Tel Beth-Shean in the Tenth–Ninth Centuries BCE: A Chronological Query and Its Possible Archaeomagnetic Resolution

In this article, we show how an archaeomagnetic study can help resolve a chronological dilemma related to the correlation and the relative and absolute dating of Iron IIA strata in two adjacent sites: Tel Beth-Shean and Tel Reḥov, located 5 km apart in the Beth-Shean Valley in northern Israel. The excavations at Tel Reḥov revealed three Iron IIA strata (VI-IV), two of which (V-IV), attributed to the late Iron IIA, yielded rich identical ceramic assemblages. These strata cover a time range from the late tenth century to the mid-to-late ninth century BCE, based on a significant number of radiocarbon dates, comparative studies and historical considerations. At Beth-Shean, massive structures of a public nature were found in Stratum S-1a, with pottery similar to that of Tel Reḥov V and IV, but it was difficult to provide a tighter dating. An archaeomagnetic study of burnt mudbricks and a burnt beehive at Tel Reḥov showed a clear difference between Stratum V and Stratum IV. The destruction of Stratum IV corresponded to the destructions of other sites, all attributed to Hazael’s military campaign (s) to the region in the second half of the ninth century BCE. The magnetic signal recorded in the destruction of Stratum S-1a at Beth-Shean corresponded with that of the destruction of the apiary of Stratum V at Tel Reḥov (late tenth to early ninth centuries BCE) and is significantly different from that of Stratum IV at Tel Reḥov. These results, pointing to an earlier date of the destruction of Stratum S-1a at Beth-Shean, are significant for resolving chronological and historical questions relating to northern Israel in the Iron IIA, a period which stands at the heart of the continued debate concerning the historicity of biblical narratives.