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Ancient Cities
Thera fresco (Minoan, 16th c BC)
(Drawing: Neslihan Yılmaz)
For many years I have been working on a book that presents the
ancient cities of the Mediterranean and Near East, Ancient
Cities: the Archaeology of Urban Life in the Ancient Near East
and
Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
At last the book is almost ready. Now in press, it is due to
be published this summer, 2003, by Routledge (London and New
York). No specialist background knowledge is assumed, so the
book can be read by all.
The book surveys the cities of this vast region from an
archaeological perspective, in their cultural and historical
contexts. The time frame is large, from the origins of cities
in the Near East of the ninth-sixth millennia BC to the reign of
Constantine the Great in the early fourth century AD. The
parade of cultures discussed is colorful and complex: Sumerians
and Babylonians, Assyrians and Egyptians, Minoans and Etruscans,
Greeks and Romans. Different as they can be, one from the
other, these cultures nevertheless are linked together in a long
chain of interconnections, and form an Old World unity, meriting
study together. The book is unusual in presenting this range of
Old World cities in such comprehensive detail, giving equal
weight to the Pre-classical and Classical periods.
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I aim to bring to life the physical world of ancient city
dwellers by concentrating on evidence recovered by
archaeological excavations from the Mediterranean basin and
south-west Asia. My focus is on the physical appearance of
cities – their urban form – and the architecture and geography
that created it. Attention is also paid to non-urban features
such as religious sanctuaries and burial grounds, places and
institutions that were a familiar part of the city-dweller’s
experience.
Objects or artifacts, which represented the essential
furnishings of everyday life, are also discussed; they include
pottery, sculpture, wall paintings, mosaics, and coins.
The book is well illustrated with nearly 300 line drawings,
maps, plans, and photos. Virtually all the maps, plans, and
line drawings are the work of Neslihan Yılmaz, a graduate of our
Department. Her excellent illustrations have greatly enhanced
the usefulness and the attractiveness of this book, and I
consider myself most fortunate that she accepted to undertake
this large task.
Charles Gates
Newsletter No. 2
- 2003, Pg.43
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