Rhamnous¹















Rhamnous is on the northeast coast of Attica, near Marathon.

Iron Age II Victoria Beasley

Iron Age II (1000-550 BC); the time of kings in Iraeli folklore. During this period, David killed Goliath, Solomon built the temple, and prophets gave Yahweh’s instructions to the people. The end of the Iron Age marks the destruction of Israel by the Assyrians (722 BC), and the razing of Israel’s sister country in the south, Judah, by Babylonians (587/86 BC). Iron Age II is also the time when the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) is most supported by archaeological evidence. In this blog, I will be summarizing the Iron Age II chapter from Professor John C. H. Laughlin’s book, Archaeology and the Bible, in which he discusses the connections and discrepancies between archaeological finds and the Biblical texts.

            Iron Age II includes the Biblical period in which the United Monarchy, or King David and his descendants, ruled Israel. 1 Kings 6-9 describes massive building projects. Some of these projects have been found by archaeologists, though most are thought to have been destroyed by the end of the ninth century. Most finds are associated with the rule of David’s son, Solomon. However, in all the sites, very little evidence even supports the existence of King David. The only real find which can be linked to the Bible’s hero is the Tel Dan Stela. Stelae are large slabs of rock erected by conquering parties to announce their victory. On the Tel Dan Stela in Galilee, the phrase “House of David” was translated, a phrase used often in Biblical texts. Contrarily, this find is the terminus post enum (earliest date of an event based only on scientific facts) concerning the great king for the archaeological community.

            The actual excavation of Jerusalem, where much of Israel’s Iron Age history is said to have taken place, is tricky to accomplish for many reasons. First, the site has been excavated by different parties over the years, each with varying methods and agendas. Second, Jerusalem is still an occupied city, so the scientists have to work around currently used settlements. For these reasons, much of the information gleaned from Jerusalem cannot be definitely proven. For example, the twenty-one strata found in Jerusalem cannot be dated properly, and evidence of Solomon’s temple to the Hebrew God is non-existent.

            Iron Age II b-c begins when the United Monarchy splits Israel into two separate states: Israel to the north, and Judah to the south. Israel’s population of 250,000 to 350,000 people lived in cities and hamlets. Archaeologists have begun excavations on known sites, but no complete plans have been drawn up. One unique site in Israel is the Tel Dan mound; an economical, political, and religious center with evidence of pagan worship. Five massebots, or vertical stones, stood outside the gates to cities as well. Archaeologists believe they represent deities. Israel also had an ingenious gate system, which changed considerably from the tenth to ninth centuries. The thick, stone outer wall opened into another chamber where guards protected another heavy gate which lead into the city. Unfortunately, even this advanced system could not hold off the Assyrians, who raided Israel in 722 BC.

            There are many sacred sites in Israel. For example, Area T was a place of idol worship in the northwest, near a spring. Statuettes dating back before the Israelites have been found, but other artifacts, such as snake reliefs and incense stands, are from the time of Israeli rule. The most impressive object found here is a silver and bronze scepter, found near an altar built during the reign of King Jeroboam II. Dan was also an important place for cultic worship. Here archaeologists found many ‘Asherah fertility figurines, serpent carvings, religious texts, and evidence of solar worship. Dan expanded in the seventh century, but was abandoned by the sixth. These cultic ceremonies may have taken place within Jewish communities, but are separate from the Jewish faith.

Samaria was the capital of Israel during Iron Age II. It was 35 miles north of Jerusalem, and home of the “Divided Monarchy,” and was ruled by Omri and his son, Ahab (whose story is found in Amos). The royal acropolis found here was four acres in size. More than 100 ostraca, or sherds of pottery with inscriptions on them, were found here, and sixty-three of them were legible. These sherds were dated back to the eighth century, and the names recorded there suggest Baal worship, which coincides with the Biblical account in Amos. Many ivory artifacts were found in a dump in Samaria, as well. These ivory pieces were imported from Phoenicia, and are thought by archaeologists to be inlays for the palace walls. This supports the Biblical account, but is also scientifically sound.

            Judah, with a population of about 110,000 people, was one of the longest continuous monarchies in the Near Eastern world. It lasted from 923 to 550 BC, when the country was invaded by Babylonians. The cities Nasbeh and Beersheba reveal most about the layout of Judean cities. Ostraca from the eighth to sixth centuries were found here as well. The eighth through sixth centuries were when the most records were written in Judah. Much of these records were lost, however, because they were written on papyrus scrolls, which decay over time. Other artifacts containing writing were found in Hezekiah’s Tunnel, and described the lives of the men working there. Archaeologist A. Mazar says the find is “one of the longest and most important, monumental Hebrew texts from the period of the monarchy.” These writings were dated back to when King Hezekiah might have been preparing for war with the Assyrians. Other artifacts from Hezekiah’s time include some 2,000 stamped pottery handles. Scientists have discovered that these handles were imprinted by 22 to 25 different stamps, and all were inscribed with “LMLK,” or, “belonging to the king.” These handles also had symbols, such as beetles and sun disks, pressed into them, but archaeologists are still unsure what they represented.

            Kuntillet ‘Ajrud and Khirbet el-Qom are two sites which have caused archaeologists to rethink the religion of Iron Age II Judeans. Kuntillet ‘Ajrud was found thirty miles south of Kadesh-Barnea, about thirty miles from the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Kuntillet ‘Ajrad was a caravanserai, or a place caravans and travelers would stop to rest. At this site a large pot was found with the inscription “lyhwh smron wl’srth,” or “To Yahweh of Samaria and His ‘Asherah.” In Khirbet el-Qom, a similar writing was found, which read “May Uriyahu be blessed by Yahweh, for from his enemies he has been saved by his a/Asherah.” This suggests to the archaeologists that the Judean Yahweh was thought to have a female consort. This is not widely known, though, because the idea was suppressed by the end of the sixth century BC.

            Many other important finds were made over the seventh and sixth centuries. Ostraca donated from two private collections revealed records of the daily lives of civilians, such as the woes of a widow. Only a couple of miles from the coast in Mesad Hashavyahu, seven ostraca of the same text were found. Finally, in Arad, over a hundred Hebrew inscriptions were discovered. The archaeologists who dated these artifacts noted that the inscriptions ranged from the tenth to sixth centuries, and some even addressed military matters or bore royal seals.

            Lachish, another important city in Judah’s heyday, is located about twenty miles southeast of Ashdod. One of the main sites here is a mound where Tell ed-Duweir now stands. When excavated, layers IV-II of the mound were dated back to Iron Age II. The third layer had been razed by Sennacherib from 704-681 BC, and the second had been destroyed by the Bablyonian king, the Biblical Nebuchadnezzar in 588-586 BC. The destruction of the layers is very well documented through excavated Assyrian reliefs and other archaeological records. The destruction of layer two Lachish is also supported by the “Lachish Letters,” a preserved, first-hand account of the catastrophe. Linguistics professor Adam Ussishkin believes that the site was abandoned after Iron Age II for seventy years, until the reign of King Josiah.

            Jerusalem was the capital of united Israel, then the capital of Judah after the United Monarchy split. Excavated remains of the city include 16-foot thick walls and cobbled roads. In the eighth century the population increased from 25,000 to 40,000, probably due to an influx of northern refugees, and grew geographically from forty square acres to 150 square acres. This change is measured by the rings of burial sites in the city. The crowding was so bad in the capital city that the Royal Palace was in Ramat Rachel, between the Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Domestic houses that archaeologists discovered usually consist of four rooms. One such site, called the Bullae House, concealed fifty-one clay seals, or bullae. Of the eighty-two names recovered from the seals, two were mentioned in the Bible; Gemaryahu ben Shaphan and Azaryahu ben Hilquiyahu. “Gemaryahu,” or in English, “Geremiah,” may be a scribe mentioned in the book of Jeremiah in the Bible. If this is true, then these bullae confirm a strong historical point in Biblical Judean history. These bullae were dated to the time of King Jehoiakim, around 603 BC.

            Though many scientists try to downplay Biblical archaeology and its source material, the Hebrew Bible is undoubtedly the most significant literary accomplishment of Iron Age II. The Pentateuch, or Biblical books Joshua, Judges, 1&2 Samuel, and 1&2 Kings, may not be completely scientifically provable. However, with the hints and clues they offer, archaeologists are moving closer to constructing a archaeologically proven history of the Holy Land. 

The Late Bronze Age: 1550-1200BC

The Late Bronze Age is characterized by new demographics. These include an almost total abandonment of the rural areas and an increase is the coastal regions. Also during this period, Egypt saw an increase of power and control of regions, especially Palestine and Syria. Living conditions declined for most people while there became a concentration of power and wealth into the hands of an elite group. Archaeological evidence for this concentration of power and wealth includes large "patrician" houses or "governor" mansions and increased trade. Egyptian control can not only be seen by these large mansions but also by the fact that most Palestinian sites during this period were unfortified. Furthermore two very important innovations and changes occured during this period as well: the development of the alphabet by the Phoenicians and it may have been the first time to speak of a people called "Israel".

One of the most prominent finds from the LBA is Merneptah's stela. This find is especially important in dealing with the problem of the "Exodus" out of Egypt. The stela has been dated to the fifth year of Merneptah's reign and contains a hymn celebrating the pharaoh's victory over his enemies. What experts find most interesting is the mention of "Israel" within the hymn. This is the earliest reference to "Israel" as a commmunity. Although this is believed to be the earliest reference, most experts actually believe it to be irrelevant to the question of whether there was an Israelite "exodus" from Egypt as told in the Bible.

Honors 105x Wichita State University (Spring 2010) Archaeology and the Bible

This blog is for student illustrated reviews of Archaeology and the Bible by John C.H Laughlin from Honors 105x: In search of the Trojan War.