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Abstract: We welcome readers to this issue of JEMAHS featuring articles on the archaeology of one of the most intriguing biblical cultures known to archaeologists, Forum contributions on the important issue of gender parity in fieldwork, and wide-ranging book reviews.Of all the different peoples mentioned in the Bible, the Philistines have presented almost as many archaeological challenges as the Israelites. Countless scholars and tourists have gazed upon the images at Medinet Habu (see the cover image for this issue) and wondered who the strident men with their striking headgear were, and why their images are so distinctive from those of the unfortunate captives depicted elsewhere on these walls. The answer of course, is ... Read More PubDate: 2022-12-25T00:00:00-05:00
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Abstract: I am thrilled that this current issue features six papers that were delivered as part of an international academic conference that I organized in New York City in Fall 2019. Sponsored by Yeshiva University Center for Israel Studies and held at the Yeshiva University Museum, the conference's title "Philistines! Rehabilitating a Biblical Foe" challenged the speakers to present not only new material on the ancient Philistines but also to orient this material toward fresh paradigms. The geographic diversity of the scholars (Australia, Israel, and United States) was matched by the diversity of their primary areas of expertise (archaeological, anthropological, biblical, and botanical).Consequently, the papers exhibit a ... Read More PubDate: 2022-12-25T00:00:00-05:00
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Abstract: Research on the Philistines has gone through an extraordinary process of development over the last one hundred years (e.g., Welch 1900; Macalister 1914; Albright 1975 ; Dothan 1982 ; Sandars 1985 ; Bierling 1992 ; Noort 1994 ; Stager 1995 ; Ehrlich 1996 ; Garbini 1997; Gitin, Mazar, and Stern 1998; Oren 2000) and more so in the last few decades (e.g., Killebrew 2005; Killebrew and Lehmann 2013; Fischer and Bürge 2017; Maeir 2019). As someone who has been involved in the research on the Philistines for about a quarter of a century (primarily due to the excavations that I direct at Tell es-Safi/Gath) (Figs. 1–2), I have had the opportunity to both watch—and participate in—the changes that have occurred in the ... Read More PubDate: 2022-12-25T00:00:00-05:00
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Abstract: This article will attempt to characterize certain aspects of the Philistine society, such as the type of society (immigrant, colonial) or its relative socioeconomic class rank, based on its figurative material culture or iconography. Several views have been held in historical research regarding the nature of Philistine society. A more traditional view saw the Philistines as a somewhat organized power arriving in the Levant and taking control, possibly by force, of the southern coastal plains (e.g., T. Dothan 1982; Stager 1995). Philistine society of the Iron Age I (ca. 1200–1000 BCE) would thus be portrayed as one resembling the Mycenaean culture, including its elite strata and its political, religious, and ... Read More PubDate: 2022-12-25T00:00:00-05:00
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Abstract: To date, the study of the Philistine culture has mainly focused on how it differs from other southern Levantine cultures, led by a search for the Philistines' foreign geographic and cultural roots and ties. In fact, identification of "alien" botanical aspects in their diet and cultic offerings has revealed the Philistines' connections with Aegean cultures, the Indian spice trade with the West, and Egypt, Greece, and Jordan (Frumin et al. 2015). Intensive investigations during the last decades have increased the extent of available data relating to plant use by the Philistines and their contemporaries, which is now very high (Fig. 1). Specifically, the total Philistine plant list contains over one hundred plant ... Read More PubDate: 2022-12-25T00:00:00-05:00
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Abstract: Nebuchadnezzar II's western campaign in 604 BCE devastated territories occupied by the Philistines. Archaeological and textual records complement each other to paint a vivid picture not only of the physical destruction but also of its political dimensions and of its impact on human victims and observers (Stager 1996; Stern 2001: 303–31; Master 2018). This brief article analyzes Jeremiah's prophecy to the Philistines (Jer 47)1 as a reaction to the Neo-Babylonian predations in a nearby territory.2 Building on Amy Kalmanofsky's application of horror theory to the book of Jeremiah (Kalmanofsky 2008), this study demonstrates the unique ways in which the prophecy to the Philistines deploys elements of horror to identify ... Read More PubDate: 2022-12-25T00:00:00-05:00
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Abstract: The aim of this article is to understand the history and function of the "Melbourne Megaron," a nickname given to a rectangular structure, probably domestic in nature, and located in the central part of what was originally known as Area A2 (subsequently Area A) at Tell es-Safi/Gath. As I shall discuss, the building had a complicated construction history. This history includes different periods and styles of construction, some more evident than others. These different styles include variations in stone size selected, different styles in the construction of extensions, and overbuilding as well as reuse of earlier walls. Some of its architectural phases were missed in the original excavation and description of the ... Read More PubDate: 2022-12-25T00:00:00-05:00
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Abstract: The giant, 80-meter high, stratified mound of Tell es-Safi in Israel (Fig. 1) has been confidently identified as the biblical city of Gath by a quarter century of excavation carried out by the Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project. When ancient Gath is mentioned, most people who are in any way familiar with the name think first of its identity as the capital of the Philistines, those biblical neighbors and frequent foes of the ancient Israelites. The city was known as "Gath of the Philistines" to biblical writers (see Amos 6:2)1 because the Philistines controlled and thrived at Gath for nearly four centuries, from ca. 1200 to ca. 830 BCE, and it grew to be the de facto capital of Philistia during the Iron Age I ... Read More PubDate: 2022-12-25T00:00:00-05:00
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Abstract: The concept of the "network" has become increasingly popular in archaeology over the past two decades (see Mills 2017 for a helpful review). Composed of "nodes" (actors, locations, or assemblages) and "edges" (the connections or flows between different nodes), networks are used to formally represent a wide array of relationships between people, places, and things. In Mediterranean and Near Eastern archaeology, network theory has been invoked to understand phenomena as diverse as mobility, maritime connectivity, economic exchange, identity formation, knowledge production, and the development of shared cultural and religious practices across long distances (Malkin 2011; Leidwanger and Knappett 2018; Robson 2019; ... Read More PubDate: 2022-12-25T00:00:00-05:00
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Abstract: Erny and Godsey's compelling analysis clearly demonstrates that survey archaeology and excavation in the Aegean are—in terms of the directorship of individual projects—male-dominated. Sober reflection on the field of Aegean prehistory and Aegean-centered classical archaeology would probably lead one to intuit this state of affairs in any case. Erny and Godsey's empirically grounded study, however—a response to Loy's (2020) observations regarding mentor-mentee networks—underscores just how egregious is this lop-sidedness toward male scholars, often male scholars with clear intellectual-genealogical connections. From a number of perspectives, this cannot be healthy: whether considering issues of basic equity and ... Read More PubDate: 2022-12-25T00:00:00-05:00
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Abstract: In their discussion of scholarly social networks within Aegean excavation and survey projects, Grace Erny and Melanie Godsey consider a number of factors that, taken together, are shown to disadvantage women—particularly graduate students and junior scholars. These scholarly networks are often conceived of as genealogies or "family" trees. Implicit in this formulation is the idea that the hierarchies that structure academia and fieldwork projects transcend professionalism; rather, they verge on the familial, with all the emotionally deep expectations that "family" evokes. Perhaps in archaeology, more than in most academic disciplines, this personalization is appropriate since fieldwork requires long-term social ... Read More PubDate: 2022-12-25T00:00:00-05:00
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Abstract: It is probably safe to say that at one time or another, most Aegean survey archaeologists have sketched out genealogical relationships "on the back of an envelope." It was an interesting exercise but never seemed to quite capture reality as relationships became more complex and alternative factors had to be considered. Michael Loy has made a serious attempt to reconstruct the networks that form among colleagues, as well as advisors and their students, in order to demonstrate that such networks have guided the idiosyncratic evolution of survey methods in the Aegean. Loy focuses on collection strategy, and a few other parameters presented in an accompanying table, as representative of the transmission of practice ... Read More PubDate: 2022-12-25T00:00:00-05:00
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Abstract: On December 21, 2021, the Turkish Archaeologists' Association (Arkeologlar Derneği), the largest NGO for archaeology in Turkey and currently representing more than 200 members, shared a stock image of a female archaeologist. Wearing a pith helmet and a white shirt and sitting by a table with an old-fashioned camera, a laptop, and a notebook, she was doing desk work sitting under an umbrella in what seemed to be an archaeological site under a blazing sun. On this visual, and as a caption below, Arkeologlar Derneği added the following text: "Turkey's female archaeologists continue to contribute to our profession without stopping. Godspeed …" (original text in Turkish, my translation). The colonial associations of the ... Read More PubDate: 2022-12-25T00:00:00-05:00
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Abstract: The tracing of genealogies tends to lack explanatory power when separated from neo-Darwinian accounts of reproductive or replicative success. However, Erny and Godsey explore the potential for explanation when such genealogies lead to exclusionary practices: in this case, gender discrimination. The numbers speak for themselves, and the persistence of such practices is remarkable. Close on 40 years since articles such as J. Gero's (1985) laid bare the extent of a male-dominated practice, the recent surveys by Voss (2021a, 2021b) show little progress. Genealogy plus power has proven a potent force, although the complexities and nuances discussed by Erny and Godsey point to messy interactions rather than solely to the ... Read More PubDate: 2022-12-25T00:00:00-05:00
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Abstract: The modern study of ancient synagogues began in the early nineteenth century with the pioneering work of Leopold Zunz on liturgy and homiletical traditions of the ancient synagogue and then the reports of European explorers—mainly of the Palestine Exploration Fund. Since that time, synagogue studies have always attracted an international and intercreedal community of archaeologists, historians, art historians, liturgists, midrashists, classicists, and scholars of the early Christian church. From the very start, it has been the ultimate "interdisciplinary" area of specialization—so much so that its multifaceted reality IS the discipline, and the term "interdisciplinary" seems an imposition.The first generation of ... Read More PubDate: 2022-12-25T00:00:00-05:00
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Abstract: This volume takes a broad view of the intersection of maritime activities with the socioeconomic development of the Mediterranean world. Focusing on evidence from the Roman and late antique eastern Mediterranean, with particular attention to the area of southwestern Turkey and southern Cyprus from the second century BCE to the seventh century CE, Leidwanger presents an economic history intrinsically connected to the dynamic maritime world.The initial chapter, "Maritime Interaction and Mediterranean Communities," utilizes previous influential works of F. Braudel (1972), C. Broodbank (2000), and P. Horden and N. Purcell (2000) to establish the opposition of approaches taken in conceptualizing the Mediterranean from ... Read More PubDate: 2022-12-25T00:00:00-05:00
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Abstract: This volume collates, well analyzes, and integrates the scholarly research of historians, literary and textual specialists, and archaeologists. In so doing it represents a worthwhile and admirable book on the "artisanal" economy of the Syro-Persian domain of Islam between 700 and 950 CE, the period of the late Umayyads in Syria, the early 'Abbāsids in Persia, and beyond.Bessard's book provides "fresh perspectives" (according to Oxford University Press) on the economic development of the Near East (perhaps better referred to as West Asia) focused on the area of the former Byzantine and Sasanian Empires, limited to those empires' former domains in Greater Syria (Bilād al-Ṣām) and Persia extending to its eastern ... Read More PubDate: 2022-12-25T00:00:00-05:00
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Abstract: The question of the origins of Yahweh, ancient Israel's deity, has never lost its position as one of the most important pursuits of biblical scholarship. During recent years, however, there has been a true explosion of research on the genesis of Yahwism, with at least ten books and edited volumes integrally dedicated to the topic. Here, I aim to discuss three of these works, written by Theodore Lewis, Daniel Fleming, and Robert Miller II, purposefully chosen because they thoroughly discuss the so-called Midianite (or Kenite) hypothesis via interdisciplinary approaches. However, the interested reader should of necessity consult the other publications, most of which present specific approaches to the history of ... Read More PubDate: 2022-12-25T00:00:00-05:00
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Abstract: Published in 2020, When the Cemetery Becomes Political: Dealing with the Religious Heritage in Multi-Ethnic Regions, is volume 14 of the Schriften des Instituts für Interdisziplinäre Zypern-Studien series (University of Münster, Germany). The volume gathers 10 papers presented over three conferences between 2017 and 2019 (one in Münster in 2017 and two in Nicosia in 2018 and 2019) on the topic of religious heritage in multiethnic regions. The book is arranged in four sections, each representing a different geographical region: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Greece, and Lebanon.The first section focuses on Bosnia and Herzegovina and consists of a single paper by Ž. Tunić titled, "The Meaning of Bones in ... Read More PubDate: 2022-12-25T00:00:00-05:00
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