El-Qitar 1998 Overview

Abstract
This grant will be for publication of the final report entitled El-Qitar/Til Abnu, A Bronze Age Fortress on the Euphrates, excavated by T. McClellan from 1982 to 1987. El-Qitar, thought to be ancient Til Abnu, is located 36° 23" North, 38° 11" East in Syria. A fortress during the Late Bronze Age (1600-1175 BC), it is situated on a small mountain, overlooking a narrow passage of the Euphrates River about 60 km downstream from Carchemish. Settlements on the top and slope of the mountain were joined by a rock-cut stairway and protected by cyclopean defensive walls and the natural topography. Entry into the fortress was through two city gates with orthostat piers. The settlements within were divided into residential blocks by a planned system of streets; more than 30 structures were identified.

In the past few years the excavation of a number of Late Bronze Age sites on the Euphrates has taken place that in sum will provide us with one of the fullest pictures of culture and society for the period anywhere in the Near East. Yet this information has not been widely disseminated and no final reports have been published; the report on el-Qitar will be the first.

El Qitar is a significant site for monitoring, documenting and testing several trends in military, political and social organization during the Late Bronze Age. Changes in warfare from the preceding Middle Bronze period included the widespread use of chariotry and emergence of a military elite which, together with (sedentary) population declines, led to smaller armies and the abandonment of massive earthen rampart fortifications around major urban centers in favor of a network of smaller fortresses and forts often located to utilize rugged terrain. Also there may have been increased functional and socio-economic differentiation among settlements in the Late Bronze Age as they became integrated into larger regional polities.

A 403 double-spaced first draft of a monograph (final report) has been prepared, including 224 pages by the applicant plus contributions from eight others. The extant manuscript needs to be revised substantially and camera ready plates prepared.

Descriptive sections on two buildings and sections on the pottery must be written, as well as a concluding synthetic chapter. The camera-ready copy and a digital form of the monograph will be ready for the publisher one year from the time the grant begins. It will be published in the series Subartu. Appended are the excavation permit in the name of the applicant, a budget and an academic resume.