Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (13 page)

Pharaoh of Egypt in the period
c.
1349–1333 bc, towards the end of the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom. Together with his queen Nefertiti, he rejected the traditional pantheon of Egyptian gods, preferring instead the monotheistic worship of
ATEN
as the state religion. During his reign he moved the capital of Egypt from
THEBES
to El-Amarna. On Akhenaten's death there was a rapid return to the worship of
AMUN
in Thebes.

 
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Akerman , John Yonge
(1806–73)
[Bi].

English antiquary, who worked as secretary to William Cobbett . Akerman had a life-long interest in the study of coins and helped found the Numismatic Society of London in 1836. Soon afterwards he began editing the
Numismatic Journal
. He was influential as the secretary of the Society of Antiquaries of London (1848–60), and in 1855 published
Remains of Pagon Saxondum
, a synthesis of recent discoveries.
[Bio.:
Dictionary of National Biography
, I, 211]

 
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A cultural grouping named after an archaeologically unlocated site in the northern part of
SUMER
(possibly
BABYLON
) that became the capital city of the Akkadian state founded by Sargon in
c.
2370 bc. Under Sargon and his grandson Naram-Sin the dynasty extended the city-state into a larger empire covering northern and southern Mesopotamia as well as the neighbouring area of Elam. The Semitic language that was associated with the Akkadian empire is also called Akkadian and replaced Sumerian as the official language of the region. It was also written in
CUNEIFORM
script which had originally been devised to record the unrelated and quite different Sumerian language. Through the later 3rd millennium
bc
the Akkadian language became extensively used throughout the Near East and into Anatolia and Egypt, in the 2nd and 1st millennia
bc
becoming Assyrian and Babylonian.

 
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ala
(pl.
alae
)
[De].

Latin term for an auxiliary cavalry unit of either 500 or, more rarely, 1000 men.

 
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See
GYPSUM
.

 
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Multi-period settlement site covering more than 7ha near Alaca to the east of Ankara on the Anatolian Plateau. Extensive excavations by Hamit Kosay during the period 1935–49 established the long and complicated history of the site spanning the Chalcolithic through to the late Roman period. Related to the early Bronze Age II Phase (early 3rd millennium
bc
) of the settlement is a group of 13 ‘royal graves’ situated just outside the town. These tombs comprise rectangular stone or timber-lined pits containing single or double inhumations accompanied by extremely rich grave goods. These include royal standards in the form of animal figures plated in precious metals, and a range of weapons, jewellery, and vessels in precious metal. Notable is the very early occurrence of two daggers made of iron with gold-plated handles. As a final act animal skins had been spread over the top of the grave pits, the skulls and hooves being found upon excavation.
From the 2nd millennium
bc
is an extensive Hittite occupation consisting of a walled town containing several temples, residential areas, and a monumental gateway known as the Sphinx Gate. There was an iron foundry within the town, the whole complex perhaps being identified with the Old Hittite period cult centre known as Arinna.
[Rep.: H. Z. Kosay , 1973,
Alaca Hoyuk Kazisi: 1963–1967 calismalari ve kesiflere ait ilk rapor
. Ankara: Turk Tarih Kuruma yayinlarindan]