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Revelations from Megiddo 6. April 2002

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Revelations from Megiddo 6. April 2002 REVELATIONS FROM M£6IDDO T he Newsletter o f The Megiddo and Samaria. 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 Tel Megiddo 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 Amos 1: 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 Tell Deir 'Alla in the Jordan 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 Balaam-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.
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