Burial offerings in intramural tombs at Middle Bronze Age Megiddo

Tel Megiddo is a major type-site for the Middle Bronze in the Levant. During this period a new burial custom appeared in which the dead were interred beneath occupied houses. This tradition is well attested in Area K at the site. Area H, near the palatial complex, revealed a monumental masonry-constructed chamber tomb. This article presents the results of residue analysis conducted on ceramic vessels placed in these tombs as burial offerings. Hundreds of intramural Middle Bronze tombs with ceramic offerings were excavated in the Levant, but this is the first time the content of the vessels is revealed.     

Book reviews

Classical Persian Music: An Introduction. By Ella Zonis. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1973. xv + 233 pp. $16.50.

Sasanian Remains from Qasr‐i Abu Nasr: Seals, Sealings, and Coins. Edited by Richard N. Frye. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1973. 132 pp + 26 pp. of plates. $12.50.

The School Principal. By Jalal Al‐e Ahmad. Translated by John K. Newton, with an introduction and notes by Michael C. Hillmann. Minneapolis, Minn.: Bibliotheca Islamica, 1974. 144 pp. $5.00.     

Contemporary conflicts,cross‐border military operations,and the declining role of the UN: The case of Turkey and Saudi Arabia

This article examines an emerging trend of cross‐border conflicts between states and non‐state actors. It looks at the narratives fronted by Turkey and Saudi Arabia to justify their operations in northern Syria and Yemen, respectively. The authors argue that the increased inaction and lack of influence by the UN in response to such operations reaffirm states as the core actors in international politics and that national security and interests continue to shape the behavior of actors at the international level. The article concludes that the UN needs to adjust to the new forms of conflicts, actors, and behavior being experienced at the international level if it is to retain its relevance as an anchor of peace and international security.