Settlement and Demography in Seventh-Century Judah and the Extent and Intensity of Sennacherib's Campaign

Faust, Avraham

doi:10.1179/174313008x341528

Cited by 51 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Burnt walls ( Figure 2B) are in-situ remains of large mudbrick structures, which were burnt as a whole during historical destruction events (e.g., Shahack-Gross et al, 2018). In the case of a large conflagration there may be a large amount of burnt organic material that can be directly dated and crosscorrelated with known historical military campaigns, leading to high precision dating, sometimes with an uncertainty of several years (e.g., Tel Megiddo; Finkelstein and Piasetzky, 2009), Tel Hazor (Sandhaus, 2013;Zuckerman, 2013), Tel 'Eton (Faust, 2008), Bethsaida (Arav, 2014), and Lachish (Ussishkin, 1990)]. Furnaces and kilns ( Figure 2C) are large industrial structures that were used to manufacture ceramics.…”

Section: Sites and Locationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The First Catalog of Archaeomagnetic Directions From Israel With 4,000 Years of Geomagnetic Secular Variations

et al. 2018

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The large and well-studied archaeological record of Israel offers a unique opportunity for collecting high resolution archaeomagnetic data from the past several millennia. Here, we initiate the first catalog of archaeomagnetic directions from Israel, with data covering the past four millennia. The catalog consists of 76 directions, of which 47 fulfill quality selection criteria with Fisher precision parameter (k) ≥ 60, 95% cone of confidence (α 95) < 6 • and number of specimens per site (n) ≥ 8. The new catalog complements our published paleointensity data from the Levant and enables testing the hypothesis of a regional geomagnetic anomaly in the Levant during the Iron Age proposed by Shaar et al. (2016, 2017). Most of the archaeomagnetic directions show <15 • angular deviations from an axial dipole field. However, we observe in the tenth and ninth century BCE short intervals with field directions that are 19 •-22 • different from an axial dipole field and inclinations that are 20 •-22 • steeper than an axial dipole field. The beginning of the first millennium BCE is also characterized with fast secular variation rates. The new catalog provides additional support to the Levantine Iron Age Anomaly hypothesis.

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Section: Sites and Locationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The First Catalog of Archaeomagnetic Directions From Israel With 4,000 Years of Geomagnetic Secular Variations

et al. 2018

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“…The destruction sealed the houses and their content within a massive destruction layer, preserving the remains in an excellent condition. The rich ceramic assemblage unearthed, along with the relevant historical documents, suggests that the city was most likely destroyed during the campaign of the Assyrian king, Sennacherib, in 701 BCE (Faust 2011Faust and Katz 2015;Katz and Faust 2012; for a detailed discussion of the campaign, with many references, see Faust 2008).…”

Section: Tel 'Etonmentioning

confidence: 98%

Mud-brick composition, archeological phasing and pre-planning in Iron Age structures: Tel ‘Eton (Israel) as a test-case

Sapir

Avraham

Faust

2016

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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The eighth century BCE city at Tel 'Eton (Israel) was destroyed by the Assyrian army, probably during Sennacherib's campaign of 701. Building 101, sealed within the heavy conflagration caused by this destruction, was uncovered almost in its entirety on the top of the mound. From the beginning, it was apparent that the structure had two major building phases, and while its initial construction was of high quality, later additions were much inferior. Analyses of mudbrick walls for firing temperatures, texture, carbonate content, color, and dimensions approved the observation regarding the differences between the two phases, but consistently pointed out that one wall, initially attributed to the first phase, was analytically different, comprising an intermediate phase.This conclusion not only altered our understanding of the building construction, adding heretofore unknown building phase, but also gave us insights into the pre-planning of Building 101, indicating that some rooms had originally two doorways. Such a configuration allowed easy subdivision of spaces according to needs, without harming the overall structural stability. Differences in inner division of similar Iron Age houses were identified in the past and were attributed to differences in the life cycles of families. The evidence from Tel 'Eton suggests that such future changes were taken into considerations when the structures were built.

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“…The second region where settlement expanded signifi cantly is the Beersheba and Arad valleys. Most scholars believe that the number of seventh century sites in this region exceeds that of previous periods (Na 'aman 1987;Finkelstein 1994; but see Tahareani Sussely 2007), and the sites include, for example, Tel Masos, Tel Ira, Aroer, Khirbet Uza, Khirbet Radum, Arad, and others (for settlement in the region in the eighth and seventh centuries, see also the detailed discussion in Faust 2008).…”

Section: Settlement Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The entire region east of Jerusalem, through the Judean desert to the Dead Sea shores, was almost empty of settlement earlier in the Iron Age. During the seventh century, however, it suddenly witnessed an unparalleled wave of settlement that includes: Ein Gedi, Rugm el Bahr, Qumran, Khirbet Mazin/ Qasr el-Yahud, Ein el Guweir, Ein et-Turaba, the Boqeah sites, Vered Yericho, and others (for detailed discussion and references, see Stager 1976;Bar-Adon 1989;Stern 1994b;Faust and Weiss 2005;Faust 2008). This settlement wave is not only a huge increase in comparison to preceding eras, but is also unexpected when it is remembered that we are discussing a semi-arid region.…”

Section: Settlement Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Between Assyria and the Mediterranean World:

Faust¹,

Weiss²

2011

Interweaving Worlds

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The seventh century is regarded as a period of peace and quiet, usually attributed to the Assyrian hegemony-the period of "Pax Assyriaca". Following Sennacherib's campaign in 701 BCE, the westernmost parts of the Assyrian empire were pacifi ed, and most of the region was now under direct Assyrian control. The southern states of Judah and Philistia, however, remained semi-independent. Settlements had expanded into areas not densely inhabited before, such as the Judean desert and the Beersheba-Arad valleys. The economy prospered, both in terms of production and commerce. By the end of the century, perhaps following a short period of Egyptian domination, the area became part of the Babylonian empire. In the process, however, practically every coastal site was destroyed, thus sealing well-dated and usually also well-preserved seventh century strata, which are the source of the wealth of information we possess for this period. The kingdom of Judah and the Philistine cities along the coast experienced unparalleled economic prosperity during the seventh century BCE. This is evident from the surge of settlement in the fringe areas of the Negev and the Judean desert, and from the large production and trade centres unearthed around Jerusalem and at Ekron and Ashkelon. The discovery of Judahite wheat in Ashkelon, together with other available archaeological evidence of trade and the local geographical conditions, enable us to reconstruct the well-integrated economy of the region in the seventh century, and to reexamine its role within the period's larger economic structures. After presenting the evidence regarding the economic system of Judah and Philistia in the seventh century BCE, the paper will reconstruct the function of this 'local' system within the larger 'world' system, and will reexamine the role of the Assyrians, Phoenicians and Egyptians in its creation. Economy and Settlement Patterns in the Seventh Century 1 We shall begin with a short review of the fi nds in Philistia and this will be followed by discussion of the fi nds in Judah. Philistia and the Coast Settlement Patterns As far as settlement patterns are concerned, the seventh century saw a great increase in settlements along the coast, and the general settlement patterns of ancient Israel began to shift toward this region-a tendency even more pronounced during the Persian period (e.g.

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Settlement and Demography in Seventh-Century Judah and the Extent and Intensity of Sennacherib's Campaign

Cited by 51 publications

References 29 publications

The First Catalog of Archaeomagnetic Directions From Israel With 4,000 Years of Geomagnetic Secular Variations

The First Catalog of Archaeomagnetic Directions From Israel With 4,000 Years of Geomagnetic Secular Variations

Mud-brick composition, archeological phasing and pre-planning in Iron Age structures: Tel ‘Eton (Israel) as a test-case

Between Assyria and the Mediterranean World:

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