The Early Bronze Age Remains at Tell eṣ-Ṣāfi/Gath: An Interim Report

Shai, Itzhaq; Greenfield, Haskel J.; Regev, Johanna; Boaretto, Elisabetta; Eliyahu-Behar, Adi; Maeir, Aren M.

doi:10.1179/0334435514z.00000000034

Cited by 44 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Under this assertion, Tell es-Safi/Gath was considered as a secondary settlement beneath Tel Yarmuth. The recent excavations at Tell esSafi/Gath have challenged this position and prompted an alternative view of the site as an equally prominent and therefore competing urban centre (Shai et al 2014). In this regard, Tell es-Safi/Gath would be a primary recipient of basalt ground stone artefacts that were being brought from the north, rather than receiving commodities via a secondary exchange network emanating out of Tel Yarmuth.…”

Section: Non-local Exchangementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Not only does it contain the highest count of basalt grinding stones, but, perhaps more importantly, a complete upper grinding stone and a complete pounder were recovered from this room. Additional evidence for the role of this locus is provided by the presence of cooking vessels, stone installations, and other grinding stones of non-basalt material (Shai et al 2014). This organisation of domestic space use was not uncommon in EBA settlements of the southern Levant (Ebeling & Rowan 2004).…”

Section: Consumptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…EBA remains at Tell es-Safi/Gath have been discovered across the entire 24 ha extent of the tell (Figure 2) (Uziel & Maeir 2005;Shai et al 2014;Greenfield et al 2015). Excavations have focused on the EBA III remains in Area E on the eastern spur and have exposed a residential neighbourhood comprised of four housing complexes aligned on either side of a narrow alleyway.…”

Section: Archaeological Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Excavations have focused on the EBA III remains in Area E on the eastern spur and have exposed a residential neighbourhood comprised of four housing complexes aligned on either side of a narrow alleyway. Although many goods of exotic origins are present, there are very few elite artefacts and no evidence of elite structures among the Area E remains (Shai et al 2014). The housing complexes form part of a non-elite residential neighbourhood, which has been proposed to possibly represent a merchants' quarter (Greenfield et al 2012).…”

Section: Archaeological Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The life-history of basalt ground stone tools from early urban domestic contexts: A chronicle from the EBA III of Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel

Beller

Greenfield

Shai

et al. 2016

JLS

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Abstract:Recent archaeological excavations at the early urban settlement of Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel present the opportunity to reconstruct the life-history of basalt ground stone artefacts of an early urban domestic neighbourhood. Tell es-Safi/Gath is a multi-period site located on the border between the Judean foothills and the southern coastal plain of central Israel. Survey and excavations over the last two decades demonstrated that it was a major urban centre for the region during the Early Bronze Age (EBA) III. At the eastern end of the site, a neighbourhood of commoner residences (some perhaps associated with mercantile activities) have been exposed. This paper describes and analyses the basalt ground stone tools found in association with this domestic neighbourhood. It seeks to establish the nature of production, distribution, consumption, and discard associated with ground stone tools within a domestic context. The study involved several forms of analysis including typology, macroscopic observations, and excavation data. It is suggested that basalt sources from the northeastern regions of the southern Levant were exploited for the small-scale production of basalt artefacts by nonspecialised craftsmen. These commodities were then transported in more or less finished form to Tell es-Safi/Gath where they were further redistributed or sold to the settlement residents. The residents of the Tell es-Safi/Gath neighbourhood utilised the basalt artefacts for traditionally domestic tasks, and ultimately intentionally discarded or recycled them in a few depositional contexts. In summary, this paper presents a unique investigation into the life-history of basalt ground stone artefacts discovered in the EB III occupation levels of Tell es-Safi/Gath. It further demonstrates the potential of ground stone tools for understanding the behaviour and daily life of non-elite people.

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Section: Non-local Exchangementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Consumptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Archaeological Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Archaeological Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The life-history of basalt ground stone tools from early urban domestic contexts: A chronicle from the EBA III of Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel

Beller

Greenfield

Shai

et al. 2016

JLS

Self Cite

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“…During this period, Tell es-Safi/Gath was one of the major urban centres of the region, dominating its own local territory and competing for influence, resources and power with other sites in the region (e.g. Shai et al 2014;Shai et al 2016a). The provisioning of food to early cities is a fundamental component of investigating past urban economies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Provisioning the Early Bronze Age City of Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel: Isotopic Analyses of Domestic Livestock Management Patterns

Arnold¹,

Greenfield²,

Hartman³

et al. 2018

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It is often assumed that domestic animals in early urban Near Eastern centres either are a reflection of the local pastoral economy, or were raised at a distance by pastoral specialists. In this paper, we test these assumptions through detailed isotopic analyses (carbon, oxygen and strontium) of caprines (sheep and goat) from Tell es-Safi/Gath, an Early Bronze Age urban centre in central Israel. The isotopic analyses demonstrate that the bulk of the caprines were raised within the general vicinity of the site, suggesting that the majority of food resources were largely produced at the local level, within the territory of the city-state, and not at a distance by specialised pastoralists. It is the rare specimen that comes from a great distance and would have entered the local system through long distance trade networks.

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Integrating Micro- and Macro-Archaeology at a Multi-period Site: Insights and Outcomes from Tell es-Safi/Gath

Maeir

2017

Cyber-Archaeology and Grand Narratives

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The Early Bronze Age Remains at Tell eṣ-Ṣāfi/Gath: An Interim Report

Cited by 44 publications

References 24 publications

The life-history of basalt ground stone tools from early urban domestic contexts: A chronicle from the EBA III of Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel

The life-history of basalt ground stone tools from early urban domestic contexts: A chronicle from the EBA III of Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel

Provisioning the Early Bronze Age City of Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel: Isotopic Analyses of Domestic Livestock Management Patterns

Integrating Micro- and Macro-Archaeology at a Multi-period Site: Insights and Outcomes from Tell es-Safi/Gath

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