Publisher Description

The results of the Amuq Valley Regional Projects (AVRP) presented in this volume are the outcome of eight seasons of intensive fieldwork (1995-2002) representing the first phase of a long-range, broadly-based archaeological investigation in the Hatay region of southern Turkey. From its inception the research was conceived as a series of coordinated field projects. The detailed and expansive scope of the regional project originated from a number of theoretical and methodological considerations. Encouraged in part by its potential for providing the examination of interactions between technological developments, complex social institutions, natural resources, and the environment, the original Oriental Institute project (then called the Syro-Hittite Expedition) in the 1930s was formally reactivated in 1995. The strategy of taking a regional approach with a series of linked field projects established an unusual multi-institutional laboratory to research key themes that it is hoped will provide explanations about regional and interregional relationships.The initial stage of the research strategy focused on contextualising the settlements by survey, followed by site-specific investigations prior to the resumption of new excavations. The regional surveys targeted the Amuq Valley (the plain of Antioch, today Antakya) and the delta of the Orontes River (today Samandag). Artifactual and micro-scale studies were the focus of the third scale of investigations.

Author Biography

by K Aslihan Yener

Review

The publication of [this] volume under review marks the next step for two great projects- the survey of the Amuq plain in the 1930s and the excavation of Tell Atchana carried out by Woolley before and after the second World War - now conjoined and acquiring a new dimension.[...]Undoubtedly the amount and range of information hitherto available for the Amuq region has been enriched by the present work.' -- Philippe Quenet Antiquity Sept. 2007 A very welcome first volume...lavishly illustrated and produced to a very high standard. The future volumes of this project are keenly awaited. They are sure to expand our understanding of this part of the Near East. -- Gocha R. Tsetskhladze Ancient West & East 2007

Long Description

The results of the Amuq Valley Regional Projects (AVRP) presented in this volume are the outcome of eight seasons of intensive fieldwork (1995-2002) representing the first phase of a long-range, broadly-based archaeological investigation in the Hatay region of southern Turkey. From its inception the research was conceived as a series of coordinated field projects. The detailed and expansive scope of the regional project originated from a number of theoretical and methodological considerations. Encouraged in part by its potential for providing the examination of interactions between technological developments, complex social institutions, natural resources, and the environment, the original Oriental Institute project (then called the Syro-Hittite Expedition) in the 1930s was formally reactivated in 1995. The strategy of taking a regional approach with a series of linked field projects established an unusual multi-institutional laboratory to research key themes that it is hoped will provide explanations about regional and interregional relationships. The initial stage of the research strategy focused on contextualising the settlements by survey, followed by site-specific investigations prior to the resumption of new excavations. The regional surveys targeted the Amuq Valley (the plain of Antioch, today Antakya) and the delta of the Orontes River (today Samandag). Artifactual and micro-scale studies were the focus of the third scale of investigations.

Review Quote

The publication of [this] volume under review marks the next step for two great projects- the survey of the Amuq plain in the 1930s and the excavation of Tell Atchana carried out by Woolley before and after the second World War - now conjoined and acquiring a new dimension.[...]Undoubtedly the amount and range of information hitherto available for the Amuq region has been enriched by the present work.'

Details