Transitions, Urbanism, and Collapse in the Bronze Age - Essays in Honor of Suzanne Richard - Jesse C. Long, Jr.
18. Storage Jars and Storerooms in Palace G at Ebla (EBIV A): The Foodstuffs of the Last Days of Life of an Early Syrian Capital
Transitions, Urbanism, and Collapse in the Bronze Age - Essays in Honor of Suzanne Richard - Jesse C. Long, Jr.
Stefania Mazzoni [+]
University of Florence
Stefania Mazzoni is full professor of "Archaeology and Art History of the Ancient Near East" at the University of Florence (Department of SAGAS: Stirua Arcgeologia Geografia Arte Spettacolo). She has conducted excavations in Syria and directed the archaeological mission of Tell Afis (Syria: Idlib) and Uşaklı Höyük (Turkey: Yozgat). Professor Mazzoni has investigated the 3rd millennium “Second Urbanization” of Syria, with special reference to pottery and glyptic, the Late Bronze/Iron Age transition, and the formation of the 1st millennium Luwian and Aramaean cultures, including monumental art, ivories and material culture.
Description
The rich inventory of materials, vessels, and botanic residuals found in the destruction level of Palace G at Ebla, in Syria, gives evidence of the storage organization and the wealth of food of an Early Syrian capital around 2400 B.C.E. While the texts offer a detailed picture of the management of the victuals accumulated by the administration over many years, archaeology supplies instead partial but tangible evidence from the last days of the life of the palace and its food reserves. This evidence illustrates the impressive size of the alimentary resources at the disposal of the court and the officers.