Book Series LEMA, vol. 8

The Iron Age Pottery from Tell Atchana/Ancient Alalakh

A Typological and Functional Analysis

Mariacarmela Montesanto

  • Pages: approx. 175 p.
  • Size:216 x 280 mm
  • Illustrations:29 b/w, 16 col., 16 tables b/w., 2 maps b/w
  • Language(s):English
  • Publication Year:2026


Pre-order*
  • € 80,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
  • ISBN: 978-2-503-62160-9
  • Hardback
  • Forthcoming (May/26)

Forthcoming
  • € 80,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE


BIO

Dr. Mariacarmela Montesanto is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Florence, specializing in the archaeology of southwest Asia and the eastern Mediterranean. Her research focuses on Iron Age ceramics, cultural interactions, and landscape archaeology. She has conducted fieldwork in Syria, Türkiye, and the UK, and collaborates on digital heritage projects involving GIS, remote sensing, and 3D documentation.

Summary

Tell Atchana, ancient Alalakh, lies in the Amuq Valley in modern Hatay, southern Türkiye. Long thought to have been abandoned by the end of the Late Bronze Age, recent excavations reveal partial Iron Age occupation, prompting a reassessment of the site’s chronology. This book discusses the Iron Age occupation on the site, presenting detailed stratigraphic data and a morphological analysis of the pottery assemblage from the excavated square to establish a relative chronological framework. It also examines the assemblage functionally to identify changes or continuities in habits and actions across the Late Bronze to Iron Age transition and within the Iron Age itself. Through this approach, the study sheds new light on the nature and dynamics of Iron Age I occupation at Tell Atchan.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 Historical background

Chapter 2 The Amuq valley and Tell Atchana/Ancient Alalakh

Chapter 3 Pottery-a theorethical and practical approach.

Chapter 4 typological analysis

Chapter 5 functional analysis

Chapter 6 Conclusions

Bibliography