Mnamon
Ancient writing systems in the Mediterranean
A critical guide to electronic resources
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2014-05-22Book
The book by Salvatore Gaspa "Contenitori neoassiri: Studi per un repertorio lessicale" (Philippika: Altertumswissenschaftliche Abhandlungen 67), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag 2014, Pp. 566, 41 ill., 5 tables, ISBN 978-3-447-10126-4 (in Italian with English summary) has just been published.
This study collects and analyzes the lexicon of the containers documented in the texts of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (9th-7th centuries BC). Through an interdisciplinary investigation involving a lexical analysis and a comparison of the textual data with the iconographical and archaeological evidence of the first millennium BC Assyrian vessels, the research presents an updated tool for the study of an important sector of the vocabulary and the material culture of imperial Assyria. The author also suggests some identifications of the containers mentioned in the cuneiform texts. The study sheds light on various important aspects of the daily life in the Assyrian society, from food storage and consumption to ritual dynamics and the symbolism of vessels, from legal practices to the bureaucratic conventions used by the scribes.