Entries
The following is a list of writeups of places, architecture, artifacts and texts from the ancient world. They are best read within the context of the course outline but are listed here for those who wish to use them as supplements. *Note: Those entries which belong to the Early Bronze Age have been incorporated into the Early Bronze Age course.
Constructed by Caesar Augustus, the Ara Pacis is one of the finest surviving monuments of imperial Rome.
Location:
Nimrud Dagh, Anatolia
Civilization:
Commagene
Period:
Roman
Date:
31BC—476 AD (period)
Nimrud Dagh is a mountain in the Taurus Mountains of eastern Turkey. The site was chosen by Antiochus I Theos (r. 70-31 BC) as the place of his mausoleum. The tomb is marked by a massive burial mound and rows of monumental statues of the king and his gods.
The ancient city of Pompeii was located in the Italian province of Campania, a fertile and temperate region that was a popular getaway for the Roman elite. The Romans built lavish villas in Pompeii and in the surrounding countryside that were unique
Location:
Pompeii, Italy
Civilization:
Romans
Period:
Roman
Date:
31BC—476 AD (period)
The ancient city of Pompeii was located in the Italian province of Campania, a fertile and temperate region that was a popular getaway for the Roman elite. The Romans built lavish villas in Pompeii and in the surrounding countryside that were unique
ARC
Location:
Ephesus, Western Anatolia
Civilization:
Ionians
Period:
Hellenistic—Roman
Date:
333BC—476 AD (period)
Location:
Ephesus, Western Anatolia
Civilization:
Ionians
Period:
Hellenistic—Roman
Date:
333BC—476 AD (period)
Artemis took on many guises in ancient Ephesus. She was "master of the beasts", "queen of heaven", "bestower of fertility" and "good fortune" but of all these titles, the most important was "Artemis of Ephesus", the protectoress of the city. Many
Location:
Sela, Transjordan
Civilization:
Nabataeans
Period:
Hellenistic
Date:
333BC—476 AD (period)
Es-Sela is an ancient fortress that was scene of a major battle between the Greeks and the Nabataeans. There is evidence that the site was used as a fortress at an earlier date. Nabonidus left an inscription high up on the rock wall of the fortress. It is likely that this is the Edomite fortress known as Sela mentioned in 2 Kings 14:7.
Location:
Athens, Greece
Civilization:
Greeks
Period:
Babylonian / Persian
Era:
Classical Greece
Date:
480—359 BC (era)
Crowning the acropolis of Athens, the Parthenon is considered one of the finest monuments in the ancient world. The building is the product of a collaboration between the famous Athenian ruler, Pericles, and the famous sculptor, Phidias.
Location:
Athens, Greece
Civilization:
Greeks
Period:
Babylonian / Persian
Era:
Classical Greece
Date:
480—359 BC (era)
Location:
Sparta, Greece
Civilization:
Spartans
Period:
Iron II
Date:
480—359 BC (era)
The Menelaion is a 6th century BC shrine perched on a ridge overlooking the Eurotas Valley, the heartland of ancient Sparta. It was dedicated to king Menelaus and his wife, Helen, of Homeric fame.
Location:
Jerusalem, Judah
Civilization:
Judah
Period:
Iron II
Date:
480—359 BC (era)
Two scrolls made of silver leaf were found in a tomb at Ketef Hinnom, just outside of Jerusalem. Inscribed using the Paleo-Hebrew script probably in the 7th century BC, they contain the priestly benediction (Num 6:24-26). This makes them the oldest copies of the Biblical text discovered so far.
Location:
Thebes, Greece
Civilization:
New Kingdom
Period:
Iron I
Reign:
Ramses III
Date:
480—359 BC (era)
Location:
Mycenae, Greece
Civilization:
Mycanaeans
Period:
Late Bronze I—Late Bronze II
AL Chronology:
480—359 BC (era)
Middle Chronology:
1600—1400 BC (period)
Mycenae was the chief city of the Peloponnese during the Late Bronze Age. The city was fortified with massive 'cyclopean' walls which had just a single major entry point - the Lion Gate.
Location:
Mycenae, Greece
Civilization:
Mycanaeans
Period:
Late Bronze I—Late Bronze II
AL Chronology:
480—359 BC (era)
Middle Chronology:
1600—1400 BC (period)
Located just inside the city walls, next to the iconic Lion Gate of Mycenae, this grave circle contained the richest Mycenaean tombs that have yet been discovered. The tombs were excavated by Heinrich Schliemann who found altogether 15 bodies in 5 tombs at the bottom of Grave Circle A. Several of the tombs belonged to warriors who were buried with intricately fashioned daggers and swords. They were also wore a death mask made of gold - the finest of which Schliemann thought must be the visage of Agamemnon, the king of the Achaeans in Homer's Iliad.
Location:
Serabit el-Khadim, Southern Levant
Civilization:
Egyptian
Period:
Middle Bronze II
AL Chronology:
480—359 BC (era)
Middle Chronology:
2000—1700 BC (period)
Located in the Sinai peninsula, Serabit el-Khadim is the site of a temple built for Hathor "the Lady of Turquoise." The temple was first constructed during the reign of of Sesotris I (c. 1950 BC) and continued in use until Ramses VI (c. 1150 BC). Turquoise mines in the region preserve some of the earliest alphabetic inscriptions every discovered.
Location:
Hattusa, Anatolia
Civilization:
Hittites
Period:
Late Bronze I—Late Bronze II
AL Chronology:
480—359 BC (era)
Middle Chronology:
1600—1400 BC (period)
The Hittites were a lost civilization until the mid 1900's with the discovery of their capital city at Hattusa. This sprawling city was surrounded by a massive casemate wall. The three gates in the upper city are named after pairs of stone guardians that flank each gate.
Location:
Larsa, Mesopotamia
Civilization:
Amorite
Period:
Middle Bronze I
Era:
Isin—Larsa
Reign:
Sin-magir
AL Chronology:
1918—1698 BC (era)
Middle Chronology:
2004—1792 BC (era)
Location:
Serabit el-Khadim, Southern Levant
Civilization:
Middle Kingdom
Period:
Middle Bronze II
AL Chronology:
1918—1698 BC (era)
Middle Chronology:
2000—1700 BC (period)
The earliest alphabet was first discovered in the Sinai by Sir Flinders Petrie, who was at that time excavating the temple at Serabit el-Khadim. Over the course of the excavations Petrie found inscriptions on stelae and on the walls of nearby turquoise mines that utilized what he referred to as a barbaric script. These turned out to be among the earliest examples of the use of an alphabetic script.
Location:
Kanesh, Anatolia
Civilization:
Hittites
Period:
MB III
AL Chronology:
1918—1698 BC (era)
Middle Chronology:
1700—1600 BC (period)
Found during excavations on the acropolis at Kultepe-Kanesh, the dagger is inscribed with the name "Anitta," an early Hittite king.
Location:
Ur, Mesopotamia
Civilization:
Sumerians
Period:
Middle Bronze I—Middle Bronze II
Era:
Ur III——Isin
AL Chronology:
2038—1698 BC (era)
Middle Chronology:
2112—1792 BC (era)
The Lament for Sumer and Ur describes the events surrounding the invasion of Amorite, Gutian and Elamite forces which finally brought Sumerian civilization to an end.
Location:
Kanesh, Anatolia
Civilization:
Old Assyrian
Period:
Middle Bronze II
AL Chronology:
2038—1698 BC (era)
Middle Chronology:
2000—1700 BC (period)
Location:
Kanesh, Anatolia
Civilization:
Hittites
Period:
Middle Bronze II
AL Chronology:
2038—1698 BC (era)
Middle Chronology:
2000—1700 BC (period)
Location:
Heliopolis, Egypt
Civilization:
Middle Kingdom
Period:
Middle Bronze II
AL Chronology:
2038—1698 BC (era)
Middle Chronology:
2000—1700 BC (period)
Woolley, Ur Excavations : The Ziggurat and Its Surroundings, Plate 41. Link
Location:
Ur, Mesopotamia
Civilization:
Neo-Sumerian
Period:
Middle Bronze I
Era:
Ur III
Reign:
Ur-Nammu
AL Chronology:
2038—1698 BC (era)
Middle Chronology:
2112—2004 BC (era)
Location:
Ur, Mesopotamia
Civilization:
Neo-Sumerian
Period:
Middle Bronze I
Era:
Ur III
Reign:
Ur-Nammu
AL Chronology:
2038—1698 BC (era)
Middle Chronology:
2112—2004 BC (era)
Location:
Ur, Mesopotamia
Civilization:
Neo-Sumerian
Period:
Middle Bronze I
Era:
Ur III
Reign:
Ur-Nammu
AL Chronology:
2038—1698 BC (era)
Middle Chronology:
2112—2004 BC (era)
Location:
Ur, Mesopotamia
Civilization:
Neo-Sumerian
Period:
Middle Bronze I
Era:
Ur III
AL Chronology:
2038—1698 BC (era)
Middle Chronology:
2112—2004 BC (era)
Location:
Nippur, Mesopotamia
Civilization:
Neo-Sumerian
Period:
Middle Bronze I—Middle Bronze II
Era:
Ur III—Isin—Larsa
AL Chronology:
2038—1698 BC (era)
Middle Chronology:
2112—1792 BC (era)
Location:
Urkesh, Mesopotamia
Civilization:
Hurrians
Period:
Middle Bronze I
Era:
Ur III
AL Chronology:
2038—1698 BC (era)
Middle Chronology:
2112—2004 BC (era)
Location:
Thebes, Egypt
Civilization:
Middle Kingdom
Period:
Middle Bronze I
Era:
Dynasty XI
AL Chronology:
2063—1698 BC (era)
Middle Chronology:
2134—1991 BC (era)
Location:
Jericho, Southern Levant
Civilization:
Amorite
Period:
Middle Bronze I
Era:
Megiddo XIV-XIII
AL Chronology:
2065—1698 BC (era)
Middle Chronology:
2300—1900 BC (era)
Location:
Jericho, Southern Levant
Civilization:
Amorite
Period:
Early Bronze IV—Middle Bronze I
Era:
Megiddo XIV-XIII
AL Chronology:
2065—1698 BC (era)
Middle Chronology:
2300—1900 BC (era)
Location:
Lagash, Mesopotamia
Civilization:
Lagash
Period:
Middle Bronze I
Era:
Lagash II
Reign:
Gudea
AL Chronology:
2063—1698 BC (era)
Middle Chronology:
2155—2023 BC (era)
Having won independence from Akkad during the reign of Ur-Baba, Lagash was restored to prosperity under his successor, Gudea, who bequeathed us with a great many diorite statues of himself.
Location:
Megiddo, Southern Levant
Civilization:
Middle Canaanite
Period:
Middle Bronze I
Era:
Megiddo XIV-XIII
AL Chronology:
2065—1698 BC (era)
Middle Chronology:
2300—1900 BC (era)
