The Political History of Megiddo in the Early Iron Age and the Ambiguities of Evidence
-
Zachary Thomas
Abstract
This article reviews the major problems in the political history of Megiddo during the early Iron Age (Iron Age I–IIA), at the time of the early monarchic period in Israel (eleventh–ninth centuries BCE). Megiddo has been central to an ongoing debate over the nature of the early monarchic period in Israel and the exact chronology of the Iron Age I–IIA periods. This importance derives both from the extensive excavations of the relevant strata at Megiddo (VIA, VB and VA-IVB) as well as Megiddo’s appearance in relevant historical sources, namely the Hebrew Bible, which claims that Solomon “built” Megiddo, and its appearance in the campaign list of pharaoh Sheshonq I. Though the fragment of a stela of Sheshonq I was found at Megiddo, it was only found after having been discarded and so its stratigraphic attribution is unclear. Radiocarbon dating from these strata has assisted to some degree but still left dating and historical questions quite open. This article will demonstrate that the political history of Megiddo during the early Iron Age is beset with ambiguities in the evidence, which have been divided into seven ambiguities for the purpose of the discussion here. When these ambiguities are taken into account, it becomes clear that the interpreter has much latitude in making their reconstruction, specifically in how they date strata and associate them with putative historical developments. Different cases can be made for associating particular strata and their termination with Solomon, Sheshonq or even later kings, but none can claim to objectively be the correct or superior reconstruction.
Acknowledgments
For help in finding some of the publications cited in this article during a time of pandemic, I would like to thank Lyndelle Webster, Jessy Eltanahy and Christopher B. Hayes. I also thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. All views and any mistakes or omissions remain mine alone.
References
Aharoni, Y., and Y Yadin. 1993. “Megiddo.” In The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, edited by E. Stern, 1003–24. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society.Search in Google Scholar
Arie, E. 2013a. “Area H: Levels H-9 to H-5.” In Megiddo V: The 2004–2008 Seasons, Vol. 1, edited by I. Finkelstein, D. Ussishkin, and E. H. Cline, 247–74. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.10.5325/j.ctv2321hmw.14Search in Google Scholar
Arie, E. 2013b. “The Iron IIA Pottery.” In Megiddo V: The 2004–2008 Seasons, Vol. 1, edited by I. Finkelstein, D. Ussishkin, and E. H. Cline, 668–828. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.10.5325/j.ctv2321hmw.23Search in Google Scholar
Baillie, M. G. L. 1991. Suck-in and Smear: Two Related Chronological Problems for the 90s. Journal of Theoretical Archaeology 2: 12–16.Search in Google Scholar
Ben-Dor Evian, S. 2011. “Shishak’s Karnak Relief – More Than ust Name-Rings.” In Egypt, Canaan and Israel: History, Imperialism, Ideology and Literature, edited by S. Bar, D. Kahn, and J. J. Shirley, 11–22. Leiden: Brill.Search in Google Scholar
Bennett, J. E. 2019. The Archaeology of Egypt in the Third Intermediate Period. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/9781108699488Search in Google Scholar
Biran, A., and J. Naveh. 1993. “An Aramaic Stele Fragment from Tel Dan.” Israel Exploration Journal 43: 81–98.Search in Google Scholar
Biran, A., and J. Naveh. 1995. “The Tel Dan Inscription: A New Fragment.” Israel Exploration Journal 45: 1–18.Search in Google Scholar
Bronk Ramsey, C. 2005. “Improving the Resolution of Radiocarbon Dating by Statistical Analysis.” In The Bible and Radiocarbon Dating, edited by T. E. Levy, and T. Higham, 57–64. London: Equinox.Search in Google Scholar
Bruins, H. J., J. van der Plicht, and A. Mazar. 2003. “14C Dates from Tel Rehov: Iron-Age Chronology, Pharaohs, and Hebrew Kings.” Science 300: 315–8, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1082776.Search in Google Scholar
Chapman, R. L. Chapman III. 2009. “Putting Sheshonq I in his Place.” Palestine Exploration Quarterly 141: 4–17.10.1179/174313009X387617Search in Google Scholar
Cline, E. H. 2006. Area L (The 1998-2000 Seasons). In Megiddo IV: The 1998–2002 Seasons, Vol. 1, edited by I. Finkelstein, D. Ussishkin, and B. Halpern, 104–23. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.Search in Google Scholar
Cline, E. H. 2011. “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On: The Possible Destruction by Earthquake of Megiddo Stratum VIA.” In The Fire Signals of Lachish: Studies in the Archaeology and History of Israel in the Late Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Persian Period in Honor of David Ussishkin, edited by I. Finkelstein, and N. Na’aman, 55–70. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.10.5325/j.ctv1bxh0bf.8Search in Google Scholar
Cline, E. H. 2020. Digging Up Armageddon: The Search for the Lost City of Solomon. Princeton: Princeton University Press.10.1515/9780691200446Search in Google Scholar
Cline, E. H., and I. Samet. 2013. “Area L.” In Megiddo V: The 2004–2008 Seasons, Vol. 1, edited by I. Finkelstein, D. Ussishkin, and E. H. Cline, 275–85. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.10.5325/j.ctv2321hmw.15Search in Google Scholar
Cline, E. H., and M. Cohen. 2006. “Appendix: The 2004 Season.” In Megiddo IV: The 1998–2002 Seasons, Vol. 1, edited by I. Finkelstein, D. Ussishkin, and B. Halpern, 124–9. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.Search in Google Scholar
Davies, G. I. 1986. Megiddo. Cities of the Biblical World. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.Search in Google Scholar
Davis, T. W. 2004. Shifting Sands: The Rise and Fall of Biblical Archaeology. New York: Oxford University Press.10.1093/0195167104.001.0001Search in Google Scholar
Dodson, A. 2012. Afterglow of Empire: Egypt from the Fall of the New Kingdom to the Saite Renaissance. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press.10.5743/cairo/9789774165313.001.0001Search in Google Scholar
Faust, A., and Y. Sapir. 2018. “The “Governor’s Residency” at Tel ‘Eton, The United Monarchy, and the Impact of the Old-House Effect on Large-Scale Archaeological Reconstructions.” Radiocarbon 60: 801–20, https://doi.org/10.1017/rdc.2018.10.Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein, I. 1995. “The Date of the Settlement of the Philistines in Canaan.” Tel Aviv 22: 213–39, https://doi.org/10.1179/tav.1995.1995.2.213.Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein, I. 1996. “The Archaeology of the United Monarchy: An Alternative View.” Tel Aviv 28: 177–87, https://doi.org/10.1179/lev.1996.28.1.177.Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein, I. 2005. “High or Low: Megiddo and Reḥov.” In The Bible and Radiocarbon Dating, edited by T. E. Levy, and T. Higham, 302–9. London: Equinox.Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein, I. 2007. King Solomon’s Golden Age: History or Myth? In: Schmidt, B. B. (Ed.), The Quest for Historical Israel: Debating Archaeology and the History of Early Israel. Brill, Leiden.Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein, I. 2009. “Destructions: Megiddo as a Case Study.” In Exploring the Longue Durée, Essays in Honor of Lawrence E. Stager, edited by J. David Schloen, 113–26. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein, I. 2013. The Forgotten Kingdom: The Archaeology and History of Northern Israel. ANEM 5. Atlanta: SBL.Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein, I., and E. Piasetzky. 2006. “The Iron I-IIA in the Highlands and Beyond: 14C Anchors, Pottery Phases and The Shoshenq I Campaign.” Levant 38: 45–61, https://doi.org/10.1179/lev.2006.38.1.45.Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein, I., and E. Piasetzky. 2011. “The Iron Age Chronology Debate: Is the Gap Narrowing?” Near Eastern Archaeology 74: 50–4, https://doi.org/10.5615/neareastarch.74.1.0050.Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein, I., and Silberman, N. A. 2001. The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts. Touchstone, New York.Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein I., Ussishkin, D., and Cline, E. H. (Eds.) 2013. Megiddo V: The 2004–2008 Seasons, 1–3. Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv.10.5325/j.ctv2321hmw.3Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein, I., D. Ussishkin, and B. Halpern (eds.). 2000. Megiddo III: The 1992–1996 Seasons, Vol. 1–2. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein, I., D. Ussishkin, and B. Halpern (eds.). 2006. Megiddo IV: The 1998–2002 Seasons, Vol. 1–2. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein, I., M. J. Adams, E. Hall, and E. Levy. 2019. “The Iron Age Gates of Megiddo: New Evidence and Updated Interpretations.” Tel Aviv 46: 167–91, https://doi.org/10.1080/03344355.2019.1650492.Search in Google Scholar
Fisher, C. S. 1929. The Excavation of Armageddon. OIC 4. Chicago: University of Chicago.Search in Google Scholar
Franklin, N. 2005. “Correlation and Chronology: Samaria and Megiddo Redux.” In The Bible and Radiocarbon Dating, edited by T. E. Levy, and T. Higham, 310–22. London: Equinox.Search in Google Scholar
Franklin, N. 2006. “Revealing Stratum V at Megiddo.” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 342: 95–111, https://doi.org/10.1086/basor25066954.Search in Google Scholar
Frese, D. A., and D. N. Freedman. 2009. “Samaria I as a Chronological Anchor of Finkelstein’s Low Chronology: An Appraisal.” Eretz Israel 29: 36*–44.Search in Google Scholar
Galil, G. 1996. The Chronology of the Kings of Israel and Judah. Leiden: Brill.Search in Google Scholar
Gero, J. M. 2007. Honoring Ambiguity/Problematizing Certitude. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 14: 311–27, doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-007-9037-1.Search in Google Scholar
Green, D. J. 2010. “I Undertook Great Works”: The Ideology of Domestic Achievements in West Semitic Royal Inscriptions. Tübingen, Mohr Seibeck.10.1628/978-3-16-151139-4Search in Google Scholar
Guy, P. L. O. 1931. New Light from Armageddon. OIC 9. Chicago: University of Chicago.Search in Google Scholar
Halpern, B. 2001. David’s Secret Demons: Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.Search in Google Scholar
Handy, L. K. 1997. “On the Dating and Dates of Solomon’s Reign.” In The Age of Solomon, edited by L. K. Handy, 95–105. Leiden: Brill. SHCANE XI.Search in Google Scholar
Harrison, T. P. 2004. Megiddo 3: Final Report on the Stratum VI Excavations. OIP 127. Chicago: University of Chicago.Search in Google Scholar
Hayes, C. B. 2015. “Biblical Claims About Solomon’s Kingdom in Light of Egyptian “Three-Zone” Ideology of Territory.” In Israel’s Exodus in Transdisciplinary Perspective, edited by T. E. Levy, T. Schneider, and W. H. Propp, 503–15. New York: Springer.10.1007/978-3-319-04768-3_40Search in Google Scholar
Jacobsen, T. 1976. The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion. New Haven: Yale University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Jansen-Winkeln, K. 2006. “The Chronology of the Third Intermediate Period: Dyns. 22-24.” In Ancient Egyptian Chronology, edited by E. Hornung, R. Krauss, and D. A. Warburton, 234–64. HdO 83. Leiden: Brill.10.1163/9789047404002_017Search in Google Scholar
KAI = Donner, H., and W. Röllig. 1966. Kanaanäische und aramäische Inschriften. Bd. 1 (Texte, 1966), Bd. II (Kommentar, 1968), Bd. III (Glossare und Indizes, Tafeln, 1969). Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.Search in Google Scholar
King, M. 2010. “Walking the Line: Defining, Marking and Experiencing the Cardinal Boundaries of Ancient Egypt in the New Kingdom.” Unpublished MPhil thesis, University of Cambridge.Search in Google Scholar
Kitchen, K. A. 1996. The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt (1100-650 BC), 3rd ed. Warminster: Aris & Phillips.Search in Google Scholar
Kleiman, A., F. Alexander, H. Mommsen, and I. Finkelstein. 2019. “The Date and Origin of Black-on-Red Ware: The View from Megiddo.” American Journal of Archaeology 123: 531–55, https://doi.org/10.3764/aja.123.4.0531.Search in Google Scholar
Kleiman, A., M. E. Cohen, E. Hall, R. S. Homsher, and I. Finkelstein. 2017. “Cult Activity at Megiddo in the Iron Age: New Evidence and a Long-Term Perspective.” Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 133: 24–52.Search in Google Scholar
Knauf, A. E. 2006. “Area H: The 2000 Season (Levels H-7, H-6 and H-5).” In Megiddo IV: The 1998–2002 Seasons, Vol. 1, edited by I. Finkelstein, D. Ussishkin, and B. Halpern, 137–42. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.Search in Google Scholar
Kreimerman, I. 2016. “Siege Warfare, Conflict and Destruction: How are They Related?” In From Sha‘ar Hagolan to Shaaraim: Essays in Honor of Prof. Yosef Garfinkel, edited by S. Ganor, I. Kreimerman, K. Streit, and M. Mumcuoglu, 229–45. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society.Search in Google Scholar
Lamon, R. S., and G. M. Shipton. 1939. Megiddo I, Seasons of 1925–34, Strata I– V. OIP 42. Chicago: University of Chicago.Search in Google Scholar
Lee, Y. K. 2002. “Differential Resolution in History and Archaeology.” Journal of East Asian Archaeology 4: 375–86, https://doi.org/10.1163/156852302322454639.Search in Google Scholar
Lehmann, G., A. A. Killebrew, and Y. Gadot. 2000. “Area K.” In Megiddo III: The 1992–1996 Seasons, Vol. 1, edited by I. Finkelstein, D. Ussishkin, and B. Halpern, 123–39. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.Search in Google Scholar
Levy, T. E., and D. A. Frese. 2010. “The Four Pillars of the Iron Age Low Chronology.” In Historical Biblical Archaeology and the Future: The New Pragmatism, edited by E. Thomas, 187–202. Levy (London): Equinox.Search in Google Scholar
Lipiński, E. 2006. On the Skirts of Canaan in the Iron Age: Historical and Topographical Researches. OLA 153. Leuven: Peeters.Search in Google Scholar
Loud, G. 1948. Megiddo II, Seasons of 1935–39. OIP 62. Chicago: University of Chicago.Search in Google Scholar
Maeir, A. M. 2012. “The Tell Es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project 1996-2010: Introduction, Overview and Synopsis of Results.” In Tell Es-Safi/Gath I: The 1996-2005 Seasons, edited by A. M. Maeir, 1–88. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.Search in Google Scholar
Maeir, A. M., and S. Gur-Arieh. 2011. “Comparative Aspects of the Aramean Siege System at Tell eṣ-Ṣāfi/Gath.” In The Fire Signals of Lachish: Studies in the Archaeology and History of Israel in the Late Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Persian Period in Honor of David Ussishkin, edited by I. Finkelstein, and N. Na’aman, 227–44. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.10.1515/9781575066295-017Search in Google Scholar
Mazar, A. 2005. “The Debate over the Chronology of the Iron Age in the Southern Levant.” In The Bible and Radiocarbon Dating, edited by T. E. Levy, and T. Higham, 15–30. London: Equinox.Search in Google Scholar
Mazar, A. 2011. “The Iron Age Chronology Debate: Is the Gap Narrowing? Another Viewpoint.” Near Eastern Archaeology 74: 105–11, https://doi.org/10.5615/neareastarch.74.2.0105.Search in Google Scholar
Mazar, A., and I. Carmi. 2001. “Radiocarbon Dates from Iron Age Strata at Tel Beth Shean and Tel Rehov.” Radiocarbon 43: 1333–42, https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033822200038571.Search in Google Scholar
Morris, E. F. 2005. The Architecture of Imperialism. Leiden: Brill.Search in Google Scholar
Na’aman, N. 1997. “Historical and Literary Notes on the Excavation of Tel Jezreel.” Tel Aviv 24: 122–8.10.1515/9781575065694-014Search in Google Scholar
Redford, D. B. 1992. Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times. Princeton: Princeton University Press.10.1515/9780691214658Search in Google Scholar
Rendsburg, G. A. 2002. Israelian Hebrew in the Book of Kings. Bethesda, MD: CDL Press.Search in Google Scholar
Richelle, M. 2016. “Elusive Scrolls: Could Any Hebrew Literature Have Been Written Prior to the Eighth Century BCE?” VT 66: 556–94, https://doi.org/10.1163/15685330-12341250.Search in Google Scholar
Ritner, R. K. 2009. The Libyan Anarchy: Inscriptions from Egypt’s Third Intermediate Period. WAW 21. Atlanta: SBL.Search in Google Scholar
Rollston, C. A. 2017. “Epigraphic Evidence from Jerusalem and Its Environs at the Dawn of Biblical History: Methodologies and a Long Durèe Perspective.” New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and Its Region XI: 7–20.Search in Google Scholar
Sanders, S. L. 2009. The Invention of Hebrew. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.Search in Google Scholar
Schneider, T. 2010. “Contributions to the Chronology of the New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period.” Ägypten und Levante 20: 373–403.10.1553/AEundL20s373Search in Google Scholar
Schniedewind, W. M. 2010. “Excavating the Text of 1 Kings 9.” In Biblical Archaeology and the Future: The New Pragmatism, edited by T. Levy, 241–49. London: Equinox.Search in Google Scholar
Schniedewind, W. M. 2019. The Finger of the Scribe: The Beginnings of Scribal Education and How It Shaped the Hebrew Bible. New York: Oxford University Press.10.1093/oso/9780190052461.001.0001Search in Google Scholar
Schumacher, G. B. 1908. Tell el-Mutesellim I. Leipzig: Rudolf Haupt.Search in Google Scholar
Shochat, H., and A. Gilboa. 2018. “Elusive Destructions: Reconsidering the Hazor Iron Age II Sequence and its Chronological and Historical Implications.” Levant 50: 363–86, https://doi.org/10.1080/00758914.2019.1669337.Search in Google Scholar
Shortland, A. J. 2005. “Shishak, King of Egypt: The Challenges of Egyptian Calendrical Chronology.” In The Bible and Radiocarbon Dating, edited by T. E. Levy, and T. Higham, 43–54. London: Equinox.Search in Google Scholar
Snodgrass, A. M. 1985. “Greek Archaeology and Greek History.” Classical Antiquity 4: 193–207, https://doi.org/10.2307/25010833.Search in Google Scholar
Sperveslage, G., and R. Eichmann. 2012. “Egyptian Cultural Impact on North-West Arabia in the Second and First Millennia BC.” Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 42: 371–83.Search in Google Scholar
Suriano, M. J. 2014. “The Historicality of the King: An Exercise in Reading Royal Inscriptions from the Ancient Levant.” Journal of Ancient Near Eastern History 2: 95–118, https://doi.org/10.1515/janeh-2014-0003.Search in Google Scholar
Tappy, R. 1992. The Archaeology of Israelite Samaria I: Early Iron Age through the Ninth Century BCE. Atlanta: Scholars Press.10.1163/9789004369665Search in Google Scholar
Tappy, R., and P. K. McCarter, (eds.). 2008. Literate Culture and Tenth-Century Canaan: The Tel Zayit Abecedary in Context. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.Search in Google Scholar
Taylor, R. E., and O. Bar-Yosef. 2014. Radiocarbon Dating: An Archaeological Perspective, 2nd ed. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.Search in Google Scholar
Thiele, E. R. 1983. The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.Search in Google Scholar
Toffolo, M., E. Arie, M. Martin, E. Boaretto, and I. Finkelstein. 2014. “Absolute Chronology of Megiddo, Israel, in the Late Bronze and Iron Ages: High-Resolution Radiocarbon Dating.” Radiocarbon 56: 221–44, https://doi.org/10.2458/56.16899.Search in Google Scholar
Ussishkin, D. 1990. “Notes on Megiddo, Gezer, Ashdod, and Tl Batash in the Tenth to Ninth Centuries B. C.” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 277/278: 71–91, https://doi.org/10.2307/1357374.Search in Google Scholar
Ussishkin, D. 2018. Megiddo-Armageddon: The Story of the Canaanite and Israelite City. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society/Biblical Archaeological Society.Search in Google Scholar
Watzinger, C. 1929. Tell el-Mutesellim II. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs.Search in Google Scholar
Wright, G. E. 1950. Review of Megiddo, Volume 2 by Gordon Loud. Journal of the American Oriental Society 70: 56–60, doi:https://doi.org/10.2307/595437.Search in Google Scholar
Wright, G. E. 1962. “Archaeological Fills and Strata.” Biblical Archaeologist 25: 33–40, https://doi.org/10.2307/3210990.Search in Google Scholar
Yadin, Y. 1970. “Megiddo of the Kings of Israel.” Biblical Archaeologist 33: 66–96, https://doi.org/10.2307/3211022.Search in Google Scholar
Younger, K. L.Jr. 2016. A Political History of the Arameans: From Their Origins to the End of Their Polities. ABS 13. Atlanta: SBL Press.10.2307/j.ctt1g69w78Search in Google Scholar
Zarzecki-Peleg, A. 2016. Yadin’s Expedition to Megiddo. Final Report of the Archaeological Excavations (1960, 1966, 1967, and 1971/2 Seasons). Qedem 56. Jerusalem: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Institute of Archaeology.Search in Google Scholar
© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Abstract
This article reviews the major problems in the political history of Megiddo during the early Iron Age (Iron Age I–IIA), at the time of the early monarchic period in Israel (eleventh–ninth centuries BCE). Megiddo has been central to an ongoing debate over the nature of the early monarchic period in Israel and the exact chronology of the Iron Age I–IIA periods. This importance derives both from the extensive excavations of the relevant strata at Megiddo (VIA, VB and VA-IVB) as well as Megiddo’s appearance in relevant historical sources, namely the Hebrew Bible, which claims that Solomon “built” Megiddo, and its appearance in the campaign list of pharaoh Sheshonq I. Though the fragment of a stela of Sheshonq I was found at Megiddo, it was only found after having been discarded and so its stratigraphic attribution is unclear. Radiocarbon dating from these strata has assisted to some degree but still left dating and historical questions quite open. This article will demonstrate that the political history of Megiddo during the early Iron Age is beset with ambiguities in the evidence, which have been divided into seven ambiguities for the purpose of the discussion here. When these ambiguities are taken into account, it becomes clear that the interpreter has much latitude in making their reconstruction, specifically in how they date strata and associate them with putative historical developments. Different cases can be made for associating particular strata and their termination with Solomon, Sheshonq or even later kings, but none can claim to objectively be the correct or superior reconstruction.
Acknowledgments
For help in finding some of the publications cited in this article during a time of pandemic, I would like to thank Lyndelle Webster, Jessy Eltanahy and Christopher B. Hayes. I also thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. All views and any mistakes or omissions remain mine alone.
References
Aharoni, Y., and Y Yadin. 1993. “Megiddo.” In The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, edited by E. Stern, 1003–24. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society.Search in Google Scholar
Arie, E. 2013a. “Area H: Levels H-9 to H-5.” In Megiddo V: The 2004–2008 Seasons, Vol. 1, edited by I. Finkelstein, D. Ussishkin, and E. H. Cline, 247–74. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.10.5325/j.ctv2321hmw.14Search in Google Scholar
Arie, E. 2013b. “The Iron IIA Pottery.” In Megiddo V: The 2004–2008 Seasons, Vol. 1, edited by I. Finkelstein, D. Ussishkin, and E. H. Cline, 668–828. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.10.5325/j.ctv2321hmw.23Search in Google Scholar
Baillie, M. G. L. 1991. Suck-in and Smear: Two Related Chronological Problems for the 90s. Journal of Theoretical Archaeology 2: 12–16.Search in Google Scholar
Ben-Dor Evian, S. 2011. “Shishak’s Karnak Relief – More Than ust Name-Rings.” In Egypt, Canaan and Israel: History, Imperialism, Ideology and Literature, edited by S. Bar, D. Kahn, and J. J. Shirley, 11–22. Leiden: Brill.Search in Google Scholar
Bennett, J. E. 2019. The Archaeology of Egypt in the Third Intermediate Period. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/9781108699488Search in Google Scholar
Biran, A., and J. Naveh. 1993. “An Aramaic Stele Fragment from Tel Dan.” Israel Exploration Journal 43: 81–98.Search in Google Scholar
Biran, A., and J. Naveh. 1995. “The Tel Dan Inscription: A New Fragment.” Israel Exploration Journal 45: 1–18.Search in Google Scholar
Bronk Ramsey, C. 2005. “Improving the Resolution of Radiocarbon Dating by Statistical Analysis.” In The Bible and Radiocarbon Dating, edited by T. E. Levy, and T. Higham, 57–64. London: Equinox.Search in Google Scholar
Bruins, H. J., J. van der Plicht, and A. Mazar. 2003. “14C Dates from Tel Rehov: Iron-Age Chronology, Pharaohs, and Hebrew Kings.” Science 300: 315–8, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1082776.Search in Google Scholar
Chapman, R. L. Chapman III. 2009. “Putting Sheshonq I in his Place.” Palestine Exploration Quarterly 141: 4–17.10.1179/174313009X387617Search in Google Scholar
Cline, E. H. 2006. Area L (The 1998-2000 Seasons). In Megiddo IV: The 1998–2002 Seasons, Vol. 1, edited by I. Finkelstein, D. Ussishkin, and B. Halpern, 104–23. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.Search in Google Scholar
Cline, E. H. 2011. “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On: The Possible Destruction by Earthquake of Megiddo Stratum VIA.” In The Fire Signals of Lachish: Studies in the Archaeology and History of Israel in the Late Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Persian Period in Honor of David Ussishkin, edited by I. Finkelstein, and N. Na’aman, 55–70. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.10.5325/j.ctv1bxh0bf.8Search in Google Scholar
Cline, E. H. 2020. Digging Up Armageddon: The Search for the Lost City of Solomon. Princeton: Princeton University Press.10.1515/9780691200446Search in Google Scholar
Cline, E. H., and I. Samet. 2013. “Area L.” In Megiddo V: The 2004–2008 Seasons, Vol. 1, edited by I. Finkelstein, D. Ussishkin, and E. H. Cline, 275–85. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.10.5325/j.ctv2321hmw.15Search in Google Scholar
Cline, E. H., and M. Cohen. 2006. “Appendix: The 2004 Season.” In Megiddo IV: The 1998–2002 Seasons, Vol. 1, edited by I. Finkelstein, D. Ussishkin, and B. Halpern, 124–9. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.Search in Google Scholar
Davies, G. I. 1986. Megiddo. Cities of the Biblical World. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.Search in Google Scholar
Davis, T. W. 2004. Shifting Sands: The Rise and Fall of Biblical Archaeology. New York: Oxford University Press.10.1093/0195167104.001.0001Search in Google Scholar
Dodson, A. 2012. Afterglow of Empire: Egypt from the Fall of the New Kingdom to the Saite Renaissance. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press.10.5743/cairo/9789774165313.001.0001Search in Google Scholar
Faust, A., and Y. Sapir. 2018. “The “Governor’s Residency” at Tel ‘Eton, The United Monarchy, and the Impact of the Old-House Effect on Large-Scale Archaeological Reconstructions.” Radiocarbon 60: 801–20, https://doi.org/10.1017/rdc.2018.10.Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein, I. 1995. “The Date of the Settlement of the Philistines in Canaan.” Tel Aviv 22: 213–39, https://doi.org/10.1179/tav.1995.1995.2.213.Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein, I. 1996. “The Archaeology of the United Monarchy: An Alternative View.” Tel Aviv 28: 177–87, https://doi.org/10.1179/lev.1996.28.1.177.Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein, I. 2005. “High or Low: Megiddo and Reḥov.” In The Bible and Radiocarbon Dating, edited by T. E. Levy, and T. Higham, 302–9. London: Equinox.Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein, I. 2007. King Solomon’s Golden Age: History or Myth? In: Schmidt, B. B. (Ed.), The Quest for Historical Israel: Debating Archaeology and the History of Early Israel. Brill, Leiden.Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein, I. 2009. “Destructions: Megiddo as a Case Study.” In Exploring the Longue Durée, Essays in Honor of Lawrence E. Stager, edited by J. David Schloen, 113–26. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein, I. 2013. The Forgotten Kingdom: The Archaeology and History of Northern Israel. ANEM 5. Atlanta: SBL.Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein, I., and E. Piasetzky. 2006. “The Iron I-IIA in the Highlands and Beyond: 14C Anchors, Pottery Phases and The Shoshenq I Campaign.” Levant 38: 45–61, https://doi.org/10.1179/lev.2006.38.1.45.Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein, I., and E. Piasetzky. 2011. “The Iron Age Chronology Debate: Is the Gap Narrowing?” Near Eastern Archaeology 74: 50–4, https://doi.org/10.5615/neareastarch.74.1.0050.Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein, I., and Silberman, N. A. 2001. The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts. Touchstone, New York.Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein I., Ussishkin, D., and Cline, E. H. (Eds.) 2013. Megiddo V: The 2004–2008 Seasons, 1–3. Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv.10.5325/j.ctv2321hmw.3Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein, I., D. Ussishkin, and B. Halpern (eds.). 2000. Megiddo III: The 1992–1996 Seasons, Vol. 1–2. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein, I., D. Ussishkin, and B. Halpern (eds.). 2006. Megiddo IV: The 1998–2002 Seasons, Vol. 1–2. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.Search in Google Scholar
Finkelstein, I., M. J. Adams, E. Hall, and E. Levy. 2019. “The Iron Age Gates of Megiddo: New Evidence and Updated Interpretations.” Tel Aviv 46: 167–91, https://doi.org/10.1080/03344355.2019.1650492.Search in Google Scholar
Fisher, C. S. 1929. The Excavation of Armageddon. OIC 4. Chicago: University of Chicago.Search in Google Scholar
Franklin, N. 2005. “Correlation and Chronology: Samaria and Megiddo Redux.” In The Bible and Radiocarbon Dating, edited by T. E. Levy, and T. Higham, 310–22. London: Equinox.Search in Google Scholar
Franklin, N. 2006. “Revealing Stratum V at Megiddo.” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 342: 95–111, https://doi.org/10.1086/basor25066954.Search in Google Scholar
Frese, D. A., and D. N. Freedman. 2009. “Samaria I as a Chronological Anchor of Finkelstein’s Low Chronology: An Appraisal.” Eretz Israel 29: 36*–44.Search in Google Scholar
Galil, G. 1996. The Chronology of the Kings of Israel and Judah. Leiden: Brill.Search in Google Scholar
Gero, J. M. 2007. Honoring Ambiguity/Problematizing Certitude. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 14: 311–27, doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-007-9037-1.Search in Google Scholar
Green, D. J. 2010. “I Undertook Great Works”: The Ideology of Domestic Achievements in West Semitic Royal Inscriptions. Tübingen, Mohr Seibeck.10.1628/978-3-16-151139-4Search in Google Scholar
Guy, P. L. O. 1931. New Light from Armageddon. OIC 9. Chicago: University of Chicago.Search in Google Scholar
Halpern, B. 2001. David’s Secret Demons: Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.Search in Google Scholar
Handy, L. K. 1997. “On the Dating and Dates of Solomon’s Reign.” In The Age of Solomon, edited by L. K. Handy, 95–105. Leiden: Brill. SHCANE XI.Search in Google Scholar
Harrison, T. P. 2004. Megiddo 3: Final Report on the Stratum VI Excavations. OIP 127. Chicago: University of Chicago.Search in Google Scholar
Hayes, C. B. 2015. “Biblical Claims About Solomon’s Kingdom in Light of Egyptian “Three-Zone” Ideology of Territory.” In Israel’s Exodus in Transdisciplinary Perspective, edited by T. E. Levy, T. Schneider, and W. H. Propp, 503–15. New York: Springer.10.1007/978-3-319-04768-3_40Search in Google Scholar
Jacobsen, T. 1976. The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion. New Haven: Yale University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Jansen-Winkeln, K. 2006. “The Chronology of the Third Intermediate Period: Dyns. 22-24.” In Ancient Egyptian Chronology, edited by E. Hornung, R. Krauss, and D. A. Warburton, 234–64. HdO 83. Leiden: Brill.10.1163/9789047404002_017Search in Google Scholar
KAI = Donner, H., and W. Röllig. 1966. Kanaanäische und aramäische Inschriften. Bd. 1 (Texte, 1966), Bd. II (Kommentar, 1968), Bd. III (Glossare und Indizes, Tafeln, 1969). Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.Search in Google Scholar
King, M. 2010. “Walking the Line: Defining, Marking and Experiencing the Cardinal Boundaries of Ancient Egypt in the New Kingdom.” Unpublished MPhil thesis, University of Cambridge.Search in Google Scholar
Kitchen, K. A. 1996. The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt (1100-650 BC), 3rd ed. Warminster: Aris & Phillips.Search in Google Scholar
Kleiman, A., F. Alexander, H. Mommsen, and I. Finkelstein. 2019. “The Date and Origin of Black-on-Red Ware: The View from Megiddo.” American Journal of Archaeology 123: 531–55, https://doi.org/10.3764/aja.123.4.0531.Search in Google Scholar
Kleiman, A., M. E. Cohen, E. Hall, R. S. Homsher, and I. Finkelstein. 2017. “Cult Activity at Megiddo in the Iron Age: New Evidence and a Long-Term Perspective.” Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 133: 24–52.Search in Google Scholar
Knauf, A. E. 2006. “Area H: The 2000 Season (Levels H-7, H-6 and H-5).” In Megiddo IV: The 1998–2002 Seasons, Vol. 1, edited by I. Finkelstein, D. Ussishkin, and B. Halpern, 137–42. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.Search in Google Scholar
Kreimerman, I. 2016. “Siege Warfare, Conflict and Destruction: How are They Related?” In From Sha‘ar Hagolan to Shaaraim: Essays in Honor of Prof. Yosef Garfinkel, edited by S. Ganor, I. Kreimerman, K. Streit, and M. Mumcuoglu, 229–45. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society.Search in Google Scholar
Lamon, R. S., and G. M. Shipton. 1939. Megiddo I, Seasons of 1925–34, Strata I– V. OIP 42. Chicago: University of Chicago.Search in Google Scholar
Lee, Y. K. 2002. “Differential Resolution in History and Archaeology.” Journal of East Asian Archaeology 4: 375–86, https://doi.org/10.1163/156852302322454639.Search in Google Scholar
Lehmann, G., A. A. Killebrew, and Y. Gadot. 2000. “Area K.” In Megiddo III: The 1992–1996 Seasons, Vol. 1, edited by I. Finkelstein, D. Ussishkin, and B. Halpern, 123–39. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.Search in Google Scholar
Levy, T. E., and D. A. Frese. 2010. “The Four Pillars of the Iron Age Low Chronology.” In Historical Biblical Archaeology and the Future: The New Pragmatism, edited by E. Thomas, 187–202. Levy (London): Equinox.Search in Google Scholar
Lipiński, E. 2006. On the Skirts of Canaan in the Iron Age: Historical and Topographical Researches. OLA 153. Leuven: Peeters.Search in Google Scholar
Loud, G. 1948. Megiddo II, Seasons of 1935–39. OIP 62. Chicago: University of Chicago.Search in Google Scholar
Maeir, A. M. 2012. “The Tell Es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project 1996-2010: Introduction, Overview and Synopsis of Results.” In Tell Es-Safi/Gath I: The 1996-2005 Seasons, edited by A. M. Maeir, 1–88. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.Search in Google Scholar
Maeir, A. M., and S. Gur-Arieh. 2011. “Comparative Aspects of the Aramean Siege System at Tell eṣ-Ṣāfi/Gath.” In The Fire Signals of Lachish: Studies in the Archaeology and History of Israel in the Late Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Persian Period in Honor of David Ussishkin, edited by I. Finkelstein, and N. Na’aman, 227–44. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University.10.1515/9781575066295-017Search in Google Scholar
Mazar, A. 2005. “The Debate over the Chronology of the Iron Age in the Southern Levant.” In The Bible and Radiocarbon Dating, edited by T. E. Levy, and T. Higham, 15–30. London: Equinox.Search in Google Scholar
Mazar, A. 2011. “The Iron Age Chronology Debate: Is the Gap Narrowing? Another Viewpoint.” Near Eastern Archaeology 74: 105–11, https://doi.org/10.5615/neareastarch.74.2.0105.Search in Google Scholar
Mazar, A., and I. Carmi. 2001. “Radiocarbon Dates from Iron Age Strata at Tel Beth Shean and Tel Rehov.” Radiocarbon 43: 1333–42, https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033822200038571.Search in Google Scholar
Morris, E. F. 2005. The Architecture of Imperialism. Leiden: Brill.Search in Google Scholar
Na’aman, N. 1997. “Historical and Literary Notes on the Excavation of Tel Jezreel.” Tel Aviv 24: 122–8.10.1515/9781575065694-014Search in Google Scholar
Redford, D. B. 1992. Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times. Princeton: Princeton University Press.10.1515/9780691214658Search in Google Scholar
Rendsburg, G. A. 2002. Israelian Hebrew in the Book of Kings. Bethesda, MD: CDL Press.Search in Google Scholar
Richelle, M. 2016. “Elusive Scrolls: Could Any Hebrew Literature Have Been Written Prior to the Eighth Century BCE?” VT 66: 556–94, https://doi.org/10.1163/15685330-12341250.Search in Google Scholar
Ritner, R. K. 2009. The Libyan Anarchy: Inscriptions from Egypt’s Third Intermediate Period. WAW 21. Atlanta: SBL.Search in Google Scholar
Rollston, C. A. 2017. “Epigraphic Evidence from Jerusalem and Its Environs at the Dawn of Biblical History: Methodologies and a Long Durèe Perspective.” New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and Its Region XI: 7–20.Search in Google Scholar
Sanders, S. L. 2009. The Invention of Hebrew. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.Search in Google Scholar
Schneider, T. 2010. “Contributions to the Chronology of the New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period.” Ägypten und Levante 20: 373–403.10.1553/AEundL20s373Search in Google Scholar
Schniedewind, W. M. 2010. “Excavating the Text of 1 Kings 9.” In Biblical Archaeology and the Future: The New Pragmatism, edited by T. Levy, 241–49. London: Equinox.Search in Google Scholar
Schniedewind, W. M. 2019. The Finger of the Scribe: The Beginnings of Scribal Education and How It Shaped the Hebrew Bible. New York: Oxford University Press.10.1093/oso/9780190052461.001.0001Search in Google Scholar
Schumacher, G. B. 1908. Tell el-Mutesellim I. Leipzig: Rudolf Haupt.Search in Google Scholar
Shochat, H., and A. Gilboa. 2018. “Elusive Destructions: Reconsidering the Hazor Iron Age II Sequence and its Chronological and Historical Implications.” Levant 50: 363–86, https://doi.org/10.1080/00758914.2019.1669337.Search in Google Scholar
Shortland, A. J. 2005. “Shishak, King of Egypt: The Challenges of Egyptian Calendrical Chronology.” In The Bible and Radiocarbon Dating, edited by T. E. Levy, and T. Higham, 43–54. London: Equinox.Search in Google Scholar
Snodgrass, A. M. 1985. “Greek Archaeology and Greek History.” Classical Antiquity 4: 193–207, https://doi.org/10.2307/25010833.Search in Google Scholar
Sperveslage, G., and R. Eichmann. 2012. “Egyptian Cultural Impact on North-West Arabia in the Second and First Millennia BC.” Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 42: 371–83.Search in Google Scholar
Suriano, M. J. 2014. “The Historicality of the King: An Exercise in Reading Royal Inscriptions from the Ancient Levant.” Journal of Ancient Near Eastern History 2: 95–118, https://doi.org/10.1515/janeh-2014-0003.Search in Google Scholar
Tappy, R. 1992. The Archaeology of Israelite Samaria I: Early Iron Age through the Ninth Century BCE. Atlanta: Scholars Press.10.1163/9789004369665Search in Google Scholar
Tappy, R., and P. K. McCarter, (eds.). 2008. Literate Culture and Tenth-Century Canaan: The Tel Zayit Abecedary in Context. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.Search in Google Scholar
Taylor, R. E., and O. Bar-Yosef. 2014. Radiocarbon Dating: An Archaeological Perspective, 2nd ed. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.Search in Google Scholar
Thiele, E. R. 1983. The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.Search in Google Scholar
Toffolo, M., E. Arie, M. Martin, E. Boaretto, and I. Finkelstein. 2014. “Absolute Chronology of Megiddo, Israel, in the Late Bronze and Iron Ages: High-Resolution Radiocarbon Dating.” Radiocarbon 56: 221–44, https://doi.org/10.2458/56.16899.Search in Google Scholar
Ussishkin, D. 1990. “Notes on Megiddo, Gezer, Ashdod, and Tl Batash in the Tenth to Ninth Centuries B. C.” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 277/278: 71–91, https://doi.org/10.2307/1357374.Search in Google Scholar
Ussishkin, D. 2018. Megiddo-Armageddon: The Story of the Canaanite and Israelite City. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society/Biblical Archaeological Society.Search in Google Scholar
Watzinger, C. 1929. Tell el-Mutesellim II. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs.Search in Google Scholar
Wright, G. E. 1950. Review of Megiddo, Volume 2 by Gordon Loud. Journal of the American Oriental Society 70: 56–60, doi:https://doi.org/10.2307/595437.Search in Google Scholar
Wright, G. E. 1962. “Archaeological Fills and Strata.” Biblical Archaeologist 25: 33–40, https://doi.org/10.2307/3210990.Search in Google Scholar
Yadin, Y. 1970. “Megiddo of the Kings of Israel.” Biblical Archaeologist 33: 66–96, https://doi.org/10.2307/3211022.Search in Google Scholar
Younger, K. L.Jr. 2016. A Political History of the Arameans: From Their Origins to the End of Their Polities. ABS 13. Atlanta: SBL Press.10.2307/j.ctt1g69w78Search in Google Scholar
Zarzecki-Peleg, A. 2016. Yadin’s Expedition to Megiddo. Final Report of the Archaeological Excavations (1960, 1966, 1967, and 1971/2 Seasons). Qedem 56. Jerusalem: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Institute of Archaeology.Search in Google Scholar
© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Princely Employments in the Reign of Shulgi
- The Political History of Megiddo in the Early Iron Age and the Ambiguities of Evidence
- Heads and Beds: On the Origin of the Akkadian Term for Eunuch or Courtier
- Slavery in Achaemenid-Period Babylonia: The Social World of Rībat, Son of Bēl-erība
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Princely Employments in the Reign of Shulgi
- The Political History of Megiddo in the Early Iron Age and the Ambiguities of Evidence
- Heads and Beds: On the Origin of the Akkadian Term for Eunuch or Courtier
- Slavery in Achaemenid-Period Babylonia: The Social World of Rībat, Son of Bēl-erība
