The Stratification of Judahite Sites in the 8th and 7th Centuries B. C. E.

Abstract

hundred years. It is true that he tried to establish a subdivision, but his Stratum Al remained undefined, enigmatic, and practically void of material that could be related to it. We remain, therefore, with one stratum in the period of the divided monarchy, Stratum A2. It is no wonder that Albright fixed the end of the stratum near the end of the monarchy, since no comparable material was at his disposal. This date was based first of all on general historical considerations, but Albright also put forward another strong argument: the jar handles stamped with the inscriptions of Elyaqim, nacar Yokhin, whom he interpreted as a functionary (steward) for King Jehoiachin during the latter's exile (1932b: 77-106). It is also true that Albright met with some difficulties in his interpretation which he did not conceal. It became clear that the fortified Iron Age city from which the bulk of the material was coming did not exist until the very end of the Iron Age. A section of the casemate wall east of the gate was demolished and only repaired in a most flimsy manner (Albright 1943: 40). Not far from this point, the remnants of a public building built with stones of a size generally used in the city wall were found (Albright 1943: 66). It seems probable, therefore, that it was constructed with stones of the destroyed city wall. Another building which stratigraphically covers the city wall is the so-called Western Tower, which was interpreted by Albright as a gate (Albright 1943: 41), but in reality this is an enlarged four-room house. At both buildings only the foundations of the walls were preserved; there were no intact floors. One should note that the two Elyaqim seal impressions came from the area of the public building near the gate. At the Western Tower Albright established four building phases on the basis of small changes in its construction (a-6). The only pottery found in the