A huge congratulations is in order to our director – who has been granted the rank of Full Professor at Ariel University! Way to go Itzick – a huge and extremely well-deserved accomplishment! The team looks forward to celebrating this achievement in a couple of months in the field! And now a photo Itzick from an earlier season 🙂
We are pleased to announce the establishment of a post-doc named after Ladislav – who tragically passed away in 2022.
Ariel University (AU) is focused on promoting research through international scientific collaborations. As such, AU is distributing this call for application for a postdoctoral Fellowship named after a close friend of the university, who promoted research collaborations between Ariel University and academia in the Czech Republic. Professor Ladislav Šmejda (26th August 1975 – 27th November 2022) was a distinguished Czech scholar known for his profound contributions to theoretical archaeology and pioneering advancements in remote sensing methodologies. His research encompassed a wide spectrum, ranging from the application of computer techniques to environmental archaeology and cultural anthropology, often delving into historical realms. His dedication to learning and expanding research methodologies was evident in his multidisciplinary approach, a hallmark reflected throughout his extensive studies and publications. Beyond his scholarly pursuits, Prof. Šmejda fostered a strong bond with Ariel University, playing a pivotal role in establishing a collaborative partnership between Czech universities (Czech University of Life Science, Prague, and University of West Bohemia), and Ariel University. His legacy remains an inspiration to the academic community.
All submissions must be in PDF format only. All submissions must include both the cover page and the paper. All submissions must be received no later than September 15, 2023. The prize will be announced on October 2023.
Application: Email PDF of paper and cover sheet to: Dr. Aharon Tavger, The Heritage Center for the Study of The Kingdom of Israel, Ariel University tavgeraa@gmail.com
Mr. Amitai Koschitzky, Prof. Aren Maeir (Bar Ilan University), Prof. Yuval Gadot (Tel Aviv University) and Prof. Itzick Shai (Ariel University, Chair).
Week 2 of the 2023 season has come and gone, and it was an incredible week of excavations! We had by far our largest team in the field as we were joined by two groups – one from Sweden and another from Colorada (Colorado Christian University led by Seth Rodriquez). We made excellent progress in all areas. We also had a number of notable visitors including Alex Joffe, J.P. Dessel, Jimmy Hardin, Oliver Hersey, Yossi Bunimovitz, and many others. Come see us in action next week if you are in the area.
Area A1 – Jane and Terry and co. have uncovered a massive wall that could be an otherwise unknown fortification wall. At this point, the purpose and date of the wall is unclear. It seems to be a fortification wall that is probably earlier than the Iron II casemate walls (Iron IIA-IIC). Hopefully, the date and function of this wall will become more clear in the next two weeks. This last week, the team opened two new squares to expose more of this wall (they already reached it!) and another lower terrace wall. A1’s crew moved tons of dirt and large stones this week.
Area A2 – Debi’s team continues to expose more of the Iron IIC/7th century BCE remains. They also seem to have reached the end of a very large silo that probably dates to the Iron IIB or IIC. As we mentioned last week, this “time tunnel” will hopefully allow us to date the earlier levels of the summit as the ancient silo cut deep down through earlier strata.
Area B2 – Aharon is working across a very large in Area B2 – from the top of the tel to the lower terrace – and from the 7th century BCE all the way back to the 10th century BCE. This week, more walls from the Early Iron IIA structure were found, and it seems that we might be able to reconstruct most of the plan of this building.
Area B3 – Another week with Marcella and co. in B3 and now there are 3 more complete storage jars to add to the assemblage of the late 13th century BCE destruction that befell Canaanite Tel Burna.
Area G – In my area, we made excellent progress in achieving our main objective – understanding the plan of the Late Iron IIA gate. It now seems that we have the entire inside gate wall of the 9th century BCE gate, which seems to indicate that we have what can be understood as a two-chambered gate with a stone pavement and a drainage channel. I had to return to the US this week, but Tiffany is ably leading the Area G team to the end of the season.
Area J – Jon, Benjamin, and team opened a new square slightly closer to the tel and were able to find in situ pottery that indicates an occupation on the far eastern side of the tel. It is not yet clear when this area was occupied, but it seems likely that it was used during the Late Bronze Age and perhaps the Iron Age with some earlier remains, as well. Area J has achieved its objective – that is – demonstrating the eastern extent of occupation at the site – which we now know included an area several hundred meters away from the summit.
One of the long-term goals of the project is to try to involve the local community with the project – read below for a statement from Arel, who is heading up this initiative for this season:
Throughout the years of excavations, the team has invited the residents of the area and the students of the education system to come and participate in the excavations, in the belief that the public has an importance in knowing the regional past.
This year during the bar mitzvah season (season no. 13), the archaeological dig is accompanied by a study examining the contribution of participation in an archaeological dig to its participants. The research examines the opinions and insights of all participants: the excavation team, students, volunteers, residents of the area, and children.
At the end of the excavation season, we will examine and compare the findings and discuss the question of how much archeology could help and contribute to community, learning, and values.
And as always, here are some photos from the excavation.
Last week we started our Bar Mitzva/13th season of excavations (excluding 2020/Covid), and we are off to a great start! Check out Itzick’s regular posts on Facebook if you haven’t “liked” us yet. This year, we have a large team of volunteers from the US, Australia, and Israel – especially from Lipscomb University/Lanier Center for Archaeology and Colorado Christian University. We are also excavating in more areas than we ever have. Below – I will describe each area and the results after the first week.
Area A1 – Located on the northeastern slopes of the tel. This was the first excavation area opened at Tel Burna in the inaugural 2010 season. After a long hiatus, Jane Gaastra and Terry Nichols resumed excavations in this stepped trench in 2022. Last year, they dug through the remains of a large Iron II glacis. This earthen/stone revetment supported the Iron II casemate wall above. This past week, they exposed a very large stone (fortification?) wall beneath the glacis that may date to either the Late Bronze Age or the Iron Age – we will hopefully find out this week.
Area A2 – Located on the summit of the tel. A2 is the longest-tenured area at Tel Burna – and it is supervised by Debi Cassuto. After a break for one year, Debi and her team (assisted by Matthew Bronson) have returned to Area A1 for two reasons. First, to expose more of the plans of the large Iron II buildings that were built in the center of the summit across the 9th–7th centuries BCE (Iron IIA–IIC). Second, and more importantly, to dig all the way through a massive 8th century BCE silo (that was later turned into a garbage dump) to determine the earliest occupation of the summit of the site. Since the silo cut down through earlier levels in the 8th century BCE – it allows us to use it as a “time tunnel” to go down as far as possible. When will it end? Late Bronze? Early Iron IIA? Early Bronze? We will see… This past week, Debi’s team removed a large amount of the silo and also seem to have found the top of another one.
Area B1 – Located below the upper tel on the western lower platform. The finds from this area date to the Late Bronze/13th century BCE. The most important part of this area was a courtyard that included a high quantity of cultic and Cypriot-imported remains. Area B1 was active from 2011 but retired in 2017. See below for the important ongoing excavations in Area B3 that shed more light on the Late Bronze Age in this same lower western platform.
Area B2 – Located on the northwestern slopes of the tel. The goal of this area is to excavate the entire sequence of Tel Burna history – from the latest (Persian and Iron IIC) to the earliest strata (Late Bronze?). In past seasons, Aharon Tavger has exposed a series of layers from the Iron IIC (two phases), Iron IIB (massive glacis and 701 BCE destruction), late Iron IIA (construction phase of casemate fortress), and early Iron IIA (fiery conflagration of unfortified settlement). In addition, large quantities of sherds from the Late Bronze Age (probably both from the 13th and 12th centuries BCE) were used in the construction of the Iron IIB glacis that stabilized the Iron IIA fortification wall. This season, Aharon (assisted by Katja Epelbaum Birkmaier and Stahlie Calvin) and team have two main goals. First, they would like to excavate several layers from the Iron IIC through the late Iron IIA inside the fortification wall. This past week, they exposed two nice surfaces from the Iron IIC. This is very interesting as it helps shed light on the last phases of occupation at Tel Burna during the 7th through 6th centuries BCE. This should also give us a better understanding of the remains from these periods from other excavation areas, where the preservation was not as clear (Areas A1, A2, and G). This upcoming week and through the rest of the season, Aharon will hopefully be able to finally reach the inside floor surface of the Iron IIA casemate wall, which will provide us the best information for dating the wall’s initial construction (either in the late 10th or sometime in the 9th centuries BCE). In addition, in the lower part of Area B2, the team spent much of the week removing a balk and preparing the area to excavate more of the 10th century BCE (Shishak?) destruction that was found in previous seasons.
Area B3 – Located south of Area B1 in the western lower platform. This area was opened in 2019 and this is the third season of excavations in Area B3. The area is supervised by Marcella Barbosa and assisted by Katherine Hesler, Scott Huff, and Evie Wilson. In the past two seasons, Marcella and co. have exposed massive (but poorly made) walls from the Late Bronze town including a rich collection of smashed storage jars that were apparently destroyed in the late 13th century BCE. The goal of this season is to expose more of the structures to the south of the cultic enclosure found in previous seasons in Area B1. So far, the team has found more massive walls and lots of Late Bronze pottery. Given the possibility that Area A1 has exposed a large Late Bronze (fortification?!?!) wall on the eastern edge of the tel, it will be very interesting to see if this large wall continues all the way around to the west side in Area B3. Time will tel (pun intended!)
Area C – Located northeast of the tel. This area was excavated for a couple of seasons by Casey Sharp several years ago. The goal of this area was to understand some of the agricultural installations. We do not plan on excavating this area this season, but I have included it here for completion and reference to a new excavation area – Area J – that is even farther away from the tel (see below).
Area D – Located just below and north of Area B1 (and the breakfast area). This area was excavated only last season (2022) and named after its area supervisor – Debi Cassuto. The finds here are very important for our overall understanding of the size of Tel Burna during the Late Bronze Age, as these remains were actually found beyond the western platform and were well-dated to the 13th century BCE, just like in Areas B1 and B3 (and Area J see below).
Area G1 – Located on the southern edge of the summit of the tel. I (Chris McKinny) am the area supervisor of Area G (now G1). For the past two seasons, I have been assisted by Tiffany Okaluk. We are now in our fourth and, likely, final season of excavation in this area. Area G1 is named after the “gate,” that we hoped to find when we began excavating there in 2018. Thankfully, in that same season, it became clear that we did in fact have a gate which we eventually dated to the 8th century BCE. In the following seasons, we found massive amounts of architecture all across the area, but we had difficulty determining the exact date of specific walls and the overall plan and connection of the outer fortification wall to its opening. Last year, we determined that there were two gates on top of one another – one from the Iron IIB/8th century BCE and, another, from the late Iron IIA/9th century BCE. Our goal this year is to figure out the plan of this earlier gate and how it relates to the casemate fortress. So far, we are well on our way to understanding it, although a few things still remain unclear. For much of last week, we exposed paving stones of a “piazza” that existed in front of the 9th century BCE gate. Unfortunately, much of this pavement was not very well preserved and quite difficult to excavate (my team did a fantastic job!) The big “aha” moment came this week came we returned to the wall of the 8th century BCE gate where we had previously found evidence of an 8th century BCE destruction, that we assumed was associated with Senancherib’s campaign in 701 BCE. After all, Isaiah and the Book of Kings both indicate that Sennacherib came to Libnah after Lachish: “The Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king had left Lachish.” (Isaiah 37:8 NRSV)
We now have even more evidence of this destruction, as we found evidence of a broken iron spear or dagger point, and, more importantly, a well-preserved iron Assyrian arrowhead. While we cannot be absolutely certain, it seems logical to conclude that this arrow was shot by an Assyrian soldier at the Judahite defenders of the gate of Libnah. It’s always amazing to recapture these moments 2700 years later. I am also reminded that Isaiah told Hezekiah that Sennacherib would not shoot an arrow against Jerusalem. His army shot at least one at Libnah.
““Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city (Jerusalem) or shoot an arrow there or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it.” (Isaiah 37:33 NRSV)
Even more significantly, directly below this 8th century BCE layer, we found evidence for which we had long sought after – the western side of the 9th century BCE gate. The original wall and gate of the Iron II Tel Burna fortress is now much more clear now after the first week. This next week, we will hopefully make this even more clear and better define its eastern side.
Area G2 – Located just below Area G1 on a small terrace situated along the southern slopes of the tel. This is a new area excavation area that was opened this season. It is supervised by Charissa Wilson. The goal of this area is to determine the nature of occupation the lower slopes of Tel Burna. This area could be related to the Late Bronze city, an even earlier occupation, or in some way connected with the Iron Age fortifications above. So far, it is too early to determine – check back next week…
Area J – Located on the far southeastern extreme around 200 meters away from the tel. This new area is supervised by Jon Ross (after whom it is named), who is assisted by Benjamin Yang. In the surface survey of the site (back in 2009), Late Bronze sherds were found in this area. The goal of this excavation is to determine if there is actually a living area this far away form the tel or if the sherds result from erosion only. So far, Jon and his team have found a large quantity of sherds dating from the Chalcolithic, Early Bronze, (especially) Late Bronze, and Iron Ages. It is too soon to determine if there were structures in this vicinity. Tune in next week…
Below are some photos from throughout last week’s excavations:
The 2023 season is right around the corner and it is shaping to be our biggest team ever – we can’t wait to meet the team and, of course, discover many interesting things!
As an into to this coming season – Check out this video by Bruno Soltic from last season (nice job Bruno!)
See here for the announcement of BAS excavation scholarships. This is a great opportunity to get a scholarship for excavation. Of course – you are welcome to join us – see the application here.
We are saddened to hear of the passing of Ladislav Šmejda – a beloved friend and excellent colleague for many years at Tel Burna. May his memory be a blessing.
The Tel Burna Excavation Project 