THE LIBRARY

Articles and guides

Selected case studies and useful reading questions: what was found, how was it studied and what follows from the evidence?

Eleven articles and guides connect case studies with methods: layers and dating, critical reading, pottery, coins, inscriptions and raw materials. Choose a question, then follow the sources and related reading. Checking an abstract is never presented as reviewing an entire paper.

3 articles and guides

Oval steatite seal base engraved with a crocodile-headed figure holding a flower — Base of a scarab seal from Canaan, ca. 1640-1550 BCE, with a crocodile-headed figure. Glazed steatite museum comparison; The Met, 10.130.398. No specific findspot is stated.The Metropolitan Museum of Art · 10.130.398 · Gift of Helen Miller Gould, 1910 · CC0 · Source · CC0 1.0

METHOD GUIDE · CONNECTIONS

Materials and exchange: reading connections between places

Similar objects do not make a trade map. Distinguish raw materials, manufacture, style and movement through examples and research questions.

3 min read, approximatelyRead the article

Roman terracotta oil lamp seen from above, with relief decoration and a wick opening — Roman terracotta lamp, ca. 90-200 CE; probably made in Syria-Palestine according to The Met catalogue. A collection object for comparison, not a find from the Nazareth excavations. Accession 74.51.2256.The Metropolitan Museum of Art · 74.51.2256 · The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874-76 · CC0 · Source · CC0 1.0

READING A FIND · NAZARETH

Nazareth: reading a settlement through its layers

What can a small excavation tell us about settlement, and why do successive layers not necessarily mean uninterrupted occupation?

4 min read, approximatelyRead the article

Cypriot pottery jug with a long neck, a handle and pale geometric decoration on an orange body — Decorated Cypriot pottery jug, ca. 1900-1800 BCE. A comparison from Cyprus, not a local excavation find. The Met, 74.51.1316.The Metropolitan Museum of Art · 74.51.1316 · The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874-76 · CC0 · Source · CC0 1.0

OBJECT GUIDE · POTTERY

Pottery: from production to use and dating

What can a rim, handle or sherd tell us? Read pottery by connecting manufacture, use and the archaeological context of its discovery.