Megiddo VI

Megiddo, a key site for the study of the Bronze and Iron Ages, is unique among the sites of the ancient Near East. Featuring remains from over 30 settlements, Megiddo is strategically located on the main highway of the Old World, leading from Egypt to Mesopotamia. It is mentioned in important verses in the Bible and in Egyptian and Assyrian texts. Beyond archaeology, it is of great significance to the fields of the history of ancient Israel and biblical studies. The Tel Aviv University excavations at the site aim, through the implementation of modern methods, to achieve a full stratigraphic-chronological sequence, while placing special emphasis on studies related to the exact and life sciences. The three volumes of Megiddo VI: The 2010–2014 Seasons display a rich set of finds, spanning about 1,000 years of history from the Middle Bronze Age to the Iron Age IIB. They include a large number of studies in archaeology and the exact and life sciences, including topics such as radiocarbon dating, geoarchaeology, paleomagnetism, and metallurgy.

Israel Finkelstein is Professor Emeritus of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University, a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and a foreign member of the French Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Notable among his many published books are The Archaeology of the Israelite Settlement, Living on the Fringe, The Bible Unearthed, David and Solomon, The Forgotten Kingdom, and Hasmonean Realities Behind Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles. Mario A. S. Martin is a research fellow at the Sonia & Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University and a codirector of the Megiddo excavations. He is the author of Egyptian-Type Pottery in the Late Bronze Age Southern Levant and coauthor of Megiddo V: The 2004–2008 Seasons, also published by Eisenbrauns.

VOLUME I

SECTION ONE: INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION: THE 2010–2014 SEASONS

Israel Finkelstein, Mario A.S. Martin and Matthew J. Adams

SECTION TWO: STRATIGRAPHY AND ARCHITECTURE

Chapter 2.1 AREA K: LEVELS K-10, K-9 AND K-8

Mario A.S. Martin, Matthew Schaeffer and Robert S. Homsher

Chapter 2.2 AREA K: SUMMARY OF ARCHITECTURE AND FUNCTION FROM THE MB III TO THE LATE IRON I

Mario A.S. Martin

Chapter 3 AREA H: LEVELS H-15 TO H-13

Melissa S. Cradic

Chapter 4 AREA H: LEVELS H-12 TO H-10

Eran Arie

Chapter 5 AREA Q: LEVELS Q-6 TO Q-1

Robert S. Homsher and Assaf Kleiman

Chapter 6 AREA V: BUILDING 338

Assaf Kleiman, Adam Kaplan and Israel Finkelstein

Chapter 7 AREA W: SOUNDING IN THE NORTHEASTERN SECTOR OF THE MOUND

Assaf Kleiman and Zachary C. Dunseth

Chapter 8 AREA-WIDE 3D MODELING FOR HIGH ACCURACY PHOTOREALISTIC DOCUMENTATION

Adam B. Prins

SECTION THREE: BURIALS

Chapter 9 THE MIDDLE BRONZE AGE BURIALS FROM AREA J

Matthew J. Adams and Melissa S. Cradic

Chapter 10 AREA K: INTRAMURAL PIT AND JAR BURIALS (LEVEL K-10)

Mario A.S. Martin, Melissa S. Cradic and Rachel Kalisher

APPENDIX: BURIAL TYPES COMPARANDA 294

Chapter 11 AREA K: TOMB 100 (LEVEL K-10)

Mario A.S. Martin and Melissa S. Cradic

APPENDIX I: STONE MASONRY-CONSTRUCTED CHAMBER TOMBS IN THE MB–LB I LEVANT

Mario A.S. Martin and Melissa S. Cradic

APPENDIX II: RESIDUE ANALYSIS OF THREE LAMPS

Dvory Namdar

Chapter 12 HUMAN SKELETAL REMAINS FROM CHAMBER-TOMB 100

Marina Faerman and Patricia Smith

Chapter 13 HUMAN SKELETAL REMAINS OF THE INTRAMURAL PIT AND JAR BURIALS FROM AREA K

Marina Faerman

Chapter 14 THE HUMAN REMAINS (1998, 2004 AND 2006)

Galit Sameora and Matthew J. Adams

Chapter 15 FOOD RITUALS AND THEIR SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE IN THE MIDSECOND MILLENNIUM BCE: A VIEW FROM MEGIDDO

Lidar Sapir-Hen, Mario A.S. Martin and Israel Finkelstein

APPENDIX: DETAILS OF THE FAUNA IN THE PIT BURIALS, LEVEL K-10 461

Chapter 16 A BIRD-HEADED KOHL STICK FROM AREA K

Jen Thum

Chapter 17 THE GEOMETRIC BONE INLAYS AND INLAID BOXES OF AREA K

Liat Naeh

Chapter 18 THREE STONE VESSELS FROM THE BURIALS IN AREA K

Jen Thum

VOLUME II

SECTION FOUR: POTTERY

Chapter 19 THE MB III–LB IIB POTTERY FROM AREAS K (LEVELS K-10 TO K-8) AND H (LEVELS H-15 TO H-13)

Mario A.S. Martin

APPENDIX I: STORAGE JAR CAPACITIES

Cydrisse Cateloy

APPENDIX II: RIM EVERSION ANGLES OF COOKING POTS

Yana Kirilov and Mario A.S. Martin

APPENDIX III: AN EGYPTIAN HANDLED CUP FROM UOC AREA BB

Mario A.S. Martin

APPENDIX IV: VESSEL AND RIM COUNTS

Mario A.S. Martin

APPENDIX V: RELIABLE LOCI AND SELECTED BURIALS OF UOC STRATA X–VIII

Mario A.S. Martin

Chapter 20 THE CYPRIOT POTTERY FROM AREAS K AND H

Brigid Clark and Assaf Yasur-Landau

Chapter 21 AEGEAN-TYPE POTTERY FROM MEGIDDO, AREAS H AND K

Philipp W. Stockhammer

Chapter 22 THE LATE BRONZE III AND EARLY IRON I POTTERY FROM LEVELS H-12, H-11 AND H-10

Eran Arie

APPENDIX I: THE COMPLETE VESSELS FROM LEVELS H-12 TO H-10 876

APPENDIX II: CERAMIC CATALOG OF LEVELS H-12, H-11 AND H-10 878

Chapter 23 THE IRON II POTTERY FROM AREA Q

Assaf Kleiman

APPENDIX I: COMPLETE VESSELS AND SHERDS FROM LEVELS Q-6 TO Q-1

APPENDIX II: CERAMIC CATALOG OF LEVELS Q-6 TO Q-1 1034

Chapter 24 GREEK POTTERY FROM AREA Q

Alexander Fantalkin, Assaf Kleiman and Hans Mommsen

Chapter 25 CYPRIOT POTTERY FROM AREA Q

Anna Georgiadou, Assaf Kleiman and Israel Finkelstein

APPENDIX: A CYPRO-ARCHAIC I AMPHORA FROM LEVEL Q-2

VOLUME III

SECTION FIVE: HOARDS

Chapter 26 JEWELRY HOARD FROM EARLY IRON AGE I (LEVEL H-11)

Eran Arie

APPENDIX I: CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF SILVER ARTIFACTS FROM THE LEVEL H-11 HOARD

Naama Yahalom-Mack, Tzilla Eshel, Ofir Tirosh and Yigal Erel

APPENDIX II: RESIDUE ANALYSIS OF THE HOARD’S JUG

Dvory Namdar

APPENDIX III: TEXTILES AND THREADS FROM THE LEVEL H-11 HOARD

Orit Shamir

Chapter 27 AN EARLY IRON AGE HOARD FROM AREA Q

Erin Hall

APPENDIX I: THE AREA Q HOARD, ANALYSIS OF THE METAL OBJECTS AND THE BEADS

Adi Eliyahu-Behar and Naama Yahalom-Mack

APPENDIX II: THE AREA Q HOARD, TEXTILE ANALYSIS

Orit Shamir

SECTION SIX: OTHER FINDS

Chapter 28 FLINT KNAPPING AND THE EARLY BRONZE AGE I TEMPLE: SOME ASPECTS OF THE ORGANIZATION OF LATE PREHISTORIC CULT

Ron Shimelmitz and Matthew J. Adams

Chapter 29 THE LATE BRONZE AND IRON AGE FLINT ASSEMBLAGES

Tamar Rosenberg-Yefet

Chapter 30 THE SMALL FINDS

Sivan Einhorn, Yana Kirilov and Benjamin Sass

Chapter 31 GROUND STONE TOOLS

Yoav Weingarten and Yehonatan Hershkovitz

Chapter 32 STONE VESSEL FRAGMENTS FROM SETTLEMENT CONTEXTS

Jen Thum and Zachary C. Dunseth

Chapter 33 A JUG SHERD WITH AN EARLY ALPHABETIC INSCRIPTION FROM AN IRON IIA CONTEXT IN AREA Q

Israel Finkelstein and Benjamin Sass

Chapter 34 STAMP-SEAL AMULETS

Stefan Münger and Shirly Ben-Dor Evian

Chapter 35 MITANNIAN CYLINDER SEALS

Danilo R. Giordano

Chapter 36 CERAMIC FIGURINES FROM THE IRON IIA IN AREA Q

Margaret E. Cohen

Chapter 37 THE EARLIEST KNOWN SIGN OF TANIT FROM LEVEL H-10

Eran Arie

Chapter 38 BATTLEFIELD ARCHAEOLOGY AT ARMAGEDDON ONCE AGAIN: CARTRIDGE CASES AND THE 1948 BATTLE FOR MEGIDDO

Eric H. Cline, Anthony Sutter and Henry C. Pelgrift

SECTION SEVEN: CHRONOLOGY

Chapter 39 WIGGLE-MATCHED 14C CHRONOLOGY OF EARLY BRONZE MEGIDDO AND THE SYNCHRONIZATION OF EGYPTIAN AND LEVANTINE CHRONOLOGIES

Johanna Regev, Israel Finkelstein, Matthew J. Adams and Elisabetta Boaretto

Chapter 40 THE ABSOLUTE CHRONOLOGY OF MEGIDDO IN THE LATE BRONZE AND IRON AGES: HIGH-RESOLUTION RADIOCARBON DATING

Michael B. Toffolo, Eran Arie, Mario A.S. Martin, Elisabetta Boaretto and Israel Finkelstein

Chapter 41 RADIOCARBON DATING

Elisabetta Boaretto

Chapter 42 OSL DATING IN A MULTI-STRATA TELL: MEGIDDO AS A CASE STUDY

Naomi Porat, Geoff A.T. Duller, Helen M. Roberts, Eliezer Piasetzky and Israel Finkelstein

Chapter 43 THE TEL MEGIDDO PALEOINTENSITY PROJECT: TOWARD A HIGH RESOLUTION REFERENCE CURVE FOR ARCHAEOMAGNETIC DATING

Ron Shaar, Lisa Tauxe, Hagai Ron, Amotz Agnon, Yael Ebert and Israel Finkelstein

Chapter 44 ARCHAEOMAGNETIC DIRECTIONS STUDIED FROM BURNT STRUCTURES AT TEL MEGIDDO

Erez Hassul, Ruth Shahack-Gross, Israel Finkelstein, Amotz Agnon, Norbert Nowaczyk and Ron Shaar

SECTION EIGHT: THE ENVIRONMENT

Chapter 45 THE LATE BRONZE AGE ANIMAL ECONOMY

Lidar Sapir-Hen

APPENDIX I: FREQUENCIES OF SKELETAL ELEMENTS (%MNE), FUSED (F) AND UNFUSED (UF), FOR CAPRINES AND CATTLE BY AREA

APPENDIX II: BUTCHERY MARKS 1498

APPENDIX III: SKELETAL PARTS FREQUENCIES 1501

APPENDIX IV: MEASUREMENTS 1505

Chapter 46 SOCIAL STRATIFICATION IN THE LATE BRONZE AND EARLY IRON AGES: AN INTRA-SITE INVESTIGATION

Lidar Sapir-Hen, Aharon Sasson, Assaf Kleiman and Israel Finkelstein

Chapter 47 THE URBAN ECOLOGY OF IRON AGE TEL MEGIDDO: USING MICROVERTEBRATE REMAINS AS ANCIENT BIO-INDICATORS

Lior Weissbrod, Guy Bar-Oz, Thomas Cucchi, and Israel Finkelstein

Chapter 48 CHARCOAL REMAINS

Mordechay Benzaquen and Dafna Langgut

Chapter 49 SEEDS FROM THE 2010 SEASON

Nili Liphschitz

Chapter 50 A PALYNOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF IRON AGE GRINDING STONES

Mina Weinstein-Evron, Sophia Aharonovitch and Danny Rosenberg

Chapter 51 A LATRINE IN LEVEL H-14

Dafna Langgut, Dvory Namdar, Ruth Shahack-Gross, Eran Arie and Israel Finkelstein

SECTION NINE: GEOARCHAEOLOGY, METALLURGY AND PETROGRAPHY

Chapter 52 GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION IN AREA Q: A DOMESTIC IRON AGE QUARTER

Lior Regev, Dan Cabanes, Robert S. Homsher, Assaf Kleiman, Steve Weiner, Israel Finkelstein and Ruth Shahack-Gross

Chapter 53 HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO BURN DOWN AN ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN CITY? THE STUDY OF EXPERIMENTALLY HEATED MUDBRICKS

Mathilde C.L. Forget and Ruth Shahack-Gross

Chapter 54 OBSERVATIONS ON THE MIDDLE BRONZE AGE MUDBRICK FORTIFICATIONS

Robert S. Homsher

Chapter 55 MEGIDDO OVENS

Shira Gur-Arieh

Chapter 56 IN SITU IRON I BRONZEWORKING IN AREA K: LESSONS FROM AN “EMPTY” SQUARE

Steve Weiner, Naama Yahalom-Mack, Adi Eliyahu-Behar, Mario A.S. Martin and Israel Finkelstein

Chapter 57 METALWORKING AT MEGIDDO DURING THE LATE BRONZE AND IRON AGES

Naama Yahalom-Mack, Adi Eliyahu-Behar, Mario A.S. Martin, Assaf Kleiman, Ruth Shahak-Gross, Robert S. Homsher, Yuval Gadot and Israel Finkelstein

Chapter 58 THE PROVENANCE OF PHILISTINE POTTERY IN NORTHERN CANAAN, WITH FOCUS ON THE JEZREEL VALLEY

Mario A.S. Martin

APPENDIX I: DESCRIPTION OF PETROGRAPHIC GROUPS 1717

APPENDIX II: CATALOG 1728

Chapter 59 NOTES ON LATE BRONZE III AND IRON I PHOENICIAN AND OTHER CONTAINERS AT MEGIDDO BASED ON PROVENANCE ANALYSIS

Paula Waiman-Barak and Ayelet Gilboa

SECTION TEN: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Chapter 60 THE EGYPTIANIZED POTTERY CACHE FROM AREA J: A FOUNDATION DEPOSIT FOR TEMPLE 4040

Matthew J. Adams

Chapter 61 CONCLUDING COMMENTS ON THE LATE BRONZE AND IRON AGES

Israel Finkelstein, Assaf Kleiman and Mario A.S. Martin

Chapter 61.1 THE LATE BRONZE AGE

Mario A.S. Martin and Israel Finkelstein

Chapter 61.2 THE IRON AGE

Assaf Kleiman and Israel Finkelstein

INDEX OF LOCI

Hadar Azrad

Download a PDF sample chapter here: Introduction