Asphalt in iron age excavations from the Philistine Tel Miqne-Ekron city (Israel): Origin and trade routes

Abstract

Asphalts found as pure lumps or coatings on potsherds were excavated at the Philistine site of Tel Miqne-Ekron (12th to 7th century BC) in the southern Inner Coastal Plain of Israel. They were studied using the techniques of petroleum geochemistry and were compared to some natural asphalts from the area: Dead Sea floating blocks (Israel), Wadi Weida’a asphalt (Jordan) and Hasbeya (Lebanon).Tel Miqne-Ekron bitumens show evidence of weathering, indicating biodegradation and oxidation. They contain less aromatics and more asphaltenes than Dead Sea asphalt. Evaporation and biodegradation are recorded at a molecular level, especially via the phenanthrenes and dibenzothiophenes. However, several isotopic and molecular parameters allowed us to correlate the Tel Miqne-Ekron asphalt with the Dead Sea asphalt from the floating blocks. The asphalts of Hasbeya and Wadi Weida’a do not match the Tel Miqne-Ekron asphalt. The latter, in particular, is much more biodegraded, based on its steranes. The study shows that the Dead Sea asphalt was imported to Tel Miqne-Ekron over a 500 year period. This trade posed no problem in the 7th century BC when Philistia, Israel and Judah were at peace as part of the Pax Assyriaca of the Assyrian Empire. However, trade during the 12th century BC is puzzling since the asphalt had to be transported across Israelite territory that was hostile to the Philistines, as indicated in the Bible (e.g., Samson and Delilah, David and Goliath). Consequently it seems that profitable commerce surpassed ethnic, religious and political conflict, as can also be observed in the contemporary world.