TY - CHAP
T1 - Tel Beth-Shean in the Tenth–Ninth Centuries BCE
T2 - A Chronological Query and Its Possible Archaeomagnetic Resolution
AU - Vaknin, Yoav
AU - Mazar, Amihai
AU - Shaar, Ron
AU - Ben-Yosef, Erez
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - Archaeomagnetism
KW - Beth-Shean
KW - Biblical archaeology
KW - Dating
KW - Hazael
KW - Iron Age
KW - Tel Rehov
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85207490906&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/978-3-031-27330-8_34
DO - 10.1007/978-3-031-27330-8_34
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AN - SCOPUS:85207490906
T3 - Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology
SP - 787
EP - 810
BT - Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology
PB - Springer Nature
ER -