Archaeology of the Ancient Near East

Near Eastern Archaeology explores the development of material and intellectual culture across a geographic region stretching from Turkey to Pakistan. The field primarily focuses on Mesopotamia, the area between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, encompassing the ancient cultural regions of Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, and Babylonia. Additionally, it examines surrounding regions such as Palestine/Israel, Syria and Jordan, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Iran, and the areas around the Persian Gulf—regions that, in various historical periods, produced advanced civilizations.

The timeframe under study spans the development of this region from the beginnings of settled life in the 10th millennium BCE, through the emergence of ancient Near Eastern high cultures following the invention of writing in the 4th millennium BCE, the peaks of interregional interactions in the 2nd and 1st millennia BCE, and up to the advent of Hellenism. Beyond the decline of the civilizations of the ancient Near East, the field also addresses the art and culture of the post-Hellenistic and Islamic periods. With the spread of Islam in the Middle East, the region underwent a reorganization of its intellectual and material culture, which was repeatedly transformed by the violent conquests of Central Asian nomadic peoples. This aspect is explored within the subdiscipline of Islamic Archaeology and Art History, which extends the scope of the program into the present day.

The Institute for Archaeological Sciences also houses an Ancient Near Eastern Collection, which is frequently integrated into various courses. Working with original objects not only enhances the material’s accessibility but also provides a unique and memorable experience.

The bachelor's minor degree program primarily provides foundational knowledge in archaeology and the history of culture of the ancient Near East. The program focuses on examining the cultural and societal development within the specified geographic region and time frame. As an archaeological discipline, Near Eastern Archaeology draws on material remains to understand and reconstruct ancient ways of life. The courses in the Near Eastern Archaeology program therefore offer an overview of key categories of monuments, including architecture, large-scale art, small-scale art, and major archaeological sites from the regions and periods in question.

Additionally, Near Eastern and Islamic Archaeology are considered part of the field of history, as these disciplines increasingly incorporate written records from the late 4th millennium BCE onward to better understand and interpret societal processes and their contexts. A wealth of sources exists for nearly every aspect of human life, including economics, medicine, law, religion, everyday culture, and private life. As such, the program integrates cultural-historical findings from Ancient Near Eastern Philology into its curriculum. Ancient Near Eastern Philology is concerned both with the linguistic analysis of texts and with the cultural-historical questions that arise from these texts. Consequently, it is not purely a philological discipline but rather a field of exceptional breadth, intersecting with numerous other areas of study. Historically, there have been close ties between Ancient Near Eastern Philology and Near Eastern Archaeology, which only became separate disciplines in Germany after World War II but are still regarded as a unified field in Frankfurt.

For more information about the minor in Near Eastern Archaeology, please visit the department’s webpage.