Search

A small Roman bronze figurine of a seated infant was found in Byzantine Shivta in the arid region of the Negev in southern Israel. The figurine was probably part of a sculptural group or part of a vessel or other utensil. This paper studies the iconography of the figurine, and aims to decipher the gap in time between its production in the Roman period and its discovery in a Byzantine context, some two centuries later. We argue that the Roman figurine was readopted in Byzantine Shivta as an amuletic object, and we strive to explain its function as a miniature relic transferred in time, and perhaps also in place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beachrock is a sedimentary rock that forms rapidly through the cementation of beach-associated clasts by calcium carbonate within the intertidal zone. On the southern coast of Israel, Holocene beachrock exposures typically appear as linear, shore-parallel platforms that dip seawards. In the archeological record, beachrock was exploited as a natural resource for various purposes, including the production of querns, millstones, basins, building stones, and other architectural elements. At Tel Yavne, a site continuously settled from the Chalcolithic period to the present day, excavations in the eastern and southern fringes revealed an extensive industrial compound dating to the Byzantine and early Islamic periods. This compound underscores the settlement's economic and industrial prominence during those eras. Numerous beachrock artifacts were uncovered, and this study examines their practical applications while characterizing their composition and microstructure. This research highlights the role of beachrock as a key resource, providing insights into inland–coastal economic interactions in antiquity and broadening our understanding of its use within the socio-economic landscape of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the Hellenistic period, preparatory drawings known as sinopiae were employed as guidelines for mosaicists in creating mosaics. The sinopiae served as the basis for style and content, facilitating the placement of colored tesserae in the supporting mortar. The technology of the mosaic and pigments used reflect the capacity of the mosaic workshop and its master. This work explores a polychrome sinopia that was found under a Byzantine mosaic of an Armenian Chapel in Jerusalem, by a multi-analytical characterization of mineralogical and chemical properties. The composition of the pigments in the black and red areas of the sinopia include carbon black and red ochre, respectively, utilized in the fresco technique. Since colored tesserae are placed in wet mortar, it can be deduced that mosaicists worked together with painters during the executionary steps. This has corresponding implications for historical and artistic specializations at mosaic workshops, with deeper understanding of mosaic production processes. This research also highlights the importance of studying sinopiae under floor mosaics, which is a source of information on the pigments, paintings techniques, and the people who executed the work, all embedded in mortar which is well protected below the stone tesserae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Late Bronze Age to Iron Age transition in the Levant includes the appearance of new material culture that is similar in styles to the Aegean world. In the southern Levant, the distribution of early styles of Aegean-like pottery, locally produced, is limited to the coastal areas of Canaan, making synchronization with the rest of the region difficult. Radiocarbon (14C) dating provides a high-resolution absolute chronological framework for synchronizing ceramic phases. Here, absolute 14C chronologies of the Late Bronze to Iron Age transition in the sites Tel Beth Shean, Tel Rehov, Tel Lachish, and Tel Miqne-Ekron are determined. Results show that the ranges of transitions vary in an absolute time frame by 50–100 years between different sites and that the range of the Late Bronze Age to Iron Age transition in Canaan spans the 13th–11th centuries BC plateau. These chronologies, based on a site-by-site approach for dating, show that the change between early types of Aegean-like pottery (Monochrome) to developed types (Bichrome), occurred over 100 years in Canaan and that the transition occurred in southern sites prior to sites in the north. These ranges show that not only is the Late Bronze to Iron Age not contemporaneous, but also synchronization between sites based on their ceramic assemblages is problematic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question under discussion is whether the dates of the Late Bronze (LBIIB)-LBIII (Iron IA) transitions in three sites in the southern Levant, namely Megiddo, Tell es-Safi/Gath and Qubur el-Walaydah occur at the same time, as has been proposed by Israel Finkelstein in his article in 2016 in Egypt and Levant. Here we respond to Finkelstein's comments. We add some new data, clarify the issues that were raised, and conclude that the Late Bronze (LBIIB)-LBIII (Iron IA) transitions occurred at different times in northern and southern Israel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]