ABSTRACT
In the third edition of the Cambridge Ancient History, Kathleen Kenyon, dealing with the end of the Early Bronze Age in Palestine stated: ‘The town dwellers of the earlier period were succeeded by semi-nomadic pastoralists, who had no interest in walled towns. They seem to have destroyed the towns of their predecessors, and with the exception of Megiddo, which is a special case, their contribution to the history of towns is negligible.’ This judgement was basically extended also to the Syrian region. Much time having elapsed, it will not seem bold to maintain that the reality was profoundly different, and certainly more shaded than that presented in that, still basic, work. However, naturally not every aspect is completely clear, and much still has to be analysed.
