These three volumes form a monumental final report on the archaeological rescue excavations at Zeugma, modern Belkis on the Euphrates, which took place in the summer of 2000, when it became clear that the ancient site would be flooded after construction of the large Birecik dam. A total of thirty-five chapters (thirteen in vol. I, eight in vol. II and fourteen in vol. III) are contained in the three large volumes richly illustrated with maps, plans, drawings and photos (several in colour). It is always a difficult choice as to how best to present archaeological material in a final publication — and not least material from a rescue dig. One may opt for a ‘context first’ approach through publishing trench-by-trench, or, as has been done in the present volumes, according to a range of themes and objects. The chapters cover a wide array of topics: a variety of categories of objects, architectural remains, geophysics, environmental studies and scientific analyses of a range of finds, amongst these the faunal remains and charcoal. Each chapter is accompanied by a substantial bibliography (except the chapter by Butcher which contains references in each catalogue description of the coins; however a full bibliography may be found in the online version of the publication, as also noted by Ted Kaizer in his review in Antiquity 88 (2014), 1343–45).
This way of organizing the material works well in the present case, although (due to this division) the reader will have to search through chapters in order to recontextualize objects in their original trenches and, most importantly, in order to understand with which other objects they were found. This does seem the best solution when dealing with such rich and complex material where the complete context was not in any case available due to the nature of the excavation. Even so, it does make the overview of the find contexts more difficult to understand. No concluding chapter is offered; this, however, would have been an undertaking of a completely different order, and (in some ways) the substantial introduction compensates for the lack of a synthetic conclusion. In total nineteen trenches were excavated, but the publication only presents thirteen of these, so the material, as it currently stands, is not complete and we may look forward to the remaining trenches being published in the future.
The comprehensive introduction to the site and its situation both in ancient and modern times by Aylward (55 pages with substantial bibliography) focuses on the history of the site and region in general as well as setting out the basis for the rescue excavation, including a table informing the reader that in total 5,238 m2 of excavations are included in this publication (I, 6) — and this is without counting the trenches not published in the current volumes. Based on this table, it is quite clear that a great deal of attention was paid to the careful process of excavation, as well as detailed documentation, at least judging by the amount of time each trench took to excavate and the number of staff assigned to each trench. How many objects (and from which categories) were excavated in each trench is clearly presented. This does give some insight into the nature of the trenches, without, of course, revealing anything about their stratigraphy. Pottery was counted as well as weighed (which is a good combination since weight by itself does not tell us anything). The publication throughout benefits from such meticulous documentation. A. succeeds excellently in combining his historical account of the site with the archaeological finds: for example, his comments on the amount of glass tableware left behind when Roman troops were defeated by Shapur I and the inhabitants anticipated a sack and fled the city (I, 30). A.'s introduction also makes it clear that Zeugma was not an exceptional city either in the Hellenistic or the Roman period. This might be disappointing to some, but to the archaeologist and historian it only makes this site even more fascinating because of what it reveals of everyday life in an ‘ordinary ancient city’.
It is impossible to mention all chapters, and I will comment here on only a few. The reader should pay attention to the important ch. 3 (in vol. I), ‘The Houses: Domestic Architecture, Dated Deposits, and Finds in Context’ (Tobin), which presents and contextualizes crucial information about the domestic architecture and the finds which were found in good datable contexts within the excavated complexes. Vol. I, ch. 11 (Van Den Hoek and Aylward) deals with the geophysical investigations undertaken at the site only after the rescue excavations had begun. Therefore the surveys were conducted between areas of active excavation (I, 232) and only tested through excavation at one place. Magnetometry, ground-penetrating radar and electrical resistivity survey were used — which again underscores the attention paid to finding the most successful method to apply in this situation. The investigations yielded some interesting results, such as indicating that streets in this area of the town seemed to have been aligned with those on the other bank of the Euphrates at Apamea. This is a thought-provoking finding especially in light of the fact that A. in his introduction dismisses the idea that Zeugma and Apamea were twin cities, and emphasizes that they were probably not ‘operating in tandem’ (I, 13). The aligned street grids raise the question of whether the two cities did not somehow co-operate in the layout of their urban plans?
Vol. I, ch. 13 (Aylward) is an essential context description relating the various stratigraphic situations in each trench to each other. Each layer and its context is described and set in relation to other layers within each trench. This is a most useful chapter, which many archaeological publications can learn from, since it lays out the analytical basis upon which the finds are interpreted. It is dense reading and might not catch the eye of the reader looking for attractive photographs, but again it is a chapter which demonstrates that great attention was paid to the documentation, and which gives interested readers the possibility of forming their own opinion on the finds in relation to the various situations trench by trench.
Vol. II, ch. 1 concerns pottery other than transport amphorae (Kenrick). The publication of pottery is absolutely fundamental to any archaeological excavation, and the publication of the pottery from Zeugma is of the highest standard. A solid introduction is offered on how the pottery for publication was selected. However, it is also clear that if the excavation had not been a rescue dig more information might have been gained about the pottery (II, 1). In fact, the so-called ‘Parthian’ glazed ware (II, 39, fig. 12) turns out not to have been studied in depth because it was not recognized as a new group of material during excavation (II, 1). Such things are bound to happen when working under time pressure and when it is not possible to return to the site to study the material again. However, one must applaud the author for stating this so openly, and also for the high quality of the analysis done of the material which ranges from Hellenistic to Islamic. The glass remains are presented and analysed in vol. II, ch. 8 (Grossmann); they offer an important supplement to the pottery, since glass in many instances is much more securely datable than ceramics (in particular than locally-produced ceramics).
Vol. III, ch. 13 tackles the charred plant remains (Challinor and de Moulins). It is another example both of the high awareness of methodology and of how to present the reader with the sampling methods. A range of plant remains was found including two wheat types, barley, olives, almonds, pomegranates, grapes and a variety of nuts. This study again shows how much information may be gained from plant remains about local biodiversity and trade in foodstuffs. Vol. III in other chapters tackles finds ranging across coins, metal (including the gold objects), textiles, bone and ivory as well as military equipment.
All chapters are equally well-written, set out a stringent methodology and present their material clearly. The editing is spotless and the comprehensive bibliographies are extremely useful. Chapters on coins, architecture, textiles, bone and ivory, wall-paintings and many more are not treated here due to lack of space. However, the first thing JRS readers should do is to look them up online at http://zeugma.packhum.org/index and delve into the wonderful presentation of a rich material archive gained through this well-organized rescue excavation. These volumes will become a standard publication not only because it is now our only access to the important site of Zeugma, but also because it sets the benchmark for future archaeological publications.
