The History and Archaeology of Phoenicia

Sader, Hélène

doi:10.2307/j.ctvrxk3xg

Cited by 19 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…The quest for metals, especially silver, was a crucial instigator of Phoenician early endeavors to the West Mediterranean at 950-800 BCE [6]. The Phoenician city-states in Lebanon and the northern shores of the southern Levant during the Iron Age (11th-6th centuries BCE), e.g., Tyre, Sidon and Byblos, 'Akko and Dor (for part of this period), shared political-economic traits and material culture (Figure 1; e.g., [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]). The Phoenicians are known for spreading to Europe long-lasting innovations, including the alphabet, murexbased purple dyeing and masterful craftsmanship (e.g., [7,15]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Silver Isotopes in Silver Suggest Phoenician Innovation in Metal Production

et al. 2022

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The current study presents Ag isotopic values of 45 silver artifacts with known Pb isotopic composition from the Southern Levant. These items originate from seven pre-coinage silver hoards, dating from the Middle Bronze Age IIC to the end of the Iron Age (~1650–600 BCE). These are the earliest silver artifacts analyzed for Ag isotopes; all former studies were performed on coins. All the sampled silver in this study contains relatively unfractionated Ag (−2 ≤ ε109Ag ≤ 1.5) that was more likely produced from hypogene, primary Ag-bearing minerals (e.g., galena and jarosite) and not from native, supergene silver. Four of the sampled hoards containing silver from Anatolia and the West Mediterranean (Iberia and Sardinia) are associated with the Phoenician quest for silver (~950–700 BCE). A significant amount of this Phoenician silver (12/28 items) plots within a narrower range of −0.5 ≤ ε109Ag ≤ 0.5. This is in contrast to non-Phoenician silver, which mostly underwent some degree of fractionation (16/17 items ε109Ag ≥ I0.5I). The results suggest that while all silver was exploited from primary ore sources, the Phoenicians dug deeper into the deposits, reaching ore minerals that did not undergo any weathering-associated fractionation. The results also call for further investigation regarding the influence of sealing and bundling in silver hoards on post-depositional fractionation of Ag isotopes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Silver Isotopes in Silver Suggest Phoenician Innovation in Metal Production

et al. 2022

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“…Sidon's Phoenician period began in the twelfth through tenth centuries BCE. Built on a promontory facing an island, which sheltered its ships from storms and served as a refuge, Sidon was a prominent Phoenician city-state (Sader 2019). It was twice destroyed in war between the seventh and fourth centuries BCE.…”

Section: Isaiah 23: the Problemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Isaiah 23.1-14 and the Failure of the Sea God

Scolnic

2024

The Bible Translator

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In Isa 23, the ships of Tarshish, on their voyage home, howl to see the destruction of their home ports of Tyre and Sidon: “The sea says: ‘I am like one who has never borne children.’” Bible scholars struggle over the interpretation of this verse, wondering why a masculine voice speaks about writhing in labor and bearing children. To the mythic mind, however, this verse makes perfect sense, for the sea god, known in the Greek world as Poseidon, sired as many as 140 children, including two sons that are connected to places mentioned in this passage, Belus, an early king of Egypt, and Agenor, king of Tyre (with his son Phoenix = Phoenicia). Now that some of those places are destroyed, it is as if the Sea never fathered them. In contrast to the biblical God, the prophet states, the sea god has limited power and can only mourn the fate of his progeny. The use of the term מָעוֹז‎ “stronghold” in Isa 23 may refer to the protecting gods/avatars who lament over the destruction of the Phoenician nation-states, as the text gloats over their destruction.

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“…Using the term "Phoenician" to describe the cultural affiliation of the peoples or city-states of the central coastal Levant has long been recognised as an anachronistic application of a later Greek term to the heterogeneous Iron Age realities, and recent studies (most notably Quinn 2018) have further pressed this point, stressing the lack of any homogeneous emic identification among the populations of coastal Syria, Lebanon, and northern Israel until as late as the Roman period. While these critiques have been useful in encouraging re-examination of the evidence and more careful scholarly characterisations, I stand with Sader (2019) in concluding that the term "Phoenician" is still useful as an etic cultural label where the Phoenician language and script are employed, specific ceramic and architectural technologies and choices are utilised, and a range of religious behaviours and beliefs (including a varied but relatively stable polytheistic pantheon) are evident in the material record.…”

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ancient synagogue at Nabratein

Flesher¹

2021

The Routledge Handbook of the Senses in the Ancient Near East

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The History and Archaeology of Phoenicia

Cited by 19 publications

References 0 publications

Silver Isotopes in Silver Suggest Phoenician Innovation in Metal Production

Silver Isotopes in Silver Suggest Phoenician Innovation in Metal Production

Isaiah 23.1-14 and the Failure of the Sea God

The ancient synagogue at Nabratein

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