The Hittites used the seeds of a particular plant, now known to have been called marashanha, in a ritual for cursing a conquered city to ensure its desolation. Other parts of the same plant provided food and medicine. We have combined textual, botanical, linguistic and herbalist evidence to propose that marashanha denoted at least one species of fennel. This plant readily colonises deserted habitation sites and possesses properties in common with marashanha. We further propose that the Anatolian word ‘marashanha’ has a common origin with the Greek word for fennel, ‘marath(r)o-’, and that the impact of folk etymology on the latter reflects the use of fennel as a female contraceptive. Fennel's ability to inhibit conception accords with the barrenness which the Hittite ritual sought to impose upon a conquered city.

Evidence for the presence of storage pits described in Hittite texts by the Sumerogram ÉSAG is presented from Kaman-Kalehöyük, a multi-period tell site in central Turkey occupied during the second and first millennia BC. Small earthen pits matching the description of ÉSAG were part of the normal suite of domestic installations at the site throughout the period. Similar to pits seen across western Eurasia, they were probably used to store seed corn or seed for trade. Large earthen pits (>7m in diameter) were also present that matched the description of the ÉSAG form, and in some cases contained archaeological cereal remains. Evidence from Kaman shows ÉSAG were part of Anatolian life for at least 4,000 years and suggests that the term was generic for lined, earthen storage pits. The presence of so many small pits at Kaman-Kalehöyük showed that it was an agricultural production site for much of its existence. The appearance of the large pits, confined to the Hittite period, reflects centralised control of grain supply, probably by the Hittite Kingdom, and fits a pattern seen at other sites in the region during the second millennium BC.

Red Lustrous Wheelmade ware is one of the most recognisable classes of pottery from the Late Bronze Age of the east Mediterranean. Yet both its production source and the nature of its contents and use remain a source of some debate. These questions are tackled here through an intensive programme of scientific analysis involving 95 samples of Red Lustrous Wheelmade ware and related wares from seven sites in Turkey, Cyprus and Egypt. Petrography and instrumental neutron activation analysis are combined in the study of the ceramic fabrics, with a view to specifying the source of this ware; while gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry are used to analyse absorbed and visible residues in and on the sherd samples, in the hope of shedding light on vessel contents and possible use. The results of the fabric analysis show the ware to be extremely homogeneous, indicative of a single source: northern Cyprus is at present the most likely candidate, although further analysis, particularly of clay samples from the region in question, would certainly be desirable. The residue analysis suggests that Red Lustrous Wheelmade ware might have been used to carry some kind of plant oils, possibly perfumed, and that in some instances the vessel interior was coated with beeswax as a sealant.

This article presents the results of scientific analyses on a selection of sherds associated with two kilns from the site of Kinet Höyük (Hatay). The kilns are dated to the eighth century BC and the end of the seventh century BC. In between these two periods, archaeological evidence suggests a period of occupation by the Neo-Assyrians. The present study assesses the impact of this occupation on the pottery industry at the site using a combined approach of thin section and neutron activation analyses. The results of these analyses additionally allow for a new classification system of local wares.

The Inscribed Pillar of Xanthos remains one of the most enigmatic monuments of ancient Lycia. This article addresses the problem of the monument's authorship, but tries also to shed some light on the relative chronology of its inscriptions (a Greek epigram, a long inscription in Lycian A and a short Lycian B inscription), the relationship between the decorative sculptures of the monument and the content of the inscriptions, the political intention of the Lycian A text, and the significance of the Greek epigram for our understanding of the process of Greek acculturation. We argue that the Pillar results from the interventions of different individuals at different times and its overall design, therefore, does not represent a single and unified concept. Viewed from this perspective, several aspects of the monument, while apparently inconsistent at first glance, reveal their own ‘consistency’, which allows us to resolve the contradictions of previous interpretations.

This paper offers a revised text and date for I.Priene 52, a fragmentary inscription of five surviving lines recording a decree of an unidentified community for a foreign court from Priene. A new identification for the provenance of the decree is suggested and its context briefly considered.

One of the most studied subjects in the Olba region is the graves. Nevertheless, new grave forms emerge with each new study conducted there, and old studies are re-evaluated based on recent findings. In some rare cases, results accepted up to now may change. This study addresses such a possibility in terms of burial customs. In this study, tombs, also referred to here as monuments, are considered. Examples of new forms of tomb monuments that were previously unknown, or only a few of which were published before, are presented. The features of these monuments are used to introduce new and strong evidence with regards to the chronology. One of the most important results is the discovery of evidence for the practice of cremation, accepted as a rare occurrence during the antique period. Based on this, a shift in the process of burial customs during the Roman period, especially for the temple tombs, is suggested as a new dating criterion.

The Greek word bomos usually means ‘altar’, but in inscriptions of the Roman period it sometimes refers to statue bases and other forms of support, where the meaning ‘altar’ is not appropriate. Many scholars believe that in addition to its normal meaning of cult or votive altar and (by extension) funerary altar, bomos could also mean a pedestal, socle or platform in general. This paper examines the use of the term bomos in Roman Asia Minor for statue bases, for pedestals for sarcophagi, ash chests and columns, and for other structures which are not altars, concentrating particularly on their shapes. It concludes that in all these cases the element called bomos had the shape of a normal type of altar, and that in many cases (but not all) it also carried some of the symbolic value of an altar.