A rich production followed of objects for daily use, ritual, and luxury living, finely carved in various materials or fashioned of clay. Monumental sculpture was made in stone or bronze, and dramatic friezes were composed of brilliantly glazed bricks. Among the discoveries are tiny, intricately carved cylinder seals and splendid jewelry. Clay balls marked with symbols offer fascinating testimony to the very beginnings of writing; clay tablets from later periods bearing inscriptions in cuneiform record political history, literature, business transactions, and mathematical calculations. A very important group of finds from Susa is made up of objects brought back as booty from conquests in Mesopotamia. These works, many of them the royal monuments of Akkadian and Babylonian monarchs - for instance, the great stele of Naram-Sin - are among the best known of all objects from the ancient Near East.

"Provides the cultural, archaeological, and historical contexts for a selection of thirty works of art in the Metropolitan Museum's collection"--Slipcase.

The Art of Elam ca. 4200-525 BC offers a view of, and a critical reflection on, the art history of one of the world’s first and least-known civilizations, illuminating a significant chapter of our human past. Not unlike a gallery of historical paintings, this comprehensive treatment of the rich heritage of ancient Iran showcases a visual trail of the evolution of human society, with all its leaps and turns, from its origins in the earliest villages of southwest Iran at around 4200 BC to the rise of the Achaemenid Persian empire in ca. 525 BC. Richly illustrated in full colour with 1450 photographs, 190 line drawings, and digital reconstructions of hundreds of artefacts—some of which have never before been published—The Art of Elam goes beyond formal and thematic boundaries to emphasize the religious, political, and social contexts in which art was created and functioned. Such a magisterial study of Elamite art has never been written making The Art of Elam ca. 4200-525 BC a ground-breaking publication essential to all students of ancient art and to our current understanding of the civilizations of the ancient Near East.

An authoritative guide to the whole of the cradle of civilization.

Insightful Archaeological Context. Illuminated Historicity. While the historical accuracy of the Bible has long been a topic of debate and has fallen under increased scrutiny in recent decades, new archaeological discoveries from an expanding host of ancient sites found in Bible lands continue to provide evidence pertinent to questions of reliability. The Essential Archaeological Guide to Bible Lands offers the most geographically extensive overview of archaeological sites from all of the regions relevant to the biblical narratives. With information from excavations and research both old and new, this thorough guide from archaeologist and professor Dr. Titus Kennedy features more than 200 full-color photos that show ancient ruins and bring the Bible to life extensive exploration of archaeological discoveries from more than 70 key locations and historical sites stretching across Mesopotamia, Egypt, Anatolia, Greece, the Holy Land, and beyond expert research and analysis of archaeological evidence that illuminates and corroborates historical narratives of the Bible The Essential Archaeological Guide to Bible Lands will aid in your search for answers, serving as a travel guide and a resource for investigating the context and historicity of the Bible while vicariously visiting many ancient biblical locations.