Yuval Gadot

Archaeological investigations and OSL dating of terraces at Ramat Rahel, Israel

Abstract Dating terraces, the most prominent feature of the agricultural landscape in many parts of the world, is a problem for archaeologists. This study presents an interdisciplinary approach that combines archaeological survey and excavations with direct sediment dating of terrace fill using Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL). The study focuses on Ramat Rahel, a multi-period site located in the southern outskirts of modern Jerusalem, Israel, where, on a defined terraced slope chosen for a small-scale landscape archaeology project, three main phases of terrace construction and use were identified. The earliest phase dates to the Late Byzantine/Early Islamic period, the second to medieval times, and the last to the Ottoman period. The results enable a comprehensive reconstruction of the changing local landscape through time and demonstrate the validity of OSL, when combined with archaeological investigations, as a reliable method for terrace dating.

Fossil Pollen Reveals the Secrets of the Royal Persian Garden at Ramat Rahel, Jerusalem

The ancient tell (mound) of Ramat Rahel sits on the outskirts of Jerusalem. It features an impressive residency and palatial garden that flourished during the seventh to fourth centuries BCE, when biblical Judah was under the hegemony of the Assyrian, Babylonian and Persian empires. Until recently, the gardens flora has been a mystery, as standard archaeological procedures were unable to retrieve secure archaeobotanical remains. A unique method of extracting fossil pollen from ancient plaster has now enabled researchers to reconstruct the exact vegetation components of this royal Persian garden and for the first time to shed light on the cultural world of the inhabitants of the residence. The plaster layers and garden are dated archaeologically and by Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) methods to the Persian period (fifth to fourth centuries BCE), and produced evidence of importation by the ruling Persian authorities of special and highly valued trees to the garden from remote parts of the empire. The most surprising find, and marking its earliest appearance in the southern Levant, was the citron (Citrus medico), which later acquired a symbolic-religious role in Judaism. Other imported trees found to have been grown in the garden are the cedar, birch and Persian walnut. The pollen evidence of these exotic trees in the Ramat Rahel palatial garden suggests that they were probably brought to flaunt the power of the imperial Persian administration. Native fruit trees and ornamentals that were also grown there include the fig, grape, olive, willow, poplar, myrtle and water lily. The identification of the ancient gardens plant life opens a course for future research into the symbolic role of flora in palatial gardens. It also offers new opportunities for studying the mechanism by which native flora was adopted in a particular geographical area and proliferated by humans across the world.

Ancient Urban Ecology Reconstructed from Archaeozoological Remains of Small Mammals in the Near East

Modern rapidly expanding cities generate intricate patterns of species diversity owing to immense complexity in urban spatial structure and current growth trajectories. We propose to identify and uncouple the drivers that give rise to these patterns by looking at the effect of urbanism on species diversity over a previously unexplored long temporal frame that covers early developments in urbanism. To provide this historical perspective we analyzed archaeozoological remains of small mammals from ancient urban and rural sites in the Near East from the 2nd to the 1st millennium BCE, and compared them to observations from modern urban areas. Our data show that ancient urban assemblages consistently comprised two main taxa (Mus musculus domesticus and Crocidura sp.), whereas assemblages of contemporaneous rural sites were significantly richer. Low species diversity also characterizes high-density core areas of modern cities, suggesting that similar ecological drivers have continued to operate in urban areas despite the vast growth in their size and population densities, as well as in the complexity of their technologies and social organization. Research in urban ecology has tended to emphasize the relatively high species diversity observed in low-density areas located on the outskirts of cities, where open and vegetated patches are abundant. The fact that over several millennia urban evolution did not significantly alter species diversity suggests that low diversity is an attribute of densely-populated settlements. The possibility that high diversity in peripheral urban areas arose only recently as a short-term phenomenon in urban ecology merits further research based on long-term data.

PALACE AND VILLAGE, PARADISE AND OBLIVION: Unraveling the Riddles of Ramat Raḥel

Tel Ramat Ra?el, located halfway between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, holds the key to understanding much of the political, economic, and social history of Judah during the Iron, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Early Islamic periods. Yohanan Aharoni’s excavations at the site between 1954 and 1962 began the process of unraveling the site’s millennial secrets, but his reports were preliminary, and he left many issues unresolved. In 2005, Oded Lipschits of Tel Aviv University and Manfred Oeming of Heidelberg University began an extended expedition at the site. The two main missions of their project were to complete publication of Aharoni’s excavations (a White-Levy project) and to open up new areas of excavation at the site. The combination of the two missions has enabled their team to challenge Aharoni’s reconstruction of the site and to present an innovative, alternative depiction of the stratigraphy, architecture, and material culture of Ramat Ra?el. This new perception of the site has also served as the basis for a comprehensive reevaluation of the political, social, and economic history of the kingdom of Judah.

Environmental and Historical Impacts on Long Term Animal Economy: The Southern Levant in the Late Bronze and Iron Ages

Based on a comprehensive database of livestock frequencies and mortality profiles and on high-resolution relative chronologies, we examined synchronically and diachronically conventional assumptions regarding animal husbandry in the southern Levant in the Late Bronze and Iron Ages and arrived at the following conclusions: 1) A recent study suggests that animal economy in these periods was based on strategies of survival and self-sufficiency. We counter this claim and demonstrate how local self-sufficiency was replaced by specialized economies beginning in Iron Age iib. 2) Contrary to past assumptions, we argue that changes in animal-husbandry strategies were dictated by historical factors rather than by environmental ones. The main shift in livestock husbandry reflects enhanced social complexity during a period of transformation in the territorial-political system from local kingdoms to imperial rule.

Tracking Down Cult: Production, Function and Content of Chalices in Iron Age Philistia

Abstract The paper attempts to integrate the study of the manufacture, function and discard of chalices from three sites in Philistia in order to form a coherent ‘life-cycle story’ of this vessel type. The analyses include examination of the sources of the ceramic raw material using petrography; study of the modes of manufacture, employing visual inspection and ethnographic data; and examination of the function of these vessels, using organic residue analysis. By combining these analytic perspectives, the authors shed new light on cultic practices in Iron Age Philistia and offer an alternative view of Philistine identity.

Reconstructing Ancient Israel: Integrating Macro- and Micro-archaeology

The study of ancient Israel’s texts and history has been a keystone of European scholarship since the Enlightenment. From the beginning of the 19th century, biblical exegesis contributed impressively to our understanding of these topics. Biblical archaeology joined in about a century later and provided critical evidence for the material culture of ancient Israel, shedding new light on its history. Yet, until recent years (and in certain circles up until today) biblical archaeology was dominated by a conservative interpretation of the texts and was not given a true independent role in recon-

Metalworking at Megiddo during the Late Bronze and Iron Ages

Over the years, the excavations at Tel Megiddo have yielded numerous metal objects, as well as evidence of metallurgical activity. Here we show that metalworking was practiced continuously in the southeastern sector of the tell from the end of the Middle Bronze Age until Iron IIB. During this time, one can trace changes in the production processes, including the introduction of ironworking alongside the continuation of bronzeworking. Dating and contextualizing this significant development is crucial to understanding the social, economic, and geo-political circumstances under which it occurred. The evidence that we present shows that iron production was accompanied by a substantial increase in iron, as expressed on the level of consumption. This occurred during Iron IIA, concurrent with cultural and political changes, expressed, inter alia, in the architectural layout of the city and its cultic practices. Possible evidence that local bronzesmiths may have been partially engaged in iron production already in Iron Age I is found in the form of a hoard recently unearthed at Megiddo, although iron-working debris has not yet been found in contemporary contexts. The fact that metalworking and exploitation of metal resources are strongly tied to political power and social infrastructure is well accepted.1 Especially intriguing is the introduction and gradual preeminence of iron over bronze (which continued to be produced), a process that took place at the turn of the

The Royal Judahite Storage Jar: A Computer-Generated Typology and Its Archaeological and Historical Implications

Abstract The paper presents an objective, repeatable and independent computergenerated typology of the iron Age II Oval Storage Jar (OSJ), also known as the lmlk or Royal Judahite Storage Jar. It demonstrates that this jar was in use from the late 9th to the early 6th century BCe and that it was distributed beyond the confines of the Judahite administrative system. The OSJ first appeared as a local phenomenon that was limited to the Shephelah, with no particular political or ethnic affiliation. During the early to mid-8th century BCe, the production of some of the jars became standardized, which is evidence of the consolidation of the Kingdom of Judah and its territorial expansion into the lowlands region. By the late 8th century BCe, at least one or more of the workshops producing these jars became integrated into the royal Judahite administrative system that stamped jar handles, and this established the workshops main function until the destruction of Judah in the early 6th century BCe.

TEL AZEKAH 113 YEARS AFTER: Preliminary Evaluation of the Renewed Excavations at the Site

Tel Azekah is located on a prominent ridge in the heart of the Judean Lowlands, Israel. Biblical as well as extrabiblical sources mention Azekah as one of the Judahite border towns of the late eighth to early sixth century b.c.e. that faced the territory of the Philistines. The site was first excavated in 1898–1899 by the British archaeologist F. J. Bliss, assisted by R. A. S. Macalister, on behalf of the Palestine Exploration Fund. In the summer of 2012, 113 years later, excavations were renewed by the Tel-Aviv and Heidelberg Lautenschlüger Azekah expedition. This article presents the research goals of the team, followed by a preliminary report of the finds from the first season, including substantial remains from the Late Bronze Age. Other remains found date to the Early Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age, Iron Age II, and Hellenistic and Late Roman periods.