2013 Report - Tel Gezer Project

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Steven M. Ortiz and Samuel R. Wolff
GEZER 2013 REPORT
(License No. G57-2013)
Figure 1: Aerial (north at top)
INTRODUCTION
The Tel Gezer Excavation project is a long-term joint American-Israeli project addressing
chronological reevaluations, ethnic and social boundaries, and state formation in the southern
Levant. To date, the project has conducted six summer field seasons. The sixth season of the
renewed excavation of Tel Gezer took place between 17 June and 12 July 2013. The excavations
were directed by Dr. Steven M. Ortiz of the Tandy Institute for Archaeology at Southwestern
Baptist Theological Seminary and Dr. Sam Wolff of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
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The excavations were sponsored by the Tandy Institute for Archaeology at Southwestern Baptist
Theological Seminary. The project also receives financial support by a consortium of
institutions: Andrews University, Ashland Theological Seminary, Clear Creek Bible College,
Marian Eakins Archaeological Museum, Lancaster Bible College and Graduate School,
Lycoming College, and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. The excavations were carried
out within the Tel Gezer National Park and benefit from the cooperation of the National Parks
Authority. The excavation project also received support from Kibbutz Gezer and the Karmei
Yosef Community Association. The Project is affiliated with the American Schools of Oriental
Research.
Figure 2: 2013 Participants
Nearly 80 participants from the consortium schools as well as other students and volunteers from
several countries (U.S., Israel, Palestinian Authority, Russia, Korea, Hong Kong) participated in
the project. The Tel Gezer expedition included: Gary Arbino (senior field archaeologist),
Cameron Coyle (field archaeologist), Connie Gane (supervisor), Trey Thames (assistant project
administrator); area supervisors: S. Baker, M. Barbosa, J. Chatfield, J. Jewell, B. Longino, R.
DeWitt-Knauth, K. Miller, J. Moody, G. Nagagreh, T. Thames, S. von Wrick; assistant area
supervisor: A. Wegman; zooarchaeology: L. Horowitz; architect/draftsman: J. Rosenberg;
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computer database designer: D. Pride; pottery registrar, J. Harrison; material culture registrar and
conservator: Lin Pruitt (also acting as camp manager).
The research goal of the project is to investigate state formation and regional boundaries in the
northern Shephelah by investigating the Iron Age cultural horizon at Tel Gezer. These broad
research trends in Iron Age archaeology are being addressed by current research projects in the
Shephelah and Southern Coastal Plain; specifically ethnic and political boundaries in the Judean
Hills and the Philistine coastal plain.
Goals and Changes for the 2013 Season
Our goals for the 2013 season were: 1) expand the exposure of the 9th century (Stratum 7)
to the north in Field E; 2) continue to remove the 8th century (Strata 6a and b) in Field E,
particularly to see if the walls of Stratum 7 abut the casemate wall; 3) excavate (and remove) the
late Iron Age fortification system in order to better understand its construction and expose the
Late Bronze Age pillared building below it, and 4) connect Field B with Field A to obtain a
complete stratigraphic picture of Fields A, B and Field VII of the HUC excavations. As well as
to determine the 8th century city plan.
Major changes in field strategy are 1) addition of Cameron Coyle, PhD student at
SWBTS to replace Bob Mullins as Field Archaeologist of Field E. One of the major components
of the excavation was our field school. Several potential consortium schools were also
participating and investigating our academic and research program. Dr. Connie Ganes brought a
team of staff and volunteers from Andrews University as a trial season to determine joining our
project full time. In addition, faculty members from potential consortium schools were also
involved with the project: Dr. Steve Sanchez, Emmaus College and professor Rusty Osborne of
the University of the Ozarks.
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OVERVIEW
Work continued in the two major fields (E and W). Field E encompasses an area west of
the Iron Age Gate Complex (Field III of the HUC excavations). The goals of this area are to
investigate the urbanization process of the Iron Age City. This field includes an east-west section
of squares from the Iron Age gate to the west exposing the city fortification system and its
relation to building activity built up against the city wall. To accomplish the goals of field E, we
first had to continue to remove the 8th century Administrative buildings. This involved nearly a
week of removing the walls of administrative buildings A and B of the 8th century stratum. Once
a majority of the walls were removed, excavation squares were reestablished and the field went
down systematically to earlier strata.
Field W is located west of Field E. The goal of this field is to 1) investigate the several
Iron Age occupation horizons of the tel, The goals for Field W was to continue excavations of
the Iron Age walls and excavate expediently to the Late Bronze Age strata (Upper Sondage) and
continue exploring the fortification systems in the sondage. The field strategy of Field W was to
remove the walls of the Stratum 7 and 8 (9th and 8th centuries BCE). Major work at the start of
the season was to lower the western balk for safety and to assist in the removal of soil from the
field. This was accomplished by excavating Squares V3-V10. In addition, the excavation of
squares A4, B4, and C4 was done to bring these squares down from topsoil to the Iron Age levels
exposed in adjoining squares. This also helped to unite structures in the domestic and the public
quarters of the city.
The work in both fields progressed slowly due to the following factors: 1) reinterpretation
of the Iron Age II retention wall system as a reused Iron Age I city wall, 2) difficult stratigraphy
of the various Iron Age walls in Field W necessitated slow and careful removal of various walls.
In Field E, it was assumed that we would quickly be on our Stratum 7 (9th century BCE) levels
immediately. In reality, the 8th century BCE tripartite Building A had very extensive foundations
as well as disruption of this area by several Hellenistic structures (Wall 61023, Kilns 41010 and
61058) as well as pits and earlier excavations by Macalister. The discernment of two building
phases of the 8th century BCE buildings (e.g. Stratum 6) also slowed the removal of the Stratum
6 building as we spent time documenting and excavating the rebuilding of Building A. The 9th
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century was only discerned in two squares with the possible remnants of wall lines in other
squares (W61040 and W61043).
2. Summary of Results
Major results of the 2013 season were:
1) Excavation of the Bronze Age, dated to the 14th century based on the complete vessels
(storage jar, jar, krater, and cooking pot).
2) Recovery of an Egyptian scarab, faience jewelry, gold leaf, and three cylinder seals
3) Iron Age I city wall and plan with three more complete store jars found.
4) An emerging plan of the Iron Age I occupation with at least four discernable units built
into the city wall, complete with alley ways, bins, and a phytolith/plaster surface with a
tabun (Surface 52068, Tabun 62067, Bin 62077).
5) Determined that there is an additional component or building north of the Stratum 6 (8th
century BCE) Building B. This consists of a massive plastered surface (Surface 62021)
with a large east-west wall 41056 parallel to the north wall of Building B. It is possible
that this component is part of the industrial Building C.
6) The cobble street south of the Four Room house continued east as a hard ‘concrete’
surface (Surface 62078). Perhaps the area between Building C with the olive oil industry,
the four room house and the Plastered room/building formed a courtyard or activity area.
7) Another building in square Z5 beneath the 8th century cobbled/concrete street and
plastered building dating to the 9th century (Stratum 7).
8) Remnants of Stratum 7 walls north of the building complexes A-C (Squares C6, D6, and
E6). In addition, two tabuns (Tabun 61070 and Tabun 61010) as well as two ash surfaces
were found.
9) Walls of the 10th century (Palace 10000) in the 1984 Dever excavations were found to
continue into Field E, providing a partial plan of the Stratum 8 city. It also confirms what
was found in the 2011 season, that the 9th century (Stratum 7) was not as well preserved
in the squares in the eastern part of Field E.
10) Several more architectural elements and features of the Hellenistic city also were
excavated, providing a more robust plan of the Hellenistic stratum. Unfortunately no
surfaces were found to date this phase more accurately. These features are the remnants
of a wall in square A5 (Wall 62011) that is part of the building complexes of the
Hellenistic stratum in Field W. Also an additional kiln (61058) as well as part of a
Hellenistic wall (61023) were found in Square E5.
11) Some additional post Hellenistic remains were found, part of a stratum consisting of
some walls and a sump (Pit 61029), probably dating to the 19th century village or later.
These elements should probably be dated to our stratum 2. While Stratum 2 was confined
to the activities associated with Macalister, the 20th century village as well as the
buildings of the Berman estate should be a contemporary historical phase.
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Preliminary Strata 1 2 3 4 5 Topsoil, Modern Excavation Dumps Bergheim Estate, Abu Shusheh, Macalister Hellenistic Persian Late Iron Age II IA IIc Destruction IA IIb th
8 (Assyrian Destruction) 6A Tel Gezer Master Stratigraphic Chart 2006-­‐2013 Field E Field W (formerly A) (formerly A-­‐sondage and B) HUC dump Trenches, rock piles HUC Dump (V, W, Y) Backfill Backfill Wall corner, pottery kilns, reused IA walls(?) “pulpit” & basin Ceramic Public: Rebuilds of Administrative Buildings A-­‐B; A5/B5 wall Rebuilt fortification walls, HUC: 4-­‐chambered gate 6B IA IIb th
th
9 -­‐8 Administrative Buildings A-­‐B Plaster surface (B5) 7 IA IIb th
9 Domestic: Units A-­‐C??-­‐ some of this now dated to earlier strata Rebuild/Strengthen city plan and repair of City Wall – e.g: Casemate 12 door filled in HUCIII: Rebuild of drain and 6 chambered Gate and Casemate fortification Gatehouse Public: Casemate city-­‐wall HUCIII: 6 chambered Gate Casemate fortification Initial Intermural Building Plan – near Gate especially Crib walls connected to casemate (B9) – possible rebuild of retaining walls – construction phase of Casemate and Iron IIA city wall IA IIa th
Late 10 8A 8B 9 10A Destruction IA IIa th
Mid-­‐10 Construction sub-­‐
structures for defenses Destruction IA Ia th
th
11 /10 Pillared Building? IA Ib Ceramic Domestic buildings (A4/5), Pit (A4) Retaining wall (A4/5) Ceramic, Dog burials, pits V/W “Kitchen Room”, Silo (W2), Large Silo (Z6) wall stubs, pits Domestic: 4 room house, courtyard Concrete Pave (A4) A5/B5 wall Large building: “curb” and cobbles (W4) and Walls (Z5, W5) Rebuild Industrial Building C HUC: domestic buildings in Field VII Industrial Building C (Oil Production?) Plaster Surface (A5) th
Unit D – rebuild of 10 , enlarged and strengthened. Rebuild/Strengthen city plan-­‐ Buildings 52136, 52057: larger walls plus cobble floor and tabun and repair of City Wall – buttressing interior HUC Excavations Strata IIA-­‐C, III IV V VIA -­‐-­‐ VIB VIIA Fortifications: Single-­‐line City-­‐wall and rebuild glacis Public: Initial building plan – thin walls in west VIIB (mid th
10 ) Crib wall connected to casemate (Z9) – construction phase of Casemate and Iron IIA city wall Iron I Debris as Backfill into rooms above LB dest (siamun stoppers) Alleyway & Entryway Room with Tabun and plaster surface Reuse of Domestic except for A7/A8 Expansion: Large Domestic walls in VIII (late th
11 /early th
10 Siaman Des.) XI-­‐IXA (Phil) 7
th
th
12 /11 10B 11 12 IA Ic th
12 Destruction LB Wall 11097 in D9 Ceramic MB W7 connected to deep corner in Y7 Additional “City Wall” (V8)??? Domestic/Public: 3 rooms along wall line (W8, Y8, Z8) and “city wall” Walls and thick plaster surface in A7, 8 Glacis and curb “Platform” in V9 nd
Pillared Building – 2 Phase Possible Massabot in A8 st
Pillared Building 1 Phase Walls and Glacis XII (early th
12 ) XII EXCAVATION RESULTS
LATE BRONZE
In the 2011 season, a small exposure of a Late Bronze Age destruction beneath the Iron
Age glacis in Field W and components of a pillared building in square Y8. Our last report
speculated that this was perhaps the Merneptah destruction. With the continued excavation and
removal of Iron Age walls, this limited exposure was expanded to an area about 2.5 x 10 m in
Fig 3: Late Bronze Age (Stratum 11) [in green]
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area south of the Iron Age I wall. This allowed for a more thorough investigation of the Late
Bronze Age destruction. Evidence for the date of the Late Bronze destruction was found
stratigraphically beneath the Iron Age I wall. Between two north-south walls a destruction layer
of ash and burnt mudbrick was excavated. Several vessels (cooking pot, krater, store jars) were
found in the destruction; as well as a scarab of Amenhotep III and three cylinder seals. Several
fragments of Cypriote and Mycenean pottery were found which date to the 14th c. BCE. This 14th
c. BCE destruction matches other LB IIB destructions in the region (e.g. Beth Shemesh, TimnahBatash, Azekah, and Jaffa).
Figs. 4 and 5: Late Bronze Age Destruction
This limited exposure has revealed more components of a pillared building or complex of
rooms. We have a tentative plan of the building or complex. The function of this building is still
unclear. The large pillar base found in previous seasons allows us to postulate that this was a
public building or the home of a prominent resident. Some of the finds included a roof roller, as
seen in this slide, and large grinders.
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Figure 6: Late Bronze Age Plan
Previous publications noted that the Late Bronze Age Stratum is found on the edge of the slope
with the southern extent eroded down the slope. It was built directly on the Middle Bronze Age
glacis. Based on this data, we proposed that there was no LB city wall (at least in this area) and
that the LB did not reuse the MB fortifications. Excavations this season continued to support this
pattern. Sometime in the Iron Age I, a city wall was built directly over the Late Bronze Age
destruction and occupation. An Iron Age II glacis was built over the Iron Age I wall and provides
evidence for the extent of the slope during this period.
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Figure 7: LB Stratum (green) beneath Stratum 9-10 City
Wall (blue) and Stratum 8 (red) glacis
While our investigations into the Late Bronze Age is still in its initial stages, perhaps this
destruction is indicative of the unrest between the Canaanite city-states as reflected in the
Amarna correspondence.
IRON AGE I WALL AND DESTRUCTION
In 2011, we exposed a series of walls as well as surfaces with complete storejars. One of
these rooms had evidence of an intense destruction with ash and burning nearly a meter in height
up a stone wall. In this destruction was a multi-handled krater and storejars. This summer, with
the removal of 10th century walls, the plan of the various walls became clear. We have exposed
over 150 m2 of a complex of buildings integrated into an Iron Age I city wall.
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Figure 8: Tentative Building Units of Iron Age I (Stratum 9-10)
We have exposed over 20 meters of a one meter thick city wall. This wall is constructed
of large unhewn stones, it is constructed with two courses with chinking stones between these
courses and is preserved in some places for a meter and a half in height. The Iron Age II city
wall was built directly on top of this wall and in some places it appeared to be integrated with
this wall. Because of this integration, we originally interpreted this earlier wall as a retention
system of support walls for the Iron Age II wall. It was clear with the dismantling of the Iron
Age II wall that these were two separate city walls. In this slide you can see the cut away of the
Iron Age II wall (in blue) and the Iron Age I wall. We found several restorable storejars built up
against this wall. In one of the building units, we found a tabun with remnants of a white
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plastered or phytolith surface. In total, we have six complete storejars, as well as the multihandled krater.
Figure 9: Iron Age I City Wall (looking East)
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The Iron Age I destruction and city wall were a surprise. While we knew that the HUC
excavations revealed Iron Age I occupation, it was only found in Field VI on the acropolis, with
minor ceramic evidence on the southern end of the tel.
IRON AGE II
Iron Age IIA Occupation
Not much has been exposed of the Iron Age IIA occupation (10th c. BCE). In Field W,
only the remnants of a cobbled surface and the outlines of buildings were left by Macalister.
Earlier excavations of HUC and Dever have exposed the 10th century structures near the gate (his
Palace 10000). We have confirmed that this continues into our Field E and anticipate that the
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next two seasons will be focused on the excavations of this 10th century stratum of the HUC
excavations. We have limited exposure of this stratum in the eastern squares of our field. As you
can see in
Figure 10: Field E with 10th c. elements in foreground of 1984
excavations. Note fallen pillars in balk
figure X, the western balk shows several toppled pillars. We found large stones beneath our 9th
century phase and postulate that this is the 10th century destruction that HUC attributed to
Shishak.
IRON AGE II: 9TH CENTURY
Previous excavations of HUC at the gate (Field III) and the domestic quarter of Field VII,
as well as Dever’s excavations in 1984 and 1990, found limited occupation of their Stratum VII
(9th century). Dever’s 1984 excavation probes in this area found what he called his Palace 8000
and Palace 10000 of the 8th and 10th century respectively. We were not anticipating a major
stratum of the 9th century. In the end, we found four principle units with evidence for destruction
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in several of the rooms. We only have a plan for one of the three complexes. Each unit averaged
about 10 x 10 m. in area with 8-10 rooms. Most of the walls were constructed of a single row of
stones. This summer we had hoped to expose more of the plans and destruction north of the
squares we excavated last season, unfortunately it appears that the activities of the 8th century
builders removed a lot of this phasing. In Figure X, you can see the 9th century walls (in blue)
and the 8th century walls of a massive tripartite building.
Figure 11: Field E: Stratum 6 and 7 Architectural Features
In what is typically an administrative quarter of an Iron Age city, these units appear to be
domestic. It is clear that Stratum 7 (9th c.) reused the earlier fortifications and casemate wall line.
The 10th c. monumental architecture (e.g. pillars, walls) that is evidenced in probes is missing
from this stratum as the area adjacent to the city gate became a domestic quarter.
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IRON AGE II: 8TH CENTURY
Administrative Buildings
From the gate westward, the excavations have defined part of the Iron Age city planning
during the 8th century BCE. It appears that a series of public buildings was constructed just west
of the six-chambered gate. These buildings were built up against the north face of the casemate
wall.
CONCLUSION
While our research focus has been on the Iron Age, one of the surprising results of our
excavations has been the excavation of Late Bronze and Iron Age I Gezer. While these strata
have just recently been defined, we are planning to have a wide exposure in the upcoming
seasons. This is apropos as several of the excavations in the Shephelah, and the impetus for this
session, is to study the history of the Shephelah from the Late Bronze Age to the Persian Period.
Gezer is an important site, due to its location and history, to address the shifting border in this
region. In addition, we are already developing a robust database of artifacts and city-plans to
address the processes of urbanization throughout Gezer’s history.
Goals for the 2014 Season
1. One of the questions in Field W is how many strata and/or phases of the Iron Age I
are in this area of the tel. It is clear that we have more than one phase based on
surfaces, yet evidence of only one major destruction. One of the difficulties is the
exposure of our Iron Age I destruction is limited to rooms adjacent to the city wall
and these rooms only produced complete storejars that have a long life-span. They are
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similar to other storejars that are dated to the 11th and early 10th centuries BCE. In
addition, Field W is located in the slope of the western hill where contemporary
occupation levels have decreasing elevation levels from west to east.
2. The above question will be addressed by expanding the northern squares of Field W
as well as to the east to get a more complete plan of the 10th century stratum and the
Iron Age I plan. Perhaps beneath the 10th century plan will be undisturbed strata of
the Iron Age I.
3. The continued excavation in Field E to the 10th century stratum in order to get a
complete plan of the urbanization process west of the Iron Age Gate Complex.
4. The above goal can only be accomplished with the dismantling of the tripartite
buildings of Stratum 6. This project was partially started at the beginning of the 2013
season.
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