The Bronze Age Wooden Tomb Furniture from Jericho: The Microscopical Reconstruction of a Distinctive Carpentry Tradition

Abstract

The timber chosen for a large batch of the wooden furniture from the Bronze Age Jericho tombs has been scientifically identified for the first time. Only now has it been possible to overcome the problems presented by the condition and high fragmentation of the material to carry out a systematic microscopical identification of the funerary wood. Evaluation of the evidence shows the range and use of both readily-available and rare local woody resources of the time. It also shows selective import of prestige wood from elsewhere in the Levant. The scientific examination and identifications of the material reveal the use of combinations of timber which were fundamental to the development of a distinctive local funerary carpentry tradition at Jericho.