Archaeology of Israel
History of Israel | |
---|---|
538–333 BCE | |
Hellenistic period | 333–164 BCE |
Hasmonean dynasty | 164–37 BCE |
Herodian dynasty | 37 BCE–6 CE |
Roman Judaea
Jewish-Roman Wars ) | 6 CE–136 CE |
The archaeology of Israel is the study of the archaeology of the present-day Israel, stretching from prehistory through three millennia of documented history. The ancient Land of Israel was a geographical bridge between the political and cultural centers of Mesopotamia and Egypt.
Despite the importance of the country to three major religions, serious archaeological research only began in the 15th century.
Today, in Israel, there are some 30,000 sites of antiquity, the vast majority of which have never been excavated.[2]
In discussing the state of archaeology in Israel in his time, David Ussishkin commented in the 1980s that the designation "Israeli archaeology" no longer represents a single uniform methodological approach; rather, its scope covers numerous different archaeological schools, disciplines, concepts, and methods currently in existence in Israel.[3]
Archaeological time periods
Paleolithic period
Lower paleolithic
The beginning of the
It is estimated that the people who left the remains discovered on the two sites mentioned belonged to the species
Most of the sites from this period belong to the Acheulean culture, and on many of them remains of elephant bones have been found, together with tools made of flint and basalt. Additional important sites are Revadim, Tabun Cave in Nahal Me'arot Nature Reserve, a site near the city of Holon, and a site located near kibbutz Evron.
At the end of the Lower Paleolithic, between 400,000 and 250,000 BP, the
In December 2020, archaeologists from the University of Haifa announced the discovery at the Tabun Cave at the Mount Carmel site of the oldest known tool used for grinding or scraping, dating back about 350,000 years. According to researchers, this cobble belongs to the Acheulo-Yabrudian complex from the late Lower Paleolithic and was used by hominids for abrading surfaces.[4][5][6][7]
In February 2022, archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority, led by Professor Ella Been, announced the discovery of a 1.5-million-year-old complete Hominini vertebra. According to the researchers, the fossilized bone belonging to a juvenile between the ages of 6–12 is the oldest evidence of ancient Hominini in the Middle East. This latest discovery has shed new light on the story of prehistoric migration. The lower lumbar vertebra, dated to the Early Pleistocene, differs in size and shape from a 1.8-million-year-old skull unearthed at Dmanisi in the Republic of Georgia. After this discovery, co-author Dr Omry Barzilai concluded that different human species produced the two artifacts.[8][9][10]
Middle paleolithic
This period has been dated to the years 250,000–45,000 BP. Fossils of
Judging by the size and content of these sites it seems the population living in the area of today's Israel in that period was small. Groups were small and they subsisted on hunting, consuming the carcasses of dead animals and gathering plants.
Their preferred game was the
In February 2021, archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Haifa University announced the discovery of six lines engraved on a 120,000-year-old aurochs bone near the city of Ramle in the open-air Middle Paleolithic site of Nesher Ramla. According to archaeologist Yossi Zaidner, this finding was definitely the oldest in the Levant. Three-dimensional imaging and microscopic analysis were used to examine the bone. The six lines ranged in length from 38 to 42 millimeters.[11][12][13]
Upper paleolithic
This period in Israel has been dated to between 45,000 BCE and 20,500 BCE, and its sites are associated with two cultural horizons: the
Parts of skeletons were discovered in various sites, but no cemeteries from this period were ever found. It seems that during this era the Neanderthals disappeared from Israel, as they were going extinct throughout the Middle East and Europe at the time.
Epipaleolithic period
In this era, bridging between the mobile bands of hunter-gatherers of the Paleolithic and the agricultural villages of the Neolithic, three different cultures existed in Israel: the
Neolithic period
The Neolithic period appears to have begun when the peoples of the
Archaeological remains
In July 2022, archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of an 8,000-year-old "Mother Goddess" figurine at Sha'ar HaGolan archaeological site. Anna Eirikh-Rose, co-director of the excavation reported that the 20-centimeter long figurine covered by a bracelet with a red bottom was found broken into 2 pieces. It was sculpted in a sitting position with big hips, a unique pointed hat, what are known as "coffee-bean" eyes, and a big nose.[15]
Chalcolithic period
Definition
Understanding of the
Chief among the Chalcolithic cultures of the Levant is the Ghassulian culture of the mid to late Chalcolithic. It might have been preceded by the Bsorian culture. The Ghassulian culture itself is made of several subcultures, one of which is the Beersheba culture.
Subsistence
Hundreds of Chalcolithic sites have been discovered in Israel. Their subsistence was based on farming crops: chiefly wheat, barley and lentils, and on livestock: sheep, goats, pigs and cattle. The livestock was also used for producing wool and dairy products. This is evident from the many butter churns, made of clay, and also from the large number of animal figurines that have been discovered on Chalcolithic sites. People of the Chalcolithic period were also the first in Israel to grow cultivated fruit-bearing trees, such as date palms, olive trees and pomegranates.
Industry and material culture
The
People of the Chalcolithic era also produced a multitude of stone (flint) tools, chief among which were fan scrapers, used mainly for working leather.[19][16][18] Bone tools - such as picks, needles, combs and sickles - were also in use.[16]
Ghassulian art
Elaborate, multicolored, wall paintings, done on plaster, that were probably associated with Ghassulian religious practices, were discovered in the later Chalcolithic layers of Teleilat el-Ghassul, the layers associated with the Ghassulian culture. The painters employed elaborate techniques, including the use of rulers to draw straight lines, and produced works of high accuracy. Periodically, a new layer of plaster would be applied to the wall and covered in fresh paintings. Over 20 such layers were discovered on the walls of one of the houses.[18]
The Ghassulians also produced ivory statuettes, often of naked women or bearded men, or using other motifs, for instance, birds. These statuettes had holes at the top and were probably meant to be suspended by a string. They include motifs found in artifacts from pre-dynastic Upper Egypt (Amratian and Gerzean cultures).[18]
Trade
People of the Chalcolithic engaged in extensive trade. Copper ore for the Ghassulian copper industry was imported from
Archaeological remains
In March 2021, archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of the partially mummified 6000-year-old remains of a child in the Cave of Horror. The skeleton, probably a girl aged between 6 and 12 under two flat stones in a shallow pit grave was revealed with the help of CT (CAT) scan. The burial dates to the Chalcolithic period. The child had been buried in a fetal position and covered with a cloth resembling a small blanket, wrapped around its head and chest, but not its feet. The burial was found along with 1,600-year-old Dead Sea scrolls. Fragments were Greek translations of the books of Nahum and Zechariah from the Book of the 12 Minor Prophets. The only text written in Hebrew was the name of God.[21][22][23][24]
Bronze Age / Canaanite period
The Bronze Age is the period 3300–1200 BCE when objects made of bronze were in use. Many writers have linked the history of the Levant from the Bronze Age onwards to events described in the Bible. The Bronze Age and Iron Age together are sometimes called the "Biblical period".[25] The periods of the Bronze Age include the following:
- Early Bronze Age I (EB I) 3330–3050 BCE
- Early Bronze Age II–III (EB II–III) 3050–2300 BCE
- Early Bronze Age IV/Middle Bronze Age I (EB IV/MB I) 2300–2000 BCE
- Middle Bronze Age IIA (MB IIA) 2000–1750 BCE
- Middle Bronze Age IIB (MB IIB) 1800–1550 BCE
- Late Bronze Age I–II (LB I–II) 1550–1200 BCE
The Late Bronze Age is characterized by individual city-states, which from time to time were dominated by
Archaeological remains
In 2023 February, the remains of two elite brothers buried with Cypriot pottery, food and other valuable possessions were found in a Bronze Age tomb in Tel Megiddo. Bioarchaeologists identified the early evidence of a Bronze Age cranial surgery called trepanation in one of the brothers. The study published in PLOS One reports that the younger brother passed away in his teens or early twenties, most likely from an infectious illness like leprosy or tuberculosis. The older brother, who died immediately after the surgery, had angular notched trepanation and was thought to be between the ages of 20 and 40. A 30-millimeter (1.2-inch) square-shaped hole was created on the frontal bone of the skull after his scalp was cut with a sharp instrument with a bevelled-edge.[26][27]
Iron Age / Israelite period
The Iron Age in the Levant begins in about 1200 BCE, following the
- Iron Age I (IA I) 1200–1000 BCE
- Iron Age IIA (IA IIA) 1000–925 BCE
- Iron Age IIB-C (IA IIB-C) 925–586 BCE
- Iron Age III 586–539 BCE (Neo-Babylonianperiod)
The traditional view, personified in such archaeologists as
Origins of the Ancient Israelites – the Tel Aviv School
Following the collapse of many cities and civilizations in the eastern Mediterranean Basin at the end of the Bronze Age, certain local nomadic groups in eastern Canaan began settling in the mountainous regions of that land (the mountain ranges on both sides of the Jordan River, of which the western part is known today as the West Bank). In this period the Sea Peoples invaded the countries along the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, creating the Philistine city states along the seacoast of southwestern Canaan. Egypt lost its control of the land in the 12th century BCE – the exact date is currently being disputed, and this issue is closely linked to the Low Chronology / High Chronology dispute.[30]
According to Israel Finkelstein, this tendency of nomads to settle down, or of sedentary populations to become nomadic, when circumstances make it worth their while, is typical of many Mid-Eastern populations which retain the knowledge of both ways of life and can switch between them fairly easily. This happens on a small scale, but can also happen on a large scale, when regional political and economical circumstances change dramatically. According to Finkelstein, this process of settlement on a large scale in the mountain-ranges of Canaan had already happened twice before, in the Bronze Age, during periods when the urban civilization was in decline. The numbers of settlers were smaller in those previous two instances, and the settlement-systems they created ended up dissipating instead of coalescing into more mature political entities, as was the case with the settlers of the early Iron Age.[30]
In the early stages of this process, settlements had the form of nomadic tent-camps: a ring of stone houses surrounding an inner yard where the
At the height of this process, in the 10th century BCE, the population of the areas that would become the early Kingdom of Israel and the early Kingdom of Judea (before these kingdoms began spreading into the surrounding lowlands) numbered around 45,000. In the 11th century BCE Shiloh probably served as a religious center and might have held some political power in the region. In the mid to late 10th century BCE an early Israelite state formation emerged (possibly the one referred to in the Old Testament as the Kingdom of Saul).[31][30]
It has been suggested by Finkelstein that this early Israelite state—and not David's 'unified kingdom', which he sees as a "literary construct"—had been the target of the campaign of Shoshenq I to Canaan, in the middle of the second half of the 10th century BCE. There is evidence of a large scale abandonment of settlements in the heartland of the Kingdom of Saul, as described in the Old Testament, around that time—in the land of the Tribe of Benjamin, just north of Judah, the area of Gibeah. This attack by Shoshenq I on the Israelite kingdom was, most likely, a response to this kingdom's attempts to expand into the lowlands of Canaan (as evidenced by a series of destruction events of Canaanite cities in the north of Israel around that time), and a part of this Pharaoh's effort to take control over Canaan.[31][30]
The Kingdom of Judah was relatively small—maybe 5,000 people in the 10th century BCE—and had been a vassal of Israel at least since the early 9th century, when the powerful Omride dynasty had taken over that kingdom, and until Israel's destruction by the Neo-Assyrian Empire in the late 8th century BCE. The Old Testament is mostly a Judean creation, although it incorporates many traditions (and, possibly, texts) from the Kingdom of Israel. As such, it describes the history of these two kingdoms, in the Iron Age, from a strictly Judean theological perspective and its historical account is biased, though it becomes relatively reliable from the 9th century onward.[31][30]
The Kingdoms of Israel and Judah
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Persian period
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Hellenistic period
Many archaeological sites in Israel have yet to be excavated, but many have been surveyed by archaeologists on behalf of the
Roman period
The
- Early Roman period (including the Herodian period) 63 BCE to 70 CE
- Middle Roman period: 70–135 CE (Mishnaicperiod)
- Late Roman period 200–330 CE (Talmudicperiod)
The end of the middle Roman period marks the end of the predominantly Jewish culture of Judea, but also the beginning of Rabbinic Judaism through Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakai in the city of Yavne. Therefore, the late Roman period is also called the Yavne Period.[citation needed]
Prominent archaeological sites from the Roman period include:
In March 2021, archaeologists announced the discovery at the Ramat Gan Safari Park in Tel Aviv of two 1,800-year-old sarcophagi, ancient stone coffins dating to the Roman period. Researchers assumed that the sarcophagi belonged to high-status people buried near Safari Park. The 6.5-foot-long coffins were crafted with limestone mined and designed with Greco-Roman symbolic discs and flower garlands.[35][36][37][38]
In May 2021, archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority led by Dr. Rachel Bar Nathan announced the discovery in the Ashkelon National Park of the remains of a 2,000-year-old Roman basilica complex dated to the reign of Herod the Great. The building had 3 sections, a central hall and two side parts. According to the excavators, big marble columns and capitals surrounded the main hall imported from Asia Minor in merchant ships. Remains of column capitals with plant motifs, some bearing an eagle were the symbol of the Roman Empire.[39][40]
In August 2021, marine archeologists headed by Yaakov Sharvit from the Israel Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of 1,700-year-old coins weighing a total of 6 kg., dated back to the 4th century AD in Atlit. According to Sharvit, coins demonstrated that they were assembled and agglutinated because of oxidation of the metals.[41][42][43]
In July 2022, marine archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) discovered a 1,850-year-old bronze Roman-era coin off the coast of Haifa. The coin, belonging to the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius, depicted the Roman Moon goddess Luna (Greek Selene) and below her an astrological sign of cancer.[44][45]
Byzantine period
The
Findings from the Byzantine period include:
- Byzantine-period church in Jerusalem hills[71][72]
- Byzantine-period street in Jerusalem[73]
- 1,400-year-old wine press[74]
In March 2023, Israel Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of the Byzantine period mosaic with a series of floral patterns in Shoham.[75]
Notable sites
Jerusalem
Ashkelon
Archaeological excavation in
Beit Alfa
One of the earliest digs by Israeli archaeologists, the
Carmel Caves
Mamshit
Old Acre
Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001,[85] Acre's Old City has been the site of extensive archaeological excavation since the 1990s. The major find has been an underground passageway leading to a 13th-century fortress of the Knights Templar. The excavated remains of the Crusader town, dating from 1104 to 1291 CE, are well preserved, and are on display above and below the current street level.
Tel Rehov
Tel Be'er Sheva
A UNESCO World Heritage site since 2005,
Tel Megiddo
A UNESCO World Heritage site since 2005,
Beit She'arim
Gath
Gezer
Tel
Masada
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001,
Tel Arad
Tel Dan
Tel Hazor
A UNESCO World Heritage site since 2005, Tel Hazor has been excavated repeatedly since 1955. Other findings include an ancient Canaanite city, which experienced a catastrophic fire in the sometime in the 13th century BCE. The date and causes of the violent destruction of Canaanite Hazor have been an important issue ever since the first excavations of the site. One school of thought, represented by Yigael Yadin, Yohanan Aharoni and Amnon Ben-Tor, dates the destruction to the later half of the 13th century, tying it to biblical descriptions in Joshua which hold the Israelites responsible for the event. The second school of thought, represented by Olga Tufnell, Kathleen Kenyon, P. Beck, Moshe Kochavi and Israel Finkelstein, tends to support an earlier date in the first half of the 13th century, in which case there is no necessary connection between the destruction of Hazor and the process of settlement by Israelite Tribes in Cannan.[112] Other findings at the site include a distinctive six chambered gate dating to the Early Iron Age, as well as pottery and administrative buildings dating to either the 10th century and King Solomon or, on a lowered chronology, to the Omrides of the 9th century.
Sepphoris
Excavations in
Gesher Bnot Ya'akov
Ain Mallaha
Qesem cave
In Qesem cave, 400,000 years old teeth very similar to modern human teeth were found.[117]
Archaeological institutions
During the last hundred years of Ottoman rule in Palestine, European archaeologists active in the region tended to be Christian, backed by the dominant European powers of the time and the Churches. With the transition from Ottoman to British rule over the land, the pursuit of archaeology became less political and religious in nature and instead took on a more purely historical and scientific character. After World War I (1914–1918) and the establishment of the British Mandate, archaeological institutions tended increasingly to be concentrated in the city of Jerusalem.[118]: 135–136
In 1913–1914 the Society for the Reclamation of Antiquities was established by the Yishuv's intellectual elite. Among its founder were Avraham Yaakov Brawer, David Yellin and Aharon Meir Mazie. The Society changed its name to the Jewish Palestine Exploration Society in 1920 and later to the Israel Exploration Society.[119][120]
The
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Institute of Archaeology was founded in 1926. In 1934 Hebrew University opened its Department of Archaeology, which it considers "the birthplace of Israeli archaeology".[121] The Tel Aviv University Institute of Archaeology was established in 1969.[122]
After the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the
Notable Israeli archaeologists
- Eleazar Sukenik (1889–1953)
- Benjamin Mazar (1906–1995), a founding father of Israeli archaeology[126]
- Yigael Yadin (1917–1984)
- Amir Drori (1937–2005), founder of the Israel Antiquities Authority in 1990
- Israel Finkelstein (1949–present), known for his rejection of the United Monarchy as fact, proposed a later date for Iron Age Israelite archaeology under the Low Chronology
- Amnon Ben-Tor (1935–present), author of Archaeology of Ancient Israel, noted critic of Finkelstein's Low Chronology
- Amihai Mazar (1942–present) Nephew of Benjamin Mazar, noted for his Modified Conventional Chronology, a counter to Finkelstein's Low Chronology
- Large Stone Structure, thought by Conventional Chronology proponents to be the palace of David
New technologies
Israeli archaeologists have developed a method of detecting objects buried dozens of meters underground using a combination of seven technologies, among them echomagnetic soundings, radio transmissions and temperature measurements, able to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant objects such as pipes in the ground.[127]
Politicisation of archaeology
Archaeological research and preservation efforts have been exploited by both Palestinians and Israelis for partisan ends.[128] Rather than attempting to understand "the natural process of demolition, eradication, rebuilding, evasion, and ideological reinterpretation that has permitted ancient rulers and modern groups to claim exclusive possession," archaeologists have instead become active participants in the battle over partisan memory, with the result that archaeology, a seemingly objective science, has exacerbated the ongoing nationalist dispute. Silberman concludes: "The digging continues. Claims and counterclaims about exclusive historical 'ownership' weave together the random acts of violence of bifurcated collective memory." Adam and Moodley conclude their investigation into this issue by writing that, "Both sides remain prisoners of their mythologized past."[128]
As an example of this process, an archaeological tunnel running the length of the western side of the
Damage to sites
From 1948 to 1967, the Jordanian authorities and military forces engaged in what was described as "calculated destruction" in the
The Old City of Jerusalem and its walls were added to the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1982, after it was nominated for inclusion by Jordan.[134] Noting the "severe destruction followed by a rapid urbanization," UNESCO determined that the site met "the criteria proposed for the inscription of properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger as they apply to both 'ascertained danger' and 'potential danger'."[134]
Work carried out by the Islamic Waqf since the late 1990s to convert two ancient underground structures into a new mosque on the Temple Mount damaged archaeological artifacts in the area of
Artifacts from the
The 2011 annual report of the Israeli State Comptroller criticized Waqf renovations on the Temple Mount, which were carried out without permits and employed mechanical tools that caused damage to archaeological relics.[139]
In 2012, Bedouin gold-diggers irreversibly damaged the walls of a 2,000-year-old well located under a Crusader structure at Be'er Limon, near Beit Shemesh.[140]
See also
- List of archaeological sites in Israel and Palestine
- Archaeological remnants of the Jerusalem Temple
- Biblical archaeology
- Excavations at the Temple Mount
- History of Israel
- History of Palestine
- Levantine archaeology
- List of artifacts in biblical archaeology
- Near Eastern archaeology
- Southern Levant
- Temple Mount Sifting Project
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External links
- Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) (English homepage)
- University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Canaan & Ancient Israel Exhibit)
- Israel Exploration Society
- Israel archaeological sites photos
- Nova special, The Bible's Buried Secrets
- Late Bronze Age II as a period of decline, unrest, disaster, and migration
- Early Israel in Canaan
- In the Roman Period Galilee, the vast majority of inhabitants were Jews. They got along sometimes and also fought
- Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs – An index of archaeological sites in Israel