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Tel Burna is located in the southern Shephelah in modern-day southern Israel. Work at the site has revealed remains dating to the Late Bronze II through the Persian period with peaks of activity during the Late Bronze and Iron Age IIA–B. Occupation reached its apex at the site during the Late Bronze Age, when both the summit and the lower plateau were inhabited. An impressive cultic enclosure, with numerous items related to ritual activities, dating to the Late Bronze was excavated in Area B1, on the lower platform. Excavations of the summit have exposed a well-fortified casemate wall (70 × 70 m) dating to the Iron II. This occupation is clearly related to the kingdom of Judah and it appears that Tel Burna was built as a border site between the largest cities in the region, namely, Philistine Gath and Judahite Lachish.

A few years ago, a domestic donkey (Equus asinus), or ass, was discovered at Tell eṣ-Ṣafi/Gath in modern Israel and determined to have been sacrificed and buried as a foundation deposit beneath the floor of an Early Bronze III house. Since then, three additional complete domestic donkey burials have been revealed beneath the floors of another house in the same Early Bronze neighborhood. These animals were buried within a nonelite domestic neighborhood at the edge of the city. The authors suggest that this urban space may have been the location of the homes and work spaces of merchants who relied upon donkeys as “beasts of burden” to transport their goods regionally and interregionally.

The story of Canaanite Gath begins with the el-Amarna texts (Na'aman 1979; Rainey 2012; Levin, this issue), where it appears that the city was a major contender in the Shephelah power plays of the fourteenth century B.C.E. While some have contended the connection between Gath, Tell e?-?âfi and the Amarna period ruler Šuwardatu (Moran 1992: 384), the petrographic examination conducted on the tablets create a strong link between them (Goren, Finkelstein, and Na'aman 2004: 280–86). In this light, the results of the surface survey prior to the onset of the excavations noted the existence of a large settlement at Tell e?-?âfi/Gath (ca. 27 ha; see:Uziel and Maeir 2005: 56). Yet, the survey results did not allow identification of differences within the Late Bronze Age (LB) between the subphases of the period.

In 1899, Bliss and Macalister launched a brief but intensive campaign of excavation at the site of Tell e?-?âfi/Gath and uncovered evidence for a large-scale fortification system and thick deposits from various time periods. While they argued that the majority of remains, including the fortifications, were of Iron Age or later origin, some Early Bronze Age remains also appeared in their reports and collections.

On-going excavations at the Early Bronze Age III settlement of Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel have recovered a small assemblage of basalt ground stone objects in a residential neighbourhood. As high quality basalt is not found within the Shephelah(the Judean foothills), the occurrence of basalt artefacts at settlements in this region has frequently been cited as evidence of movement of raw material or the exchange of commodities within the southern Levant. However, only a limited number of studies have connected basalt artefacts with sources through geochemical provenance from this area of Israel. Using the geochemical fingerprints from previous studies and an XRF analysis, we attempt to identify the source of origin of nineteen basalt grinding stones using a meta-analysis of previously identified geological sources in the region and surrounding areas. The results demonstrate that the basalt artefacts originated from a wide variety of sources, including the eastern Dead Sea, Jezreel Valley, and Galilee-Golan regions, thereby supporting previously held hypotheses about the movement of basalt commodities from sources within the immediate region. No artefacts were linked to more distant sources (e.g. Egypt, Sinai). These data provide evidence that EB urban centres, such as Tell es-Safi/Gath, were socio-economically connected even for quotidian commodities to other regions of the southern Levant through some kind of system for the non-local exchange of traditionally domestic commodities.

A total of thirty-eight beads, including one pendant securely dated to the Early Bronze Age III, were recently unearthed at Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel. The beads were subjected to analysis by FTIR spectrometry in order to identify the mineralogy and materials used for their making. Among the various materials identified, such as carnelian, steatite and shells, twenty-five were made of faience. The microstructure and chemical composition of two faience beads were analyzed by electron microscopy and are the focus of this short report. Results show that cementation glazing was most likely used for one, whereas efflorescence glazing was most probably used in the production of the other. These preliminary results shed light on the variability that existed in manufacturing procedures and choice of raw materials for the production of early vitreous materials during this period.

Since its start in 2009, the Tel Burna Archaeological Project has had an open-door policy, allowing for anyone of any age to volunteer, with no applied time limit. This inclusive policy has exposed many different types of people to various aspects of archaeological fieldwork and research. The openness of the project is integral to the project's philosophy regarding archaeological outreach, but poses several challenges. This paper presents the project's approach to community archaeology, the problems that we have encountered, and our suggested solutions to those problems.

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.

Palaeoclimate proxy data from different locations in Israel indicate relatively dry conditions with environmental collapse at the end of the Bronze Age and during the subsequent Iron Age. The historical and archaeological evidence, however, supports the existence of a flourishing economy in the Levant and involvement in supra-regional trade networks, which were heavily based on agricultural production. Local environmental data may help to clarify how these seemingly contradictory patterns can be explained.

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.

The origin of the Philistines, their quantity, quality, and status among the native Canaanite population, have all been the focus of a substantial volume of research. However, limited attention has been paid to the fact that at least four of the five primary Philistine cities—Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron—have Semitic names. Four of these five toponyms are known from the Bronze Age historical sources (such as the documents from Ugarit and the Amarna tablets and other Egyptian records), while the fifth (Ekron) is mentioned in Iron Age documents. This paper examines the influence of various factors (e.g., migration, conquest, exile, colonial and imperial rule) on the naming of sites settled by immigrants from other periods and cultures. The results of this examination are then applied to the existing theories regarding the settlement of the Philistines, in order to investigate the choice of location of their cities and the reason for adoption of existing toponyms by the immigrants.

This study presents an analysis of various aspects relating to the changes in cooking vessels during the Iron Age in Philistia and the southern Levant, with particular emphasis on the morphology, manufacturing technology, and regional distribution of cooking jugs. We have combined archaeological data and petrographic analyses to evaluate the technological aspects of these vessels. It is argued that cooking jugs, while first appearing in Philistia, subsequently spread to other regions and cultures. The relationship of this process of dissemination to other factors, such as economic and social changes in the southern Levant, is discussed, and it is argued that the possible incorporation of Philistine cooking practices into the neighboring Iron Age cultures may have implications for understanding the multifaceted, if at times ambiguous, relationships between the Philistines and their neighbors.

Following the excavations at Tel Ashdod, a class of Iron Age II decorated pottery was identified that became known as "Ashdod Ware." In the present study, this pottery is defined as Late Philistine Decorated Ware. Based on its typology, decoration, distribution, chronology, and provenience, it is suggested that this class of vessels, which first appears in Iron IIA and continues through at least the Iron IIB period, is typical of Philistia and was most probably produced at a limited number of Philistine sites (e.g., at Ashdod and Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath). It is also demonstrated that the decorative style of this group represents a development of Iron I Philistine decorative traditions and the influence of late Iron I/early Iron IIA Phoenician decorated ceramics. Although the overall function and significance of this group cannot be definitively determined, it appears to have served as local "prestige ware" in Iron II Philistine culture.

The article discusses the uniqueness of board games from the Biblical world which are made of durable materials, such as stones, pebbles, bones, sticks, twigs and animal turds. It mentions that board games attested from Canaan from as early as the Neolithic period in both public and domestic contexts. It also mentions the Game of 30 Squares, known as Senet in Egypt, the most common board game in Bronze Age Canaan.