailed discussion of the chronological
importance of this assemblage, thereby adding
a substantial body of information to our knowl-
edge of ceramic traditions and changes during
the second half of the MBA and the rst half
of the LBA. Qatna offers one of the very few
assemblages completely covering this period and
consisting of a substantial amount of ceramics,
excavated and studied according to modern stan-
dards. It is therefore a key site for the period in
Central Syria.
The book consists of six chapters. It is il-
lustrated with numerous bar graphs presenting
the data and with a catalogue of 71 plates illus-
trating the ceramics. The plates contain detailed
information about each fragment, but unfortu-
nately the form type number is not shown on
the catalogue plates but only in a separate list.
The book raises some very interesting points
concerning chronology, regional distribution of
material culture, and the links between pottery
production and economy.
Chapter I presents a brief Geographical
and historical background of Central Syria in
about the mid second millennium BC.
In Chapter II, The MB-LB ceramic hori-
zon in Syria, Iamoni presents a critical discus-
sion of several key sites in Central Syria, the
Upper Euphrates, Coastal Syria and peripheral
regions, focusing on their stratigraphy and pot-
tery assemblages relevant for this study. This
chapter serves to present the generally accepted
chronological framework and the associated pot-
tery horizons, and outlines the existing prob-
lems and gaps in this framework. In Central
Syria - where Hama still provides the best se-
quence despite its many problems - it becomes
clear that : The publication of a complete ce-
ramic sequence based on solid evidence, which
covers more phases of the two periods (MBA
and LBA), is still lacking. This gives rise to a
series of problems, ranging from a rather con-
fused knowledge of the ceramic diagnostics
to a general disagreement about the regional
and chronological extents of material culture
(p.46). Bridging the transition from MBA to
LBA, as well as the identication of diagnostic
forms for each sub-phase of MBA and LBA, are
the main issues dealt with in this work. In his
conclusions, Iamoni presents a body of diagnos-
tics that can be used to rene the dating of lev-
els elsewhere, and convincingly argues for the
insertion of a third MBA level at the end of the
MBA period.
In Chapter III, Tell Mishrifeh/Qatna : de-
scription and analysis of the archaeological con-
texts, the reader can nd a summary description
of the relevant archaeological contexts at Qatna
that provided the ceramic material discussed in
this study. In Operation J, a long sequence cov-
ers the middle of the third to the rst half of
the rst millennium BC. From the early MBA
onwards, Operation J was dominated by a series
of large pottery workshops. The later MBA sees
a development of these workshops, apparently
increasing in scale and complexity, with increas-
ing numbers of kilns and different types of
kilns. In the LBA II, pottery production con-
tinues. However, the assemblage from the LBA
is difcult to use for diagnostic sequences, be-
cause the number of sherds is too low and the
contexts are too disturbed by later levels (p.76).
Other contexts bridging the gap between MBA
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204
and LBA are thus needed. These are drawn from
the Lower City Palace (Operation K) and the
Eastern Palace (Operation T). The three contexts
under study are different in scope and nature,
and there is no direct stratigraphical connection
between them. In the last section of Chapter III
Iamoni integrates the three sequences from a
chronological point of view, rstly by grouping
the phases from the various Operations together
based on ceramic forms, then by performing a
cluster analysis to rene these groupings. The
cluster analysis convincingly presents a group-
ing of phases per Operation, but it is a bit un-
clear to me why Iamoni does not present such a
cluster diagram of all Operations together in one
gure. This may strengthen his suggestions on
the contemporaneity of these functionally quite
different contexts.
Chapter IV, The pottery database,
presents a brief overview of the classication
of form and fabric. The classication of ce-
ramic forms is, I think, manageable and effec-
tive for the purposes of this study (chronology).
However, clear criteria for ascribing a specic
vessel to a type are missing. What exactly is
a plate or a bowl, for example (cf. Pl.5 no.
3 (bowl) and Pl.14 no. 10, 11 (plate) ? Iamoni
simply states that the classication follows
general and commonly-used archaeological cri-
teria (p.90), but does not clarify what those
criteria are ; some kind of specication would
be especially helpful for others who want to
compare their own material with that of Qatna.
The description of fabrics is supported by ex-
tensive chemical and thin-section analysis of the
ceramics carried out by L. Maritan et al. for the
Qatna project (published in Archaeometry 2005
47/4 :723-744). Nine macrogroups with several
more or less relevant subgroups are described
based on their work. However, vegetal inclusions
are omitted from Iamonis overview (Table IV-
3). Although the distinction mineral inclusions
only vs. mineral+vegetal inclusions becomes
important later in the discussion (see below),
the presence or absence of vegetal inclusions is
presented completely independent from the fab-
ric description and so the reader is unable to see
for which fabrics the potters used vegetal inclu-
sions and for which they did not, and in what
amounts. This is important if we want to discuss
why potters used vegetal inclusions (did they use
them in specic clays to improve their work-
ability, for example ?). Also, I had to go back to
Maritan et al.s publication to learn which of the
fabrics are thought to contain added inclusions
(temper) and which only natural inclusions ;
apparently only macrogroups 1, 4 and 6 contain
intentionally added (mineral) inclusions.
Chapters V and VI form the core of the
volume and will be the parts of most interest
to those working with material from the same
period at other sites. In Chapter V, the fabrics
and forms of the MBA and LBA levels of opera-
tions J, K and T2/T3 are presented. The chapter
opens with a paragraph on the validity of the
classication of general forms (p.98-102). It is
here that the absence of clear criteria used to
call something a plate or a krater is most felt.
The paragraph leaves me with more questions
than answers. What kind of cups, for example,
would have a rim diameter larger than 20 cm,
as shown in g. V-3 ? Would anyone call such
a large vessel a cup ? What is a cup exactly in
Iamonis classication ? The chapter continues
with an analysis of the fabrics of the MBA and
LBA ceramics. For both MBA and LBA, sepa-
rate graphs (Figs. V-8 - V-15) show the distribu-
tion of mineral only vs. mineral+vegetal inclu-
sions in each level, and for each shape, as well
as the distribution of each macrogroup (fabric)
in each level and for each shape. It is unclear to
me how the vessel class cooking pots - which
has been dened according to its fabric rather
than its shape (p. 94) - can include eight differ-
ent fabric types, including those commonly used
for bowls, cups, jars, etc. Here again, the lack
of strict criteria for classication hinders my un-
derstanding. During the MBA, there appears to
be an increasing dominance of fabrics red at
a somewhat lower temperature (below ca. 750-
800 C), possibly related to the introduction of
a new kiln type, and an increasing use of veg-
etal inclusions. It is unclear to me why, in MBA
plates, the relatively higher percentage of sherds
with vegetal inclusions should be the result of
a more massive production of this vessel type
(p.106). The different trend for bases as opposed
to rims in the use of vegetal inclusions is ex-
plained by suggesting that different clays were
used for bodies and bases, both manufactured
separately and joined later to make whole ves-
sels (p.106). It is a very interesting suggestion,
but Iamoni does not say whether such a vessel
made from two different fabrics has ever been
found at Qatna. For the LBA, the ceramics seem
to be mostly made of fabrics with mineral in-
clusions only, in contrast to the MBA (Iamoni
consistently speaks of mineral temper but since
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not all these inclusions were intentionally added
by the potter to the fabric, it would be better to
speak of inclusions instead of temper). The
rest of the chapter discusses in detail which
shapes are characteristic for each chronological
phase. For each shape group in the MBA and
LBA, the most typical or most illustrative forms
are identied and their chronological develop-
ment is discussed in detail. Comparisons with
other key sites in the region and beyond place
the Qatna sequence within the regional frame-
work. In the bar graphs illustrating the occur-
rence of each type in each phase (Figs. V-16 to
V-42), chronological trends are unfortunately not
easily visible, especially when there are many
shapes. It would have helped the reader greatly
if some line graphs illustrating the development
of the most diagnostic types through the levels
would have been included, preferably combining
MBA and LBA levels in one graph to illustrate
changes and continuities.
In Chapter VI, Iamoni presents a careful-
ly constructed seriation of the MBA and LBA
levels at Qatna, based on the comparisons with
key sites, existing chronology, and a thorough
statistical analysis of his material. He then joins
the Qatna sequence with that of other sites, and
proposes to insert a MBA III phase between the
currently used MBA II and LBA I phases. Then
follows a summary description of which forms
from Qatna are diagnostic for each phase from
MBA IIA to LBA IIA. It would have been nice
if those shapes had been combined on sepa-
rate plates, or if at least a list of plate numbers
would have been included here (p.174-177) for
easy reference. On page 174, I dont understand
why the evidence of a high number of fabric
types in the ceramic horizon is a likely sign of
increasing complexity at Qatna, nor why this
amount of fabric types would necessarily be
partly a consequence of the presence of a pot-
tery workshop in Operation J.
The establishment and the further rene-
ment of the chronological framework of the sec-
ond millennium BC in Central Western Syria,
and its connections with historical events, are
the main aims of this study. As Iamoni clearly
shows, this framework is problematic, due to the
absence of securely dated and/or well-published
sequences that cover the whole period. This is
where Qatna and the present study come in. I
think nobody would question the importance of
a sound chronology and its connection with his-
torical events, nor the necessity to study ceram-
ics from this point of view. However, I think it
is both unnecessary and mildly disturbing that
Iamoni underlines this importance on p. 23 by
stating : it is inevitable that one of historical
archaeologys aims is to seek correspondences
between eld data and the historical recon-
struction of the past based on other sources (i.e.
texts). Without this, archaeology from the third
millennium onwards would lose much of its
meaning To my opinion, this is an undervalua-
tion of the many ways in which archaeology as
an independent eld can contribute to our under-
standing of the past, and the many approaches
available to reach this goal without any help
from historical sources.
The excavation of a production area, its
long sequence and the detailed study of the ac-
companying pottery, is a rather rare occurrence
in Near Eastern Archaeology. Although Iamonis
goals for this volume are clear and focus on
matters of chronology, the available evidence
from the workshops combined with his detailed
knowledge of the ceramics from Operation J
presents a golden opportunity to study the tech-
nology and organization of the production of
pottery at Qatna. I hope that someone is aiming
to study Qatnas ceramics and pottery produc-
tion area in an integrated manner from this per-
spective in the future. It will yield a wealth of
information about social organization at Qatna
and in the second millennium BC, going much
beyond anchoring the site in the regional chro-
nology and tying it up with the historical time-
line. Iamoni makes some rst interesting moves
in this direction in Chapter VI, when tying ob-
servations about used temper materials to ideas
about the development of the economy. In the
MBA, there is a gradual increase of fabrics with
mineral+vegetal inclusions, declining again to-
wards the end of the period (p.104). In the LBA,
potters seem to predominantly use fabrics with
mineral inclusions only (p.108). Iamoni suggests
that in the MBA, Qatnas economy was based
mainly on agricultural wealth, resulting in an
abundant supply of straw as a temper material
for potters. In the LBA, this situation changed
towards an economy based more on exchange
and contacts with other regions, leading to a
shortage of straw and a change to crushed ba-
salt inclusions. This interpretation is partly sup-
ported by palaeobotanical work on the site and
its surroundings (p.179-181). For me, this was
actually one of the most interesting ideas in
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the book, and it denitely deserves much more
study. For example, it would be interesting to see
if the vegetal inclusions are indeed chopped
straw, or rather derive from animal dung or
other sources used as temper material. Also,
it would be interesting to see what percentage
of the LBA mineral only fabrics actually has
mineral inclusions added as temper (rather than
being present naturally in the clay), and whether
these tempers were used in the same clays as the
vegetal inclusions were before (i.e. were they re-
placing the vegetal inclusions, and why ?). These
details cannot be found in this study. I can think
of many reasons for the use of certain fabric
mixtures, including technological and functional
reasons, cultural traditions, differences in audi-
ence, etc. Linking changes in fabric preparation
to changes in economy is a very interesting pro-
posal, and I hope Iamoni will make this one of
the many future studies he refers to. Especially
in combination with the excavation of the pot-
tery production area in Operation J, this offers
a unique opportunity at Qatna to show the full
strength of pottery studies in archaeology, with-
out necessarily linking archaeological data to
historical events.
Kim DUISTERMAAT
Leiden University
LIPISKI, E. Resheph. A Syro-Canaanite
Deity (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 181),
Peeters Publishers, Leuven, 2009. (295 p.). ISBN
978-90-429-2107-8.
Der ausgewiesene Kenner der semiti-
schen Religionsgeschichte hat bereits vor ber
30 Jahren begonnen, das einschlgige Material
zum Gott Resheph zusammen zu stellen, so
dass er in der vorliegenden Monographie seine
Forschungsergebnisse prsentieren kann. Dabei
geht er nach einem chronologischen und geogra-
phischen Raster vor und bespricht im Einzelnen
Resheph in den Archiven von Ebla (Kapitel 1),
Resheph und Adamma (Kapitel 2), Resheph
whrend der mittleren und spten Bronzezeit
in Syrien-Kanaan (Kapitel 3), die syro-kanaa-
nische Ikonographie des Resheph (Kapitel 4),
Resheph in gypten im 2. Jahrtausend v. Chr.
(Kapitel 5), Resheph in Syrien und Kanaan im
1. Jahrtausend v. Chr. (Kapitel 6) und Resheph
in gypten im 1. Jahrtausend v. Chr. (Kapitel 7).
Die zeitliche Dimension reicht von den Texten aus
Ebla (24. Jahrhundert v. Chr.) bis zum Midrasch
des Exodusbuches im 10. Jahrhundert n. Chr.
und umfasst somit 3500 Jahre. Abgeschlossen
wird das Buch durch ausfhrliche Indices zu
den Personennamen, geographischen und eth-
nischen Bezeichnungen, Gtternamen und my-
thische Namen sowie einem Glossar, einem
thematischen Index, einem Index der Quellen
und einem Index der modernen Autoren.
E. Lipiski leitet den Namen des Gottes
Resheph von der Wurzel rabu furchtbar,
schrecklich, ehrfurchtgebietend ab und
schliet zurecht einen Bezug zum Feuer
oder zur Seuche aus (23f). Es handelt sich
bei Resheph um eine Schutzgottheit, und nicht
um eine chthonische Gottheit. Erst whrend
der Sptbronzezeit wurden dem Gott auch die
Zuteilung von Krankheit und Plagen zugeschrie-
ben, da in Ugarit ausweislich des Titel Herr des
Pfeiles der Gott mit (Gift-)Pfeil und Bogen aus-
gestattet wurde (S. 104-119). Dieser Zug wurde
vor allem im 1. Jahrtausend v. Chr. betont, hier
vor allem in der Bibel, die Resheph nur als negativ
konnotierten Gott bzw. als einen Dmon kennt.
E. Lipiski hat mit diesem Werk einen
wichtigen und reichhaltigen Forschungsbeitrag
geleistet, da eine derart kompetent verfasste
bersicht zur Genese und Geschichte des Gottes
Resheph schon lange ausstand. Bislang konnte
man sich nur aufgrund diverser Aufstze bzw.
Lexikonartikel ein Bild ber diesen Gott ver-
schaffen. Einige Einzelbemerkungen scheinen
mir trotzdem wichtig zu sein.
S. 43f : Der Kult der Gttin Pahalatis ist
von Byblos aus nach Hamath gelangt, da in ihm
die Rezeption der Gttin Baalat von Byblos
deutlich wird. Hierfr spricht auch, dass zur
gleichen Zeit in Hamath die aus Byblos stam-
menden Gottheiten Baalamin und Adonis ver-
ehrt wurden. Demgegenber ist die Kontinuitt
einer Gttin von den Ebla-Texten bis ins 1.
Jahrtausend v. Chr. schwieriger nachzuweisen.
S. 89 : Mittlerweile drfte deutlich sein,
dass die Termini gdlt und dqt in den ugariti-
schen Ritualen keine Kuh bzw. kein Lamm, son-
dern Dickbrote und Dnnbrote bezeichnen ; vgl.
J. Tropper, UF 33, 2001, 545-565.
S. 96 : Anmerkung 214 : Der Name der
Verfasserin muss heien D. Prechel (nicht
Pechel). Dieser Fehler begegnet auch im Register
auf S. 294.
S. 104 : Zur Inschrift auf dem Lwen-
kopfrhyton RS 25.318 vgl. jetzt auch H. Niehr,
TUAT.NF 6, Gtersloh 2011, 86-88.
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S. 110-115 : Die bersetzung von KTU
1.78 bleibt immer noch ein Problem, da auch
Lipiskis Lsung, derzufolge die Opferschauer
den Gouverneur herausfordern, nicht berzeu-
gend wirkt. Allerdings muss man zugestehen,
dass auch die lteren Bearbeitungen, z.B. bei M.
Dietrich O. Loretz, Mantik in Ugarit, ALASP
3, Mnster 1990, 39-85 oder bei D. Pardee,
Ritual and Cult at Ugarit, Leiden 2002, 131-132
ebenfalls ihre Probleme aufweisen.
S. 115-117 : Die Lsung des mathema-
tischen Problems, das sich bei der Erzhlung
der Todesflle unter den Kindern des Knigs
Kirta ergibt (KTU 1.14 I 14-21), wirft nach der
Lsung von J. Finkel, HUCA 26, 1955, 109-149,
der sich Lipiski in leicht modizierter Form
anschliet, das Problem auf, dass man von einer
Anzahl von 30 Kindern des Knigs Kirta ausge-
hen muss. Dem widersprechen aber zum einen
der Umstand, dass in KTU 1.14 I 8-9, sieben
Kinder des Kirta aufgezhlt sind und zum an-
dern die Tatsache, dass im spteren Verlauf der
Ereignisse dem Kirta sieben bzw. acht Shne
und Tchter geboren werden. Insofern ist die
Zahl 30 mit dem Text nicht zu vereinbaren. Ich
habe den Eindruck, dass dieses vermeintliche
mathematische Problem so nicht zu lsen ist, da
wir es an dieser Stelle mit poetischer Sprache
zu tun haben, die man nicht auf die Waage der
Mathematik legen darf.
S. 118 : Die Tatsache, dass Resheph einer-
seits dafr verantwortlich ist, dass ein Teil der
Kinder des Kirta ums Leben kommt, anderer-
seits der Gott aber doch zur zweiten Hochzeit
des Kirta eingeladen wird, deutet auf die Ambi-
guitt des Gottes Resheph in der ugaritischen
Literatur hin. Resheph kann vor Krankheiten
schtzen und aus diesem Grund begegnet der
Gott auch als theophores Element in Personen-
namen. Trotzdem ist er aber auch verantwort-
lich fr die Krankheiten und den Tod von
Menschen. Es wre gut gewesen, diesen Punkt
der Ambiguitt des Reshep in seinen mgli-
chen Begrndungen ausfhrlicher zu wrdi-
gen. Impliziert nicht zudem die Vorstellung ei-
nes Schutzgottes, dass dieser die Feinde seiner
Verehrer zurckschlgt und er deshalb immer
auch ein potenziell gewaltttiger Gott ist ? Des
Weiteren fehlt im Hinblick auf die Religion
Ugarits eine Diskussion der Gtterlisten, an-
hand derer man die Stellung des Resheph im
Pantheon von Ugarit htte untersuchen knnen.
Ebenso werden die Rituale aus Ugarit nicht ana-
lysiert, sondern nur die Resheph-Belege und die
Opfergaben aufgelistet. Dem Verstndnis der
Ritualtexte ist damit nicht weiter gedient.
S. 139-160 : Die Ikonographie des Gottes
Resheph bleibt, da es keine inschriftlich ausge-
wiesenen Darstellungen des Gottes gibt, nach
wie vor ein Feld von groer Spekulation. Hier
scheint mir das letzte Wort nicht gesprochen zu
sein, es mssten aber hier die Ikonologen weiter
diskutieren.
S. 161-221 : Hierzu wre jetzt noch
K. Tazawa, Syro-Palestinian Deities in New
Kingdom Egypt. The Hermeneutics of their
Existence (BAR IS 1965), Oxford 2009, 116-118
zu ergnzen.
S. 223-248 : Hier ist die Dissertation
von J. Kutter, nr il. Die Sonnengottheiten in
den nordwestsemitischen Religionen von der
Sptbronzezeit bis zur vorrmischen Zeit, AOAT
346, Mnster 2008 zu den Sonnengottheiten in
den nordwestsemitischen Religionen nachzutra-
gen.
Es fehlen aus der Forschungsliteratur ei-
nige wichtige Titel ; ich nenne nur M.J. Mulder,
Art. Raeaep, in : ThWAT 7, 1990-93, 684-690
und P. Xella, Le dieu Rashap Ugarit, AAA
29/30, 1979/80, 145-162 sowie P. Xella, DUgarit
la Phnicie : Sur les traces de Rashap, Horon,
Eshmun, WO 19, 1988, 45-64.
Trotz dieser Bemerkungen liegt eine wich-
tige Arbeit vor, die in der knftigen Erforschung
der Gtterwelt der westsemitischen Religionen
nicht bergangen werden kann.
Herbert NIEHR
Universitt Tbingen
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