Research Guides: ARCH 242: Colonies and Colonization (BMC): Finding Background Information

Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology Librarians

The librarians are here to help you! Make an appointment with either Camilla or Laura here. You can always email us with questions or drop by our offices in Carpenter Library.

Laura Surtees
Carpenter Library

Camilla MacKay

Carpenter Library

Encyclopedias and Bibliographies Ancient Near East

Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East
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This comprehensive work analyzes the archaeological and linguistic data that pertain to the broad cultural milieu of the ancient Near East, the crossroads of three of the world's most influential religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Ranging from prehistoric times up to the early centuries of the rise of Islam, the work covers the civilizations of Syria-Palestine, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Iran, Arabia, Cyprus, Egypt, and the coastal regions of North and East Africa.
Encyclopedia of Ancient History
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A comprehensive collection of twenty-first century scholarship available on the entire ancient Mediterranean world. The board of internationally diverse editors has collected over 5,000 original entries spanning the late Bronze Age through the seventh century CE. Entries extend to all Mediterranean civilizations, including the Near East and Egypt.
Oxford Bibliographies in Classics
Provides bibilographies of and encyclopedic articles about over 50 topics in the classics. Includes introductions to each topic area, guides to introductory works, textbooks, guidebooks, journals, reference works etc., and links to useful websites. Bibliographies are browseable by subject area and keyword searchable.
Oxford Art Online
Oxford Art Online is an art reference library that searches Grove Art Online, The Oxford Companion to Western Art, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms, and The Encyclopedia of Aesthetics. This resource contains images, biographies, subject entries, and thematic timelines (antiquity to present).
Bibliotheca Orientalis
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Contains reviews and bibliographical data on books published on the ancient and modern Near East.

Archive of Mesopotamian Archaeological Site Reports (AMAR)
The aim of the AMAR project is to digitize 500 archaeological site reports describing archaeological excavations both in Iraq and in the immediately surrounding areas (Turkey, Syria, Iran and the Gulf). This will include both out-of-copyright as well as in-copyright and in-print materials. This online collection is intended to provide basic sources of information to our colleagues in Iraq, and also other archaeologists working in the Middle East.

ATLA Religion Database + ATLA Serials (American Theological Library Association)
Provides online access to the entire core collection of more than fifty significant scholarly journals in the field of religion. Also provides citation information for journal articles, book reviews and essays for over 600 journals in the fields of religion and theology. Covers 1949-present.

Catalog of the Oriental Institute Library, University of Chicago
For the library, choose Search Research Archives. Searchable index to the books and journals in the OI Library, including titles of journal articles and chapters in collected studies. Since 1990. No connection to Tripod, so you'll have to search for journal titles or book titles in Tripod.

Encyclopedia and Bibliographies Ancient Mediterranean

Oxford Classical Dictionary 5th edition
Provides coverage of Greek and Roman history, literature, myth, religion, linguistics, philosophy, law, science, art, and archaeology as well as topics in Near Eastern and Late Antique studies.

Grove Encyclopedia of Classical Art & Architecture
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A reference resource for the visual arts of the Classical period. It features an abundance of in-depth articles on this field of enduring importance--from biographies to thematic entries on architecture, ceramics, metalwork, mosaics, painting and sculpture. The resource provides art historical and cultural information about art forms, artists, rulers, philosophers, architecture, renowned works of art, archaeological sites and stylistic developments.
Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece & Rome
Offers a comprehensive overview of the literature, history, archaeology, art, philosophy, science, and religion of the Greek and Roman world from the Bronze Age to the fifth century CE. It also covers the legacy of the classical world and its interpretation and influence in subsequent centuries.
Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization
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Provides a survey of the Greek and Roman worlds in all their aspects. Offers articles on diverse fields such as, history and politics; ethics and morals; law and punishment; social and family life; language, literature, and art; religion and mythology; technology, science, and medicine.
Brill's New Pauly and Supplements
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Includes bibliographical references and subject and keyword indexes for late antiquity and classical periods. Online version of Der neue Pauly--which includes 13 volumes on Antiquity, 5 on the Classical Tradition, and one index volume--and Brill's New Pauly. Screen displays are primarily in English, with some also available in German. The encyclopedia itself includes the original German work and its English translation.
Oxford Bibliographies in Classics
Provides bibilographies of and encyclopedic articles about over 50 topics in the classics. Includes introductions to each topic area, guides to introductory works, textbooks, guidebooks, journals, reference works etc., and links to useful websites. Bibliographies are browseable by subject area and keyword searchable.
Oxford Art Online
Oxford Art Online is an art reference library that searches Grove Art Online, The Oxford Companion to Western Art, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms, and The Encyclopedia of Aesthetics. This resource contains images, biographies, subject entries, and thematic timelines (antiquity to present).

Zenon DAI (Deutsches Archaologisches Institut) This link opens in a new window
Compliation of bibliographies on archaeology by the Deutsches Archaeologishches Institut.

Handbooks, Companions and Museum Catalogues

Below is a select number of Handbooks, Companions, and Museum Publications. The print copies that are not in the reference section will be on course reserve for this class (located behind the circulation desk in Carpenter). Many of the volumes are also available online. Choose the book icon for the print volumes and the B/H/S icons for records to online resources in Tripod.

Oxford Handbooks in Archaeology
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Oxford Handbooks Online in Archaeology seek to combine works of original scholarship with authoritative overviews of particular subjects. The resource provides coverage of all the major geographical areas of the world, countering any tendency towards Euro-American bias, as well as specific topic areas of current and lasting interest, combining also theoretical discussion with empirical content.

A Companion to the Ancient Near East by Snell, Daniel
A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East by Potts, Daniel T
Civilizations of the Ancient Near East by Sason, Jack
Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East by Roaf, Michael
The Oxford Handbook of Cuneiform Culture by Radner, Karen and Robson, Eleanor
A Companion to Ancient Egypt by Lloyd, Alan
A Companion to Ancient Near Eastern Art by Gunter, Ann
Art of the first Cities: the 3rd millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus
The Oxford Handbook of the Phoenician and Punic Mediterranean by Carolina López-Ruiz (Editor); Brian R. Doak (Editor)
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ISBN: 9780190499341
Publication Date: 2019-08-26
The Phoenicians created the Mediterranean world as we know it - yet they remain a shadowy and poorly understood group. The academic study of the Phoenicians has come to an important crossroads; the field has grown in sheer content, sophistication of analysis, and diversity of interpretation,and we now need a current overview of where the study of these ancient seafarers and craftsman stands and where it is going. Moreover, the field of Phoenician studies is particularly fragmented and scattered. While there is growing interest in all things Phoenician and Punic, the latest advances aremostly published in specialized journals and conference volumes in a plethora of languages.This Handbook is the first of its type to appear in over two decades, and the first ever to appear in English. In these chapters, written by a wide range of prominent and promising scholars from across Europe, North America, Australia, and the Mediterranean world, readers will find summary studieson key historical moments (such as the history of Carthage), areas of culture (organized around language, religion, and material culture), regional studies and areas of contact (spanning from the Levant and the Aegean to Iberia and North Africa), and the reception of the Phoenicians as an idea,entangled with the formation of other cultural identities, both ancient and modern.