Confession and Nation in Early Modern Central Europe

Abstract

Amongst historians of early modern Europe, the relation between confession and nation has been largely neglected, especially in the Anglo-Saxon world. The dominant discourse on nationhood, in contrast, was established by historians of modern history such as Elie Kedourie, Ernest Gellner, Eric Hobsbawm, Benedict Anderson, and Miroslav Hroch. This article evaluates the contributions of two historiographical debates to the study of early modern Central Europe, which were conducted in parallel, from the 1980s, but have not been assessed in context. It argues for the necessity to combine the perspectives of ‘confessionalization’, developed by early modernists, with the focus of nationalism, championed by students of the nineteenth and twentieth century, in order to achieve a full understanding of the region.     

Archaeology and Politics in the Holy Land: The Life and Career of P. L. O. Guy

Abstract

Philip Langstaffe Ord Guy's (1885–1952) career in archaeology began as Woolley's assistant at Carchemish and as Chief Inspector for the Department of Antiquities of Palestine during the 1920s. He is best known as director of the Megiddo Expedition (1927–1934), where he employed innovative techniques in balloon photography, and provided a highly influential identification of the pillared buildings found there as stables. He dated these buildings to the Solomonic era, sowing the seeds of a long-running debate over the role of the Bible in archaeological interpretation. Guy was later appointed director of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem (1935–1939), initiating the short-lived Archaeological Survey of Palestine. After World War II and Israel's War of Independence, Guy became a senior figure within the fledgling Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums as Director of Excavations and Surveys. Active involvement in Zionist politics through his marriage into the Ben-Yehuda family was a controversial factor that impacted on his career within 1920s and 1930s Palestine. Recent archival research allows an assessment of Guy's double life as archaeologist and political activist and the degree to which these areas intersected. His name can be added to the diverse spectrum of archaeologists working in the Holy Land during this formative but turbulent colonial and post-colonial era.     

The Identity of the Nabataean 'Painted House' Complex at Baidha,North-West Petra

Abstract

An attempt is made to shed light on the identity of the Nabataean 'Painted House' from an understanding of its plan, the content of the painting and the function of the associated features, mainly the water installations. This study reveals new mythological figures unnoticed by previous scholars. These include additional cupids and, most importantly, Isis. The water installations of the monument, its functions and meaning, the content of the painting combined with comparative studies of Mediterranean and Near Eastern evidence all suggest that this monument was an Isiac (Isis) sanctuary devoted to her as a goddess of improved quality of life, good crops, good herds, and love.     

Jerusalem Transformed in Post-Reformation England: The Case of the Cliffords and Beamsley Hospital

Abstract

This article explores the impact of the Tudor religious reforms in the rural upland parish of Kirkby Malhamdale, Craven, in the Yorkshire Dales, from the late medieval period, when it was dominated by the economic power of the monasteries, during the Dissolution and subsequent changes, to 1603. Although early churchwardens' accounts have not survived for the parish, the analysis draws upon a variety of contemporary sources including wills, ecclesiastical documents, manor court rolls and other miscellaneous material, as well as the fabric and structure of the parish church itself. Aspects of worship and ritual in Kirkby Malham, the response to the reforms, and the extent to which conformity in the reformed Church of England was established in the parish by the end of the sixteenth century, are examined.     

Nabataean Dushārā (Dusares) — an overlooked cuirassed god

Abstract

This paper sheds new light on the images of the Nabataean god Dushārā on the coins of Roman Bostra under Commodus, Caracalla and Philip the Arab. It analyses and interprets for the first time iconographic details such as the god's cuirass, his Alexander-like hairstyle and the assimilation of his facial features to the emperor of the day on the coin obverses. This study argues that Dushārā's image is a late ad-hoc creation for a local Bostran context that did not travel far beyond the city. Alongside the anthropomorphic representation, Dushārā continued to be depicted and worshipped in the form of a betyl at Bostra, Petra and throughout the Roman province of Arabia.     

THE STUDY OF NABATAEAN ORGANIC RESIDUES FROM MADÂ’IN SÂLIH,ANCIENT HEGRA,BY GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY – MASS SPECTROMETRY*

Four Nabataean samples collected in some of the monumental tombs of Madâ’in Sâlih, ancient Hegra, in Saudi Arabia, have been studied by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. These samples are textile fragments that are either covered with a black layer or bound together with some black amorphous substance. Fatty acids and triterpenoic compounds were detected. Eight triterpenic compounds were identified: ursa‐9(11),12‐dien‐3‐ol, ursa‐9(11),12‐dien‐3‐one, olean‐9(11),12‐dien‐3β‐ol, β‐amyrone, β‐amyrin, α‐amyrone, α‐amyrin and lupeol. The resinous chemical composition and these pentacyclic alcohols, in considerable proportion, indicate a resin of the Burseraceae family, possibly of the genus Canarium.     

LATE ROMAN GLASS FROM THE ‘GREAT TEMPLE’ AT PETRA AND KHIRBET ET‐TANNUR,JORDAN—TECHNOLOGY AND PROVENANCE

Forty‐seven window and vessel glasses from the ‘Great Temple’ at Petra (Jordan), dating to the first/second and fourth centuries ce , were analysed by EPMA for major and minor elements. A subset of 29 samples from Petra and 15 samples from Khirbet et‐Tannur were additionally analysed for trace elements, using LA–ICP–MS. Six compositional groups were identified on the basis of the presence of decolouring agents. The majority of the glasses derive ultimately from the Levantine coast, but most of the groups show evidence for highly selective recycling. The observed differences between the two sites could be related to different chronological ranges, functions, relative wealth and trade connections.