REVELATIONS FROM M£6IDDO T he Newsletter o f The

Megiddo and . Because many of the marks are in secondary use, it Mysterious has only been possible to ascertain where they originated by assessing the Masons'Marks findspot of each mark. I can now state at Megiddo with certainty that the marks first attributed, for the Iron II strata, to the appear in just two buildings - Palace I 0th century and associated with King 1723 of Stratum V A-IVB at Megiddo and Samaria Solomon. According to th e low and the Palace of Building Period I at chronology system, it dates to th e early Samaria. This observation has far ottleib Schumacher, the first 9th century and is associated with the See Masons' Marks, Page 2 excavator of Megiddo in 1902-04, di scovered 14 strange mark s inci sed on limestone ashlar blocks. Some of the inscribed stones were part of the Palast - mo're familiar today as th e Iron II gate of the Southern Palace (1723) courtyard, which was later excavated by the University of Chicago team. Other inscribed as hlars were interspersed along an eastern wall of this courtyard. Schumacher identified these inci sions as masons ' marks. A few years later, in 1908, Schumacher was appointed acting director of the Harvard Expedition to Samaria. He immediately recognized four similar marks carved on the limestone ashlars there, but they could not be associated with any particular Masons' marks on ashlars from the foundation of Palace 1723 at Megiddo building. Six additional inscribed ashlars were found at Samaria by G.E. Omride dynasty of the Northern Megiddo 2002 Reisner, who directed the Expedition Kingdom. in 1909- 1910. The Joint Expedition resumed Due to the current situation in the The Oriental Institute of the excavation at Samaria between the Middle East, the expedition directors University of Chicago team, which years 1931-1933. They revealed · have decided to postpone and curtail excavated at Megiddo between 1925- another ten inscribed ashlars. activities at Megiddo this summer. The 1939, added 36 inscribed ashlars to the Yigael Yadin of the Hebrew international component of the summer list. Although many of them were in University conducted investigations at 2002 dig has been cancelled. Yet, the secondary use in Strata IV and m, 18 Megiddo in 1965. The 'gallery' or department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Civilization of Tel Aviv marks were found in situ in the pastern, associated with the famous University will conduct its educational foundation of Palace 1723 of Stratum water system, was partially built of dig at Megiddo for four weeks in July, VA-IVB. According to the ashlar masonry, and one ashlar bore a assisted by a few National Parks conventional chronology, this palace is mason's mark. Authority workers. The dig will recognized two concentrate on areas K and M. more marks in 1996 We plan to be back in the field at full while working at Tel steam next summer, starting June 8, Megiddo as a member of 2003 . Please follow our two web sites the current Expedition. in the coming months. All in all, over 70 Registration: www.digmegiddo.com ashlars, inscribed with Tel Aviv University: some 20 basic signs, www.tau.ac.il/-archpubs/index.html REV have been documented at 001436242 , auspices of Expedition Directors: Israel Finkelstein, State University. Baruch Halpern , and David Ussishkin. Excavation rge Washington , Directors: Israel Finkelstein and David Ussishkin . 6 and Vanderbilt Head of Academic Program and Consortium erland). Coordinator: Baruch Halpern. 2002 1 C.2 Masons' Marks, from Page l alphabet? Why do they only ap pear at H5 c). It is obvious fro m the inclination these two sites, and (ori ginally) in on ly of the Area H surfaces that Wall 325 reaching implications for the debate on two palatial buildin gs? We re the represents th e fir st city wall of Iron the chronology of the Iron II strata in masons local Israelite laborers or we re Age Megiddo. Throughout the Israel. Since it is universally agreed they itin erant craftsmen employed , different phases ofoccupation of Level that the palace at Samaria was bu ilt by willingly or un willingly, at these two HS , Area H is devoid of architecture; it the Omrides, it is reasonable to assume royal cities? contains a sequence of more than 20 that th e Megiddo palace was floor levels with abundant traces of Norma Franklin constru cted at th e same tim e. open-air domestic activity. There was domestic architecture immediately to the south of Area H (un excavated), for the occupation of Phase H5a was terminated by an earthquake, which cracked the city wall and strewed parts of walls of th ese southern buildings all over Area H. Our Phases H6b-a should be ass igned to the Uni versity of Chicago 's Stratum V, while our Phases H5d-a (pl us Levels H4 and H3 excavated in past seasons) cover the time-span of the University of Chicago 's Stratum IV A. How to decipher all this hi storically? The commencement of elaborate construction in Level H6b testifies to the prosperity at the end of th e Omride dynasty as its abandonment may reflect the consequences of Jehu's revolt. The destruction of Phase H6a and the subsequent sq uatter-occupation (H5d) illustrate the fate of Israel under Masons' marks on ashlars at Samaria, from the Harvard Exped ition . Aramaean domination (II Kgs 10:32- 33 ; 13:3, 22). The construction of the The term 'masons' mark' was city wall in Level H5c indicates· the coined in historical times - masons beginning of Israel's recovery under belonging to an 'atelier' would travel Joash and Jeroboam II (II Kgs 13 :24f; around Romanesque Burgundy Excavating 14 :25-28). City Wall 325 was the wall inscribing their personal marks on the of th e city conquered by Tiglat-pileser masonry as a testament to their work. Biblical History Ill in 733 BCE. The destruction of The earliest known examples of Phase H5a should probably be masons' marks occur in Middle he basic fallacy of "Biblical attributed to the earthquake in the time Minoan Crete, where it has been Archaeology" has been to link of Jeroboam II, mentioned in : 1 proposecj that they served as religious text and archaeology on the and archaeologically also attested at or magical signs. rnlevel of the artifact, be it in the guise of Hazor and Deir 'Alla in the The Israelite marks bear a slight "Israelite" four-room houses or Valley, where it toppled and buried the resemblance to the Cretan ones. In collared-rim jars, "Solomonic" city­ stele with the famous -text. March 200 l, on an unseasonably hot gates or houses of "St. Peter". The Synchronizing the stratigraphy of day, I invited an expert on the Cretan interaction of text and archaeology Area H with the biblical record is marks-Dr. Louise Hitchcock of the should, however, be possible on the perfectly possible within the University of California at Los level of history, as it refers to changes framework of the "Low Chronology". Angeles-to Megiddo to view the of human society over time. This According to the traditional chron­ masons' marks on site. She confirmed should lead to significant profiles of ology, Phase H6b (= University of that although in some aspects they sequences both in the archaeological Chicago's VA) should reflect the time resembled marks found in the Minoan and the textual record. of Solomon. The subsequent decline Palaces, they are distinct. As we What did we excavate in the season would then be due to the demise of the inspected the exposed ashlar masonry, of2000 in Area H? At the lowest level, "United Monarchy" and the civil wars another three marks materialized under we reached an elaborate semi­ in Israel between Jeroboam I and Omri. her practiced eye! So when you next monumental building added to a pre­ It would have been Omri or Ahab who walk over the tel, remember to existing, small-scale domestic occu­ built city Wall 325. But then, the scrutinize the ashlar masonry for a pation (Phase H6b). The monumental earthquake of Jeroboam !I's time trace of any hitherto undetected marks. building was never finished; it may would not have left any trace in the What engendered the use of these have housed some squatters in the occupational deposits, whereas the marks at Megiddo and Samaria? Were period of its abandonment (Phase earthquake in our Phase H5a escaped they some sort of cipher used by H6a). Squatter occupation continued in the attention of the ancient texts. Israelite masons? Perhaps they used an the ruins (Phase H5d), followed by the alphabetical system, and if so, which construction . of city Wall 325 (Phase Ernst Axel Knauf

Revelations from Megiddo 2 the tephra layer 111 di stant reo-ions Santorini Ashes where the thickness is far b~yo nd Armageddon visibility and diluting effects are at Megiddo? obv ious, special techniqu es mu st be Quakes used . Polari zati on microscopy is the bes t method for identify ing volcanic roject "Thera As hes" is the el Megiddo, one of th e most parti cles in so il sampl es. In order to volcanologic component of important mounds in Israel increase th e efficiency of this wo rk the Austrian Special Research [I] li es on the Carmel Fault Zone' so1iing of concentrated mate ri al and program "Synchronization of Ci vi li­ an active branch of the Dead Sea Fau l; purification procedures are performed. zations in the Eastern Mediterranean in system. Southwest of the fault th e A technique to separate a pure fra cti on th e Second Millennium B.C." The m Carmel Ridge is uplifted, wh~reas has recently been developed. It all ows of th is project is to use the eruption northeast of it the Jezreel Va ll ey an analytical treatment similar to that pro du cts of th e Thera volcano subsides. A left- latera l component of used for pumice. (Santorini, an island in the Aegean Sea movement (the va lley is mov ing fn July 2000, I visited Meg iddo and north of Crete) in the second southeastward and the ridge no1ih­ other important sites in Israe l to search mill ennium BCE to establ ish a datum­ westward ) is also inferred from fo r possible depos its of Min oan tephra. !ine in th e stratigraphy of sites in the analyses of earthquakes and offset On the advice of th e Directors and wit h Eastern Med iterranean region . During stream ch anne ls. Recent activity of the the assistance of Norma Franklin so il thi s strong ex plosive event, a large fault is evident in th e steepness of th e samples were taken from the 'most volume of magma erupted within a few cliffs of th e Carm el Ridge, di splaced prom ising Middle Bronze-Late Bronze days . The majority of the materi al stream channels, and frequent weak levels of Area F. Thi s location is also consisted of tephra (volcani c as h) with earthquakes. A few earthquakes were 3 suitable from the geological point of a vo lume estimated from 16 to 35 km • even felt in nearby settlements and the view, as it is situated at the foo t of the The eruption column reached a height city of Haifa within the last few tel where wind and rain could have of about 35 km. The fin e particles decades. The characteristics of th e enriched the vo lcani c dust at the time Cashes") were transported over large Carmel Fau lt Zo ne are typical of a fa ult of deposition or shortly thereafter. di stances and then deposited on th e that is capable of producing strong Ten samples were taken. They we re gro und. In ancient sites these fine destructive earthquakes. investigated by usin g a pol ari zation eruption products can serve as a time The densely populated Hai fa Bay microsco pe with magnifications of marker. A similar situation can be area might be in danger, not on ly from l 00 -1 000X. Vo lcan ic particles consist postulated for pumice (s ponge-like violent earthquake shaking, but also of ~ilicic glass and can be identified by volcanic materi al) that was coll ected from secondary ecological catastrophe their characteristi c appearance. No from the sea shore and widely used in from the concentration of such pa1iicles have b.een identified in ancient times as an abrasive. Needless petrochemical industry in the region. the Megiddo samples. This agrees with to say, these pumice stones were often Rapid growth of population and the unpublished results obtained from reused and therefore they can serve to ensuing development of the area Dead Sea drilling cores. est~blish a chronological datum only in adjacent to the fault call for reli ab le Th is does not co me as a total their first appearance. In both cases it earthquake hazard assessment and surprise, as investigations 111 other is necessary to have a method for mitigation of possible damage. In order areas of the eastern Mediterranean reliable identification of the volcanic to assess the hazard we must obtain basin show that the Thera ashes were products as related to the "Minoan knowledge on the behaviour of the driven by wind primarily to the eruption" ofThera. fault in general and on the occurrence northeast. The future strategy in this Instrumental neutron activation of strong earthquakes in the past in field of research for sites in the eastern analy_sis (INAA) is used to identify particular. Mediterranean, including Israel, is erupt10n products by their element Important knowledge can be therefore the identification of first distribution patterns - the "chemical gleaned from earthquake damage in appearances of Theran pumice, which fingerprint." This analysis can archaeological sites. Toward this end was transported by sea. This will distinguish chemically between the we decided to examine damage t~ hopefully be done in the near future Thera materials and similar eruption structures at Megiddo. The importance products of other sources, such as the of Tel Megiddo comes from its Max Bichler Aegean islands of Kos and Milos. location a few tens of meters from the Analysis of stratified pumice lumps trace of the Carmel Fault, and the from excavations at Tell-el-Dab'a in abundance of structures representing the Nile Delta showed that long storage well-studied history of several under wet conditions does not interfere millennia. with elemental classification. The major difficulty in such an Megiddo in Cyberspace The analysis of pumice samples is archeo-seismic study is the carried out after conventional •You can send your comments ideas identification of the cause of the preparation. However, in the search for Megiddo news, request for pu,blicatio~ damage. Earthquake-related damage 1nformat1on , etc., to the Editor at: often resembles damage caused by Revelations from Megiddo is [email protected] man-made destruction, or slow published by the Megiddo Expedition. •See "Megiddo" at the web site of the deterioration because of old age. Ed itors-in-Chief: Israel Finkelstein Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv Where damage is widespread and Baruch Halpern and David Ussishkin' University (with Revelations in color): Editor: Michele Burns. · contemporaneous it is likely to indi cate www.tau.ac.il/~archpubs/index.html an earthquake, but even in that case we

Revelations from Megiddo 3 are faced with uncertainty regarding its occupied, and the stones of the Earl y source fault. Bronze III temple built on top of the The News Corner In the summer of 2000 we carried Early Bronze I monumental building out fieldwork at Megiddo, with the aim are not fractured. Hence the earthquake Jennifer Peersmann is getting of tracing evidence of ancient tha ·- damaged the Level 14 building married in May, with a ceremony at earthquakes. We were looking for must have taken place in the late Early Tel Megiddo! structural damage such as tilted walls, Brori'ze I. In fact, it may have been the Philippe Guillaume received his cracks and fractures in stones etc. We ,reason for the abandonment of the Ph.D. from Geneva University with a located about a dozen spots with temple and the su bsequent dissertation on the book of Judges (to be published by Sheffield): Saviors, possible evidence for tectoni c activity. occupational gap at the site. Following are three examples. These interpretations are strongly Judges, Rogues and Loosers. Ann Killebrew has taken a position as assistant professor of archaeology at Penn State University. Baruch Halpern 's newest book is out: David's Secret Demons. For this book, B received the Frank Moore Cross award from ASOR. Yuval Gadot is the proud father of twins, a boy and a girl. Congratulations to Guy Avivi on hi s recent marriage. Denise Gold is now the proud grandmother of twins, a boy and a girl. Congratulations to David Ussishkin on th e bi rth of his granddaughter, Gefen. Farewell to Michele Burns, editor of Reve lations and Tel Aviv, who will finish her degree in the USA. Extension cracks in the six-chambered Iron II gate, probably caused by an earthquake Our condolences to David Jlan on the loss of hi s wife, Omit, who lost Extension cracks occur in the six­ supported by the conspicuous her battle with cancer. chambered, Iron II gate complex. Rows uniformity observed in the inferred Condolences also to Denise Gold of ashlars in the middle of the wall s direction of shaking. A large group of on the loss of her husband, Bernard. (enclosed between oth er rows) are structures moved along an E- W axis fractured. Horizontal sliding of the while another group moved N-S . The Megiddo in the World fragments occurred everywhere in the current state of knowledge does not same direction, nearly parallel to the allow us to assign a specific source A special Megiddo Exhibition is face of the wall. The damage was fault in general (an extremely on display in the Hamburg Museum probably caused by earthquake-related important issue in terms of seismic of Archaeology and History at horizontal shaking. The late 8th hazard), or to understand the activity Harburg, Germany. David Ussishkin century Stratum III gate built on top of characteristics of the Carmel Fault in attended the opening ceremony and the six-chambered gate is not damaged. particular. We believe that a more brought greetings from the Megiddo r Therefore, this event may be linked to complete documentation of the Expedition. A book and catalog of the biblical reference to a major deformations at Megiddo, combined the exhibition, Megiddo-Tell el­ earthquake in the time of Jeroboam II, with data from other contemporary Mutesellim-Armageddon: Biblische ea. 760 BCE. sites, can yield reliable information on Stadt zwischen Krieg und Frieden In Area L, the stone and plaster the activity and danger of the Carmel (edited by Ralf Busch) was published floors of the Stratum IVA "stables" are Fault. · for this occasion. level, while the walls and fills of Israel Finkelstein lectured on Stratum VA-IVB Palace 6000 are Shmulik Marco and Megiddo and the United Monarchy at the British Museum in November. tilted. This indicates a deformation AmotzAgnon after the construction of the palace, but The lecture was chaired by Lord before the building of the "stables", a Allenby ofMegiddo. deformation which may be linked to A special Megiddo session entitled "Ten Years of Renewed the 8th century event mentioned above. Megiddo III: Excavations at Megiddo" is The broad walls of the monumental The 1992-1996 Seasons. temple of Level 14 in Area J (Early This two-volume report (631 pages) scheduled for the Annual Meeting of Bronze I, late fourth millennium BCE) can still be ordered from the ASOR in Toronto 2002. are fractured in several places, parallel Publications Dept., Sonia and Marco Another special Megiddo session Nadler Institute of Archaeology, Tel to their faces. The eastern part of the is scheduled for the SBL Annual Aviv University, P.O. Box 39040, Tel Meeting in Toronto. The session, building is tilted eastward. Both the Aviv 69978, Israel. You can also fractures and the tilting may be order through the web site at: entitled "Mounts on the Mount", will associated with a strong earthquake. In www.tau.ac.il/~archpubs/index/html present new evidence on the the Early Bronze II, Megiddo was not Megiddo "stables". Revelations from Megiddo 4