Early Bronze Age pebble installations from Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel: evidence for their function and utilization

Abstract

Pebble stone installations are commonly found at various Early Bronze Age sites in the southern Levant. However, their function is often assumed or unknown. Thirteen circular pebble installations were found scattered throughout a residential neighbourhood dating to the Early Bronze Age III at Tell es-Safi/Gath. Five such installations were recently studied by implementing an integrated micro-archaeological approach by which all micro- and macro-artefacts were analysed using various analytical techniques. Based on the analysis of ash-micro remains identified in the sediments, associated plant remains, flint and pottery, we suggest that these installations were used for food-processing, cooking and/or other domestic low-heat tasks. The installations first appear at Tell es-Safi/Gath during the Early Bronze Age III, and seem to disappear during later periods. The functional roles of these installations are discussed in comparison to finds from other Early Bronze Age sites, and of other food preparation traditions known from other periods and cultures

Plant-related Philistine ritual practices at biblical Gath

“…29, 000 seeds (< 1%) Grid 50 Phase 7 [ 113 , Table 23.2] Aphek 10th cent BCE Grain storage pits 16 out of 12,120 (< 1%) Stratum 8,L 4015; 4026 (1), 4813 (1), 5013 (3) 114 Aphek 11th cent BCE Threshing area 4 out of 3980 (< 1%) Stratum 9, L 3456; 3609 114 Aphek 13th cent BCE Food storage rooms, Palace VI 1 out of 411 (< 1%) L 1731 114 Gath 1310–1250 BCE Large public bldg 1 out of 2205 (< 1%) Stratum E4b, L E15AG03 115 Tel Beth Shemesh 14th cent BCE Palace 1 out of 11,803 (< 1%) LBA IIA palace, L 6062.04 crops in vessel 116 Tel Gezer 16th cent BCE Midden 20 out of 3988 (< 1%) Field VI (no data for sample size. Fruits number is “screened”) 88 Gath 25th cent BCE Pebble installation with wood and dung ash 1 out of 916 (< 1%) Stratum E5a, Room 104,108, Building 104,311 L. E15AT04 117 , 118 …”

Dung in the dumps: what we can learn from multi-proxy studies of archaeological dung pellets

“…Exposure of these calcium oxalate crystals to temperatures above 450 °C transforms them into calcitic (ash) pseudomorphs. Utilizing ethnoarchaeological data from Uzbekistan, Gur-Arieh et al (2013) developed the Pseudomorph to Spherulite Ratio (PSR), which has been used by a number of researchers to differentiate between wood and dung fuels from archaeological hearths and ash contexts (Gur-Arieh et al 2014;Dunseth et al 2016Eliyahu-Behar et al 2017;Butler et al 2020). In some ways this is analogous to Miller's (1982Miller's ( , 1988 original seed:charcoal ratios used to identify dung assemblages, although it is a more direct approach.…”