Uninscribed Late Bronze and Early Iron Age stone weights Dor, Israel

Abstract

Among hundreds of ground stones, four, exceptional, modified stone artefacts were uncovered in four phases during the excavations in Area G at Tel Dor. Three of the four stone items are defined here as uninscribed weights and one as a possible weight. One is dated to the Late Bronze Age and three to the early Iron Age. These are the only scale weights revealed during the extensive excavations at Tel Dor (apart from one Judaean weight of one sheqel). This paper presents the reasons for their classification as weights even though they were found singly, and not as a set with the associated standards. These artefacts are compared with other stone items from Tel Dor that have previously been suggested as weights, but lack the necessary criteria for significance. The context of the weights is also described, and related to the reconstructed lifestyle of Iron Age Area G in the Phoenician city of Dor. An Early Iron Age, recently published, weight from ʿEn Gev is added to enlarge the collection.