The Iron Age IIA ‘Benyaw Inscription’ on a Jar from Tel Abel Beth Maacah
During the seventh excavation season in 2019 at Tel Abel Beth Maacah, located in northern Israel, part of a well-constructed building was revealed just below topsoil in Area K. One partially excavated room in this building was found to contain at least five smashed storage jars in situ. Restoration...
Authors: | ; ; ; ; |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group
2023
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In: |
Palestine exploration quarterly
Year: 2023, Volume: 155, Issue: 1, Pages: 68-90 |
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Excavation
/ Paleography
/ Inscription
/ Kingdom Damascus
/ Tel Avel Bet Maʿakha
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IxTheo Classification: | HD Early Judaism HH Archaeology |
Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Summary: | During the seventh excavation season in 2019 at Tel Abel Beth Maacah, located in northern Israel, part of a well-constructed building was revealed just below topsoil in Area K. One partially excavated room in this building was found to contain at least five smashed storage jars in situ. Restoration showed that the jars are all of the same type and mode of manufacture, and one of them, with a marked handle, bears a one-word ink inscription. The standardization of the jars, the marked handle, and the inscription, indicate the existence of a local, centralized administrative system. The typology and surface treatment of the jars point to a date in the 9th century or at the latest, the beginning of the 8th century bce, a date corroborated by the palaeography of the inscription and by other pottery in the building. The inscription itself consists of a Hebrew personal name (as it has a Yahwistic theophoric ending) written in the Old Hebrew script. The name and its archaeological and regional context add information concerning the possible cultural and political affiliation of the site at this time, a debated issue in light of its location in the border region between the kingdoms of Israel and Aram Damascus, and within the sphere of the Phoenician polities of Tyre and Sidon to the west. |
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ISSN: | 1743-1301 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Palestine exploration quarterly
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/00310328.2021.1975070 |