Entwicklung und Bedeutung agrarischer Ressourcen in der Südlevante der Bronze- und Eisenzeit

Diese Arbeit widmet sich dem agrarischen Teil der Landwirtschaft, welche von den archäobotanischen Makroresten repräsentiert wird. Obwohl die Südlevante aus archäobotanischer Sicht eine der am besten untersuchten Regionen des Nahen Ostens ist, fehlt eine übergreifende Studie zur landwirtschaftlichen Entwicklung und zur Bedeutung der agrarischen Ressourcen in der Bronze- und Eisenzeit (3600 – 586 v. Chr.). Diese Forschungslücke soll mit dieser Arbeit geschlossen werden. Während der circa 3000 Jahre umfassenden Zeitspanne des Untersuchungszeitraumes war die Südlevante einem ständigen Wandel unterzogen. Neben klimatischen Schwankungen fanden während der Bronze- und Eisenzeit zahlreiche Umwälzungen politischer und kultureller Natur statt. Diese Prozesse wirkten sich mit unterschiedlicher Stärke und Nachhaltigkeit auf den Anbau der Kulturpflanzen aus. Teilweise hat sich die Landwirtschaft auf die natürlichen Bedingungen der Südlevante ausgerichtet. Jedoch wurden auch Entwicklungen erkannt, die von klimatischen Schwankungen losgelöst waren und durch soziokulturelle Veränderungen hervorgerufen wurden. Die Analyse der archäobotanischen Daten verweist auf verschiedene Entwicklungen beim Anbau von Kulturpflanzen von der Frühbronzezeit IV (2400 – 2000 v. Chr.) bis zum Ende der Spätbronzezeit (1200 v. Chr.). Im Laufe dieser chronologischen Perioden gewann der Anbau von Fruchtbäumen an Bedeutung und der Emmer-Weizen wurde allmählich vom Nacktweizen verdrängt. Der Anbau von Lein/Flachs (Linum usitatissimum) war während der gesamten Bronze- und Eisenzeit starken Schwankungen unterworfen, die teils durch eine Trockenphase während der Frühbronzezeit IV sowie durch gesellschaftliche und kulturelle Prozesse erklärt werden können. Die allgemein wichtige Bedeutung der Landwirtschaft als Subsistenzgrundlage ist unbestritten. Die Bedeutung der agrarischen Ressourcen geht jedoch über die substantielle Bedeutung hinaus. In Tell el-Burak spielten der Weinanbau und die Weinproduktion für den Stadtstaat Sidon eine wirtschaftlich wesentliche Rolle. Hunderte Funde von Platterbsensamen (Lathyrus sativus), die aus nahe beieinanderliegenden spätbronzezeitlichen Fundstellen stammen, verweisen auf die kulturelle und symbolische Bedeutung dieser agrarischen Ressource

A Private Stamped Seal Handle from Tell Bornāṭ / Tēl Burnā, Israel

A private seal impression with the Hebrew name "Ezer (son of) Haggai" discovered in the excavations at Tel Burna, Israel. The seal impression dates to the Iron II period and has parallels found at Gezer and Azekah

Food in a colonial setting: the flora assemblage of a short-lived Seleucid-founded site in the Near East

In this paper we present the analysis of archaeobotanical material retrieved by means of flotation from well-secured features during recent excavation work carried out in 2019 and 2020 by the German-Israeli Tell Iẓṭabba Excavation Project in the Seleucid-founded town of Nysa-Scythopolis. Founded under Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175–164 bce) and destroyed by the Hasmonaeans in the later years of John Hyrcanus (in 108/07 bce), the site offers a unique opportunity for observing the dietary habits of its settlers. The large sample size, namely the largest well-secured Seleucid assemblage ever analyzed in the southern Levant, together with its versatile provenance exhibit previously unknown information for the Hellenistic southern Levant vis-à-vis a unique case-study of high resolution systematic archaeobotanical analysis. The botanical assemblage from Tell Iẓṭabba gives a clearer picture of botanical dietary practices in Hellenistic Palestine. By presenting the archaeobotanical data of the published Hellenistic assemblages from the southern Levant, we offer a comprehensive overview of the agrarian resources cultivated and consumed as food at the time and period.German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001736Projekt DEA

Food in a colonial setting: the flora assemblage of a short-lived Seleucid-founded site in the Near East

In this paper we present the analysis of archaeobotanical material retrieved by means of flotation from well-secured features during recent excavation work carried out in 2019 and 2020 by the German-Israeli Tell Iẓṭabba Excavation Project in the Seleucid-founded town of Nysa-Scythopolis. Founded under Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175–164 BCE) and destroyed by the Hasmonaeans in the later years of John Hyrcanus (in 108/07 BCE), the site offers a unique opportunity for observing the dietary habits of its settlers. The large sample size, namely the largest well-secured Seleucid assemblage ever analyzed in the southern Levant, together with its versatile provenance exhibit previously unknown information for the Hellenistic southern Levant vis-à-vis a unique case-study of high resolution systematic archaeobotanical analysis. The botanical assemblage from Tell Iẓṭabba gives a clearer picture of botanical dietary practices in Hellenistic Palestine. By presenting the archaeobotanical data of the published Hellenistic assemblages from the southern Levant, we offer a comprehensive overview of the agrarian resources cultivated and consumed as food at the time and period

Bedrock Installations Used and Reused Outside Tel Burna

In the summer of 2015, the Tel Burna Excavation Project in Israel opened Area C, with the goal of better understanding the adjacent agricultural areas. During the 2015 and 2016 seasons, installations of various sizes and shapes were found carved out of the limeston bedrock. Although some Byzantine and Persian occupation is known at the site, survey results from this area demonstrate the predominance of Bronze Age occupations and Iron Age II finds concurrent with excavated areas on the tell. Rock-cut installations revealed exclusively Bronze and Iron Age finds

The Agricultural Landscape of Tel Burna: Ecology and Economy of a Bronze Age/Iron Age Settlement in the Southern Levant

The Shephelah, known as the breadbasket of the southern Levant, is one of the more extensively investigated regions of the southern Levant in terms of archaeobotanical research. However, studies dealing with agriculture are scarce in comparison to the archaeobotanical data available. The analysis of the archaeobotanical assemblage in combination with the archaeological remains from Tel Burna will contribute to the investigation of the agriculture of the Shephelah. Several seasons of excavation revealed a cultic complex dating to the Late Bronze Age and an Iron Age II settlement with various agricultural installations such as silos and wine or olive presses. In this paper, we present the agricultural features in conjunction with the systematical archaeobotanical sampling, which enables us to reconstruct the types of crop plants cultivated at the site. Grass pea seeds dominate the assemblage collected from the Late Bronze Age complex, which may point to a connection to the Aegean. The Iron Age assemblage is distinguished by a significantly broad range of crop plants which were cultivated in vicinity of the tell. The archaeological Iron Age remains indicate that the processing of secondary products such as olive oil, wine, or textiles took place within the Iron Age settlement of Tel Burna. This first comprehensive overview describes the character of agricultural production in the Late Bronze Age to Iron Age environmental and geopolitical transformations