1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910456468003321

Autore

Burke Aaron A

Titolo

"Walled up to heaven" [[electronic resource] ] : the evolution of Middle Bronze Age fortification strategies in the Levant / / by Aaron A. Burke

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Winona Lake, Ind., : Eisenbrauns, 2008

ISBN

90-04-37668-2

1-57506-599-1

Descrizione fisica

xix, 362 p. : ill

Collana

Studies in the archaeology and history of the Levant ; ; 4

Disciplina

725/.18

Soggetti

Fortification - Middle East - History - To 1500

Military architecture - Middle East - History - To 1500

Siege warfare - Middle East - History - To 1500

Bronze age - Middle East

Electronic books.

Middle East Antiquities

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. [321]-349) and index.

Nota di contenuto

pt. 1. An introduction to Middle Bronze Age fortifications -- pt. 2. The evolution of warfare and defenses in the Levant during the Bronze Age (ca. 2500-1500 B.C.) -- pt. 3. Middle Bronze Age fortifications & their cultural context -- pt. 4. A catalog of Middle Bronze Age fortified settlements in the Levant and Mesopotamia, and their forerunners.

Sommario/riassunto

As the first comprehensive study of fortification systems and defensive strategies in the Levant during the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 1900 to 1500 B.C.E.), Walled up to Heaven is an indispensable contribution to the study of this period and of early warfare in the ancient Near East. Although archaeologists and ancient historians alike have discussed a variety of theories regarding the origin and cultural significance of the construction of earthen ramparts during the Middle Bronze Age, only this work addresses these questions in detail. In a tour de force, Burke traces the diachronic evolution and geographic distribution of the architectural features and settlement strategies connected with the emergence of Middle Bronze Age defenses in the Levant. By synthesizing historical and archaeological data from Mesopotamia and



Egypt as well as the Levant, he reveals the interconnectedness of the Near Eastern world during the first half of the second millennium to an extent not recently considered. The result is a detailed employment of cognitive, social, and dirt archaeology to reconstruct the political, social, military, and cultural implications of the construction of monumental defenses and the development of defensive networks during the period of Amorite hegemony in the Levant.