Yuval Goren

Special Studies: Petrographic Thin Sections and the Development of Neolithic Plaster Production in Northern Israel

AbstractPetrographic and petrological techniques have been used to examine Neolithic plaster products from several sites in northern Israel. Referring to former studies, the value of different analytical methods for the examination of ancient plasters and mortars is considered. The new data, achieved by the relatively simple method of Petrographic examination, reveal a different interpretation of Neolithic craft specialization and cultural interchange. The production methods of architectural plasters, together with plaster products (e.g., beads, figurines, “white ware” vessels, etc.), differ significantly between sites, even in the limited region of the Israeli Galilee. In most cases, burnt lime was used as a secondary raw material, together with powdered chalk, sand, and clay. In our view, lime burning was a casual, limited activity that did not require intensive labor. Therefore, fulltime specialists would not have been required and, what is more, the complexity of Neolithic society, based on considerat...

The Southern Levant in the Early Bronze Age IV: The Petrographic Perspective

The results of comprehensive petrographic analyses of the pottery assemblages from the Early Bronze Age IV (also termed Middle Bronze Age I or Intermediate Bronze Age) sites in southern Israel are presented in detail. The ceramic assemblages of the central Negev sites, excavated in the framework of the Negev Emergency Survey, indicate that most of the vessels were produced in Transjordan or Judaea and imported. Additional production sources include the northern Negev or the southern Shephela. Evidence for local production of pottery in the central Negev was discovered only at Har Yeruham site but the distribution of the products of this workshop was rather limited. The proportion of pottery from each production center varies from one assemblage to another. The petrographic study also revealed that a main production center for pottery was located in the Jerusalem area, most likely at the site of Nahal Refaim. The archaeological and socioeconomic implications of these results are discussed in detail.

Petrographic Analyses of Fourth Millennium B. C. Pottery and Stone Vessels from the Northern Negev, Israel

This article presents results of a petrographic analysis of Chalcolithic period pottery and stone vessels from the northern Negev. The data base consists of about 400 thin sections from more than 20 Chalcolithic sites. Most of the pottery vessels were produced in the immediate vicinity of the sites, excluding Gilat, which probably was a central site. The Cream Ware were made of Eocene chalk and a few pieces were transferred to sites away from the raw material exposures. A few of the basalt bowls were made of phosphorite and were probably produced in Transjordan.

The expansion of the kingdom of Amurru according to the petrographic investigation of the Amarna tablets

A petrographic investigation of the Amarna tablets has been carried out by the authors since 1997. Over 300 tablets have so far been examined, including 14 letters sent by the rulers of Amurru. The petrographic data makes it possible to trace the territorial expansion of the kingdom of Amurru in the days of Abdi-Ashirta and Aziru. The Amurru letters fall into four distinct petrographic groups. The first includes two letters, which were sent from the mountainous area east of Tripoli, the core area of the kingdom. The second includes four letters, which were probably dispatched from the city of Ardata in the foothills. Five letters were sent from TellʿArqa. This seems to indicate that after consolidating his reign, Aziru transferred his capital to Irqata in the ʿAkkar Plain. Finally, three of Azirus letters were sent from the Egyptian center of Sumur. No Amurru letter was sent from the city of Tunip, which was also captured by Aziru. The analysis of the letter of the citizens of Tunip supports the identification of this important city at Tell ʿAsharneh northwest of Hama. This city was too remote from the main arena of Azirus operations, which was focused on the Lebanese coast.

GODS, CAVES, AND SCHOLARS: Chalcolithic Cult and Metallurgy in the Judean Desert

The origins of southern Levantine Chalcolithic copper metallurgy have been debated for decades. Typological and metallurgical examinations of the copper artifacts from the Nahal Mishmar hoard and elsewhere have indicated a dichotomy between simple tools, made of pure copper by open casting, and elaborate items made by the “lost wax” technique of copper alloys with antimony and arsenic. While the former were considered local production of the northern Negev sites, the latter were prestige objects either considered as imports from the remote sources of arsenic-antimony copper, or local to the southern Levant. In the present paper the results of an ongoing research project are presented based on the analysis of ceramic mold remains that were still attached to a large number of copper implements from Israel. In a previous publication, the Ein Gedi area in the Judean Desert of Israel was suggested as the place of origin of all copper objects produced by this lost wax method. Some new results and simulations of the technique shed more light on the production process and suggest better explanations to the problematic archaeological evidence.

Authenticity Examination of the Jehoash Inscription

Abstract A black stone tablet bearing an engraved Hebrew inscription in ancient Phoenician script has been attributed to the period of King Jehoash of Judahs repairs of the First Temple in Jerusalem. The results of a previous mineralogical and geochemical study suggested that the inscription could have been genuine, leading to the hypothesis that the tablet is a royal inscription that was placed in the Temple. However, a majority of philologists, palaeographers and epigraphers seems to agree that the inscription is highly problematic and should be regarded as a forgery. The present study focuses on the tablets petrography and the oxygen isotopic composition (δ18O) of the secondary materials (patina). The micromorphologic, petrographic and oxygen isotopic composition of the patina covering the letters and surface of the inscription present numerous anomalies that clearly indicate that it was artificially created in recent times and as such is a modern forgery.

The Egyptianized Pottery Vessels of Early Bronze Age Megiddo

Abstract The renewed excavations of the Early Bronze cultic compound (Area J) at Tel Megiddo revealed a cache of 16 Egyptian-looking vessels, dated either to the EB I or the EB III. This discovery calls to mind the Egyptian-looking jar unearthed on the eastern slope of the tel by the Oriental Institute team some 70 years ago. The typological and technological study of this vessel, in the context of the new find, supplies additional support for dating the cache to the EB IB.

Introduction: Migrating Technologies at the Cusp of the Early Bronze Age III

Abstract Khirbet Kerak Ware has long been a magnet to students of late Levantine prehistory, offering insights into the long-distance connections at the edges of the Fertile Crescent. Despite a long history of study, the basic issues at stake—how technologies migrate and did the people who employed them migrate as well—remain unresolved. The approaches taken in a series of new studies published in this issue are introduced.

A Cypro-Minoan Potmark from Aphek

Abstract An amphora handle incised with a possible Cypro-Minoan sign from 13th century BCE Aphek provides new evidence for the Cypro-Canaanite trade during the Late Bronze Age. Manufactured in the Acco plain, this amphorah may have travelled to Cyprus, been marked there, and then re-filled and sent to Canaan, to be deposited in the Egyptian Governors residency at Aphek.

Petrographic investigation of the Amarna Tablets

The Amarna letters are a collection of 382 tablets from the fourteenth century BCE that represent international and vassal correspondence from local rulers in Canaan and Egyptian pharaohs, primarily Amenophis III and Akhenaten. Even though the Amarna tablets are written in (peripheral) Akkadian, the then current language of diplomacy, they reflect a distinct Northwest Semitic morphology and syntax (and occasionally vocabulary), which is attributed to their native Canaanite setting. Since 1997 the authors have carried out extensive petrographic analysis of the Amarna tablets kept in museums in Berlin, London, Oxford and Paris. Their research aims at pinpointing the geographic origin of the tablets and clarifying problems related to the geographical history of the ancient Near East. In particular, the authors look at the following case studies: the location of the kingdom of Alashiya, the expansion of the kingdom of Amurru which was located in western Syria, the system of Egyptian administration in Canaan and the territorial and political division of Canaan.