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Integrating Micro- and Macro-Archaeology at a Multi-period Site: Insights and Outcomes from Tell es-Safi/Gath

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Cyber-Archaeology and Grand Narratives

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Abstract

During the last two decades, a concentrated effort has been made to integrate macro- and micro-archaeology, in the field and in the lab, in the context of the Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project. In this paper, I discuss the concepts and methods behind this inter- and multidisciplinary approach to field archaeology, and expand on several examples of such work, including aspects relating to on-site sampling for carbon-14 dating, early Philistine metallurgy and plaster production, Early Bronze Age (Canaanite) and Iron Age (Philistine) hearths, and evidence for the physical manifestations of a site-wide destruction of the site during the Iron Age IIA. In addition, I discuss insights that have resulted from two decades of intense interdisciplinary research.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Finkelstein (2016) has recently questioned the early dates suggested by Asscher et al. (2015) for the beginning of the appearance of the Philistine culture in Canaan . While a more detailed joint response is in preparation, I would like to note that I do not believe that the full-blown appearance of the Philistine culture was in the thirteenth century BCE, but rather that the processes associated with the Philistines and “Sea Peoples ” were long and drawn out processes (e.g., Yasur-Landau 2010: 315–325). Yasur-Landau (2010: 328) has suggested that from a stylistic point of view, some of the early Philistine pottery might even date to the late thirteenth century BCE. Similarly, early dates (first decade of the twelfth century BCE) for the LB/Iron I transition have been suggested already at Tell Tweini (Kaniewksi et al. 2011). In addition, there is no reason to assume that only after this or that historical event (such as Rameses III’s battle against the Sea Peoples—if in fact this is a historical event—e.g., Ben-Dor Evian 2015) would the earliest material evidence of these processes appear. Thus, I believe that it may very well be possible that the initial phases of the Philistine phenomenon may have occurred in the late thirteenth century BCE, while the main, full-blown phases occurred later. As mentioned above, this will be discussed in further detail in another publication.

  2. 2.

    In the 2014–2017 seasons of excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath , an additional context with evidence of metallurgical activity was also discovered. This context, dating to the late ninth century BCE, was found in the lower city of Gath, in the vicinity of a temple. As the finds are still being analyzed, their character is not yet fully known, but in any case, the fact that both early Iron Age and Iron Age IIA metallurgical contexts are now known from Tell es-Safi/Gath may help us to better understand the development and character of the metal technology in Iron Age Philistia (for a preliminary overview, see Eliyahu-Behar et al. in press).

  3. 3.

    Excavation and research on the EB levels at Tell es-Safi/Gath was funded by a grant from the Canadian Social Science and Humanities Research Council to Haskel Greenfield (University of Manitoba) and Aren M. Maeir (Bar-Ilan University).

  4. 4.

    The micro-archaeological team was directed by Prof. Steve Weiner. Dr. Jill Katz was the archaeological supervisor of the relevant squares in the excavations .

  5. 5.

    Additional, as yet unpublished, evidence that supports this was found in the analyses of some of the human skeletal remains found in the destruction , which indicates that skeletons were left unburied and exposed to the elements after the destruction and were not buried. Excavations in the Lower City (Area D) revealed that following the destruction , there was a brief attempt to return to the site (only discerned in this area); but this “squatters’ phase” lasted for a very brief period and was quickly abandoned.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 52900, Israel

    Aren M. Maeir

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  1. Aren M. Maeir
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Correspondence to Aren M. Maeir .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA

    Thomas E. Levy

  2. University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA

    Ian W. N. Jones

Additional information

I would like to thank the staff and team members of the Tell es-Safi/GathTell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project for their dedicated work in excavating, analyzing, and interpreting the finds from Tell es-Safi/Gath. In particular, I am particularly grateful to Prof. Steve Weiner, of the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, for spearheading the implementation of the micro-archaeologyMicro-archaeology program at the excavationsExcavations . In addition, thanks to the area and square supervisors in charge of the various excavationExcavation areas discussed in this article: R. Avissar, J. Chadwick, A. Dagan, H. Greenfield, L. Hitchcock, J. Katz, S. Kissos, C. Shafer-Elliott, I. Shai, J. Uziel, E. Welch, and A. Zukerman. From the micro-archaeological side, I would like to thank Y. Asscher, E. Boaretto, S. Gur-Arieh, A. Eliyahu, D. Namdar, J. Regev, L. Regev, R. Shahack-Gross, M. Toffolo, C. Trueman, and N. Yahalom for the various micro-archaeological analyses conducted both on-site and off-site. This research was partially funded by grants from the IsraelIsrael Science Foundation (#100/2013 to AMM), the Canadian Social Science and Humanities Research Council (#895-2011-1005 to H. Greenfield and AMM), and the Kushitzky Fund of Bar-Ilan University.

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Maeir, A.M. (2018). Integrating Micro- and Macro-Archaeology at a Multi-period Site: Insights and Outcomes from Tell es-Safi/Gath. In: Levy, T., Jones, I. (eds) Cyber-Archaeology and Grand Narratives. One World Archaeology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65693-9_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65693-9_3

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