"Magdalūma, Migdālîm, Magdoloi", and "Majādīl": The Historical Geography and Archaeology of the "Magdalu (Migdāl)"
Several lines of evidence permit us to characterize ancient Levantine settlements whose modern place names include variations of the Arabic term "májdal". It has been suggested for some time that these sites preserve the locations of Bronze and Iron Age watchtowers, though this has not bee...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
The University of Chicago Press
2007
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| In: |
Bulletin of ASOR
Year: 2007, Volume: 346, Pages: 29-57 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Several lines of evidence permit us to characterize ancient Levantine settlements whose modern place names include variations of the Arabic term "májdal". It has been suggested for some time that these sites preserve the locations of Bronze and Iron Age watchtowers, though this has not been unequivocally demonstrated. However, textual references to Bronze Age "magdalūma", Iron Age "migdālîm", and Classical "magdoloi", when compared against the locations of "majādīl", indeed support the identification of these sites as Bronze and Iron Age military observation towers. This fact is further supported by archaeological data available from nearly half of these settlements. The distribution of Arabic "majādīl" reveals a logical selection of strategic positions within the Levantine landscape for the establishment of towers that served as part of an integrated defensive network related to the major political centers of the Levant, principally during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages. |
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| ISSN: | 2161-8062 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: American Schools of Oriental Research, Bulletin of ASOR
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1086/BASOR25067009 |