Ashkelon 7

The Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon continues its final report series with a study of the Iron Age I. Following the dramatic collapse of the Mediterranean world at the end of the Bronze Age, new groups emerged across the Levantine littoral. One of those groups was the Philistines, famous archenemies of the Israelites in the Hebrew Bible. This volume shows how Ashkelon became a Philistine city. The volume presents evidence for the arrival of a new group from the West that changed fundamental patterns of life. Ceramics shapes, architectural patterns, foodways, industrial technology, decorative traditions, and forms of writing are all explored in this volume, and each of these forms of evidence shows how the newly arrived Philistines first responded to the Levantine world around them. After settling in the seaport of Ashkelon, the Philistines continued to trade internationally, as was typical of earlier inhabitants of the city, and their ongoing maritime connections provide additional insight into the economy of the Mediterranean in the twelfth and eleventh centuries B.C. This volume represents the culmination of more than thirty years of archaeological research into questions of Philistine culture, bringing together research from more than thirty scholars covering all aspects of ancient life in Ashkelon during the Iron Age I.

The volume spans more than 900 full-color pages with forty chapters. The architecture, stratigraphy, pottery, and other finds are presented in considerable detail, shedding new light on this important period in the history of ancient Ashkelon. It is an indispensable resource for scholars interested in the history of the eastern Mediterranean or the background of the Biblical world.

“This volume is well-edited, well-organized, and descriptive. It is an important contribution to studies on Philistine material culture during the Iron Age I. It will ultimately serve as an integral reference point for further discussions on Philistia during this period.”—Erin Hall, Review of Biblical Literature

Lawrence E. Stager (1943–2017) was the inaugural Dorot Professor of the Archaeology of Israel at Harvard University and director of the Harvard Semitic Museum (1986–2012). He directed excavations at Idalion (Cyprus) and Carthage (Tunisia). From 1985–2016 he directed the Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon. Among his books are the award-winning Life in Biblical Israel (with P.J. King) and Ashkelon Discovered: From Canaanites and Philistines to Romans and Moslems. In 2016 he received the Percia Schimmel Prize from the Israel Museum for his contributions to archaeology in Israel, and in 2018 the Israel Exploration Society published a volume of Eretz-Israel in his honor.

Daniel M. Master is Professor of Archaeology at Wheaton College and co-directed the work of the Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon from 2007 to 2016. He currently oversees the publication of the Ashkelon final report series and is co-director of excavations at the site of Tel Shimron (Israel). His publications also include the first final report on the 1953–1964 excavations at Tel Dothan and (as general editor) The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Archaeology.

Adam J. Aja is Curator of Collections at the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East formerly the Harvard Semitic Museum) and chief stratigrapher at Tel Shimron Excavations. He served as grid supervisor and later as assistant director for the Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon. He also worked for several seasons at the Tel Miqne-Ekron excavation and at Tel Tayinat in Turkey.

Abbreviations

Contributors

Editor’s Preface

Foreword

Part One: Historical Setting, Architecture, and Stratigraphy

1. Introduction Lawrence E. Stager

2. Biblical Philistines: A Hellenistic Literary Creation? Lawrence E. Stager

3. Grid 38 Adam J. Aja

Phase 20B

Phase 20A

Phase 19B

Phase 19A

Phase 18B

Phase 18A

Phase 17B

Phase 17A

4. Grid 50 Adam J. Aja

Phase 9B

Phase 9A

5. Philistine Architectural Conventions at Ashkelon Adam J. Aja

Part Two: Pottery

6. Early Philistine Coastal Pottery

Daniel M. Master, Joshua T. Walton, and Assaf Yasur-Landau

7. The Twelfth Century B.C. Aegean-Style Pottery at Ashkelon

Penelope A. Mountjoy

8. Decoration in Philistine Bichrome Pottery

Meghan Wylie

9. A Pictorial Krater from Philistine Ashkelon

Lawrence E. Stager and Penelope A. Mountjoy

10. Funerary Iconography on an Infant Burial Jar

Kathleen J. Birney and Brian R. Doak

11. Lamp-and-Bowl Deposits

Dana DePietro

12. Petrographic Analysis

Daniel M. Master

Part Three: Other Artifacts

13. Glyptic Finds (1999–2013 Excavation Seasons)

Baruch Brandl

14. Glyptic Finds (1985–2000 Excavation Seasons) Othmar Keel

15. Egyptian Amulets Christian Herrmann

16. Chariot Fittings from Philistine Ashkelon Lawrence E. Stager

17. Jewelry

Abigail S. Limmer

18. Metal Artifacts and Metallurgical Waste

Adam J. Aja

19. Weaving Implements

Joshua T. Walton and Adam J. Aja

20. Ground Stone

Sara L. Hoffman

21. Lithic Assemblage

Francesca Manclossi and Steven A. Rosen

22. Two Bundles of Hacksilber

Christine M. Thompson

23. Catalogue of Weights

Daniel M. Master

24. Cylinder Seals

Joanna S. Smith

25. Stamp Seals and an Impression

Laura Wright

26. Egyptianized Statuette

Dana DePietro

27. Catalogue of Zoomorphic Vessels

Daniel M. Master

28. Catalogue of Faience and Alabaster Vessels

Daniel M. Master

29. Catalogue of Ivory and Worked Bone

Paula Hesse

Part Four: Inscriptions

30. Hieratic Ostracon Stefan

Jakob Wimmer

31. A Seal with Three Signs

P. Kyle McCarter

32. Cypro-Minoan Handles

Daniel M. Master

Part Five: Faunal, Botanical, and Human Remains

33. Infants

Marina Faerman, Netta Lev-Tov Chattah, and Patricia Smith

34. Faunal Remains

Paula Hesse and Deirdre N. Fulton

35. Plant Remains

Mordechai E. Kislev, Orit Simchoni, and Yoel Melamed

36. Fish Bones

Omri Lernau

Part Six: Archaeometric Analyses

37. Flotation Analysis

Egon H. E. Lass

38. An Early Iron Age Assemblage of Faience Beads

Michael B. Toffolo,Eugenia Klein, Rivka Elbaum, Adam J. Aja, Daniel M. Master, and Elisabetta Boaretto

Part Seven: Spatial Analysis and Conclusion

39. Spatial Analysis

Elise Jakoby Laugier and George A. Pierce

40. Conclusion: Uncovering Philistines

Daniel M. Master and Adam J. Aja

Bibliography

Concordance of Stratigraphic Contexts

Index

Download a PDF sample chapter here: Introduction