The Military Architecture of Jordan During the Middle Bronze Age

Based on the author's dissertation, this volume presents a comparative study of military architecture in the Levant focusing in particular on evidence from the sites of Pella and Rukeis. The main part of the investigation presents evidence from the two Middle Bronze Age sites which are then compared in terms of their defensive architectural features such as walls, buttresses, towers, gates and ramparts. With monumental fortification systems forming a major feature of early urban development in the Levant, McLaren goes on to explore the question of standardisation in these systems, especially in planning and construction, as well as shared knowledge and continuity from the early Bronze Age. The extent to which these military features represented regionalism versus local traditions, and the movement of people, ideas and trends in urbanism, is also discussed.