This library subject collection is focused on the archaeology of the Ancient Near East and Classical world from prehistoric times to around 500 C.E. Works covering the archaeology of two or more major geographical/cultural areas and works on archaeological theory and methods are also included in the scope of this collection, but for these materials, the chronological parameters are narrower and include only historical archaeology (i.e., the study of the material remains of societies that also left written remains).

Publications from the 19^th century to the present represent the bulk of the Library’s holdings in archaeology.

The Library’s Rare and Manuscript Collections hold 197 cuneiform tablets, most dating from the Old Babylonian period (ca. 2000-1595 B.C.E.) and some from the Ur III period (ca. 2100-2000 B.C.E.). The Library’s cuneiform holdings complement larger collections housed in the Jonathan and Jeannette Rosen Ancient Near Eastern Studies Seminar in the Department of Near Eastern Studies.

All are represented in the digital Cuneiform Library at Cornell University, which is hosted by the Library (http://cuneiform.library.cornell.edu/).