Pella

A detailed marine geophysical survey was planned and carried out in the coastal zone of Alexandria (Egypt), by the Laboratory of Marine Geology and Physical Oceanography of the University of Patras in co-operation with the Hellenic Institute of Ancient and Medieval Alexandrian Studies. The survey aimed to the detailed mapping of the geomorphological and textural features of the seafloor and the detection and recognition of targets, which may to represent wrecks or man-made structures. The following equipment were used: (i) an EG&G260 corrected image side scan sonar, (ii) a Remote Operated Vehicle (R.O.V) Benthos MKII and (iii) a Trimble 4000 Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS). The study of the sonar data has shown that the seafloor is covered by rocky outcrops and loose sediments. The rocky outcrops are layered and cover about 75% of the surveyed zone. The rest of the seafloor is covered by sandy sediments. The sonar survey identified a large number of potentially interes...

The ‘Tomb of the Philosophers’, owing its name to the iconographic theme depicted on the interior of its walls, offers a rare example of high-quality early Hellenistic painting, which enhances our knowledge on the use of painting materials and techniques in Greece during the late 4th–early 3rd century BC. The tomb was excavated in 2001 by the 17th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, in the area of the east cemetery of the ancient city of Pella and is among the largest built cist graves to have been found in the region to date. This article presents the results of a scientific investigation of the painting materials and techniques used in the tomb’s decoration by means of high-resolution visible- and raking-light imaging, broadband imaging (IRR, UIL, UVR, VIL), X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and SEM-EDAX microanalysis on a representative number of samples. The examination of the paintings testifies to the application of elaborate painting techniques and to the use of ...

The ‘Tomb of the Philosophers’, owing its name to the iconographic theme depicted on the interior of its walls, offers a rare example of high-quality early Hellenistic painting, which enhances our knowledge on the use of painting materials and techniques in Greece during the late 4th–early 3rd century BC. The tomb was excavated in 2001 by the 17th Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities, in the area of the east cemetery of the ancient city of Pella and is among the largest built cist graves to have been found in the region to date. This article presents the results of a scientific investigation of the painting materials and techniques used in the tomb’s decoration by means of high-resolution visible- and raking-light imaging, broadband imaging (IRR, UIL, UVR, VIL), X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and SEM-EDAX microanalysis on a representative number of samples. The examination of the paintings testifies to the application of elaborate painting techniques and to the use of ...

The bronze astragalus under investigation comes from the south stoa of the Agora, western from the main entrance on south. Both, the material chosen for its production and the existence of six control marks on its sides, render improbable the possibility of counterfeiting. The weight of the astragalus causes a lot of concern, since it does not fall to any of the denominations and devaluations of the Attic mina. The hypothesis that it belongs to the category of weights for the weighing of silver coins emerge as quite possible.
According to its weight, it seems that it was used to weight one hundred silver hemidrachms or tetrobols of Macedonians or hemidrachms of Istiaia, denominations in common use in the kingdom during the reign of Philip V. Probably it served on the collection of taxes or fees, at the entry of the products in the Agora.
Three among its six control marks we can also find them on coins of Philip V and a fourth it is very possible to constitute a monogram of king’s name, unknown till now. The monogram ΠΥΡ, it is very possible to refer not to the name Pyrrhus, but to Pyrrhichus, , because of the different depiction of the monogram of Pyrrhus, as it is known from the coins, and the monogram of the astragalus. If this suggestion is correct, it is very attractive the thought that this could belong to a magistrate of the city, probably Pyrrichus son of Chrysogonus from Edessa, member of Macedonian aristocracy and originating from a family with close and friendly relations with Macedonian royal family.

In this paper it is presented a bronze weight, found in Pella, the capital of macedonian kingdom. Its two depictions on its front face, a bird and a phallus, seems to be collerated with Dionysus, one of the most important gods of the kingdom and an anchestor god for Temenids.

В течение долгого времени у исследователей не возникало никаких сомнений в историчности бегства христианской общины из осаждённого римлянами Иерусалима в Пеллу. Как можно сомневаться в историческом событии, если о нём рассказывают два уважаемых автора, Евсевий (Euseb.,Hist.Eccl.,III,5,3) и Епифаний (Epiph.,Panar.,XIX,7,7; Panar.,XXX,2,7; De Mens.,15)? Серьёзный удар по авторитетности этой легенды был нанесён в 1951 году, когда С.Г.Ф. Брэндон опубликовал вызвавшую огромный резонанс книгу «Падение Иерусалима и христианская церковь». В своих сочинениях Брэндон пытается доказать, что иерусалимских христиан в 70 году постигла та же участь, что и прочих единоплеменников: смерть, рабство и рассеяние. Легенда о бегстве, по мнению Брэндона, появилась среди христиан Пеллы (шире – Заиорданья) в первой половине II века. Эта легенда являлась «мифом об основании» (the founding myth), который «рассказывал», как была учреждена церковь в Пелле.

+++

For a long time scholars have had no doubts about the historicity of the flight of the Christian community from Jerusalem besieged by the Romans to Pella. How could one doubt the historicity of the event when it is recounted by two respected authors, Eusebius (Euseb.,Hist.Eccl.,III,5,3) and Epiphanius (Epiph.,Panar.,XIX,7,7; Panar.,XXX,2,7; De Mens.,15)? A serious blow to the legitimacy of this legend was dealt in 1951 when S. G. F. Brandon published a highly controversial book, “The Fall of Jerusalem and the Christian Church”. In his writings, Brandon tries to prove that Jerusalem’s Christians in the year 70 suffered the same fate as other fellow-Christians: death, slavery, and dispersion. The legend of flight, according to Brandon, emerged among the Christians of Pella in the first half of the second century. This legend was a “founding myth” that “told” how the church at Pella was established.

Дослідження було виконано за підтримки Фонду Конрада Аденауера. Втеча В Пеллу *) Анотація. Протягом довгого часу у дослідників не виникало жодних сумнівів щодо історичності втечі християнської громади з обложеного римлянами Єрусалима до Пелли. Як можна сумніватися в історичній події, якщо про неї розповідають два шановані автори,

The article provides an analysis of a passage of the Gospel according to Mark, which contains a prediction about the «abomination of desolation» standing where it should not stand (13, 14). The main attention is paid to the analysis of the following questions: what is meant by the «abomination of desolation»? How is its appearance related to the call to flee to the mountains? Is there a connection between this gospel verse and the tradition of the flight of Christians to Pella? The answer to these questions will be given through the study of the texts of primary sources, a comparative analysis of parallel passages of the synoptic Gospels, as well as a review of the scientific literature in which this problem is revealed.

Η διδακτορική διατριβή ασχολείται με τη μελέτη 310 πήλινων ειδωλίων που προέρχονται από την Αγορά της αρχαίας Πέλλας και ειδικότερα από το στρώμα καταστροφής των αρχών του 1ου αι. π.Χ. είκοσι τεσσάρων (24) χώρων του νότιου τμήματος της ανατολικής στοάς. Τα ειδώλια που περιλαμβάνονται αποτελούν ένα αντιπροσωπευτικό δείγμα ενός μεγάλου κοροπλαστικού συνόλου που βρέθηκε σε θραυσματική κατάσταση κατά την ανασκαφική έρευνα της Αγοράς τα έτη 1980 – 1984 και 2006-2007. Η μελέτη είχε κύριο στόχο να περιγράψει το υλικό, να αναλύσει και να ερμηνεύσει το κοινωνικό, οικονομικό, θρησκευτικό και πολιτιστικό πλαίσιο μέσα στο οποίο αυτά κατασκευάζονται και χρησιμοποιούνται, να ανιχνεύσει πιθανές σχέσεις των εργαστηρίων μεταξύ τους ή με εργαστήρια άλλων περιοχών και, τέλος, να συνεισφέρει σε ακόμα μεγαλύτερο βαθμό στη γνώση μας για την κοροπλαστική παραγωγή των εργαστηρίων της Πέλλας κατά την ύστερη ελληνιστική εποχή. Η εργασία παρουσιάζει ένα πολυποίκιλο υλικό, που προέρχεται από καταστήματα-εργαστήρια παραγωγής ειδωλίων, από χώρους δηλαδή που κατασκευάστηκαν μαζικά. Επιπλέον, αφορά ένα σύνολο που χρονολογείται κατά βάση σε ένα στενό χρονολογικό πλαίσιο, κατά την εποχή καταστροφής της πόλης στις αρχές του 1ου αι. π.Χ., και ως εκ τούτου αποκαλύπτει την παραγωγή των εργαστηρίων κατά την τελευταία φάση της ζωής της. Διαπιστώνεται ένα σημαντικό θεματολογικό εύρος στις προτιμήσεις των κοροπλαστών. Η παρουσία νέων τύπων ειδωλίων στην Πέλλα και οι σχέσεις και επαφές με κοροπλαστικά εργαστήρια άλλων περιοχών αποκαλύπτει ένα δυναμικό κλάδο της οικονομίας της την εποχή αυτή, όταν η πόλη έχει πάψει μεν να αποτελεί το κέντρο των πολιτικών εξελίξεων, παραμένει ωστόσο ένα σημαντικό οικονομικό κέντρο της Μακεδονίας.

Lemnos, opposite Troy, played a decisive role in the cultural sphere of the northest Aegean during the early Bronze age, due to the island’s excellent geographical location, in front of the entrance to the Hellespont, on the sea route to regions abundant in metal ores and raw materials in asia Minor, as well as due to its geomorphology. Apart from Poliochni, the sophisticated early urban settlement on the eastern shore of the island, a network of settlements developed over the entire island, such as Myrina, which spreads in a wide zone parallel to the west shore. Excavations that took place during the years 2002-2005 have brought to light impressive architectural ruins, with megaron type buildings, narrowstreets, stone paved yards and a system of channels covered by slabs.
From the abundance, variety and quality of the pottery we will present here the miniature vessels. This specific pottery is characterized by its small size, usually not bigger than 7-8 cm, which could follow the characteristic
shapes or even new ones. Plenty of them have been made during the early Bronze age on the northAegean, from them 115 have been found in Poliochni, 80 in Thermi Lesvos, 9 in Emporio Chios, 25 in Troy and until now 63 in Myrina. From those 63, there have been identified 15 lids, 8 pyxides, 6 jugs, 3 amphoras, 7 cups, 8 bowls, 3 fruit-stands, 2 spoons, 1 tripodic pot, 2
tripodic vessels and 8 others. We will attempt a classification of the shape evolution and a chronological classification.

In this paper, the presence and usage of coins of Macedon within Samuel’s Fortress is discussed, based on 218 specimens; that is, 135 being issues of the kings of Macedon and 83 being issues of the ‘Macedonians’ and of the cities of Macedon, respectively. These coins represent ~42% of the total number of 524 single coin finds belonging to the Classical and Hellenistic periods, discovered during the systematic archaeological excavations from 2001 to 2013 at Samuel’s Fortress in Ohrid.

Key words: Samuel’s Fortress, coins, Macedon, kings, ‘Macedonians’, cities

Says who has the worldview, etc. and supplements chapters dealing with royal rule and Aristotle's political ideology. This was originally appendix 4, but I have removed the original Appendix 3, which was on political science before Aristotle. That's been absorbed into and expanded in the long essay "Plato's Politikē (political science) and Aristotle's Development of it." Contrary to what is surprisingly sometimes written, 2 Aristotle was not born in Macedon, or even a region that was then considered Macedonian. It would not be until 349 1 All references in this book are to Aristotle's Politics, unless otherwise specified. The chapter number is the most common, not those of the Loeb and Apostle editions. 2 Terence Irwin, "Introduction," pp. xiii-xxiv in Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, trans. Terence Irwin (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1985), p. xiv; this error has continued through the 3 rd edition of 2019; Everson, "Introduction," pp. ix-xxvii in Aristotle, The Politics, ed. Stephen Everson, [trans. Benjamin Jowett, rev. Jonathan Barnes] (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988), p. x; see also the chart of "Principal Events" on p. xxiv. This was not corrected for the revised edition (1997).

Τρεις χάνδρες από σάρδιο (ΜΔ 2356). Προέρχονται από το νεκροταφείο των τύμβων στην θέση Καρίτσα Γαβριά της περιοχής του μακεδονικού Ολύμπου, στη νότια Πιερία. Βρέθηκαν στο τάφο Α του τύμβου 4, πάνω στο στήθος της νεκρής (Ν1). Η χάνδρα α και η β έχουν σχήμα σφαιρικό, με τη μία πλευρά πιεσμένη. Οι οπές εξάρτησής τους είναι κυκλικής διατομής και βρίσκονται στον κάθετο άξονά τους Η χάνδρα γ έχει κυλινδρικό σχήμα. Η οπή εξάρτησής της είναι κυκλικής διατομής, με διευρυμένη κοιλότητα στην μία πλευρά και βρίσκεται στον κάθετο άξονά της. Οι χάνδρες (ψήφοι) αποτελούσαν τμήματα περιδέραιων (όρμοι), τα οποία χρησιμοποιούνταν από τις γυναίκες ως κοσμήματα. Οι χάνδρες αυτές χρονολογούνται στην πρώιμη εποχή του Σιδήρου (μεταξύ 1100 και 900 π.Χ.). Διαστάσεις χάντρας α: διάμετρος: 0,019 μ., ύψος: 0,013 μ,. διαστάσεις χάντρας β: διάμετρος: 0,012 μ., ύψος: 0,01 μ., διαστάσεις χάντρας γ: διάμετρος: 0,012 μ., ύψος: 0,01 μ.

Πήλινος μονόμυξος λύχνος ανοιχτού τύπου, χωρίς λαβή (ΚΟ 2133). Προέρχεται από τη θέση Κομπολόι της περιοχής του μακεδονικού Ολύμπου, στη νότια Πιερία. Βρέθηκε κατά τις ανασκαφικές έρευνες σε οινοποιητική αγροικία των ύστερων κλασικών - πρώιμων ελληνιστικών χρόνων. Σώζεται σχεδόν ολόκληρος, αποτελούμενος από πέντε θραύσματα. Λείπουν τμήματα του σώματος, του χείλους, και του μυκτήρα (η μύτη του λύχνου), τα οποία συμπληρώθηκαν με γύψο. Είναι κατασκευασμένος σε μήτρα από πηλό σκούρου γκριζωπού χρώματος με λίγες προσμίξεις και μαρμαρυγία. Είναι αβαφής και φέρει ίχνη χρήσης. Οι λύχνοι χρησιμοποιούνταν για τον φωτισμό της οικίας, τις ώρες που δεν υπήρχε φυσικό φως. Ως καύσιμη ύλη τοποθετούνταν στην οπή πληρώσεως είτε λάδι είτε λίπος, ενώ για φυτίλι (φρυαλλίς) χρησιμοποιούσαν ύφασμα ή φλόμο (φλομίς). Ο συγκεκριμένος λύχνος χρονολογείται ανάμεσα στα μέσα του 4ου και τις αρχές του 3ου αιώνα π.Χ. Διαστάσεις του λύχνου: ύψος: 0,023 μ., μήκος: 0,078 μ., διάμετρος του σώματος: 0,062 μ., διάμετρος της βάσης: 0,042 μ., διάμετρος της οπής πληρώσεως: 0,032 μ.

Πήλινος μελαμβαφής μονόμυξος λύχνος, χωρίς λαβή. (ΚΟ 2136) Προέρχεται από τη θέση Κομπολόι της περιοχή του μακεδονικού Ολύμπου, στη νότια Πιερία. Βρέθηκε κατά τις ανασκαφικές έρευνες σε οινοποιητική αγροικία των ύστερων κλασικών - πρώιμων ελληνιστικών χρόνων. Σώζεται ακέραιος με μικρές αποκρούσεις και απολεπίσεις. Είναι κατασκευασμένος σε μήτρα από καθαρό πηλό καστανέρυθρου χρώματος. Καλύπτεται σε όλη την επιφάνειά του από μελανό γάνωμα. Οι λύχνοι χρησιμοποιούνταν για τον φωτισμό της οικίας, τις ώρες που δεν υπήρχε φυσικό φως. Ως καύσιμη ύλη τοποθετούνταν στην οπή πληρώσεως είτε λάδι είτε λίπος, ενώ για φυτίλι (φρυαλλίς), χρησιμοποιούσαν ύφασμα ή το φυτό φλόμος (φλομίς). Ο συγκεκριμένος λύχνος χρονολογείται ανάμεσα στα μέσα του 4ου  και τις αρχές του 3ου αιώνα π.Χ. Διαστάσεις λύχνου: ύψος: 0,032 μ., μήκος: 0,084 μ., διάμετρος σώματος: 0,06 μ., διάμετρος βάσης: 0,042 μ., διάμετρος οπής πληρώσεως: 0,028 μ., διάμετρος οπής καύσεως: 0,012 μ.

This monograph focuses on the glazed pottery from Argos, dating from the Middle Byzantine to the first decades of the Frankish period (c. 10th – first half of the 13th century). This pottery was found in rescue excavations by the Hellenic Archaeological Service mainly in the 1980s and 1990s and has remained for the most part unpublished.
The first volume consists of two parts. The first part contains the presentation of the material, which is divided into Glazed White Wares and Glazed Red Wares; the latter make up by far the majority of the material. The second part contains the data analysis based on the ceramics’ shape, use, slip, glaze, decoration and fabric. Conclusions are drawn in two main directions: firstly the new evidence which the Argive material contributes to the general research into Middle Byzantine glazed pottery and secondly what it tells us about Middle Byzantine Argos, of which we know little from the sources. There are also two appendices: the first deals with the main classifications in Middle Byzantine glazed pottery and the second gives data on the excavated plots in which the pottery in question was found.
In the second volume there is a detailed catalogue of selected specimens with their ‘identity’ (findspot, fabric, shape, slip, glaze, decoration, proposed dating), any parallels, photos and drawings.
This research confirms the important role of Byzantine pottery and material culture in general in providing valuable evidence on the historical and sociological conditions of the time. This ceramic material documents the existence of a vibrant society, which – though located in the periphery – was in touch with the main trends of the period.

Stratigraphic sections pertaining to phosphorites and black shales in Epirus are described, as well as the distribution of the most significant occurrences and paleogeography during their formation. The correlative sedimentation of radiolarites, phosphorites, and black shales during the Lower and Middle Jurassic and later at the Upper Cretaceous is ascribed to oceanic upwellings from Tethys. Both the Jurassic phosphorites and the relevant black shales were deposited during Domerian to Collovian and were associated with equatorial currents. The phosporites were formed at the photic zone on submarine mountains whereas the black shales in basins a few hundred meters deep. The Upper Cretaceous phosphorites overly or surround a submarine ridge west of the basis of the continental shelf between the Ionian and Gavrovo zone, whereas the Cretaceous black shales were deposited deeper but close to the submarine ridges. Both of them, Cretaceous phosphorites and black shales are associated with oceanic upwellings caused by trade winds.

This poster aims to present three main topics: (1) the finding of a new sword recovered at Venda  das Raparigas, parish of Benedita, municipality of Alcobaça, district of Leiria, in the Centre-West of Portugal; (2) the results of chemical analysis, through the use of X-Ray Fluorescence  Spectrometry; and (3) the results of observation under optical and scanning electron micrpscopes.

Dans la "section VI : La production artistique en Grèce du Nord" du catalogue d'exposition Au royaume d'Alexandre le Grand (2011), cette brève synthèse dresse un état des lieux sur les ateliers artisanaux. Elle met en évidence le changement provoqué par la montée en puissance du royaume de Macédoine et le cas très particulier que constitue l'agora de Pella.

Research on Hellenistic pottery has already argued that pottery production in the early Hellenistic period (late 4th c. B.C.-early 3rd c. B.C.) was inextricably connected with Athenian pottery. Pergamon and other cities that later developed into important pottery centers based their early pottery needs to some extent on Athenian imports and only
through an intermediary phase of imitation of Athenian vases was each pottery center able to start producing its own distinct pottery. The above development has been observed, in particular, for Macedonia, an area of special importance as the center of the Macedonian kingdom, and in this paper I will argue that Athenian ceramic influence was equally strong in its capital, Pella, in the late 4th and early 3rd c. B.C.
The paper aspires to illuminate the conditions prevalent in Pella during the last quarter of the 4th c. B.C. through the presentation of pottery discovered in a road immediately east of the Agora. Even though this is not the first assemblage uncovered in the city that dates to this period, it is nevertheless the first that shows such a clear Athenian influence. This influence is traced in the shapes, their production details, the glaze and the types of decoration. Hence, the relatively high occurrence in this deposit of true Attic or Atticizing vases reveals that the kerameikos of Pella, which developed from the 3rd c. B.C. onwards to an especially robust and influential pottery center, initially followed the model recognizable at Pergamon and elsewhere. The examination of this
material contributes to our knowledge of the local economy of Pella, while the conscious selection or avoidance of specific Athenian vases as imports may reflect aspects of the social life of the people of that city in the transition from the 4th to the 3rd c. B.C.

The current paper examines five bronze, relief weights, produced in a mold. They have all been discovered in the Agora of Pella and its surrounds. They are all square; on their upper surface they bear either a denotation of their weight (nos 1-3) or a symbol (no 4) or a monogram (no. 5), which possibly indicates the name of an official of the city.
The majority of the weights adopts the Attic weight standard. The only exception is no. 1, which follows the “allied standard”. By their weight, three standards can be recognized. Weight no. 3 fits with Attic mna of 105 drachmas; weights nos. 2 and 4 follow a mna of 112 drachmas, while weights nos. 1 and 5 relate to a mna of 138 drachmas. The last two examples derive from the destruction layer of the city or immediately below it. This leads us to the conclusion that they were possibly in use at the time of the destruction of the city in the early 1st century B.C. The market control, evident on weight no. 5, which was stamped with an official seal in order to be reused, comprises an additional indication that the weight standard of the early 1st century B.C. was the one of the mna of 138 drachmas. Therefore, we can distinguish at least two changes in the weight standard, with the very last being in use in the final days of Pella.
The caduceus and the monogram on the weights nos. 4 and 5, strengthened by the market control evidence, verifying the existence of archons in Pella. They had the responsibility to produce the prototypes and to control the weight standards, either during the reign or after the Roman conquest.
Lastly, the developed commerce existing in the capital of the Macedonian kingdom may explain the discovery of weight no. 1 in an area close to the central south entrance of the Agora. It would have been required in such a milieu for regulating purchases and in the possible exchange of coins to silver according to the familiar weight standard.

Several attempts have been made to connect the nativity of Jesus, and more recently, the so-called “Rapture of the Church” to specific datable events in the heavens. In recent decades, several of these efforts have been centered on the constellation Virgo, the vision of the woman “clothed with the sun” in Revelation 12:1-6, and possible Jewish dates for the conception or birth of Jesus. Some attempts at aligning Revelation 12 with the actual heavens are connected to theories about the Star of Bethlehem. This article presents a partial exegesis of Revelation 12:1-17, as well as Babylonian astronomical concepts, which could call into question some popular conceptions concerning dating the birth of the Messiah.  (Updated May 2021)

This paper presents and discusses the results of the multi-analytical study carried out on a group of 39 Late Bronze Age artefacts from the site of Porto do Concelho, Central Portugal. The chemical composition of the objects was determined by Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) and their microstructural features were identified by Optical Microscopy (OM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The results show that metals are binary alloys (Cu+Sn) and leaded bronzes (Cu+Sn+>2.0 wt.% Pb), with a variable content of impurities, such as Pb (when lower than 2.0 wt.%), Fe, As, Ag, Sb and Ni. The microstructural characterization carried out on 21 artefacts allowed the identification of two main operational sequences: 10 objects show a dendritic microstructure suggesting that metals have not undergone any post-casting treatment; 11 artefacts display the presence of annealing twins with, in some cases, slip bands, resulting from the application of thermal and mechanical treatments. The analytical results are compared to those of other metal collections from regional LBA, and together with the bibliographic information available become an opportunity to question and rediscuss the real nature of a collection of metals that most of archaeologists consider as a typical LBA founder's hoard.

The compositions of copper-base tools, weapons, ornaments and ceremonial metalwork from numerous Late Bronze Age Aegean sites reveal a pattern of specific alloy combinations for the fabrication of certain classes of objects. Thus the majority of weapons and tools were made of high tin bronze whereas bronze statuettes, tripods and cauldrons contain small amounts of lead and in some cases tin is present in low amounts. Such diversity reflects the direct relationship between the compositions of prehistoric bronze objects and the art of their fabrication, because both the alloy additions and the impurities exert a pronounced effect on the forming capacity of alloys. In order to understand the correlation between composition and formability of Minoan bronzes, replica compositions with varying tin and lead contents were experimentally reproduced and their forming capacities were tested. Deformation and heat treatment of five tin and two leaded tin bronze alloys was attempted in order to replicate the forming stages for the shaping of cutting tools and bronze sheet for vessels and cauldrons. The amount of cold-working and annealing intervals, required to test the effects of workability on alloy properties, has been reflected as hardness values and transformations of the structural characteristics for each sample. It has been shown through the course of the experiment that high tin bronzes could be formed by frequent, short annealing stages at 600˚C and that it is possible to work-harden leaded bronze as long as time and temperatures are closely monitored.

The purpose of this article is to present the revolt that took place in Canaan under the leadership of Lab'ayu, ruler of Shechem, shortly before the emergence of Israel, which had the adhesion of several city-states of that region. The study will be done by analyzing the letters found at Tell el-Amarna and sent to Pharaoh by Lab'ayu (EA 252-254) by Tagi, ruler of Ginti-Kirmil (EA 264-266), and by Mut-Ba'lu, ruler of Pella (EA 255-256). It is noted in these letters that the territory conquered by the Lab'ayu revolt is similar to what King Saul, the first monarch of Israel, occupied a few centuries later.