A portion of the Tell es-Sa'idiyeh mound was used for burials during the Bronze Age. A summary of the pottery types is followed by a description of the contents of each of the 45 tombs. University Museum Monograph, 41

Major recent excavations, have shed much light on the complexity of Iron Age society and religion in southern Palestine, a region where both Judeans and Edomites lived. However, it is not clear whether the religious practices attested at these sites were a reflection of localised customs or were common rituals for peoples of Cisjordan and we do not know their extent. An isolated shrine site at Wadi ath-Thamad Site WT-13 in northern Moab which contained numerous finds of Iron Age figurines and statues has been the subject of detailed excavation. The rich harvest of figurines, ceramic statues, beads, miniature ceramic vessels, architectural models, faunal remains and shells and fossils constitutes the evidence for repeated cultic activities. Although dating to the Iron Age at the time of the consolidation of the kingdom of Moab, there is insufficient evidence at present to determine the full range of cultic practices and deities venerated by the peoples of the lands within ancient Moab and by those visitors to the shrine. The links between WT-13 and the surrounding town sites is only now coming to light with excavation at Atarus and Khirbat al-Mudayna, as well as at the Ammonite site of Tall Damiyah in the Jordan Valley, where a comparable shrine has recently been uncovered. WT-13 clearly serves as a link between the Jordan Valley and the Negev, adding to our knowledge of local and foreign influences in the region during the Iron Age.

A state-of-the-art presentation on a people/nation of Transjordan known to readers of the Bible as a neighbor, and often an enemy, of first millennium B.C. Israel. Topics covered in the book's ten chapters include a review of archaeological research in Ammon (R.W. Younker); the emergence of the Ammonites (R.W. Younker); Ammonite territory and sites (B. MacDonald); Ammonite "monumental" and domestic architecture (M. Najjar and P.M.M. Daviau respectively), as well as burial customs and practices (K. Yassine); the ceramic traditions of Central Transjordan (G. London); Ammonite texts and language (W. E. Aufrecht); the religion of the Ammonites (W.E. Aufrecht); and the Ammonites in the late Iron Age and the Persian period (L.G. Herr). Figures and Tables accompany each chapter. In addition, the publication includes an "Excursus" on the salient features of Iron Age tribal kingdoms (O. LaBianca). Each chapter of "Ancient Ammon" includes extensive reference material. The publication is fully indexed.

This illustrated catalogue presents 190 objects from the Collection of Palestinian Antiquities in the Museum of Art and Archaeology at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Covering the 4th millennium BC to the 8th century AD, the artefacts are presented in ten thematic sections. These cover such subjects as: death and burial in the early Bronze Age; war; the domestic world in the Bronze and Iron Ages; the wider world; religion in the late Bronze and Iron Ages; Hellenistic and Byzantine trade; the villa at Tel Anafa; technology; everyday life in the hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods; and pagans, Jews and Christians. Each section begins with a discussion followed by a full description and discussion of the objects themselves, all of which are illustrated. Many types of object are represented including ceramics and lamps, personal implements and tools, religious figurines and carvings, jewellery, bone items, toilet implements, scarabs, armour and weapons, intaglio gems and ossuaries. The book begins with a brief discussion of changing attitudes and practice in the archaeology of the Holy Hand.

This important volume focuses on the contribution of excavated material to the interpretation of biblical texts. Here, both practicing archaeologists and biblical scholars who have been active in field work demonstrate through their work that archaeological data and biblical accounts are complementary in the study of ancient Israel, early Judaism, and Christianity. Illustrations.

Archaeological Sources.

Annotation Elizabeth A. Kaye specializes in communications as part of her coaching and consulting practice. She has edited Requirements for Certification since the 2000-01 edition.