The 11/10th century B.C.E. transition in the Aijalon Valley Region: New evidence from Tel Miqne-Ekron Stratum IV

Abstract

Recent deconstructionist trends within Syro-Palestinian archaeology and biblical studies have now converged on the Israelite Monarchy causing two major ceramic reappraisals of the Iron Age I and II Periods. The result is a proposal for a new low chronology in Syro-Palestinian archaeology. These trends are creating more problems than they are solving by naively assuming ceramic change was consistent throughout Syro-Palestine and manipulating the archaeological data to fit the new models. The dissertation addresses the radical archaeological and historical reconstructions of the current trend by focusing on the Iron Age I-II transition in the northern parts of the Philistine coast and Shephelah (foothills)--Aijalon Valley Region. Excavations at Tel Miqne-Ekron provide new evidence for an evaluation of recent chronological proposals and aide in the development of a ceramic corpus of the Aijalon Valley Region. As a border site between the coastal region and the hills, Tel Miqne is an important site to isolate and compare regional variations and the complex socioeconomic variables that pattern the archaeological record. The dissertation is divided into three parts. Part I includes a review of current work in Syro-Palestinian Iron Age research and an overview of ceramic theory development. Part II contains the core database: (1) development of the Tel Miqne Stratum IV typology, and (2) a comparanda, with other sites in the region and attempt to isolate the chronological and spatial patterns of the Iron Age transition (11/10th century B.C.E.). Part III contains the results and interpretations. This study concludes that: (1) ceramic change is not chronologically homogeneous and therefore regional variation must be incorporated in all ceramic analyses; (2) the proposed new Low Chronology for the Iron Age in the southern Levant cannot be supported by the archaeological evidence; and (3) the Aijalon Valley Region reflects the complexity of the Iron Age transition as many ethnic elements and political groups vied for control of the important crossroads and access to coastal ports.