The date of the de­struc­tion of the palace at Knos­sos on Crete has been one of the key prob­lems of Aegean pre­his­tory since the palace was ex­ca­vated at the be­gin­ning of the 20th cen­tury. The ex­ca­va­tor Arthur Evans ar­gued for an LM II date as he pre­sumed that the in­scribed tablets found in the palace de­struc­tion lay­ers must have been writ­ten by the peo­ple who had pro­duced the large and richly adorned Palace Style jars which he dated to the LM II pe­riod. Af­ter his death Evans’ date has been ques­tioned, keenly de­bated and fi­nally low­ered to early LM IIIA:2. No­body, how­ever, has stud­ied the amount and dis­tri­b­u­tion of the lat­est pot­tery of LM IIIB date found in the palace, its con­nec­tion to the in­scribed tablets and its pres­ence in the sur­round­ing houses, town and ceme­ter­ies. The LM IIIB pot­tery in Knos­sos is here scru­ti­nized through the Day and Note Books of the ex­ca­va­tion, the orig­i­nal ex­ca­va­tion re­ports in the An­nual of the British School at Athens and the pub­lished sherds and com­plete vases. Fi­nally the close con­nec­tions be­tween the two largest LM IIIB towns, Knos­sos and Ky­do­nia—cur­rently the only ones in Crete with Lin­ear B tablets—are high­lighted.

This volume provides an archaeological study of 152 subterranean complexes at ancient Maresha, including an overview of the site, geological background, typological analysis of chamber types, and documentation of all surveyed installations. Two brief excavation reports offer insights into material culture and daily life during the Hellenistic period. Carved decorative elements—such as niches, altars, reliefs, and betyls—highlight religious diversity and cultural syncretism among Maresha’s residents. Twenty-one inscriptions, mostly Greek with three Semitic, provide rare direct evidence of the activities, identities, and experiences of individuals who used these underground spaces, adding a human dimension to the material findings. Special attention is given to the decline and decommissioning of certain complexes, shedding light on the evolving needs and priorities of the Maresha population. The synthesis examines changes in construction, abandonment, and reuse patterns over time within larger political and economic contexts, ending with a brief overview of Maresha after its conquest by John Hyrcanus I in 112 BCE.

באוקטובר 2023 קיבלתי מייל שהכותרת שלו הייתה הפרויקט לסינון גופות.

האם אפשר לסנן גופות?

אנו הארכיאולוגים מסננים אפר או אדמה כדי למצוא שרידים מתקופות עתיקות, והודות למיומנות זו גייסו אותנו לסייע בחיפוש שרידיהם של הנעדרים מהטבח הנורא שביצעו מחבלי חמאס באזרחי מדינת ישראל ב־7 באוקטובר 2023, לפעמים רק פירורי עצמות.

"הטמפרטורה הגבוהה הביאה לכך שאפילו זכוכיות התפוצצו ונמסו, עץ ונייר הפכו לאבק. לאחר זיהוי וסימון מיקום השרידים ביצענו ניפוי מלא של שכבת האפר. במקרים של שרפה חזקה נעזרנו ברשתות של חלונות לסינון…"

קטע זה ממחיש כיצד המחברת הופכת את האימה לארכיאולוגיה.

הספר הפרויקט לסינון גופות הוא יומן מלחמה שמתעד את סיפורם של הארכיאולוגים שגויסו. הוא מציג תיעוד מפורט של עבודתם, עדות היסטורית לתוצאות הטבח הנורא, כדי שיזכרו בדורות הבאים מה היינו צריכים לעשות ועם מה התמודדנו. התיאורים קשים לקריאה.

זהו מסמך נדיר בעל ערך אישי, לאומי, מחקרי ורגשי, שמתעד בזמן אמת את העומק האנושי והמקצועי של התקופה. הוא נושא בתוכו מסר של אחריות אזרחית ומקצועיות חסרת אגו, שותפות גורל ויכולת אנושית להתמודד עם זוועות באופן שמחפש משמעות, דיוק וכבוד לחללים.

ד"ר איילת דיין היא ראש תחום מחקר והתמחויות בארכיאולוגיה ומנהלת התוכנית האינטגרטיבית ברשות העתיקות. עד 7 באוקטובר היא ניהלה חפירות ארכיאולוגיות ויזמה פתרונות טכנולוגיים חדשניים לתיעוד ולמחקר של שרידים עתיקים. במהלך מלחמת חרבות ברזל גויסה לסייע באיתור נעדרי הטבח, והיא תיעדה את כל הזירות שבהן עבדו ארכיאולוגים מרשות העתיקות.

This two-volume monograph, A Corpus of Samarian Coinage, is the definitive culmination of a major research program focused on the Samarian minting authority during the Persian period. This coinage represents one of the earliest and most varied official coinages produced in the southern Levant, likely being issued from the late fifth century BCE until after the Greco-Macedonian conquest.While building on earlier scholarship, this work offers a substantive re-evaluation of the field. It incorporates numerous newly identified coin types and establishes a robust, modern classification system essential for all future study. The data is based on an exhaustive, multi-year study of the entire corpus of known Samarian issues, involving the global examination of specimens in publications and in public and private collections.

This two-volume monograph, A Corpus of Samarian Coinage, is the definitive culmination of a major research program focused on the Samarian minting authority during the Persian period. This coinage represents one of the earliest and most varied official coinages produced in the southern Levant, likely being issued from the late fifth century BCE until after the Greco-Macedonian conquest.While building on earlier scholarship, this work offers a substantive re-evaluation of the field. It incorporates numerous newly identified coin types and establishes a robust, modern classification system essential for all future study. The data is based on an exhaustive, multi-year study of the entire corpus of known Samarian issues, involving the global examination of specimens in publications and in public and private collections.

This thematic volume focuses on the demise of the Kura-Araxes culture and the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age, a period between about 2600 and 2000 cal BC that saw the gradual disappearance of millennia-long traditions in the region. Specialists reassess the chrono-cultural attribution of several complexes in the region, together with the absolute chronology of the whole sequence. Through this approach, the volume offers a nuanced insight into the changes and continuities of a crucial period between the Early and Middle Bronze Age. The chapters gathered together here also explore the abandonment of long-established settlements, the production of lavishly endowed funerary complexes, testament to the emergence of growing inequalities in society, and the adoption of a far more mobile way of life as revealed by archaeology.

Megiddo VII is the fifth publication in Tel Aviv University’s Megiddo Expedition Series, which meticulously reports and analyzes the archaeological findings from Tel Megiddo. This volume departs from its predecessors by concentrating on two significant, exceptionally preserved and richly furnished interrelated tombs excavated in 2016: Tomb 16/H/50—a monumental masonry-constructed chamber tomb from the Middle Bronze III, and Burial 16/H/45, a simpler pit burial within the former’s mausoleum, from the Late Bronze I.The unusually pristine conditions of the tombs afforded a unique opportunity for scrupulous excavation and indepth study. Presented here in 24 chapters, this report is exceptional in deploying an arsenal of archaeological science methods on a targeted area of the mound. It chronicles the architectural and artefactual finds and positions them within their broader temporal, spatial, and cultural contexts, offering fresh insights into the funerary practices and societal structures of their respective periods.Directed by experts from Tel Aviv University and supported by an international consortium of institutions, the excavation employs cutting-edge excavation, documentation and analytical methods to capture, preserve and study archaeological data. This volume is indispensable for researchers in the fields of Near Eastern archaeology and archaeological science, and for those interested in the complexities of ancient funerary practices

This is the fifth volume of publications of the Bet She’an Archaeological Project, describing the large-scale IAA excavations at the site of Bet She’an–ancient Nysa-Scythopolis, during 1986–2002. Bet She’an V: Hellenistic Nysa-Scythopolis is the second volume presenting the full excavation report of the IAA excavations at Tel Iẓṭabba, conducted between 1991 and 1994. The first volume in this series, Bet She’an IV (IAA Reports 62), focused on two corpora of finds: stamped amphora handles and sealings. The current volume, Bet She’an V, is comprised of two parts (IAA Reports 74/1, 74/2) dedicated to the stratigraphy, architecture and finds from the Hellenistic period. Part 1 provides a brief summary of excavations at Tel Iẓṭabba and an overview of the city’s history, the stratigraphy of various excavated areas and architectural descriptions and analyses. Part 2 describes the small finds, including a comprehensive analysis of the pottery, as well as the figurines, coins, weights and miscellaneous artifacts. Remains from the Early Bronze Age III are presented in Appendix 1.

This book contains the final report of the excavations of Khirbetel-ʿAqd, in the eastern part of Canada Park (between Latrun and Shaʿar HaGuy), conducted by Tel Aviv University in 1978–1980 and 1983. These excavations, led by Professors Mordechai Gichon and Moshe (Ladislav) Fischer, revealed a Hellenistic-period and a Roman-period stronghold and subterranean complexes. Along with the Roman bathhouse of Emmausand the way-station of Ḥorvat Meṣad on the Roman road from Jaffa to Jerusalem, Khirbet el-ʿAqd formed part of a broader regional project that focused on Roman roads and associated sites in the western Judean Hills. The excavations of Khirbet el-ʿAqd, a fortified hill that rises above its surroundings, focused mainly on the southern fortification line and the gatehouse complex in its center, as well as on the subterranean complex to its west. The results of the excavations and their findings indicate the presence of several periods of settlement from the Iron Age to the Ottoman period, but the most significant occupations relate to the 2nd century BCE and to the days of the Bar Kokhba Revolt. Fischer suggested identifying the Hellenistic stronghold at Emmaus, Bacchides,the Seleukid general of Demetrius I had fortified in order to block routes to Jerusalem (161/60 BCE), as described in 1 Maccabees (9:50) and by Josephus (Antiquities XIII.15–16). This identification is accepted by some other scholars as well. The fate of Khirbet el-ʿAqd during the Great Revolt (66–70 CE) is unclear, but its area played an active role in the Roman army consolidation of the western Judean hills, as noted by Josephus (War IV.443–445). This consolidation may have continued during the Bar-Kokhba Revolt. Coins found at the site indicate that it served as a stronghold for the rebels there in the third or fourth year of the revolt (if not earlier) and was contemporaneous with Herodium. Moshe Fischer’s untimely passing in 2021 left some of his archaeological excavation and survey projects unpublished, and several of his former students and colleagues have taken upon themselves the task of bringing them to fruition. The publication of the final report of Khirbet el-ʿAqdby Oren Tal, Professor of Classical Archaeology at Tel Aviv University, fulfils part of that legacy.

Das Buch Death in Ba`ja präsentiert erstmals umfassend die Grabbefunde der 9000 Jahre alten Siedlung von Ba`ja in Südjordanien. Es ist der zweite Band der Abschlusspublikation des DFG-Haushalt und Tod Projektes. Die unerwartet reich ausgestatteten Kindergräber lassen das späte a-keramische Neolithikum der südlichen Levante in neuem Licht erscheinen. Eine Synthese und archäothanatologische Interpretation ist dem empirischen Teil vorangestellt. Der zweite Teil umfasst die Darstellung der Grabbefunde sowie elf weitere archäologische, analytische und bioanthropologische Auswertungen und drei Beiträge zur Restaurierung eines einmaligen Colliers und zur Rekonstruktion des Grabes, aus dem diese Kette stammt.

Textile tools offer a fascinating and yet intimate approach to ancient people. Textile production has been one of the core activities for millennia, spanning from domestic production to royal needs. Textiles were light and easy to transport goods, often exchanged over long distances. Technology and know-how, however, might not have always traveled so easily. This work examines spinning and weaving tools from the Southern Levant (inland and coastal) and Egypt. The chronology of the study is broad, ranging from the the Neolithic until the beginning of the Persian period (600 BC). The objects are investigated from both a diachronic and synchronic perspective to understand their evolution and continuity of use, as well as regional differences and textile production methods. The two areas present an only apparent discontinuity, as political boundaries gave way at various historical moments and the two areas had very close contacts, such as during the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt or the Egyptian domination of the Late Bronze Age. This seems to be reflected in textile documentation, which shows the appearance of Egyptian tools in the Levant, such as spinning bowls, and Levantine tools in Egypt, such as loom weights. However, the result is not so predictable.

The book summarizes the excavations conducted jointly at Tel Gezer by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary from 2010 to 2018. These excavations, which involved significant technological efforts and cleaning almost the entire water system, confirmed that it existed in the Middle Bronze Age IIB (1750–1550 BCE), that the aquifer was the water’s source, and that it was the largest water system in the world from this period yet uncovered, and that this type of system was invented in the Land of Israel. Thus, the enigmas of the water system of Tel Gezer were resolved 111 years after its initial excavation.