In the excavations in Area F (just to the NW of the summit of the tell), during the 2006 and 2007 seasons we had some very interesting finds. Amoung them are the remains dating to the Middle Bronze Age II (ca. 2000-1500 BCE), which were found in the western part of Area F, in “Lower Area F” (The overall director of Area F was J. Chadwick and the supervisors of the actual work in lower F were E. Levine and Y. Baruchi).
aerial-view-of-f-with-mbii-wall.jpg (click to see picture)
Components of what seems to be a very impressive section of an MB II fortification were found, including a ca. 12 m section of a well-built stone wall over 2 m thick to which a glacis of earthen layers is attached.
This find has several interesting implications:
1) It shows that there is substantial architectural remains dating to the MB II on the tell – as expected, but until now, not found.
2) Based on the survey and excavations on the tell, the MB II remains seem to be primarily limited to the very top of the tell, and not much beyond. Up until now, there were primarily ceramic finds (but years ago, a scarab of the Hyksos king Khayan was also discovered on the tell).
3) This fits in very well with our understanding of the fluctions in the size of the site over various periods (such as EB – large; MB II – small; LB – large, etc.), in particular in relationship to nearby Miqne-Ekron - the two sites appear to have a “see-saw” relationship: when one was big the other was small and vice-a-versa.
4) It would appear, at least initially, that the finds from Area F strengthen the understanding of the MB II fortifications as de-facto fortications, built for clearly and well-defined defensive purposes (e.g, Stager, Burke, etc.), as opposed to those who suggest that the so-called fortifications of this period in fact had a primarily symbolic/ideological purpose (e.g., Finkelstein, Bunimovitz).
In any case, continued work in this area should reveal additional finds from the MB II, and hopefully, this will provide us with a better understanding of the period and the site’s role during this period.
Aren
7 comments
Comments feed for this article
September 18, 2007 at 11:22 pm
Achish Melek Gat
That’s a mighty good looking aerial photo og a mighty good looking area! :)
AMG
September 18, 2007 at 11:23 pm
Achish Melek Gat
And yes, the word “of” is spelled with an “f” not a “g”. AMG
September 18, 2007 at 11:41 pm
arenmaeir
Thank you, oh kind King, for your comments …
Aren
September 19, 2007 at 2:59 am
Eric Welch
Incredible picture. You just made my day!
September 19, 2007 at 10:57 am
arenmaeir
Eric (for those who do not know, one of the excavators of the MB II fortifications),
If it made your day – then it made mine!
Aren
January 29, 2008 at 9:30 am
Frank Neumann
I am very interested to hear more about settlement patterns during MB IIa and IIb especially in the hillands (Judea, Samaria). Please give more information (settlement densities, important sites)! Is it possible that the hillands were mainly used for agriculture e.g. olive groves not for settlements. Population was obviously centerd in the coastal plain… Pollen signals in the Dead sea show high olive values which were blown in from the west, mainly the hillands.
Thanks!
Dr Frank Neumann
January 29, 2008 at 10:26 am
arenmaeir
Frank,
The settlement pattern during the MB IIA and IIB has been studied by various people of the last several decades. I suggest you look at these (and other) studies:
* Broshi, M., and Gophna, R. 1986. Middle Bronze Age II Palestine: Its Settlements and Population. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 261: 73–90.
* Cohen, S. 2002. Canaanites, Chronologies, and Connections : The Relationship of Middle Bronze IIA Canaan to Middle Kingdom Egypt. Studies in the Archaeology and History of the Levant Vol. 3. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.
* Ilan, D. 1995. The Dawn of Internationalism: The Middle Bronze Age. Pp. 297–319 in The Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land, ed. T. E. Levy. London: Leicester University Press.
* Gerstenblith, P. 1983. The Levant at the Beginning of the Middle Bronze Age. American Schools of Oriental Research Dissertation Series, no. 5. Winona Lake, IN: American Schools of Oriental Research.
* Maeir, A.M. 2002. Perspectives on the Early MB II Period in the Jordan Valley. Pp. 261–67 in The Middle Bronze Age in the Levant: Proceedings of an International Conference on MB IIA Ceramic Material, Vienna, 24th-26th of January 2001, ed. M. Bietak. Contributions to the Chronology of the Eastern Mediterranean III. Vienna: Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaftern.
Aren