This project aimed to establish an in-depth understanding of the administration and control of high-temperature (glass, faience and food) industries on an urban level and the socio economic relationship between the elite and the non-elite members of society in Late Bronze Age (LBA) Egypt and Mesopotamia (c. 1650-1050 BC).
Research
The analysis highlighted how elite control influenced these domestic industries, and to what extent this influenced the role of the members of a non-elite population and the urban infrastructure. The project examined the following aspects: (1) a spatial analysis of the relationship between the production of glass artefacts and that of faience goods and foodstuffs using Geographical Information Systems technology, (2) the organisation of workshops and areas of industrial activity throughout urban sites and their infrastructures, within LBA Egypt and Mesopotamia, (3) a comparison of industrial activities within ancient Egyptian settlements and those taking place in contemporary ancient Mesopotamian settlement and palace sites and (4) export and trade facilities and networks, in order to demonstrate how the produce of these industries was consumed, transported.