Entries
The following is a list of writeups of places, architecture, artifacts and texts from the ancient world. They are best read within the context of the course outline but are listed here for those who wish to use them as supplements. *Note: Those entries which belong to the Early Bronze Age have been incorporated into the Early Bronze Age course.
The temple of Jupiter Heliopolitanus at Baalbek is the most impressive group of temples preserved from the Roman world. Erected on the site of an earlier temple, the temple was dedicated to a deity whose origins may be traced back to an earlier semitic cult to Baal. The massive stones used in the foundation of the temple continue to puzzle and amaze all who visit it.
The ancient city of Pompeii was located in the Italian province of Campania, a fertile and temperate region that was a popular getaway for the Roman elite. The Romans built lavish villas in Pompeii and in the surrounding countryside that were uniquely preserved when they were buried under many feet of ash after Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.
Region:
Pompeii, Italy
Period:
Roman
Date:
31BC—476 AD (period)
Civilization:
Romans
The ancient city of Pompeii was located in the Italian province of Campania, a fertile and temperate region that was a popular getaway for the Roman elite. The Romans built lavish villas in Pompeii and in the surrounding countryside that were uniquely preserved when they were buried under many feet of ash after Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.
Region:
Sparta, Greece
Period:
Persian
Date:
1000—586 BC (period)
Civilization:
Spartans
The Menelaion is a 6th century BC shrine perched on a ridge overlooking the Eurotas Valley, the hearthland of ancient Sparta. It was dedicated to king Menelaus and his famous wife, Helen. Homer's Illiad narrates the story of how the young Tr
Region:
Nimrud Dagh, Anatolia
Period:
Roman
Date:
31BC—476 AD (period)
Civilization:
Commagene
Nimrud Dagh is a mountain in the Taurus Mountains of eastern Turkey. The site was chosen by Antiochus I Theos (r. 70-31 BC) as the place of his mausoleum. The tomb is marked by a massive burial mound and rows of monumental statues of the king and his gods.
Region:
Athens, Greece
Period:
Babylonian / Persian
Era:
Classical Greece
Date:
480—359 BC (era)
Civilization:
Greeks
Crowning the acropolis of Athens, the Parthenon is considered one of the finest monuments in the ancient world. The building is the product of a collaboration between the famous Athenian ruler, Pericles, and the famous sculptor, Phidias. Construct
Region:
Hierakonpolis, Egypt
Period:
Early Bronze I
Era:
Predynastic
Ancient List Date:
3500—3000 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
4000—3300 BC (era)
Civilization:
Egyptian
Region:
Hierakonpolis, Egypt
Period:
Early Bronze I
Era:
Naqada II—Naqada III
Ancient List Date:
3200—2766 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
3900—3050 BC (era)
Civilization:
Predynastic Egyptian
Region:
Hierakonpolis, Egypt
Period:
Early Bronze I
Era:
Naqada II—Naqada III
Ancient List Date:
3200—2766 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
3900—3050 BC (era)
Civilization:
Egyptian
Region:
Hierakonpolis, Egypt
Period:
Early Bronze I
Era:
Naqada II—Naqada III
Ancient List Date:
3200—2766 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
3900—3050 BC (era)
Civilization:
Predynastic Egyptian
Region:
Hierakonpolis, Egypt
Period:
Early Bronze I
Era:
Naqada II
Ancient List Date:
3200—2766 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
3900—3500 BC (era)
Civilization:
Predynastic Egyptian
Region:
Sela, Transjordan
Period:
Hellenistic
Date:
3200—2766 BC (era)
Civilization:
Nabataeans
Es-Sela is an ancient fortress that was scene of a major battle between the Greeks and the Nabataeans. There is evidence that the site was used as a fortress at an earlier date. Nabonidus left an inscription high up on the rock wall of the fortress. It is likely that this is the Edomite fortress known as Sela mentioned in 2 Kings 14:7.
Region:
Abu Salabikh, Mesopotamia
Period:
Early Bronze I—Early Bronze II
Era:
Uruk—Jemdet Nasr
Ancient List Date:
3000—2650 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
3750—2900 BC (era)
Civilization:
Sumerians
Region:
Peqi'in, Southern Levant
Period:
Early Bronze I
Era:
Ghassulian Culture
Ancient List Date:
3000—2650 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
4300—3500 BC (era)
Civilization:
Ghassulian
Region:
Uruk, Mesopotamia
Period:
Early Bronze I
Era:
Uruk
Ancient List Date:
3000—2650 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
3750—3100 BC (era)
Civilization:
Sumerians
Region:
Uruk, Mesopotamia
Period:
Early Bronze I
Era:
Uruk
Ancient List Date:
3000—2650 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
3750—3100 BC (era)
Civilization:
Sumerians
Region:
Uruk, Mesopotamia
Period:
Early Bronze I
Era:
Uruk
Ancient List Date:
3000—2650 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
3750—3100 BC (era)
Civilization:
Sumerians
Region:
Peqi'in, Southern Levant
Period:
Early Bronze I
Era:
Ghassulian Culture
Ancient List Date:
3000—2650 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
4300—3500 BC (era)
Civilization:
Ghassulian
Region:
Bir es-Safadi, Southern Levant
Period:
Early Bronze I
Era:
Ghassulian Culture
Ancient List Date:
3000—2650 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
4300—3500 BC (era)
Civilization:
Ghassulian
Region:
Horvat Beter, Southern Levant
Period:
Early Bronze I
Era:
Ghassulian Culture
Ancient List Date:
3000—2650 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
4300—3500 BC (era)
Civilization:
Ghassulian
Region:
Qanah cave, Southern Levant
Period:
Early Bronze I
Era:
Ghassulian Culture
Ancient List Date:
3000—2650 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
4300—3500 BC (era)
Civilization:
Ghassulian
Region:
Naqada, Egypt
Period:
Early Bronze II
Era:
Protodynastic—Dynasty I
Ancient List Date:
3000—2603 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
3300—2850 BC (era)
Civilization:
Egyptian
Region:
Bir es-Safadi, Southern Levant
Period:
Early Bronze I
Era:
Ghassulian Culture
Ancient List Date:
3000—2603 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
4300—3500 BC (era)
Civilization:
Ghassulian
Region:
Teleilat el-Ghassul, Southern Levant
Period:
Early Bronze I
Era:
Ghassulian Culture
Ancient List Date:
3000—2603 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
4300—3500 BC (era)
Civilization:
Ghassulian
Region:
Teleilat el-Ghassul, Southern Levant
Period:
Early Bronze I
Era:
Ghassulian Culture
Ancient List Date:
3000—2603 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
4300—3500 BC (era)
Civilization:
Ghassulian
Region:
Abydos, Egypt
Period:
Early Bronze I—Early Bronze II
Era:
Protodynastic—Early Dynastic II
Ancient List Date:
3000—2400 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
3300—2500 BC (era)
Civilization:
Egyptian
Region:
Hierakonpolis, Egypt
Period:
Early Bronze I
Era:
Protodynastic
Ancient List Date:
3000—2400 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
3300—3050 BC (era)
Civilization:
Predynastic Egyptian
Region:
Uruk, Mesopotamia
Period:
Early Bronze I
Era:
Uruk
Ancient List Date:
3000—2400 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
3750—3100 BC (era)
Civilization:
Sumerians
Region:
Uruk, Mesopotamia
Period:
Early Bronze I
Era:
Uruk
Ancient List Date:
3000—2400 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
3750—3100 BC (era)
Civilization:
Sumerians
Region:
Uruk, Mesopotamia
Period:
Early Bronze I
Era:
Uruk
Ancient List Date:
3000—2400 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
3750—3100 BC (era)
Civilization:
Sumerians
The Warka Vase is one of the most recognizable objects discovered at Uruk. Measuring 36" tall, this vase represents the core of the Uruk economy, which was agriculture and herding. The middle registers show the produce of the land being carried in procession to a temple. The upper register of the vase shows the king and his consort, probably Inanna or a priestess, standing before a well supplied and furnished temple.
Region:
Uruk, Mesopotamia
Period:
Early Bronze I
Era:
Uruk
Ancient List Date:
3000—2400 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
3750—3100 BC (era)
Civilization:
Sumerians
Region:
Hierakonpolis, Egypt
Period:
Early Bronze III
Era:
Protodynastic
Ancient List Date:
3000—2400 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
3300—3050 BC (era)
Civilization:
Predynastic Egyptian
This flint knife represents the height of the flint tool production. Its blade was fitted to an ivory handle which display some of the earliest known battle scenes. Most remarkably, the knife handle, which is clearly an Egyptian production, displays a Sumerian ensi grasping a lion in each hand.
Region:
Harrat Kaybar, Southern Levant
Period:
Early Bronze I
Ancient List Date:
3000—2400 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
3300—3050 BC (period)
Region:
Uruk, Mesopotamia
Period:
Early Bronze I
Era:
Uruk
Ancient List Date:
3000—2400 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
3750—3100 BC (era)
Civilization:
Sumerians
Discovered in Uruk, the Kushim Tablet is a receipt for the sale of barley. The symbols impressed into the clay represent items, quantities, date, status of payment, etc. Most notably, the tablet is signed by a certain "Kushim." The name is writte
Region:
Nahal Mishmar, Southern Levant
Period:
Early Bronze I
Era:
Ghassulian Culture
Ancient List Date:
3000—2400 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
4300—3500 BC (era)
Civilization:
Ghassulian
Region:
Abydos, Mesopotamia
Period:
Early Bronze II
Era:
Dynasty 0-I
Ancient List Date:
2950—2603 BC (era)
Conventional Date:
3300—2850 BC (era)
Civilization:
Egyptian
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