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Exploring the lower settlements of Iron Age capitals in Anatolia and Syria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

James F. Osborne
James F. Osborne*
Affiliation:
The Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, 1155 East 58th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA (Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

The capital cities of early Iron Age Syria and Anatolia have been extensively excavated, but their lower towns—where most of the populace actually lived—remain under-explored. In 2014, an intensive surface survey was undertaken across the 16ha lower town of Tell Tayinat, capital city of the Iron Age kingdom of Patina, in what is now southern Turkey. Results indicate clear spatial distinction between dense and sparsely occupied zones, an uneven distribution of wealth and localised craft production. The lower town seems to have been occupied by a diverse array of people and interest groups, with varying degrees of social status, including some elite households, but predominantly less wealthy and powerful than their neighbours on the acropolis.

Keywords

TurkeySyriaAnatoliaIron Agesurveycitysettlement
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 91 , Issue 355 , February 2017 , pp. 90 - 107
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2017 

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