Encyclopedia > Council for British Research in the Levant
The Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL) was formed in 1998 with the amalgamation of the British Institute at Amman for Archaeology and History and the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem.
The CBRL's main sponsor is the British Academy, but significant contributions are made by membership subscriptions, sale of publications, other grants, and revenue generated by the services provided.
The CBRL currently sponsors a large number of research projects in the Levant, including archaeological excavation, survey and publication. Some of the major projects include work on the Palaeolithic in Lebanon; the beginnings of farming in southern Jordan; large regional multi-period archaeological and environmental surveys in Syria and Cyprus (combining traditional techniques with cutting edge use of satellite imagery and computerised recording); architectural surveys throughout the Levant, but perhaps especially in Jerusalem and the West Bank; and anthropological research on modern societies.
The Council publishes an academic journal on an annual basis; entitled Levant (ISSN 00758914), it is employed to document and promote the research of CBRL members and others in the region. Each issue includes a number of scholarly articles and book reviews.
External links
Council for British Research in the Levant website (http://www.britac.ac.uk/institutes/cbrl/)
Levant (http://www.art.man.ac.uk/ARTHIST/levant.htm) The CBRL's annual journal
'Levant' or in Arabic الشام, Ash-Shām is an imprecise geographical term historically referring to a large area in the Middle East south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and by the northern Arabian Desert and Upper Mesopotamia to the east.
The term Levant is first attested in English in 1497, originally used in the wider sense of "Mediterranean lands east of Italy." It derives from the Middle French levant, the participle of lever "to raise" — as in soleil levant "rising sun" — from the Latin levare.
Today "Levant" is most typically used by archaeologists and historians with reference to the prehistory and the ancient and medieval history of the region, as when discussing the Crusades.
The British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem aims to provide a centre for the study of all aspects of the archaeology, history and culture of the Levant from the earliest times and to encourage research in these subjects.
The British Institute at Amman for Archaeology and History (BIAAH) was established in 1978 by the late Crystal Bennett, under the auspices of the British Academy.
British School of Archaeology in Iraq was founded in London in 1932 as a memorial to the life and work of Gertrude Bell.
Feeds |
Contact