Glossary

abacus seat forming the uppermost member or division of the capital on a column

Abydos ware Early Bronze Age II pottery of Syro-Palestinian origin, mainly “metallic” jugs and jars; red slipped and burnished or painted with geometric motifs; also found in First and Second Dynasty tombs in Egypt

acanthus ornamentation suggesting the leaves of the acanthus, a prickly Mediterranean herb; a common motif in Greco-Roman and Byzantine art and architecture (see Corinthian order)

Achaemenid Persian ruling dynasty from the reign of Cyrus the Great (559 BCE) to the overthrow of Darius III (331 BCE)

Achzib ware part of the Phoenician red slip pottery group of Iron Age II; mainly jugs with trefoil or “mushroom” rims, red slipped and highly burnished; the types spread to many Phoenician colonies in the Mediterranean Basin

acropolis fortified upper part of a city (see also citadel), generally containing the religious, political, and/or administrative center

acroterium(-ia) ornamental finial at the apex or outer angles of a roof

adyton inner sanctuary of a temple

aedicula(-ae) architectural niche; small shrine

Aesclepius (Asculapius, Esclepius) Greek and Roman god of medicine

agora place of assembly, marketplace; a city’s economic and civic center (see also forum)

agoranomos Greek magistrate who oversaw the sale of provisions and the weights in the marketplace

alabaster variety of gypsum, usually white or translucent but sometimes other shades, used in antiquity to produce vessels, statues, and other objects

alabastron(-a) elongated bottle, rounded at the bottom, with a flattened lip and a narrow orifice, used in antiquity to hold oils and perfumes, named after Egyptian alabaster bottles of that shape

alluvial soil relatively “young” detrital material that accumulated in the Holocene Age, covering older rocks; any detrital material

ambo freestanding pulpit in a church

ambulatory passageway around the sanctuary, nave, or focal point of a church

amphitheater Roman oval building used for spectacles, with seating facing inward onto a central area (arena)

amphora(-ae) two-handled ceramic jar, usually used to transport liquids or grain

amphoriskos(-oi) small glass or ceramic amphora

Amratian see Naqada

Amuq point Pre-Pottery Neolithic B elongated flint blade, shaped into an oval point partly or completely by pressure retouch

anchorites hermits

aniconic of non-figurative representation or decoration

ankh Egyptian logogram for “life,” shaped like a cross with a loop instead of an upper vertical arm

annals lists of officials or of important events arranged in chronological order; in Assyria and Babylon, a list of events arranged in yearly sequence of a king’s reign

annona militari rations, sometimes commuted into money, issued to the Roman army

anta(-ae) quadrangular pilaster engaged at the front end of a lateral wall

anthropomorphic human in form or characteristics

Apocrypha books included in the Septuagint (Greek) and Vulgate (Latin) versions of the Hebrew Bible but excluded from the Jewish and Protestant canons

apodyterium(-ia) changing room in a Roman bath

apse, apsidal semicircular, half-vaulted niche at the narrow end(s) of a basilica or at the eastern end of a church; also used to designate features of similar shape in other buildings

Arabah desert region in the Rift Valley between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Elath/‘Aqaba; in the biblical period, also denoted the valley north of the Dead Sea (Jericho)

Arad house type of broadhouse (Early Bronze Age II), public or private, often with benches along the walls, a stone base for a wooden pillar to support a flat roof, and a door in one of the long walls

Arad letters 7th–6th cent. BCE Hebrew ostraca discovered at Arad, mostly belonging to the archive of Eliashib, commander of the Arad citadel, dealing mainly with food distribution and military matters

Archaic Greek art or architecture of the pre-classical period (7th cent.–c. 480 BCE)

architrave stone or timber horizontal beam above an entrance or spanning the interval between two columns or piers

archon city magistrate

arcosolium(-ia) arched recess for burial

Artemis Greek virgin huntress, moon goddess (equivalent of Roman goddess Diana)

artifact any material object altered by human intervention for some purpose: a stone or metal knife, clay formed and fired to a figurine, coin, etc.

aryballos(-oi) small, usually round Greek flask with flattened lip

Ashdod ware pottery characteristic of sites in Philistia mainly in the Iron Age II; red slipped, burnished, and decorated with black and sometimes painted lines

Ashdoda figurine Philistine schematic figurine consisting of a female body merging into a four-legged throne

Asherah in this work, Canaanite/Phoenician goddess; cultic post at high places (bamot)

ashlar square or rectangular hewn stone laid in horizontal courses

assemblage collection of archaeological finds (e.g., pottery, stone implements) found in one stratigraphical context

Astarte Canaanite/Phoenician fertility and love goddess; identified with the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent of biblical Ashtoreth)

astragal small, convex anklebone tossed like a die

astragalus(-i) narrow, convex molding in the form of beading

atrium central court in a Roman house; forecourt of a Christian church

attic upper horizontal element above a cornice

Attic pottery plain, black lustrous vessels or figurative vessels (cf. black-figure, red-figure); produced in Attica on mainland Greece and exported to the east mainly in the 5th and 4th cent. BCE

Auxilia auxiliary troops of non-Roman citizens in the Roman army

awl pointed instrument (of flint, bone, or metal) used to mark surfaces or pierce holes

Ayyubid Muslim dynasty founded in 1171; separate branches flourished in Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia, and S. Arabia until the l3th cent.

Ba‘al generic term meaning “lord” or “master”; any of numerous Canaanite/Phoenician chief local male deities (e.g., Ba‘al Hamon, Ba‘al Zaphon)

Ba‘alath Canaanite/Phoenician goddess

Babylonian Exile dispersion of the residents of Judah to Babylonia, in Mesopotamia, following the conquest by King Nebuchadnezzar and the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BCE

Badarian fifth millennium Neolithic culture in the Nile Valley

baetyl stone stela or column thought sacred or worshipped as divine in origin

baldachin domed or pedimental canopy supported on slender columns, usually over the altar table in a church

balk vertical face of the wall of soil left around a trench or between squares in an excavation (usually 0.5–1 m wide)

ballista ancient military engine used to hurl large stone missiles

balnea small Roman bathhouse, usually without a sporting area

bamah(-ot) (Heb.) cultic high place; cultic platform within a sanctuary

band slip see grainwash technique

baraita traditional Jewish interpretation of biblical law not included in the Mishnah

barbican outer fortification or tower, often erected over a gate

Bar-Kokhba leader of the Second Jewish Revolt against Rome (132–135 CE)

base-ring ware Late Cypriot I–II handmade pottery, characterized by thin, dark metallic ware with a shiny surface and plastic or painted (white) decoration; mainly carinated bowls, jugs, juglets, and zoomorphic vessels; one of the most frequent exports to the mainland in the Late Bronze Age (cf. bilbil)

basilica elongated, rectangular building with double (or more) internal colonnades and often one or two semicircular ends (apses); church with a nave and lateral colonnaded aisles

basilica discoperta unroofed church

bedrock in excavations, solid rock or natural soil underlying the artificial deposits

beer jug Iron Age I (mainly Philistine) ceramic vessel with a perforated spout to filter its liquid contents

Beit Natif lamps 4th–5th century CE lamps named after a village in southern Judea where a workshop that produced them was located

bema raised platform in a synagogue or church where the liturgy is performed

beqa‘ ancient Judean weight, probably half a shekel (cf. shekel weight)

Bes ancient Egyptian dwarf god of music and dancing and the protector of women in childbirth

beth midrash (Heb.) Jewish house of study; often part of early synagogues

bichrome ware (Iron Age) Phoenician pottery group in vogue mainly from the 11th–9th cent. BCE; mostly globular flasks, jugs, and bowls, decorated with black, red, and sometimes white concentric circles

bichrome ware (MB IIC/LB I) Middle Bronze Age IIC and Late Bronze Age I pottery group, characterized by geometric and faunal designs in black and red, of both Cypriot and Syro/Canaanite traits and provenance

biconical vessel vessel in the shape of two cone-shaped pieces that share a base

bifaces stone artifacts flaked on both upper (dorsal) and lower (ventral) surfaces

bilbil jug of Late Cypriot base-ring ware, decorated with painted (white) or plastic decoration and frequently exported

black-figure Greek style of pottery painting in which black silhouette figures are portrayed on the natural orange clay of the vessel and decorated with incisions and added color; produced mainly in Athens at the end of the 7th and the 6th cent. BCE and exported to the Levant in the Persian period (cf. red-figure)

black-on-red ware see Cypro-Phoenician ware

blade flint flake at least twice as long as it is wide

bladelet smaller version of a blade (less than 5 cm long and 1 cm wide)

boss untrimmed projecting face of a stone with drafted or squared margins

boule legislative council in a Greek polis

bouleuterion council building in a Greek polis

BP before present (standardized at 1950 CE)

breccia fossilized cave sediments

broadhouse/broadroom rectangular house or room with an entrance in one of the long walls

bucchero ware mainly jugs with vertically fluted/ribbed bodies, usually black slipped (in this work, referring mainly to Late Cypriot vessels)

bucranium(-ia) ornament consisting of one or more bull heads or skulls

bulla(-ae) seal impression stamped on a lump of clay or other plastic material, used in antiquity to seal documents

burin flint tool used for engraving

burnish polishing the leather-hard surface of a pottery vessel, before firing, with a hard tool to seal the surface or for aesthetic purposes; done by hand (hand burnish or irregular burnish) or on the potter’s wheel (wheel burnish, ring burnish), creating a lustrous surface

Byblos point Pre-Pottery Neolithic B point made on a flint blade, with rounded shoulders and a tang only slightly narrower than the main body; shaped partly or completely by pressure retouch

caldarium(-ia) hot room in a Roman bath

Canaanean/Canaanite blade Early Bronze Age flint blade

cantharus(-i) Greek deep cup with a high stem and loop-shaped handles that rise above the rim

capital upper member of a column, pier, or pilaster

caravanserai quadrangular inn with inner court where caravans are accommodated (see also khan)

carbon-l4 dating technique in which the degree of disintegration of the carbon-l4 content (one of the essential elements of all organic matter) is measured to determine the date of an artifact

cardo(-ines) one of two main streets in a Roman city plan, running north–south and intersecting at right angles with the east–west street (see decumanus)

carinated keeled

cartouche oval or oblong ornament with the hieroglyphic names and titles of an Egyptian king

casemate wall double fortification wall with partitioned compartments, sometimes used for storage or dwellings

castellum rectangular fortress of the Roman army

castrum Roman fortified camp

cathedra bishop’s official seat in a church

cavea spectators’ section in a theater or amphitheater

cella central chamber of a sanctuary or temple, where the image of the deity was often placed

cenobite member of a monastic community

cenotaph empty tomb or monument erected in honor of someone buried elsewhere

chalice drinking or offering cup; Eucharistic cup

chiton basic tunic-like garment worn in ancient Greece

chocolate-on-white ware Middle Bronze Age IIC and Late Bronze Age I northern pottery group, characterized mainly by geometric motifs painted in brown on a thick white slip

chopping tools chunks of flint modified by several blows to produce a cutting edge; typical of Lower Paleolithic industries

ciborium covered chalice-shaped vessel used to hold the sacramental bread of the Eucharist

circus long, narrow arena, curved at one end, for chariot racing, with seating arrangements for the spectators

cist grave boxlike burial chamber lined with stone or brick

citadel fortress commanding a city at its highest point (see also acropolis)

city-state autonomous political unit consisting of a main city, its satellite towns and villages, and the surrounding territory

cleaver bifacial flaked stone artifact with a blunt working edge (see also hand ax)

clerestory upper row of windows lighting the nave of a basilica, above the inner colonnades

codex manuscript volume, especially of the Bible; book of laws in the Byzantine period

coenobium monastery where monks live a communal life

collared-rim jar/pithos large jar of the late Late Bronze Age, mainly Iron Age I (at some sites also early Iron Age II), with ridge under the neck, once thought to be indicative of Israelite settlements only

colluvium rock detritus and soil accumulations at the foot of a slope

colonia status granted to a town outside Roman territory, either inhabited by Roman (or Latin) citizens or by those having special relations with the Roman state; the colonial status had various gradations, each involving different privileges

colonnette small column

columbarium(-ia) cave or structure lined with rows of small triangular niches; generally thought to have been used for storing the ashes of cremated bones, or for breeding doves

comes honorary title, sometimes implying tenure of office in the state administration, in the early Byzantine Empire

corbeil sculpted basket of fruit or flowers found in architectural decoration

corbel stone bracket projecting from a wall, usually for supporting stone slabs or sculpture

corbelled arch/vault arch or vault constructed with successive horizontal stone courses projecting farther inward as they rise on each side of the opening, until meeting in the middle

cordiform heart-shaped

core in ceramics, central, often dark portion of a sherd in cross-section; in stone tools, the original chunk or pebble from which flakes and blades are struck off

Corinthian order most elaborate of the three Greek orders of architecture, characterized by use of bell-shaped capitals decorated with acanthus leaves, stems, and volutes

cornet Chalcolithic V-shaped beaker

cornice upper member of a classical entablature (see also entablature)

corvée forced labor for royal projects

cothon dry dock

course line of laid bricks or stones

cubit biblical measure of length (ama), equivalent to c. 18 in. (44.65 cm)

cuneiform script composed of wedge-shaped strokes made with a stylus on soft clay, originating in 4th-millennium Mesopotamia; used to write several languages: Sumerian, Akkadian, Hurrian, Urartian, Hittite, Elamite, and Ugaritic

cuneus(-ei) wedge-shaped blocks of seating, divided by radiating passages (scalaria) in a theater, amphitheater, or circus

cupmark depression, usually artificial, found in rocks

cursive rapid, handwritten form of a script

cylinder seal cylinder (usually of stone) carved with figures, designs, or writing; when the seal is rolled onto a soft substance, a continuous band of relief is imprinted; a typical Mesopotamian object, usually pierced for suspension

cyma form of decorative, wavy molding

cyma recta double, wavy molding, concave above, convex below

cyma reversa double, wavy molding, convex above, concave below

Cypro-Phoenician ware (black-on-red ware) pottery vessels, mainly bowls, amphoriskoi, and juglets, decorated with parallel lines, concentric circles, and occasionally other motifs, painted in black on a bright red polished background, characteristic of mainland and Cypriot sites from Iron Age II; Phoenician, Cypriot, and/or Cilician provenance under debate

dado lower panel of a wall or part of a column pedestal

dark-faced burnished ware dark slipped and burnished pottery typical of the Wadi Rabah culture (Late Neolithic/Chalcolithic periods); also known in Syria

debitage items removed while flaking a stone core; some are waste and others are used as blanks for tools

Decapolis loose confederation of ten commerce-oriented Hellenized cities in N. Transjordan, N. Palestine, and S. Syria, 2nd cent. BCE

decastyle consisting of ten columns

decumanus(-i) one of two main streets in a Roman city plan, running east–west (see also cardo)

deir (Arab.) monastery

denarius(-i) silver coin of the Roman Empire

dentils teethlike row of small rectangular blocks under a cornice

diaconicon storage room in Byzantine churches

Diadochi the generals among whom Alexander the Great’s conquests were divided

diazoma passage in a Greek theater dividing the upper (cavea summa) and lower (cavea ima) rows of seats

diglyph block with two grooves set between metopes in a Doric frieze

Dionysus Greek god associated with wine (equivalent of Roman god Bacchus)

Dioscuri in Greek mythology, twin heroes or demigods Castor and Polydeuces (Pollux in Latin), sons of Leda and Zeus, reunited as stars in the sky after Castor’s death; patrons of athletes, soldiers, and mariners

distyle consisting of two columns

distyle in antis two columns between two antae (see also anta)

djed ancient Egyptian symbol of stability and endurance, often depicted as a pillar with four capitals

dolmen megalithic monument, usually for burial, consisting of two or more upright stones supporting a horizontal stone slab (from Celtic dol [table] and men [stone])

domus upper-class Roman residence

domus ecclesiae private house transformed into a center for a community’s religious needs in early Christianity

donjon in Crusader architecture, strongest part of a fortress; usually an inner, two-storied tower; a keep

Doric order most austere of the three Greek architectural orders, distinguished by its plain capitals and triglyph frieze

draft narrow border along the edge of a stone or across its face, serving as a stone cutter’s guide

drafting dressing one or more edges of the face of a stone block to facilitate laying a neat joint

dressed stone trimmed and smoothed stone

dromos horizontal or sloping passage forming the entrance to an underground chamber

drum cylindrical part of a column shaft resembling a drum in shape

duck-bill ax Middle Bronze Age IIA elongated fenestrated ax head

Early Dynastic period period in S. Mesopotamia (c. 2900–2350 BCE) during which Sumerian city-states flourished

Eastern (Byzantine) church communion of dioceses (regional churches) in the East according primacy to the patriarch of Constantinople

Eastern terra sigillata red-slipped pottery, mainly bowls and plates, common throughout the eastern Mediterranean region from the 2nd cent. BCE to 2nd cent. CE, manufactured in Cyprus, Asia Minor, and probably other areas of the region

echinus convex molding supporting the abacus of a Doric capital; the molding carved with egg-and-dart under the cushion of an Ionic capital

egg-and-dart ornamental molding of oval elements alternating with downward-pointing darts, originating in Greek architecture

El head of the Canaanite pantheon

el-Amarna letters Akkadian cuneiform clay tablets discovered mainly at el-Amarna in Egypt; correspondence between Amenhotep III and Amenhotep IV and kings in Canaan and other kingdoms in the region (14th cent. BCE)

electron spin resonance (ESR) dating technique based on measuring the quantity of electrons trapped in the crystal structure of naturally irradiated substances (cf. thermoluminescence dating)

el-Khiam point Pre-Pottery Neolithic A point made on a small blade or bladelet, with two bilateral notches close to its base that is concave or straight

emporium(-ia) trade center

‘en (Heb.), ‘ein/‘Ain (Arab.) spring

engaged order decorative order that projects from and is an integral part of the wall it stands against

entablature collective architectural term applied to the architrave, frieze, and cornice

eparchy district, province; administrative division in Hellenistic and Roman times

epigraphy study of ancient inscriptions (see also paleography)

Esdraelon ware/culture Early Bronze Age I pottery group in northern Israel consisting of gray burnished vessels

ethnarchy country ruled by an ethnarch, the “ruler of the people”

ethrog lemon-like fruit, one of the “four species” carried by Jews at Succoth, the Feast of Tabernacles

Eucharist Christian celebration of communion with God; the consecrated bread and wine

eulogia blessed ecclesiastical objects, such as the sacramental bread and wine

Execration texts Egyptian texts (20th and l9th cent. BCE) inscribed with the names of rulers of towns and ethnic groups in Palestine and Syria, accompanied by execrations and curses; constitutes an important source concerning these regions in the Middle Bronze Age II

exedra semicircular or rectangular recess; later, a portico in houses

extrados upper or exterior curve of an arch

façade front or other face of a building

facies common resemblance among plants, animals, fossils, lithic assemblages, of an epoch or area

faience glazed ceramic material, usually consisting of a crushed quartz or sandy body with lime and either natron or ash, coated with a glossy glaze; used mainly to produce small vessels, decorations, and jewelry

fascia(-ae) plain horizontal band

Fatimid Shi‘ite ruling dynasty in N. Africa, Egypt, Syria, and Palestine from the l0th to l2th cent.

favissa(-ae) repository for discarded cultic objects

fibula(-ae) clasp in the shape of a safety pin or brooch

field large excavation plot composed of many squares

fill soil, gravel, sand, occupational debris, etc., brought to an area to level or raise a floor or other structure; natural accumulation

First Intermediate period period in Egypt from c. 2176 to 2023 BCE, between the end of the Old Kingdom and beginning of the Middle Kingdom

First Jewish Revolt great revolt by the Jews of Palestine (66–70 CE) against Rome, culminating in the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE

First Temple period period from the building of the Temple in Jerusalem by King Solomon in the l0th cent. BCE to its destruction by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 586 BCE

fish plate flat plate with circular depression in center, common in the eastern Mediterranean region from the 4th cent. BCE to the Early Roman period; originally produced in Attica (and only then rarely decorated with fish motifs) and later manufactured throughout the eastern Mediterranean Basin

flake fragment chipped off a stone core

flint tool artifact with intentional shaping of its surfaces or edges, usually by retouch

fluting rounded grooves on a column

Forum marketplace of a Roman city, usually its civic center

fosse wide ditch or trench, especially outside a city wall

foundation trench long, narrow trench dug for a wall’s foundation courses

four-room house characteristic Iron Age structure, sometimes attributed to the Israelites, consisting of three rooms or pillared spaces around a rectangular, fourth space, possibly a courtyard open to the sky

fresco decorative painting made with pigments on freshly spread, moist lime plaster

frieze middle member of an entablature, often carved in sculptural relief

frigidarium cold room in a Roman bath

gable triangular, upper end of a building above the cornice

gallery roofed promenade (colonnade) or outdoor balcony

garum fish sauce popular in the Roman period

Gaza ware/jar chocolate-colored clay jar with cylindrical body and rounded, ribbed shoulders, produced from the late 3rd to 6th cent. in Gaza and perhaps Ashkelon; intensively used in maritime trade and found throughout the Roman Empire

geison see cornice

Gemara rabbinic commentary on and interpretation of the Mishnah

genizah repository in a synagogue for discarded sacred books and objects

Gerzean see Naqada

Ghassulian Chalcolithic culture of the fifth and fourth millennia, named after Tuleilat el-Ghassul in the Jordan Valley

glacis diagonal coating of an earthen rampart, slope of a mound, or fortification wall for defensive and constructional purposes; constructed of stone, compact earth, bricks, etc.

graffito(-i) drawing or writing scratched on plaster, pottery, or stone

grainwash (band slip) technique method of jar decoration of the Early Bronze Age I in which painted bands were applied with wide brushes

granulation decoration with tiny (usually gold) balls used in jewelry

griffin Near Eastern and later Greek mythological being, half eagle, half lion; winged lion

guilloche decorative pattern of intersecting bands forming a plait

gutta(-ae) small, droplike motif under the frieze in a Doric entablature

Ḥalafian N. Mesopotamian and N. Syrian culture (c. 5300–4300 BCE), characterized by first administrative use of stamp seals, tholoi structures, and typical elaborate pottery decorated with monochrome, bichrome, or trichrome geometric and naturalistic designs

ḥamra (Arab.) red sandy soil, common mainly on Israel’s Sharon Plain

ḥaram (Arab.) sanctuary

Ḥarif point point made on a flint bladelet using microburin technique; retouched on one edge, with triangular or shouldered tang

Ḥarifian culture of the Negev and Sinai, contemporary with the Final Natufian and earliest Pre-Pottery Neolithic A cultures of the north; lithic assemblage characterized by the Harif point

ḥorvah (ḥorvat) (Heb.) ruin (cf. khirbeh)

ḥuwwar (Arab.) white, soft earth composed of a mixture of clayey soil and chalk; after water absorption the soil turns into an aquiclude

Habiru unsettled people in Late Bronze Age Canaan having no property rights; mentioned in the el-Amarna letters and identified by some scholars with the ancient Hebrews

halacha corpus of Jewish religious law

half column semi-column of an engaged order

hand ax stone tool bifacially worked with a pointed end, used for cutting

har (Heb.) mountain (cf. jebel/gebel)

Hathor ancient Egyptian goddess of joy and love, protectress of women, and sky goddess, often represented as a cow; attributes: sun disk, cow’s horns, “Hathor pillar,” sistrum

header in masonry, a stone or brick with its narrow end in the face of a wall, usually extending all the way through the wall (cf. stretcher)

Hegira Muhammad’s flight from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE, the start of the Muslim era (abbreviated ah)

Helios Greek sun god (equivalent of Greek and Roman god Apollo and Roman god Phoebus)

Helwan point made on a flint blade or bladelet, with bilateral notches and tang; sometimes with shoulders and minute wings or barbs

Hermes Greek messenger of the gods, god of commerce, god of thieves (equivalent of Roman god Mercury)

Herodian lamp Judean wheel-made, plain oil lamp, characterized by a spatula-shaped scraped nozzle, produced in the first century CE; rare outside Judea

heroon monument, often sepulchral, in the form of a small temple

Hexapla text edition of the Hebrew Bible compiled in the 3rd cent. by Origen; consists of the Hebrew text, Greek translation, and four Greek versions, including the Septuagint

hexastyle consisting of six columns

hieratic script Egyptian cursive script used mainly for everyday purposes, mostly written on papyri or ostraca

hieroglyphic script (Egyptian) script invented in c. 3000 BCE, composed of phonograms and semograms, used mainly in monumental inscriptions and decorations

himation long, loose outer garment worn in the ancient world by men and women

hipparch cavalry commander in the ancient Greek world

hippodamic plan town plan in which the streets intersect at right angles, sometimes ascribed to Hippodamos of Miletus (5th cent. BCE) but actually not invented by him (see also orthogonal plan)

hole-mouth jar type of jar with a wide mouth and no neck, used for storage and food preparation

holy of holies inner chamber of cultic sanctuary; innermost chamber of a temple

Homo erectus Lower Paleolithic human type found throughout the Old World; cranial capacity 1,000–1,200 cc

Homo sapiens modern human type of Upper Paleolithic origin found throughout the world; earlier appearance in the Levant, c. 100,000 years ago; cranial capacity 1,400 cc

horreum(-ea) storage or granary building

Horus ancient Egyptian sky god; hawk or hawk-headed, often shown wearing the double crown

Horus eye wedjet eye of the hawk-headed Egyptian god Horus, used as a protective charm

Hospitaller knights Crusader religious-military order established in Jerusalem in the 11th cent.; its members were dedicated to healing the sick, aiding the poor, and fighting the Muslims (see also Templar knights)

hydraulic plaster water-repellent plaster, used mainly for lining water installations

Hyksos 15th Dynasty in Egypt; foreign, Semitic rulers in Lower Egypt; “Hyksos period” used by some scholars to denote Middle Bronze Age IIB–C; “Hyksos fortifications” used to denote massive fortifications of those periods

hyparchy administrative unit in Hellenistic and Roman times

hypocaust hollow space beneath the floor of a caldarium or tepidarium in a Roman bath through which hot air was circulated

iconoclastic of a religious movement opposed to the cult or depiction of images and upholding their destruction or obliteration

iconography imagery or symbolism in art

in antis columns set between two antae (see anta)

in situ literally, “in place”; refers to undisturbed artifacts and architectural remains

indiction fifteen-year cycle inaugurated by Constantine for taxation purposes; a date given by the indiction (e.g., “year 3 of the indiction”) is relative and can be reckoned only with the help of additional data

insula(-ae) city block, usually quadrangular, with multiple dwellings

intercolumniation distance between the centers of two adjacent columns

intrados underside of an arch or vault

Ionic order one of the three Greek orders of architecture, characterized by its volute capitals

Isis Egyptian guardian goddess, wife of Osiris, often depicted with her son Horus/Harpocrates

isodomic masonry masonry laid in courses of equal height

Iturea Arab kingdom south of Damascus in Hellenistic and Early Roman times

iwan (Arab.) vaulted hall or space, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open

Jannaeus line fortifications built by Alexander Jannaeus along the Yarkon River in the late 2nd cent. BCE

jebel/gebel (Arab.) mountain

Jemdet Nasr culture/period S. Mesopotamian culture (c. 3100–2900 BCE)

Jericho point Pre-Pottery Neolithic B point made on a flint blade, with tang and shoulders graduating from a straight angle to barbs or wings; tang is either elongated, tongue-like, or triangular

juglet small, one-handled container for liquids

karstic rock limestone with sinkholes, underground streams, and caverns

Kebaran Epipaleolithic hunter-gatherer culture, concentrated mainly in northern Israel; lithic assemblage characterized by microliths (Kebara point)

kerbschnitt technique chip carving

kernos(-oi) ceramic vessel consisting of several small vessels and/or figurines joined on a ring or attached to the rim of a vase

khan caravanserai; accommodation for caravans, consisting of a courtyard with a single gate and niches or rooms opening all around

Khiamian Pre-Pottery Neolithic A culture, characterized by el-Khiam points and the first appearance of villages

khirbeh (khirbet) (Arab.) ruin

Khirbet el-Manar ware unglazed, white to yellowish pottery comprising basins, bowls, jars, jugs, and juglets, plain or with incised, applied, and stamped decoration; ascribed to the Abbasid period, end of the 8th and especially 9th–10th cent. (a term less frequently used today)

Khirbet Kerak ware Early Bronze Age III pottery named after Khirbet Kerak (Beth Yeraḥ); comprising handmade vessels with hand-burnished red and/or black slip and plastic decorations, possibly inspired by Anatolian pottery; common mainly in N. Israel and in Syria

King’s Highway one of the two most important highways that connected Egypt with Mesopotamia, crossing Transjordan from north to south, close to the desert’s fringe (see also Way of the Sea)

koine in this work, large international or intercultural area featuring common cultural traits

kokh(-im) (Heb.) Roman period rock-cut burial place (cf. loculus)

krater large bowl; mixing bowl

Kufic script early, angular form of the Arabic alphabet named after the city of Kufa in southern Iraq; used in monumental inscriptions and decorations

kurkar fossilized dune sandstone

kylix wide, shallow, footed drinking cup with two horizontal handles

labrum(-a) basin for washing

Lachish letters ostraca inscribed in Hebrew, found at Lachish and dated to the last days of Judah, containing important information about this period

laconicum(-a) dry sweating room in a bathhouse

lamelekh (Heb.) seal impressions literally, “(belonging) to the king”; seal impressions on Judahite jar handles of the late 8th cent. BCE depicting a four-winged beetle or a two-winged object and one of four place names: Hebron, Socoh, Ziph, or Mmšt; their exact administrative function is under debate

lapidary of stone; lapidary script, script used for monumental inscriptions engraved on stone

lapis lazuli semiprecious blue stone, used mainly for small artifacts and inlays; imported from Afghanistan

larnax(-kes) clay or stone chestlike sarcophagus

Late Assyrian period see Neo-Assyrian period

laura monastery of hermits in the Eastern church; a collection of hermit cells connected by paths around a common church

legatus in the Roman army, lieutenant (deputy) general of a legion; in the Roman administration, the governor of a province directly administered by the emperor

lekane(-ai) Greek basin-shaped vessel

lekythos(-oi) Greek cylindrical, round, or squat vase with one handle, used for oils and ointments

Levalloisian technique prehistoric technological tradition of stone tool manufacture by striking flakes off cores in a preplanned sequence according to the shape of the final product (Late Acheulean and Mousterian cultures)

Levant countries of the eastern Mediterranean: Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria

levigated clay clay from which impurities have been removed

lime plaster plaster made of ground shells or limestone

limes fortified frontier region in the Roman Empire

limitanei soldiers stationed in the limes area

lithic assemblage collection of stone or flint implements

liwan courtyard of a mosque

loculus(-i) rectangular, shelf-like burial niche in a tomb (cf. kokh)

locus(-i) three-dimensional feature in a stratigraphical excavation: a layer of earth, a wall, a pit, a room, etc., usually one depositional unit; definition varies from excavation to excavation

loess fine, yellowish-gray loam

lost-wax technique technique for casting metal objects consisting of making a wax model on an inner clay core, coating it with clay to form a mold, heating until the wax melts, then pouring the hot metal into the space left vacant

lug handle cylindrical handle, often longitudinally pierced

lulab palm branch carried in the ritual of the Feast of Tabernacles (Succoth) (see also ethrog)

lunate prehistoric microlith shaped like a crescent

machiculation opening between the corbels supporting the parapet of a fortress through which molten lead and projectiles were dropped on attackers; embrasure

madrasa Muslim school, developed by the Mamelukes

Mamelukes military class of former slaves, mostly Turks and Circassians, who ruled Egypt from 1250 to 1516, as well as Syria, Palestine, and parts of Mesopotamia and Asia Minor; constituted a type of military feudal aristocracy, replenishing its ranks by the purchase of new slaves

mansio station where travelers rested and changed horses

Mari documents Akkadian cuneiform letters and administrative records excavated at Mari on the Euphrates, dating to the 18th cent. BCE; some of them mention cities in Canaan

martyrium chapel or church dedicated to a martyr; place where relics of martyrs are preserved

maṣṣeba(-ot) (Heb.) ritual standing stone(s)

Masoretic accepted text of the Hebrew Bible

mastaba ancient Egyptian flat-topped tomb, rectangular or square in plan, with sides sloping outward to the base

mausoleum elaborate monumental tomb; named after the tomb erected by Queen Artemisia for her husband, Mausolos, in Halicarnassos in the 4th cent. BCE

mazra‘ah (Arab.) literally, “farm”; mainly seasonal agricultural settlement or plot

meander decorative, continuous key pattern originating in Greek art

Medeba (Madaba) map mosaic pavement in a Byzantine church at Medeba, representing a map of the Holy Land, dated to the second half of the 6th cent.

Medusa in Greek mythology, one of three snake-haired sisters (Gorgons), whose glance turned beholders to stone

Megarian bowls mold-made hemispherical relief bowls common throughout the eastern Mediterranean region from the 2nd to 1st cent. BCE, manufactured in Attic, Ionic, and other workshops in the region; decorated with geometric, floral and pictographic motifs

megaron Mycenean three-unit longhouse whose inner room (inner megaron) often contains a hearth surrounded by four columns; basic and simplest architectural form of a Greek temple; also loosely used to describe long and narrow houses and temples with an open porch flanked by two antae and often having columns

menhir single, upright, unworked monolith

menorah seven-branched candelabrum (candlestick) used in Jewish ritual

metope space between two triglyphs, either filled with relief sculpture or left plain

meẓad (Heb.) fort

microburin technique (MBT) knapping technique used in production of microlithic flint tools in most Epipaleolithic cultures

microlith small flint tool usually made on a bladelet, typical of Epipaleolithic cultures

Middle Assyrian period period in Assyria from c. 1365 to 1000 BCE

Midianite ware pottery vessels found at several sites in southern Canaan and Transjordan, mainly in 13th- and 12th-cent. BCE contexts; thought to originate in northwestern Arabia; decorated mainly with black and red geometric designs

miḥrab chamber or niche in a mosque marking the direction of Mecca

mikveh Jewish ritual bath used for purification

milk bowls Cypriot hemispherical bowls with wishbone-shaped handles of the white slip pottery group, Late Cypriot period; brown, lattice-like geometric decoration on a thick white slip; a very common import on the mainland in the Late Bronze Age (less frequent in Middle Bronze Age IIC)

minaret tower from which the Muslim call to prayer is made

minbar freestanding pulpit in a mosque

Minoan Bronze Age culture of Crete, c. 3000 to 1100 BCE

Mishnah collection of oral Jewish law and traditions, compiled c. 200 CE; the basic part of the Talmud

Mitanni kingdom dominant in N. Mesopotamia and N. Syria, c. 1500 to mid-14th cent. BCE

Mitannian seals cylinder seals engraved in a style originating in the kingdom of Mitanni in Mesopotamia; frequent in 14th-cent. BCE contexts in Canaan and probably produced locally; made of frit, mainly with animal representations

mizzi (Arab.) hard limestone

mizzi aḥmar (Arab.) red-veined limestone; a hard dolomitic rock

monoapsidal church church with a single apse

monolith pillar or other architectural part composed of a single stone

mortarium(-ia) thick, heavy pottery bowls, mainly from the late Iron Age and Persian period but also Hellenistic and Roman periods

Mousterian Middle Paleolithic culture, characterized by use of the Levallois technique and tools with retouched edges, side scrapers, and points

mural crown crown on a Tyche, the goddess of fortune, in the shape of a city’s defensive wall

murex shells mollusk that was the chief source of Phoenician purple dye (mainly Murex brandaris and Murex trunculus)

Mycenean Late Bronze Age culture (Late Helladic, c. 1500–1200 BCE) in Greece and the Aegean islands

Mycenean IIIA–B pottery Mycenean pottery of the 14th–l3th cent. BCE; a very frequent import in Syria/Canaan in the Late Bronze Age

Mycenean IIIC pottery Mycenean and Mycenean-derived pottery of the 11th cent. BCE, characterized by regional variations; Mycenean IIIC:1b type was found in Cyprus and on the Levantine coast, mostly produced locally; associated with the arrival of the Sea Peoples

naḥal (Heb.) river, brook, seasonal streambed (cf. wadi)

naos shrine; cella of a (usually Greek) temple

Naqada fourth millennium BCE culture in the Nile Valley (Naqada I also called Amratian and Naqada II, Gerzean)

nari limestone hard limestone formation

narthex antechamber, inside or outside, to the nave in a Christian church (from 5th cent.)

Natufian last Epipaleolithic culture, characterized by the onset of sedentarism and the appearance of sickle blades, art objects, cemeteries, and ground stone utensils

nave elongated central hall in a basilica or church

nawamis circular, stone burial chambers with corbelled roofs; in southern Sinai

Neanderthal human type, adapted to cold, of the European Middle Paleolithic; cranial capacity 1,400 cc; claimed to be present in the Levant at the same time as modern Homo sapiens

necropolis Greek for cemetery (literally, “city of the dead”; used mainly to denote large and important cemeteries

nefesh (Heb.) in Semitic cultures, a memorial stela or monument erected above a tomb (literally, “soul”)

Negbite pottery rough handmade ware of the late Late Bronze and Iron Ages common in the Negev desert and Arabah; thought to have been produced by semi-nomads

Neo-Assyrian period period of the Assyrian Empire (c. 911–612 BCE)

Neo-Babylonian period period of the Babylonian Empire (625–539 BCE)

neutron activation analysis (NAA) determining an object’s chemical profile by analyzing relative quantities of (mainly) trace elements, based on the spectroscopy of gamma rays (in a nuclear reactor); used to identify a stone or clay vessel’s provenance

niche hollowed recess in a wall to hold, for example, a Torah ark (in a synagogue), a statue, an interment (in a tomb), or for decorative purposes

Nike (Victory) Greek goddess of victory

nilometer graduated pillar or staircase showing the height to which the Nile rises

Notitia Dignitatum list of military commands and of troops at the commanders’ disposal in the provinces of the Byzantine Empire, compiled in the early 5th cent.

nšf ancient Judean weight, probably 5/6 of a shekel (cf. shekel weight)

nymphaeum(-a) in this work, a public fountain (in Roman architecture); a monumental structure, richly decorated, located in the public areas of Roman cities in the imperial period

obsidian hard, black “volcanic glass,” used in making stone tools and jewelry; in the Levant, found only in Anatolia

occupational debris soil mixed with other material characteristic of human occupation: bone, pottery, charcoal, ash, etc.

ocher an earthy, usually red or yellow iron oxide used extensively as a pigment

odeon(-ea) small roofed theater, used mainly for musical performances

officina workshop

onomasticon alphabetical list of place names mentioned in the Bible and identified by the author with contemporary sites; most generally used is the one written (in Greek) by Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, in the early 4th cent. and translated and annotated (in Latin) by Jerome in the late 4th cent.

opus quadratum Roman ashlar masonry of large, squared stones laid in horizontal courses

opus reticulatum Roman masonry facing consisting of a network of small, pyramidal blocks laid in neat, diagonal lines, their bases facing outward

opus sectile paving of shaped, colored stone or marble tiles

opus signinum Roman flooring and plastering material consisting of broken pottery and tiles and other fragments mixed with lime mortar

opus tessellatum mosaic work

opus vermiculatum mosaic work using very small tesserae

orchestra circular space in front of the stage in a Greek theater or semicircular space in a Roman theater

orthogonal plan city/town plan of parallel streets intersecting at right angles (cf. hippodamic plan)

orthostat upright stone slab, used mainly for lining walls and pilasters, sometimes shaped like an animal or other form

ossilegium custom of gathering bones of a corpse after the flesh has decayed and depositing them in an ossuary

ossuary receptacle for bones after the flesh has decayed (secondary burial)

ostracon(-a) inscribed sherd

ovolo convex molding originating in Greek architecture (see egg-and-dart)

palaestra an open area for sport and training activities; a part of a gymnasium or baths in the Roman imperial period

paleography study of ancient alphabets, writing styles, and inscriptions (see also epigraphy)

paleomagnetism (paleomagnetic stratigraphy) series of past fluctuations in the intensity and direction of the earth’s magnetic field (polarity); sequence of polarity changes for the past 5 million years is well known and can be used in dating

Pan Greek god of shepherds and hunters

parapet low, protective wall

parocheth richly ornamented curtain hung in front of the holy ark in a synagogue; curtain used to screen the holy of holies in the Temple in Jerusalem

parodos(-oi) side entrance to the orchestra in a Greek theater

pastophorium(-ia) each of a pair of rooms in some churches, especially Byzantine ones, that are used as sacristies and usually flank the apse

patera(-ae) shallow bowl for pouring libations

pediment in Greek and Roman architecture, the triangular space below a gabled roof, including the horizontal and raking cornices

pendentive section of masonry forming a curved triangle supporting a dome over a rectangular base

peribolos exterior enclosure around a temple, or the wall bounding such an enclosure

peripteral of a continuous outer ring of columns

peristyle open courtyard surrounded by columns

petroglyph rock carving

Peutinger map see Tabula Peutingeriana

Pharisee member of the traditional party of Jews in the Second Temple period noted for their strict observance of the law (cf. Sadducee)

phase stage; subdivision of a stratum (see also stratum); reuse or rebuilding of a structure or smaller feature, such as a repair of a wall or floor

Philistine pottery pottery characteristic of sites in Philistia in the 12th–early 10th cent. BCE; decorated mainly with geometric, fish, and bird motifs in black and red, often on a white slip, featuring a mixture of Mycenean, Cypriot, Canaanite, and Egyptian traits

pier vertical structural support of roofing, sometimes flanking doors or windows; rectangular in section

pila(-ae) small pillar, usually of a hypocaust

pilaster engaged pier projecting only slightly from a wall

pilgrim flask flat, circular (usually ceramic) liquid container

piscina(-ae) pool; literally, a “fish pond”; perforated stone basin near the altar in a church

pisé stiff clay used as a building material

pithos(-oi) large storage jar

plano-convex brick or stone with flat base and convex top

podium platform; high basement of a building

polis Greek city-state

portcullis strong barrier in the form of a grating of wooden or iron bars above the gateway of a fortress, able to secure the entrance quickly by being released to slide down vertical grooves in the sides of the gateway

portico colonnade or covered ambulatory at the entrance to a building

postern small opening in a structure or fortification wall

postscenium part of an ancient Greek or Roman theater behind the stage, where props could be stored and to which the actors retired

praefurnium furnace of a bathhouse

principia headquarters of a Roman military camp

probe small exploratory trench or pit excavated to clarify the nature of the underlying deposits (see also sounding)

pronaos area in front of a temple’s sanctuary (space in front of naos)

propylaeum(-a) gateway to a sanctuary, usually marked by a monumental structure

proscenium stage of a theater

prostyle freestanding columns in front of a portico and across a structure’s entire front

prothesis in this work, church area for storing eucharistic elements before consecration

proto-Aeolic capital stone capital decorated with volutes (stylized palmettes) typical mainly of Israelite/Judean monumental architecture

Proto-Canaanite script alphabetic acrophonic script that developed in Canaan in the late Middle Bronze or Late Bronze Age; forerunner of most alphabetic scripts

prutah(-ot) smallest denomination of coin in the Judean monetary system

pym ancient Judean weight, probably 2/3 of a shekel (cf. shekel weight)

pyxis(-ides) small, usually cylindrical, box or container, usually lidded

qanatir (Arab.) arcade; especially the arched colonnades on the platform of the Dome of the Rock

qaṣr (Arab.) palace or fortress

qibla niche in a Muslim building on the side towards Mecca

Qos chief Edomite deity

racloir scraper

Ramonian desertic cultural entity, contemporary with the Late Geometric Kebaran and Early Natufian of the north; typical lithic tools are variants of the northern Kebara point (Ramon point) and the bifacial retouched microlith (Helwan lunate)

rampart raised earth mound or embankment used as a fortification; fortification wall

red ware Late Roman-Byzantine pottery, characterized by red oxidation firing and sometimes slipped with the same clay (see terra sigillata)

red-figure Greek style of pottery painting in which the background is black and the figures are left in the natural orange color of the vessel and decorated with diluted paint and some added colors; produced mainly in Athens from the end of the 6th to mid–4th cent. BCE and exported to the Levant in the Persian period (cf. black-figure)

reliquary small receptacle in which a relic or relics are kept, usually made of stone

repository deposit of (valuable) objects; treasury; place in tomb for collecting bones and offerings

repoussé hammering of sheet metal on a mold

Reshef Canaanite/Phoenician deity, smith and craftsman

retouch minute flaking of a flint artifact, to shape and regularize its edge

revetment retaining wall or facing (mainly of fortifications)

rhyton(-a) vessel for liquids; drinking vessel, usually shaped like a funnel, cone, animal, or the head of an animal

robber trench trench dug in antiquity to dismantle walls in order to reuse their stones; indicates the former lines of the walls

rogem (Heb.), rujum (Arab.) literally, “stone pile” (cf. tumulus)

rope decoration plastic decoration resembling a rope, common on pottery vessels

rotunda circular structure

Sadducee member of the priestly Jewish aristocracy (2nd cent. BCE to 1st cent. CE); opposed the Pharisees’ literal interpretation of the law

Safaitic Arabic dialect and script of the es-Safa region in N. Arabia

salvage excavation emergency excavation, usually carried out before modern construction

Samaria ostraca Sixty-three 9th- or 8th-cent. BCE ostraca uncovered at Samaria, recording dispatches of wine and oil; containing important linguistic, topographical, and economic data relating to the kingdom of Israel

Samaria ware (thin)/Samaria bowls shallow, fine ware bowls of the Iron Age II decorated with highly burnished yellow and red bands; once thought to have been produced in Samaria but probably manufactured in various Phoenician and Israelite centers

Sanhedrin highest court of justice and supreme council of the Jewish people (1st cent. BCE to 6th cent. CE)

saqiya pots pots attached to a saqiya or water wheel, in which water is lifted from a well

sarcophagus(-i) stone coffin

satrapy provincial governorship in the Persian Empire

satyr semi-divine being, represented as a man with ears, tail, and hooves of a goat, dweller of woods; often a companion of Dionysus, the god of wine

scaena(-ae) stage building in a Roman theater

scaenae frons façade of a Roman stage building formed by the backdrop of the stage

scalaria staircase in a theater, amphitheater, or circus

scarab beetle-shaped stamp seal, mainly Egyptian

scotia concave molding, usually between the two torus moldings of a column base (cf. torus)

scraper flint flake or blade retouched either on the edges (side scraper) or extremities (end scraper); typical of Middle and Upper Paleolithic industries

scriptorium place where books were written or copied

Sea Peoples collective name for groups of seafarers who invaded the coasts of the eastern Mediterranean toward the end of the Bronze Age (13th cent. BCE), among them the Philistines; associated with the violent overthrow of old political orders in Greece, Asia Minor, and the Levantine coast

Second Intermediate period period in Egypt from c. 1638 to 1540 BCE, between the end of the Middle Kingdom and beginning of the New Kingdom; period of Hyksos rule (cf. Hyksos)

Second Jewish Revolt Jewish Revolt against Rome, 132–135 CE

Second Temple period period in Israel beginning with the return of the Babylonian exiles in 536 BCE and ending with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 CE

secondary burial the reburial of bones after the flesh has decomposed (see also ossilegium, ossuary)

section two-dimensional face of a balk; a drawing of a balk

Septuagint pre-Christian (3rd–2nd cent. BCE) Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, written, according to legend, by 70 scholars in 70 days; the first vernacular translation

serekh (Arab.) literally, “palace façade”; rectangular frame containing the pharaoh’s name, surmounted by the hawk of the Egyptian god Horus

shaft tomb subsurface tomb reached through a vertical shaft

Shasu semi-nomadic groups in Canaan referred to in Egyptian New Kingdom sources; considered by some scholars to be the biblical Hebrews

shekel coin used between the 2nd cent. BCE and 2nd cent. CE in Syria-Palestine

shekel weight dome-shaped weight (c. 11.4 g) used in Judah and Philistia in the Iron Age II; rarely found in the north or in Transjordan (cf. beqa‘, pym, nšf)

Shephelah literally, “lowland”; the hilly region between Israel’s southern Coastal Plain and the Judean foothills

sherd potsherd; broken piece of pottery

shofar ram’s horn sounded in the Jewish New Year ritual

sistrum Egyptian musical instrument, resembling a rattle, sacred to Hathor

situla(-ae) any of various bucket-shaped vessels

skyphos(-oi) Greek drinking cup with handles; chalice

slag waste material formed as a by-product of (mainly) iron or copper smelting

slip mixed clay and water coating on pottery

socle base or pedestal for columns; the lower part of a wall

soffit underside of an architectural member (e.g., architrave)

solidus(-i) Byzantine gold coin weighing 4.54 g (1/72 of a Roman libra [pound]); introduced by Emperor Constantine in the 4th cent., in use in the Near East until the end of the Byzantine Empire (7th cent.)

sounding exploratory excavation (see also probe)

spatula(-ae) small stick with one end wider than the other, used to mix or spread paste (generally cosmetics)

spheroid rounded artifact, usually made of limestone and shaped by battering; typical of Lower Paleolithic industries

spina the barrier down the middle of a Roman circus

stela(-ae) upright slab or pillar, often with inscription or artistic depiction (see also maṣṣeba)

stirrup jar/vase small jar with two handles and false spout, common in Mycenean, Minoan, and Philistine pottery

stoa Greek freestanding building, usually one story high, consisting of a long rear wall and a row of columns in front bearing a sloping roof; roofed portico

strategus officer associated with a hipparch as the chief executive in the boule in ancient Greece

stratification superimposed occupational layers as they are uncovered in excavation

stratigraphy process of observing, recording, reconstructing and interpreting stratification

stratum(-a) the combination of all loci belonging to one construction, habitation, and destruction cycle, representing one historical and cultural period of habitation at a site; usually distinguished from one another by differences in soil makeup, architecture, artifacts, etc.

stretcher in masonry construction, a stone or brick whose long side is in the wall’s face (cf. header)

string course horizontal, continuous row in a façade, sometimes ornamental

stucco coating of high-quality plaster or cement, often molded

stylite Christian ascetic who lives on top of a column

stylobate continuous base supporting a row or rows of columns

Sultanian culture from the later phase of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A; lithic assemblage characterized by bifacial flaking and polished axes with transversal blows; villages with stone and mud-brick structures

suq (Arab.) market, market-place or bazaar

surface modern topsoil; ancient topsoil; a floor, courtyard, or other plane on which human activity took place

synthronon bench for clergy within a church’s chancel area, usually along the apse wall

Syrian gable gable with an arch in its central lower part, commonly found in Roman architecture of the East (e.g., in synagogues)

tabula ansata representation in a floor or wall of a tablet with triangular handles, intended to carry an inscription

Tabula Peutingeriana road map of the Roman provinces drawn by the Roman cartographer Castorius (c. 365 CE) from an archetype created in the 2nd cent.; preserved in an 11th–12th cent. copy; records main roads, cities, and towns and the distances between them in Roman miles; section X depicts Palestine

tabun (Arab.) clay “beehive” oven, usually with large sherds pressed into its outer surface

talent ancient weight and monetary unit; heaviest unit of weight system and highest value of monetary system

Talmud interpretation of the Mishnah and the Gemara (c. 200–500 CE)

Targum any of several Aramaic translations or paraphrases of the Hebrew Bible

tel (Heb.), tell (Arab.) artificial mound

Tell el-Yahudiyeh ware Middle Bronze Age IIB pottery group, mainly jugs, juglets, and zoomorphic vessels decorated with geometric designs created by punctured holes filled with white lime; named after the site of Tell el-Yahudiyeh in the Egyptian Delta region and associated by some scholars with the Hyksos; apparently produced both in Egypt and the Levant

temenos sacred precinct (sanctuary), enclosed by a wall

Templar knights 12th cent. military order in Jerusalem established to protect pilgrims and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (cf. Hospitaller knights)

tepidarium warm room in a Roman bath

terminus ante quem latest datable period to which an event or an object can belong, based on the accompanying dated evidence

terminus post quem earliest datable period to which an event or an object can belong, based on the accompanying dated evidence

terra cotta typically reddish, unglazed ceramic (earthenware) material

terra rossa brown-red, fertile clayey soils formed from hard limestone (see also ḥamra)

terra sigillata literally, “stamped earth/clay”; pottery with red, glossy surface, sometimes stamped with potters’ marks and decorated with molded decoration; of Italian and Gaulish provenance, produced from the 1st cent. BCE to 2nd cent. CE (cf. Eastern terra sigillata)

terre pisée literally, “beaten earth”

tessera(-ae) small square(s) or cube(s) used to form a mosaic

tête-bêche arrangement of two objects with the head of each one at the foot of the other

tetradrachm coin of four drachms (of different weight, according to the standard)

tetrapylon structure of four piers bearing columns built at the intersection of main streets in a Roman city

tetrarch governor of the fourth part of a country or province within the Roman Empire (instituted by Diocletian in 292 CE)

tetrastyle consisting of four columns

Thamudic Arabic dialect and script used by the Thamudenes of northern Hejaz

Theotokos “Mother of God,” epithet of Mary, mother of Jesus

therma(-ae) large Roman bathhouse

thermoluminescence (TL) dating depends on the fact that electrons become trapped in the crystal structure of naturally irradiated substances; when the substance is heated, the electrons are released along with a quantity of light (TL) directly proportional to the number of trapped electrons; the amount of TL can be used to estimate the time elapsed since an object was last heated (see electron spin resonance)

tholos round, domed building

toparch minor ruler of a small state or district consisting of a few cities or towns

toparchy district governed by a toparch

torus convex molding, usually on a column base (cf. scotia)

Tosefta supplement to the Mishnah

tournette potter’s slow wheel

transept space between the nave and the apse of a church, running perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the building

transhumance seasonal movement of livestock (especially sheep) between mountains and lowland pastures under the care of herders or accompanied by whole populations of owners

tremissis Byzantine gold coin weighing 1.5 g (1/3 of a solidus); see solidus

triclinium(-ia) dining room; derived from the three banqueting couches on which Roman diners reclined

triglyph block with three vertical grooves between metopes on a Doric frieze

tubulus(-i) terracotta pipe, often used in heating bathhouses

tumulus(-i) small mound or stone heap, often covering a tomb (cf. rogem/rujum)

tuyere nozzle in a forge or furnace through which air is blown

Tyche “Fortune”; personification of good fortune; protectress of cities, usually wearing a mural crown

tympanum triangular wall above a cornice

typology grouping/taxonomy/classification of artifacts according to a feature or features (form, decoration, surface technique, manufacturing technique, etc.), to achieve various research goals such as dating and location of production centers

Ubeid culture/period Mesopotamian culture of the second half of the 5th and 4th millennia

Umayyad dynasty caliphs who ruled the Muslim Empire from 661 to 750

United Monarchy political unification of the Israelite tribes by David in the 10th cent. BCE until the division between the (northern) Israelite kingdom and the (southern) Judahite kingdom after Solomon’s reign, c. 928 BCE

uraeus Egyptian symbol of kingship; a rearing cobra on a king’s forehead or crown; also used as architectural decoration

Uruk culture/period Mesopotamian culture of c. 3750–3100 BCE, characterized by urbanization, monumental temples, first cylinder seals, beginning of writing

velarium large awning used to cover a theater or amphitheater as a protection against sun or rain

versura(-ae) side wing on each side of the stage in a Roman theater

Via Nova Traiana highway constructed during the reign of Trajan, linking Syria with the Nabatean port of Aila (Aqaba) on the Red Sea

virgin soil soil undisturbed by human activity

volute spiral scroll (mainly) on an Ionic or Corinthian capital

vomitorium(-ia) entrance to a theater, amphitheater, or circus

voussoir wedge-shaped stone forming one of the units of an arch

Vulgate Latin version of the Bible authorized and used by the Roman Catholic Church

wadi (Arab.) dry streambed, flooded during rainy season

waqf (Arab.) Muslim endowment fund and supervisory council

wash unfired, usually thin, light clay coating on pottery that wears off easily

Way of the Sea one of the two most important highways that connected Egypt and Mesopotamia, crossing Canaan/Israel along the Mediterranean coastline and then branching north and northeast; the “Via Maris” of later periods (see also King’s Highway)

weli (Arab.) monument dedicated to a Muslim saint or holy man

West Slope ware black-slipped vessels decorated with white and clay-colored paint; produced initially (end of 4th/3rd cent. BCE) in Attica and later (3rd/2nd cent. BCE) in various workshops in the eastern Mediterranean region

white slip ware Late Cypriot I–II handmade pottery, decorated with geometric patterns in orange or brown on a white slip; the “milk bowls” of the family are one of the hallmarks of the Cypriot exports to the mainland in the Late Bronze Age, starting at the end of Middle Bronze Age II (cf. “milk bowls”)

white-painted ware (Iron Age) Cypriot pottery group of the Cypro-Geometric and Cypro-Archaic periods, decorated with geometric and figurative designs in black or brown on a white background; several examples were found on the mainland

white-painted ware (MB and LB) Cypriot pottery group of the very end of the Early Cypriot, Middle Cypriot, and Late Cypriot periods, decorated with linear and geometric motifs in thick, lustrous red paint; several examples were found on the mainland

Yehud stamps seals and seal impressions mentioning the name of the province of Judah (Yehud) in the Persian and Hellenistic periods

zawiyah (Arab.) small mosque; Muslim religious building

Zenon papyri letters discovered at the site of ancient Philadelphia in Egypt, belonging to the archive of Zeno, a treasury official under Ptolemy II (259 BCE), describing conditions in Palestine at the time and discussing commerce with Egypt

Zeus head of the Greek pantheon; king over humans and the gods (equivalent to Roman god Jupiter)

ziggurat stepped Mesopotamian temple

zoomorphic animal-shaped

abacus seat forming the uppermost member or division of the capital on a column

Abydos ware Early Bronze Age II pottery of Syro-Palestinian origin, mainly “metallic” jugs and jars; red slipped and burnished or painted with geometric motifs; also found in First and Second Dynasty tombs in Egypt