Indo-Aryan words in Hurrian

[Stephen Hodge]

Dear Lance,

> >The traditional date is 1500BCE but many also propose 1628BCE based
on
> >tree rings and ice core analyses.
> I don't see how that can be other than conclusive.
I am not sure in what respect you say the above.  The problem with the
tree ring dating (not dendrochronology) is that any number of other
climatic causes could have resulted in the narrow growth rings used to
date Thera and the ice-core are from Greenland where several other
volcanic events nearer tere could have equally well caused the acidic
deposits.  The Akrotiri on-site calibrated C14 data which I mentioned
contradicts those findings anyway.

> I have a copy of his book. It is well-presented and very readable.
> But very few, if any, specialists accept his position.
I am glad you (apparently) enjoyed Rohl's book even if you do not
agree with his conculsions. however he is no the only scholar to have
questioned Egyptian (and thus most ME) chronology. Did you ever see an
earlier book on the same theme but using different evidence --
"Centuries of Darkness" (1991 J Cape) by Peter James et al.  They also
reduce New Kingdom/Late Kingdom by approx 300 years -- thus again
affecting the ME cross-dating based on the Amarna correspondence.
Their view that the so-called Dark Age (1200-800) is dark because it
didn't exist.  The views in this book are endorsed in a preface by
Colin Renfrew and it mentions quite a number of other scholars with
excellent bona fides who also believe there is something seriously
wrong with the dating.  No doubt the hypothesis will need some fine
tuning but there does seem to be a persistent challenge to
conventional dating which has a lot more hard archaeological evidence
than seems to be the case with those who would revise RV dating --
ultimately there must be some links with Indology via considerations
about the Mittani, Hittites and co.  Though published 10 years ago, it
should also be food for thought for those arguing about the dating for
the onset of the Iron Age.

Best wishes,
Stephen Hodge