Classroom Visuals

    Themes and Topics
  1. Maps of Mesopotamia and the Near East
  2. Maps of Egypt and Nubia
  3. Satellite and Aerial Photographs of Western Asia and Egypt
  4. Historiography and Methods
  5. Land and Environment: Western Asia
  6. Land and Environment: Egypt

  7. Creation Mythologies and Cosmologies
  8. Language and Writing
  9. Mesopotamian Architecture
  10. Mesopotamian Society, Laws, and Social Structure
  11. Egyptian Society and Social Structure

  12. Ubaid and Proto-Literate Periods
  13. Sumerians: Early Dynastic Period and Ur III (Neo-Sumerian Empire)
  14. Akkadians: Sargon, Agade and Akkadian Empire
  15. Old Babylonians and Old Assyrians: The Old Babylonian Empire
  16. Middle Babylonians, Assyrians, Mitanni and the Hittites
  17. Neo-Assyrians: Neo-Assyrian Empire
  18. Neo-Babylonians, Neo-Babylonian Empire
  19. Persians: Persian Empire

  20. Egyptian History: Predynastic and Archaic Periods
  21. Egyptian History: Old Kingdom and 1st Intermediate Period
  22. Egyptian History: Middle Kingdom, Nubia, and 2nd Intermediate Period
  23. Egyptian History: New Kingdom (Incl. Amarna Period)
  24. Egyptian History: Post-New Kingdom



MAPS OF MESOPOTAMIA AND THE NEAR EAST

  1. Map: Ancient Near East (color)
  2. Map: Ancient Near East (II) (color)
  3. Map: The Ancient Near East (black and white; for printing). Instructions: copy file to disk; open file in any drawing program; in "Page Setup"-commmand, set page to "Landscape"-orientation; print file with command, "fit to page."

  4. Map: Ancient Near East with Precipitation Scale (color)
  5. Map: Mesopotamia and Ancient Western Asia (color)
  6. Map: The Fertile Crescent and Ancient Near East (color)
  7. RELIEF Map: Western Asia: Political and Topographical (color)
  8. Animated Map: Sumer and Elam, 4th millennium B.C. (showing both ancient and modern coastlines) (color)
  9. Map: Southern Mesopotamia (Roux)
  10. O.I. Map: Southern Mesopotamia (colorized)
  11. O.I. Map: Southern Mesopotamia (for printing). Instructions: copy file to disk; open file in any drawing program; in "Page Setup"-commmand, set page to "Landscape"-orientation; print file with command, "fit to page."

  12. Map: Modern Syria and Tell Hamukar (color)
  13. Map: Northern Mesopotamia (Upper Khabur Basin, NE Syria), 3rd Millennium urban sites & survey areas (color)

  14. Progressive Maps: Akkadian Empire from Sargon I through successors (color)
  15. Map: Mesopotamia, Persian Gulf, and Indus River Valley (Meluhha) Trade Contacts (color)
  16. Map: Neo-Sumerian Empire (Ur III, Third Dynasty of Ur)
  17. Map: Assyrian Empire
  18. Map: Babylonian Empire


MAPS OF EGYPT AND NUBIA

  1. Map of Egypt (black & white--for printing)
  2. Map of Egypt (color)
  3. Map of Modern Egypt (CIA)

  4. Reconstruction: Egyptian world view (color)
  5. Reconstruction: Egyptian world view--with Egyptian place names (color)

  6. Map: The nomes of Upper and Lower Egypt Nome boundaries conjectured and standardized.
  7. Map: The nomes of the Delta (Lower Egypt) Exact nome boundaries are conjectured.
  8. Map: Pyramid-temple estates of King Snefru Locations of estates (pious foundations) throughout the country in relation to the pyramid and temple at Dahshur

  9. Maps: Predynastic Egypt, Distribution of Sites across Periods
  10. Map: Three Proto-kingdoms of Upper Egypt Prior to the political consolidation of Upper Egypt under Hierakonpolis

  11. Map: Egyptian Delta Old Coastline (Reconstruction)
  12. Map: Egyptian Delta 7 Branches of the Nile River
  13. Map: Egyptian Delta in the Middle Kingdom

  14. Map: Ancient Nubia (color, reduced)
  15. Map: Ancient Nubia (black & white, detail)

  16. Map: Second Cataract Region: The Forts of Amenemhat I
  17. Map: Second Cataract Region: The Forts of Sesostris III
  18. Map: Second Intermediate Period Political Kingdoms along the Nile River

  19. Map: Egyptian Empire, New Kingdom
  20. Map: Invasion routes of the Sea People through the Near East


SATELLITE AND AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS OF WESTERN ASIA AND EGYPT

  1. Photo: The Black Sea
  2. Photo: The Black Sea: Hypothetical reconstruction of lake before alleged flooding (river courses conjectured)

  3. Satellite Photo: Ruins of Babylon (whole city)
  4. Satellite Photo: Ruins of Babylon and Modern Hillah, Main section of city
  5. Satellite Photo: Ruins of Babylon, North section of city and palace area
  6. Satellite Photo: Ruins of Babylon, North section of city, Hanging Gardens area, Gate of Ishtar, and Ninmah temple
  7. Satellite Photo: Ruins of Babylon, central section, remains of Etemenanki (ziggurat of Marduk= "Tower of Babel")
  8. Satellite Photo: Ruins of Babylon, north section, U.S. Army base, helicopter landing pad (located near or over the Gate of Sin [=Nanna])
  9. Photo: Aerial Photograph of Ur, Temple and Ziggurat Precinct

  10. Photo: Views of the Nile Delta, Egypt, from Space
  11. Photo: Satellite Photograph of Step Pyramid Complex of Djoser
  12. Photo: Satellite Photograph of Pyramid Complex of Unas


HISTORIOGRAPHY AND METHODS

  1. Chart: Sources, Methods and Disciplines in Ancient Near Eastern Studies (traditional)
  2. Chart: Sources, Methods and Disciplines in Ancient Near Eastern Studies (anthropological)


LAND AND ENVIRONMENT: WESTERN ASIA

  1. Chart: Mesopotamia: Topographical Features and Geographical Zones
  2. List: Sumerian Cities of the 4th and 3rd Millennia B.C.
  3. Index-map of Photographs of Archaeological Sites and Topography of Mesopotamia (Oriental Institute web site)
  4. Oriental Institute: The Lost Treasures of Iraq, Iraq Museum Database
  5. Schematic Drawing: Plan of Sumerian Agricultural and Irrigation System
  6. Photo: Present Topography of Southern Mesopotamia: the Road to Eridu
  7. Photo: The Tigris River near Samarra (north of Baghdad)
  8. Photo: Sandstorm in Central Mesopotamia
  9. Photo: Khafajah (east of Baghdad). Accumulation of natural salts on surface of land due to deforestation, over-watering and over-production of agriculture
  10. Photo: Abu Salabikh Leaching of salts through wet ground from over-irrigation and over-production
  11. Drawing: Archaeological Stratigraphy: Nine Levels of Troy


LAND AND ENVIRONMENT: EGYPT

  1. Drawing: Climatic Phases of the Sahara Desert, 120,000 B.C. - present
  2. Drawing: Topographical Cross-section of the Nile

  3. Photo: Partially Collapsed Pyramid of Medum (and the Edge of the Cultivation)
  4. Photo (Quicktime): West Bank of Thebes
  5. Photo: Panorama of West Bank of Thebes
  6. Photo: Middle Egypt Lush Oasis

  7. Schematic Plan: Overview of Basin irrigation system: basins and canals (color)
  8. Plan and Section: Nile Flood Plain, 1500 B.C. (color)
  9. Reconstruction: Basin irrigation system--low water prior to inundation (color)
  10. Reconstruction: Basin irrigation system--opening the feeder canals (color)
  11. Reconstruction: Basin irrigation system--high water level (color)
  12. Animation: Basin System at Work (P. Piccione)
  13. Photo: Irrigation scene with shaduf: tomb of Ipuy (W. Thebes)

  14. Aerial Photo: Nile Inundation at Giza
  15. Photo: Nile Inundation near Giza Pyramids
  16. Aerial Photo: Nile Inundation at Dahshur (with island-village)


CREATION MYTHOLOGIES AND COSMOLOGIES

  1. The Syncretism of Sumero-Akkadian Deities (HTML-format)

  2. Photo (composite): Shabaka Stone: Memphite Theology
  3. Photo: Wall Painting of Ra in boat (tomb of Sennedjem)
  4. Photo: Statuette of Tutankhamun as Nefertem
  5. Photo: Statuette of Ptah (Tutankhamun)
  6. Drawing: Egyptian Conception of Cosmos (plan)


LANGUAGE AND WRITING

  1. Chart: Afro-Asiatic Languages
  2. Map: Distribution of Afro-Asiatic Languages
  3. Chart: Stemma of Semitic Languages
  4. Rosetta Stone, Ptolemy IV Epiphanes, 196 BC
  5. First Egyptian Hieroglyphs: Ivory Tags, Abydos, Dynasty 0, Tomb of King Scorpion (ca. 3200 BC)


MESOPOTAMIAN ARCHITECTURE

  1. List: Sumerian Cities of the 4th and 3rd Millennia B.C.
  2. Drawing: Reconstruction of Ubaid Period Temple Oval at Khafaje [Tutub], Ubaid Period
  3. Drawing: Reconstruction of White Temple at Uruk, Ubaid Period
  4. Drawing: Reconstruction of Temple of Eridu (niched facade architecture), Ubaid Period
  5. Photo: Marsh Arabs Meeting House, interior (viz. Sumerian architecture)

  6. Drawing: Cylinder sealing depicting possible ziggurat (or an altar?), Early Dynastic III period (by P. Amiet)
  7. List: Important Ziggurats of Mesopotamia and Elam

  8. Plan of the City Ur, ca. 2100 B.C.
  9. Street Plan of the City of Ur, ca. 2100 B.C.
  10. Photo: City of Ur, Ziggurat and Priest Quarter
  11. Photo: Ziggurat of Ur (Etemenigur), built by Ur-Nammu or Shulgi, prior to excavation
  12. Photo: Ziggurat of Ur (Etemenigur) after modern reconstruction
  13. Drawing: Reconstruction of the Ziggurat at Ur, combined views (by Sir Leonard Woolley)
  14. Animation: Ziggurat of Ur: Then and Now (by P. Piccione)

  15. Plan: City of Babylon, ca. sixth century B.C.
  16. Drawing: Reconstruction of City of Babylon from west, including temple and ziggurat (color)
  17. Drawing: Reconstruction of City of Babylon from north, Gate of Ishtar (color)
  18. Photo: Modern Babylon, Processional Road (fenced in) along Reconstructed Walls of Palace Complex, view northward
  19. Photo: Gate of Ishtar (original) re-erected, Berlin Museum
  20. Photo: Gate of Ishtar (smaller reconstructed copy), Babylon
  21. Drawing: Reconstruction of the ziggurat of Babylon, Etemenanki, view from south (profile)
  22. Photo: Reconstructed Model of the ziggurat of Babylon, Etemenanki, view from southwest (O.I. Museum)
  23. Photo: Model of the temple-complex of Marduk at Babylon, Esagila, view from east
  24. Power Point Presentation: Palace of Nebuchadnezzar at Babylon (U.S. Marines) (click to download; file needs Power Point to run). Object lesson: how ancient sites and history take on modern meanings.


MESOPOTAMIAN SOCIETY, LAWS, AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE

  1. LOST TREASURES FROM IRAQ (homepage): Oriental Institute IRAQ MUSEUM Database | PHOTOS of archaeological sites in Iraq
  2. Assyrian Winged Bull (Lamassu), Khorsabad, Palace of Sargon II (721-705 B.C.). Oriental Institute Museum
  3. Photo: Stela of Hammurabi and the Code of Hammurabi
  4. Photo: Bronze Statue of Ur-nammu Hauling Dirt for a Temple-Foundation Ceremony (from Nippur)


EGYPTIAN SOCIETY AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE

  1. Diagram: Structure of Egyptian society: King as focus of society, around whom orbit the social classes
  2. Graph: Population of the Nile Valley, 5000 BC - AD 1000 (hypothetical)
  3. Chart: Hypothetical Demographic Development in Ancient Egypt (by Region), 4000 BC - 150 BC



UBAID AND PROTO-LITERATE PERIODS

  1. Photo: Tell Hamoukar, northern Mesopotamia (c. 4500 BC), sloping trench with stratigraphic levels (from bottom)
  2. Photo: Tell Hamoukar, northern Mesopotamia (c. 4500 BC), sloping trench with stratigraphic levels (from top)
  3. Drawing: Reconstruction of Ubaid Period Temple Oval at Khafaje [Tutub], Ubaid Period
  4. Drawing: Reconstruction of White Temple at Uruk, Ubaid Period
  5. Drawing: Reconstruction of Temple of Eridu (niched facade architecture with recessed panels), Ubaid Period
  6. Mesopotamian Bulla with Tokens
  7. Jemdet Nasr Tablet (BM) and Hieroglyphic/Cuneiform Chart
  8. Samples: Protoliterate and Sumerian Tablets
  9. Drawing: Jemdet Nasr Influences on Egypt: Ivory Knife-handle, Gebel el-Arak, Egypt. Mesopotamian motives: master of animals (= Sumerian en) preying animal-motif, and Mesopotamian-style ships with upraised prows and sterns
  10. Drawing: Jemdet Nasr Influences on Egypt: Ivory Knife-handle, Gebel el-Tarif, Egypt. Mesopotamian motives: entwined serpents, rosettes, winged griffin, and preying animals
  11. Drawing: Jemdet Nasr Influences on Egypt: Narmer Palette, Hierakonpolis. Right side (verso) serpent-necked panthers, entwined.
  12. Drawing: Jemdet Nasr Influences on Egypt: Reconstruction of mastaba of King Djet, Saqqara, Dynasty 1


SUMERIAN HISTORY: EARLY DYNASTIC PERIOD AND UR III (NEO-SUMERIAN EMPIRE)

  1. List: Sumerian Cities of the 4th and 3rd Millennia B.C.
  2. List: Important Ziggurats of Mesopotamia and Elam
  3. Drawing: Cylinder sealing depicting possible ziggurat, Early Dynastic III period (by P. Amiet)

  4. Photo: Aerial Photograph of Ur, Temple and Ziggurat Precinct
  5. Photo: City of Ur, Ziggurat and Priest Quarter
  6. Photo: Ziggurat of Ur (Etemenigur), built by Ur-Nammu or Shulgi, prior to excavation
  7. Photo: Ziggurat of Ur (Etemenigur) after modern reconstruction
  8. Drawing: Reconstruction of the ziggurat of Ur [combined views] (by Sir Leonard Woolley)
  9. Animation: Ziggurat of Ur: Then and Now (by P. Piccione)
  10. Standard of Ur: Face of Peace
  11. Standard of Ur: Face of War
  12. Standard of Ur: Presentation of prisoners to king
  13. Standard of Ur: Slaughter of prisoners
  14. Standard of Ur: Line of infantry soldiers
  15. Standard of Ur: Earliest chariots in battle
  16. Vulture Stela: Lagash victory inscription against Umma (reconstruction, front and back)
  17. Vulture Stela: Phalanx of Lagash infantry led by King E-Annatum

  18. Photo: Statue of Sumerian priestess
  19. Photo: Statue of Gudea, king of Lagash


AKKADIANS: SARGON, AGADE AND AKKADIAN EMPIRE

  1. Photo: Bronze statue of Akkadian ruler, name uncertain
  2. Photo: Bronze statue of Akkadian king, probably Naram-sin


OLD BABYLONIANS AND OLD ASSYRIANS: THE OLD BABYLONIAN EMPIRE

  1. Photo: Stela of Hammurabi and the Code of Hammurabi


MIDDLE BABYLONIANS, ASSYRIANS, MITANNI AND THE HITTITES


NEO-ASSYRIANS: NEO-ASSYRIAN EMPIRE

  1. Prism of Sennacherib (c. 704-681 B.C.)
  2. Wall Frieze: King Sennacherib at the siege of Lachish (Israel), 7th century B.C.
  3. Wall Frieze: Assyrian siege engine demolishing the walls of a city
  4. Wall Frieze: Assyrian conquest of Egypt, besieging an Egyptian fort
  5. Wall Frieze: Assyrian siege of Egyptian fort, marching off Egyptian/Kushite prisoners of war
  6. Wall Frieze: Assyrian siege of Egyptian fort, Kushite-Nubian prisoners of war
  7. Wall Frieze: King Assurbanipal Hunting on Horseback (c. 668-630 B.C.)


NEO-BABYLONIANS, NEO-BABYLONIAN EMPIRE


PERSIANS: PERSIAN EMPIRE



EGYPTIAN HISTORY: PREDYNASTIC AND ARCHAIC PERIODS

  1. Drawing: Ivory Knife-handle, Gebel el-Arak, Egypt. Mesopotamian motives: master of animals (= Sumerian en) and preying animals, and Mesopotamian-like ships with upraised prows and sterns
  2. Drawing: Ivory Knife-handle, Gebel el-Tarif, Egypt. Mesopotamian motives: entwined serpents, rosettes, winged griffin, and preying animals
  3. Drawing: Scorpion Macehead, Hierakonpolis. Relief depicting King Scorpion of Hierakonpolis in the ritual of cutting open a dike or canal; dead rekhyt-birds on standards represent defeated people of the Delta-region.
  4. Drawing: Narmer Palette, Hierakonpolis. Left side depicts Narmer as King of Upper Egypt performing the ritual execution of a Lower Egyptian captive. The right side depicts him as King of Lower Egypt inspecting ten decapitated corpses.
  5. Drawing: Reconstruction of mastaba of King Djet, Saqqara, Dynasty 1

  6. Photo: Funerary Enclosure of Khasekhem, Hierakonpolis, Dynasty 2
  7. Photo: Funerary Enclosure of Khasekhem, Hierakonpolis, detail of niched-brick panelled facade
  8. Photo: Funerary Enclosure of Khasekhem, Abydos, Dynasty 2
  9. Photo: Boat-graves of Khasekhemwy, Abydos, Dynasty 2
  10. Drawing: Reconstruction of mastaba of Queen Merneit, Saqqara, Dynasty 1


EGYPTIAN HISTORY: OLD KINGDOM AND 1ST INTERMEDIATE PERIOD

  1. Drawing: 3-D Reconstruction of simplified Old Kingdom mastaba (color)
  2. Drawing: Evolution of Pyramid Architecture from mastaba through step pyramid to true pyramid (Dynasties 1-4)

  3. Photo: Step Pyramid of King Djoser, Saqqara, Dynasty 3: view from northwest (color)
  4. Plan: Step Pyramid Complex of King Djoser, Saqqara, Dynasty 3
  5. Photo: Satellite Photograph of Step Pyramid Complex of Djoser
  6. Photo: Step Pyramid Complex of Djoser, enclosure wall and main entrance
  7. Drawing: Section of Step Pyramid of King Djoser with five building phases (color)

  8. Photo: Partially Collapsed Pyramid of Medum
  9. Photo: Pyramid of Huni at Medum
  10. Drawing: Section of Pyramid of Huni at Medum, Dynasty 3-4: detailing alteration from step pyramid to true pyramid (b/w)
  11. Photo: Bent Pyramid of Snefru at Dahshur, Dynasty 4

  12. Photo: Statuette of King Khufu (Louvre)
  13. Photo: Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) at Giza (photo by Francis Frith)
  14. Composite Aerial Photo: Comparison of Khufu's Great Pyramid and College of Charleston campus
  15. Photo: Giza, Pyramids of Khufu's Queens and Boat-graves
  16. Photo: Giza, mastabas of the Old Kingdom (from top of Khufu's pyramid)
  17. Photo: Giza, Pyramid of Khafre and mortuary temple (from top of Khufu's pyramid)

  18. Drawing: Reconstruction of the Pyramids of Abu Sir, Dynasty 5 (color)
  19. Drawing: Reconstruction of the sun-temple of King Neuserre at Abu Ghurob (Dynasty 5) with benben as cult-focus (color)

  20. Drawing: 3-D Reconstruction of pyramid and pyramid temple of King Unas, Saqqara, Dynasty 5 (color)
  21. Photo: Satellite Photograph of Pyramid Complex of Unas
  22. Photo: Mortuary temples of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II and Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari (Dynasty 11, Western Thebes)
  23. Plan and reconstruction of the mortuary temple of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II at Deir el-Bahari (Dynasty 11, Western Thebes)


EGYPTIAN HISTORY: MIDDLE KINGDOM, NUBIA, AND 2ND INTERMEDIATE PERIOD

  1. Photo: Statue of King Amenemhat (Karnak temple)
  2. Map: Forts of the Middle Kingdom: Faras through the Second Cataract Region
  3. Map: Nubia, Second Cataract Region: The Forts of Amenemhat I
  4. Map: Nubia, Second Cataract Region: The Forts of Sesostris III

  5. Plan: Nubia, Fort of Buhen, Outer Fortifications and Citadel
  6. Plan: Nubia, Fort of Buhen-Detail of Citadel
  7. Composite Aerial Photo: Comparison of Buhen Fort and College of Charleston campus
  8. Composite Aerial Photo: Comparison of Buhen Fort and College of Charleston campus: Detail, Citadel
  9. Photo: Nubia, Ruins of Fort of Buhen (colorized)
  10. Composite Photos: Fort of Buhen (color)
  11. Photo: 3-Dimensional Reconstruction Buhen from the East (river)
  12. Photo: Ruins of Shalfak from the East (1962)
  13. Drawing: Plan and Reconstruction, Fort of Shalfak
  14. Photo & Sketch: "The Gate of Semna" (1898)
  15. Drawing: Nubia, Semna and Kumma Forts (color)
  16. Photo: View of Semna and Kumma from South (1898)
  17. Photo: View of Semna across to Kumma from West (1898)
  18. Photo: View of Kumma from West Bank (1898)


  19. Map: Second Intermediate Period Political Kingdoms along the Nile River
  20. Photo: head of the mummy of King Seqenenre Tao II (Thebes, Dyn. 17)
  21. Photo: Second Stela of Kamose (Dyn. 17)


EGYPTIAN HISTORY: NEW KINGDOM (INCL. AMARNA PERIOD)

  1. Photo: Statuette of Queen Ahmes-Nefertari
  2. Genealogical Chart: 18th Dynasty Royal Family (color)
  3. Photo: Statue of Amenhotep I
  4. Photo: Statue of Thutmose I
  5. Photo: Statue of Queen Hatshepsut
  6. Photo: Statue of Thutmose III
  7. Map: Egyptian Empire, New Kingdom
  8. Photo: Statue of Amenhotep II
  9. Photos: Statues of Akhenaten and Nefertiti
  10. Plan: Temple of Amun-Ra at Karnak
  11. Drawing: Reconstruction of Temple of Amun-Ra at Karnak (color)
  12. Photo: First Pylon-gateway of the Temple of Amun-Ra at Karnak
  13. Photo: Temple of Amun-Ra at Karnak from above First Court
  14. Photo: Temple of Amun-Ra at Karnak from Sacred Lake

  15. Animation: Plan of the Battle of Kadesh
  16. Flat Aerial Photo: Mound of Tell Nebi Mend, Syria (Kadesh). Google Earth
  17. Oblique Aerial Photo: Mound of Tell Nebi Mend, Syria (Kadesh). Google Earth
  18. Aerial Photo: Mound of Tell Nebi Mend, Syria (Kadesh), oblique view, West to East. Google Earth
  19. Drawing: Battle of Kadesh (Karnak Temple)
  20. Photo: Detail, Ramesses II at Battle of Kadesh (Karnak Temple)

  21. Table: Sea People Confederations (Merneptah and Ramesses III)
  22. Map: Invasion routes of the Sea People through the Near East
  23. Photo: Medinet Habu Temple pylon
  24. Drawing: Medinet Habu Temple plan and section
  25. Drawing: Overall view, Egyptian land battle against the Sea People in Canaan
  26. Drawing: Detail, Egyptian land battle against the Sea People
  27. Drawing: Egyptian land battle against the Sea People in Canaan
  28. Photo: Relief of Egyptian naval battle against Sea People (Medinet Habu)
  29. Drawing: Overall view, Egyptian naval battle against Sea People (Medinet Habu)
  30. Drawing: Detail, Relief of Egyptian naval battle against Sea People (Medinet Habu)


EGYPTIAN HISTORY: POST-NEW KINGDOM



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