Description
Book SynopsisThe Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon continues its final report series with a study of the Iron Age I. Following the dramatic collapse of the Mediterranean world at the end of the Bronze Age, new groups emerged across the Levantine littoral. One of those groups was the Philistines, famous archenemies of the Israelites in the Hebrew Bible. This volume shows how Ashkelon became a Philistine city. The volume presents evidence for the arrival of a new group from the West that changed fundamental patterns of life. Ceramics shapes, architectural patterns, foodways, industrial technology, decorative traditions, and forms of writing are all explored in this volume, and each of these forms of evidence shows how the newly arrived Philistines first responded to the Levantine world around them. After settling in the seaport of Ashkelon, the Philistines continued to trade internationally, as was typical of earlier inhabitants of the city, and their ongoing maritime connections provide additional insight into the economy of the Mediterranean in the twelfth and eleventh centuries B.C. This volume represents the culmination of more than thirty years of archaeological research into questions of Philistine culture, bringing together research from more than thirty scholars covering all aspects of ancient life in Ashkelon during the Iron Age I.
The volume spans more than 900 full-color pages with forty chapters. The architecture, stratigraphy, pottery, and other finds are presented in considerable detail, shedding new light on this important period in the history of ancient Ashkelon. It is an indispensable resource for scholars interested in the history of the eastern Mediterranean or the background of the Biblical world.
Trade Review“This volume is well-edited, well-organized, and descriptive. It is an important contribution to studies on Philistine material culture during the Iron Age I. It will ultimately serve as an integral reference point for further discussions on Philistia during this period.”
—Erin Hall Review of Biblical Literature
Table of ContentsAbbreviations
Contributors
Editor’s Preface
Foreword
Part One: Historical Setting, Architecture, and Stratigraphy
1. Introduction Lawrence E. Stager
2. Biblical Philistines: A Hellenistic Literary Creation? Lawrence E. Stager
3. Grid 38 Adam J. Aja
Phase 20B
Phase 20A
Phase 19B
Phase 19A
Phase 18B
Phase 18A
Phase 17B
Phase 17A
4. Grid 50 Adam J. Aja
Phase 9B
Phase 9A
5. Philistine Architectural Conventions at Ashkelon Adam J. Aja
Part Two: Pottery
6. Early Philistine Coastal Pottery
Daniel M. Master, Joshua T. Walton, and Assaf Yasur-Landau
7. The Twelfth Century B.C. Aegean-Style Pottery at Ashkelon
Penelope A. Mountjoy
8. Decoration in Philistine Bichrome Pottery
Meghan Wylie
9. A Pictorial Krater from Philistine Ashkelon
Lawrence E. Stager and Penelope A. Mountjoy
10. Funerary Iconography on an Infant Burial Jar
Kathleen J. Birney and Brian R. Doak
11. Lamp-and-Bowl Deposits
Dana DePietro
12. Petrographic Analysis
Daniel M. Master
Part Three: Other Artifacts
13. Glyptic Finds (1999–2013 Excavation Seasons)
Baruch Brandl
14. Glyptic Finds (1985–2000 Excavation Seasons) Othmar Keel
15. Egyptian Amulets Christian Herrmann
16. Chariot Fittings from Philistine Ashkelon Lawrence E. Stager
17. Jewelry
Abigail S. Limmer
18. Metal Artifacts and Metallurgical Waste
Adam J. Aja
19. Weaving Implements
Joshua T. Walton and Adam J. Aja
20. Ground Stone
Sara L. Hoffman
21. Lithic Assemblage
Francesca Manclossi and Steven A. Rosen
22. Two Bundles of Hacksilber
Christine M. Thompson
23. Catalogue of Weights
Daniel M. Master
24. Cylinder Seals
Joanna S. Smith
25. Stamp Seals and an Impression
Laura Wright
26. Egyptianized Statuette
Dana DePietro
27. Catalogue of Zoomorphic Vessels
Daniel M. Master
28. Catalogue of Faience and Alabaster Vessels
Daniel M. Master
29. Catalogue of Ivory and Worked Bone
Paula Hesse
Part Four: Inscriptions
30. Hieratic Ostracon Stefan
Jakob Wimmer
31. A Seal with Three Signs
P. Kyle McCarter
32. Cypro-Minoan Handles
Daniel M. Master
Part Five: Faunal, Botanical, and Human Remains
33. Infants
Marina Faerman, Netta Lev-Tov Chattah, and Patricia Smith
34. Faunal Remains
Paula Hesse and Deirdre N. Fulton
35. Plant Remains
Mordechai E. Kislev, Orit Simchoni, and Yoel Melamed
36. Fish Bones
Omri Lernau
Part Six: Archaeometric Analyses
37. Flotation Analysis
Egon H. E. Lass
38. An Early Iron Age Assemblage of Faience Beads
Michael B. Toffolo,Eugenia Klein, Rivka Elbaum, Adam J. Aja, Daniel M. Master, and Elisabetta Boaretto
Part Seven: Spatial Analysis and Conclusion
39. Spatial Analysis
Elise Jakoby Laugier and George A. Pierce
40. Conclusion: Uncovering Philistines
Daniel M. Master and Adam J. Aja
Bibliography
Concordance of Stratigraphic Contexts
Index
