Archaeology in Israel Samuel R. Wolff American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 102, No. 4. (Oct., 1998), pp. 757-807. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-9114%28199810%29102%3A4%3C757%3AAII%3E2.0.CO%3B2-9 American Journal of Archaeology is currently published by Archaeological Institute of America. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/about/terms.html. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/journals/aia.html. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. The JSTOR Archive is a trusted digital repository providing for long-term preservation and access to leading academic journals and scholarly literature from around the world. The Archive is supported by libraries, scholarly societies, publishers, and foundations. It is an initiative of JSTOR, a not-for-profit organization with a mission to help the scholarly community take advantage of advances in technology. For more information regarding JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. http://www.jstor.org Tue Oct 30 07:08:13 2007 19981 ARCHAEOLOGY IN ISRAEL 739 Burial Caves in the Kidron Valley,Jerusalem (Jerusalem dedicated to Joseph Aviram; and E.D. Oren ed., The 1996);Y. Hirschfeld, The Roman Baths ofHammat Gader: Hyksos: 1X1ew Historical and Archaeological Perspectives Final Report (Jerusalem 1997);A. Nege\; The Architec- (Philadelphia 1997). Papers presented at a sympo- ture of Oboda: Final Report (Qedem 36,Jerusalem 1997); sium held at Hebrew University and sponsored by A. Ben-Tor et a]., Yoqne'am I: The Late Periods (Jerusa- Philip and Muriel Berman were published in S. Gi- lem 1996); and R. Harper, Yper Zohar: An Early Byz- tin, A. Mazar, and E. Stern eds., Mediterranean Peoples antine Fort in Palaestina Tertia. Final Report of Excava- in Transition: Thirteenth to Early Tenth Centuries B(,'E tions in 1985-1 986 (Oxford 199.3). (Jerusalem 1998); this volume was published in Artifactual studies. Recent publications on ceram- honor of Trude Dothan. Other volumes include M. ics and other artifacts include the following: A. Go- Coogan,J.C. Exum, and L.E. Stager eds., Scripture and pher and E. Orrelle, The Ground Stone Assemblages of Other Artijits: Essays on the Bible adArchaeology in ibfunhata (Quetigny 1995); Y. Garfinkel, Human and Honor ofPhilip J. King (Louisville 1994); N.A. Silber- Animal Figurines of Munhata (Israil) (Quetigny 199.3); man and D. Small eds., The Archaeology of Israel: Con- P. Amiet et al., Tell el Far'ah: Histoire, glyptique et cira- structing the Past, Interpreting the Present (Sheffield mologie (Fribourg 1996); M.J.W. Leith, Wadi Daliyeh 1997);J.D. Seger ed., Retrieving the Past: Essays on Ar- I: The \kdi Daliyeh Seal Impressions (Oxford 1997);S.C. chaeological Research and Methodology in Honor of Gus Herbert ed., El Anafa 11.1: The Hellenistic and Roman Van Beek (Winona Lakes 1996); and Y. Friedman, Z. Pottey: The Plain \$'ares (A. Berlin); The Fine W'ares (K.W. Safrai, and J. Schwartz eds., Hikrei Eretz: Studies in Slane) (Ann Arbor 1997); and S. Loffreda, La ceram- the History ofthe Land ofIsrael Dedicated to Prof: Yehuda ica di iVacheronte e dell'Herodion (90 a.C.-135 d.C.) (Je- Feliks (Ramat Can 1997, in Hebrew). rusalem 1996). Monographs.The following monographs were re- Several publications of inscriptions and small ob- cently published: S.A. Rosen, Lithics afler the Stone jects have recently appeared, including N. Avigad and Age: A Handbook of Stone Toolsfrom the Levant (Walnut B. Sass, (,'orpus of \Vest Semitic Stamp Seals (Jerusalem Creek 1997); I. Finkelstein, Living on the Fringe: The 1997); 0. Keel, Corpus der StempelsiegelAmulette nus Archaeology and History of the iVegev, Sinai and Neigh- Palastina/lsmel. Von den Anfangen bis zur Perserzeit. Kat- bouring Regions in the Bronze and Iron '4ges (Sheffield alog I: Von Tell Abu Farag bis 'Atlit (Freiburg 1997); and 1995); Z. Herzog, z4rchaeology ofthe City: C'rban Plan- R. Kletter, TheJudean Pillar-Figurines and the Archaeol- ning in Ancient Israel and Its Social Implications (Tel Aviv ogy ofAsherah (Oxford 1996).Two volumes of ostraca 1997); and 0. Zimhoni, Studies in the Iron Age Pottery originating from the same unknown provenance and ofIsrael: ljpological, Archaeological and Chronological As- at present housed in different museum and private pects (Tel Aviv 1997). The last presents Zimhoni's col- collections have appeared: A. Lemaire, LVouvellesin- lected published works, including an English trans- scriptions aramiennes dd'ldumie au Musie dd'lsrael (Paris lation of her important M.A. thesis on the pottery 1996); and I. Ephal and J. Naveh, Aramaic Ostraca of of Lachish levels V and IV, in her memory See also the Fourth Centuvy BCfrom Idumaea (Jerusalem 1996). 0. Borowski, Every Living Thing: Daily Use ofAnimals Surveys.Survey reports that have appeared include in Ancient Israel (Walnut Creek 1997); G. Avni, No- A. Zertal, The Manasseh Hill Country Survey: The East- mads, Farmers, and Town-Dwellers: Pastoralist-Sedentist ern Valleys and the Fringes ofthe Desert (Tel Aviv 1996, Interaction in the 1X1egev Highlands, Sixth-Eighth Centu- in Hebrew); I. Finkelstein and Z. Lederman eds., High- ries CE (Jerusalem 1996); S. Gibson and D.M. Jacob- lands of Many (,'ultures: The Southern Samaria Survey: son, Below the Temple i\/lount in Jerusalem: A Sourcebook The Sites (Tel Aviv 1997); and S.A. Kingsley and K. on the Cisterns, Subterranean (,'hambers and Conduits of Raveh, The Ancient Harbour and Anchorage at Dor, Is- the Haram al-Sharzf(Oxford 1996);M. Fischer, B. Isaac, rael: Results ofthe Underwater Surveys 1976-1991 (Ox- and I. Roll, Roman Roads inJudaea 11: TheJaffa-Jerusa- ford 1996). Three volumes in the Archaeological Sur- lem Roads (Oxford 1996); R.C. Gregg and D. Urman, vey of Israel series have also recently appeared: D. Jezus, Pagans and (,'hristians in the Golan Heights (Atlanta Gazit, Map of Urim (125) (Jerusalem 1996); R. Fran- 1996);and R. Schick, The Christian Communities ofpal- kel and N. Getzol; Map of Akhziv (1); Map of Hanita estine from Byzantine to Islamic Rule: A Historical and (2)(Jerusalem 1997);and R. Gophna and I. Beit-Arieh, Archaeological Study (Princeton 1995). iVap of Lod (80) (Jerusalem 1997). Edited volumes. Two major reference works ap- EXHIBITIONS peared recently, E. Meyers ed., The Oxford Encyclopedia The Israel Museum in Jerusalem presented a new ofArchaeology in the Near East (Oxford 1997); and J.M. exhibition in 1997-1998 entitled "New Antiquities." Sasson ed., Civilizations ofthe Ancient Near East (New Curated by Osnat Misch-Brandl, this exhibition York 1995). See also Eretz Israel (Jerusalem 1996), presented the most impressive objects excavated in 760 SAIMUEL R. WOLFF [AJA 102 Israel in the 1990s.The stunning finds ranged in date sarea Expeditions, Dor, Ein Cedi, Halif, Hazor, Me- from the Neolithic to the Arabic periods. Even this giddo, Nahal Tillah, Sepphoris (South Florida), and successful exhibition, however, was not without ac- Yaqush. Dozens of other relevant sites, including the companying controversy. The Israel Museum longed Israel Museum and Tel Aviv University, can also be to include in the exhibition the exceptional textile accessed through ABZU. and wooden objects from the Early Bronze Age "Cave of the Warrior," discovered during Operation Scroll EARLY PREHISTORY nearJericho in 1993. The IAA, however, had received In past installments of this newsletter, the work of considerable funding for the preservation and prehistorians has been underrepresented in compari- mounting of the finds from a foreign donor in ex- son to historical projects. The following survey kindly change for first exhibition rights to the material at prepared by Sorin Hermon (BGU) and arranged ac- the Museum of Natural History in New York, thus cording to period, attempts to bring readers up to preventing its inclusion in the Israel Museum exhi- date. Reports on prehistoric sites submitted by ex- bition. A nationalistic backlash was unleashed against cavators are integrated in the appropriate sections. the IAA for not insisting on the inclusion of these finds in the exhibition. The IAA spokesman coun- Lower Palaeolithic tered by stating that "without the donation, it's doubt- The Lower Palaeolithic in Israel is represented ful whether the bones [and associated objects] would by only a few sites, most of them discovered at the ever be exhibited." beginning of this century The scarcity of sites from Publications of other exhibitions include Z. M7eiss this period is probably a result of their state of pres- and E. Netzer, Promise and Redemption: A Synagogue ervation and the difficulties in their discovery. Sites Mosaicfrom Sepphoris (Israel Museum catalogue 378, of this period would be deeply buried beneath sedi- Jerusalem 1996); D. Ben'l'or, The Immortals ofAncient mentation of more than a half-million years, and Egypt: From the Abraham Guterman (,'ollection ofAncient therefore their discovery is usually accidental -the Egyptian Art (Israel Museum catalogue 393, Jerusa- sites are often found during quarrying or as a result lem 1997);and A. Roitman,A Day at Qummn: The Dead of tectonic movements, which change the natural hor- Sea Sect and Its Scrolls (Israel Museum catalogue 394, izontal sedimentation of the layers. The sites de- Jerusalem 1997). Other exhibitions that recently took scribed below were discovered in this fashion.