From the Treasures of Syria: Essays on Art and Archaeology in Honour of Stefania Mazzoni

From the Treasures of Syria presents perspectives on the art and

archaeology of ancient Syria, authored by a number of leading experts.

The volume is a tribute to Stefania Mazzoni, Professor of Near Eastern

Archeology at the University of Florence.
The important site

of Tell Afis, where S. Mazzoni worked for many years, is represented by

special studies on ceramics and figurines, all from levels investigated

very comprehensibly at Afis, and which cover the transition from the

Late Bronze Age through the Iron Age. Finds from Afis are also the focus

in other articles, like a fragmentary stele studied by A. Otto, who

extends perspectives on iconographic elements back into the early

Neolithic. The analysis of iconography is an important subject in

several other papers, which study seals, obelisks, and carved ivories.

Other contributions present results of excavations at important sites in

Syria and the Levant, such as Amrith, the Southern Gate at Zincirli and

its sculptured slabs, and the early Third Millennium palace at Tell

el-‘Abd. Tell Atchana/Alalakh, Ugarit, Tell Mozan, Tell Banat, and Tell

Fekheriye are represented by studies and interpretations of statues,

seals, and ceramics.