Taygete Atlantis: Excavation Blogs (Antiquity)

Day Ten

As promised, Grid 38. First a picture of Adam Aja, from the Harvard Semitic Museum and one of the summer school instructors, working with a student in the Harvard summer school program, one in the Wheaton summer school program and a volunteer. Together he and the volunteers excavated a square pit full of pottery. In the second shot, Wylie writes notes as a group of volunteers excavate a street.

Today in Grid 51 they uncovered a stamped amphora, continued work in the street and excavated two surfaces with broken vessels smashed on them.

And in Grid 44 we opened a second 5 x 10 meter area and started working our way through topsoil layers. In our existing square, we continued to uncover more architecture further complicating our already dense stratigraphy.

The weather continues to be wonderful and not too hot. This is good news as we have a long six day work week ahead of us.

Better than Henry Jones jr.? Lydia’s Impression of Her First Week at Tel Burna

Check out Lydia’s impression here. Here is a snippet… 

Excavating Sites: Unlike Indiana Jones, we don’t get to fly a plane without gas, we don’t drive a monstrous tank at full speed across the grand canyon, we don’t jump around on top of the trains heading to more dangers. Jones can always find troubles and cause dramas within 3 minutes. By contrast, we are more loyal and reliable than Jones in that we are basically fixed at our excavated areas for the rest of the mornings. Our most valuable means of transportation to get to the destination is our feet, that help us to climb from the bottom of the tel to the top of our amazing excavation site: a Late Bronze or Iron Age settlement situated at the border between ancient Philistia and Judah! 

 

 

Day Nine

In Grid 44 we continued to expose what appears to be a building, possibly a house, with a courtyard that has a shallow basin or pool. Inside the building we have a room that produced a lot of material culture from iron nails and a copper alloy hook to slag and a possible earring. Sammy had the find of the day as she uncovered a coin while articulating one of our walls. Tomorrow we will start working in the adjacent square where we expect to uncover even more architecture.

Today, a view of Grid 51 where they are making great progress in clarifying the Persian period city plan.

Tomorrow, more about Grid 38 where they continue to focus on the Philistines and the Iron I.

Yesterday, we (Amit, Shira, Miriam and I) were at the tell in the morning, to get things really rolling towards the season.

We first had a meeting with the regional warden of the Nature and Parks Authority, Uri Kaizer, to go over the various points relating to our work this season – since as you may know the site is a national park. We then went to Kibbutz Revadim for some last moment discussions with Ofer and Merav (the staff of the kibbutz guest houses) to talk over details of the R&B at the kibbutz.

Then, we zipped back to the site, and had a visit from part of the Team of the Gezer Water System Project (from NOBTS), and then, Steve, Lisa and Yotam from the Kimmel Center met us to discuss details of their work during the season.

We then headed off for BIU, to the lab, where other team members were busy working on the preparations. And, finally, Haskel Greenfield and some of the Univ. of Manitoba team (Annie, Trent and Jeremy) came to the lab!

So – we had a good day preparing for the excavations – one more of the many hectic days ahead for us in the next two weeks!

 

Aren

Day Eight

It was another day of finding walls in Grid 44. Put a pick in the ground, find a wall.

Grid 51 was very busy today as they dismantled walls and part of a well, removed paving from the Persian period street, discovered a juglet and a spindle whorl on a floor and, to top it off, knocked through doorways connecting rooms. Very fun.

In Grid 38 walls were disappearing faster then you or I could ask what happened to them. Big discovery was a puppy in a pot found in a courtyard. And to prove that Grid 38 does in fact exist, here are a couple of pictures.

This season has yet to produce exceptional small finds the likes of which we have been spoiled by in previous seasons (e.g. masks, figurines, seal impressions, scarabs, etc.). Nevertheless, we have made quite a few strides in exposing the answers to some of the main architectural questions we were asking at the beginning of the season. On this count the second week was very successful – the fruit of which will be seen most tangibly in the aerial photography.

Additionally, we had several opportunities to witness firsthand the state of archaeological research at some neighboring sites. On Tuesday, Omer Sergi gave our team a nice tour of the Azekah excavations and the fascinating remains that they have uncovered in only one excavation season. On Wednesday, Adi Behar Eliyahu presented on microaechaeology. That is the relationship of the hard sciences (chemistry, biology, etc.) to archaeology. Of special import was the uncovering and analysis  of metallurgic activity (both bronze and iron) at a small Philistine shrine at Tell es-Safi/Gath. And on Thursday our team returned to the mothership – where I (Chris) led the team around the extensive excavations of Gath. Before enjoying a campfire party and “poyke” meal prepared by our fearless leader. (See pics below for proof )

In area A- we seem to have finally reached the bottom of an intrusive Persian pit, right next to this pit we uncovered the semi-articulated skeleton of a cow that seems to have died in the collapse of a wall towards the end of the 8th cent BCE.

In area B – we have been able to remove several balks throughout the area – this procedure has greatly clarified the architectural layout of the complex of walls from the 13th. Cent BCE . We also found a very nice fragment of a Mycenaean figurine (IIIb) which is perhaps another hint that this area is cultic in nature.

Next week we will quadruple in size! On Monday and Tuesday we will be joined by two groups of thirty. We hope to move a lot of
dirt!

Thanks Sandy, Elizabeth and Dwight for digging with us! See you next year.

Here are some pictures from the last week.

The Week 2 Crew

Ido and Ornali removing a balk – finding a complete bowl

Elizabeth cleaning in area B

Ido -after removing a balk you need to hydrate

Andrew taking some measurements

Sam and Abiathar working hard in Area B

Straightening the balks

James checking out the balk in area A

KJ – carefully working around the cow skeleton

Marylinne working in area A

Abiathar – thinking about whether these three walls are abutting or bonded…

Matt and Itzick with David and his grandson who joined us for the day – David discovered a plaque with the depiction of Lamashtu around 40 years ago. How cool!

Itzick the Master Chef

Poyke – campfire stew!

Check out some great pics posted by Jessie Pincus -our GPR specialist – as well as other pics, on our Facebook pages:

https://www.facebook.com/TelBurna

https://www.facebook.com/groups/123019474387955/

 

Day Seven

Some fun pictures for everyone today. Last Wednesday on Seminar Day several members of the staff went in search of the Iron Age in a previously unexplored area of the site. Unfortunately, the search didn't turn up anything other than dirt and some random Byzantine pottery sherds. The excavators where joined at one point by a herd of goats which are visible in the background of the second picture.

Yesterday, as mentioned previously, was the field trip to Jerusalem. There are two pictures of Josh as he led the tour. The first in the City of David, the second overlooking the city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was hopping yesterday with an exhibition car race, or so I am told, and the usual last minute running around before the start of Shabbat. As expected, many people stayed overnight in Jerusalem while a few returned to Ashkelon and the Dan Gardens. Tomorrow we are back at it at 4:30 am. Can't wait to see what Happens in Week Two!

Day Six

It is a rare Friday off for the volunteers who are, as I type this, winding their way up the hills into Jerusalem. Today they are on a tour led by Josh who will give one of his usual stellar introductions to the city and then unleash them for a weekend of exploring.

For much of the staff it is a work day as we catch up on computer database entry, prepare lectures and otherwise enjoy a more relaxed day of work. The hotel on weekends is always interesting, very good for people watching if nothing else, and is best survived by eating breakfast early and then hiding out in the room or a cafe somewhere else. Nevertheless, with planning much can be accomplished to set us up for the next week.

Some pictures to tide you over. These come to us courtesy of Grid 51.

According to the Israeli media, the Korean rock start “Psy” will be performing twice in Israel during the month of July!

Perhaps one of his shows will be at Tell es-Safi/Gath???

MiYoung – is he going to be one of your group?

As we already posted way back, the origins of this may be at Gath!

:-)

 

Aren

Day Five...

It's almost the start of the weekend. Only two hours of pottery washing and a lecture to go! Tomorrow the volunteers are off to Jerusalem for a day long field trip and I know many of them will be staying overnight and deservedly so. We had a fantastic first week of digging!

As promised, here are a couple of pictures from Seminar Day yesterday. The fist one is of the microarchaeology presentation, the second metals.

And a bonus picture. Today in Grid 44 we were lucky enough to have Adam spend some time digging with us. We had a very productive morning as he helped us articulate rubble collapse on a floor.

In Grid 51 they unblocked a doorway to the street from one of the rooms in the insula. They also traced a late Persian floor and continued to drop the Persian period street.

And in Grid 38 they worked to expose a new series of floors in their Philistine period building.

Day Four

The best thing about Seminar Day? Sleeping in and enjoying a hotel breakfast complete with pastries and coffee!

Today volunteers attended seminars on a range of subjects including GIS (the survey team), zooarchaeology, botany, metals (XRF technology), microarchaeology, late period site tour (Hellenistic - Crusader) and early period site tour (Canaanite and Philistine) and they learned more about our work on site. I hope to post pictures from some of those seminars later tonight.

To tide everyone over, here is one from breakfast.

For those interested, the lecture that I gave at the Exodus conference (which was mentioned previously here), is now available on Youtube.

Here is the link:

I believe that some of the other lectures from the conference can also be found on line.

Enjoy!

Aren

After a very hot weekend we were happy to have a couple pleasant days in the field yesterday and today. Although, we were sad to see several of our team members head off to various parts of the world, we were gladdened by the arrival of several new excavators for this week and the next.

In Area A – we are still somewhat confused regarding the overall stratigraphic sequence of the summit of the site – but it now seems clear that we have the beginning of an Iron IIA (9th cent. BCE) level beneath our Iron IIB/C/Persian levels (8th-6th cent. BCE). This level came with the discovery of an Iron IIA complete krater – excavated expertly by one of our long-time staff members, Sandy. Hopefully, the rest of the excavation season will bring greater clarity to the complex architectural puzzle in area A.

In Area B – we have reached bedrock in one of the squares and thereby found the largest thing an archaeologist can ever find – the earth This picture matches what we have in several other parts of this lower terrace. Regarding small finds – today we excavated a complete juglet and a lamp – both typical to the Late Bronze Age.

Here a few pictures of the last couple of days:

Complete Juglet from area B

Sweeping a 2800 year old pavement – a father-son affair

KJ digging next to an 8th cent. BCE wall

Here’s Dwight digging next to a large monolith…

Israel searching for the bedrock in Area

Late Bronze Age Wall with a complete(ish) bowl

Beautiful Iron Age IIB pavement

Day Three

Another beautiful day to excavate. So far the weather is really cooperating and it hasn't gotten too hot.

Grid 38 was again dealing with floors and subfloors today.

Grid 51 started excavating today and Kate reports they removed a Byzantine wall (later reused in the Islamic period), cleared out more of the sewer and uncovered a new tabun (oven) in the insula's courtyard.

I will try to get pictures of both these grids posted in the next couple of days so everyone can see more.

In Grid 44 we uncovered a number of walls and a possible plaster floor. One of the walls is quite substantial, it has a later rebuild on top of it, and we anticipate the area will quickly fill up with architecture. Today we also enjoyed a visit from Michael and Meg, the two microarchaeologists on staff.

Tomorrow is Seminar Day when volunteers have the opportunity to learn about some of the technologies we use as well get tours of the early and late period archaeological material. We should have plenty of photos of the day so check for them tomorrow.

Day Two...

Today Grid 38 began fine griding (dividing an excavation area into 1 x 1 meter squares) floors. They are currently in Phase Twenty, the earliest Philistine layers on site. As one supervisor described it, "It's the time when the Philistines stepped off the boat." I'll be very interested to see what Josh and his crew come up with in the next few weeks.

Grid 51 finished all their cleaning today and tomorrow will continue, picking up where they left off last year, excavating their Persian period insula and street.

It is official. Today, as you see below, Ben and Emily were able to locate the new excavation area within the site. The new grid is Grid 44 Squares 2 & 3. Cleanup went faster than expected today, even with baulk cutting, and we started digging after breakfast. A big thank you to Megan who came and helped run the computer for us.

Day One Part II

The first picture is of the GIS team discussing business.

The second is of all the activity in Grid 51.

And the third? Well, you might be forgiven if you thought Christian and Jeff planned to wear the same shirt because really, how does such a happy accident happen otherwise. I'm assured they didn't, plan it that is, and were delighted to see they had in fact dressed in the same t-shirt for their first day of digging.

Everything went off without a hitch this morning in large part because jet lag had everyone up bright and early. Once in the field a lot of progress was made. Josh reports that Grid 38 will be digging tomorrow which is great. Almost as great as having Wylie back in the field in fact! In Grid 51, Kate tells me another half day or so of cleaning and then they too will be digging. Melissa our dig photographer took pictures of both those grids which I should have soon. I will be sure to post them as soon as I have them in hand. And in the very new Grid 44, we had a very successful day. We brought in some heavy machinery to clear off the agricultural overburden and just about a meter down we started hitting walls, one of which you can see Shimi cleaning.

The grids weren't the only areas in action today. The pottery compound was hopping as Jessica, our registrar, worked on getting everything set up and Dan, the co-director, met with other members of the staff. It's great to have everyone here and to get the season under way. Persian period, Philistine period and who-knows-what in Grid 44 here we come!

Just got word from Melissa that photos are on the way so I'll be doing a second post shortly.

The first week of our fourth excavation season at Tel Burna has officially come and gone – and with it came several nice finds and stratigraphic clarifications…

In Area A – it is becoming pretty clear that we have two phases of 8th cent. BCE (i.e. Iron Age IIB) activity. When we put this together with what we know from previous seasons the stratigraphic sequence of the entire site looks something like this:

1. 1948/1967 Israeli military activity (foxholes on the summit)

2. Persian 6th cent. BCE – squatters (poorly preserved walls)

3. Iron IIC 7th cent. BCE – silos in an unfortified(?) settlement (on the summit and inside the fortifications)

4. Iron IIB 8th cent. BCE – well-built buildings with a couple of phases (on the summit)

5. Iron IIA 9th cent. BCE – occupational debris and possibly the date of the fortifications (although they could be earlier)

6. Iron IIA-Iron I 10th-12th cent. BCE  ??? (future seasons will hopefully tell us more – so far a few Philistine sherds have been found in secondary contexts)

7. Late Bronze IIB 13th cent. BCE – western lower platform, large well-built cultic(?) building

8. LBIIA-EB 14th cent. BCE-3rd millenium BCE ??? (future seasons… – so far a few MB II sherds in secondary contexts and some EB sherds from the survey)

In area B – it seems that there is an additional structure built to the north of our large public building associated with the chalices, ritual masks, zoomorphic vessels and Cypriot imports. In this structure we found several complete smashed storejars lying in situ (in place) and several other finds including fragments of chalices, several hammer stones and cooking pots.

Back at the Kibbutz on Thursday night, we listened to several team members present interesting lectures on their specific part in a large project directed at understanding Monotheism in the Persian/Early Second Temple period (sponsored by Göttingen University). Matt, Mette, Lydia, Isaac, and Reed all did a great job – safe travels back to Germany. Thanks for all of your hard work – we hope to see you next year!

All told it was a great first week. Here are some photos from the last two days of excavations…

Ehud and Chris at breakfast

Andrew smiling after finding smashed pottery on the LB IIB floor

2013 Tel Burna Team – Week 1

Sweeping for a picture…

Here’s the picture – LB IIB wall with at least 4 smashed storejars and 3 pounding stones – just the way they were left ca. 3300 years ago

Pottery washing – where the mundane act of washing dirty dishes leads to major theological discussions

We are having some Internet troubles today so I'll keep this short. Most of us already here are just relaxing ahead of the arrival of the volunteers later today and the start of digging tomorrow. I'll try to post something every day during the season so check back frequently to get a glimpse not only of our work but also the lighter side of the excavation.

It was a productive preseason. Can't wait to start digging!

The day started out quietly enough, the wheelbarrows standing at the ready. Within moments the quiet was shattered as grid supervisors Kate and Josh raced to pick their preferred tools...

Well, it really wasn't all that cutthroat, we like each other too much. The empty wheelbarrows didn't stay that way for long as we apportioned everything from guffahs and buckets, and picks and trowels to dustpans and brooms. Kate and I would both like to thank Josh who very generously allowed us to take the guffahs. All he asked in return was to use Lady Hester Stanhope, the pick of choice, for the summer. Happily, we agreed.

The process was not without its moments of concern as you can see with Kate's inspection of the pick she has in hand.

All in all, things went smoothly and we are well prepared for Sunday's start. 4:30 for wake up, 5:00 for the bus! Should be fun!

Remember, you still have a little time to let Robyn know which shuttle you would like to be on Saturday. See you tomorrow!

It's time... FOR TOOL DRAFT!

Tomorrow!

Another reminder. Shuttles will be leaving Ben Gurion for Ashkelon at 3:00 pm and again at 8:00 pm. If you haven't already told Robyn which shuttle you would like to be on, please do so. We want to make sure everyone who wants transportation gets on one of the shuttles. For those of you coming in later in the day, Robyn herself will be taking the shuttle as well so you can meet up with her at the cafe while you wait for Melissa and the 8:00 shuttle.

Today was very similar to the previous day – great weather and nice finds.

In area A – we finished removing several balks and continued to expose a clean Iron IIB context. We are still wishing for more LMLK seal impressions and Israelite Pillared Figurines (perhaps this will prove prophetic over the next couple weeks

In area B – Jesse Pincus began the GPR (ground penetrating radar) survey of the lower platform. We are very excited to see the results of this amazing technology.

In pottery reading/washing – we continued to find more and more Cypriot imports, Canaanite locally made ware (including several goblets/chalices), and another Philistine Bichrome sherd (belying an earlier Iron I/11th cent. BCE phase of the site).

In the evening, the team had the great privilege of listening to a very interesting lecture on Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah by Dr. Shawn Zellig Aster from Bar Ilan University. Besides the fascinating and well-presented lecture it was a rare privilege to first hear about the “Azekah Inscription” and then simply look out the western window of the lecture hall and see the city that is mentioned in the Neo-Assyrian late 8th cent. BCE text. (see below for full text from Context of Scripture) Only in Israel… Thanks goes to Dr. Aster for providing us with a great lecture that caused a lively discussion afterwards.

Here are a few shots from the days work.

Jesse collecting GPR data

Jeremy and Amy digging up several complete LB IIB storejars in B

Reed and Dina sifting, sifting and more sifting in Area B

Area A pavement (8th cent. BCE)

Jesse and Matt working hard on the GPR scan

“Azekah Inscription”

1–2 (scattered signs)
3 [ Ashur, my lord, support]ed me and to the land of Ju[dah I marched. In] the course of my campaign, the tribute of the ki[ngs of ... I received].
4 [ by the mig]ht (?) of Ashur, my lord, the district [of Hezek]iah of Judah, like [ ]
5 [ ] the city of Azekah,a his stronghold, which is between my [ ] and the land of Judah [ ]
6 [ ] located on a mountain peak, like countless pointed ir[on] daggers, reaching to high heaven
7 [ ] were strong and rivaled the highest mountains; at its sight, as if from the sky [ ]
8 [by packed-down ra]mps, and applying mighty (?) battering rams, infantry attacks by min[es ]
9 [ the approach of my cav]alry they saw, and heard the sound of Ashur’s mighty troops and they were afraid [ ]
10 [ I besieged (?)] I conquered, I carried off its spoil. I tore down, I destroyed [ ]
11 [ the city X] a royal [city] of the Philistines,b which He[zek]iah had taken and fortified for himself [ ]
12 [ ] (scattered signs) [ ] like a tree [ ]
13 [ ] surrounded by great t[o]wers, most difficult [ ]
14 [ ] a palace, like a mountain, was barred in from of them, high [ ]
15 [ ] it was dark, and the sun never shone on it, its waters were located in dar[kn]ess, its outflow [ ]
16 [ ] its mo[uth (?)] was cut with axes and a moat was dug around it [ ]
17 [ soldiers] skilled in battle, he stationed in it, he girded his weapons, in order to [ ]
18 [ ] I had the people of Amurru,1 all of them, carry earth [ ]
19 [ against them. For a third time, [ ] great, like a pot [I smashed ]

20 [ cattle and sh]eep, from its midst I t[ook out, and as] spo[il I counted.]
21 (illegible signs)

William W. Hallo and K. Lawson Younger Jr., eds., Monumental Inscriptions from the Biblical World (COS 2; Accordance electronic ed. Leiden: Brill, 2003), 304-305.

Another busy day in the compound with everyone hard at work on their different projects. We are well into our routine and will be happy, I'm sure, to have things mixed up on Saturday when everyone arrives. Final preparations for the season are underway -- tools are being inspected, routers are being tested in the field, laptops are being put through their paces and the breakfast arrangements have been made.

Volunteers, if you are arriving Saturday and have not asked for a seat on one of the shuttles, please get in touch with Robyn at Harvard and let her know which one you would like to be on, the 3:00 or 8:00 ride. If she doesn't hear from you, she will put you on whichever one makes the most sense with your arrival time (so don't worry about being left behind). On your ride down to Ashkelon Melissa, the volunteer coordinator, will inundate you with useful information, the most important piece of which may very well be your grid assignments. Sunday's wake-up call will come quickly, at 4:00 am, and the buses will leave promptly at 5:00 for our first day of work. Best way to get over jet lag EVER.

Day 2 at our excavations saw several new interesting developments.

In area A – we are continuing to remove several sections (i.e. balks/baulks) to reveal the full context of the large Iron IIB (8th cent. BCE) building that we have been excavating since last season.

In area B – we were able to make some strides in determining the layout of the large “cultic” building. In addition, over the next several days – Jessie Pinchus – the dig’s GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) specialist will begin to conduct a GPR scan of the lower eastern platform (i.e. Area B). The purpose of this project is to determine the architectural density in this area of the tell. In other words – we want to know where the buildings are before we begin digging them

In pottery washing – we had several nice pieces pop-up, including some Cypriot imports from B (e.g. “bilbil” – base ring) and a few Philistine Bichrome (i.e. Philistine 2) from A. Our most significant find from the pottery reading probably was a Middle Bronze Age IIC (ca. 1650-1550) “red, white and blue” ware sherd. Its presence in the lowest level of Area B beneath the Late Bronze Age IIB material (13th cent. BCE) indicates that there is an earlier occupational level at Tel Burna from this the Middle Bronze Age II.

Middle Bronze Age IIC – Red, White and Blue Ware from a fill in area B

Removing a Balk in Area B exposing an LB Wall

Happy Working

Smiles all around

Jessie Pinchus measuring out the GPR square

And now, the lighter side of the excavation...

Yes, Robyn did bring her own Starbucks cup for her two week stint in Ashkelon this summer. Happily she has put it to good use as we have enjoyed French press coffee on a near daily basis.

Food, in fact, becomes very important during the season. Though the hotel food is plentiful, and yes that is a plate of pastries n the table in front of Robyn and no she did not eat all of them herself, and is well prepared there isn't a great deal of variety. A week or two into the season, trips to the Russian Market for ice cream, jaunts down to the Marina for pizza, and forays into Afridar for burgers become ever more popular and frequent.

We are lucky, however, and quite honestly spoiled to be fed by the Dan Gardens Hotel. During the preseason and postseason breakfast is in the hotel every morning where we feast on pastries, bread, cereal, yogurt and granola, a buffet of salads and cheeses, a variety of eggs and for the really brave an assortment of pickled fish. The big bonus is the addition of a coffee machine that can make an espresso or latte at the touch of the button. This is the same breakfast that we will all enjoy Saturday mornings during the dig season. Lunch and dinner are very similar and generally consist of hot and cold buffets as well as an extensive dessert/fruit selection. There is something for everyone and the choices can accommodate almost any diet plan.

Of course, breakfast in the field is a big deal too. And I'm pleased to report that it is equally plentiful if not quite as exciting. We usually get multiple types of bread, yogurt, vegetables, cheese, one hot dish (the type varies) and plenty of fresh fruit. Speaking of fruit, if you want some for "fruit break", our late morning break while in the field, you will need to save some from breakfast. I'm sure I'm forgetting something but these are the basics. Interesting, while many people lose weight on the excavation, the work is strenuous after all, many manage to somehow gain weight. (I've been told already this summer that the new dessert lineup is rather delicious.) Fortunately, for the really ambitious there is a gym.

So, Robyn and her coffee and, in case you didn't see the tweet, the lovely tea with mint and cookies we enjoyed in the compound this morning as we all worked on our various projects.

As I briefly mentioned previously, in the last few days I have been participating in a fascinating conference “Out of Egypt: Israel’s Exodus between Text and Memory, History and Imagination”, at UCSD (at the CALIT2 institute). The conference, which was for invitees only, included a group of historians, archaeologists, biblical scholars, Egyptologists, geoscientists, and others. A wide variety of views and opinions about the Exodus were voiced in the meeting, from those who accept it as a largely historical event, to those who see it as a largely mythical account – and many views in between. The papers given at the meeting, and a few by those that could not make it to the conference, will be published in the future and should provide a very important source for the inter- and multi-disciplinary study, and range of views, about this formative tradition of Israel.

The paper that I presented, “Can Archaeological Correlates of the Mnemo-Narratives of Exodus be Found?” dealt with seeing the Exodus as a long-term development of narratives of collective memory and how they coalesced to form what we now know as the Exodus story.

As I also mentioned previously (see above), this Wednesday, Prof. W. Propp will be giving a popular lecture on the Exodus at UCSD. And, not to forget, all who can should visit the excellent exhibition, curated by Prof. Tom Levy, in which the environmental, cultural and reception history of the Exodus is presented – using fantastically impressive cutting-edge digital multi-media technology.

Excellent conference – and thanks to Tom and the organizers for putting this together!

 

Aren

Yesterday, we began our summer season, setting up camp, washing pottery and getting to know everyone.

Today we headed up to the field for our first day in summer 2013. We spent some time putting up tents and looking around and getting everyone oriented, and then we broke up into two teams, working in Area B on the LB cultic area and in Area A on the large Iron Age IIB building.  Although some cleaning was necessary, we got right down to work and ended up with a very productive day, thanks to our great group!!! thanks to all of them for a hard day’s work – hope they enjoyed it.  this is quite a diverse group with participants form the USA< Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, Australia, Denmark and Israel, including several Biblical text scholars.  Here are some shots from today:

The Bull waiting for us in the morning

 

Working to put up tents

Chris explaining to his crew

More bulls taking a dirt bath

Neria taking down a balk

All smiles working in area A

Andrew showing off his new/old weight

Ehud showing off his new/old lead weight

Plenty of olive seeds, barley and in the case a grape seed for Andrea!

 

Preseason Day Fourteen

Less than a week out and anticipation is building. I'll mention pickup arrangements a couple of times this week so please excuse the redundancy. We just want to make sure we reach as many people as possible.

If you are arriving at Ben Gurion airport on Saturday you have a couple of options. There will be two shuttles picking up and bringing people to Ashkelon. The first will be at 3:00 pm and the second at 8:00 pm. Both shuttles will be led by our volunteer coordinator Melissa Aja. When you exit customs with your luggage in tow you will see a coffee shop off to the left. Melissa will meet everyone there. We strongly recommend waiting for the shuttles because other transportation, while available if you want to take a cab, will be expensive since it is Shabbat. Of course, if you wait until after Shabbat then the trains and buses will start running but that would get you in rather late ahead of your first 4:30 am wake-up call. So, best recommendation? Meet Melissa and ride down on one of the shuttles.

In other news, projects continue. Today, Josh, one of the grid supervisors, and Dan, the co-director laid out Iron I pottery to review with another co-author on a book chapter they are writing. Both the Islamic glass and Islamic pottery collections also received attention today.

Preseason Day Thirteen

Early morning in the compound. Tools are lined up which can mean only one thing -- tool draft will be happening any day now. This is the process by which the grid supervisors divvy up the tools. First task? To make sure we have enough tools for each grid. Second? To make sure some of the tools are in tip top shape (yes, every grid gets a clunker or two).

Another staff member arrives tomorrow and then one more again on Wednesday. The work load is increasing and so is the heat, sure signs the dig season is right around the corner.

Preseason Day Twelve

Quiet day working on research projects.

This is a view from the hotel. Lots of construction in the area. You can just make out the Mediterranean Sea in the background.

Preseason Day Twelve

Another sunny, beautiful day in Ashkelon. This is a view from the hotel. Lots of construction in the area. If you look carefully you can see the Mediterranean Sea just beyond the buildings under construction.

Preseason Day Twelve

A view out of our window. Lots of construction in the city including right along the beach. If you look closely, you can see the Mediterranean just beyond the buildings under construction.

Preseason Day Eleven

Work continues much as it has all week. Today it was a Lab morning and this afternoon we have moved on to various projects including lecture writing, the Grid 47 theatre publication, OCHRE management, and computer setup. It's a short afternoon as the weekend is about to hit. The good news is that the hot winds have not materialized, at least today. Yesterday, the air was a pleasant brown color and by the end of the afternoon we were were all wearing an extra layer of grime. We'll just have to wait and see if the really bad weather hits Sunday as forecast.

We are just about a week away from the start of the season! Next week more staff members will arrive and then the volunteers on Saturday. More about volunteer arrival to follow later this week but a quick word now. There were be two shuttles from Ben Gurion down to Ashkelon next Saturday. The first will be at 3:00, the second at 8:00. Check back for more information.

Preseason Day Ten

Question of the day, wall or not a wall? Modern or ancient? These are questions we hope to answer once work starts in the new area on top of the South Tell. And yes, we walk the area, see things like this line of stones and we wonder whether or not they might be a wall. The first picture is of the stones in question.

Lots of other work going on today. Ben continued setting up computers, Josh, Sarah, John and I worked on pottery projects and Robyn, who arrived yesterday evening, started working on the Islamic glass collection. The second picture shows Robyn at work.

Hot and windy today. A taste of what is supposed to arrive this weekend -- the hot winds from Egypt.

Preseason Day Nine

More of the same today. Again, we spent the morning going through pottery in the compound. This afternoon several of us are working at the lab while Ben has gone to the field to map the area of the GPR survey done on top of the South Tell a few weeks ago.

Preseason Day 8

Ben has arrived and thus begins the annual rite of setting up all the dig computers. As you can see, it is just Ben and a room full of computers. For everyone else, it was another day of pottery in the compound.

Preseason Day Seven

Nothing really new to report today. It was a pleasant walk to the site this morning which included a stroll past the Crusader talus. Again we spent the day in the compound sorting pottery. It was fairly quiet today, including inside one of the containers where we store the pottery, but it won't be for long.

Preseason Day Six

Finally, some BIG news. For the first time ever the Dan Gardens Hotel has free wi-fi! You have to be in the lobby to use it but it does in fact work. Great news for anyone wondering if they were going to be able to stay connected this summer.

Prof. Jeffrey Chadwick (or Jeff to most mortals – aka Achish Melek Gat) has announced on Facebook the commencement of a new and exciting project – publication of the finds from the excavations at Tell Rumeida (ancient Hebron) conducted by Hammond in the 1960s.

Here is Jeff’s detailed description of the project – and the project logo:

Fifty years after the commencement of the American Expedition to Hebron (AEH) in 1963, we now announce in 2013 the inauguration of the American Expedition to Hebron Publication Project (J. Chadwick, Director). Here’s a pic of the new, color-accented update of the original expedition logo (which was also an embroidered patch worn on the khaki shirts of the senior staff).

Here’s the AEH story … Fifty years ago this month Prof. Philip Hammond of Princeton Theological Seminary conducted the short 1963 survey season at Tell er-Rumeide in Hebron (el Khalil), which was then territory governed by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Thus began the AMERICAN EXPEDITION TO HEBRON, Hammond’s archaeological project that would excavate at Tell er-Rumeide, ancient biblical Hebron, during the summers of 1964, 1965, and 1966. Finds from EBIII, MBII, LB, Iron I, Iron II, Hellenistic (Hasmonean), and the Roman-Herodian periods were made on the tell itself, including portions of the city wall and southern gate. The project went into permanent hiatus as a result of the war in June 1967, which saw Hebron come under Israeli control. Hammond thereafter concentrated on excavating Petra. Having done my doctoral dissertation on his excavations at Hebron, Hammond bequeathed to me the publication privileges for his AEH work before he passed away five years ago in 2008. And now, we’re ready to start in earnest. Keep an eye out for our first article in a few months, on the LB finds of the AEH.

Should provide some very interesting materials! Way to go Jeff!

Aren

Preseason Day Five

The checking of pottery drawings is well under way. Here, Sarah is finishing the set up of a new computer so we can get OCHRE up and running as drawings are matched with sherds. It's almost the weekend now and we might sleep in a little tomorrow. Daniel Master, one of the co-directors of the excavation arrives tomorrow. I'm sure we'll have many new projects by Sunday.

Preseason Day Four (a little late)

A productive day getting ready to approve pottery drawings so that the objects can get out away. That was followed by a quick trip to Ben Gurion as another staff member arrived and then check-in at the Dan Gardens Hotel. Another day prepping for the start of the season.

Check out the new issue of the “Ancient Near East Today” – which is very interesting and also free!

On a humorous note – I suggest a name for another publication: “The Contemporary Near East Yesterday” :-p

 

Aren

 

Yesterday, I received information on a great animated clip whose central theme is transporting a ship over land thru the Isthmus of Corinth in Classical Greek times, but also illustrates many other very interesting aspects of ancient Greek culture and technology.

Here is the notice that appeared in “Aegeanet” – courtesy of Kalliopi Efkleidou:

“This is a link (http://vimeo.com/13229017) to a very interesting animation film on the Diolkos, the land route which enabled ships to be transported across the Corinth Isthmus. On the side it shows interesting features of the maritime voyage of a trade ship arriving at the corinthian gulf, crossing the diolkos and ending up at Kenchreai before leaving for Cyprus, technological achievements, visit to Poseidon’s temple, traded goods etc. Produced by the ASSOCIATION of ANCIENT GREEK TECHNOLOGY STUDIES (EMAET) & the Technical Chamber of Greece.”

Highly recommended – check it out!

Aren

See the nice article that Matti Friedman has written on the cedar beams from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, following up on the recent article in BAR on the topic.

Yours truly is quoted at the end…

 

Aren

Preseason Day Three

Another day of sorting pottery in the compound. I've been working on the Islamic period ceramic corpus and Josh has been working through Iron I Philistine pottery. Going through the storage containers and pulling drawers is always fun as you invariably find something you haven't seen in ages. Yesterday I found a bowl imported from China and today Josh found an amazing vessel from Cyprus. I wonder what we'll find tomorrow.

We are back in the Lab after a morning of looking at pottery in the compound. As I mentioned, Josh and I walked the site yesterday and cleaning is well underway. The pictures below are of the various grids. The fist one is Grid 38, the second Grid 51 and the third, all that lovely green grass, the future location of Grid 44. Looks as if all the areas weathered winter without too much trouble.

A project directed by Fred Limp (University of Arkansas, Fayetteville), Rachel Opitz (University of Arkansas, Fayetteville), and Nicola Terrenato (University of Michigan) has just received a Digital Humanities Start-Up Grant ($49,719) from the NEH Office of Digital Humanities (announcement here).

The Grant, titled 21st Century Data, 21st Century Publications: 3D Model
Publication and building the Peer Reviewer Community, will support the development of a new publication framework, using the Gabii Project's dataset as a test case. The first phase of the project will be launched in August, after completion of the 2013 field season at Gabii.

Josh and I have arrived and tomorrow we will start helping to prepare for the start of the season. Right now, we are at the Ashkelon Lab, only a short walk from the hotel where we stay during the season, enjoying our view of the lush garden (which you can see below).

We walked the site this afternoon to check the excavation areas and I'll have those pictures tomorrow.

Only 13 more days until the beginning of our summer season on June 2 (through the 21). If you are in the area come out and join the fun

2012 Area B

In the last few days, I’ve been visiting beautiful Utah! On Friday, I gave a lecture on the excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath at Brigham Young University (as already mentioned here). The lecture went very well – and before the lecture I had the opportunity to meet with some of the excellent students of Ancient Near Eastern Studies at BYU.

Following the lecture, Jeff Chadwick, my host at BYU, myself and our significant others, drove down to Moab, Utah for a great weekend. Today, we visited the absolutely fascinating and astonishingly beautiful Arches National Park.

Needless to say, when we visited the park, we of course went to visit Double Arch, where the first scene of Indiana Jones and Last Crusade was filmed!

And yes, as I was in Moab, and I had just recently read the Book of Ruth on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot – I was looking all over for Ruth or Naomi – but could not find them in Moab… :-)

 

Aren

As previously mentioned, a book edited by Ann Killebrew and Gunnar Lehmann on the Philsitines and Sea Peoples has just appeared. The volume includes many VERY interesting studies, dealing with a wide range of topics related to the study of the Philistines and the Sea Peoples.  Today, Ann kindly sent me the pdf of my article in this volume – I’m eagerly awaiting to see my copy of the entire volume!

It should be noted that the article was written in, and is updated for, 2003, and despite the editors’ heroic efforts, the volume in which it was meant to be published only appeared a decade later. Needless to say, since then, on the basis of newer finds and fresh understandings, much of what is discussed in this article is outdated (and these more updated publications have been noted in the blog). Nevertheless, it does present interesting materials and a summary updated for 2003.

The full reference is:

Maeir, A. M. 2013. Philistia Transforming: Fresh Evidence from Tell es-Sâfi/Gath on the Transformational Trajectory of the Philistine Culture. Pp. 191–242 in The Philistines and Other “Sea Peoples” in Text and Archaeology, eds. A. Killebrew and G. Lehmann. Archaeology and Biblical Studies 15. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature.

Best

Aren

 

A very interesting site has been put online recently - thetorah.com – in which modern biblical scholarship is viewed through traditional Jewish perspectives  There are quite a few very interesting articles, by various biblical scholars – as well as even a few archaeologists (such as yours truly…).

Check out what I wrote on an archaeological perspective on Shavuot – but look at the other very interesting materials on this site as well.

 

Aren

Packing for the Summer

What to bring, what to bring...

I am packed and ready to go.  For those of your volunteering this summer, filling your empty suitcases will happen soon enough.  To help, I have some advice.  

First, the obvious; all the usual necessities, toiletries, and electronics that you never leave home without.  If you are bringing your laptop, smart phone, iPad or tablet you will need to bring adaptors.  It's very easy to find ones suitable for Israel.  The bigger problem will be sharing the small number of outlets available in your room with your roommates.

Second, the digging.  Closed-toe shoes are an absolute necessity.  You will not be allowed to dig in sandals, so prepare accordingly.  T-shirts, pants and/or shorts are the standard outfit.  You may want to bring a long-sleeved shirt for the mornings which are sometimes damp and cool for at least the first hour or so.  Bring a hat, gloves, if desired, and lots and lots of sunscreen.  Most importantly, a water bottle.  We have water canteens for each excavation area but you'll want your own.  If your supervisor is paying attention, you'll be encouraged to drink two or three bottles a day while in the field.  And, of course, you'll want to bring a trowel.  Marshalltown is the most common, the 6 inch size the most popular.  Remember, you want a pointed trowel, not a squared-off one.  Don't have a trowel?  Don't worry.  The dig has plenty of hand-me-downs.

Third, general climatic notes.  The days are generally hot and sunny (no surprise there) but it often cools down at night.  Having layers handy is advisable.  The beach is very close and, of course, the hotel has a pool so for many people a swimsuit is a necessity. One of the benefits of living in a hotel is that we have air conditioning.  Depending on the preferences of you and your roommates, the room might get downright chilly.

Random thoughts...  

The hotel rooms have small refrigerators and electric teapots so go ahead and bring your Via and even dream of having a cold Coke to come home to at the end of the work day.  Reading material, either good old fashioned paper or eBooks, is always a good thing.  Music is a must, particularly since many grids allowing the playing of music on occasion.  A good playlist is always appreciated.

Bring your insurance card.  If medical treatment is necessary, you'll want it.  Bring your ATM card, it is often the fastest way to get shekels.  Just remember, using the ATM does result in a transaction fee.  You can also bring dollars.  There are any number of locations where they can be exchanged for shekels.

Feeling hungry?  You can always bring snacks with you.  You can also find most everything you are used to eating here at home in Ashkelon.  There is a small corner market only a five minute walk from the hotel.  There is a large grocery store about a 15-20 minute walk away.  And that really is the good news.  The site is in the middle of a city so if you forget something at home, there is a good chance you will be able to find what you need in Ashkelon.

Again, sunscreen, sunglasses, Gatorade, Crystal Light or some other type of drink (rehydration fluid is not yummy) if you want more than just plain water, a party outfit for the end of the season shindig, and whatever else you cannot live without.

If you can live without it, leave it behind.  If you are a volunteer, you'll be living in a room with several other people and while the rooms aren't tiny, they aren't palatial either.  Space will be at a premium.  If you love it, leave it behind.  While we have laundry service twice a week, a rare luxury on an excavation I admit, it is laundry service in a big hotel laundry.  While care is taken with our clothing, accidents do happen.

Have I forgotten things?  Yes, almost certainly.  But this list will get you started.  Nichole and I did a video version of this with her husband Aaron today.  (Yes, she loved it so much she is coming back and bringing Aaron with her.)  Look for it soon.

Once again, in order to give a sufficient “heads up” for upcoming lectures (who says I don’t learn from critics?), I will be giving a talk for the Jewish Studies Program at UCSD on May 29th.

Here are the details:

Wednesday, May 29^th 2013, TBA, TBA
Aren Maeir, Bar Ilan University in Israel; UCSD Visiting Professor

“Who are you calling a Philistine? Archaeology and the Bible at Tell es-Safi – biblical Gath of the Philistines”

Summary: The biblical Philistines, arch-enemies of the Israelites, have for many centuries suffered from “bad PR” – due to the biblical texts negative attitude towards them. Archaeological excavations over the last century have slowly changed this perception, demonstrating that the Philistines had an extremely complex, diverse and developed culture – particularly in comparison to the contemporaneous Israelites. Recent finds from Philistia, and in particular from Tell es-Safi/Gath (biblical Gath of the Philistines – home town of Goliath), now show that not only are previous understandings of the biblical Philistines somewhat monolithic in nature, but that a thorough reassessment of the relationship between the biblical texts about the Philistines and the archaeological remains are called for. This can serve as an excellent case study for the modern interface between Bible and Archaeology – a long-debated and contested topic. In this lecture, Prof. Aren Maeir, of Bar-Ilan University (Ramat-Gan, Israel), will discuss these and other issues, with particular emphasis on the results of the excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath, a project which he directs.

The details of the location of the talk on the UCSD campus will be published later.

In addition, look at the Jewish Studies Program events page – for this and other interesting upcoming events – including the VERY interesting conference on Exodus – for which I have the honor to have been invited to present a paper (note – this conference is a closed conference – only for invited speakers – although there will be a public lecture by Bill Propp on the exodus – and a very interesting digital exhibition – curated by Tom Levy). See details on the events page.

 

"Educate" Tab Is Live

Last summer Nichole Moos, a nationally board certified PreK teacher from Chicago, joined the expedition with the goal of developing an archaeology curriculum for young students.  She had a great experience, or so she tells me, and produced a series of modules on a range of subjects from jewelry in ancient Ashkelon to oil lamps.  It is with great excitement that I can announce that the "educate" tab, the Leon Levy Expedition's portal for educators, is now live.  There you can learn about Nichole's project, view the curriculum modules and maybe even learn a thing or two yourself.

Congrats to Nichole who, with the assistance of our web guru Melissa, has created and is now presenting the results of this pilot program.  In the next few days I hope to post a brief question and answer with Nichole about her work last summer, what she hopes to accomplish this coming season as the project continues to expand, and what advice she has for first-time volunteers.

Stay tuned for a video presentation and/or blog post on what to bring, how to prepare oneself and some (but never all) of the random information volunteers are curious about as preparations for a summer in Ashkelon get under way.

The first group of supervisors will be heading over in 10 days marking the official beginning of the pre-season.  I am among that group and will try to post short blog entries every day on everything from the annual grid tool draft and current research projects to the cleaning and prepping of the grids and, of course, the start of work in Grid 44.  This year in particular, I'll also try to highlight what is happening in Grid 38 as excavation in that area winds down.  And never forget Grid 51 where 604 BC looms large.

It promises to be another exciting season and I look forward to seeing everyone in Ashkelon!

As previously mentioned, I will be giving a lecture on May 17th at BYU.

The event poster is now out (courtesy of Jeff Chadwick [aka Achish Melekh Gath]) – all of you can print it out in and hang it on the inside of your bedroom door…

:-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aren

A short, but very nice article on the excavations at Safi has just appeared in the Canadian Jewish newspaper, the Jewish Tribune. Haskel and I were interviewed for this article during my recent trip to Winnipeg.

Check it out!

Aren

The new “Journal of Ancient History” which is put out by de Gruyter has put online the first issue of what appears to be an excellent journal. As of now (and I doubt this will last for long…), the articles in the first issue can be accessed for free online!

This first issue includes an excellent paper by Mark Van de Mieroop (Columbia), in which he surveys his understanding of the current state of Ancient Near Eastern historical studies (“Recent Trends in the Study of Ancient Near Eastern History: Some Reflections”) - with a particular emphasis on the study of Mesopotamian history.

Well worth reading – check it out!

 

Aren

Since there have been some complaints from the blog readers that I  have not given enough prior notifications on lectures that I’m giving, please find here information on a lecture at Brigham Young University, in Provo, Utah (just outside of Salt Lake City) on Friday, May 17, 2013, at 11am.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lectured is entitled:  ”New Light on the Biblical Philistines in Light of the Excavations at Philistine Gath (Tell es-Safi, Israel)”.

See here the flyer:

maeir_17may13-1

Hope to see you there!

Aren

Today (and in fact yesterday as well), I had the pleasure of hearing Prof. James Kugel, of Bar-Ilan University, who gave the Burke Lecture on Religion and Society.  Jim lectured on trends in the interpretation of the Bible in the 2nd Temple Period, with particular emphasis on how interpreters very often completely changed the “original” meaning of the text by adding and supplementing “new” understandings. Jim has written about this topic extensively in his books, but as always, his lectures are both chock-full of insight, learning and his great sense of humor!

And to think that I had to travel all the way to San Diego to hear someone who sits in an office down the hall from me back home… :-)

Here he is giving the lecture tonight:

Today, May 1st, is a very important day! Besides the ancient, mainly pagan-originating traditions of May Day that are celebrated in many cultures and countries, and in addition to this, the relatively more recent International Workers Day, that is also marked throughout the world in this day, there is a very important thing happening today:

Today, May 1st, is the official deadline for signing up for the 2013 season at Tell es-Safi/Gath!

If you wish to join the team this summer – NOW is the time to do this – otherwise – you may lose out on this opportunity!

Be there – or be square!

:-)

Aren

Yesterday evening, I had the pleasure to give a lecture on Tell es-Safi/Gath and the Philistines at La Sierra University in Riverside, CA, hosted by Doug Clark, Larry Geraty and Kent Bramlett from La Sierra, and the chairman of the Riverside chapter of the AIA, Denver Graninger (of UC Riverside).

This was a great chance to visit the area of Riverside, which has a very “Mediterranean” look to it (the countryside – not the architecture…). La Sierra U has a very beautiful campus and there is a very nice Center for Near Eastern Archaeology on campus, with a great collection of Near Eastern finds, including materials from the Madeba Plains Project in Jordan. I saw some finds from the excavations at Tall al- Umayri, including some very interesting Iron Age cultic “shrine models” (some decorated with figures) and we had some time to have some very interesting discussions on some of these finds.

Thanks to all those who hosted the visit, and to Matt and Monique Vincent who provided the transportation from and back to San Diego!

 

Aren

Richard Wiskin, the team photographer for many years, just sent me a simply stunning photograph with a view of Tell es-Safi/Gath during the spring. In the photograph, looking SE towards the upper tell (from the western side of the “lower city”) there is a nice view of the white chalk cliffs (on the NW side of the upper tell) and the archaeological deposits above the cliffs, and the extraordinarily beautiful flowers and green vegetation all around.

As any of you who have been there during the summer know all so well – it looks quite different once the dry summer months arrive…

Thank you Richard!

Aren

As mentioned previously, two weeks ago, I gave a lecture at William Jessup University. The lecture dealt with the excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath, with a particular emphasis on the Iron Age and Philistine culture. This more than an hour-long lecture is now online and can be watched in its entirety!

Check it out – lots of information about the site, the finds, and our excavations!

Thanks to Cynthia for making sure that the lecture was put online!

UPDATE: Due to public demand, I’ve posted here a pdf version of the PowerPoint presentation that I presented with the lecture above. Do note that you will have to figure out what slide I’m talking about as the lecture moves along. Enjoy!

Searching for Goliath etc_William Jessup U_April 18_13

Aren

Just came back from a whirlwind visit (left Sunday morning and came back to San Diego Monday night) to Winnipeg, Canada, to visit Haskel Greenfield, his family, the Safi Manitoba team, and the University of Manitoba in general.

We had a very enjoyable and productive two days of meetings and having a good time. I even managed to bring some warm California weather with me up there – so we actually could walk outside and see some of the sights around town as well!

In addition to talking about all kinds of things relating to the large joint grant which we received from the Canadian SSHRC for the study of the EB at Tell es-Safi/Gath, we had a meeting with all the students from Manitoba who will be joining the excavation team this summer.

In general – it was a great visit.

Here’s a picture of Haskel and I by the Assiniboine River, just near the point where it meets the Red River, in downtown Winnipeg.

Aren

Congratulations to Jeremy Zanton on the birth of his newest grandson this week!!!!!

Lots of health and happiness to all of the family, and may you all know much joy from the latest addition to your clan!

We had a great final day in the field today – beautiful weather and more nice finds.

Here is a group shot of the spring team – Thanks guys!

2013 Spring Season Group Photo – what a great group!

In Area A1 – we are continuing to pick up hints of the Iron Age IIA city at Burna, as we are finding some burnt pottery similar to the destruction level of Hazael at nearby Tell es-Safi/Gath (2 Kings 12:17  - ca. 830 BCE). Could this level be related to the insurrectionist city of Libnah mentioned in 2 Kings 8 (ca. 845 BCE)?

“So Edom revolted from the rule of Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time. Now the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?” (2 Kings 8:22–23 ESV)

Posing on an Iron Age IIB pillared structure – is it a pillared house (i.e. four-room house), a pillared public building (i.e. storehouse/stable)?

Removing a balk in A2 – going from Persian (6th) to Iron IIC (7th) to Iron IIB (8th) in a matter of hours

In Area A2 – we are also finding bits of evidence for a possible destruction level related to the end of the 8th cent. BCE (Sennacherib???). Additionally, today we found a very strange fragmentary figurine(?) with decorations similar to Philistine Bichrome. Could this level of a walled-city in the 8th cent. BCE be related to Sennacherib’s great sweeping conquest of Hezekiah’s Judahite kingdom in 701 BCE?

“As for Hezekiah, the Judean,⁷  I (Sennacherib) besieged forty-six of his fortified walled cities and surrounding smaller towns, which were without number. Using packed-down ramps and applying battering rams, infantry attacks by mines, breeches, and siege machines,⁸ I conquered (them). I took out 200,150 people, young and old, male and female, horses, mules, donkeys, camels, cattle, and sheep, without number, and counted them as spoil. He himself, I locked up within Jerusalem, his royal city, like a bird in a cage.⁹ I surrounded him with earthworks, and made it unthinkable¹⁰ for him to exit by the city gate. His cities which I had despoiled I cut off from his land and gave them to Mitinti, king of Ashdod, Padi, king of Ekron and S¸illi-bel, king of Gaza,¹¹ and thus diminished his land. I imposed dues and gifts for my lordship upon him, in addition to the former tribute, their yearly payment. (William W. Hallo and K. Lawson Younger Jr., eds., Monumental Inscriptions from the Biblical World (COS 2; Accordance electronic ed. Leiden: Brill, 2003), 303.)

Father (Amit) and Son (Ori) enjoy a trip to the dump in style – Ray Bans all around

The dump!

In Area B – we found an amazing 9 full buckets of Late Bronze Age pottery (of various types) from 1 square! We also found additional architecture that seems to clarify the nature of this occupation level during the 14th or 13th cent. BCE. Our prize find for the day was a heavy, well-preserved axe-head (see picture below). Could this level be related to the Canaanites living at the site around the time of the biblical account of Joshua’s conquest of the Shephelah?

“Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to Libnah and fought against Libnah. And the LORD gave it also and its king into the hand of Israel. And he struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it; he left none remaining in it. And he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho. Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to Lachish and laid siege to it and fought against it. And the LORD gave Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he captured it on the second day and struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it, as he had done to Libnah.” (Joshua 10:29–32 ESV)

Late Bronze Age Axe-Head

Remember – you can help us answer those questions and many others by joining us this summer! The deadline is May 1st – so now is the time to secure your spot for digging up (possible ) biblical Libnah!

Note: This post contains photos of human bone. 

During the archaeological excavations at Calixtlahuaca, Dr. Michael Smith and his team uncovered two different burials of bone rasps sometimes called Omichicahuaztli by the Aztecs. These bone rasps have been examined and analyzed by Kristin Nado, PhD Student with the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University. Her studies include details of both burials involved in the 2006-07 excavations as well as comparisons with burials found at the same site by Garcia Payon during his excavations in the 1930’s. She then makes a comparison of the burials found in Calixtlahuaca to bone rasps uncovered at a site in Zacapu Michoacán, Mexico.

Several secondary burials at Calixtlahuaca contain bone rasps. Some, discovered by Garcia Payon, are formal offerings near public architecture, including complete human femurs, tibias and crania.  One secondary burial found by Dr. Smith and his team was found in a terrace deposit with fragmented arm and leg bones and partial crania. The fragmented bones show evidence of green bone breakage, meaning they were ritualistically killed or “broken” after just a few years of use. A second (and most interesting) burial was also discovered by Dr. Smith’s team and it was found in a colluvial deposit and consists of fragmented bones, possibly of a child, with green bone breakage and partial crania. What makes this burial different is that all the notched bones showed distinct signs of wear and were burned. In contrast the bone rasps discovered in Zacapu Michoacán were of adults and young adults and consists of humerus, ulnas, femurs and tibias with no mention of crania. The bones show clear signs of mass use as well as green bone breakage. Unfortunately, context is not well known.

Terrace Deposit Burial

Colluvial Deposit Burial

                                                    

            What was the purpose of the Omichicahuaztli to the Aztecs? That question is still under debate. Major consensus is that they were used in mortuary rituals and symbolized the myth of Quetzalcoatl’s gathering of the bones of past creations to recreate human beings. The examinations of the Omichicahuaztli burials at Calixtlahuaca are still in its infancy, as studies progress these enigmatic bones will surrender even more information.  I would like to acknowledge Dr. Michael Smith, Ms. Angela Huster, Ms. Juliana Novic and the rest of the Calixtlahuaca excavation crew as well as a special thanks to Kristin Nado, whose power point presentation this information is based on, for without their dedication, expertise, and sense of curiosity the Calixtlahuaca project and this blog would not be possible.

Brenda Smalley

Undergrad Intern

Calixtlahuaca project 

Arizona State University

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This is the second post by this semester's student volunteers on bioarchaeological research at Calixtlahuaca.

This post includes photographs of human bone.

By Kea Warren

                Bioarchaeologists work with the traditional archaeologists to try to understand the way a group of people lived based on the remains they leave behind.  While working on the site of Calixtlahuaca in Mexico, Doctor Michael Smith and his team uncovered four full burials and the areas with broken bone rasps discussed in the previous post, all of which were later analyzed by Kristin Nado. Six burials is a relatively small sample size. While the site provides insight to the lives of a small group of people, archaeologists tend to prefer larger samples to understand trends and diversity among the population. From this smaller sample, bioarchaeologists can observe individuals and how those individuals lived, as will be discussed later, though the broader understanding of the group is limited.  

Map of Burial Locations

Three burials are physically close together, which may imply some sort of familial relationship between burials 5, 4, and 3 (which contain two adult males and an adult whose sex is unknown).  The two of these three bodies with preserved feet share a congenital condition known as non-osseous tarsal coalitions. This condition is also found in burial 2, which is from a different house excavation.  According to Nado, tarsal coalitions are when two or more tarsal bones are connected by bone or cartilage. This union of bone can be painful, and can also affect the sufferer’s ability to walk.  Further study of the inhabitants of Calixtlahuaca would provide a better understanding this condition in the region. If other remains were uncovered, it would allow bioarchaeologists like Nado to analyze if the condition is regional or possibly only specific to certain groups. DNA evidence of the relationship would strengthen the claim.

Beyond this potential familial relationship, the man in Burial Four has pathologies that are not found in the other burials.

Burial 4

          

                Burial Four is a male, who was between 25 and 29 years old at the time of death. Based on the man’s bones, Nado could immediately identify several pathological problems that give insight into the life of this man.  The tarsal coalitions are present, which would probably have caused pain. The lip of his acetabulum (colloquially known as the hip joint) appears to have extra articular surfaces. Nado has hypothesized that this may be due to a dislocation of the hip earlier in his life that was never realigned.  This would have been extremely painful, if not completely crippling to individual in Burial Four. The injury was sustained long enough before death that the bone had time to repair itself and try to accommodate the new location of Burial Four’s femur. This would have taken years.

Cyst in Burial 4's femur

      

His left tibia is also of interest.  It is unlike any other long bone found on site. Inside normal long bones is the medullary cavity, where the marrow is found. In Burial Four’s tibia, there seems to be a bubble of bone. The bioarchaeologists of SHESC remain puzzled as to what it could be, though it has been suggested that a cyst in the bone ossified, and that this is what remains.

                More can be learned from his skeletal remains. The teeth on the left side of his mouth are significantly more worn than those on the right, which Nado has suggested may have been due to use of his teeth for things beyond chewing. Was this for some task he performed because he could not walk?  Only Burial Five had a similar, albeit less prominent, wear pattern, also known as “bilateral asymmetry”. If more mandibles/maxilla can found at the site, more research into the presence of this wear could be performed. Was it specific to a group or family? What caused it? What does this tell us about social organization at the site and the relationship between Burial Four and others of his time? 

                While not everything that happened in life can be viewed in the skeletal remains of a person, bioarchaeology offers a glimpse into the lives of those long gone.  Thanks to Dr. Michael Smith, Angela Huster, Juliana Novic, Kristin Nado and the Calixtlahuaca team for their efforts to discover more about how people lived long ago.  

Today we made some serious progress in all of our excavations areas – removing balks and continuing the excavations of our newly opened squares.

Here are a few highlights from each area:

In Area A1 – we found a very interesting piece of a store jar with a snake head on it. This phenomenon is well-known as far back as the Early Bronze Age (ca. 3000 BCE).  While this find does not indicate cult activity (it seems to be simply, popular iconography) it is interesting that we have a biblical text that mentions the depiction of a snake (hebrew – nehushtan) during the time of Hezekiah (ca. 715 BCE).

“He (Hezekiah) removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan).” 2 Kings 18:4

Store Jar sherd with snakehead – the mouth opening is on the left of the small plastic decoration, the holes for the eyes are on the right

Early Bronze Age Jar w/Plastic Snake Decoration – Copyright Israel Museum

In A2 – the team found two more fragments of Israelite Fertility Figurines (though not quite as nice as our flagship lady (below), see another one here). These finds along with the pottery and the well-built architecture from the center of the tell – continue to give us a clearer picture of the Iron Age IIB settlement of Tel Burna.  Which would be relevant for a biblical text such as this,

“Then Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king had left Lachish.” (Isaiah 37:8)

Fertility Figurine (Iron IIB) from 2012 Summer Season in A2

Broken Head of Israelite Pillared Figurine

Considering an Israelite Pillared Figurine, head

Mor registering the finds with all the comforts she could ask for – courtesy of Amit

Scraper from Area A

In Area B – we found a very nice weapon head (either a small spearhead or an elongated arrowhead), in addition to loads of LB pottery.

Elongated Arrowhead or Spearhead (see a similar shaped spearhead here) ca. 13th cent. BCE

Medinet Habu – Ramses III attacking the Sea Peoples (early 12th cent. BCE) – Notice the Elongated Arrow – Copyright BiblePlaces, Todd Bolen

Check in for more great finds from our last day of excavating!

We had a much smaller group today – ca. 20 people total, as the TMC group made their way to the always-interesting Samaritan Passover. We still made do – enjoying the excellent weather.

In Debi’s area (A1) we continued work along the casemate fortification. We also re-opened a new square from our very first season (2010) in which we had previously found a plastered floor with a destruction level that included complete vessels and a significant amount of ash (Iron IIA – 9th cent. BCE). It will be very interesting to see if we have earlier levels beneath this level related to the Iron Age IIA. For more on the significance of the dating of these levels see Itzick, Joe, Debi and Amit’s recent article (I guess that’s why they created et al here.

In Chris’ Area (B) – we harvested a ton of pottery from the new squares some Byzantine, but mostly clean Late Bronze Age material. In addition, we found a nice small, votive vessel and a significant concentration of mother of pearl near where we previously found many chalices, pithoi and bowls.

Here are some pictures from today’s work:

Removing a Balk in Area A1 near the Casemate Wall

Mother of Pearl in Area B

Defining the Tower in A1

Sweep, Sweep, Sweep!

Every man’s dream – to wash a Canaanite and/or Israelite’s dirty broken dishes…

 

Haskel Greenfield has passed on to me a link in which he gives details on that he is offering MA and PhD fellowships in Near Eastern archaeology at the University of Manitoba, in connection with the SSHRC grant that we jointly received for the study of the EB remains at Tell es-Safi/Gath.

If you are interested in checking this out – see further details here. As I’m sure many of you know – there are not many such fellowships in Near Eastern archaeology “out there” – and this is a great offer – which also will enable those who receive it to participate in the Tell es-Safi/Gath excavations in the coming years!

Aren

In the last 24 hours, there have been over 1000 hits on the site – almost all from the UK – and most of them having to do with the Crusader period Blanche Garde fortress which is situated at the top of the tell – and which parts of its fortifications have been revealed over the last few years (with particularly nice sections discovered in the 2012 season).

Due to this interest, for those of you who would like to see all the entries on the blog on Blanche Garde – here is a link.

Aren

As you may know, one of the suggested interpretations of the various figurines of women that are seen in Late Bronze and Iron Age contexts in the Southern Levant is that they served as “fertility figurines” – to enhance the fertility of women in these ancient societies.

As we have quite a few such figurines in the lab, the suggestion has recently been raised that perhaps they might have an effect in the lab as well.

Based on the picture below – please judge for yourselves….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:-)

Aren

Today, we had better weather than yesterday – although it was still cold, windy and drizzly (at one point).

I say a slight dripping of the nose in April > a full body sweat drip in June

We were able to begin excavations in all areas with help from ICB, TMC, some new volunteers and some old friends of the excavation.

In Area A1 – Debi’s team, in addition to working in several squares from previous seasons, began defining what seems to be a large tower in the northeastern corner of  the Iron II fortifications.

In Area A2 – Amit’s group opened a new square to define the western side of a  well-built Iron IIB (8th cent. BCE c. time of Hezekiah) structure with exceptionally large pillars. They also continued to work their way through a collapse (destruction?) from the same time period – the pottery so far seems consistent with the 8th cent. BCE.

In Area B – Chris’ group began dismantling a balk connected to the large Late Bronze Age (1550-1200 BCE – Canaanite era) structure down on the lower terrace. Inside of the balk we found several sherds of Cypriot imports – milk bowl/white slip and base ring. In addition, we continued to work our way through the top soil of our two new squares – all signs point to promising finds in the coming days. Hopefully, by the end of the week we will have a better idea of the layout of this building.

Cypriot Late Bronze “Milk Bowl” (White Slip) with wishbone handle from the Metropolitan Museum of Art – we found several sherds of this type today in Area B (note – this artifact was not found on our site, click here for more pictures and  its archaeological background)

Here are a few pics from Area B today:

Jaden and Justin pose for the camera in Area B

Removing the Balk – check out the long, well-built LB Wall

Blowing through Top Soil with Pickaxes

Jeff Chadwick (AKA AMK) has passed on a very nice short popular article in the BYU Religious Education Review that he wrote on the results of our excavations in Area F (where he serves as Field Director of Area F).

Here is the article – check it out – very nice! Chadwick_-_Gath_of_the_Philistines-A_Decade_of_Digging_-_BYU_Rel_Ed_Review2013-1

 

Aren

Today, we had some great dig participants from The Master’s College and Israel College of the Bible. They all had to brave the wind, rain and cold. Despite the conditions, we were successful in removing all of the winter weeds and debris from our old and new excavations squares. We did this despite encountering a good deal of moisture throughout the day.

Among the notable initial finds for the opening day of the season, were a couple more chalices from Area B (thanks must go to the cows of Tel Burna since they helped us find them by destroying the balk ) and a nice spindle whorl. Tomorrow, we will be carrying out full excavations in all areas – that is if we are not rained out… Drop by if you are interested in finding some amazing finds related to the Canaanite and Israelite period!

Here are a couple pictures from the day (thanks Debi for photos):

Receiving an Explanation from Amit and Itzick

Area A1 Folks from TMC and ICBE (and Seth) – Removing the Large 7th Cent. BCE Olive Installation

J and Seth setting up the Total Station – Yes, it was cold despite the shorts

 

As mentioned previously, last night I gave a lecture at William Jessup University which is in Rocklin, CA. This is where Cynthia Shafer-Elliott teaches – who is a long time team member of the Safi excavations and leads the Jessup team. It was great to Cynthia and other members of last year’s team! I think the lecture went very well – and hopefully, next year, when Cynthia brings a group from Jessup – we will have a large amount of very excited people joining our work!

BTW – this is a beautiful part of CA – quite different from the well-known parts – and the campus is VERY nice.

Aren

Today, at Tel Aviv University, Amit Dagan presented a paper that he prepared with Debi Cassuto at the annual young scholars’ conference of the Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University.  The paper focused on the identification of a small rural site (Horvat Shimon), excavated by the IAA and published by Amit as part of his Master’s thesis, as a textile production site.

As Amit showed in the lecture, the finds from the site indicate in many ways that the site was  a textile production site – quite a rare find in the archaeology of Israel.  The paper was well-presented and as suggested by some of the participants, thought-provoking.

If you want more details about the site and what indicates its use as a textile production site – you’ll have to wait for the article, which I am sure will appear soon, or head to ASOR in November, where the lecture will be presented in English.

Way to go Amit and Debi!!!!

Let me join in with prayers for all those effected by the horrible events in Boston – including several past and present Safiites. Since the media is now reporting that this still may be an ongoing event – keep safe!

Crazy and dangerous world out there!

 

Aren

Director Itzick Shai’s article on Philistines and their continued lack of circumcision was recently discussed at the “Remnant of the Giants” blog here.

In it, Shai responds to Avraham Faust’s contention, inIsrael’s Ethnogenesis (2006: 147-48), that Philistine non-circumcision was confined to Iron Age I. Faust notes David’s description of Goliath as an “uncircumcised Philistine” in 1 Sam 17:26, 36, in which the term “uncircumcised” is intended as an insult. Faust claims that this type of  insult is only seen in texts referring to Iron Age I.

But Shai discusses two biblical texts which suggest that Faust’s conclusion is incorrect, and also discusses the finding of erect penis pottery at Philistine Ashkelon and Gath which appear to reflect uncircumcised penises. Shai points out the absence, in Jeremiah 9:24-25, of the Philistines from the list of circumcised peoples in that passage. Also, in Ezekiel 32:29-32, the Philistines are not among the nations who are punished by being made to lie down in the netherworld with “the uncircumcised”.

After years of working in a lab which gave those inside the lab the feeling that they were working in a cave (and a stuffy one at that), and after several years of pushing for this to be improved, finally, finally, finally, the situation has vastly improved!!!

Amit has sent me pictures of how the lab now looks after the renovation of the ceiling (white panels instead of black ones), the lights (sufficient amount of bright lighting in the entire lab) and new electrical connections (up until now, the lab basically was one big fire hazard…).

Wowsa! Very nice!

And that’s Merav Edrei posing…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This may be an indication that the Messiah is about to appear!

:-)

 

Aren

Check out the flyer for this summer .

Also we have added a PayPal button to the main blog page – check it out.

AJA Review of Ashkelon. Vol. 3

Congratulations to Larry Stager, Dan Master and David Schloen who have garnered yet another rave review for Ashkelon Vol. 3.  Want to read it and learn more about Ashkelon?  The AJA review is available here.

This photo was taken in 2011 and is what we expect to see in 2 1/2 weeks. That year we were witness to huge flocks of migrating storks. Maybe they’ll be passing through this year as well. (Photo by Amit Dagan)

In just over two weeks we will be in the field for our Spring Season! With the warmer weather (although at the moment winds are blowing and it’s been raining on and off all day in Jerusalem) ‘Dig Fever’ is in the air and archaeologists everywhere are already dreaming of the discoveries just waiting to be revealed.
We will have over 40 volunteers for our Spring Season, April 21-25, and look forward to working with all the new volunteers and many of our a well seasoned returning volunteers as well.
There are a few more places are left for our Summer Season in June – the Deadline is for May 1st – so if you plan on joining us in the Field this Summer don’t miss this opportunity!
See you all soon.

See here a report on a new TV show in which forensic recreations of biblical persons are suggested. Notice, among others, the suggested recreation of a Philistine woman, and the suggestion that this is what Delilah would have looked like!

I think she looks like a retired Hedy Lamarr – as one would expect of Delilah…

 

BTW – we have found the comb with which Delilah combed Samson’s hair! As you can see, his hair was so rough and hard – that the teeth of the comb broke… :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aren

On Thursday evening, April 18th, I’ll be giving a lecture about the excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath at Williams Jessup University. If you happen to be around that “neck of the woods” – it would be great to see you there!

Thanks for Cynthia for the invitation – and I hope to see some of the past, and future, Safi team at the lecture!

Aren

After many delays, it looks like the edited book on the Sea Peoples, edited by A. Killebrew and G. Lehmann, is finally out! Although, as noted previously, this book has been in the making for quite awhile, and much of the material is probably a bit dated by now, nevertheless, it contains a lot of interesting data and many discussions by the leading people in Sea Peoples’ study, so it should be a good read!

 

Kudos to Ann and Gunnar for their hard work!!

 

Aren

The Calixtlahuaca Project is giving a symposium at the 78th Annual Society for American Archaeology meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii this coming week.  The session will run from 9:30 to noon on Saturday, so if you want to hear even more nitty-gritty details of the project, talk to one of us in person, or grill us about one the blog posts, please join us.

The session schedule is:

Empire, Economy, and Urban Society at Aztec Period Calixtlahuaca, Mexico

Michael E. Smith

Archaeological Fieldwork at Calixtlahuaca

                      

Maelle Sergheraert

Calixtlahuaca’s embedded carved stones: Symbols of religion, power and markers of cultural changes.

Adrian Burke and GillesGauthier

Geochemical Characterization of Obsidian from the Toluca Valley using XRF

Bradford W. Andrews, RPA

Calixtlahuaca Stone Tools: Technological Trends and Their Socioeconomic Implications

Julieta Lopez, Marina Vega-Gonzalez, Manuel Aguilar-Franco and Jose Luis Ruvalcaba-Sil

Stones that Speak. The Slate from Calixtlahuaca. Sources, Function and Distribution

Angela C. Huster

Of Comales, Cotton, and Aztec Orangeware: The effects of Aztec Conquest at Calixtlahuaca

Jennifer L. Meanwell

A Petrographic Analysis of Domestic Pottery Consumption at Calixtlahuaca

Juliana Novic

Social Mixing in the Neighborhoods of Aztec Period Calixtlahuaca, Mexico

Ryan Smigielski

Calixtlahuaca: A Comparative Analysis on Urban Features and Politics

Frances F. Berdan

Discussant

Aloha!

In case you missed it, Nichole has posted a second video about Grid 44 and how we are determining exactly where we want to dig.  Take a look here.  I should note, any and all errors in how I explain things are my responsibility alone. 

Check back often as she will be hosting new videos on a range of topics from what we might find on top of the South Tell to brief overviews of the site's chronological periods and the work we hope to do this summer.

The first group of staff members leave in seven weeks which means summer isn't far away!

Chris has uploaded a very nice staff page on the blog, which can be accessed from a tab on the main page of the blog.

Check out the bios and pictures of some of the staff – and hopefully the lazy ones will soon submit their materials as well and it can be expanded…

 

Happy Passover/Easter!

Aren

Tonight, Monday night, Jews the world over begin the celebration of Passover (Pessach), the festival in which the exodus from Egypt is remembered.

May all of us find ways to our personal and public freedom – and lose our modes of slavery!

 

Aren

Aztec calpolli temple

The calpolli was an important social institution in Aztec central Mexico. It was a group of households living in proximity who shared economic and other resources. In the countryside, calpollis were villages and in cities calpollis were neighborhoods. There were two sizes or levels of calpolli - a small calpolli (ca. 20 households), several of which were grouped together into a large calpolli (ca. 150 households). Calpollis typically had a temple and a market. They were made up of commoner households, who selected a council to made decisions and run the organization (e.g., to assign plots of land among the farming families).

In the State of Morelos, where I worked prior to Calixtlahuaca, there is abundant documentation of the presence and importance of calpollis. A series of detailed census lists (house-by-house interviews)  were recorded in Nahuatl in six communities in Morelos, and these provide the most detailed accounts of calpolli organization from anywhere in central Mexico. The sites I excavated in Morelos matched up very closely to the size and structure of calpollis in these documents. In my current book, I identify the calpolli as a major source of the stability, success, and prosperity of the communities I excavated in Morelos.

Calpollis at Cuexcomate, in Morelos

When we started working at Calixtlahuaca, many of us assumed that calpollis were present in this area as well. Some historians talk about calpollis in the Toluca Valley, although there are no detailed  descriptions of them. Last week I started wondering if perhaps the people of Calixtlahuaca and the Toluca Valley lacked calpolli organization, and that this fact (if true) might help explain some of our findings. I have now almost convinced myself that this was indeed the case. Here is my reasoning so far.

First I checked the major books and article on social organization in the Toluca Valley at the time of the Spanish conquest. If calpollis were present, these historians would mention it. But the only time calpollis were mentioned in these works was when authors were talking about general patterns of social organization in central Mexico, not about specific places in the Toluca Valley.

Then it occurred to me (this afternoon) that perhaps if we did not have the Morelos census data, it might be harder to identify calpollis in Morelos. If that were the case, then the missing calpollis in the Toluca histories might not mean very much. So I took a spin through the major works on 16th century social organization in Morelos. I found that these authors regularly talked about calpollis, even when they were not drawing on the census documents. I found a few quotes from documents that mentioned calpollis. So, unlike the Toluca Valley, many historical studies of Morelos had identified calpollis, independently of the census documents. This strengthens the argument that if calpollis had been present and important, there would be more discussion of them in the 16th century documents.

Then I realized that I needed to check the major literature on the Aztec calpolli in general. Sources like Lockhart and Carrasco had surprisingly little to say about specific calpolli apart from the Morelos census data. But a major paper by Luis Reyes García (1996) listed lots of examples of the use of the term calpolli. In fact, he has a whole list and discussion of mentions of the calpolli in central Mexico outside of Mexico City. The towns are scattered all over Morelos, Puebla, and Tlaxcalla, with a single occurrence in Toluca (in 1533). But it turns out that the lone Toluca calpolli reference describes communities of commoners who moved into the Toluca Valley from the Basin of Mexico after the Valley was conquered by the Mexica emperor Axayacatl. Not surprisingly, these migrants kept their native calpolli organization when they settled in Toluca. That leaves only one possible mention of a calpolli in the Toluca Valley, from a document from Zinacantepec in 1574, cited in an article by Megged. The context is not clear from his article, however.

On the basis of this quick review, it looks to me like the calpolli was not a regular unit of social organization in the Toluca Valley and Calixtlahuaca in Postclassic or early colonial times. This is by no means a firmly-established finding, and I will keep trying to test it; my next step is probably to talk to some of the historians who know the Toluca documents well.

But if this finding holds up, what does it mean? Right now I will only say that the lack of calpollis would suggest that local social organization at Calixtlahuaca was very different from the patterns I found in Morelos. And now it is time for all of us project members to think about the possible implications of this for our understanding of Calixtlahuaca.

Some sources on the calpolli

Carrasco, Pedro  (1972)  La casa y hacienda de un señor tlahuica. Estudios de Cultura Náhuatl 10:235-244.

Hicks, Frederic  (2010)  Labor Squads, Noble Houses, and Other Things called "Barrios" in Aztec Mexico. Nahua Newsletter 49:13-21.

Lockhart, James  (1992)  The Nahuas After the Conquest: A Social and Cultural History of the Indians of Central Mexico, Sixteenth Through Eighteenth Centuries. Stanford University Press, Stanford.

Reyes García, Luis  (1996)  El término calpulli en documentos del siglo XVI. In Documentos nahas de la Ciudad de México del siglo XVI, edited by Luis Reyes García, Celestino Eustaquio Solís, Armando Valencia Ríos, Constantino Medina Lima and Gregorio Guerrero Días, pp. 21-68. CIESAS, Mexico City.

Smith, Michael E.  (1993)  Houses and the Settlement Hierarchy in Late Postclassic Morelos: A Comparison of Archaeology and Ethnohistory. In Prehispanic Domestic Units in Western Mesoamerica: Studies of the Household, Compound, and Residence, edited by Robert S. Santley and Kenneth G. Hirth, pp. 191-206. CRC Press, Boca Raton.

A new article in which Louise Hitchcock and yours truly discuss our recent, somewhat revolutionary perspectives on the development of the Philistine culture (“Beyond Creolization and Hybridity: Entangled and Transcultural Identities in Philistia”) is about to appear in the Archaeological Review from Cambridge (ARC). The article will be published in a special issue that will deal with the fascinating topic of cultural mixing, and there are several very interesting studies,  including by two people connected to the Safi project, Philipp Stockhammer (Heidelberg) and Yigal Levin (BIU).

See below the cover of the soon-to-appear issue (courtesy of Louise):

ARC 28(1)cover

Aren

P.S. The full citation of the article is: Hitchcock, L. A., and Maeir, A. M. 2013. Beyond Creolization and Hybridity: Entangled and Transcultural Identities in Philistia. Archaeological Review from Cambridge 28.1 : 51-72.

Reblogged from Aren Maeir - personal musings:

A new article in which Louise Hitchcock and yours truly discuss our recent, somewhat revolutionary perspectives on the development of the Philistine culture is about to appear in the Archaeological Review Cambridge (ARC) is about to appear. The article will appear in a special issue which will deal with the fascinating topic of cultural mixing, and there are several very interesting studies,  including by two people connected to the Safi project, Philipp Stockhammer (Heidelberg) and Yigal Levin (BIU).

Read more… 12 more words

The incomparable Safi lab team prepared a very nice collage of pictures of me and the team – as a bon voyage present for me on my way to San Diego!

I miss them already…

Here it is:

As of this Saturday night, I will be leaving for a 3 month sabbatical at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD). During my stay there, I will give two classes (in the Dept. of Anthropology), one on weapons and warfare in the ancient Near East, and an advanced seminar on current debates in Levantine Iron Age archaeology. Should be fun!

In addition, I will be giving a few talks in San Diego, at other California locations, and at Brigham Young University – and if anyone would like to schedule a talk – do get in touch with me (see more info here).

Work at the Tell es-Safi/Gath laboratory at Bar-Ilan University will continue, with the excellent project staff continuing to work on their projects – and I will be in constant touch thru various electronic media.

And in between all this, I’ll try and get some research and writing done – and also get into a relaxed SoCal state of mind…

Needless to say – I’ll be back in early June – in time to finish up all the preparations for this summer’s dig.

Woohoo! :-)

Aren

Louise Hitchcock, of the University of Melbourne, leader of the Melbourne team at Safi, gave a lecture last week on the Safi excavations, and in particular, the work by the Melbourne team.

 

See here a podcast, with the powerpoint slides, of the lecture.

 

Way to go Louise!

 

Aren

Today, I visited the excellent exhibit on King Herod, currently on display in the Israel Museum. The exhibit is truly magnificent, as befitting any of the top-notch museums in the world. The excellent choice of exhibited objects (from many excavations in Israel and other Mediterranean countries, as well as from many private collections), very nicely arranged and explained, the beautiful reconstructions of architecture and wall paintings, and very very impressive digital reconstructions of many of sites, makes a visit to this exhibit truly memorable! This is an absolute must for all those visiting Israel – and might even be a justification for a special trip – if you have not seen the exhibit. The exhibit also has a very nice catalogue.

Although this was meant to be a Safi lab team tour, in the end, only Debi and I appeared at the museum in the morning! I hope the others, who have not yet had a chance to see the exhibit will go and see it.

Truly something not to miss!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s view of Debi in front of the digital reconstruction of Herod’s tomb on the slope of Herodian.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a view of the reconstructed inner room of the small theater on the slope of Herodian (see mentioned here), which was later covered over when Herod’s tomb was built. The walls are decorated with exquisite frescoes and architectural ornamentations -  which are very nicely reconstructed in the exhibit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here is a partial view of the reconstruction of part of the royal tomb at the very end of the exhibit.

Do make an effort to see this exhibition!

Aren

P.S. We also went to take a quick peek at the Safi objects in the permanent exhibit (the awlt/wlt inscription; the lion-headed “head-cup”; and two phallic-shaped vessels) and although they were lonely and missed us, the seemed in the best of health… :-)

Preparations are well under way for the opening of a new excavation area on top of the South Tell this summer.  Nichole and I did a video about it for her blog.  You can check it out here in the "For Kids" section of our website.  Stay tuned for more information on the very exciting process of deciding where to dig this summer.

Today, on the drive down to Beersheva to attend the very interesting meeting in honor of Prof. Eliezer Oren’s retirement, a group of the Safi staff met at the coffee shop at Latrun to talk over where we stand as far at the next Safi excavation volume – Tell es-Safi/Gath, Vol. II!

Things are looking quite good and we have drafts for most of the more-or-less 10 chapters that will be in the volume. The chapters cover reports on excavations in various areas, as well as studies on specific topics related to the excavations.

We looked over text and figure/plate formats, and discussed the next deadlines for various materials from various contributors. Things are looking quite good – and it looks quite realistic to say that the volume will be ready for the publisher at the beginning of 2014!

Here is a picture of Joe, Shira and Amit looking over the materials. Look at the folder that Amit his holding – this may very well be close to what the inside cover of the volume may eventually look like! :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cool!

 

Aren

Now that