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Lachish Fortifications and State Formation in the Biblical Kingdom of Judah in Light of Radiometric Datings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 April 2019

Yosef Garfinkel*
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
Michael G Hasel
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, Southern Adventist University, USA
Martin G Klingbeil
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, Southern Adventist University, USA
Hoo-Goo Kang
Affiliation:
Seoul Jangsin University, Korea
Gwanghyun Choi
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
Sang-Yeup Chang
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
Soonhwa Hong
Affiliation:
Institute of Bible Geography of Korea, Korea
Saar Ganor
Affiliation:
Israel Antiquities Authority, Israel
Igor Kreimerman
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
Christopher Bronk Ramsey
Affiliation:
Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Email: garfinkel@mscc.huji.ac.il.
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Abstract

When and where the process of state formation took place in the biblical kingdom of Judah is heavily debated. Our regional project in the southwestern part of Judah, carried out from 2007 to the present, includes the excavation of three Iron Age sites: Khirbet Qeiyafa, Tel Lachish, and Khirbet al-Ra’i. New cultural horizons and new fortification systems have been uncovered, and these discoveries have been dated by 59 radiometric determinations. The controversial question of when the kingdom was able to build a fortified city at Lachish, its foremost center after Jerusalem, is now resolved thanks to the excavation of a previously unknown city wall, dated by radiocarbon (14C) to the second half of the 10th century BCE.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2019 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 
Figure 0

Figure 1 The Kingdom of Judah and the locations of the various sites mentioned in the text.

Figure 1

Table 1 The excavated sequence and the position of the radiometric dates from three sites: Lachish, Khirbet Qeiyafa, and Khirbet al-Ra’i (LB = Late Bronze, MB = Middle Bronze). + phase uncovered by the new expedition (up to 2016 season).

Figure 2

Figure 2 A previously unknown city wall at Tel Lachish (Level V), a 3-m-wide stone construction uncovered in summer 2016. A channel that drained water away from the city can be seen in the center, covered with a large rectangular block of stone (Photo by Emil Aladjem).

Figure 3

Figure 3 Lachish Area CC: cross-section presenting the sequance of the fortifications on the northern slope of the site. The city walls of Levels I, II and V were built from stones. The city wall of Levels IV–III was built from mudbricks. The olive pits sent for radiometric dating came from Floor C308 of Level V. This floor runs up to the stone city wall of Level V, and covered by the mudbrick wall of Levels IV–III.

Figure 4

Figure 4 Lachish Area CC: The radiometric dating of four olive pits unearthed on Floor C308, that runs up to the city wall of Level V, and sealed under the mudbrick city wall of Levels IV–III. Sample Lachish 7 is not included here as it is too old, apparently intrusive olive pit from Level VI, some 200 years older.

Figure 5

Figure 5 Lachish Area BC: An eastern segment of the Level V city wall, with typical Judean pillar houses abutting it from inside the city. The excavation area was damaged in the north and east by slope erosion.

Figure 6

Figure 6 Tel Lachish, locations of the various excavation areas and the recently uncovered Level V city wall.

Figure 7

Table 2 The sequence of the late fortifications at Tel Lachish, combined data from all relevant expeditions to the site. + Uncovered by our expedition (east side: Area BB, north side: Area CC). ++ Uncovered by previous expeditions.

Figure 8

Table 3 Khirbet al-Ra’i, summary of the site: stratigraphic observations and pottery assemblages according to the various excavation areas.

Figure 9

Table 4 Radiometric dates from Lachish, Khirbet al-Ra’i, and Khirbet Qeiyafa.

Figure 10

Figure 7 The Bayesian model of the radiometric datings from Lachish, Khirbet al-Ra’i, and Khirbet Qeiyafa.

Figure 11

Table 5 Main transition dates from the Bayesian analysis.

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