Ancient Eastern Mediterranean Studies

This research and teaching area covers the Eastern Mediterranean (the Aegean, Cyprus, Anatolia, the Levant and Mesopotamia) from the late fourth millennium through to the early first millennium BCE. This is an extremely exciting time in human history, where we see the appearance and establishment of what may be called early complex societies, including the first surviving evidence of written records for administrative purposes. Great transformations occur over these millennia in social structures and how humans relate to their surroundings; there are also continued and varied interactions of the different regions throughout the Eastern Mediterranean both in terms of material culture and the circulation of ideas.

The area is investigated through archaeology, material culture, art and written sources. We conduct both in-depth studies in each of these areas and integrated analysis combining text, iconography and archaeology. Our projects and publications involve international collaborations with colleagues at a range of universities across Europe, the Middle East and the USA (see below for some of our current and past projects).

The research interests of Early complex societies in the Eastern Mediterranean include ceramics and glyptics, human-animal relations, palace administration, ritual and religious practices, burial practices, memory and identity, interaction and exchange networks, Sumerian, Akkadian, Linear B, Hittite and Luwian language, and Hurrian language, culture and history, military and war, gender roles, and digital archaeology.