Papers by Michael G Brown
Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 2017
Pyla-Kokkinokremos is a fortified hilltop settlement in Cyprus founded towards the end of the Lat... more Pyla-Kokkinokremos is a fortified hilltop settlement in Cyprus founded towards the end of the Late Bronze Age. It has played a prominent role in discussions concerning the c. 1200 BC ‘collapse’ in the wider eastern Mediterranean. Results from survey and soundings (2007–09) provide significant new information about the site and its relationship to the surrounding landscape. This includes the discovery of a large intramural feature in the form of a shallow bedrock terrace with associated architecture running through the centre of the settlement. Consideration is also given to broader regional patterns of settlement in the surrounding Pyla littoral and south-east Cyprus.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2018
This study examines biological properties of beer in ancient Anatolia. Discussion focuses on the ... more This study examines biological properties of beer in ancient Anatolia. Discussion focuses on the Hittite site of Kuşaklı-Sarissa, where the remains of a brewery were excavated dating to the second millennium BC. While ancient brewing practices have often been investigated using archaeological and textual sources, relatively little scholarship has addressed the chemical constituents of this process. The following review makes use of a wider body of food science and medical literature in order to shed light on the sensory and nutritional characteristics of alcoholic beverages.
Zeitschrift für Orient-Archäologie, 2018
The ancient fortress of Amādiya is situated atop a mesa at the foot of the Zagros Mountains in Ir... more The ancient fortress of Amādiya is situated atop a mesa at the foot of the Zagros Mountains in Iraqi-Kurdistan. In front of the Mosul Gate there are two rock-reliefs depicting larger than life figures in traditional Parthian dress. This article presents detailed illustrations of these sculptures using digital photogrammetry to enhance eroded features.
Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft zu Berlin, 2020
On the slopes of Mt. Piramagrun in the Zagros Mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan lies the fortified sit... more On the slopes of Mt. Piramagrun in the Zagros Mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan lies the fortified site of Rabana-Merquly. Ruins spread across c. 100 ha represent a major occupation during the Parthian period. Matching rock-reliefs that depict an anonymous ruler flank the two main entrances to the settlements. Pronounced similarities in attire between these sculptures and the statue of a king of Adiabene found at Hatra suggest a possible identification for both the individual depicted in relief (Natounissar) and the ancient city (Natouniaon-the-Kapros). Fieldwork in 2019 continued our ongoing programme of survey and excavation, with more detailed investigation of the complex at the entrance to Rabana valley.
BAF-Online: Proceedings of the Berner Altorientalisches Forum, 2020
The twin fortresses of Rabana-Merquly are situated on the western side of Mt. Piramagrun, one of ... more The twin fortresses of Rabana-Merquly are situated on the western side of Mt. Piramagrun, one of the most prominent massifs in the Zagros Mountains. A defining feature of these adjoining settlements are their matching, approximately life-size rock-reliefs depicting a ruler in Parthian dress, which flank the entrance to both sites. Behind the perimeter walls several structures have been recorded including a citadel and a sanctuary complex. The combined intramural area is in excess of 40 hectares. Based on the style of relief sculptures, and the material culture of their associated intramural settlements, occupation is dated to the early first millennium A.D. Investigations at Rabana-Merquly are a collaboration between Heidelberg University and the Sulaymaniyah Directorate of Antiquities. This talk gives an overview of the main fieldwork results to date, emphasizing the relationship between the fortified settlements and the wider landscape of the central Zagros highlands.
Iraq, 2018
This article presents detailed illustrations of two rock-reliefs from the neighbouring sites Raba... more This article presents detailed illustrations of two rock-reliefs from the neighbouring sites Rabana and Merquly, located on the flanks of Mt. Piramagrun in IraqiKurdistan. Both matching sculptures are aligned with perimeter fortifications that enclose substantial architectural remains. Based on numismatic parallels, supported by archaeological evidence, it is proposed that these depictions of near life size figures represent an anonymous Arsacid King of Kings from the early first millennium (c. A.D. 50-150), who was credited with construction of the mountain fortresses. Rabana and Merquly together form an important landscape of settlement on the north-western frontier of the Parthian Empire.
Hittite Landscape and Geography, 2017
Brown, M. and T. J. Wilkinson (2017) ‘The Euphrates States and Elbistan (Archaeology)’, in L. Ull... more Brown, M. and T. J. Wilkinson (2017) ‘The Euphrates States and Elbistan (Archaeology)’, in L. Ullmann and M. Weedon (eds.) Hittite . Leiden: Brill.
New Agendas in Remote Sensing and Landscape Archaeology in the Near East: Studies in Honor of Tony J. Wilkinson, 2020
Brown M. & S.L. Smith 2016. The Land of Carchemish and its neighbours during the Neo-Hittite peri... more Brown M. & S.L. Smith 2016. The Land of Carchemish and its neighbours during the Neo-Hittite period (c. 1190–717 BC). In T.J. Wilkinson, E. Peltenburg and E. Barbanes Wilkinson (eds.) Carchemish in Context: The Land of Carchemish Project, 2006-2010. Oxford: Oxbow, pp. 22-37.
JAS Reports, 2015
New coring data provides a complete 14C dated sequence covering the paleo-environmental evolution... more New coring data provides a complete 14C dated sequence covering the paleo-environmental evolution of the Larnaca Salt Lakes from c. 9000 BP onwards. This suggests the formation of a relatively confined lagoon after 4000 cal BP. On the western shore of the main Aliki basin, overseas imports from the Late Bronze Age site of Dromolaxia–Vyzakia (Hala Sultan Tekke) reflect use of the Salt Lakes as a harbour during the second millennium BC. Coring and geomorphological mapping were employed to determine routes of navigation between this port and the open sea, with two main natural channels identified. A third potential communication in the form of an artificial cut, previously dated to the Venetian period, is discussed with reference to changes in relative sea level along the island’s south-east coast. Abandonment of settlement at Dromolaxia-Vyzakia in the early 12th century BC relates to the gradual isolation of the Salt Lakes lagoon from the surrounding marine environment through sedimentation. The timing of this event correlates with other known instances of population displacement throughout the eastern Mediterranean c. 1200 BC, and has been associated with the so-called 3.2 ka BP climate event.
Annual of the British School at Athens, 2013
This paper explores the role of waterways in shaping the settlement landscape of south-east Cypru... more This paper explores the role of waterways in shaping the settlement landscape of south-east Cyprus during the second millennium bc. Particular emphasis is placed on the proposed use of the Gialias river, in conjunction with overland portages, for transporting bulk commodities from the island's interior to the coast. The geopolitical characteristics of Alashiya, as known from eastern Mediterranean court correspondence, are considered with reference to adjacent riverine and maritime regions. A dominant trend of continuity in settlement and societal development is identified for south-east Cyprus as a whole throughout the period under review.
Palestine Exploration Quarterly, Jan 1, 2009
Scholarship of the Bronze-to-Iron Age transition in the northern Levantine littoral has tradition... more Scholarship of the Bronze-to-Iron Age transition in the northern Levantine littoral has traditionally stressed a major disjuncture in settlement and societal development c. 1200 BCE, concurrent with the destruction and abandonment of the Ugaritic capital at Ras Shamra. Based upon a reinterpretation of the archaeological remains at Tell Sukas, this study argues for a degree of regional continuity in cultural lineage from the mid second to early first millennium BCE, based upon the proposed identification of a previously unknown example of ancestral veneration.
Levant, Jan 1, 2007
The first season of survey around the site of Tell Jerablus Tahtani, conducted in March and April... more The first season of survey around the site of Tell Jerablus Tahtani, conducted in March and April 2006, demonstrated the existence of occupations from the Neolithic to the Early Islamic period. Tell Jerablus Tahtani was fringed to the west by a lower settlement of Late Uruk and early third millennium BC date, at which time settlement was also evident at Tell Sha'ir to the west and at Duluk near the junction with the Sajour. Tells formed the main mode of occupation during the Early and Middle Bronze Ages, but this pattern of occupation broke down during the Hellenistic through Late Antique periods when a more dispersed pattern of rural settlements and small towns developed. The landscape became progressively more “busy” during the Hellenistic through Late Antique periods, when the presence of conduits, canals and other landscape features attest to both increasingly intensive and extensive systems of land use.
Website by Michael G Brown
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Papers by Michael G Brown
Website by Michael G Brown