The influence of economic factors on settlement continuity across the LBA/Iron Age transition on the northern Levantine littoral
Few attempts have been made to synthesise Late Bronze Age (LBA) and Iron Age trade patterns in the northern Levant on a regional scale, despite the availability of fine grained excavation data for individual sites. Even less attention has been given to the degree of continuity or change between the economic systems that obtained across the transition between these two periods, which was marked by a widespread destruction of sites across the Eastern Mediterranean. Long-distance trade was conducted at unprecedented levels in the Eastern Mediterranean at the close of the LBA. Ugarit was a strategic node between land and sea routes and its entrepreneurial merchants engaged in transactions for economic gain. Why Ugarit was never meaningfully resettled again after its destruction in the early 12th century BC is a question of regional importance with respect to gaining a better understanding of how and why the mechanisms of trade evolved at this critical time. That Phoenicia came to dominate maritime trade in the Mediterranean in the succeeding period is widely accepted, but the reasons behind this ascendancy are poorly understood. This thesis quantitatively examines contextualised imported ceramic data (Aegean and
Bell, Carol
The influence of economic factors on settlement continuity across the LBA/Iron Age transition on the northern Levantine littoral. Few attempts have been made to synthesise Late Bronze Age (LBA) and Iron Age trade patterns in the northern Levant on a regional scale, despite the availability of fine grained excavation data for individual sites. Even less attention has been given to the degree of continuity or change between the economic systems that obtained across the transition between these two periods, which was marked by a widespread destruction of sites across the Eastern Mediterranean. Long-distance trade was conducted at unprecedented levels in the Eastern Mediterranean at the close of the LBA. Ugarit was a strategic node between land and sea routes and its entrepreneurial merchants engaged in transactions for economic gain. Why Ugarit was never meaningfully resettled again after its destruction in the early 12th century BC is a question of regional importance with respect to gaining a better understanding of how and why the mechanisms of trade evolved at this critical time. That Phoenicia came to dominate maritime trade in the Mediterranean in the succeeding period is widely accepted, but the reasons behind this ascendancy are poorly understood. This thesis quantitatively examines contextualised imported ceramic data (Aegean and
influence economic_factor settlement continuity across lba iron_age org transition northern levantine littoral attempt_make synthesise lba iron_age trade pattern northern_levant regional_scale despite availability fine grain excavation data individual_site even_less attention_give degree_continuity change economic system obtain across transition period_mark widespread destruction site_across eastern_mediterranean long_distance_trade conduct unprecedented level eastern_mediterranean close lba strategic node land_sea rout entrepreneurial merchant engage transaction economic gain never meaningfully destruction question regional importance respect gain_good mechanism trade evolve critical time come dominate maritime_trade mediterranean succeed period_widely accept reason_behind ascendancy poorly_understood quantitatively examines contextualised import ceramic data aegean