A zebu-shaped weight from Tel Beth-Shemesh

In 2007, a bronze zoomorphic weight, shaped as a humped bull or zebu, Bos indicus, was found in a Late Bronze Age context in the renewed excavations at Tel Beth-Shemesh. The similarity of this object to other figurines and balance weights not only demonstrates commercial and cultural ties among Late...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Levine, Ely (Author) ; Bunimovitz, Shlomo (Author) ; Lederman, Zvi (Author)
Format: Print Article
Language:English
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Published: Soc. 2011
In: Israel exploration journal
Year: 2011, Volume: 61, Issue: 2, Pages: 146-161
IxTheo Classification:HH Archaeology
Further subjects:B Sciance
B Beth Shemesh
Parallel Edition:Electronic
Description
Summary:In 2007, a bronze zoomorphic weight, shaped as a humped bull or zebu, Bos indicus, was found in a Late Bronze Age context in the renewed excavations at Tel Beth-Shemesh. The similarity of this object to other figurines and balance weights not only demonstrates commercial and cultural ties among Late Bronze Age sites, but also indicates familiarity with this sub-species of cattle, usually associated with South Asia. Despite its excellent state of preservation, this weight does not reveal much about its particular position in the Beth Shemesh economy because it was made with a hollow cavity used to modulate its mass. This zebu-shaped weight provides us with further evidence of the frontier status of Beth Shemesh and points to the site’s connections with the Eastern Mediterranean trade network of the Late Bronze Age.
ISSN:0021-2059
Contains:In: Israel exploration journal