Theology: Old Testament and Hebrew Scriptures.: Encyclopediae

The Encyclopediaopens with a general map of the region and a chronology of periods and dynasties, providing a context for the entries. The first section of the volume then comprises 14 overviews which explore the history and significance of each period. The main body of the text offers more than 300 alphabetically organized entries, written by some of the most eminent scholars in this field. Areas covered include: artefacts - glass, jewellery, sculpture archaeological practices - dating techniques, representational evidence, textual sources biographies - Howard Carter, Gertrude Caton Thompson, Gaston Maspero buildings - cult temples, private tombs, pyramid complexes geographical features - agriculture, climate, irrigation sites - Abydos, Dakhla Oasis, Thebes social organization - kingship, law, taxation The text is extensively illustrated with over 120 images. Each entry is followed by a selected further reading section which includes foreign language sources to supplement the available works in English.

In the seventeen years since the publication of the first four volumes of the New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, the steadily expanding pace and range of archaeological investigation of the Holy Land and adjacent areas has produced significant new data on the ancient sites, history, social evolution, and material culture of the region. This has necessitated that a fifth supplementary volume be produced in addition to the original four-volume work. This fifth volume contains both new and revised site entries, reflecting not only the increase in archaeological knowledge, but also the intensification of multidisciplinary collaboration between archaeologists, historians, environmental scientists, information technologists, and archaeometric specialists in recent years. Volume 5 of the New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land is intended to provide scholars, students, and general readers with an authoritative and up-to-date compilation of the new information and the new approaches to and interpretations of the material finds. This fifth volume is a welcome and necessary supplement to the highly acclaimed first four volumes and cannot be overlooked by any serious student of archaeology in the Holy Land.

This comprehensive five-volume work analyzes the archaeological and linguistic data that pertain to the broad cultural milieu of the ancient Near East, the crossroads of three of the world's most influential religions--Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Ranging from prehistoric times up to theearly centuries of the rise of Islam, the work covers the civilizations of Syria-Palestine, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Iran, Arabia, Cyprus, Egypt, and the coastal regions of North and East Africa. It includes 1,125 alphabetically arranged entries on sites, languages, material culture, archaeologicalmethods, organizations and institutions, and major excavators and scholars of the field. This one-of-a-kind, accessibly written reference brings new breadth to the study of archaeology in the biblical world, making it a valuable resource not only to scholars and students of archaeology, but also tothose with an interest in ancient art and architecture, languages, history, and religion.