Isotopic Evidence for Early Trade in Animals between Old Kingdom Egypt and Canaan

Isotope data from a sacrificial ass and several ovicaprines (sheep/goat) from Early Bronze Age household deposits at Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel provide direct evidence for the movement of domestic draught/draft and husbandry animals between Old Kingdom Egypt (during the time of the Pyramids) and Early Bronze Age III Canaan (ca. 2900–2500 BCE). Vacillating, bi-directional connections between Egypt and Canaan are known throughout the Early Bronze Age, but here we provide the first concrete evidence of early trade in animals from Egypt to Canaan

The life-history of basalt ground stone tools from early urban domestic contexts: A chronicle from the EBA III of Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel

Recent archaeological excavations at the early urban settlement of Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel present the opportunity to reconstruct the life-history of basalt ground stone artefacts of an early urban domestic neighbourhood. Tell es-Safi/Gath is a multi-period site located on the border between the Judean foothills and the southern coastal plain of central Israel. Survey and excavations over the last two decades demonstrated that it was a major urban centre for the region during the Early Bronze Age (EBA) III. At the eastern end of the site, a neighbourhood of commoner residences (some perhaps associated with mercantile activities) have been exposed. This paper describes and analyses the basalt ground stone tools found in association with this domestic neighbourhood. It seeks to establish the nature of production, distribution, consumption, and discard associated with ground stone tools within a domestic context. The study involved several forms of analysis including typology, macroscopic observations, and excavation data. It is suggested that basalt sources from the northeastern regions of the southern Levant were exploited for the small-scale production of basalt artefacts by non-specialised craftsmen. These commodities were then transported in more or less finished form to Tell es-Safi/Gath where they were further redistributed or sold to the settlement residents. The residents of the Tell es-Safi/Gath neighbourhood utilised the basalt artefacts for traditionally domestic tasks, and ultimately intentionally discarded or recycled them in a few depositional contexts. In summary, this paper presents a unique investigation into the life-history of basalt ground stone artefacts discovered in the EB III occupation levels of Tell es-Safi/Gath. It further demonstrates the potential of ground stone tools for understanding the behaviour and daily life of non-elite people

Reconstructing biblical military campaigns using geomagnetic field data.

The Hebrew Bible and other ancient Near Eastern texts describe Egyptian, Aramean, Assyrian, and Babylonian military campaigns to the Southern Levant during the 10th to sixth centuries BCE. Indeed, many destruction layers dated to this period have been unearthed in archaeological excavations. Several of these layers are securely linked to specific campaigns and are widely accepted as chronological anchors. However, the dating of many other destruction layers is often debated, challenging the ability to accurately reconstruct the different military campaigns and raising questions regarding the historicity of the biblical narrative. Here, we present a synchronization of the historically dated chronological anchors and other destruction layers and artifacts using the direction and/or intensity of the ancient geomagnetic field recorded in mud bricks from 20 burnt destruction layers and in two ceramic assemblages. During the period in question, the geomagnetic field in this region was extremely anomalous with rapid changes and high-intensity values, including spikes of more than twice the intensity of today's field. The data are useful in the effort to pinpoint these short-term variations on the timescale, and they resolve chronological debates regarding the campaigns against the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, the relationship between the two kingdoms, and their administrations

Philistine Religion

Evidence for religious praxis in the Philistine culture of the Iron Age Southern Levant, based on archaeological finds, and some information from biblical literature and ancient near eastern texts. The Philistine culture appeared in the southern Coastal Plain ("Philistia") of the southern Levant (modern Israel/Palestine) ca. 1200 BCE during the transition between the Late Bronze and Iron Ages. This culture is a combination of migrants from various regions in the eastern Mediterranean (with significant Aegean components), of various socio-economic backgrounds (including perhaps pirate groups), who settled in the Philistia alongside local Canaanites. Together, they formed a unique "entangled" culture, which combined attributes of various origins. This culture continued to exist in the region until ca. 600, when the last Philistine cities were destroyed by the Babylonians. The Philistine culture is well-known from excavations in the last century, at major cities such as Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron and Gath, and smaller sites such as Nahal Patish, Tel Qasile and Tel Yavneh. Important finds relation to cultic practices have been found at these sites, including public temples (Ekron, Gath, Patish and Qasile), domestic cult (Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron and Gath), and cultic repositories of various types (Gath, Qasile and Yavneh). The Philistine culture was not rich in written materials, and the small corpus of inscriptions from the Iron Age II (ca. 1000-600) is written in an alphabetic script, using a language similar to Phoenician, and contains minimal information on Philistine religion, including a few names of deities (e.g. Patgaiah, Baal), but very little other information. The Philistines are mentioned often in the Bible as neighbors and enemies of the Philistines, often in a negative manner. While the biblical texts may have been written, for the most part, later than the events they depict, they nevertheless seem to mirror the complex relationships that existed between the Israelites and the Philistines during the Iron Age.Non UBCUnreviewedFacult

Prof. DID TRADE STOP IN THE EARLY IRON AGE? THE EVIDENCE FROM PHILISTIA AND BEYOND

The transition between the Late Bronze and Iron Age, often described as a collapse, is most often characterized by comparing the changes between these two periods. As trade and connectivity is one of the hallmarks of the Late Bronze Age, the lack of evidence for international trade during the early Iron Age is seen of evidence of the profound changes that occurred during this transition. In this paper, I will reassess the evidence for international trade during the early Iron Age in Philistia and neighboring regions, demonstrating that while there was a substantial degrading in the volume of international trade during this period, it did not cease completely. And based on this, what does this tell us about the processes and mechanisms occurring during the Late Bronze Age/Iron Age transition in the eastern Mediterranean

New Perspectives on the Philistines in light of recent excavations at Tell es-Safi – biblical Gath of the Philistines

The Philistines and their culture represent one of the most fascinating episodes in the history of the early Near East, particularly in light of the rich archaeological, biblical and epigraphic data relating to this culture, and the central role in which the Philistines are portrayed in the early biblical narratives. The last two decades of excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath, identified as biblical Gath of the Philistines (home town of Goliath according to the biblical text), one of the five ci..