The founding of a small fortified center on the island of Tyre in the Early Bronze Age cannot be explained without the complicity of a continental center on the nearby coast. Although it is a rocky island with no arable land, it has nonetheless provided an important volume of Combed Storage Jars, cereals, olive pits, and grapes. As an outpost in the sea of a continental center controlling a fertile plain, the island was at an excellent intermediate position between the southern Lebanese coast, the Bay of Akko, and Egypt. Here, we present the preliminary results of the 2019–2020 excavation seasons in Tyre.
insular center; economic autonomy; processing of agricultural resources; local metallurgy; close relationship with the mainland
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