Abstract
This paper investigates the use of basalt orthostats in Syro-Anatolia throughout the Bronze and Iron Ages, focusing on the changes in their consumption at Hazor. Used to reflect the wealth and power of city rulers in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages, this practice continued in the Iron Age in Syro-Anatolia, while at Hazor it stopped entirely. By applying the modern concepts of counter-monumentality and spolia, it is suggested that, at Hazor, the orthostats were used by the Iron Age inhabitants of the city to glorify the destruction of the Late Bronze Age city and to humiliate the previous royalty of Hazor, thus exhibiting their victory over its Canaanite rulers.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 65-86 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Journal | Oxford Journal of Archaeology |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 2021 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This paper was written during my postdoctoral fellowship at the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, partially funded by the Stevan B. Dana Archaeology Fund. I wish to thank James Osborne, Simeon Chavel, Ido Koch, Virginia Hermann and David Schloen for their useful comments and valuable suggestions on earlier drafts. Needless to say, the opinions and conclusions brought forth in this paper are mine alone. The photographs are published courtesy of the Selz Foundation Hazor Excavations in Memory of Yigael Yadin.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Archaeology
- Geography, Planning and Development
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)