Dating the Iron Age IIB Archaeological Horizon in Israel and Judah

The present study deals with a number of chronological markers which contribute to the fine-tuning of Iron Age IIB-chronology of ancient Israel and Judah. The selected markers derive primarily from a corpus of late ‘Assyrian-style’ and/or Assyrianising objects, indicative of the international impact of the Neo-Assyrian Empire on the Southern Levant during the 8th and 7th centuries B.C. While the manufacture of ‘Assyrian-style’ objects in the Southern Levant reached its cultural zenith during the heyday of the Assyrian empire (the so-called Pax Assyriaca), this volume lists several items which in the traditional framework largely predate the Assyrian hegemony over the region, sometimes by several decades. These include: seals (in particular the famous Shema seal found at Megiddo) and bullae, pottery imports and imitations, bronze vessels, lmlk jars and other Judaean storage jars partly stamped with Assyrian-period royal insignia. The arguments that have been presented in this volume may therefore indicate where chronological studies of late Iron Age Israel and Jordan may lead us in the years ahead, if these chronologies are no longer dictated by ‘tentative’ historical fix-points.

Foreword / Contents

Introduction

   1 The Ultimate Aim of this Study: Establishing Absolute Dates

   1.1 Iron Age IIB Chronology in the Light of Selected Markers

   1.2 Iron Age IIA–C: Tightening the Loose Ends

   2 The Material Studied in this Volume

   3 Methodological Considerations

   3.1 The Scope of the Present Study

   3.2 Some More Practical Considerations

   3.2.1 The Dates of the ‘Hebrew Kings’

   3.2.2 The Bible Translation Used

   4 Consequences That are beyond the Scope of the Present Volume

1 Neo-Assyrian Related Sillographic Evidence and the terminus ante quem of Iron Age IIA in Israel and Judah

   1.1 Anepigraphic Bullae from the ‘Rock-Cut Pool Fill’ and the Iron Age IIA–B Transition in Jerusalem

   1.1.1 Introduction

   1.1.2 Conclusions: Chronological Parameters

   1.2 The Shema Seal and the End of Iron Age IIA Megiddo

   1.2.1 The Shema Seal

   1.2.2 The Stratigraphic Context

Excursus 1: Does Amos’ Earthquake Provide a Plausible Archaeological Context?

Excursus 2: The Duration of Iron Age IIA and Its terminus post quem in Israel

2 ‘Assyrian-Style’ Pottery and Its Implications for Israel and Judah during Iron Age IIB (early)

   2.1 General Introduction

   2.2 The Late ‘Assyrian-Style’ Pottery-Conundrum: General Considerations

   2.2.1 Cis- and Transjordanian Imitations and Their Late Assyrian Prototypes

   2.2.2 ‘Assyrian-Style’ Imitations: Predating Assyrian Prototypes?

   2.2.3 Are Lower Dates Indeed Constrained by Historical Correlations?

   2.2.4 ‘Assyrian-Style’ Pottery and Its Impact on Chronology

   2.2.5 Genuine Assyrian-Style Pottery from Assyria

   2.2.6 A terminus post quem within Assyria Proper

   2.2.7 Imitated ‘Assyrian-Style’ and Associated ‘Edomite-Style’ Pottery: Mainly from Cisjordan

   2.2.8 ‘Assyrian-Style’ Pottery from Iron Age IIB Strata in Israel/Judah

   2.2.9 The Arad-Beersheba-Valley Sites: post 701 B.C. = post-Lachish III?

   ​2.2.10 ‘Assyrian-Style’ Pottery Even at Lachish Level III?

   2.2.11 Anachronistic ‘Bathtub Coffins’

   2.2.12 Conclusions

Excursus 1: The Earliest Late Iron Age II ‘Edomite Pottery’ and Its Assumed Judaean Chronological Linchpin: One step out with Evidence?

Addendum 1: Problems with 14C Dates from Edom

Excursus 2: Some Enigmatic ‘Assyrian-Style’ Objects from Kfar Veradim and Tel Dan

3 Iron Age IIB in Judah: The ‘Lachish Level-III’ Horizon and the lmlk-Stamp Impressions

   3.1 General Introduction

   3.2 The Chronology of the lmlk Storage Jars: An Overview

   3.2.1 701 B.C. or Later? A Summary of Some Recent Discussions

   3.3 A Fresh Look at the Royal Stamp Imagery

   3.3.1 The Use of Religious and Political Symbols during the Pax Assyriaca in the Southern Levant

   3.3.2 The Stamped Jar Handle Emblems and Their Possible Connotations

   3.4 Conclusions

Excursus 1: The Use of the Royal Jars: A Tentative Proposal

Excursus 2: Official Names-Seal Impressions on Type 484 Storage Jars: Lack of Positive Markers, Some Speculations

4 Conclusions and Prospects for Future Study

   4.1 Conclusions: the termini post and ante quem of Iron Age IIB

   4.2 Iron Age IIB and the Reigns of Hezekiah and Manasseh: Prospects for Future Research

   4.2.1 The Destruction of Lachish Level III: When Did It Happen?

   4.2.2 Manasseh’s Building Projects: The ‘Second Wall’ and the Siloam-Tunnel

   4.2.3 The Topography and Prosperity of Manasseh’s Kingdom

Abbreviations

Bibliography