1 Steven M. Ortiz and Samuel R. Wolff GEZER 2011 REPORT (License No. G52-2011) 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 four summer field seasons. The fifth season of the renewed excavation of Tel Gezer took place between 13 June and 15 July, 2011. The excavations were directed by Dr. Steven M. Ortiz of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Dr. Sam Wolff of the Israel Antiquities Authority. 2 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: Ashland Theological Seminary, Clear Creek Bible College, Marian Eakins Archaeological Museum, Lancaster Bible College, 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 2:2011 Participants Nearly 90 participants from the consortium schools as well as other students and volunteers from the U.S, Canada, Zimbabwe, Korea, and Israel took part in the 2011 season. The Tel Gezer expedition included: T. Hofecker (project administrator), Gary Arbino (field archaeologist), 3 Robert Mullins (field archaeologist); area supervisors: S. Andrews, M. Barbosa, C. Coyle, A. Davis, A. Dodd, L. Haines, J. Jewell, R. DeWitt-Knauth, K. Miller, J. Strong, S. von Wrick, and D. Warner; assistant area supervisors: J. Chatfield, Byron Longino, K. Rose, A. Sanders, T. Thames, and P. Warner; educational coordinator/administration: J. Byron; zooarchaeology: L. Horowitz; architect/draftsman: J. Rosenberg; computer database designer: D. Pride; pottery registrar, J. Harrison; material culture registrar and conservator: H. Reichstadt, and camp manager, B. Ortiz. 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 2011 Season Our goals for the 2011 season are: 1) expand the exposure of Field A to the north, 2) remove the western portion of the late Iron Age fortification system in order to better understand its construction and expose the Late Bronze Age pillared building below it, 3) connect Field B with Field A to obtain a complete stratigraphic picture of Fields A, B and Field VII of the HUC excavations Major changes in field strategy are 1) addition of Dr. Bob Mullins as staff to direct the expanded excavations in the removal of the Iron Age fortification system and excavation of the LB pillared building and the cessation of the sondage. What was referred to as the upper sondage (Field A west) and the southern squares of Field B was expanded and excavated as a single field. This will encompass squares W4-8, Y4-8, Z4-8 (15 total, 375 m2). This will provide a large area to investigate earlier strata beneath our 8th century stratum, particularly a potential LB pillared building. This field is part of the master plan to have a north-south stratigraphic line from the Hellenistic and Iron Age domestic structures in 4 Field VII of the HUC excavations and the slope of the city fortification system. This will provide a master startigraphic picture across the southern slope (Field VII-HUC and the southern fortifications), creating a 3-tiered master section with Field B (8th c. BCE) to the north, New Field (a series of Iron IIA-LB strata), and the fortification system to the south (sondage). The project also renamed Field A as Field E (East). Field E expanded as we planned to enlarge this field (north of Administrative Buildings A, B, and C) by opening up two lines of squares (Squares A3/4-F3/4). This is a total of 12 squares. Most of these squares have been previously investigated by Macalister and we anticipate that we will find the same type of activity as in previous seasons. Hopefully, we will be able to continue to delineate the architectural plan of the 8th century occupation. These squares will also be key to defining the transition from the domestic quarter of Field B (Field VII of HUC excavations) and the administrative/public quarter of Field A (Field II [Iron Age Gate] of HUC excavations). In the pre-season, we changed this goal due to staff and the need to locate one of the dumps just to the north of Field E Work on the sondage stopped as we have already established a sequence of well defined fortifications from the Iron Age IIB to the MB period, plus it is becoming dangerous to work in this area. Depending on manpower and consultation with the parks Authority, we might expand and clean some squares eastward to the gate and expose more of the glacis as well as excavate three squares to the west (V8-10) to connect our excavated fortifications with the wall line in Field X (HUC) as well as create a slope for safety and conservation. OVERVIEW Our renewed excavations are focusing on the Iron Age levels of Tel Gezer. This will be accomplished by excavating a large horizontal exposure on the south-central part of the tel where a majority of the Iron age strata have been revealed and/or excavated. The excavations are designed to unite the Iron Age architectural elements and cultural horizons of Field VII and Field III of the HUC excavations with our renewed excavations, thus allowing for optimal 5 reconstruction of the growth and expansion of the Iron Age city as well as artifact distributional patterns. 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. and 3) an area north of the fortification wall where a series of large public buildings are located. To accomplish the goals of field E, we first had to remove the 8th century Administrative buildings and investigate the nature of city planning west of the gate and north of the casemate wall system. 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, and 2) provide data from Iron Age domestic quarters to compare and contrast with the public buildings to the southeast in Field E. It also includes a north-south sondage to investigate the relationship between the Iron Age wall and the “outer” wall. The goals for Field W were to continue excavations to the north, and excavate expediently to the Late Bronze Age strata (Upper Sondage), and continue exploring the fortification systems in the sondage and the continued search for the wall line of the outer wall. The field strategy of Field W was complex. A major balk was to remove balks from the 2008 season in Field W and the upper sondage as well as any remaining strata associated with Macalister fills and Hellenistic occupation. In the lower sondage we expanded to the west in order to get a robust plan of the fortification systems but also to enlarge the sondage for safety concerns. 2. Summary of Results Major results of the 2011 season were: 1) the almost complete plan of the 8th century BCE 4-room house; 6 2) 9th c. BCE destruction and domestic units A-C in Field E; 3) excavation of a series of 10th c. BCE buildings in Field W (most were destroyed by the Hellenistic strata, nevertheless complete plans of the buildings were possible)’ 4) excavation of an LB Pillared Building (Stratum 11); 5) and, partial excavation of two Iron Age I strata (both with complete storage jars in destruction levels) (Strata 9 and 10) 3. Phasing To date, eleven major strata have been excavated (most corresponding with results of earlier excavations). Tel Gezer Master Stratigraphic Chart 2006-2011 Preliminary Field E Field W HUC Strata (formerly A) (formerly A-sondage Excavations and B) Topsoil, Modern HUC dump Trenches, rock piles 1 Excavation Dumps 2 Macalister Hellenistic Retaining walls, silo Domestic bldg, Dog Strata IIA-C, III 3 burials 4 Persian Ceramic Ceramic Strata IV 5 Late Iron Age II Silo V IA II (8th) Public: Domestic: VIA Assyrian Administrative 4 room house, street 6 Destruction Buildings A-C; Rebuilt HUC: domestic walls, buildings in Field VII HUC: 4 chambered gate 9th Domestic: VIB 7 Units A-C Building D (?) 10th Public: Fortifications: VIIA Casemate city-wall Casemate city-wall; 8 HUC: 6 chambered Building 11xxx Gate Casemate fortification Earlier cross walls VIIB (mid 10th) connected to casemate IA I Destruction Layer, VIII (late 9 Pillared Building? 11th/early 10th Siaman Des.) 10 Ceramic Ceramic XI-IXA (Phil) XII (early 12th) 7 11 LB Pillared Building XII EXCAVATION RESULTS 1.