Insights into the economic organization of the Phoenician homeland: a multi-disciplinary investigation of the later Iron Age II and Persian period Phoenician amphorae from Tell el-Burak

While oxidation products of unsaturated fatty acids, for example dicarboxylic acids (hereafter diacids), must form during the use of unglazed ceramic vessels for the processing of animal and plant products, such components have never been observed during studies of absorbed lipids. Their absence from the extractable lipid fraction is presumed to be the result of their loss from potsherds through groundwater leaching. Lipid oxidation products including short-chain dicarboxylic acids, ω-hydroxy acids and longer-chain hydroxy and dihydroxy acids have now been observed as components probably covalently bound into solvent insoluble residues of potsherds recovered from waterlogged deposits. These components were only revealed following alkaline treatment of the insoluble residues. A similar mixture of diacids was observed in high abundance in the free lipid fraction of vessels recovered from an exceptionally arid deposit where groundwater leaching would never have occurred. These results confirm the formation of oxidation and probable polymerization products of unsaturated fatty acids during vessel use and burial.

From 2015 to 2018 the joint research project “BEFIM” conducted interdisciplinary research to achieve a better understanding of the “Meanings and functions of Mediterranean imports in Early Iron Age Central Europe” for which it was supported by a grant of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Within the project, large-scale organic residue analyses on pottery from important Early Iron Age settlements were performed, focusing on two key Late Hallstatt sites: the Heuneburg and the Mont Lassois. For the Mont Lassois, the results were based on the analyses of 99 ceramic vessels of both local and Mediterranean origin. We observed not only different consumption practices in the several settlement areas of the Mont Lassois, but also a complex translation process with regard to the appropriation of Mediterranean food (such as grape wine and olive oil) and consumption practices, that also showed a spatial differentiation. For many years, scholars supposed an imitation of the Mediterranean (especially Greek style) symposium by the “Early Celts”. The new results from the organic residue analyses force us to rethink this. Apart from new insights into Early Iron Age eating and drinking practices, we gained new information on the preparation of food and on storage practices at the Mont Lassois. Furthermore, the detection of locally available goods such as bee products, millet, and a bacterial fermentation product (a beverage?) led to an enhancement of our knowledge of the extent of exploitation of these natural resources at the Mont Lassois during the Early Iron Age.

This thesis focuses on the characteristics and the development of the stone vessel industry in the Near East during the Iron Age and the Persian period (c. 1200 – 330 BCE). Three main aspects of this industry are investigated. First, the technology behind the manufacture of stone vessels, the tools and techniques, and how these changed across time. Second, the mechanisms of exchange of stone vessels and how these were affected by the changing political landscape through time. Third, the consumption patterns of stone vessels in both elite and non-elite contexts, and how these patterns changed through time. The aim is to evaluate how the formation of new regional states, occurred in the Iron Age I-II, and their subsequent inclusion within large-scale empires, in the Iron Age III and Persian period, transformed the Near Eastern societies by exploring how the stone vessel industry was affected by these transformations. For the period and area under analysis, such a comprehensive study of stone vessels, covering a wide area and connecting this industry to the broader socioeconomic and political landscapes, has never been attempted before.

Archaeometric characterization of pottery from the Iron Age hillfort of Pintia (Valladolid, Spain)

The use of a rotational device for forming ceramic objects represents a fundamental innovation in pottery technology. This work addresses aspects of the transmission of this technological innovation on the basis of technological and provenance analysis of Iron Age pottery in a selected region of Eastern Bohemia. The possible trajectories of the innovative process are approximated specifically through the polarities between product and process innovation and transmission of cultural traits in open and closed learning networks. Apart from standard methods of petrographic and geochemical analysis, this analysis employs innovative methodology for identification of pottery-forming techniques. The results indicate the effects of various mechanisms of cultural transmission which shaped the evolution of techniques in the Iron Age society. The technological changes can be explained by shifting accents on product and process performance characteristics in changing selective environments.

Pottery vessels often comprise major burial goods at archaeological sites, thus providing valuable information for reconstructing past mortuary practices. However, because of the uncertainty of its function or use, which has been interpreted mostly through typological studies alone, the analytical potential of pottery as a burial good has not been fully exploited. This study applied bio-chemical and geochemical analyses for the first time to funerary pottery vessels of the Iron Age of North Iran to examine their function and use. The study materials are from the necropolis of Ghalekuti, Dailaman, excavated in the 1960s. Direct radiocarbon dating conducted on human and animal bones in the graves and typological analysis of the pottery anchored the chronological position of the pottery materials to the 2nd and 1st millennium BC. A petrographic analysis revealed that pottery vessels can be classified into six fabric types, including those with coarse tempers that are effective for cooking. Pottery pastes with finer inclusions less suited for cooking appeared during the early first millennium BC (Iron Age III). To obtain further insight into the function of the pottery, we conducted organic residue analyses. The results demonstrated that the vessels retained remains of botanical and animal origin. In particular, jars with tubular spouts, characteristic of the Iron Age III period, were likely specialised for botanical products. Interestingly, both carcass and dairy products from ruminant animals (cattle and caprine) were processed in short-neck jars and bowls, including spouted bowls, suggesting their use in a liquid state. Products from ruminants, particularly dairy products, may have played a significant role in the daily and ritual use of pottery vessels during the study period in Northern Iran. These results indicate that a range of pottery vessels used for specific purposes before the burial was offered for graves, helping us better understand the mortuary practices of Iron Age Iran.

Recent Publications on Archaeological Ceramic Analyses and their Contributions to the Study of Ancient Pottery Technology

Pollution and human mobility in the southern Levant during the Iron Age using chemical and isotopic analysis of human tooth enamel

Recent excavations at the Phoenician coastal site of Tell el-Burak, a large-scale agricultural production centre in use during 725–350 BCE, have uncovered the first Iron Age wine press in Lebanon. This discovery enabled a systematic, interdisciplinary study of its plaster, offering insights into ancient construction technologies. The analysis extended to two other plastered installations found in separate rooms within the complex, allowing for a comprehensive comparison. An integrated program of archaeometric analysis, including optical microscopy in polarising light, X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetry, and organic residue analysis, was applied to samples from these three structures to investigate plaster composition and technological variability. Previous studies identified the use of crushed ceramic fragments in a lime-based plaster. Now, new analyses provide deeper insights into the nature of the binder, revealing how the addition of ceramic sherds may have enhanced the plaster’s mechanical properties and hydraulicity, making it a significant early example of hydraulic mortar. These findings confirm the existence of a local, innovative tradition of lime-plaster manufacture in southern Phoenicia. This investigation not only sheds light on the specific technological practices of Tell el-Burak, but also contributes to the broader understanding of Phoenician and Punic technological advancements in the Iron Age Mediterranean.

Jerusalem and the Coastal Plain in the Iron Age and Persian Periods, 978-3-16-161254-1, New Studies on Jerusalem's Relations with the Southern Coastal Plain of Israel/Palestine (c. 1200–300 BCE). Research on Israel and Aram in Biblical Times IV Edited by Felix Hagemeyer

The paper explores evidence and reasons for thinking that some Judeans may have believed in and appealed to divine intercessors with Yahweh. After a brief review of the evidence for such a belief and practice outside Judah and in times before and after the Iron Age and Persian period, it considers factors in the social life and religious beliefs of Judeans that would favor such an institution. It then discusses the limited direct evidence for divine intercession, first in biblical literature from the Persian period and then in inscriptions from the Iron Age.

Religion in the Achaemenid Persian Empire: Emerging Judaisms and Trends

The study of Babylonian and Persian period Jerusalem points to a discrepancy between the biblical text and the archaeological remains. Contrary to the dramatic upheaval depicted in the Bible, in which the city lost its central position following the Babylonian conquest, becoming a relatively meager settlement, the archaeological remains, especially the pottery, stamped handles, and coins, suggest continuity from the late Iron Age into the Persian period, even hinting at advanced administrative organization. This paper focuses on pottery production as a possible marker for continuity and change in the material culture during these periods. By examining Persian period contexts, we can now distinguish between several ceramic horizons and identify gradual changes in pottery vessels throughout the period. Mapping the locations and natures of these contexts we can identify changes in the city layout, suggesting that Jerusalem was continuously inhabited during this period. Subdividing the period into several chronological phases enables us for the first time to assign the various contexts to different horizons and prove that the development of Persian period pottery types was a slow and gradual process with its inception in the end of the Iron Age.

Vol. 10, No. 4 Summer 1992 113 this period. This of course testifies to less than complete implementation of the anti-Jewish policies, in this instance at least. Joseph Shatzmiller Department of History University of Toronto Die Beziehungen Maabs zu Israel und Agypten in der Eisenzeit, by Udo Worschech. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1990. 144 pp. n.p.1. Udo Worschech has contributed the eighteenth volume to the series Agypten und Altes Testament, which is edited by Manfred G6rg. In this concise study the author, who has written extens,ively in many languages about his archaeological digs in the Middle East, looks at the complex region of the North West Ard el-Kerak during the Iron Age. He acknowledges that many studies have analyzed the locality, but there had not been any specific examination on the settlement history during the Iron Age. From 1983 to 1987, Worschech led an investigation in e1-Balu with the Marienhohe Theological Seminary in Darmstadt, which uncovered many pieces of pmtery that help explain the character and the complexity of the area. The author explains that Iron Age settlements have been found in different areas than Bronze Age sites. He surveys four late Bronze and early Iron Age sites on the plateau west of the via Trajana: Gebel Sihan, Tedun III, Yariit, and Gabu; and discovers and surveys eight settlements on the mountain slopes near the Dead Sea: Tiran en-Naquib, Gebel Fawwar/Gebel Dafyan, Ed-Dcr, tlaraziya, Mudcneh am el-M6gib, Es-Smarrah, Haud elHaEiyir , and LJmm Qal'a. The author is careful to pOint out that the differences in climatic zones have a profound influence over what type of site archaeologists find. Worschech details each area, diligently describing the geography, geology, topography, and pottery discovered in each. He provides a generous number of illustrations so that the reader can compare the relics from one site to the other. I-Ie also offers many different maps to show the physical relationship between the settlements. In addition, ten pages of photographs arc included exhibiting the region and highlighting some of the ceramics that have been found. The second half of the book deals with the historical aspects of Iron-Age settlements. The whole book is technical and will yield the most to those already acquainted with the basics of the region. 114 SHOFAR Worschech draws a distinction between the nomadic population of eastern Palestine and the more urbanized western Palestine natives still under the aegis of the Egyptians. The author conjectures that when the Egyptians transferred their interest to the more sparsely settled territory in eastern Palestine, the Shasu people developed into a more sedentary society. He then speculates that one of the sheiks from eastern Palestine became the nrst king of Moab. Drawing on the works of K. A. Kitchen, the author believes that the sudden appearance of forts and villages in Central Moab was due to Egyptian foreign policy. In fact, he reiterates, Central Moab remained intact into the Persian period, not wishing to nght stronger opponents until 649 H.C.E. when nomadic Arab tribes overtook the area. Through the artifacts gained during many years of digging, Worschech is able, at least partialIy, to explain how and why the central Moab reagion was settled. It would be difficult to imagine a more thorough discussion of the relics and geography of the area, yet if there is a criticism it is that the book is too specialized. Not knowing much about Iron Age settlements, I would have appreciated some more background on the area, and perhaps a greater survey of its history and religious past. Worschech needs to relate this book more to the Old Testament and the turbulent history of ancient Judaism. The artifacts need to be more closely tied with the habits and beliefs of the people. This, however, should not detract from a splendid exhibit of historical archaeology. Worschech provides a useful bibliography and ample notes le)r those who want to explore the subject further, and he points out areas for future investigations. Glenn R. Sharfman Department of History Hiram ColIege The Road to Power: Herut Party in Israel, by Yonathan Shapiro. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991. 208...

Unearthing the Wilderness: Studies on the History and Archaeology of the Negev and Edom in the Iron Age