Contenitori neoassiri

More about the book

This study completes a significant chapter in the author’s research on Assyrian material culture by collecting and analyzing the lexicon of containers documented in Neo-Assyrian Empire texts (9th–7th centuries BC). Employing an interdisciplinary approach, it combines lexical analysis with comparisons of textual data and iconographical and archaeological evidence of Assyrian utensils from the first millennium BC. The work serves as an updated resource for understanding a vital sector of imperial Assyria's vocabulary and material culture. It is structured into six sections: a lexical repertoire, an analytical part, a glossary, appendices, tables, and a catalogue of figures. The book includes images of Neo-Assyrian containers derived from both iconographical and archaeological evidence. Through a thorough evaluation of textual data and comparisons with representations in Assyrian art, as well as contemporary metal and ceramic artifacts, the author proposes identifications of the containers mentioned in the texts. Additionally, the study examines metrological notations of vessel volumes and their potential for interdisciplinary identification of containers in written sources. It also illuminates various aspects of Assyrian life, including food storage, consumption, ritual dynamics, vessel symbolism, legal practices, and bureaucratic conventions used by scribes. (Text in Italian)