Pottery

This is the only type of artifact in this list that does not carry its own date. Have you ever wondered how an archaeologist can pick up a seemingly nondescript potsherd (sherds are pieces of broken pottery, as opposed to shards, which are glass) and tell you the date? Here is how the process of dating pottery works. Imagine that we are excavating a multiperiod site with three main occupation levels (strata), one above the other. In the lowest (earliest) stratum, we find a certain type of bowl with red-painted decoration. In the next stratum above (the middle level), we find a different type of bowl with rounded walls and a flat base. In the uppermost (latest) stratum, we find another type of bowl covered with a black glaze. We can now establish the following relative typology (that is, a relative sequence of types): the bowl with the red-painted decoration is the earliest type; the bowl with rounded walls and a flat base is the middle type (in date); and the bowl with the black glaze is the latest type. In other words, we can construct a relative sequence of types in which one type is the earliest (relatively speaking), another is in the middle, and another is the latest. We determine the absolute dates of these pottery types based on their association with dated objects. For example, if we find coins minted by the Roman emperor Tiberius together with (in the same stratum as) the bowl with the red-painted decoration, we can assume that this type of bowl dates to the first century C. E. If, in the future, we find that same type at the next site down the road, we will know its date.

Dating pottery in this way is a complex process that is done by specialists. Not only do pottery types change over time, but they also vary among geographical regions. For example, when I was working on my dissertation, I found that the pottery types characteristic of Jerusalem and Judea in the fourth to seventh centuries C. E. are completely different from those found in Galilee. In addition, certain pottery types are better chronological indicators than others (that is, certain types can be dated more precisely). The best types for dating purposes are fine wares and oil lamps, as they tend to change in form and decoration fairly quickly. Fine wares are the dishes that were used for dining — that is, they are table wares such as cups, plates, and bowls. Fine wares and oil lamps are often decorated, whereas utilitarian vessels such as storage jars and cooking pots tend to be plain and are more difficult to date precisely. We refer to plain, undecorated vessels as coarse wares. Because of their utilitarian nature, storage jars and cooking pots usually display only minor changes in shape over long periods. For these reasons, pottery typologies must be constructed for different sites in different geographical regions and for every period and every vessel type. This has to be done on the basis of carefully excavated, multiperiod sites that provide sequences of levels and associated pottery types. There are still huge spans of time and space for which we lack ceramic typologies. Ironically, the biggest gaps in Palestine are the most recent periods (Islamic to Ottoman), which have received less attention from archaeologists than earlier periods.

Sometimes people wonder how ceramics specialists can tell different types apart. After all, couldn't the same types have been imitated in later periods, as were architectural styles? In fact, this is not true of pottery. The combination of shapes, clays, firing processes, and decorative techniques yielded a unique product. This means that even if a shape was duplicated in a later period (and this rarely happened), the combination of different clays, firing processes, and decorative techniques yielded a visibly different product. For example, even a nonspecialist can distinguish between modern imitations of Greek black-figured vases, such as those offered for sale to tourists in shops in Athens' Plaka, and the original masterpieces displayed in museums.

Why do archaeologists go to so much trouble to date pottery? Why not rely on other methods of dating? The reason is simple: pottery is ubiquitous at archaeological sites in the Mediterranean and Near East. In antiquity, everyone owned and used pottery. Wealthy people might have owned fine imported wares, whereas poorer people had only the cheap knockoffs from the local potter. However, every household was equipped with pottery vessels. Furthermore, once that pot was fired in the kiln, it might break into pieces but it would not disintegrate. This means that an archaeologist might excavate a structure that yielded no organic materials (for radiocarbon dating), no coins, no inscriptions or written materials, and about which no historical sources provide information. But if archaeologists find nothing else, we know that we will find potsherds — and lots of them — at ancient sites in Palestine. If we can date the pottery, we can date the levels and remains we are excavating.

Pottery can be dated using scientific techniques such as thermoluminesence (which can give the approximate date of the last firing), although these have not been widely employed because of their cost and difficulty. A new technique for dating pottery, called rehydroxylation, is more promising, as it is less expensive and yields relatively precise dates. Rehydroxylation works by measuring the hydroxyl groups (OH) in pottery, which are molecules in clay that react with environmental moisture (H2O). The process of firing a ceramic pot in a kiln dehydrates the clay. From that point on, the pot reacts with water vapor in the atmosphere and begins to form hydroxyl groups. Rehydroxylation dates pottery by measuring the hydroxyl groups, taking into account environmental factors such as changes in temperature over time. This technique has not yet been employed on pottery from Palestine, but presumably this will change in the future.

Archaeology and Indiana Jones

Although films such as the Indiana Jones series have succeeded in thrusting archaeology into the public spotlight, they have also created a highly romanticized and grossly inaccurate image of the discipline. Often, when I tell people that I am an archaeologist, they ask, “What is the best thing you've ever found?" I am always at a loss to answer this question (which is asked in innocence), because it stems from the popular misconception of archaeologists as treasure hunters. Archaeologists are scientists; whatever we find is not our personal property but belongs to (and usually must remain in) the host country. Archaeologists seek to understand the past by studying human material remains through the process of excavation and publication, as described earlier. For this reason, professional archaeologists do not search for objects or treasures such as Noah's Ark, the Ark of the Covenant, or the Holy Grail. Usually these sorts of expeditions are led by amateurs (nonspecialists) or academics who are not archaeologists. Therefore, I have no good answer to the question, “What is the best thing you've ever found?" — because there is no single “thing." Archaeology is a process, a journey of discovery.

The archaeological endeavor involves piecing together all available information, not just one artifact taken out of context. Context is the reason that archaeologists go to so much trouble to document the provenance of every feature and artifact dug up on an excavation. Archaeologists oppose the sale of undocumented artifacts on the antiquities market because they come from illegal excavations, meaning these artifacts were removed without scientific excavation and documentation. Without context, most of the information about an artifact is irretrievably lost. Take, for example, a Roman statue, displayed in a museum, that was purchased on the antiquities market but lacks documentation of its origin (provenance). Based on its style, art historians might be able to estimate the rough date of the statue. Had the statue been properly excavated and documented, the context would have provided a secure and more accurate date for the statue. Scientific excavation could provide other information,

Such as the statue's original use — was it set up as decoration in a private house or garden, or was it a cultic object in a sanctuary? Not only was all this information lost when the statue was ripped from its context by looters, but the illegal excavations also destroyed the area around the statue and other parts of the site.

Illegal excavations and looting destroy evidence of a world heritage that belongs to all of us. Archaeologists seek to illuminate the past through scientific excavation and publication, thereby preserving and making this heritage accessible to everyone.

Setting the Stage

To set the stage for the rest of this book, the next chapter presents a brief overview of the Bronze Age and Iron Age — that is, the Canaanite and Israelite periods. We focus especially on Jerusalem, to which much attention is devoted throughout the book. The remaining chapters cover the period from 586 B. C.E. to 640 C. E. In 586 B. C.E. the kingdom of Judah fell to the Babylonians, Jerusalem and Solomon's temple (the first temple) were destroyed, and the Judahite elite were exiled to Babylonia. Sixty years later the Persian king Cyrus allowed the exiles to return to Judea and rebuild the Jerusalem temple, ushering in the beginning of the Second Temple period. By the late Second Temple period (first century B. C.E.—first century C. E.), ancient Palestine (= modern Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian territories) had come under Roman rule and its population was divided along religious, ethnic, economic, class, and sectarian lines. Seventy years after the death of King Herod the Great and about forty years after Jesus' death, a Jewish revolt against Rome erupted, culminating in 70 C. E. with the destruction of Jerusalem and the second temple. A second Jewish revolt against Rome led by a messianic figure known as Bar-Kokhba ended disastrously in 135 C. E. The centuries that followed witnessed the rise of Christianity and the transformation of Judaism from a religion centered on a temple with a sacrificial cult led by priests to the rabbinic Judaism of today, characterized by congregational prayer and worship in synagogues. Our story ends in 640 C. E., when Caesarea Maritima — the last major city in Palestine still under Byzantine control — fell to the Muslims after a seven-month-long siege. A brief epilogue examines the transition to early Islamic rule.

The material in this book is presented in chronological order, divided into successive periods. Each period begins with a historical summary, followed by a presentation of the major archaeological sites and monuments, and descriptions of various categories of artifacts (mainly pottery, oil lamps, and coins). Some chapters are thematic, focusing on topics such as the site of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient Jewish tombs and burial customs, and ancient synagogues.