Taygete Atlantis: Excavation Blogs (Antiquity)

Start of Season Three

2012-02-03T19:19:26Z

The Joint Expedition to Malqata is co-sponsored by the Michael C. Carlos Museum of Emory University in Atlanta, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

View of the west bank from Luxor
Friday February 3, 2012
We are back in Luxor! This third season, scheduled for February 2011, had to be postponed because of last year’s historic events in Egypt – Diana Craig Patch and Catharine H. Roehrig (MMA) had plane tickets for January 29, Peter Lacovara (Carlos Museum) was working at Abydos and the expedition in that area were evacuated. We are all very glad to be back!
This year we joined up in Cairo on Sunday, January 29. We spent several days in Cairo taking care of business. First we stopped in at the American Research Center in Egypt to say hello to old friends and pick up Madame Amira, who accompanied us to the offices of the Supreme Council of Antiquities where we collected the papers that give us the permission to work in Egypt. Later we ran some errands and, on Wednesday, we came down to Luxor. Once again, thanks to the generosity of our friend Ray Johnson we are staying at Chicago House, home of the Epigraphic Survey in Luxor.
Friday is the Moslem holy day and will be our day off each week. Tomorrow is the Moulid al-Nibbi, the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed. This is a holiday in Egypt, but because our season is only one month, our workmen and our antiquities inspector have generously agreed to work with us.

The “Narrow House” in the south village at Malqata. Photograph courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
This season we continue one of our long term goals, a detailed plan of the palace-city of Amenhotep III known locally as Malqata, which is how we refer to our site. Our surveyor, Joel Paulson (who arrives today), has been able to make an overall map of the site using plans made 101 years ago by the Egyptian Expedition of the Metropolitan Museum. However, we have not been able tie in a huge plan of an area called the “south village.” So, tomorrow, Catharine and Joel will try to locate the position of the “narrow house” – a long narrow building that is between two of the Birket Habu mounds. To do this, they will use old photographs, like the one above, that show the house in relation to the desert cliffs and the Coptic monastery in the upper center-left of the photograph.
More on this tomorrow.
Catharine, Peter, and Diana

p.s. Happy Birthday, Diana!

Contest Continues

2012-02-03T15:34:56Z

Thank you to everyone who has entered to contest. We have had some wonderful responses ranging from the practical and feasible to the nonsensical and highly imaginative. It certainly makes from some great reading.

In this picture you can see Deland standing in the sewer channel. Thanks to Deland's ingenuity he was able to survey a portion of the sewer and determine that it extends at least 10 meters to the east and west of the opening in which he stands.

As you can see, the sewer is largely silted up but there is maybe a foot or two of space at the top that is not filled in and which gives us an opportunity to get inside safely with the right plan.

Maybe your plan will be the one we put into action.

Grid 47, I expect you to have some good ideas.

The contest continues until March 31. The winner will be announced May 1st.

Have you read the most recent New York Times article on Ashkelon? Read about it here. The article is about a collaboration between the Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon and the Weizmann Institute and the emerging field of microarchaeology.

The origins of “Gefilte Fish”?

2012-02-02T16:41:28Z

As Alex Zukerman, long-term senior member of the team (who is now, among other things, working on the analysis of the Iron I pottery from Area A), was looking through some of the Iron I pottery, a little fish on a sherd swam by him…

Turns out that this is an unfortunately incomplete depiction of a fish and some wavy lines on a bichrome Philistine sherd. We have had other depiction of fauna on Philistine pottery, and if I’m not mistaken, even a fish or two before, from the Safi materials. While this is known from other Philistine sites (and these figurative decorations have been the subject of Linda Meiberg’s [who also was on our team for a few years] recently completed dissertation at the University of Pennsylvania) – it nevertheless is nice to see this!

This brings me to my theory about the origins of Gefilte Fish. Perhaps, the etymology is actually “GePhilistine Fish” – and only in the middle ages, with the advent of Yiddish, did it turn into “gefilte”… :-)

I have clear supporting evidence for this. As you may know, it is customary to eat gefilte fish with horseradish, known as khreyn in Yiddish, and Hazeret (חזרת) in Hebrew. Now since we know that the Philistines ate pig – Hazir (חזיר) in Hebrew, the connection is quite clear… :-P

Now that’s rather fishy

Joking aside, the depiction of fish, birds and other fauna on Philistine pottery is quite interesting. This is due to its rarity, its connections with decorative traditions in other pottery families (whether Aegean, Levantine or other), and the possible implications it has for understanding the worldview and cultural backgrounds of the Philistines. For those interested, get your hand on Linda’s PhD where she develops many of these topics!

Aren

Terrenato to present AIA lecture in Winnipeg, Manitoba

2012-02-01T16:26:58Z

On February 12, 2012, Nicola Terrenato will present a lecture entitled, "The Gabii Project Excavation in Central Italy: The Mystery of the ‘Lead Burrito’" for the local society of the Archaeological Institute of America in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. At the center of the talk is an unusual lead sarcophagus excavated at Gabii in July 2009.

The abstract of Terrenato's talk is here.

The event will be held at 3.00pm at the University of Manitoba
University College 237, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.

For information on the society, the lecture, or other questions about this event, contact the Winnipeg society of the AIA.

Call for field school in archaeological science at Tell es-Safi/Gath 2012

2012-01-31T11:47:17Z

The call is out for applications to participate in the archaeological science field school, run by the Kimmel Center for Archaeological Science, Weizmann Institute, which will be held during the 2012 season at Tell es-Safi/Gath.

See Safi archaeological science field school_call for applicants_2012 for further information.

Check it out – it is a very interesting program and a wide range of topics are covered – and only a small group will be able to participate.

So, if you are interested, apply soon!

Aren

A bit over the top – but what the heck… :-)

2012-01-31T09:54:06Z

A short article on yours truly just appeared. See here.

Smile and enjoy!
:-)

Aren

re: digging in the lab!

2012-01-30T13:01:34Z

Today, we had an opportunity to do some digging in the lab! As you may recall, last summer, in the excavation of Area D, we found a complete cooking pot in the 9th cent. destruction level, about 5 meters from the stone altar. The cooking pot and sediments inside it were removed from the excavation intact, and were taken to the lab.
Today, Dr. Udi Weiss (our archaeobotanist) came to the lab to “excavate” the sediments from within the cooking pot – in the hope of finding remains of the “last supper” of whoever lived in this building before it was destroyed.
As you can see in the pictures below, Udi excavated away at the sediments, and although he did not find a complete side of meat in the pot, he saved the fine sediments from within which will be sifted and hopefully, we may find evidence of what was cooked that last day in the pot!

Here are Udi and Shira as the excavation starts!

Here is a closeup of Udi removing the sediments from the pot

Here is the cooking pot almost empty…

And here it is after it was completely emptied!

Next time – perhaps we’ll find the recipes as well! :-)

Aren

Field School Dates Confirmed for Vicus ad Martis Tudertium 2012 Season

2012-01-29T16:49:27Z

After much to'ing-and-fro'ing to make sure that I didn't miss out on my daughter's high-school graduation, we've settled on our dates for the 2012 season, our fifth, at the Vicus ad Martis Tudertium site:

24 June - 21 July, 2012

Those include the initial Sunday and final Saturday to make sure that everyone realizes they have to get to Italy the day before we actually get our hands dirty and that the last Friday is a workday. As usual I'll be there a few days earlier to get things set up.

Interested in attending? Check out the project website. And don't forget that you don't have to be a student to join us! Adult participants are welcome to come for a week or more. Contact me for details or see the Visitors section of the website..

Oh, and we've got a nifty flier for this year too, as you can see.

It's Not All Sewage

2012-01-27T17:47:16Z

The lure of built space under ground, especially when it is intact, is very powerful. During the 2011 field season in Grid 47, the sewer we discovered wasn't the only subterranean architecture we uncovered.

The first hint we had of this other architecture came during the 2010 when we found a smooth, plastered object on top of a foundation of cobble size stones which we suspected, but had no way of proving, was a cistern. As is the case with all such intriguing objects, this one was stuck in the baulk.

You can see the architecture in question, along the dirt bualk on the right side of the picture, just to the right of the red block.

We decided to expand the grid prior to the 2011 season and this included the area to the east of the suspected plastered cistern.

That expansion meant we had to say good bye to our lovely winter garden but doing so would allow us to, we hoped, catch the eastern edge of the odeon.

What we found was very interesting.

It looked like this.

And then, when it was all cleaned up, it looked like this.

Readers of the blog and diggers in Grid 47 will remember exactly what it is. Everyone else will have to wait a little longer to learn what it is, what happened to it and how we have been excavating it.

Stay tuned for more...

I will say that much like the sewer, this object had volunteers clamoring to get inside.

Restoring pottery from the 2010-2011 season

2012-01-27T14:10:04Z

In the last few months, Dina Castel, our pottery restorer, has been busy restoring the pottery from the 2010 and 2011 seasons in Area D. This assemblage, from the 9th cent. BCE destruction level (wrought by good ole Hazael), includes a wide variety of pottery types. Many of these vessels were found in the immediate vicinity of the horned altar which has been mentioned before.

Here are some pictures of Dina with the restored vessels and of a bunch of vessels being prepared for drawing.
Quite a nice bunch!

What can I say? This is nice stuff!

And if you join us this coming summer – you may have a chance to find such things yourself!

Aren

P.S. As some may have noticed – I corrected the dates of the seasons based on a comment from Todd Bolen…

Update on the team for this summer

2012-01-26T19:49:04Z

While the registration is still going at a slow pace, we are starting to get a nice idea about some of the organized groups that will be joining the team this summer. As of now, we will have the following groups:

University of Melbourne – led by Louise Hitchcock
Yeshiva University – led by Jill Katz
University of Manitoba – led by Haskel Greenfield
Central Bible College – led by Mark Jenkins
William Jessup University – led by Cynthia Shafer-Eliot
A Korean group – led by MiYoung Im (and perhaps, another Korean group as well)
Bar-Ilan University – led by Aren Maeir
Weizmann Institute – led by Steve Weiner
Brigham Young University – led by Jeff Chadwick

In addition, various potential team members have been in touch about volunteering.

I believe we will have a great team this year – as in previous seasons.

And, please note – don’t hesitate to contact me if you have ANY questions about the project.

So do the only logical thing – join the 2012 team!!! :-)

Aren Maeir

Iron I pottery workshop at Ben-Gurion University

2012-01-26T18:48:53Z

Today, I was fortunate to be able to participate in a very interesting workshop on Iron Age I pottery from the Northwestern Negev, organized by Prof. Gunnar Lehmann (prof. as of yesterday!!), from Ben-Gurion University.
The workshop, which was held at Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba, including two lectures (by David Ben-Shlomo on the Iron I materials from Tel Jemmeh; and by Mario Martin on a petrographic study of the pottery from the Iron I/II Negev Highland sites [with some very interesting results regarding the origin of the handmade "Negebite" pottery and the wheelmade ones as well]), and then a hands-on survey of a very nice selection of Iron I (and early IIA) pottery from a series of sites in the NW Negev, including:
Qubur el-Walayda; Tel Sera; Nahal Patish (and see here a description of our visit to this site a few years ago); Tel Jemmeh; Tell el-Farah (South); as well as a few other small sites in the general region.
The viewing of the assemblages demonstrated how micro-regional features are extremely important in analyzing pottery assemblages, and that each region (and subregion) has unique features and characteristics.
It was a fascinating and enriching day – and I hope we have many other such opportunities in the future.

Thanks to Gunnar!

Aren

Visit to Tell for sampling

2012-01-26T17:04:08Z

Yesterday, Thursday, January 25th, a group of us visited the tell to take some samples for analysis from Area A. Alex, Louise, Steve Weiner, Elisabetta Boaretto, Yotam Asscher and some visitors from Australia came to the tell to take some samples for phytolith analysis and 14C dating from the early Iron Age levels in Area A (Louise’s area).
Since it has rained in the last few days, there was a lot puddle around the tell, but we were very lucky and had great weather. As usual, the views of the tell and the surroundings at this time of year are stupendous – and for those of you who only see it in the dry summer months – quite hard to believe.

Here are some pictures that I took yesterday:

A view of the tell from the north

Here are some of the group that was on the tell – all happy and cheerful!

Here is a view of the puddles in the squares in the eastern side of Area A – notice that so far, the balks are still standing not too badly!

Here is a view to the Bedouin camp just to the east of the tell

And here is Yotam – actually doing the work…

It’s always a pleasure to visit the site during the winter months!

Aren

Great clip about Neot Kedumim

2012-01-18T22:05:13Z

Todd Bolen has blogged about Neot Kedumim and put up a great video clip about this fantastic place.

Neot Kedumim is a center where they try to recreate the nature and agriculture of biblical times – very well worth a visit!

Aren

More grant opportunities

2012-01-17T09:11:16Z

Here are two more travel grant opportunities for those who would liek to join us:

ASOR - http://www.asor.org/fellowships/excavation.html

PEF - http://www.pef.org.uk/grants/

and don’t forget the BAS (already posted) and the AIA (posted earlier today).

Grant for first time volunteers

2012-01-17T07:31:51Z

For those of you thinking of joining us, and haven’t been on a dig yet – check out this grant opportunity:

http://www.archaeological.org/grants/708

Good luck!

Sculptures of Calixtlahuaca

2012-01-17T00:31:55Z

By Jennifer Burley

The small collection of sculptures that we have from Calixtlahuaca reflects the diversity of sculpture production at the site.

(SS-00-01) A composite photograph of anthropomorphic heads, shown here, exemplifies the varying sizes and styles. The anthropomorphic body appears to be a common theme in sculptural representation.

(SS-00-04) In addition to heads, we also have a relatively large number of sculptures of clothing and body parts. The object in the upper left is part of a headdress, and the object in the upper right is a hand that could have held something. The hand would have been part of a seated anthropomorphic figure with the arms rested on his crossed knees. I was able to identify sculptures similar to both of these in local museums. The object on the bottom left, I believe, is a conical shaped headdress.

(SS-00-03) Many of the sculptures or fragments we have are unknown pieces; a large portion of these are badly damaged. This photograph clearly illustrates the varying styles, sizes, and types of rocks used in sculpture production.

Based on visual analysis, I would like to offer some preliminary conclusions. First, anthropomorphic figures make up nearly half of the collection. If we include heads, body parts, and clothing at least 10 of the 22 sculptures are of anthropomorphic figures. This percentage may be higher, as there were a number of the objects that I was unable to identify. This is indicative of a general interest in the body, either deities or human beings, or both. It is not possible to determine whether these sculptures represent humans or supernatural beings, since we do not have any intact pieces, and there are no defining marks of deities on any of them. Second, there is little uniformity in size, style, and type of stone used. This signifies that the sculptures were not obtained from an organized labor or distribution source. The quality and lack of uniformity reflect local, rather than imperial-style production. Although there are examples of later imperial-style sculptures found at the site, such as the Calixtlahuaca Ehecatl, these were displayed in large-scale ceremonial contexts, while common people likely utilized locally made, cruder sculptures in their homes.

References

Garcia Payón, José. 1936. La Zona Arqueológica de Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca y los Matlatzincas. México: Talleres Gráficos de la Nación.

Umberger, Emily. 2007. “Historia del arte e Imperio Azteca: la evidencia de las esculturas.” Revista Española de Antropología Americana 37.2: 165-202.

Ceramic Attributes

2012-01-17T00:31:36Z

Angela Huster

I just finished up six months in the lab in Toluca. For the past four and a half of those (every since the end of the summer lab season, which I was also here for), I was collecting data for my dissertation project. Most of what I was doing was a more detailed recording of a sample of the ceramics from each of our domestic contexts (each chronological phase for each house or midden). I was recording number of more detailed attributes than our general ceramic classification covers, for an average of eight data points for each of five thousand sherds. These included details of vessel and rim form, rim diameter and percentage, slipping, particular decorative motifs, molcajete (grinding bowl) patterns, and paste type. At the same time, I was selecting a random sample from each context to export for INAA analysis.

I will be using the combination of the project’s basic ceramic classification, my attribute analysis, and the INAA results to investigate a number of changes resulting from the Aztec conquest of Calixtlahuaca. These include changes in the food preparation and serving vessel forms present in household assemblages (such as the comals discussed in an earlier post), changes in items used in household ritual, such as incense burners, and changes in the types and sources of imported ceramics. Stay posted for further updates as I start the number-crunching stage of analysis…

We exported a bunch of artifacts

2012-01-17T00:31:14Z

Just before Christmas I received two boxes of artifacts, sent FedEx from Mexico. We exported a bunch of potsherds, obsidian tools, and charcoal for various technical analyses. Angela was working in the lab all fall, so she had the honor of lugging these boxes to Mexico City and hassling out the final steps of paperwork. To get artifacts out of Mexico, we have to document them thoroughly (with catalogs, descriptions, drawings, photos, etc.) and then convince the Mexican archaeology authorities that we are doing rigorous analyses and have a valid reason for exporting artifacts. Once they approve, officials have to seal up the boxes, and obtain the export forms for Mexican and U.S. Customs. Then someone (Angela in this case!) has to get the material either to the U.S. directly (by car or plane), or to a FedEx office for shipping.

So, now we will submit 20 or 30 charcoal samples for accelerator radiocarbon dating at the University of Arizona; we will send sherds off to Jenny Meanwell for thin sectioning and petrographic analysis (see Angela's post on selecting this sample), and Adrian Burke will get a shipment of obsidian for sourcing using X-Ray flourescence.

We sampled a couple of nearby obsidian sources that are not well documented in the literature in 2010. I thought we had a blog post on this sampling, but it looks like in all the haste and activity at the end of the lab season, no one got around to writing this up. I guess we were so overwhelmed at visiting the Otomi Ceremonial Center that everyone forgot that we only saw that place because we were in the area looking for obsidian. We found a hill completely covered with obsidian. It was wild, which is why I am having such fun in the nice photo that Brad took of me that day. Unfortunately, Brad and Adrian don't think that we have much obsidian from this source, which is pretty low quality material. But we did get source samples and the chemistry will tell......

New article on Cypro-Minoan in Philistia by Brent Davis

2012-01-16T18:16:01Z

Brent Davis, senior member of the Univ. of Melbourne team at Tell es-Safi/Gath (and Louise Hitchcock’s chief assistant) has informed my (and sent me a pdf) of an article of his that was just published, discussing the possible use of Cypro-Minoan writing in Philistia.

Briefly put, after reviewing the relevant evidence from Philistia and beyond, Brent is rather sceptical regarding suggestions to ID Cypro-Minoan inscriptions from Philistia, in particular regarding the inscription from Ashkelon that Cross and Stager published in 2006 in IEJ (mentioned here).

As Brent is one of the leading experts in the field of Aegean writing systems, his input and perspectives on this issue is important, since much of what has been written on this topic has been written by people who were not bona fide experts on this topic.

The article is entitled: Davis, B. 2011. Cypro-Minoan in Philistia. Kubaba 2: 40–74.

Very interesting – and a very important study on the topic of early Philistine language and literacy, of which we know so little.

Way to go Brent!

Aren

Very nice web article on archaeological science at Tell es-Safi/Gath and other sites

2012-01-16T08:04:12Z

A very nice journalistic piece has just appeared on the use of archaeological science at Tell es-Safi/Gath and other sites, with interviews with Steve Weiner (WIS) and yours truly.

Aren

Safi, Ugarit and Cola…

2012-01-16T07:16:34Z

Since I have not posted recently, I thought it time to post on something completely out of the blue, only vaguely connected to Safi (one has to do this once in a while…).
A few years ago, one of the volunteer team members on the dig (and I apologize for having forgotten who it was – I’ll gladly add the name of who it was, if this can be provided – UPDATE – my “senior moment” noted above has been circumvented! Louise Hitchcock has reminded me that it was VAIA LIOUSAS, from the Univ. of Melbourne team – THANKS VAIA!!!), visited Syria right before coming to Israel for the excavations. To my surprise and enjoyment, she was nice enough to bring me a can of cola from Syria! Most amusingly, it turned out that the popular local cola beverage in Syria is called “Ugarit Cola” – named after the well-known ancient site in NW Syria – Ugarit/Ras Shamra.
In light of the very difficult news that we have been hearing from Syria in the last few months, I can just hope that in the near future things will be peaceful – and perhaps even if there is a regime change – might we even wish for peace between Israel and Syria, and then I could even go and get my own can of “Ugarit Cola”!
In any case, here is a picture of the can – and I decided to put it with a background of one of the original reports on the first French excavations (by C.F.A. Schaeffer) at Ugarit (Schaeffer, C. F. A. 1962. Ugaritica IV. Mission de Ras Shamra XV. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale):

And now, that we have made a connection between Safi and Ugarit, hopefully in the future seasons we will find actual material evidence of this at Tell es-Safi/Gath…
:-)
Aren

P.S. I have not yet opened the can – so I don’t really know how it tastes…

Great clip of panoramic view from the top of the tell

2012-01-11T05:40:13Z

Louise Hitchcock has kindly uploaded to YouTube a video (taken by her husband Brian two weeks ago) giving a 360 degree panoramic view of Tell es-Safi/Gath and its surroundings, taken from the summit of the upper tell. The clip starts and ends from the north and gives a view, in the following order:
Ekron, Ramleh, Beth Shemesh area, Elah Valley, Sephelah and Judean hills, Maresha and Beth Guvrin, Lachish region, Tel Zayit region, Qiryat Gath region, Ashkelon, Qiryat Malachi, Ashdod, nearby power station, Kibbutz Kfar Menachem.

The clip gives a nice perspective on the importance of the viewpoints from the site and why it was so important a site in so many periods.

The clip was taken on the modern outlook point on the top of the tell, which was built above the remains of the Crusader castle, Blanch Garde.

Thanks Louise and Brian!

Aren

More interesting material from Area D

2012-01-10T16:56:07Z

The restoration of the pottery from Area is turning out a very nice assemblage of Iron IIA pottery, including new types that we have not seen in previous contexts from this period. This includes many nice Late Philistine Decorated Ware pottery, as well as many bowls, jars, jugs, cooking pots, etc. Also we have a few very unusual vessels, such as several which have holes as a spaghetti strainer! It seems that the assemblage will be a very nice addition to the large assemblage from this period that we already have – mainly in Area A.

Needless to say, the context is of interest as well – found in the area of the stone altar – and perhaps will help us understand activities in this area.

In addition to the inscription on the jar reported a while ago, yesterday we may have found another inscribed ceramic object – but this needs further clarification before we can be sure about this. More details will follow when possible…

Here’s a picture of a complete cooking pot in situ in Area D – several more of this type – which becomes particularly common in the 8th cent. BCE – have now emerged from the pottery restoration carried out by or resorator Dina Castel.

:-)

Aren

"Because It's Cool!" I Want to Excavate the Sewer Contest

2012-01-08T14:10:29Z

Unexcavated but not forgotten, the sewer in Grid 47 stands ready for exploration. If only we had a good reason to go in and a safe way to investigate this truly remarkable discovery.

My argument for why we should excavate the Roman period sewer discovered during the 2011 season -- "Because it's cool!" -- didn't persuade anyone to let us dig it but yours might.

This is your chance to win an ice coffee, or non-alcoholic beverage of your choice, from the Dan Gardens Hotel as well as fame and glory in our informal "Because It's Cool!" I Want to Excavate the Sewer Contest.

It's simple really. In 1000 words or less describe how we can explore the sewer without putting a person inside. Your proposal should include why you think the sewer is worth exploring, your plan, the equipment and/or technology required to implement it and the approximate cost of your plan. The lucky winner may, just may, see their plan put into action.

Mail your plan to tracy@digashkelon.com.

Entries are due by March 31st and the winner will be announced on May 1st.

Be creative! Be inspired! And find me a way to get into the sewer! I'm ready to see where it goes!

First Volunteer for 2012

2012-01-07T20:55:51Z

Christina Bregard is our first volunteer for the 2012 season! this is not only exciting because of our first volunteer, but because Christina was with us for both the 2011 Spring and Summer season, and is not only great in the field but also a great person and a lot of fun to have with us. here is a picture of christina enjoying her time on the dig.

Great to have you back Christina!

New series on Israeli TV that takes place at Kibbutz Revadim!

2012-01-05T13:56:46Z

Shira Gur-Arieh has informed me that there is a new series on Israeli TV called “Yehefim” (= Barefoot), which is about life in a kibbutz. It is filmed on location at Kibbutz Revadim, where the Tell es-Safi/Gath team stays during the season.

See here a clip from the film in which one of the main characters shoots and kills a peacock – the same peacocks that drive us all crazy during the season! I’m sure you remember – the peacocks that continuously say “Lior! Lior!”

Finally – someone with a real solution!
:-)

And if you watch the clip to the end, there are some nice views of the landscape around the kibbutz.

But please – don’t think of also shooting them this summer – it won’t be appreciated (or legal)…

Aren

2011 in review

2012-01-04T10:35:17Z

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

Madison Square Garden can seat 20,000 people for a concert. This blog was viewed about 66,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Madison Square Garden, it would take about 3 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

First registration forms for the beginning of the new year!

2012-01-04T09:33:28Z

Well today, I received the first registration forms and payment for one of the volunteer team members in the coming 2012 summer season. While some of you may be thinking: “why only now?” – I see this as the indication of a soon to appear massive flood of applications! I have my rain gear on – send ‘em! :-)

Remember – if you won’t be there this summer when we find all the goodies – you may never forgive yourself for missing out on this opportunity!

Just to get an idea, here’s a couple of pictures what it looks and feels like to find something nice as you are digging:

Would you like to have your picture taken in a similar situation???

See you in July!

Aren

2011 in review

2012-01-01T00:03:38Z

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 12,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

New “Geniza” like find?

2011-12-31T16:08:01Z

News is emerging of a possible “Cairo Geniza” like find in Afghanistan. What may be a large repository of scrolls dating to about 1000 CE may have been found in Afghanistan, and if so, may have important ramifications for the study of Medieval Jewry specifically, and Central Asia in general at the time. Quite exciting!

Fun fact – did you know that the earliest known written document in Yiddish was supposedly found in the Cairo Geniza??

Being that this may be an exciting find – I guess we will have to find at Tell es-Safi/Gath this summer the equivalent of a Genizah – a favissa (a cultic repository; see here about the Yavneh favissa)!

Aren

Happy New Year To All!

2011-12-30T11:02:10Z

Here’s wishing a Happy New Year to all.

And for those of you who will be drinking themselves silly on this occasion, here’s a picture of a Philistine drinking set, including a spouted strainer jug and bowl.

Le-chaim!

:-)

Aren

G. Barkay’s idea

2011-12-29T18:38:14Z

As I mentioned yesterday, Gabi Barkay today gave a talk at BIU at the Jerusalem conference of the Rennert Center in which he spoke about a group of bullae which save for one, all derived from the antiquities market. While those of you who are interested will have to buy the conference proceedings to read more, the gist of Gabi’s quite brilliant idea is to connect between a group of fiscal bullae, with a formula “placename LMLK” to the fiscal system during the reign of Manasseh. He suggests that even some of Manasseh’s regnal dates appear on some of these bulla!
If Gabi is correct, this is quite fantastic, as it provides a previously unknown system for another of the Judahite kings. Also, if correct, it raised additional questions regarding Oded Lifschutz et al. suggestions on the continuation of the use of the LMLK stamps into the early 7th cent. BCE.
Really nice – and that what makes archaeology so much fun! Exciting new finds and interpretations all the time!

Aren

Ben-Tor Fs event

2011-12-29T04:40:04Z

Yesterday (Wed.) evening, there was a very nice event in honor of the Eretz Israel volume in honor of Amnon Ben-Tor. It was held at Yad Ben Zvi in Jerusalem. Many of the “archaeological crowd” in Israel came to event and there were several very moving talks by Amnon’s friends and colleagues – as well as by Amnon himself.
I got my own personal hard copy of the volume and managed to glance at the quite impressive collection of very important articles on a wide range of topics relating to the Bronze and Iron Ages, mainly in the Levant but extending to other regions as well.
There were a few articles by Safi people, including Louise and your’s truly article on Philistine hearths, Itzik Shai and Philistine circumcision and Joe Uziel on MB and LB figurines.
On the way home from the meeting I managed to get a preview of what Gabi Barkay will be talking about in the Rennert Center Jerusalem meeting, which will be held today at BIU, and it is VERY interesting! I’ll let him be the first to discuss the details, but he has some VERY important insights on fiscal bullae, some published already and one new one. The full details will have to wait – and will definitely be worth the wait!!!!

Aren

Gabines on the Ianiculum?

2011-12-29T02:57:30Z

Yes, it can happen - a geographic convergence of sorts, Gabines coming to the hills of Rome. This was the case on the evening of Saturday, July 9, 2011, when the American Academy in Rome and the University of Michigan's Office of Development hosted a reception for friends of the Gabii Project in the Academy's Bass Garden. Welcoming the group were project director Nicola Terrenato, Brodie Remington from the Office of Development, and T. Corey Brennan, the Andrew W. Mellon Professor-in-Charge of the School of Classical Studies at the American Academy. The welcome highlighted the strengths of the University of Michigan and its tradition of Roman studies and Classical archaeology, as well as the ties between the two institutions. After a discussion in the garden about the aims of the Gabii Project, the group adjourned to the Casa Rustica on the Academy's grounds for a visit with the lead sarcophagus excavated at Gabii in 2009. It was a lovely evening - with perfect weather - and the Gabii Project is grateful to its friends and supporters for coming out to share in both a lovely evening in Rome and in our fieldwork outcomes.

BAR “dig-issue” arrives

2011-12-28T04:28:41Z

Yesterday, I received my “hard copy” of the new BAR “dig issue” in the mail. As mentioned previously, on the cover there is a great picture of Mike Ellingsen and the stone altar from Tell es-Safi/Gath, inside there is a piece that I wrote about the altar and its significance (with nice pictures of the altar and Merav Levmore from our team), and also, we noticed that there is a picture of Dr. Elisabetta Boaretto (Lisa) from the Weizmann Institute, taking samples from an Iron Age Philistine hearth at Tell es-Safi/Gath (on p. 20).
And, of course, there is the list with the upcoming digs this summer, including Tell es-Safi/Gath.

Not to bad PR for the dig – and all in one issue…

Aren

Driving on a muddy dirt road at Tell es-Safi/Gath

2011-12-28T03:41:14Z

Louise Hitchcock visited the tell yesterday with her husband Brian who came to Israel for a short visit. Due to the fact that it rained quite hard on this past weekend, the tell and its surroundings were quite muddy. Louise has posted on Facebook a clip of her driving on the dirt road that goes from the eastern side of the tell (below Areas A and E) around the northern side. For those of you who may remember what this area looks like in the summer (rather dry…), the view may seem quite surprising!

Thanks Louise!

Aren

Dina’s Birthday!

2011-12-27T16:06:37Z

Today we celebrated Dina Castel’s birthday in the lab. Dina, as many of you know, is our pottery restorer, and is currently restoring scores of vessels from Area D – including the jar with the inscription (which it turns out we have almost all the fragments!).
Here is a picture of Dina and “Ahmed” cutting the cake!

Happy Birthday Dina!

Aren

Gabii Project at the 2012 AIA meetings

2011-12-27T13:13:23Z

The Gabii Project will be well represented at the upcoming meetings of the Archaeological Institute of America to be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The AIA will convene January 6-8, 2012, at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown (1201 Market Street · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107 USA).

The following Gabii Project presentations are planned:

Friday, January 6, 2012, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Rachel Opitz, Anna Gallone, Marcello Mogetta, and Nicola Terrenato. "The Gabii Project: the 2011 season" in AIA Poster session 2J
Sunday, January 8, 2012, 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM: Anna Gallone. "The Use of Lead in Central Italian Funerary Contexts: The New Evidence from Gabii" in Paper session 7B (Roman Funerary Images and Ritual)

Also on Friday, January 6, material related to the Gabii Project will be presented in a colloquium session focused on 'Comparative Urbanism in the Ancient Mediterranean World.' In that session, organized by Jeffrey Becker and Jamie Sewell, material relevant to Gabii will be part of papers by Becker ("Storied pasts? Archaic and Republican Urbanism Compared"), Marcello Mogetta ("Urban Villages: Comparing Iron Age Settlement Structure in Greece and Italy") and in the discussion offered and moderated by Nicola Terrenato.

We hope to see many of our Gabii Project friends and alums in Philadelphia!

Lecture on new finds at Tell es-Safi/Gath – tomorrow afternoon at TAU

2011-12-25T15:33:55Z

Tomorrow afternoon, as part of the departmental seminar of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University, I will be giving a talk on recent finds from Tell es-Safi/Gath. I’ll be reviewing and discussing major finds over the last few seasons.

The talk starts at 4:15.

Update: The talk was very well-received and there was a very nice discussion afterwards!

Aren

Meeting at Nature and Parks Authority about Tell es-Safi/Gath

2011-12-25T13:41:18Z

Today I participated in a meeting at the offices of the central district of the Nature and Parks Authority (which is located on Tel Aphek/Antipatris). I presented to the participants the finds and future plans of the excavations and how both sides can work together.
In particular, we spoke about the need to work together to stop plans to build a wide road running in the Elah Valley, right next to the northern side of the tel, which would connect to Route 6 (the “Trans-Israel Highway”). If this should come to fruition, not only would this be a serious eyesore and have a very negative impact on the nature and landscape in the region, it would directly damage the northern parts of the site!
I do hope that this planned road can be shot down! Over the last 15 years, the idea has periodically come up, and I hope that it will be buried once again!!

Here is a view from Route 6, looking east, towards the tell – this is the area which potentially would be damaged by such a road:

Aren

And with registration forms come scholarship opportunities

2011-12-22T19:35:10Z

For many volunteers, the expenses of joining a dig make it difficult . However, there are several funding opportunities that can help your way to Tel Burna. here is the one such scholarship:

“BAS offers scholarships of $1,000 every year to a few people who would otherwise not be able to volunteer. To apply, simply send a letter to BAS Dig Scholarships, 4710 41st St., NW, Washington, DC 20016, or send it by e-mail to bas@bib-arch.org, stating who you are, where and why you want to dig—and why you should be selected for a scholarship. We require your mailing address, phone number, e-mail and the names, addresses and phone numbers of two references. Applications must be received by March 15″

OK – due to public demand – I’ve given in a bit regarding the inscription…

2011-12-21T08:12:33Z

Two days ago, I mentioned how playing with Photoshop with pictures of the inscription from Area D did wonders. I was immediately swamped with requests to show pictures of the inscription!

Since I am a nice guy, and in the spirit of the holidays (Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanza, etc.), I decided to post something that will at least partially fulfill these requests (and will whet the appetite for more… :-).

So:

Since I already had mentioned in a previous post that there is a very nice “mem” in the inscription, here is a picture of the “mem” before and after the Photoshop manipulation!

For those of you who are familiar with the chronological typology of the Hebrew alphabet, you’ll see that this fits in very well with other 9th/early 8th cent. inscriptions.

This is the “pre-Photoshop” “mem”

And this is the “post-Photoshop” “mem”

Quite a difference!!!!

And that is all for now…

Aren

More interesting stuff back from the conservation lab

2011-12-20T15:48:55Z

Today, I brought to the lab in BIU a few things that had come back from the conservation lab.

In addition to the jar fragments with the inscription mentioned yesterday (and today we found some additional fragments of this jar in the pottery restoration – but without any more writing), there were several interesting objects. This includes a group of metal objects, including several arrowheads and a blade, as well as several other objects, which were all fused together. These objects had all been found 4 seasons ago in Area D, in the 9th cent. destruction level (not far from where we found the altar this year) within a beautiful “Late Philistine Decorated Ware” jug (which is also being restored now).

This is a picture of a group of the Late Philistine Decorated Ware (from Area A, but from the same destruction level)

And here is a picture of Shira Gur Arieh and yours truly excavating the jug with the metal objects during the 2008 season. Due to the large quantity of finds that were taken out that day (and that we did not want to leave complete vessels exposed overnight for fear that they would be stolen), we had to work in the afternoon and even after sundown, so we put on headlamps to be able to remove the last objects (including the jug with the metal objects group) from the ground.
Too many finds… :-)

Very interesting find! While its meaning and function is not yet clear, it might very well be related to a cultic/religious function if connected to the altar and its vicinity.

This definitely warrants further study!

Aren

Registration Forms are Here!!!

2011-12-20T13:17:41Z

For all those of you who couldn’t take the wait – the registration forms are here – click below or the link on the left!

http://telburna.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/2012_information_registration_package.pdf

Mike Ellingsen (and Tell es-Safi/Gath) on the cover of BAR

2011-12-20T03:51:03Z

Thanks to Charlie Draper’s heads-up (who is a 2011 Safi team member), I would like to point out the great picture that appears on the cover of the new, “Dig Issue” of Biblical Archaeology Review – a great picture of Mike Ellingsen, long-time team member and square supervisor in Area F, and doctoral candidate at Trinity International University! And not to mention – Mike is giving the stone altar a very friendly hug! :-)

In addition, inside the dig issue, as a sidebar to the listings of the upcoming digs this summer (including, of course, the July 1-27 excavations at Safi), there is a piece that I wrote about the excavation and significance of the new altar that we found, along with two very nice fotos (including a picture of Merav Levmore, assistant supervisor in Area D, next to the altar during the excavations).

All in all, that is what I call – GREAT PR FOR THE DIG!!!

Aren

Photoshop tools for reading inscriptions!

2011-12-19T09:56:37Z

Today, I used a very nifty tool in Photoshop (Photoshop CS4, version 11.0) to make an inscription much clearer!
As you may recall, I previously mentioned that we found an ink inscription (and next to it part of an inked-design) on the fragments of a storage jar that was found in Area D, this last season (2011), right next to the stone altar.
The inscription was just returned to me from the conservation lab, where it was cleaned and now the inscription is a bit clearer – but not clear enough.
So – what did I do? I took a regular picture of the inscription (without special lighting, just natural), opened it in Photoshop and then by playing with the “Hue and Saturation” function (under Image : Adjustments) I managed to make the inked inscription stand out astoundingly – almost as if I had taken pictures using an Infra-Red lens! The difference was quite impressive. So much so, that I suggest that everyone who deals with an inscription should do this – even if you have no in-depth knowledge of photography and/or Photoshop!

And no – I’m not going to tell you what it says in the inscription (it is very brief)!

And yes – this is a bit of tease! But hey – you gotta have some fun once in a while…
:-)

Aren

P.S. It’s quite clear that additional fragments of this jar may be found in the coming season! So, if you want to join the fun – here is your chance!

To our Korean team members – hope things stay quiet!

2011-12-19T07:17:25Z

With the news that Kim Jong Il, the dictator of North Korea, has died, I can but hope and pray that this will not be an excuse for the “somewhat” deranged North Korean leadership to revert to violent actions against neighboring South Korea!

I can but wish only the safety and security to our past and future Korean team members, and their family, friends, etc.!

Who knows, perhaps the apparent heir to the leadership of North Korea, Kim Jong Il’s son, Kim Jong Un, will decide to change the country’s policy and rejoin the family of nations?! Perhaps his experiences in the west when he was younger (and the fact that he is an NBA fan…), might just do this. One can hope and pray!

Aren

Lecture on the Sea Peoples and Philistines

2011-12-17T21:06:05Z

On Thursday, I participated in a workshop, organized by the IAA and the Institute of Archaeology of the HU, which dealt with times of crisis. Various papers were presented, dealing with Prehistoric, Bronze/Iron Ages and the Roman periods.
Yours truly gave a paper on how I understand the process of transformation between the LB and Iron Ages, with particularly focus on the Sea Peoples and the Philistines.
I started by pointing out that many of the “explanations” on the Sea Peoples/Philistines over the last decades are overly simplistic – both the classical “conservative” ones, as well as the newer, at times “iconoclastic” suggestions. I brought various examples of this to accentuate the problem.
I then suggested that perhaps we need to look for more multi-faceted explanatory frameworks, which would enable us to envision more complicated processes and situations. I particularly suggested that explanatory frameworks such as those recently suggested by Philipp Stockhammer and others (“Entanglement/Verflechtung”) and Louise Hitchcock (“Transculturalism”) may help move out of what seems to be an impasse in the understanding of these complicated processes.
I definitely think this is a direction worthwhile exploring.

Aren

New article on the Tell el-Yahudiyeh ware from Beth Shean the Central Jordan Valley

2011-12-15T18:38:51Z

Today I received a PDF of a chapter by Bob Mullins and yours truly on
the Tell el-Yahudiyeh ware pottery from Beth Shean and the Central Jordan
Valley, which is about to appear in one of the Tell el-Daba excavation
report volumes.

The paper is entitled:
Maeir, A. M., and Mullins, R. 2011. The Tell el-Yaduhiyeh Ware from Beth
Shean and the Central Jordan Valley. Pp. 577–89 in Tell el-Daba VIII: The
Tell el-Yahudiyeh Ware and Its Classification, D. Aston and M. Beitak.
Denkschriften der Gesamtakademie Untersuchungen der Zweigstelle Kairo des
Österreichischen Archäologischen Instituts. Vienna: Austrian Academy of
Sciences.

Nothing to do with Tell es-Safi/Gath, Philistines, etc., but nevertheless – interesting!

Best,
Aren

That's All, Folks!

2011-12-15T12:13:59Z

Well, the Tell Edfu 2011 season is over. We packed up our calipers and trowels and headed back to the US December 10. Now it's time to ink the pottery drawings, digitize the profile drawings, and start analyzing the small finds (like the several hundred seal impressions we found)- there's plenty of work for the next 10 months!

If you'd like to help us for future digs, please click here! We want to thank all of our wonderful backers- without you, this project would not be possible! We would also like to thank the SCA and our inspector Osama for making this a productive and successful season.

We thank you for following us on our journey and hope you'll join us next year!
- The 2011 Edfu Team

A Talmudic view on archaeology

2011-12-14T18:50:27Z

See this view on archaeological activities (“entering ruins”) from the Babylonian Talmud – makes one think… :-)

Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berakhot, 3:a-b
Our Rabbis taught: there are three reasons why one must not go into a ruin: because of suspicion, of falling debris and of demons. — [It states] ‘Because of suspicion’. It would be sufficient to say, because of falling debris’? — When the ruin is new. But it would be sufficient to say: ‘because of demons’? — When there are two people. If there are two people, then there is no suspicion either? — When both are licentious [there is suspicion]. — [It states] ‘Because of falling debris’. It would be sufficient to say: ‘because of suspicion and demons’? — When there are two decent people. [It states] ‘Because of demons’. It would be sufficient to say; ‘because of suspicion and falling debris’? — When there are two decent people going into a new ruin. But if there are two, then there is no danger of demons either? — In their haunt there is danger. If you like I can say, indeed the reference is to one man and to a new ruin which was situated in the fields; in which case there is no suspicion, for a woman would not be found in the fields, but the danger of demons does exist.

Ahem!

Aren

The Aztecs, 3rd edition

2011-12-12T04:35:26Z

The third edition of my book, The Aztecs, is now out. I just received my advance copies; it should be available for purchase in about a month (although you can go ahead and order it now!). Calixtlahuaca is discussed in a number of places in the book, and there are some photos and drawings from our project.

I managed to get a photo of Calixtlahuaca on the cover of my book, Aztec City-State Capitals (2008). For the new edition of The Aztecs, the cover shows the nice double-stair pyramid of Teopanzolco in Cuernavaca.

Louise’s interview by “Landminds” radio show

2011-12-08T09:55:29Z

Louise Hitchcock was interviewed for the radio show “Landminds” by the hosts Barnea Selavan and David Willner (whose intelligent and well-informed questions and discussions stand out as an excellent example of how journalism SHOULD be done!), and Louise talks about her research in general and her work and ideas about the excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath – in particular her views on the Philistine culture, its origins, and significance.

Click here for the first part of the interview and here is the 2nd part of the interview.

Check it out! Very nice interview.

Aren

Louise and Jo at the lab

2011-12-07T13:27:47Z

Today, Louise Hitchcock and Josephine (Jo) Verducci, from the Univ. of Melbourne team to Safi, came to the lab in BIU.

Louise came to go over (with Alex and yours truly), some of the pottery baskets from the early Iron Age levels in the part of Area A that Louise supervises. We did in fact re-read this pottery and saw a nice amount of LB (including Mycenaean and Cypriote imports), earliest Iron I (including Myc IIIC) and mid-Iron I (including Philistine Bichrome). It seems quite sure that in the next season (or maximum two), they will be excavating levels of the very beginning of the Iron Age with substantial Myc IIIC pottery

Jo on the other hand came to the lab to start looking at the Iron Age jewelry from the site, as part of her PhD on Philistine jewelry. In particular, she was looking at the jewelry from the Iron I tomb that was excavated in Area T a few years ago, which we are now in the midst of preparing a comprehensive, final publication (for a preliminary study of some of the finds from this tomb, see the article mentioned here).

T’was an interesting day!

Aren

The definitive explanation of what archaeology is all about!

2011-12-05T19:39:30Z

Thanks to Stephen Savage and Eric Cline, here is a must read – if you want to truly understand what archaeology and archaeologists are all about!

:-)

Enjoy!
Aren

The last week of this season

2011-12-04T05:07:52Z

As the days are getting colder (this morning it is 50 degrees Fahrenheit / 10 degrees Celsius here, the same temperature as in Chicago!) we are getting near the end of our 2011 season. Our last day on the tell will be on Thursday, December 8th. During the next few days we will be busy in packing up everything on site and do the last drawings and recordings. Natasha, Janelle and Lindsey are taking care of the large amount of pottery sherds which will be packed according to their respective archaeological contexts in plastic bags and cardboard boxes before getting put into the pylon of the temple which is their temporary storage location until we come back next year. Greg and Hratch are finalizing work at the pyramid, mapping the structure with our Total Station equipment and finishing the cleaning work along the northern side. Meanwhile the guards' house is also almost ready and once we have left, guards will be stationed there to protect the site. Kat and Nadine will be going to the magazine at Elkab tomorrow in order to take the last boxes of small finds (mainly animal bones and some stone and clay tools) where they will be stored for future study.

Today we have two site visits: The Chicago House team is coming for their annual visit and we are all really excited to have them as our guests and show them the results from this season. Our kitchen staff, led by our Chef Mohamed is also pretty excited, they have been preparing today's lunch since last night! There is somewhat of a competition between Mohamed and Tayeb, the Chef from Chicago House....
We will also have a group of tourists from Ancient World Tours (AWT) visiting the site today which is in fact our first official visit this year. We are looking forward to show them the site including the silo court and underlying columned hall of the late Middle Kingdom administrative complex. Since it is only a small group, Osama (our inspector from the Edfu inspectorate) gave us the permission to take them up on the tell which is a real advantage for any site visit.

Louise Hitchcock lectures at the Albright

2011-12-01T18:10:19Z

As previously mentioned, Louise Hitchcock, leader of the Univ. of Melbourne team at Safi, presented a very nice lecture at the Albright Institute this evening, to a packed room of listeners.
Louise, after introducing herself, the excavations at Safi and other things (including several pictures of the Australian ambassador[s]), gave a very nice talk in which she presented her understanding of the Philistine/Sea Peoples processes in general, and how the finds from early Iron Age Tell es-Safi/Gath and in particular from Area A where her team is digging can be used to understand these, and other processes.
In particular, she discussed her ideas about seeing the Philistine/Sea Peoples cultural processes as a process of “Transculturalism” (or “multivocality”), in which the many cultural influences seen in the Sea Peoples’ cultures are taken into account, whether foreign, local, and the various intermixes of this.
In particular, she presented finds from Area A which she believes are of ritual/symbolic meaning, and how these finds can inform us about the processes of the creation of the Philistine identity during the Early Iron Age.
For those of you interested in reading some of the issues that she discussed, you can look at her paper that is about to be published:
Hitchcock, L. A. 2011. ‘Transculturalism’ as a Model for Examining Migration to Cyprus and Philistia at the End of the Bronze Age. Ancient West and East 10: 267–80.

I enjoyed the talk very much – and believe that Louise laid the groundwork for some very interesting studies, in relationship to the understanding of the finds from the Tell es-Safi/Gath excavations, the Sea Peoples/Philistine “question”, the LB/Iron Age transition, and general conceptions on cultural interaction and change.

Hooah Louise!!

:-)

Aren

News from Tell Edfu

2011-12-01T13:00:54Z

After some silence on our blog due to internet connectionproblems, we are back on track now with our regular updates on the work at TellEdfu. Everything is very quiet here in Edfu and we are continuing our work asusual. On Friday we were joined by our photographer Julia Schmied who usuallyworks at Chicago House for most of their season (thanks to Ray Johnson we canhave her for a week working with us). Juli is in charge of taking photos of allthe small finds especially the sealings. Those are often difficult to see withthe naked eye and good photos are necessary for any further study of them.

As reported in our last blog entry, excavation work on thetell stopped last Thursday and the current activities focus in different areassince Saturday:

2. At the tell work focuses on the analysis of thepottery from the silo / columned hall area by Natasha and Janelle with Lindseyhelping wherever an extra hand is needed. Valerie is in charge of the OldKingdom material newly discovered this season.

3. Kat and Nadine are spending most of these daysin the magazine at Elkab studying the hundreds of sealings found during theprevious seasons while Juli is using the dark room there to take the photos.

Valerie and Magdy working on the Old Kingdom pottery

A fine survey of some of our most esteemed colleagues

2011-11-30T20:33:36Z

Stephen Savage (thanks Stephen) has pointed out a very important review of the careers and achievements of some of the leading figures in the field of archaeology.
Clearly, this is a well-written, judicious and important contribution for those interested in defining the leading figures in our profession, delve into the history of modern research, and more fully understand the sociology of science…

:-)

Aren

Seal-impression marathon

2011-11-29T05:24:16Z

This is the second week that Kat and Nadine have been working on the analysis of all the clay sealings found during the excavations of the late Middle Kingdom administrative building and the silo court. There are over 1500 sealings currently stored in the magazine of Elkab!!! Now that we are more familiar with the motifs and inscriptions that occur at Edfu, it is possible to identify even the smallest fragments of the seal impressions. Another major focus has been the correct identification of the backtypes, whether the sealings were originally attached to wooden boxes, doors, bags, baskets and papyrus letters. We identified many peg sealings which usually form the majority of backtypes at other sites but we can further distinguish between round and square pegs of different sizes that were closing wooden boxes and doors. There is also a relatively high number of basket and bag sealings present while the papyrus seals are the least frequent type. Another surprise was to find a sealing of Sobekhotep IV (mid 13th Dynasty) with his paternal affiliation, so far we only had several sealings naming his mother.
The two of us are able to analyze about 160 to 200 sealings a day and the iPads have been a very useful tool for recording the details. This work should be finished by the end of the week.

Nadine and Kat working in the magazine with the iPads

Work at the Pyramid of el-Ghonameya

2011-11-26T15:56:53Z

Thisproject, which is directed by Gregory Marouard is closely linked to the TellEdfu Project and has the objective of cleaning and protecting the lastunexplored pyramid which belongs to a group of small provincial step pyramids. Like the other six known examples thisstep pyramid was built at the end of the 3rd Dynasty or at the very early 4thDynasty at the latest (reign of Huni to Snofru). Each pyramid is situated near a major provincial center (Elephantine, Edfu, Hierakonpolis, Naqada etc.). None of these monuments had a funerary purpose (there is noburial chamber or pit) but it seems to have had a symbolic function linked tothe cult of the royal ka or acting as a marker for the royal power in theprovinces.

The fastgrowing village nearby and ever expanding cemetery near this site have hadmuch impact on its preservation. At the moment the site is alsothreatened by the construction of a new gas pipeline. These reasons haveconducted us to take action and start this rescue project.

Cleaning work started one week ago and withthe help of 40 workers, Greg and Aurelie have been able to clear already a large part of the structurefrom the sand and rubble that was covering it. This work progressed much faster than initially assumed.

The pyramid before the cleaning work started

Thesuperstructure measures 18.5 m along its sides and still reaches a height ofabout 6 m, which is about half of its original height. The angles and the threesteps of the structure are now visible. The foundations have been reached alongthe western half of the southern face revealing six layers of well-cut stoneblocks which are in fact the original face of this pyramid and which are perfectlywell preserved. Some graffiti have been noticed which will be studied in depthby Hratch Papazian who joined our team on Thursday.

The southern face on Thursday

Thecleaning work will continue for another week in order to expose the wholemonument and conduct some careful cleaning along the base of the pyramid inorder to check for any possible associate structures of mud-brick.

At the same time we are helping the localinspectorate to finish the building of a small hut for the guards who will bepermanently stationed at the site for its protection when we are gone. Nextseason we are planning to focus on the conservation – restoration aspect of thismonument including a long-term site management plan if funding permits. TheEdfu pyramid is still available for adoption!

The cleaning of the pyramid in progress

Save the date: December 1st, 2011 – Lecture by Louise Hitchcock at Albright

2011-11-24T08:43:12Z

On Thursday afternoon (4 pm), December 1st, 2011, Louise Hitchcock, long-term senior team member of the Tell es-Safi/Gath team (and leader of the University of Melbourne team at the excavations) will be presenting a lecture at the W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem (26 Salah ed-Din st., Jerusalem).
The lecture is entitled: “The Philistine Remains at Tell es-Safi/Gath and their Regional and Transcultural Connections with the Aegean and Cyprus”. In this lecture, Louise will discuss the finds relating to the Philistine culture that have been found at Tell es-Safi/Gath and their implications for understanding the development and relations with other cultures and regions in the eastern Mediterranean.
If you are interested in listening to this lecture, do get in touch with the Albright Institute to inform them that you will be coming to the lecture.

Here is a picture of Louise (with the green shirt) and some of the members of the Melbourne team, standing around an early Iron Age I Philistine garbage pit (it is quite astounding what it takes to make archaeologists happy!)…

Aren

Article on Philistine hearths published

2011-11-23T17:16:53Z

So today is quite a productive day, as in addition to the article mentioned in the last post, I received today as well the pdf of another article that was just published:
Maeir, A. M., and Hitchcock, L. 2011. Absence Makes the Hearth Grow Fonder: Searching for the Origins of the Philistine Hearth. Eretz Israel (A. Ben-Tor Volume) 30: 46*-64*.
In this article, Louise Hitchcock and I discuss the appearance of hearths in the early Iron Age at Philistine sites. We also discuss the various types of hearths, their origins, and suggest various issues relating to the origin of the Philistines and the development of their culture.

Here is a picture of Elisabetta Boaretto and Shira Gur Arieh sampling one of the hearths from Area A.

Aren

P.S. I’m sure you also noted that rather cute pun in the title…
I’ll guess I’ll have to have a few hearth to hearth talks about this…

Article on metal production at Iron Age Tell es-Safi/Gath published

2011-11-23T11:04:40Z

A new article on the finds from Tell es-Safi/Gath has just been published. The article, written by Adi Eliyahu-Behar and 8 other scholars (including yours truly) deals with a metallurgical production location found two years ago at Tell es-Safi/Gath. This production location (a “smithy”) dates to the Iron Age IIA and is located in Area A right next to the Iron I/IIA temple (with the two columns – see for example here). The uniqueness of this feature is, inter alia: 1) it is the first such feature found in Iron Age Philistia; 2) its proximity to the temple; 3) that both Bronze and Iron objects were produced at this location (usually, these two technologies are not found in the same location).
For those of you interested in the biblical text, the discovery of metallurgical remains in early Iron Age Philistia is interesting in relationship to I Sam 13:19-23, which some scholars believe implied a Philistine monopoly on Iron production. If this text does reflect early Iron Age times, it should be noted that it does not have to be understood as implying an actual monopoly. Not to mention that there is evidence of metal production from Israelite sites, such as the contemporary smithy from nearby Beth Shemesh.
The finds have been mentioned previously in this blog, for example here and here.

The article is entitled:
Eliyahu-Behar, A., Yahalom-Mack, N., Shilstein, S., Zukerman, A., Shafer-Elliott, C., Maeir, A. M., Boaretto, E., Finkelstein, I., and Weiner, S. 2012. Iron and Bronze Production in Iron Age IIA Philistia: New Evidence from Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel. Journal of Archaeological Science 39(2): 255–67.

Aren

Town walls of the First Intermediate Period and early Middle Kingdom

2011-11-22T05:24:11Z

Another objective of this season has beenthe cleaning of two large enclosure walls, which are situated along thenorthern part of Tell Edfu. Aftertwo weeks of cleaning work a 70 m long section of the First Intermediate Periodtown enclosure wall is now clearly visible. This enclosure was doubled on itsexterior during the early Middle Kingdom by a new wall made of remarkably largemud -bricks. Further investigations in this area revealed some settlement remains built against the insideof the enclosures, which were spared by the sebbakhin. Those were also cleaned and are now ready for excavation which isplanned for next year. These settlement remains provide a good glimpse of thedevelopment of the town in this area, and the ceramics from these levels will helpto establish the chronology of the occupation related to the town walls.

(by NMoeller and GMarouard)

View south-west of enclosure wall

Silos leaning against the town wall

Rounding up the ASOR-SBL meetings

2011-11-21T20:52:50Z

While the SBL meeting is not over yet, it is almost time for me to leave San Francisco, and I thought I’d give a rundown of events from my perspective. The ASOR meeting included many lectures – a number of which either dealt with Tel Burna (such as those by Chris McKinny, Amit Dagan, Joe Uziel and Itzick Shai) or were given by various members of the Tel Burna team (Debi Cassuto, Itzick Shai in a different lecture, and Michael Press, with two lectures, including his talk on “(Pytho) Gaia in Myth and Legend: The Goddess of the Ekron Inscription Revisited”, for which he received the Aviram Prize).

In addition to the lectures – our close friend, colleague and advisor for many years – Aren Maeir, received the Ernst G. Wright from ASOR for his book on the Jordan Valley in the MB! Way to go Aren!

At the SBL, our lecture was part of a session on Judah in the Iron Age, chaired by Ann Killebrew and Tammy Schneider, who spoke of the late Anson Rainey and his strong presence in this session in the past. Not only was Tel Burna featured, but so was Tell es-Safi/Gath (Aren Maeir) and Tel `Eton (Avi Faust), as well as a reappraisal of the finds from Tell Nasbeh (Jeffrey Zorn). While the session was very interesting, admittedly the ceremony unveiling the book in memory of Hanan Eshel was even more moving, particularly the touching words by Aren and Estie. Hanan was one of three prominent scholars that we recently lost Anson Rainey and Ehud Netzer being the other two. At both meetings, several sessions were dedicated to the memory of these three scholars – two of which I am proud to say that I had the honor of studying with. In general, their presence was felt throughout the meetings, as they have helped form what scholarship is in our field today. Yehi Zichram Baruch.

Lecture at SBL

2011-11-21T06:13:23Z

Today we gave a lecture at the meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature on the finds at Tel Burna, particularly the fortifications and the ability to securely date them to the Iron Age II, and how this helps reconstruct the geopolitical situation in the Shephelah. afterwards, we attended a ceremony announcing the publication of the volume in honor of Hanan Eshel, which will go on sale tomorrow through Brill publishers.

Here is the presentation we used for our lecture.

Burna_SBL Presentation

Sunday at the SBL

2011-11-21T03:25:58Z

Today, I went to some of the sessions at the SBL meeting and in particular to the two sessions on Bible and Archaeology which were organized by Tammi Schneider and Ann Killibrew. In the 2nd session I gave a paper on the 8th cent. at Gath, along with, inter alia, papers on Tel Burna and Tel Eton.
Then after the session, I went over the Qumran session, where we had a small event where Jodi Magness and I presented the volume in memory of Hanan Eshel to Esti Eshel. The volume by the way can now be purchased at the Brill booth at the SBL.
And tomorrow its back to Israel.

Aren

Days 3-4 at ASOR

2011-11-20T02:22:41Z

Just a couple of things about the last two days at the ASOR meeting.
On Friday, I started out the day with a nice little thing – I was awarded the Ernst G. Wright from ASOR for my book on the Jordan Valley in the MB!
I then had to go for a full day meeting for the editorial board of the Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception with a short lecture at the BAS Bible Fest.
On Saturday, in the morning, a bunch of us went out for a walk around SF, and then in the Afternoon I heard several nice lectures, including by Rona Avissar, Louise Hitchcock and Brent Davis.

And now its off to supper!

Aren

Day 2 at ASOR

2011-11-19T02:25:59Z

Today, we continued to participate in the ASOR conference, meeting many friends, including Matt Suriano and hearing interesting lectures about a slew of topics, including a paper by our very own Debi Cassuto, who spoke about differentiating domestic and industrial weaving contexts. Of course the highlight of the day was presenting our paper on the finds from Tel Burna. The paper summarized the finds from the first two seasons of excavation. basically we ran down the Late Late Bronze Age strata in Area B, and the Iron Age II-III sequence on the summit, including the fortifications and silos. All in all, the paper was well recieved and generated much interest. Here is the Power Point presentation that we gave:

Burna_ASOR Presentation

Day 1 At Asor

2011-11-18T06:16:36Z

Today was the first full day of lectures at the annual ASOR conference in San Francisco. Among many interesting lectures given, the Burna crowd shined, with Itzick giving a lecture (albeit not on Tel Burna) on the immigration of the Philistines, Amit gave a paper on the 8th Centruy pottery at both Tell es-Safi Gath and Tel Burna, and Chris gave a paper on the history of research of Tel Burna, including researchers from the mid 1800′s until today. All three lectures were informative, interesting, well-presented and thought provoking.

Hopefully tomorrow will be another great day here in SF.

day 2 at ASOR

2011-11-17T23:16:04Z

Although it is not over, I’m taking a break since I’m totally jet-lagged. The morning was very nice. The Philistine session that Jeff and I chaired was very well attended and lots of very nice papers. I mentioned the yet-undeciphered inscription from near the altar in Area D and that got a lot of questions from the crowd.
After the session, I went to a few other very interesting talks, including about Qubur el-Walayda, Tell Hammam, and Dhiban.
After that, the lack of sleep got to me and I had to go rest.
Now going back for some afternoon lectures.
No rest for the wicked… (actually, there was…)

Aren

Meetings in SF

2011-11-16T23:42:26Z

I arrived today in San Francisco for the ASOR and SBL meetings. Great weather in town and looks things will be very nice.

Flew in yesterday from Israel, and made an overnight stop in Springfield MO, where I lectured at Central Bible College, at the invitation of Mark Jenkins, who has led the CBC team to Safi in the last two years. It was nice to meet up with some of the CBC Safi team. The lecture went well and I hope this coming season we will have a nice group from CBC!

Aren

Kinnelon Lecture Last Night

2011-11-16T12:49:31Z

Last night, we gave a lecture to a crowd of around 50 people at the Kinnelon Public Library in Kinnelon New Jersey, where Debi’s parents live (special thanks to them for setting it up and hosting us!).

The talk gave a rundown on what archaeology is, what Biblical archaeology is, Tel Burna, some of the nice finds and our intentions with different projects, such as running an open excavation where anyone can come – even for a day – and the Rebuilding the Walls project.

The lecture went very well, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. afterwards we received some interesting questions before closing up.

All in all – a great success. Thanks to everyone who came out to hear us!

For those who didn’t – you can still catch us in San Francisco

Here is a picture of our wonderful hostess, Myrna Weisselberg, in front of the board announcing our talk.

Finishing excavations in the silo area

2011-11-15T16:24:03Z

We have reached the end of the excavations in the silo - columned hall area today (Zone 1) which has been the focus of our excavation since 2005! The last floor levels in relation to the northern columned hall have been excavated. The only things left to do there is to sieve the soil from this excavation for sealings and to analyze the small finds that were found within them. Then two more profile drawings need to be made and that's it!

Greg, Aurelie and Ali are excavating the last layer of the columned hall

Greg with the last muktaf of pottery

Lindsey also finished the excavation in her area which lies on the exterior of the silo court wall. We still need to take photos of this part which is planned for tomorrow morning.
From Saturday onwards, work will start at the small step pyramid situated 4 km south of Tell Edfu near the village of el-Ghonameya. Greg is in charge of this rescue excavation (there are plans for a pipeline to be placed right through the site!) and will start extensive cleaning work on the pyramid itself. More about this part of the Tell Edfu Project soon!

Taya and Abu Fathma are sieving the last heap of soil for sealings

Pottery Update

2011-11-14T12:31:50Z

Tasha and I have been frantically trying to get the pottery drawn. We have a big announcement to make: we know why the Middle Kingdom collapsed! An abundance of hemipherical-cups and bread moulds indicates that Edfu was constantly partying at the end of the Middle Kingdom (and since Edfu was always the trend-setter, the rest of the country must have followed suit). This allowed the Hyksos to easily come into the country and take the throne!*

*Not intended to be a factual accounting.

So far we have almost 100 sherds drawn, though "Pottery Town" doesn't seem to be running low on inhabitants, and since Lindsey has delivered 23 baskets-worth in the past 3 days, Pottery Town is actually growing! Kat has been rummaging around in Pottery Town for more ostraca from Silo 388, and has added 4 more to her corpus.

-Janelle

“Reliving Biblical Times: A View from Tel Burna – Where Past and Present Meet”

2011-11-13T15:24:29Z

Tuesday, November 15 at 7:00 PM

Have you ever thought of what it feels like to uncover a hidden lost world? To touch history – not just read about it? That is what archeology is all about, and we would like to share excitement and experiences with you. Tel Burna – a fortified town over 2500 years old – is located on the border between two ancient political rivals: Judah and Philistia. The archeological research at the site has begun to reveal how people living in this border city lived and interacted with others, and how their lives were affected by their close proximity to “the enemy”.

Please call the Library at (973) 838-1321 to register for this free program.

Work on small finds this season is focused on both excavated material from this year and from previous seasons. Small finds documentation on site includes everything from figurines and beads to animal bones and flint chips. All small finds are brought down from the tell to be documented (measured, described, sketched, and labeled) and entered into our database in the field.
In only three weeks we have already added to our corpora of seal impressions and demotic and hieratic ostraca. The Columned Hall area has yielded over 1,100 seal impressions in the last five years and our exciting new additions include the institutional seal of the mayor of Edfu and seal impressions with royal names. Over 200 new impressions have been found in the Columned Hall during the last two days of excavation. In addition to looking at the design of the seal impression, we also examine what they were sealing. Negative impressions of cloth, papyrus, wood, pegs, and string let us know if the seals were placed on bags, boxes, doors, or papyrus documents and help us reconstruct the activities that were taking place in the Columned Hall. Work for the next week and a half on site will focus on registering the seal impressions so that they can be transported to the magazine at el-Kab for further study, photography, and storage.

Seal Impression from the Columned Hall
Seal Impression Back with Papyrus Impression

In the magazine at el-Kab, I am further documenting the ostraca from previous seasons. The magazine staff is extremely helpful and the magazine is a great work space. More than 300 complete and fragmentary Hieratic, Demotic, Coptic, and Greek ostraca have been found at Tell Edfu. During the summer, we had the infrared filter removed from a Nikon CoolPix camera in order to convert it to an IR camera. Using the camera and additional IR filters when needed, I have been working on photographing all of our ostraca. The camera is perfect for ink that is faded, smudged, erased, or obscured by dirt and salt. Although it sounds complicated, the setup is extremely easy and ideal for working in the magazine at el-Kab or even in the field. The results so far are exciting—some texts that I thought were too damaged to read are remarkably clear in the photos.

Infrared Camera Setup

Work on objects will continue in the field and in the magazine for the rest of the season!

2011-11-12T15:36:55Z 2011-11-12T15:04:00Z Kat noreply@blogger.com http://www.blogger.com/profile/10537142528575588922 tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1387133259926291213 Edfu Team noreply@blogger.com http://www.blogger.com/profile/02502996617268665421 Tell Edfu - The 2011 Season</h1> <p>2011-11-12T15:36:55Z</p> <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Work on small finds this season is focused on both excavated material from this year and from previous seasons. Small finds documentation on site includes everything from figurines and beads to animal bones and flint chips. All small finds are brought down from the tell to be documented (measured, described, sketched, and labeled) and entered into our database in the field.  <p class="MsoNormal">In only three weeks we have already added to our corpora of seal impressions and demotic and hieratic ostraca. <span> </span>The Columned Hall area has yielded over 1,100 seal impressions in the last five years and our exciting new additions include the institutional seal of the mayor of Edfu and seal impressions with royal names. Over 200 new impressions have been found in the Columned Hall during the last two days of excavation. In addition to looking at the design of the seal impression, we also examine what they were sealing. Negative impressions of cloth, papyrus, wood, pegs, and string let us know if the seals were placed on bags, boxes, doors, or papyrus documents and help us reconstruct the activities that were taking place in the Columned Hall. Work for the next week and a half on site will focus on registering the seal impressions so that they can be transported to the magazine at el-Kab for further study, photography, and storage.</p><br/><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CPH6v5ScHXg/Tr6NVJAZxUI/AAAAAAAAANI/NqgVg52VGQI/s1600/Blog4.jpg"></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">Seal Impression from the Columned Hall</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eYVdtj_akfI/Tr6N4Ouc6WI/AAAAAAAAANU/Zdy8Oa2-9P4/s1600/Blog3.jpg"></a></p><div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: 85%;">Seal Impression Back with Papyrus Impression<br/></span></div><br/><br/><br/> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uxB-zdh9PnI/Tr6PzqeaVTI/AAAAAAAAAN4/rjvJ0Ygb3QY/s1600/Blog1.jpg"></a>In the magazine at el-Kab, I am further documenting the ostraca from previous seasons. The magazine staff is extremely helpful and the magazine is a great work space. More than 300 complete and fragmentary Hieratic, Demotic, Coptic, and Greek ostraca have been found at Tell Edfu. During the summer, we had the infrared filter removed from a Nikon CoolPix camera in order to convert it to an IR camera. Using the camera and additional IR filters when needed, I have been working on photographing all of our ostraca. The camera is perfect for ink that is faded, smudged, erased, or obscured by dirt and salt. Although it sounds complicated, the setup is extremely easy and ideal for working in the magazine at el-Kab or even in the field. The results so far are exciting—some texts that I thought were too damaged to read are remarkably clear in the photos. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br/></p><span style="font-size: 85%;"><br/></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CYZYXJ6Z7BM/Tr6OLlZxc8I/AAAAAAAAANs/YxPAf7Luf98/s1600/Blog2.jpg"></a><span style="font-size: 85%;">Infrared Camera Setup<br/></span></div><br/>Work on objects will continue in the field and in the magazine for the rest of the season!<br/><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"></div></div> </article> <article> <h1>Kent Fieldwork Evening 2011</h1> <p>2011-11-12T12:38:11Z</p> <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">UniKent Archaeological Fieldwork Evening 2011 Recent discoveries and current research of The Department of Classical and Archaeological Studies Tuesday 29th November 7-9 p.m. KLT5 An evening of illustrated lectures: free, and open to all. Dr Francesco Trifilo Estate agents’ distance meters and ancient gameboards: a report on fieldwork in the Forum Romanum, Rome Ms Celine [...]</div> </article> <article> <h1>Just announced: new volume of Haifa conference proceedings in press</h1> <p>2011-11-11T03:27:54Z</p> <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Last night, Prof. Gershon Galil (Haifa), who was the (principal) co-editor has informed me that the volume of the proceedings of the conference on the early Iron Age that was held in Haifa in 2010 (which had been mentioned previously in this blog <a href="http://gath.wordpress.com/2010/05/07/some-tell-es-safi-related-things-this-week/" target="_blank">here</a>), is about to appear (should be out in January 2012), and has appeared on the <a href="http://www.ugarit-verlag.de/" target="_blank">Ugarit-Verlag</a> website.</p> <p>The volume is entitled:<br/> Galil, G., Gilboa, A., Maeir, A. M., and Kahn, D., eds. 2012. <em>The Ancient Near East in the 12th-10th Centuries BCE: Culture and History. Proceedings of the International Conference held at the University of Haifa, 2–5 May, 2010</em>. Alter Orient und Altes Testament 392. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag.</p> <p>For TOC of the volume, see <a href="http://www.ugarit-verlag.de/aoat-392.htm" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> <p>Among other articles in the this volume, there is a long paper by yours truly that summarizes the finds from the Iron Age from the 15 years of the Tell es-Safi/Gath Project – and discusses their implications on various issues. </p> <p>In addition to the paper on the Safi excavations, there are quite a few very interesting and important articles within this volume, dealing with a wide range of historical and archaeological topics relating to the Iron Age of the ancient Near East (and beyond).</p> <p>Aren</p> <br/> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/gath.wordpress.com/2988/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/gath.wordpress.com/2988/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/gath.wordpress.com/2988/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/gath.wordpress.com/2988/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/gath.wordpress.com/2988/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/gath.wordpress.com/2988/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/gath.wordpress.com/2988/" rel="nofollow"></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Upcoming lectures in the US</h1> <p>2011-11-10T18:16:24Z</p> <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Wanted to give a “heads up” for several lectures that I will be giving in the US as of next week, all of them relating to the finds at Tell es-Safi/Gath.</p> <p>On Tuesday evening, Nov. 15th, 2011, at 6 pm, <a href="http://www.cbcag.edu/page.aspx?pid=1049" target="_blank">I will be lecturing on the excavations</a> at the <a href="http://www.cbcag.edu/" target="_blank">Central Bible College</a> in Springfield MO.</p> <p>On Thursday morning, Nov. 17th, at <a href="http://www.asor.org/am/schedule.shtml" target="_blank">Annual ASOR</a> meeting which will be held this year in San Francisco, I will be co-chairing a session (from 8:20 to 10:20, and giving a paper (from 8:25 to 8:40), on a short synopsis of main the results of the 2011 season at Tell es-Safi/Gath. In addition, in the same session, there will be papers on finds from Safi by Eric Welch, Amit Dagan and Jo Verducci (here is a link to the session schedule: <a href="http://gath.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/plan-of-philistine-session-asor-2011.pdf">plan of philistine session ASOR 2011</a>).</p> <p>The next day (Friday Nov. 18th), at 9 am, I will be speaking at the <a href="http://www.bib-arch.org/travel-study/bible-fest-2011.asp" target="_blank">BAS Biblefest</a> (also in San Francisco), giving an hour long survey of the new finds from the excavations. </p> <p>And finally, on Sunday, Nov. 20th from 4 to 6:30 pm, there will be a session on Iron Age and Persian Period Judah at the Annual SBL meeting (also in San Francisco) in which I will be presenting a paper on Tell es-Safi/Gath in 8th cent. BCE and its relationship with the surrounding peoples and polities (here is a link to the session schedule: <a href="http://gath.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/sbl-session-iron-age-2011.pdf">SBL session Iron Age 2011</a>).<br/> <span id="more-2982"/><br/> You are all invited to come to these lectures!</p> <p>Aren </p> <br/> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/gath.wordpress.com/2982/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/gath.wordpress.com/2982/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/gath.wordpress.com/2982/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/gath.wordpress.com/2982/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/gath.wordpress.com/2982/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/gath.wordpress.com/2982/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/gath.wordpress.com/2982/" rel="nofollow"></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Article in new book on Jerusalem</h1> <p>2011-11-09T20:16:15Z</p> <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Although I have not seen the <a href="http://www.eisenbrauns.com/item/GALUNEART">book</a> and the final version of my contribution, I now see that an article of mine that deals with the archaeology of Bronze Age and Early Iron Age Jerusalem has appeared. In this paper, which is an updated but abridged version of a Hebrew paper that appeared in the first volume of “Sefer Yerushalayim” in Hebrew in 2000, summarizes all the then available data on Jerusalem from the Protohistoric periods until the beginning of the Iron Age II. Since writing the paper, additional relevant data has been uncovered. The paper appears in a volume with many very interesting papers on various aspects relating to the study of ancient Jerusalem. Definitely looks like an important volume!</p> <p>The article is entitled:<br/> Maeir, A. M. 2011. The Archaeology of Earliest Jerusalem. Pp. 171–88 in <em>Unearthing Jerusalem: 150 Years of Archaeological Research in the Holy City</em>, eds. K. Galor and G. Avni. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.</p> <p>While not directly connected to the excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath, the importance of Jerusalem during these formative periods – and the relationship which did exist between Gath and Jerusalem during the Late Bronze (as we know from the el Amarna letters mentioning Shuwardata king of Gath and Abdi-Heba, king of Jerusalem), does, in some way, tie this to our excavations.</p> <p>I assume that the volume will be on display at the ASOR and SBL meetings next week in San Francisco and I look forward to seeing – and eventually getting my copy of the article and the book.</p> <p>Aren</p> <br/> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/gath.wordpress.com/2978/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/gath.wordpress.com/2978/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/gath.wordpress.com/2978/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/gath.wordpress.com/2978/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/gath.wordpress.com/2978/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/gath.wordpress.com/2978/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/gath.wordpress.com/2978/" rel="nofollow"></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Gabii Project announces its 2012 volunteer field program</h1> <p>2011-11-09T13:31:59Z</p> <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><div><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: 0px; white-space: normal;"/></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PpLNE0dbZ-M/TjLlPJLvTsI/AAAAAAAADeU/gghTNknT7s0/s1600/DSC_0182.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Gabii Project 2011 team photo</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: small;">The Gabii Project will offer a field program for students and volunteers in 2012; the program will run from<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong>June 24 until July 28, 2012.</strong> Applications will be accepted online via the project's website and the deadline for applying to the program is<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong>February 28, 2012</strong>; all qualified students are eligible to apply, not just those associated with the University of Michigan. Notifications of acceptance will be made by<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong>March 16, 2012</strong>, and accepted volunteers must submit their payment in full by<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong>April 2, 2012</strong>, in order to secure their spot. No volunteer may participate in the program if the program fee has not been settled in full. The cost for the 5-week program, inclusive of accommodation in Rome, Italy, insurance, equipment, and local transportation, will be<strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>$3,600 (USD)</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>in 2012.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>At this time the possibility of receiving academic credit for participation in the field program is still being negotiated. A final decision will be reached before the application deadline. A credit option might involve an additional fee.</span></div><div><br/></div><div><u><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>In order to apply</strong></span></u></div><div><span style="font-size: small;"><strong/></span></div><ol><li><span style="font-size: small;">Please complete the online<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://sitemaker.umich.edu/gabiiproject/gabii_project_2012_field_program_application_form" style="color: #000066; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">application form</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"/>. Please complete all required fields. </span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;">Then, please be sure to ask two professional recommenders (who know you either from an academic setting or a prior fieldwork experience) to send letters on your behalf to Dr. Jeffrey Becker (gabiiproject-at-umich.edu - replace at with @) not later than<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong>February 28, 2012</strong>.</span></li></ol><div><span style="font-size: small;"><br/></span></div><div><u><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Travel</strong></span></u></div><ul><li style="margin: 3px 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: small;">Volunteers are responsible for covering their own travel costs to and from Italy.</span></li><li style="margin: 3px 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: small;">The point of arrival is Rome, Italy. Rome is served by two airports that handle international traffic. These are Leonardo da Vinci airport, also known as Fiumicino (FCO), and Ciampino airport (CIA) [also known as Aeroporto di Roma-Ciampino or Giovan Battista Pastine Airport]. Fiumicino handles long-haul international flights while Ciampino tends to receive short-haul, EU zone carriers.</span></li><li style="margin: 3px 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: small;">The arrival packet distributed to confirmed volunteers will include specific arrival information and information and logistical details.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></li></ul><div><u><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Accommodation in Rome, Italy</strong></span></u></div><ul><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://accentintl.com/files/5813/0532/3175/RomeRes.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Accent International residence</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: right;"/><li style="margin: 3px 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: small;">The team will be accommodated in Rome’s Trastevere neighborhood in dormitory/apartments provided and administered by the study abroad firm<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://accentintl.com/cities/rome/rome-housing/" style="color: #000066; text-decoration: underline;">Accent International</a>.</span></li><li style="margin: 3px 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: small;">Student accommodations have two to four bedrooms with one to two bathrooms per residence.</span></li><li style="margin: 3px 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: small;">All accommodations have been renovated recently and include common area, kitchen facilities, refrigerator, washing machine, television, and wireless internet. On-site 24-hour/7-days-a-week logistical support is also included.</span></li><li style="margin: 3px 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: small;">Team members will also have access to a study center / business center operated by Accent International.</span></li><li style="margin: 3px 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: small;">The program fee covers the cost of lunch (Monday-Friday), but not other meals which are self-catering.</span></li></ul><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br/><span style="font-size: small;"/><br/><div><u><span style="font-size: small;"> <strong>Work and instruction on-site at Gabii</strong></span></u></div><ul><li style="margin: 3px 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: small;">Volunteers will work on-site Monday through Friday, usually arriving on-site by 7.30am. Prospective applicants should note that this is a labor-intensive program and be aware that working long hours in the hot sun is to be expected. Average daytime temperatures will be in the range of 90˚ F or higher.</span></li><li style="margin: 3px 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: small;">Applicants must be in good health, have passed a recent physical examination, and provide up-to-date records of current inoculations.</span></li><li style="margin: 3px 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: small;">Volunteers will work in small teams supervised by experienced excavators. Additionally, the field program will expose participants to all facets of fieldwork, including working with ceramics and other archaeological materials, environmental sampling, flotation, topography, conservation, and documentation. A regular rotation will be established for field program participants.</span></li><li style="margin: 3px 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: small;">Regular site tours (usually once every 7 to 10 days) will help keep all team members up to speed on the progress of excavation work in the various areas of the site.</span></li><li style="margin: 3px 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: small;">Several optional weekend outings will be arranged where guided tours will be offered by staff members. In past years weekend trips have included the Forum Romanum and Palatine Hill as well as Ostia Antica.</span></li></ul><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zK_Zl_LaKeU/TiLZRCfifyI/AAAAAAAADdw/kMuqTC7uWPg/s1600/DSC_0289.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>2011 volunteers at Ostia Antica</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div><u><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Atmosphere and Experience</strong></span></u></div><ul><li style="margin: 3px 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Gabii Project is a large team (50+ people) effort. Teamwork is the key to our success, but the working conditions can be intense. The successful applicant will be ready to work as part of a large team and welcome the opportunity to work and learn cooperatively.</span></li><li style="margin: 3px 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: small;">The combined experience of the Gabii Project’s multi-national staff offers volunteers the opportunities to learn and practice some of the latest and most cutting edge techniques of field archaeology. Additionally, an excellent staff to student ratio guarantees close instruction in field methodology.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></li></ul><div><span style="font-size: small;"><strong/><u><b>For University of Michigan Students</b></u></span><br/><span style="font-size: small;"><strong/></span></div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong/><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You may be eligible for financial aid via the University of Michigan.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You may be eligible for University of Michigan credit by enrolling for a fall 2012 independent study with Professor Nicola Terrenato. Contact <a href="mailto:mogetta@umich.edu">Marcello Mogetta</a> with your questions.</span></span><br/><span style="font-size: small;"><strong/></span></li></ul><div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>A note on funding</strong></span></span></div><div><br/><span style="font-size: small;">Students accepted for the field program are encouraged to seek outside funding sources to support their participation as the Gabii Project does not offer need-based financial support. Possible sources include one's home department or institution, as well as various competitive fieldwork fellowships like those administered by the Archaeological Institute of America and the Etruscan Foundation.</span></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pI_bQrtiE7U/TinBmWB4mKI/AAAAAAAAC9o/tr6d-9Q89_I/s1600/DSC_0275.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Trench tours on-site in 2011</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br/><span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>Need more information?</b></u></span></div><div><br/><span style="font-size: small;">Please contact Dr. Jeffrey Becker via <a href="mailto:gabiiproject@umich.edu">email</a>.</span><br/><span style="font-size: small;"><br/></span><br/><br/><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://sitemaker.umich.edu/gabiiproject/files/gpr_2012_poster_8.511_dist.pdf">Download</a> the .pdf version of the field program flyer.</div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"></div></div> </article> <article> <h1>Group photo of the Area D team at the end of the season, 2011</h1> <p>2011-11-08T16:20:34Z</p> <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>At the request of Amit and members of the Area D team, I hereby post a very nice photo of the team in Area D towards the end of the excavation, all standing very proudly in back of the altar.<br/> Nice looking group!<br/> <a href="http://gath.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/area-d-team-small.jpg"></a></p> <p>Aren</p> <br/> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/gath.wordpress.com/2974/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/gath.wordpress.com/2974/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/gath.wordpress.com/2974/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/gath.wordpress.com/2974/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/gath.wordpress.com/2974/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/gath.wordpress.com/2974/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/gath.wordpress.com/2974/" rel="nofollow"></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>A hello from 2,500 years ago...</h1> <p>2011-11-08T15:46:46Z</p> <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><div style="text-align: left;">Sometimes, in the desire each day to get as much done as possible (there’s less than two weeks left of excavation in the columned hall area!), we forget that we are excavating the remains of the day-to-day life of real people. Today, we had a small reminder in my area- an actual footprint! It came up in a lower layer of a very thick floor level of what may have been a house courtyard. The pottery analysis indicates an early 18<sup>th</sup><span class="Apple-style-span"> dynasty date for the area. It was one of </span>our workers, Ahmed, who noticed the footprint in the floor. Much like how today children- and adults- will step in wet concrete to leave their mark, over 2500 years ago someone trod barefoot through the wet mud plaster floor in this courtyard.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br/></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here is a photo:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br/></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><br/></div><div style="text-align: left;">And here is the outline of the footprint, if you can't see it in the original (only four toes were easily visible on the imprint): </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br/></div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jMLTaX_Kcak/TrlOds6hF9I/AAAAAAAAANs/_Tg_HMfD2sg/s1600/Footprint%2Bin%2BFl834%2Binf%2B%25281%2529.JPG"></a><div><br/></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"></div></div> </article> <article> <h1>The Tel Burna United States Tour</h1> <p>2011-11-08T11:04:34Z</p> <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Next week, we leave for the USA, for our whirlwind tour of lectures on Tel Burna:</p> <p>The first will be given on Tuesday Night, in Kinnelon New Jersey, where Debi, Itzick and Joe will give a public lecture on “Reliving Biblical Times: A View from Tel Burna. Where Past and Present Meet”. <a href="http://kinnelonlibrary.org/adults/programs/reliving-biblical-times">http://kinnelonlibrary.org/adults/programs/reliving-biblical-times</a></p> <p> </p> <p>We travel from there to San Francisco, where we will put flowers in our hair, for the annual <a href="http://www.asor.org/am/index.html" target="_blank">ASOR </a>and <a href="http://www.sbl-site.org/meetings/AnnualMeeting.aspx" target="_blank">SBL </a>conferences, including several lectures dealing with Tel Burna, including the above-mentioned people, as well as Amit Dagan and Chris McKinny.</p> <p>All told, we will be making a splash. If you’re around – make sure to come hear us.</p> <p>Hope to see you there!</p> <br/> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/telburna.wordpress.com/674/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/telburna.wordpress.com/674/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/telburna.wordpress.com/674/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/telburna.wordpress.com/674/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/telburna.wordpress.com/674/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/telburna.wordpress.com/674/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/telburna.wordpress.com/674/" rel="nofollow"></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Day 2 of Test Pits with IBEX</h1> <p>2011-11-07T15:46:59Z</p> <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Today the Ibex students went out again for more test pit excavations. they had a great time as usual, but hit the jackpot, when one team came a cross a pretty little thing – which turned out to be a beautiful seal! what great luck. Here are some photos from today:</p> <p><a href="http://telburna.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/dscf4075.jpg"></a></p> <p><a href="http://telburna.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/dscf4073.jpg"></a></p> <p><a href="http://telburna.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/dscf4033.jpg"></a></p> <br/> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/telburna.wordpress.com/668/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/telburna.wordpress.com/668/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/telburna.wordpress.com/668/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/telburna.wordpress.com/668/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/telburna.wordpress.com/668/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/telburna.wordpress.com/668/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/telburna.wordpress.com/668/" rel="nofollow"></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Injured Hyena, caught in a trap not far from Tell es-Safi/Gath</h1> <p>2011-11-07T08:04:38Z</p> <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Just recently, a female Striped Hyena (<em><a href="http://www.theanimalfiles.com/mammals/carnivores/hyena_striped.html" target="_blank">Hyaena hyaena syriaca</a></em>) was caught in an illegal trap near the city of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut" target="_blank">Modi’in</a>, about 20 km to the north of Tell es-Safi/Gath.<br/> See here a short clip how the <a href="http://www.parks.org.il/BuildaGate5/general2/company_search_tree.php?mc=378~All" target="_blank">Nature and Parks Authority</a> Rangers brought it in to the NPA wild animal hospital, “fixed it up” and let it loose in nature again.</p> <p><a href="http://mediadownload.ynet.co.il/flowplayerlive/flowplayer.commercial-3.2.5.swf">http://mediadownload.ynet.co.il/flowplayerlive/flowplayer.commercial-3.2.5.swf</a><br/> If for some reason the link to the clip does not work, see the original article, with the clip, <a href="http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4140923,00.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> <p>Hyena’s are also seen in and around Tell es-Safi/Gath, and on two occasions I have seen them. Once I “bumped” into one that was the size of a pony (!!) early in the morning not far from the tell, and once, I saw one being run over by a truck in the Elah Valley, a few km to the east of the site.</p> <p>And BTW – if you ever “bump” into one – give it plenty of room. They are fierce animals with bone-breaking jaws!</p> <p>Aren</p> <br/> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/gath.wordpress.com/2963/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/gath.wordpress.com/2963/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/gath.wordpress.com/2963/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/gath.wordpress.com/2963/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/gath.wordpress.com/2963/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/gath.wordpress.com/2963/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/gath.wordpress.com/2963/" rel="nofollow"></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Day 1 of Test Pits</h1> <p>2011-11-06T20:28:16Z</p> <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Today the team from Ibex went out to Tel Burna to dig some test pits. Just to remind you all, test pits are a method of surveying, in order to gather information about a site, where instead of collecting artifacts from the surface, you excavate small random pits around the site, to a depth of 20 centimeters. by sifting the material, you are able to collect a more diversified and well-balanced sample than surface collection. here are some pics of the IBEX group at work.</p> <p>Thanks to the group from IBEx and hope tomorrow is another great day!</p> <p><a href="http://telburna.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/dscf4065.jpg"></a></p> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://telburna.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/dscf4021.jpg"></a></p> <p><a href="http://telburna.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/dscf4042.jpg"></a></p> <br/> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/telburna.wordpress.com/662/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/telburna.wordpress.com/662/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/telburna.wordpress.com/662/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/telburna.wordpress.com/662/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/telburna.wordpress.com/662/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/telburna.wordpress.com/662/" rel="nofollow"></a> <a href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/telburna.wordpress.com/662/" rel="nofollow"></a> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Latest results from week 2</h1> <p>2011-11-06T08:22:59Z</p> <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">The Edfu team is currently on a small break during the Eid el-Adha feast in Luxor and work at Tell Edfu resumes again tomorrow which will allow us to work for most of the week.<br/>The second week of excavations at Tell Edfu saw much progress especially in the Old Kingdom area and the beginning of cleaning work in a new area to the north of the site.<br/><br/><b>1. The Old Kingdom area</b><br/><br/>With the help of 70 local workers from Edfu and the surrounding villages the clearance work in the Old Kingdom zone advanced considerably. It has been possible to clear almost another meter of old excavation and <i>sebbakh</i> debris which is currently covering the Old Kingdom settlement remains and we can now see the first <i>in situ</i> layers appearing at the surface. It is necessary to build another supporting stone wall to contain this side of the tell as we go deeper and we have hired a local stone mason to start with this work on Monday.<br/><br/><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KW5FE-KZ8_0/TrY9apqGqLI/AAAAAAAAAjA/9az4EFHDSpI/s1600/OK+zone+progress.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Work in progress in the Old Kingdom area</td></tr></tbody></table><br/><br/><br/>Meanwhile, the cleaning and small scale excavation of the vertical <i>sebbakh</i> cuts of the tell in this area (see entry about the results from week 1) has also progressed under the supervision of Greg with Susan and Janelle drawing profiles and excavating small areas here. So far we have discovered several domestic houses and associated occupation levels with much Old Kingdom pottery dating from the end of 4th to 6th Dynasties.<br/><br/><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UKeN29YYTO4/TrY-Azu8KtI/AAAAAAAAAjI/bxKCV5r8JjY/s1600/OK+occupation+5th+Dyn.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Occupation level dating to the 5th Dynasty showing a breadmould (vessel to the left) and large bowl</td></tr></tbody></table><br/><b>2. Columned hall and silo area</b><br/><br/>Excavation also continued in the silo area and it has been the aim to excavate more of the layers associated with the final phases of use and abandonment of the northern columned hall. On Thursday two new sealings naming two different pharaohs have been discovered in the same layer of abandonment. These two kings have been traditionally estimated to have reigned about 80 to 100 years apart from each other, a hypothesis that turns out to be impossible in view of the new archaeological evidence!<br/><br/><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FUMo-HUQ4UA/TrZBRjiw2PI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/zWNtO1WDzWM/s1600/Col+hole.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hole left when stone column base was removed in the northern columned hall</td></tr></tbody></table><br/><br/>Additionally, the last silo (Si 323) that has not been fully excavated up to now, was dug down to its floor level and exposing a second lower lying mud-floor which might have functioned with the first phase of silos in this area. The aim is to reach parts of the northern columned hall floor here, too.<br/><br/><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ItHe84U-7Ag/TrZB7jNgkCI/AAAAAAAAAjY/aVW_SxTS21U/s1600/Work+in+Si+323.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Work in progress inside silo Si 323</td></tr></tbody></table><br/><br/><b><br/></b><br/><b>3. First Intermediate and early Middle Kingdom town walls along the northern end of the tell</b><br/><br/>Week 2 saw the beginning of new work along the northern part of the tell. Remains of several massive enclosure walls have been visible among heaps of rubble and debris including some settlement remains which were spared by the <i>sebbakhin</i> and which are leaning against the inside of the enclosures providing a glimpse of the settlement in this area.<br/><br/>Our work this season will mainly focus on an extensive cleaning operation in order to fully expose the preserved structures including the towns wall which will be mapped and studied in more depth as part of the NEH research program which is currently funding the Tell Edfu Project. Photos and further details will follow soon!<br/><br/><br/><br/>We would also like to thank Ray Johnson and his team at Chicago House, Luxor, who kindly invited us to stay for three days during our mini break! We very much enjoyed spending time with our colleagues from the Oriental Institute!<br/><br/></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"></div></div> </article> </main></body></html>