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Keel, O. and Mazar, A. Iron Age Seals and Seal
ERETZ-ISRAEL Archaeological, Historical and Geographical Studies V O L U M E T W E N T Y- N I N E Published by T H E I S R A E L E X P L O R AT I O N S O C I E T Y in cooperation with THE INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY, HEBREW UNIVERSITY OF JERUSALEM JERUSALEM PUBLISHED WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF T HE L EON L EVY F OUNDATION T HE R EUBEN AND E DITH H ECHT T RUST S AMUEL D. T URNER , E SQ . S USAN L ADEN , BAS H ERSHEL S HANKS , BAS ISBN © Copyright by the Israel Exploration Society Layout: A. Pladot Typesetting: Marzel A.S.—Jerusalem Printed by: Old City Press, Jerusalem EPHRAIM STERN VOLUME Editors Joseph Aviram, Amnon Ben-Tor, Israel Eph¹al, Seymour Gitin, Ronny Reich Editorial Directors Hillel Geva, Alan Paris Hebrew style editing Efrat Carmon English style editing Alan Paris CONTENTS Non-Hebrew Section Bibliographical Abbreviations (see Hebrew section) ix xi טו כג Oded Borowski Life and Death at Tel Ḥalif in the Eighth Century BCE * Dan P. Cole and Joe D. Seger Traces of Persian Period Settlement at Tel Ḥalif * Frank Moore Cross The Phoenician Ostracon from Acco, the Ekron Inscriptions and אשרתה * William G. Dever Archaeology and the Fall of Judah * Daniel A. Frese and David Noel Freedman Samaria I as a Chronological Anchor of Finkelstein’s Low Chronology: An Appraisal * Shimon Gibson The Ṣuba Water System as a Clay-Production Plant in the Iron Age II * Othmar Keel and Amihai Mazar Iron Age Seals and Seal Impressions from Tel Reḥov * Philip J. King Wenamun Docks at Dor * Gary N. Knoppers Beyond Jerusalem and Judah: The Mission of Ezra in the Province of Transeuphrates * Günter Kopcke The First Great Temple on Samos * André Lemaire Remarques sur les relations entre la Phenicie et le nord de l’Arabie * Preface The Editorial Board Ephraim Stern—Scholar, Teacher, Colleague and Friend David Ussishkin Bibliography of Works by Ephraim Stern (see Hebrew section) Edward Lipiński Wares Ordered from Ben-Ḥarash at Akko * Daniel Master The Renewal of Trade at Iron Age I Ashkelon * Robert Merrillees The Implications of Materials Analysis for the Levantine Origin of Cylinder Seals from Late Bronze Age Cyprus * Carol L. and Eric M. Meyers The Persian Period at Sepphoris * Bezalel Porten and Ada Yardeni Dating by Grouping in the Idumean Ostraca: Six Commodity Dossiers Dating to the Transition Years from Artaxerxes II to Artaxerxes III * Anson F. Rainey Notes on Two Archaeological Sites * David S. Reese On Incised Scapulae and Tridacna * Renate RosenthalHeginbottom The Sacred Number Seven—Reflections on the Hellenistic Seven-Nozzled Lamps from Tel Dor * Lawrence E. Stager A Pictorial Potsherd from Ashkelon Depicting a Philistine Ship * David Stronach Riding in Achaemenid Iran: New Perspectives * Shelley Wachsmann Some Notes on Drawing the Bow * Randall W. Younker The Persian Period at Tall Jalul, Jordan * Jeffrey R. Zorn The Daily Grind at Tel Dor: A Trough and Basin from an Iron Age I Kitchen * English summaries of Hebrew articles * Hebrew Section David Ussishkin ¹En Ḥazeva: On the Gate of the Iron II Period Fortress Shmuel Aḥituv and Ada Yardeni Seventeen Aramaic Ostraca from Idumea from the End of the Persian Period and the Beginning of the Hellenistic Period Adi Erlich The Image of Kybele in the Land of Israel in the Hellenistic Period Hanan Eshel and Deborah Cassuto Additional Evidence of Greek Influence on Phoenician Art in Cyprus in the Seventh Century BCE Itzhaq Beit-Arieh Remains of Wooden Furniture from Tel Malḥata Doron Ben-Ami Early Iron Age II Fortified Settlements in the Upper Galilee: Phoenician Fortresses or Fringe Settlements in the Northern Kingdom of Israel? Amnon Ben-Tor, David Ziegler and Vladimir Avrutis An Archaeological Riddle at Tel Hazor Hillel Geva An Iron Age Decorated Stand from the Excavations in the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem Zvi Gal The Lower Galilee between Tiglath Pileser III and the Beginning of the Persian Period Stratum VI at Megiddo and the “Northern Sea People Phenomenon” Gershon Galil International Private Commerce in the Neo-Assyrian Period Yosef Garfinkel The Destruction of Cultic Objects and Inscriptions during the First Temple Period Trude Dothan and Alexandra S. Drenka Incised Scapulae from a Cultic Assemblage at Philistine Ekron Aaron Demsky The Length of the Cubit in the Siloam Inscription Shimon Dar and Orna Nagar-Hillman Weights from Tel Dor and Ḥorvat Shallale on the Carmel Zeev Herzog Is There Evidence for the Intentional Abolishment of Cult in the Arad and Tel Beersheba Excavations? Samuel Wolff Some Notes on Basket-handled Amphorae Itamar Singer The Luwian-Phoenician Bilingual from Çineköy and its Historical Implications A Phoenician Vessel Group Dated to the Iron Age IIB from Tel Beersheba Adam Zertal The Reality of the Book of Judith Arad Haggi and Michal Artzy On the Origin of the Marine “Pier and Rubble” Building Technique Yifat Thareani In the Service of the Empire: Local Elites and “Pax Assyriaca” in the Negev Ayelet Gilboa Lili Singer-Avitz Oren Tal and Alexander Fantalkin An Iron Age IIB Fortress at Tell Qudadi: A Preliminary Study Irit Yezerski Typology and Chronology of Iron II–III Rock-Cut Tombs in Judah The Tactics of the Assyrian Army in the Attack on the City of Lachish Assaf Yasur-Landau In Search for the Origin of the Philistine Bird Motif Baruch A. Levine “and rendered in Aramaic” (Ezra :): An Inquiry into the Ancient Background of a Biblical Linguistic Form from the Period of the Second Temple Oded Lipschits and David S. Vanderhooft Unpublished yehud Stamp Seal Impressions from Aharoni’s Excavations at Ramat Raḥel Aren Maeir Fragments of Stone Reliefs from Bliss and Macalister’s Excavations at Tell eṣ-Ṣafi/Gath Eli Yannai Yitzhak Magen The Temple of YHWH at Mt. Gerizim Zeev Meshel The Persian-Period Road System in the Negev Nadav Na’aman Did the City of Dor Serve as the Capital of an Assyrian Province? Einat Ambar-Armon and Amos Kloner Connections between the Aegean World and the Land of Israel in the Persian Period Rami Arav A Chronicle of a Pre-known Destruction. Analysis of the Stages of the Conquest and Destruction of the City of Bethsaida by Tiglat Pileser III (– BCE) Avraham Faust Judah in the Sixth Century BCE: Continuity or Break? Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman Temple and Dynasty: Hezekiah, the Reformation of Judah and the Emergence of the Pan-Israelite Ideology Ronny Reich and Eli Shukron Two Hebrew Seals and Two Hebrew Bullae from the City of David in Jerusalem Yiftah Shalev Tel Dor and the Urbanization of the Coastal Plain of Israel during the Persian Period Ashlar Construction at Dor: Four Comments on the State of Research A Figurine from Tel ¹Ira Reconsidered Ilan Sharon Miriam Tadmor הק י צו ר י ם הב יבל יו ג ר פי ים AA AASOR ADAJ AfO AHw AJA AJSL ANET AOAT AoF APEF ASAE BA BaM BAR BASOR BCH BIFAO BJRL BMB BSA CAD CBQ CIS DJD DNWSI Archäologischer Anzeiger Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research Annual of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan Archiv für Orientforschung Akkadisches Handwörterbuch, Wiesbaden, – American Journal of Archaeology American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures J.B. Pritchard (ed.), Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, Princeton, Alter Orient und Altes Testament Altorientalische Forschungen Palestine Exploration Fund Annual Annales du Service des Antiquités de l’Égypte Biblical Archaeologist Baghdader Mitteilungen Biblical Archaeology Review Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research Bulletin de correspondance hellénique Bulletin de l’Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library Bulletin du Musée de Beyrouth Annual of the British School at Athens The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, Chicago and Glückstadt, Catholic Biblical Quarterly Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum Discoveries in the Judaean Desert J.J. Hoftijzer and K. Jongeling, Dictionary of the North-west Semitic Inscriptions I-II, Leiden EI HALOT Eretz-Israel L. Koehler and W. Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament I-V, Leiden – HTR Harvard Theological Review HUCA Hebrew Union College Annual IAA Israel Antiquities Authority IEJ Israel Exploration Journal INJ Israel Numismatic Journal IstMitt Istanbuler Mitteilungen JANES Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society of Columbia University JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society JBL Journal of Biblical Literature JCS Journal of Cuneiform Studies JESHO Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient JHS Journal of Hellenic Studies JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies JPOS Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society JQR Jewish Quarterly Review JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament JSP Judea and Samaria Publications KAI H. Donner and W. Röllig, Kanaanäische und aramäische Inschriften, Vols. (nd ed.), Wiesbaden, – KTU M. Dietrich, O. Loretz, J. Sanmartín, Die keilalphabetischen Texte aus Ugarit (=AOAT /), Neukirchener-Vluyn, KTU (Eng.) M. Dietrich, O. Loretz and J. Sanmartín, The Cuneiform Alphabetic Texts from Ugarit, Ras Ibn Hani and Other Places, Münster LA Liber Annuus LIMC Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae MDOG Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orientgesellschaft MGWJ Monatsschrift für Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judentums NABU Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires NEA Near Eastern Archaeology NEAEHL E. Stern (ed.), New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land (English edition), Jerusalem and OBO Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis OJA Oxford Journal of Archaeology OLP Orientalia Lovaniensia Periodica PEFA Palestine Exploration Fund Annual PEFQSt Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement PEQ Palestine Exploration Quarterly QDAP Quarterly of the Department of Antiquities of Palestine RB Revue Biblique Rés Répertoire d’épigraphie sémitique SAA State Archives of Assyria, Helsinki SAAB SAAS SIMA StAT RAI RLA State Archives of Assyria Bulletin State Archives of Assyria Studies, Helsinki Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology Studien zu den Assur-Texten Rencontre assyriologique internationale E. Ebeling, B. Meissner and D.O. Edzard (eds.), Reallexikon der Assyriologie, BerlinNew York, RSF Rivista di studi fenici TA Tel Aviv UF Ugarit-Forschungen VT Vetus Testamentum WVDOG Wissenschaftliche Veröffentlichungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft ZA Zeitschrift für Assyriologie ZAW Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft ZDPV Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins IRON AGE SEALS AND SEAL IMPRESSIONS FROM TEL REḤOV O THMAR K EEL and University of Fribourg A MIHAI M AZAR Hebrew University of Jerusalem Introduction scarabs of the Egyptian “mass-produced” group and their chronological significance. Most of the items included in this paper were found in reliable and well-dated Iron Age I and, in particular, Iron Age IIA stratigraphic contexts, and thus they provide a secure anchor for dating similar seals often found in less reliable contexts or without any context. Nine seasons of excavations at Tel Reḥov have yielded a rich and varied collection of finds from a city that thrived from the Late Bonze Age until the ninth century BCE, and then, on a reduced scale, until the Assyrian conquest of BCE (Mazar , a, ; Mazar et al. ; see also Table below). Over stamp seals and seal impressions on jar handles and clay bullae were recovered in the excavations. In the present paper, we present a preliminary study of two specific groups of stamp seals and seal impressions that are significant for the study of Iron Age I–IIA glyptics in our region. The first group includes stone seals and two seal impressions, and the second group includes six seal impressions on jar handles that were made in a style unique to Tel Reḥov. We also briefly discuss three Group . Local-Style Stone Seals and Seal Impressions (Table ; Figs. –) The seals and two seal impressions on jar handles in this group represent the most typical style of glyptics in the Land of Israel during the late Iron Age I and Iron Age IIA (Shuval ; Keel ). In most cases, the seals are made of local limestone in colors of white, gray, yellow, reddish or black. Table . Iron I–II Strata at Tel Reḥov, All Excavation Areas Excavation Areas and Local Strata C D E F G General Stratum No. A B – – – – – * a a a – a b b b b V – VI – – – ? VII – – – a b a b – – – Period Date II Iron IIB Late th century BCE – III Iron IIB c. until BCE IV Iron IIA c. – BCE Iron IB th–early th centuries BCE Iron IA c. th century BCE * correlation insecure; could be early phase of general Stratum III * * OTH M A R K EEL A N D A MI H A I M A ZA R Fig. . Group , photographs of seal impressions; nos. and are photos of impressions on jar handles; scale : (numbers refer to Table ) Fig. . Group , drawings of seal bottoms; nos. and are drawings of impressions on jar handles; scale : (numbers refer to Table ) I RON AGE SEA LS A N D SEA L I M PR ESSIONS FROM TEL R EḤOV * Table . Group : Stone Seals and Impressions Seal No. Reg. No. Locus Area Stratum* Shape** D D- (VI) Small, square seal with arched handle B B- (VI) Coarse scarab D D- Scaraboid Type IV C C-a (IV) Scaraboid Type I C C-a (IV) Seal impression on jar handle Wall E E- (V–IV) Scaraboid Type II C C-a (IV) Scaraboid Type I E E-a (IV) Conoid Type IV D D- (VI) Scaraboid Type II C C-a (IV) Scaraboid Type IV C C-a (IV) Coarse scarab C C- (VI) Coarse scarab C C-a (IV) Coarse scarab C C-a (IV) Scaraboid Type III G G-a (IV) Scaraboid Type I , B B-b (V) Scaraboid Type I C C- (V–IV) Scaraboid Type I G G-b (VI or V) Coarse scarab B B- or B- (V or IV) Seal impression on jar handle C C-a (IV) Scaraboid Type II * Local stratum in the excavation area; final general stratum in parentheses; see Table . ** Scaraboid types according to Keel : § –. The most common shapes are scaraboids of Types I–IV (Keel : § –) or coarse scarabs, while only one is conoid-shaped (Table : No. ). The shape of seal No. is rare: miniature, square, with an arched handle. No. is a seal impression on the handle of a restored “hippo” jar, a characteristic jar form in Strata V−IV at Tel Reḥov (see, for example, Mazar : , Fig. :−; Mazar et al. : , Fig. .:, ; , Fig. .:), while No. is a seal impression on a broken handle, also probably belonging to a “hippo” jar based on the form and ware. Iconography The repertoire of motifs is limited to quadrupeds (caprids, bovines and perhaps a horse), scorpions, ostriches, plants and human figures in various combinations (Table ). Significantly, there are no Egyptian or Phoenician motifs, except for No. , which may be an imitation of the motif of a human figure grasping two crocodiles (although perhaps without an understanding of the motif’s original meaning (compare the Egyptian “massproduced” seal; below, p. * Figs. : and :). We have divided the seals of Group into three iconographic groups (Table ): . Animals alone (Nos. −) . Animals and an additional object (Nos. –) . Human figures alone or alongside animals or plants (Nos. –) * OTH M A R K EEL A N D A MI H A I M A ZA R Table . Group : Combinations of Motifs Motif Seal No. Scorpion Quadruped alone , Quadruped and plant (?), , , Quadruped and scorpion , (?) Quadruped, scorpion* and plant Ostrich and a human(?) Human figure, bovine and scorpion Human figure and quadruped – Human figure, quadruped (horse?) and an unclear motif (scorpion? second human figure?) Human figure holding two schematic croco- diles or plants Human figure between two ostriches Human figure and two unclear objects Human figures flanking a palm tree Three dancers * For the identification of this schematic motif as scorpion, see text Quadrupeds—The most common animals appearing in the seal motifs are quadrupeds, mainly caprids or other goat-like animals such as ibex, wild goat, etc. (see Keel, Shuval and Uehlinger : –, Abb. –), as well as several bovines (most probably bulls), and in one case perhaps a horse. In certain cases the animal is too schematic to be identified (Nos. , ). Quadrupeds may appear alone (Nos. , ), in combination with a scorpion (Nos. , perhaps ) or a plant (Nos. , , perhaps ; in No. the object in front of the animal appears to be a strange depiction of a plant), both a scorpion and a plant (No. ), or in front of a human being (Nos. –). In No. , a quadruped and plant (?) appear in the upper part of the composition, above an unknown (broken) motif, perhaps another quadruped whose horns may be seen on the right side. In most cases, the quadrupeds appear to be striding forwards, except in No. , where the head is turned backwards. Standing or striding animals facing forward are common on seals of this period. In all instances, the animal holds its head forward. The back-turned head is found mostly in cases of goats suckling a kid (Keel and Schroer : –, Figs. , , ). Examples of caprids as the main subject are found on several Iron Age IB–IIA seals. The plant that often accompanies this animal may be explained as a symbol of the fertility of the land (Staubli ). Both caprids and trees are closely associated with a goddess, most probably Ashera (Keel a: –). In No. , the animal (caprid or bovine) has small ridges on the neck, a feature that is found on many contemporary seals. The features of the tail in this seal are rather unusual and together with the forward-bending horns, suggest perhaps that this is a representation of a bovine (cf. a scaraboid from Lachish: Tufnell et al. : Pl. :). In several cases, the quadruped is probably a bovine, most likely a bull (No. and perhaps also Nos. , , ). A close parallel to No. , executed in a very similar style, was found in a later context at Yoqne¹am (Ornan : , No. ). Animals with similar crescent-shaped horns like those of No. are seen on a conoid seal from Shechem (Wright : –, Fig. ) and another of unknown origin (Keel and Uehlinger : , Fig. c). Scorpions—No. is an exceptionally small seal bearing a depiction of a single scorpion. The small creatures above the animals in Nos. , , and are probably best explained as schematic representations of scorpions showing just the pair of heavy pincers, the body and the sting-tipped tail, without any indication of legs. This motif is well known in Iron Age IB–IIA glyptics; examples include hematite scarabs from Akko (Keel : , Nos. – ), a conoid from Yoqne¹am Strata XVIII–XVIIb (Ornan : , No. ), and a seal in the former Clark collection (Keel : , Fig. ; see also Shuval : –). A scorpion as a single motif first appears during the Late Bronze Age and continues throughout the Iron Age I. For the combination of a quadrupeds and a scorpion as in Nos. – and , see a scaraboid from Beth-Shemesh I RON AGE SEA LS A N D SEA L I M PR ESSIONS FROM TEL R EḤOV (Keel forthcoming: Beth-Shemesh No. ), one from Lachish (Tufnell et al. : Pl. A/: ) and two from Megiddo Stratum V (Loud : Pl. :–). Scorpions are often combined with suckling goats (see Keel and Uehlinger : f, Figs. a–c). There are, however, several instances of an “abbreviated” form of this scene, showing the animal without a kid combined with a scorpion, as in our examples. Ostriches––Two seals depict ostriches: in No. , the ostrich faces a damaged figure, probably a human, while in No. two ostriches are grasped by a human figure (see below). The ostrich sometimes appears as the single or main element, as on a scarab from Beth-Shean (Keel forthcoming: BethShean No. ) and an unpublished seal from Tel Malḥata (Keel : § ). On a scaraboid from Bethel (Keel forthcoming: Beth-El No. ), the unclear element in front of the ostrich must be a scorpion or a plant. Horse(?)—The animal in No. appears to be a horse, though this identification is uncertain. Crocodiles—The creatures held by the human figure in No. appear to be schematic crocodiles, inspired by a common motif on Egyptian Horus stelae and Post-Ramesside “mass-produced” scarabs of the Twenty-First Dynasty, such as seal No. , from Tel Reḥov (see below and Figs. :; :). However we may question whether the seal engraver of No. was indeed aware of the meaning of the motif, since while in the seal shown at Fig. : the identification of the animals as crocodiles is clear, in Fig. : the figures are schematic and don’t recall crocodiles. Perhaps the artist continued to use an Egyptian motif without understanding its meaning or trying to give it a new meaning (such as trying to depict bundles of dates?). Human figures—The human figures are depicted schematically, in various postures, with no details of body or facial features. In Nos. –, worshippers stand in front of what appear to be bovines. Note that the figure in No. is bending on one knee and in Nos. and one hand is lowered, whereas in most cases where human figures are shown in * front of a quadruped, their hands are raised (as in the case of two scaraboids and a conoid from BethShemesh (Keel forthcoming: Beth-Shemesh Nos. , , ; for additional parallels from various sites, see Keel and Uehlinger : –, Ill. a–c). In No. , the human figure is shown with both hands raised, either in adoration of the animal (be it a caprid or a bull) or in a dancing position, as in No. (below). In No. , a human figure stands in front of a horse(?); the motif above the animal could be a scorpion or even a second human figure; compare four scaraboids from Tel ¹Etun, Taanach and Gibeon (Dajani : Pl. X: , ; Keel and Uehlinger : –, Ill. a–b). In No. , the human figure grasps what appear to be two schematic crocodiles (see above) and in No. a similar schematic human figure grasps two ostriches in both hands. The motif of “Lord of Ostriches” is found on several Iron Age scaraboids and conoids (for the significance of this motif, see Keel : −; : f; Keel and Uehlinger : –, Ill. a−d). In No. , a human figure holds two poorly-preserved items, perhaps scorpions, as seen in Iron Age IB and IIA conoids and scaraboids from Amathus, Tell Jemmeh, Gezer and Megiddo (Keel b: –). In No. , two human figures (worshippers?) are depicted flanking a palm tree. While in most cases where two human beings are shown flanking a tree, their hands are raised in a gesture of worship, here they are holding the trunk. In No. , three dancers are depicted with hands raised (Keel forthcoming: Beth Shemesh No. with many parallels; see Mazar b, for an interpretation of the figures as dancers). It should be noted that the iconographic repertoire in Group I does not include any Egyptian or Phoenician motifs. Egyptian influence is evident in the schematic depiction of a human figure holding two crocodiles and the use of the scarab shape for some of the seals, yet these are very coarse imitations of scarabs in local stone. Also completely absent is any North Syrian influence (Keel and Uehlinger : –). The predominate motifs are typical of the local glyptic traditions, such as scorpions, quadrupeds, the Lord of Ostriches, branches and depictions of the palm-tree cult, all of which already appear in the glyptics of the second * OTH M A R K EEL A N D A MI H A I M A ZA R millennium in this region (for example, caprids and palm-tree branches). These motifs can be interpreted as relating to fertility and agriculture, particularly to the blessings of plant and animal life. Nos. and may depict bull worship, confirming the importance of the bull as a religious symbol in Canaan and northern Israel, where it served as the symbol of El, the storm god Ba¹al, or Jahweh (for the significance of these motifs, see further, Keel and Uehlinger : –). Style Stylistically, some of the seals in this group were roughly cut, lacking attention to details, while others were more elaborately engraved. The most elegant examples are Nos. and . No. resembles a seal from Yoqne¹am that shows two bulls facing one another with human figures above them (Ornan : , No. , found in a Hellenistic pit that cut Stratum XIV). The stylistic similarities between these two seals suggest that they may have been produced in the same workshop. Chronology and stylistic development Only one seal in this group (No. ) was found in an Iron Age I context (eleventh century BCE), it shows a single caprid in a crude style. Stratum VI, from the early to mid-tenth century BCE, yielded four seals (Nos. , , , ), three of them depicting only animals (caprids and/or scorpions) in a crude style, while the fourth (No. ) is one of the most complex and mature examples in this group. The other seals and impressions originate in Strata V−IV of the late tenth–ninth centuries BCE. None of the Strata V–IV seals exhibits the simple and crude style of the earlier seals like Nos. , , and . On the other hand, No. , one of the finest seals in our group, comes from the earliest Iron Age IIA stratum (Stratum VI), clearly dated to the tenth century BCE. Thus it may be concluded that the crude style started in the Iron Age I and continued until the time of Stratum VI while the mature style appeared during the time of Stratum VI (early Iron Age IIA) and continued into the later phase of this period (late tenth–ninth centuries BCE). Yet caution is necessary here since the number of examples from the Iron Age I and early Iron Age IIA (Stratum VI) at Tel Reḥov is limited, while most of the examples come from Strata V–IV. At other sites, such seals have rarely been found in reliable stratigraphic contexts. Among the stratified seals of this kind, we should note a single seal from Megiddo Stratum VIA (Loud : Pl. :; Shoval : , No. ), several seals from Stratum V (Lamon and Shipton : Pls. :; :, , –) and a few from Stratum IV (Lamon and Shipton : Pl. :–), several seals from Tell el Far¹ah (N) Strata VIIA and VIIB of Iron Age IIA (Chambon : Pl. :, –), a single seal from Hazor Stratum X (Yadin et al. : Pl. CLXXIV:), and two seals from Tell el-Ḥammah (Cahill, Lipton and Tarler : Pl. :C−D). Other examples found in excavations, but in less secure or well-dated contexts, are several seals from Beth-Shean Level V (James : , Figs. :; :; Shuval : , Nos. –; Keel forthcoming: Beth-Shean Nos. , , ), and Tell en-Nasbeh (McCown : Pls. , –, –, , ). An exceptional context is Tomb at Beth Shemesh, a poorly-published Iron Age IIA tomb (Mackenzie –: , Pl. a−b) found by Keel to contain over forty seals of a similar style, many of them resembling our Group I (Keel forthcoming: Beth Shemesh Nos. −). A considerable amount of stamp seals of this type were also found in the early Iron Age II tombs at Lachish (e.g., Tufnell : Pl. :−). Most of the reliable contexts mentioned above are defined as belonging to the Iron Age IIA, i.e., the tenth– ninth centuries BCE (according to the “Modified Conventional Chronology” suggested by Mazar ; see also Herzog and Singer-Avitz ). Thus, this glyptique group should be defined as typical mainly of the Iron Age IIA, though starting to appear in the Iron Age IB. Function The function of the seals is not clear. The two impressions on jar handles indicate that such seals were not merely talismans, but were indeed used for marking vessels, while they were still in the process of production in the pottery workshop. Whether such sealings served as property markers or for some other function remains an open question. It may be surmised that such seals served as both talismans as well as actual stamp seals. * I RON AGE SEA LS A N D SEA L I M PR ESSIONS FROM TEL R EḤOV Group . Rectangular Seal Impressions of the “Tel Reḥov Style” (Table ; Figs. –) This group includes six impressions of rectangular seals on handles of storage jars of the “hippo” type. Four of these impressions were found in Area C (two in Stratum C-a [=IV] and two in Stratum C-b [=V]). Impression No. is a surface find (Zori : , Pl. :, now lost), while No. was found out of context in the Hebrew University excavations of the Roman-Byzantine city at BethShean. Impressions Nos. , and were made from the same seal, as were Nos. and , since all the details in these two groups of impressions are identical. Impression No. was made from a different seal, thus, there are three actual seals represented in this group of six impressions. Fig. . Group , photographs of seal impressions; scale : (numbers refer to Table ) Table . “Tel Reḥov Style” Seal Impressions No. Reg. No. Locus Area Stratum C C-b (=V) C C-a (=IV) Hebrew – University excavations in the RomanByzantine city of Beth-Shean C C-b (=V) Surface find – – – C C-a (=IV) Fig. . Group , drawings of seal impressions; scale : (numbers refer to Table ) * OTH M A R K EEL A N D A MI H A I M A ZA R Nos. −.—These impressions were made by a rectangular vertical seal, × mm, surrounded by a frame, the upper horizontal line of which protrudes on either side. The top and bottom borders consist of two rows of triangles with the points facing each other. Inside the rectangle is a very schematic striding human figure, both arms hanging alongside the body, the head and feet seeming to merge with the two inner triangles above and below the figure, so that they appear as kind of oversized ears and triangular-shaped feet respectively. It may be that the figure represents the Storm God striding on mountains, represented by the triangles. A somewhat similar schematic human figure, probably a warrior holding a lance and a bow, is found on a rectangular seal impression from Ashdod (Dothan and Freedman : , Fig. :; Keel : , No. ), found in Stratum D- (= IX), dated to the ninth century BCE according to Dothan (ibid. p. ). Nos. −.—This design, × mm, doubles the motif of the previous impression: at the top and bottom there are two rows with twice as many triangles with the points facing each other, and inside the rectangular frame are two very schematic human figures in a tête-bêche position. Their outer arms are hanging down and the inner arm is shared by both figures; their heads and feet seem to blend with the inner row of triangles, as in the previous seal impressions. Two schematic human figures in a tête-bêche position are seen on seals from Tell el-Far¹ah (S) (Keel forthcoming: Tell el Far¹ah South, No. ), Lachish (Tufnell et al. : Pl. :), and Tell en-Nasbeh (McCown : Pl. :; cf. Keel and Uehlinger : ). However, all these examples differ from ours in style and other details. No. .—This impression, × mm, also depicts two human figures in a tête-bêche position, yet lacks the bordering triangles as in the previous sealings; two vertical lines with horizontal strokes flank the two figures. On the same handle, there is a cross-shaped sign incised after firing. Various rectangular seal impressions are known from Iron Age contexts in Israel and Jordan, yet none resemble our seal impressions in style or iconography. The specific style of this group of seal impressions is unique to Tel Reḥov and was probably the product of a single local workshop. This local style recalls the Kerbschnitt (“chip carving”) technique and differs to a large extent from any of the other seals and seal impressions from this period. No actual seals of this type are known. This fact, as well as the engraving technique, suggest that the actual seals were made of wood (cf. Keel § ; for wooden seals, see an example from Pella: Richards : f, No. , Pl. :). The four rectangular seal impressions from Tel Reḥov found in context came from Strata V−IV, dated to the late tenth–ninth centuries BCE. The fact that examples of the same seal impression were found in both strata indicates the continuity between these two strata: the seals were probably produced during the time of Stratum V and the jars continued in use in Stratum IV, or (less probably), the same seals were used in both Strata V and IV. There probably was a limited number of such seals, utilized only to mark handles of the “hippo” jars, which were the most common type of large storage jars in Strata V–IV at Reḥov. The function of these sealings remains enigmatic; they may have designated ownership or a production workshop, or reflected some sort of local administrative system at Tel Reḥov. The single find of such a sealing at Beth-Shean may indicate inter-regional connections, probably centered at Tel Reḥov, which was the largest site of this period in this region. A Comment on Egyptian “MassProduced” Scarabs of the Twenty-First Dynasty (Figs. –) Three enstatite scarabs from Tel Reḥov belong to a group of seals labeled Post-Ramesside “MassProduced” (see Keel : –; Keel and Uehlinger : f; Münger , ). We present these three scarabs in brief here, due to their chronological significance. Two of these scarabs were found in Iron Age I contexts. Scarab No. (Reg. No. ), from Stratum D- or D- dating to the late twelfth or early eleventh centuries BCE, depicts an archer and animals in the style typical of this group. A similar scarab was found in a I RON AGE SEA LS A N D SEA L I M PR ESSIONS FROM TEL R EḤOV Fig. . Egyptian “mass produced” scarabs from Tel Reḥov (photographs of impressions); scale : (for details see text) Fig. . Egyptian “mass produced” scarabs from Tel Reḥov (drawings of bottom); scale : (for details see text) twelfth-century context at Taanach (Shuval : , No. ). Scarab No. (Reg. No. , Locus ), was found in a secure Stratum C- (general Stratum VII) context, the final Iron Age I level at Tel Reḥov, radiocarbon dated to the end of the eleventh or beginning of the tenth centuries BCE. It shows a human figure with legs facing right, grasping a crocodile by its tail in each hand (Keel : § ). As mentioned above, this motif probably served as the prototype for seal No. in Group I. The third scarab (Reg. No. , Locus ) came from Area E in a street matrix attributable to either Stratum E- (=general Stratum VI, tenth century BCE), or E-b (=general Stratum V, tenth to early ninth centuries BCE). It depicts a falconheaded human figure wearing a kilt, with a j-sign in front. This type of mass-produced scarabs figured recently in the ongoing debate concerning the Iron Age chronology, following the claim by Münger (, ) that they were produced at Tanis during the time of Siamun and Shoshenq I in the tenth century BCE, and thus can be used as precise chronological indicators. In his words: “Settlement * layers containing mass-produced seals should not be dated prior to the reign of Siamun, most probably not even before BCE” (Münger : ). This statement, which was utilized by supporters of the Low Chronology for the Iron Age, is unacceptable in our view. This large and not very homogenous group was probably produced over the course of the entire Twenty-First Dynasty (– BCE), until the beginning of the Twenty-Second Dynasty (–c. BCE), at various places both in Egypt and the Levant. At Tel Reḥov, the three scarabs belonging to this group appear in strata dated to precisely this time range: from the late twelfth– eleventh centuries to the tenth–ninth centuries, supporting the evidence from other sites for a similar chronological range. For example, a scarab of this group was found in Tell Qasile Stratum XII, dated to early Iron Age IB, probably the end of the twelfth century BCE (Mazar : –; Shuval : , No. ). Additional Seals In addition to the scarabs seals and seal impressions mentioned above, Tel Reḥov yielded about additional items, mostly Middle and Late Bronze Age scarabs and their impressions in Iron Age I and IIA contexts; notable is a scarab of Ramesses IV recovered in an Iron Age II context. Several others are individual examples of a variety of other Iron Age styles, notably a Phoenician-style bone seal from Stratum V imitating a seal with metal mounting, and a Twenty Second Dynasty scarab from Stratum V or IV. These will be published elsewhere. Conclusions The group of local stone seals and their impressions defined here as Group I, presents a substantial corpus of the local glyptic traditions in the southern Levant during Iron Age IB, and mainly Iron Age IIA. Remarkably, this group lacks Egyptian and Phoenician influences, utilizing only local motifs related to fertility and worship. Such seals were probably the products of local workshops that developed in the Land of Israel during the eleventh to ninth centuries BCE. The Tel Reḥov collection * OTH M A R K EEL A N D A MI H A I M A ZA R presented in this article provides one of the best stratigraphic contexts for this group. The six rectangular “Tel Reḥov style” seal impressions are a unique local product, underlining the significance of local initiatives. The use of the same seal to mark several jars of identical (“hippo”) type in the pottery workshop may perhaps indicate the existence of some kind of administrative system at Tel Reḥov during Strata V and IV. This would comprise some of the earliest evidence for such a system in the Iron Age II, known later from Judah in the form of lmlk and rosette seal impressions on jar handles of identical types, mass produced in large amounts. The three scarabs of the Egyptian mass-produced group from Tel Reḥov substantiate the longevity of this group throughout the Twenty-First and beginning of the Twenty-Second Dynasties. The Tel Reḥov glyptic collection is important for establishing a terminus post quem for the appearance of inscribed seals in northern Israel, as none of our securely dated seals and seal impressions are inscribed. Similarly, none of the over seal impressions, mainly on bullae, and the few seals recently discovered in the City of David, in a late ninth-century-BCE context, are inscribed (Reich, Shukron and Lernaus : –; Keel : Ills. , –a, a, –). Thus, it seems certain that inscribed Semitic seals did not appear in our region prior to c. BCE. Notes The excavations at Tel Reḥov were directed by Amihai Mazar on behalf of the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem between and , and generously supported by Mr. John Camp of Minnesota, USA. The drawings and plates in this paper were prepared by D. Weinblatt-Kraus, the photographs by G. Laron and V. Neikhin. Our thanks to N. PanitzCohen and S. Sadeh for their editorial comments. A full catalogue of the seals and impressions will be included in the final excavation report. Examples of standing quadrupeds: a conoid seal from Achzib (Keel : , No. ), a seal impression from Beth-Shean (Keel forthcoming: Beth Shean No. , where the element in front of the caprid may be a scorpion and not a tree), four scaraboids and a conoid seal from Tomb at Beth-Shemesh (Keel forthcoming: Beth Shemesh Nos. , , , , ), a seal from Tell el-Ḥammah, close to Beth-Shean (Cahill, Lipton and Tarler : ), three scaraboids from Lachish (Tufnell et al. : Pl. A/:, , ), an Iron Age IIA scaraboid from Tell Deir-¹Alla (Eggler and Keel : , No. ), a scaraboid found in an Iron IIC context at Tall al-Ḥamma in Jordan (Eggler and Keel : , No. ), and a scaraboid found with Iron Age II pottery at Tall al-¹Umeiri (Eggler and Keel : , No. ). Examples of striding quadrupeds: a glass scaraboid from Achzib (Keel : , No. ), a conoid from Tell el-Far¹ah (North) Stratum VIIa (Keel forthcoming: Tell el-Far¹ah North, No. ), a hematite scaraboid from Lachish Tomb (Tufnell et al. : Pl. A/: ), an unstratified scaraboid from Megiddo (Lamon and Shipton : Pl. :, with additional crescent and disc), and a scaraboid from an Iron Age II tomb at Amman (Eggler and Keel : , No. ). Megiddo (Lamon and Shipton : Pl. : ), Beth Shemesh (Keel forthcoming: Beth Shemesh Nos. , , ), Lachish (Tufnell et al. : Pl. :–), Tell el-Ḥammah (Cahill, Lipton and Tarler : , Pl. D), and Amman (Eggler and Keel : , No. ). For examples, see Dajani : Pl. :, ; KeelLeu : No. f; Keel and Uehlinger : , Ill. b–c). On rectangular plaques such as that from Tell el-¹Ajjul (Keel : , No. ), and another plaque with the addition of a disc from Akko (Keel : , No. ); note also a scarab from Shiqmonah (Elgavish : Pl. = Elgavish : , Fig. ). Kefar Naḥum (Stepansky : *, Fig. ), Megiddo Stratum VIIA (Loud : Pl. :), and a seal impression from Sahab (Eggler and Keel : , No. ). Compare a bone scaraboid from Lachish (Tufnell et al. : Pl. :), two scaraboids from Megiddo (Loud : Pl. :–), a scaraboid from Tall al-Ḥamma (Eggler and Keel : f, No. ), and a conoid from Tell es-Sa¹idiyeh (Eggler and Keel : , No. ). Tell Beit Mirsim (Keel forthcoming: Beth-Mirsim No. ), Beth-Shemesh (Keel forthcoming: Beth-Shemesh Nos. , ), Tell el-Far¹ah (N) (Chambon : Pl. :), Gezer (Macalister : III, Pl. a: = Rowe : , Pl. , No. SO.; Macalister : III, Pl. :), Lachish (Tufnell : , Pl. A/:, ), Tell en-Naṣbeh (McCown : , No. , Pl. :), Samaria (a surface find mentioned by Rowe : in the commentary to SO. and published by Keel : I RON AGE SEA LS A N D SEA L I M PR ESSIONS FROM TEL R EḤOV , Note , Fig. , Pl. IIIa), and Buseira (Eggler and Keel : , No. ); see also Keel-Leu : Nos. – (from unknown contexts). Keel and Uehlinger : –, Ills. a–; Keel forthcoming: Bethel No. with numerous parallels. An example from Tell el Far¹ah (N) originates in Level VIIB of the Iron Age IIA (Chambon : Pl. :). The figures in the Yoqne¹am seal were identified by Ornan as storm gods on top of bulls or deities. Yet this interpretation may be challenged; the figures may be explained as worshippers. The seal was dated by Ornan to the twelfth–eleventh centuries BCE, yet in light of the parallels at Tel Reḥov Stratum VI it may be dated to the early Iron Age IIA (tenth century BCE). This list is not intended to be comprehensive; other seals of this type have been published in various excavation reports, but many originate in insecure contexts (see Shuval for additional examples). Our thanks to S. Agadi for showing us this impressed * handle, and to Y. Tzafrir and G. Foerster for their permission to publish it. The following are examples of rectangular seals and seal impressions: Bethel (Kelso : § ; Pl. :; the motif is unclear, perhaps an animal), Jericho (Sellin and Watzinger : Pl. e), Tell en-Nasbeh (McCown : , Fig. :), Sahab (two rectangular seal impressions, dated to Iron Age IB; Eggler and Keel : , Nos. , ), Ashdod (Keel : :), and Beth-Shean (Mazar : –, with an undeciphered inscription). Initially identified by B. Brandl. Consequently, the famous seal inscribed with “Shema¹ servant of Yarob¹am” (Avigad and Sass : –, No. ) cannot be dated to the time of Jeroboam I, as argued by Ussishkin (). 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