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In 1962, Michael Avi-Yonah of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem returned to his excavation of the synagogue site at Caesarea Maritima. His assistant, Avraham Negev, directed the excavation of four small areas east of the synagogue site and was assisted by E. Jerry Vardaman, formerly of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and later of Mississippi State University. A brief report listed the findings of two domestic structures, mosaic pavements, burials, two fragments of the Twenty-Four Priestly Courses, a "Hellenistic structure," a fragment of a chancel screen, and baskets of Hellenistic pottery. Recently, Vardaman's notes, sketches, and photographs have become available, and they greatly increase our knowledge of those excavations. This paper presents that additional information and correlates it with the information gained from the 1975-1995 excavations in Field G of the Joint Expedition to Caesarea Maritima, a project of the Drew Institute of Archaeological Research of Drew University, directed by the late Robert J. Bull [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the contributions of Frank Moore Cross to the field of archaeology in the southern Levant. It looks at his archaeological publications and editorial activities; the interest he maintained in archaeology even as it developed in several different directions; the ways he encouraged other non-archaeologists in various types of archaeological pursuits; and how he encouraged archaeologists toward a holistic practice of the wider disciplines relevant to the regions antiquity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on the archaeological evidence for settlement, cultural, and economic change in the Sidon's (Ṣaydā) northern hinterland in the period of transition from early Byzantine to early Islamic times (7th–8th century c.e.). The changes were reconstructed based on the outcome of archaeological research at the sites of Porphyreon (modern Jiyeh) and Chhîm in the Sidon's/Ṣaydā economic hinterland. The evidence confirms a continuity, although in reduced form, of occupation after the Arab conquest and a complete abandonment in the second half of the 7th or the beginning of the 8th century. The situation here bears similarity to other parts of Phoenicia, struck at the time with a settlement crisis that resulted in both a reduction of the population and a decline in the importance of cities, among others. These events were not sudden; they resulted from a process lasting several decades and impacting mainly the coastal area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the discovery of a unique and widespread type of petroglyphs in the Western Negev Highlands, depicting human figures with crescent-shaped headgear, knee-high garments, and crescent pommel daggers. It proposes a methodology for dating this style and its historical context by: (1) analysis of presence or absence of specific animal species in the engraved scenes; (2) examination of the occurrence of particular attributes that appear in the scenes within dated contexts across the ancient Near East; and (3) study of the fit between the incised panels' locations and the distribution of dated archaeological sites in the region and the routes connecting them. Based on this composite analysis, it is proposed that these petroglyphs are associated with groups participating in the copper trade that operated in the Sinai-Negev-Edom region during the Intermediate Bronze Age (ca. 2500–2000 b.c.e.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cypriot Late Bronze Age (referred to as Late Cypriot and LBA, 1680/1650–1100 b.c.e.) has attracted particular attention due to textual and material evidence that suggests engagement with the international maritime trade networks of the eastern Mediterranean. A longstanding scholarly preoccupation with interregional trade has encouraged the development of theoretical models that aim to reconstruct the economy of the island and generally view Late Cypriot coastal sites as gateway communities channeling copper to the eastern Mediterranean. Studies have also highlighted the local and regional significance of these communities and have shed light on their complex economic networks. In this paper, we use data from coastal Tochni- Lakkia , an actively eroding site located near two major Late Bronze Age centers (Kalavasos- Ayios Dhimitrios and the Maroni Complex) to add nuance to smaller-scale regional interaction networks along the south-central coast of the island. To do that, we engage evidence from trial excavations and archaeological and geophysical surveys at Tochni- Lakkia in the form of a preliminary report with theoretical approaches that highlight the potential for and role of regional maritime networks and the concept of coastscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeological documentation of imports in a given region can contribute to our knowledge about ancient economy and society. This paper deals with imported fine ware between the fourth and seventh centuries in northern Israel, later known as Palaestina Secunda. Samples of imports from two field surveys covering dozens of rural sites in the region are presented and compared with published assemblages from excavated sites. An analysis of these findings indicates that such vessels were first imported to the region in the fourth century from North Africa and Cyprus and were followed by imports from Asia Minor from the fifth century on. The quantities of imported wares, found at sites ranging from large poleis to the smallest and most remote villages, indicate that these vessels were not limited to the higher social strata but were common and widely accessible. Contrary to previous opinions, the findings show that Jews did not avoid using imported pottery during this period. It seems, however, that Samaritans avoided using these imports, probably due to their stringent purity laws. The paper concludes with a discussion of the economic implications that may be drawn from this phenomenon of abundant imports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a study of the cultural and economic changes from a longue durée perspective as reflected in the animal remains from a nearly continuous occupation spanning the early Iron Age through the Roman period at Tel Dor, a harbor town on Israel's Carmel coast. Such long-term zooarchaeological analyses are currently rare. Focusing on the choice of food, as well as on animal exploitation methods/strategies, the paper asks whether changes through time can be explained in economic or cultural terms, whether they can be correlated with changes in the site's material culture, whether they reflect some change in the site's population, or should be explained in terms of the adoption of new cultural norms. The results demonstrate that during a millennium and a half of Dor's existence, there was very little change in most patterns of animal exploitation and consumption. The only apparent change was in the increase in pig remains between the early Iron Age and the Hellenistic and Roman periods. In view of the constancy in all other exploitation characteristics, and in light of other data from Dor, the paper suggests that this change does not reflect a change in the site's population but rather the adoption of new norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Khirbet Qeiyafa is a small, fortified, early Iron Age site in the Judaean Shephelah, situated on a low hill overlooking the Elah Valley, at approximately the place described in 1 Samuel 17 as the site of the duel between David and Goliath. The main phase of occupation seems to have extended for only a short time during the Iron I/Iron IIA transition. Various scholars have suggested different identifications, most notably Shaaraim and Netaim. This paper refutes previous suggestions while proposing that this site be identified with the ma'gāl, Saul's fortified camp at which David leaves his pack in I Sam 17:20, and reaffirming that the real value of the site is not its biblical identity but its position, on both the geographic frontier between Iron Age Judah and Philistia and the chronological transition from Iron Age I to Iron Age IIA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frank Cross's work on the biblical texts from Qumran Cave 4 yielded a new synthesis of the history of the biblical text and a new framework for the theory and practice of textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible. This paper describes and assesses these contributions, focusing on 4QSama, including criticisms and prospects for future scholarship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Megiddo pottery assemblages of the Iron Age I, IIA, and IIB periods are well known, but those of the Iron IIC have received little attention. In this paper, the Iron IIC pottery assemblages o f Strata III and II are presented and discussed. Based on this analysis, it follows that this period can be divided into two phases: the Early Iron IIC and Late Iron IIC. In light of this proposed subdivision, Megiddo and other key sites in northern Israel are analyzed and chronological and historical implications evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the preliminary results of the analysis of the Iron Age finds from Tel Nagila. The excavations, which took place in the early 1960s under the direction of R. Amiran and A. Eitan, revealed three Iron Age strata. Through the lens of these finds, we reflect on Tel Nagila as an Iron Age settlement on the border between Judah and Philistia, on the ethnic and political affiliations of its population, and how these affiliations may have changed over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mound of Tarsus-Gözlükule is located in the Cilician Plain in southern Turkey at the crossroads of important trade routes tying the central Anatolian Plateau to the Mediterranean and Syro-Anatolian worlds. This paper presents a technological assessment of two different pottery production processes at Tarsus-Gözlükule during the Early Bronze Age--namely, the Light Clay and the Red Gritty Ware types. The Red Gritty Ware appears abruptly at the beginning of the Early Bronze Age, reaches high levels of distribution within the settlement, and remains a distinct production process from the other dominant ware type, the Light Clay Ware, for the duration of the third millennium B.C. Mineralogical, morphological, and chemical analyses from selected Early Bronze Age pottery samples are incorporated into more traditional stylistic analysis to define the technological framework of each production process and to investigate their interaction with the economic and social structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Megiddo's Palace 6000, traditionally attributed to the building activities of King Solomon, has long served as a hallmark of 10th-century B.C.E. monumental architecture. Following its initial discovery and excavation, Y. Yadin and others identified this building as one of several early southern Levantine examples of an Iron Age bīt ḫilāni. This term, appearing in Assyrian documents, has been interpreted by most scholars to refer to Iron Age royal residencies known from excavated sites in northern Syria and southeastern Anatolia. This paper presents a detailed stratigraphic and architectural analysis of Palace 6000 and examines the evidence regarding its identification as a bīt ḫilāni. We propose that Palace 6000 belongs to a group of southern Levantine Iron Age II public structures with a multipurpose "central hall tetra-partite" plan that could function as a residency, palace, citadel, and/or tower. In our opinion, the origin of this distinctive tetra-partite plan is local and should be understood as developing out of the ubiquitous Iron Age four-room house tradition. In contrast, the bīt ḫilāni building tradition was confined to northern Syria and southeastern Anatolia. These two different architectural traditions, with their clearly defined geographical distribution, illustrate the regional character of Levantine societies and cultures during the early centuries of the first millennium B.C.E. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lying on the Lebanese coast approximately 22 km north of Byblos (60 km north of Beirut), the Early Bronze Age site of Tell Fadous-Kfarabida was discovered in the spring of 2004. The recent extraction of large quantities of soil created extensive archaeological sections, which were the focus of "rescue" investigations conducted by the American University of Beirut (AUB) during two seasons in the summers of 2004 and 2005. Over 4,000 ceramic sherds collected during those seasons were published in detail. This paper examines the information gained from the petrographic analysis of a group of 27 sherds from this corpus, which defined and quantified their mineralogical components and investigated their mi-crotopography. This information will be applied to better understand the provenience of the raw materials and its economic implications, as well as in considering the techniques associated with the production of the ceramic objects during this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a late Iron Age I/early Iron Age II Old Canaanite inscription from Tell eṣ - Ṥâfī /Gath is presented and discussed. The inscription derives from a clear archaeological context and is written on a fragment of a chronologically indicative, red-slipped and hand-burnished ceramic bowl. We suggest reading the inscription as two personal names, 'alwt and wlt[…], which we believe are Philistine names of Greek or Anatolian origin. The significance of this inscription is discussed with several points in mind, including the ramifications for dating the typological development and sequence of the alphabet during the early Iron Age; the implications for understanding the origin and development of the Philistine culture; and the problem of the relationship of the personal names in question to the onomasticon of the biblical Philistines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Late Bronze Age settlement was identified at Arediou Vouppes, Cyprus, in 1993. This has been interpreted as an agricultural support village and, as such, forms a lynchpin in the development of political-economic models based on the island's settlement hierarchy. This paper examines the material culture assemblage recovered during intensive survey in 2004, in particular the ceramics and lithics, with a view to testing the interpretation of the site as a specialized production center, ultimately to develop a categorization of a rural community on the island during the Late Bronze Age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arabia lies outside the focus of most archaeologists working in western Asia and is considered to have been a periphery in the past and therefore peripheral to contemporary research interests. The reasons for this include generalized assumptions about human-environmental dynamics and a belief in the necessity of foreign intervention as a spur for innovation and change in arid environments. In this paper, these two assumptions are examined, and a case study from southeastern Arabia is presented which details evidence for indigenous adaptation and a concomitant emergence of political and economic complexity in the early first millennium B.C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of urbanism marks a profound change in the settlement pattern that prevailed on Cyprus during the prehistoric and protohistoric eras. Following the Neolithic "agricultural revolution" that evolved into the "secondary products revolu-tion" of the Late Chalcolithic and Early Cypriot Bronze ages, urbanization was the most prominent innovation of the Middle/Late Cypriot Bronze Age transition. In retrospect, scholars are still wondering why the urban revolution started on Cyprus fairly late compared with other islands in the Mediterranean. However, it is generally agreed that the gradual movement from rural hinterland to coastal towns was not merely an internal socioeconomic process, but rather the outcome of overseas demand for Cypriot copper. Archaeological excavations indicate that the process of urbanization accelerated during the Late Cypriot period, although there is no conse-nsus as to when it started to decline. Given the archaeological and historical evide-nce, it appears that on Cyprus this process was not an isolated local phenomenon. This paper reassesses the state of Late Cypriot urbanism in its wider Mediterranean perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previously, archaeological exemplars of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) period that heralded the advent of agrarian societies in the Levant were very rare east of the Jordan River. Those that were known did not include any examples (of the larger hamlets, usually buried under alluvial fans, which are known from the Jordan Valley. This situation has changed significantly in the past few years, with the discovery of three PPNA hamlets in the arid southern reaches of the Dead Sea Basin in Jordan. This paper introduces the small mound of Zahrat adh-Dhra⊂ 2 (ZAD 2), the most recently discovered of the trio. ZAD 2, dating to 9,500 radiocarbon years, lies east of the Lisan Peninsula on the southeastern shore of the Dead Sea. The well-dated site contains architectural units comprising stone-built oval huts bonded with mortan. It has a rich lithic assemblage of local flint, but it has also yielded several exotic materials attesting to long-distance exchange, and significant botanical remains including cereals, legumes, and nuts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excavations near the Gihon Spring, Jerusalem, were resumed in 1995, resulting in the reassessment of the ancient waterworks. A geomorphological study was carried out on Hezekiah's Tunnel. The geological study by D. Gill (1991: 1467), suggested that a well-developed karstic sinuous crevice was adopted by the miners, who simply enlarged it, hence the curious course of the tunnel. The present paper challenges this theory, arguing that such a long (533 m) horizontal natural crevice, with a uniform width, could not have existed in the rock. Although the method adopted by the miners is not fully understood, it was after all based on planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to provide more information on the socioeconomic organization of mobile pastoralists in the Early Bronze Age and Early Bronze Age IV/Middle Bronze Age I (EB IV/MB I) periods, excavations were conducted at the site of Rekhes Nafha 396 in the Negev Highlands, Israel. The fieldwork was carried out in 1993, 1994, and 1995. This project's methodological and theoretical approaches for excavating a pastoral habitation site are outlined at the beginning of this paper, followed by a report of the excavations carried out in architectural Units i through 3. The fieldwork identified occupations at the site in the Early Bronze Age, the EB IV/MB I, and Early Islamic periods. The excavations of Rekhes Nafha 396 reveal a complex pastoral nomadic system linking animal husbandry with small craft production in the Early Bronze Age. A working hypothesis is that inhabitants of this site engaged in a trinket trade with the population of Tel Arad. There is no evidence to suggest that Rekhes Nafha 396's inhabitants participated in the Early Bronze Age copper trade between Tel Arad and southern Sinai. The petrographic study of the EB IV/MB I pottery, combined with the settlement pattern in the Hat Nafha survey map, provide potential evidence of seasonal occupations in this part of the Negev Highlands. The find of a copper ingot fragment, together with the results of the petrographic analysis of the pottery, attest that the inhabitants of Rekhes Nafha 396 participated in a regional economy that operated throughout the southern Levant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article presents a 12th-century B.C. alphabetic inscription unearthed at Lachish, Israel, during the 2014 excavation season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent excavations at Tel Rehov uncovered a bronzeworking smithy dated to the late 13th century B.C.E. in which a canal was used to position the crucible, as was routine practice at the contemporary site of Qantir in the Nile Delta. The identical formation technique of the tuyeres at both sites suggests that the smith at Tel Rehov was well acquainted with the bronzeworking traditions used at Qantir. In light of this discovery, additional evidence of what appears to be Egyptian bronzeworking practices from two other sites, Tel Zeror in the Sharon plain and Tel Mor in the southern coastal plain, is presented and discussed. Based on these remains and the Egyptian technological choices they represent, it is suggested that, for the first time, there is evidence that Egyptian bronzesmiths were present in Canaan during the period of the 19th and 20th Egyptian Dynasties' occupation, along with potters and other Egyptian craftsmen that have been previously identified in the archaeological record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excavations at Tel Burna, Israel, have uncovered portions of a large structure from the Late Bronze Age IIB, yielding numerous finds that suggest ritual and cultic practices occurred in the building, particularly in its central courtyard. This article presents the finds from the excavations, examining the meaning of the cultic artifacts discovered and comparing the building with the nearby Fosse Temple at Lachish. It is hoped that the discovery and presentation of the finds will help yield important information on cultic practices occurring in the 13th-century B.C.E. Shephelah. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2008, a large number of vessels, animal bones, and figurines were uncovered in a Late Iron Age II deposit at Ramat Rahel. The ceramic and faunal remains indicate the presence of a ritual deposit that was intentionally placed below the floor of the central courtyard of the palatial administrative structure. During Aharoni's excavations at the site (1954, 1959-1962), another ritual pit with even larger numbers of pottery vessels and figurines was uncovered but misinterpreted; we interpret both as favissae. These favissae are evidence of diacritical feasting that took place at the administrative center of Ramat Rahel. The feasting events are significant because they are the only examples of elite feasting found in a palace or administrative context in Iron Age Judah. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assyrian control of small kingdoms in the southern Levant during the Iron Age opened new trade routes and had an effect on the patterns of exchange. This exchange involved tribute as well as trade. The result for small polities such as Moab was the appearance in small numbers of high-status goods with a foreign origin, along with imitations of such goods produced closer to home. At the Iron Age site of Khirbat al-Mudayna on Wadi ath-Thamad (Mudayna Thamad), excavation exposed a walled town consisting of a series of industrial buildings (B200-210), a compact domestic area (B300-312) near the North Gate (B100), and a sprawling domestic area at the south end of the mound, Complex 400 (B400-408). It is in this complex that the greatest number of high-status and exotic objects were located. The elite character of this complex was first recognized in 2004 with the discovery of a Middle Bronze Age "Anra" scarab in what was otherwise a secure Iron Age II context. More recent finds include two glazed ceramic bottles and a collection of alabaster, calcite, steatite, and faience cosmetic vessels. This study focuses on an analysis of these glazed ceramic bottles, their relationship to Assyrian influence/control at Mudayna Thamad, and their distribution in the Assyrian domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the results of the 2013 Spanish-Italian Archaeological Expedition to Jebel al-Mutawwaq, an Early Bronze Age I village and dolmen field along the Middle Wadi az-Zarqa Valley (Jordan). In particular, this article focuses on the discovery of a burial hidden inside a well-preserved dolmen comprising an entire adult skeleton. The pottery sherds and two large scrapers, found as funerary gifts, date the burial to the EB I, identical to the nearby village. The analysis of the human bones and of the associated artifacts could indicate that the inhumation should be related to an important member of the community, perhaps an individual connected to the activities of the Temple of the Serpents, an EB I sanctuary discovered inside the settlement during the past excavations. The custom of removing burials from the dolmens at the end of their use is well attested by past excavations. But the burial of this individual was left inside the tomb for reasons that remain unclear, though we speculate that those reasons were religious in nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a partial response to the paucity of synthetic studies that deal with the countryside of the Palestinian heartland during Early Islamic times, this article concentrates on rural settlement processes and rural-urban relationships in a specific part of central Palestine--the Ramla-Yavneh region--between ca. 640 and 800 C.E. Several excavated or systematically surveyed rural sites, located within the immediate hinterland of the region's urban and semi-urban centers, have been chosen as representative case studies. As demonstrated by the archaeological and historical data reassessed in this study, the settlement history of the rural and urban milieu in the Ramla-Yavneh region was by no means uniform, especially for the local, non-Muslim population which experienced significant changes. The rise of the administrative status of the area after the Muslim conquest and the consequent boost to its development, as well as the militarization of the seashore belt, the oppressive taxation of non-Muslims, the earthquake(s) of 747-749 C.E., and other human- and nature-induced events, both documented and undocumented, all played a role in shaping the lives of the region's population. Also, the settlement of Muslim newcomers, in addition to cases of migration and conversion of the local Christians, Samaritans, and Jews, brought about a gradual shift in the religious and ethnic identity of the region's population and landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five small hoards of bronze coins dating to the fifth century C.E. have been found in the excavations of Sardis, Turkey. These hoards, which close at the end of the fifth century, contain fourth-and early fifth-century coins, which some have thought had been demonetized (and thus should not be legal tender). I had argue that the fifth-century coinage was a creative mix of fourth-century coins, blanks, and official issues which were all passed as official coinage in that century; hoards of small bronze coins from the eastern Mediterranean are used to confirm the assemblages found in Sardis. The many types of coins used in the fifth century should be a warning to archaeologists to use coins only as a terminus post quem for any stratum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Khirbat Nuqayb al-Asaymir, in the Faynan region of southern Jordan, is one of the best-preserved Middle Islamic-period copper production sites in the southern Levant. Two seasons of survey in Wadi al-Ghuwayb and Wadi al-Jariya revealed much about the site and the landscape surrounding it, which during the Middle Islamic period was exploited primarily for mining and pastoral activities. The finds from these surveys, focusing on those collected at Khirbat Nuqayb al-Asaymir, are presented here. A new model explaining the revival of copper mining and smelting activities in Faynan during the Middle Islamic period, linking copper from Faynan to the expanding Jordanian sugar industry, is also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent article in this journal, geologists Amihai Sneh, Ram Weinberger, and Eyal Shalev proposed a new model for the why, how, and when of the Iron Age H Siloam Tunnel in ancient Jerusalem. Here we focus on the how of their contribution. Offered without presentation of new data or discussion of recently published evidence, their model is a refinement of ideas introduced since the early 20th century, mostly by scholars who had little geological knowledge and/or who failed to observe the internal features of the tunnel. Their model suggests that the tunnel follows a natural winding route of interconnected karstic cavities along fissures and bedding planes by jumping from one into the other close to the water table. Although theoretically possible in other karstic terrains, such a model is not applicable to the Siloam Tunnel because it clashes with the geological and other field evidence manifested along the tunnel. Our field observations show no indications of a groundwater water table close to the tunnel, nor does the tunnel follow fissures, bedding planes, or karstic voids for longer than a few meters. Such geological features, where existent, are accidentally crossed by the tunnel, whose route was determined by other considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with an architectural complex dating to the Early Roman period recently unearthed in Jerusalem. The complex, which consists of a large edifice and a purification annex, featured solid dates that mark both its phase of foundation as well as its demise. Accordingly, its construction is dated to the first century C.E.. the scores of coins found buried in the destruction layer inside the building date its end to the time of the First Jewish Revolt in the year 70 C.E. This striking complex makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the urban layout of the Lower City of Jerusalem on the eve of its destruction. In the numerous excavations conducted in the past 100 years throughout the Lower City, no building constructions of large scale dating to the Early Roman period were uncovered. This was the reason behind the widely accepted view of the Lower City as a rather poor neighborhood, lacking wealthy structures. However, excavations carried out in recent years in Jerusalem seem to have succeeded in modifying this opinion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Late Bronze IIB, parts of Canaan were under Egyptian suzerainty. An influx of Egyptian-style objects during this period has led to scholarly speculation about the nature and intensity of Egyptian occupation in Canaan, and whether Egyptians were present in large numbers. The considerable number of burials at Tell el-Far'ah (South) from ca. 1300 to 1150 B.C.E. provides an excellent database with which to examine the significance of Egyptian style in constructing social roles and the social order, as well as its implications for the identity of the burial population. The site is believed to have been an Egyptian administrative base, and a number of Egyptian object types, including ceramics, amulets, scarabs, jewelry, stone vessels, and coffins, were found in the graves. The way they were used in the burials was in some instances distinct from Egyptian mortuary practice, suggesting a transformed meaning; in fact, the whole burial program was strongly Canaanite in nature. Two hypotheses are offered as to the identity of the population burying its dead at Tell el-Far'ah: a Canaanite garrison in Egyptian employ or sent by a Canaanite king: or the residents of a Canaanite settlement established along-side an Egyptian base. In either hypothesis, Egyptian-style material culture played a role in creating a new, dual social identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ottoman and British Mandate village of Suba is located approximately 7 km to the west of Jerusalem, and it is constructed on top of and within, the remains of Belmont Castle, a Crusader-period fortress. The clay tobacco pipes in the Suba assemblage range in date from the 17th to the early 20th century C.E. Within this assemblage, there is one type of smoking pipe, the red-slipped burnished pipe, with disc-base, that apparently is not found outside of the southern Levant. According to Simpson, this smoking pipe is a "Palestinian tpye," and based upon the archaeological record at Suba it is attributed to the mid-to-late 19th century. In this study, both archaeological data and historical images are used to propose a terminus ante quem of 1940 for the Palestinian disc-base smoking pipe. Apart from redating this clay pipe, the results of this investigation also provide information on three methodological issues. First, the people depicted in the historical photographs provide tentative insights on the gender of pipe smokers and on smoking's social context during the early 20th century in the southern Levant. Second, this investigation underscores the usefulness of historical photographs for establishing the date of material culture found in archaeological contexts attributed to the late 19th through early 20th centuries. Third, this study demonstrates that changes in material culture are not concomitant with changes in political administrations and/or regimes in Palestine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Early Bronze Age in central Anatolia (ca. 3000-2000 B.C.E.), a change in the residential location of houses belonging to elites and/or leaders occurred. In the fourth and early third millennia, various sites .feature settlement plans in which village leaders, or higher-ranking residents, inhabited homes in close proximity to main gates. By the later third millennium the trend was to locate homes away from the gates, sometimes behind physical barriers. These changes are concomitant with several plateau- wide phenomena, including increases in population and settlement size at emerging regional centers, and the establishment of international trade networks. The reasons underlying this residential adjustment lie in the need for protection against outsiders while also desiring to impress both outsiders and those living within the community. An additional motivating factor, however, was the erosion of trust between community members, i.e., a "fear of the insiders "factor as societies experienced internal changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines whether or not the sequence of excavation numbers for cuneiform tablets excavated during the 1939 season at Alalaḫ (Tell Atchana) can reflect "excavated dossiers," that is, groups of tablets that were intentionally assembled and stored together in antiquity as a meaningful file. The first half of the article reconstructs the field method of Alalaḫ's excavator, Sir Leonard Woolley, and utilizes unpublished field cards from the excavation to conclude that it may be possible to discern excavated dossiers from the sequence of excavation numbers. The second half of the article identifies and discusses one such dossier, re-editing a constituent text and highlighting the dossier's importance for understanding the contingent political status of Alalaḫ's rulers under the hegemony of Yamḫad (Middle Bronze Age/Old Babylonian period). Appendices provide transcriptions of the field cards for epigraphic material found during the 1939, 1947, and 1948 seasons, a list of the find-spots of the Level VII cuneiform material, and a concordance of publication and excavation numbers for the same. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a response by the authors of the book "Excavations at Ancient Nabratein: Synagogue and Environs" to a critical review by professor Jodi Magness. They state that her conclusion that the synagogues were erroneously dated fails to consider the fact that the chronological range and concentration of material culture at Nabratein is at odds with the chronology she proposed. They mention they were unable to create a top plan of the bedrock due to Israel's antiquities laws which require the excavation to restore and preserve a coherent phase of the building. They mention that a sherd dated to the early Byzantine period dates to the third to fifth centuries and its location makes it more relevant to the second Synagogue dating.

Recently identified among the architectural decoration of the Sardis Synagogue are three fragments of an incised relief depicting four lions and a standing figure. Composition, iconography, and style suggest this represents the biblical figure of Daniel as understood by a local sculptor in the fifth century. The lack of close comparanda, either Jewish or Christian, reflects the relief's immediate working environment and the way religious images were perceived outside the artistic mainstream of late antiquity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cilicia on the Islamic-Byzantine frontier, or al-thughūr, in southeastern Anatolia and northern Syria has been traditionally viewed as an isolated, embattled buffer zone. Yet, it was also the main transportation corridor linking Islamic and Byzantine lands, situated between the Cilician Gates, connecting to the Anatolian plateau, and the Syrian Gates, connecting to the lands of bilād al-shām. Recent survey and excavation of a fortified site occupied from the Early Islamic to Middle Byzantine period (8th to 12th centuries c.e.) in the eastern Cilician Plain offers a different perspective on the frontier. The site can be identified with Ḥiṣ al-Tīnāt, mentioned in sources as a frontier fort and timber depot and port. Its environmental context, architecture, and material culture establish links to local thughūr and wider Near Eastern networks of exchange. Further, the frontier site alludes to the complex symbiotic relationship of a militarized and economic resource-based frontier landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While historical sources describe in detail the 614 c.e. Persian conquest of Jerusalem and the massacre of its Christian population, the archaeological evidence for this event is meager. A careful evaluation of the archaeological record reveals a number of mass graves around the city walls which may be attributed to the conquest and the massacre of the Christian population. At the same time, no evidence was found for the destruction of buildings and monuments in or around the city. A number of monuments were claimed to have been destroyed by the Persians, but no substantial evidence for such destruction was found. It is suggested that the sack of Jerusalem by the Persians, like the Islamic conquest of the city two decades later, had only a minor effect on its physical layout and was not the cause or outcome of a long-term urban decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent discovery of a new Iron Age mortuary stele bearing a relief image and inscription in its original archaeological context at Zincirli has great potential to contribute to a better understanding of the corpus of these Syro-Hittite monuments, several aspects of which remain enigmatic despite extensive recent study. The stele's close affinities to the reliefs of Barrakib argue for a mid-eighth-century B. C. date and the owner's high position in the kingdom of Sam'al. The scene represented on the stele is in many ways very typical, but some unusual features add to the previously known iconographic repertoire of these monuments. The private architectural context of the KTMW stele in Zincirli's lower town also contributes to the reconstruction of the setting and social significance of the other steles of this type and allows a tentative comparison with the "mortuary chapels " attested for other forms of memorial in the Syro-Hittite kingdoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excavations at al-Basatin in Wadi Ziqlab, northern Jordan, have recovered evidence for an EB I occupation at the site, in addition to strata dating to the Late Neolithic and Classical periods. Artifacts and a series of radiocarbon assays indicate this occupation dates to the early EB I. Analyses of the pottery, stone tools, and faunal remains suggest the site was a small, perhaps somewhat isolated, farmstead that was engaged in a variety of domestic activities. Architecture at the site includes at least one substantial structure that may have been a round, sausage-shaped, or apsidal house. Few contemporary sites from the hilly areas east of the Jordan Valley have been reported, so the excavations at al-Basatin give important insights into local EB I traditions as well as contacts with other parts of the southern Levant. The location of the site may be related to Early Bronze settlement expansion into areas suitable for arboriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Natufian material remains include ample evidence for complex social and ritual life, and even heavy "hints" for incipient cereal/legume agriculture. The Natufians were innovative in many ways, particularly in their stone use and stone working. Interestingly, the scores of known Late Natufian bedrock mortars and cupmarks are hardly documented and studied. We use the case study of the Rosh Zin assemblage (Negev Desert, Israel) to show that they are varied in types and that many of them were most probably never primarily used for food or mineral processing (as is commonly held). Rather, some are too narrow to work inside, some are intentionally perforated at their bottom, and some have a stone or a flint core purposefully inserted into their narrow shaft. We believe that such evidence, also known from several other Natufian sites, may reflect behavior patterns that were not part of routine, mundane activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeological scholarship of the Bronze Age in Canaan has long noted and remarked on the discontinuities between the Intermediate Bronze Age and the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age, and the significance that this has for understanding the rise of Middle Bronze Age Canaanite culture. Total discontinuity suggests that there was a break in human development in Canaan, whereas continuity implies that the later era drew on preexisting patterns of settlement and represents a continuum of human development in this region. The question posed by this study is whether the prevalent view of almost complete discontinuity is either entirely logical or fully supported by the archaeological record. Evidence from Tell el-Hayyat, settlement patterns in regions of the Jordan and Hula Valleys, and the recent excavations at the Middle Bronze Age cemetery site of Gesher provide data relevant to the examination of the transition between these eras; it is here suggested that considerable continuity between these periods existed, particularly in regard to mortuary customs and certain subsistence strategies, which indicates that the later era was not marked entirely by new traditions imposed on the previous landscape but instead incorporated elements of preexisting culture and settlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses terracotta figurines from Iron Age Philistia that are made in the form of Mycenaean figurines or illustrate Aegean iconographic elements. Together with new material published from Ashdod, previously unpublished examples from the new excavations at Tel Miqne-Ekron and Ashkelon call for a reexamination of the typology and function of this group of figurines. As these objects may reflect both cultic practice affiliated with the Aegean and specific religious elements unique for the Philistines, they are especially important; they also indicate if and in what manner certain iconographic elements in Philistia developed over the course of the Iron Age. Both previously published and new data are discussed in terms of the typology, chronology, context, function and significance of these artifacts in light of the contemporary Late Helladic IIIC and Late Cypriot III material culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]