No title

(

The

i'P

Biblical

ArchaeologistPublishedby The AmericanSchoolsof OrientalResearch 126InmanStreet, Cambridge,Mass. 02139

37 Volume37 Volume

Noj2.. No. .3

May, 1974

May, 1974

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

26

(Vol. 37,

The Biblical Archaeologist is published quarterly (March, May, September, December) by the American Schools of Oriental Research. Its purpose is to provide readable, non-technical, yet thoroughly reliable accounts of archaeological discoveries as they relate to the Bible. Authors wishing to submit unsolicited articles should write the editors for style and format instructions before submitting manuscripts. Editors: Edward F. Campbell, Jr. and H. Darrell Lance, with the assistance of Floyd V. Filson in New Testament matters. Editorial correspondence should be sent to the editors at 800 West Belden Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60614. Art Editor: Robert II. Johnston, Rochester Institute of Technology. Editorial Board: G. Ernest Wright, Harvard Uliversity; Frank M. Cross, Jr., Harvard University; William G. Dever, Jerusalem; John S. Holladay, Jr., University of Toronto. $5.00 per year, payable to the American Schools of Oriental Research, Subscriptions: 126 Inman Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139. Associate members of ASOB receive the BA automatically. Ten or more subscriptions for group use, mailed and billed to one address, $3.50 per year apiece. Subscriptions in England are available through B. H. Blackwell, Ltd., Broad Street, Oxford. Back Numbers: $1.50 per issue, 1960 to present: $1.75 per issue, 1950-59; $2.00 per issue before 1950. Please remit with order, to the ASOR office. The journal is indexed in Art Index, Index to Religious Periodical Literature, Christian Periodical Index, and at the end of every fifth volume of the journal itself. Second class postage PAID at Camhridee. Massachusetts and additional offices. Copyright by American Schools of Oriental Research, 1974 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, BY rRANSCRIPT PRINTING COMPANY PETERBOROUGH, N. H.

Contents Tel Dan, by Avram Biran ......................................................26 Publication

Announcements

52

....................................................

Cover: The head of a female figurine of the Israelite period from Dan.

Tel Dan AVRAM Israel Department

BIRAN

of Antiquities

and Museums,

Jerusalem

"When the territory of the Danites was lost to them, they went up and fought against Leshem and . . . they captured it and settled in it, renaming Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor." Thus briefly does Joshua 19:47 refer to the conquest of Leshem (Laish) by the tribe of Dan and the settlement of the tribe in the north of the country. A much more detailed account of the migration of the tribe appears in Judges 18, an account which A. Malamat relates to the story of the Exodus and the Israelite conquest of Canaan. What was the nature of the city of Laish? The biblical account is silent, but it must have been a city of some importance, for it is mentioned in the Egyptian Execration Texts, as well as in the records of Thutmose III. From the recently discovered documents at Mari we also know that tin was exported to Laish, probably for the manufacture of bronze objects. Dan as a place name appears in the Bible in Genesis 14:14: "When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken prisoner, he led forth his retainers ... and went in pursuit as far as Dan." However, in the days of

1974, 2)

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

27

Abraham the name of the city was Laish; and it should be assumed that originally this name appealed in Genesis 14:14, and that a latter-day redactor, realizing that the name Laish was unknown, probably changed it to Dan. Dan is mentioned many times elsewhere in the Bible and the phrase "from Dan to Beersheba" became the accepted geographic formula in ancient Israel. Dan became a cult center in the days of Jeroboam: "So the king ... made two calves of gold. .... And one he set in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. And this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one, as far as Dan" (I Kings 12:28-30). The city must have been of some military and administrative importance since Ben-Hadad of Damascus thought it necessary to attack it: "And Ben-Hadad ... sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all Chinneroth" (I Kings 15:20). The identification of Dan-Laish with Tel Dan (Tell el-Qadi), situated at the foot of Mt. Hermon and on one of the main sources of the river Jordan, has long been established. It is a fifty-acre site with steep slopes and an unusual shape. Instead of the usual flat top found on most mounds, the upper surface of Tel Dan is concave - it slopes inward like a bowl. This peculiar shape gave rise to the speculation that the mound might be an extinct volcano. An archaeological excavation was necessary to provide an explanation. Moreover, only an archaeological excavation could verify whether the site was inhabited during the second and first millennia B.C., when Dan-Laish appears in written records. The Excavation

The excavation at the site by the Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums were begun in 1966 as a rescue or salvage operation. The "Friends of Antiquities" (a country-wide volunteer organization serving as the eyes and ears of the Department) reported the discovery of pottery and artifacts at Tel Dan in the course of the digging of trenches. It was then decided that an attempt should be made to obtain a stratigraphic sequence of the occupation of the mound. Members of the nearby Kibbutz Dan also urged us to begin the excavations in order to determine whether identification of the mound with Dan was correct. The excavations, begun in 1966 and continued in following years, revealed massive fortifications of the Canaanite and Israelite periods. It was established that the city was founded in the Early Bronze age in the middle of the third millennium B.C., but the EB layers were reached in only one small area. Consequently little can be said about this earliest city. The abundance of EB pottery found during the excavations and its range indicate that the town must have been fairly large and quite pros-

28

Fig.

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

(Vol. 37,

1. Trench in the southern slope of Tel Dan, showing the stone core and the ramparts of the period of the Patriarchs. In the foreground on the right is part of the Israelite city gate.

perous. This is scarcely surprising, since it was located near a perennial spring in a fertile valley and on the highway between Damascus and the coast. If our information on the EB period is scanty, this is not the case with the Middle Bronze age which spans the first half of the second millennium B.C. Albright had already suggested in 1935 that the mound of Tel Dan is a typical Hyksos site similar to Hazor and others. He did not mention having found any MB pottery, but such was Albright's foresight that, some thirty years later, archaeological evidence confirmed his

1974, 2) ?--..I--.

Fig.

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

29

2. Battered stone rampart in Area Y of Tel Dan.

thesis and incidentally, confirmed the reference in Genesis 14:14 to Dan (Laish). It is not our intention to discuss here the date of the Patriarchs or that of the Hyksos, but it is generally agreed that theirs is the Middle Bronze age.

30

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

(Vol. 37,

The Middle Bronze Age Ramparts

The excavations on the southern slope of the mound (Area A) revealed a construction of sloping ramparts with a stone structure 6.50 m. (nearly 22 feet) wide serving as a core (Fig. 1). The material used for the exterior of the rampart was amassed from the debris of previous settlements on the site, from the EB and MB II ages. The builders of the ramparts, however, (lid not raze all the occupation remains and we found undisturbed strata from these periods at the lowest levels of the excavations. On the inner side of the core, natural alluvial earth from the surrounding valleys was used for constructing the ramparts which sloped towards the center of the mound. A number of jar-burials of the end of the MB IIB an(d MB IIC ages (1750-1550 B.C.) were found in the excavation of this inner slope.

Fig.

3. A "duck-bill" axe of the 19th century at Tel Dan; it is just over four inches long (10.5 cm.).

In Area Y, on the eastern slope of the mound, the builders of the rampart found the stone structure that was uncovered in ,the course of our excavation, and whose original use remains unknown (Fig. 2). The people of the Middle Bronze IIA age placed jars, bowls and bronze objects (burials or offerings?) on and inside the stone structure (Fig. 3). Most, if not all, of the MB II sherds found in the earth layers of the rampart belong to MB IIA. This means that the earth used for the construction of the rampart was taken from the ruins of the MB IIA settlement. However, the existing battered stone structure which the builders of the rampart used as a core for their fortification was not high enough for them. Additional height was obtained by building a stone platform on top of the existing core, and erecting on this platform a brick wall 1.80 m. (six feet) high and 3.50 m. (nearly twelve feet) wide, with a revetment of unhewn stones (Fig. 4). The revetment appears to have existed on both sides of the wall. The stone and brick structure served as a core to support the layers of earth forming the rampart. Towards the inside, there were alternate layers of settlement debris and riverbed soil. Towards the outside only riverbed soil and alluvial earth were used.

1974, 2)

Fig,

4. Section through the brick construction on top of the battered stone rampart in Area Note the "batter" on the brick also. I mom_g

Fig.

31

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

|

WRWM_

1;

IM

W M

~'

Im N

4'_

5. Jar burial of the period 1750-1700 B.C., found within the earthen rampart in Area B, The scale at the top is twenty centimeters, or about eight inches, long.

32

Fig.

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

(Vol. 37,

6. Tomb of the LB II period, in use between about 1350 and 1250, containing the skeletal remains of some 45 persons together with Mycenean and locally-made grave gifts.

1974, 2)

Fig.

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

33

7. Some of the fine objects from the rich "Mycenean" tomb at Dan. At top, pottery, basalt and bronze objects; at lower left, the unique charioteer vase; at lower right, a bronze bowl with an animal-shaped handle and a bronze lamp; at bottom, two ivory cosmetic boxes.

34

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

(Vol. 37,

The information obtained from the excavationis bf the ramparts to the south and east enable us to conclude that the rampart was built in the Middle Bronze age IIB, in the second half of the 18th century B.C. These results, together with the archaeological data obtained in the other areas of excavation - a definite MB II level with cooking pots, jars, jugs, - indicate that at a time when Laish juglets as well as burials (Fig. 5) is mentioned in Genesis 14:14, in the Execration Texts, and in Mari, there was indeed an important city at our site. ,Sufficientarchaeological evidence of the Late Bronze age was brought to light to confirm also the reference to Laish in the records of Thutmose III. Of special interest is the discovery of a very rich tomb, of the Late Bronze II period, perhaps the tomb of a noble or prince or of a Mycenean trader. This tomb, built of rough basalt stones, was dug into the earthen inner rampart (Fig. 6). The floor is paved with flat stone slabs and measures 2.40 by 2.20 m. (about eight by seven feet), while the walls, which were built at an incline of 32 degrees, are 2.40 m. (eight feet) high. Entrance was from above. In the tomb, remains of forty-five skeletons of men, women, and children, were found in a state of utter disorder. It seems that the skeletons and funerary offerings were periodically pushed aside to make room for additional offerings and interments. The grave gifts include imported Mycenean wares such as pyxides, amphorae, juglets, flasks and a unique charioteer vase, as well as bronze objects such as bowls, oil lamps, swords and arrowheads, ivory cosmetic boxes, and alabaster jug, gold and silver jewelry (see Figs. 7 and 8). A large number of locally made vessels, stone implements and pottery imported from Cyprus complete the repertoire in the tomb. On the ceramic evidence it appears the tomb was used for a generation or two from the mid-14th century to the second half of the 13th century B.C. Before proceeding, one remark should be made. No archaeological evidence has so far been discovered for a settlement outside the ramparts during either the Middle Bronze or the Late Bronze ages. It appears that the people chose to live within the ramparts, which provided maximum security and seemed impregnable. The five Danite spies report that the people who lived there "dwelt in security ... quiet and unsuspecting" (udges 18:7). This false sense of security may have contributed to the conquest of Laish by the tribe of Dan. The Iron Age (Israelite

Period)

The date of the conquest of Laish by the Danites has long engaged the attention of biblical scholars. I do not propose to enter this discussion here. The opinions of scholars may be found in the various commentaries to Joshua and Judges. Here we would like to present the archaeological

1974, 2)

Fig.

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

35

8. More objects from Tel Dan's Mycencan tomb: top left, an ivory cosmetic box and lid; lower left, an alabaster jar; right, gold jewelry.

evidence brought to light by the excavations up to the time of writing. This reservation is necessary, for much too often sweeping llistorical conclusions are based on too little evidence. In our own excavations, for example, Philistine pottery in situ was discovered only last year! In the areas excavated so far, no evidence has been found at Dan of a terrible conflagration at the end of the LB age, as has been found at sites such as Hazor, some twenty-five kilometers (fifteen miles) away, or at Bethel in the south. There is some evidence of destruction at Dan, and our first occupation level of the Iron age (Stratum VI) was built over the walls of the Late Bronze age buildings. In this stratum appears pottery of the Iron I age, the closest parallel for which is to be found at Hazor XII. At Dan there is yet another Iron I level: in Stratum V we uncovered building remains and an abundance of pottery. This stratum was destroyed in a great conflagration, and in the debris we found a large collection of pottery - jars (Fig. 9), jugs, juglets, cooking pots, etc. - which belong to Iron I. Along with the vessels typical of Iron I this collection contained a relatively large number of store-jars known as "collar rim" jars. It is generally agreed that these jars come to an end about the middle of the 11th century B.C., though here and there a few continued to be made.

36

Fig.

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

(Vol. 37,

9. Reconstructed jar from Area B at Dan, from the first half of the 11th century B.C.

It is interesting to note that archaeological excavations have revealed levels of destruction in many sites in the country around the middle of the 11th century. I do not suggest that they were all the result of a single historical event, but the fact is significant. Now, if, as I believe, Dan V comes to an end in the middle of the 11th century, and certainly during the second half of that century, can we determine the date of its beginning? This is extremely difficult, especially since the material culture of Dan V is not unlike that of Dan IV and it may well be necessary to consider both as one stratum with a number of phases. Thus, in one of the areas dug at Dan, we could distinguish between more than one level in which the same repertoire appears. As already stated, the area excavated was very limited. Still, one can safely assume that the existence of the Iron I strata indicates a life span of three or four generations. Since the archaeological material does not seem to indicate a big gap between the Late Bronze and Iron ages, one is drawn to the conclusion that the people whose material culture is represented by our pottery settled in Tel Dan sometime in the 12th century B.C. Their city came to an end in the middle of the 11th century. A comparison with Hazor may be pertinent. The Iron I age at Hazor is represented by levels XII-XI. Level XII, which follows the total destruction of the Late Bronze culture, is charac-

1974, 2)

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

37

terized by numerous pits. One of these was found with its field-stone lining intact. Now at Dan we were aware of pits in Area Y and possibly in Area B. An interesting discovery was made in Area Y, where a stonelined pit contained Iron I age pottery and Philistine sherds (Fig. 10). That this pottery belongs to the 12th century will, I think, not be disputed. The difficulty is in dating it more precisely, but a date for tlis assemblage in the middle of the 12th century is suggested.

Fig.

10. Philistine painted sherd showing the distinctive bird motif, from Area Y at Dan.

So much for the archaeological evidence. We are now in a position to return to the biblical account and to its historical application. Verses 30 and 31 in Judges 18 are crucial: "And the Danites set up the idol; and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land. And they set up Micah's idol, which he made, all the time that the house of God was at Shiloh." These verses are crucial, for we have here clear chronological limits. The upper limit is represented by Jonathan, grandson of Moses, i.e. the second generation after the Israelite conquest. The exact date is, of course, difficult to determine; but it is safe to assume a date in the first half of the 12th century B.C. Now, although Dan existed till the captivity, i.e. till the Assyrian conquest, Micah's idol lasted "all the time that the house of God was Shiloh," i.e. only until the middle of the 11th century B.C. If we interpret the biblical account correctly, it would appear that the Danite migration and conquest of Laish happened during the first

38

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

(Vol. 37,

half of the 12th century. A city was founded which was destroyed at the same time that Shiloh was destroyed. The archaeological evidence at Tel Dan shows the following picture: after the Late Bronze age there is a definite change in the material culture, which ushers in the Iron age. Whether this took place in the late 13th or in the early 12th century is difficult to say. Certainly by the 12th century it is fully developed and it flourished till the destruction of Stratum V, about the middle of the 1 th century. Who were these people? Archaeology does not provide any clues. Were they Canaanites, Sidonians or Israelites? There is no sure answer. The material culture at Dan is similar to Hazor XII and XI. If the abundance of collar-rim jars is considered to be a distinctive element of Israelite settlement, then there is additional support for the conclusion that, in the Iron I period, Tel Dan was settled by Israelites. One more fact should be mentioned. Judges 1:34 says: "And the Amorites forced the Danites into the mountain - for they did not allow them to come down to the valley." If our reading of Judges 18 and of the archaeological evidence is correct, then the reference to the Amorites indicates that the Amorites exerted pressure on the tribe of Dan, which had difficulties establishing itself around Zorah and Eshtaol. Perhaps the tribe was too numerous, or Philistine incursions may have made settlement difficult.

Fig.

11. Characteristic Israelite masonry from the High Place at Dan.

1974, 2)

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

Fig. 12. Alternating "header,and-stretcher" masonry wall in the Israelite High Place at Dan.

39

40

BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGISTT ARCHAEOLOGIST THE BZIBLICAL

(Vol. 37, (Vol.

Can the Philistine pottery found at Dan help us to a more exact date? At the moment it is doubtful. But if the Philistines established themselves in the central area of the country in the first quarter of the 12th century, their pottery can well appear at Dan not much later. Further excavation and discoveries may help clarify the matter.

Fig. 13. Monumental flight of steps leading up to the High Place at Dan. The Barmh or High Place

In 1968 a large structure of the Israelite period was uncovered on the north-western part of the mound (Area T). The fine masonry, laid in headers and stretchers, resembles the monumental Israelite constructions found in Samaria and Megiddo. Subsequent excavations led us to the conclusion that we have here a bamah, or High Place, possibly an open air sanctuary. In the center of the excavated area an almost square structure was revealed, measuring 18.2 by 18.7 m. (roughly 60 by 62 feet) the outer walls of which were of dressed limestone (Fig. 11) with the exception of the northern side which was built in part of large basalt blocks. The width of the walls varied between 1.5 m. and 2.3 m. (five and seven - the lower two courses were of feet). The building method was uniform headers while the upper courses were laid in alternating headers and stretchers (Fig. 12). All the stones were dressed in the style characteristic of the period of the Israelite monarchy. The space enclosed by the four walls was filled with basalt stones, forming a wide, flat platform.

1974, 2)

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

41

Fig. 14. Seven-spouted clay oil-lamp of the time of king Ahab, in the mid-9th century. It is approximately at size.

On the southern edge of the bamah, facing the town, a monumental flight of steps eight meters, or twenty-seven feet, wide was uncovered, built directly against the outer wall of the bamah (Fig. 13); this stairway is in part superimposed over the earlier masonry. Pottery collected from the steps points to a date in the mid-9th century B.C. A number of soundings carried out on the bamah, as well as remains of an earlier flight of steps apparently built before the construction of

42 42

THE BIBLICAL BIBLiCAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

37, (Vol. 37, (Vol.

Fig. 15. Marble statue of Aphrodite found in the fields near Tel Dan, probably belonging to the last periods of use of the Dan High Place.

1974, 2)

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

43

the ramparts, indicate that some structure, perhaps bf a cult nature, existed here already in the Middle Bronze II age. In the Israelite period, the bamah had two stages. The first stage may be correlated with the reign of JeroboamnI: "And he made houses on high places, and appointed priests of the lowest of the people, who were not of the Ievites," (I Kings 12:31). A burnt layer, which covered the lower ashlars, contained pottery of the 10th century B.C. The area of the first Israelite bamah is tentatively estimated to be 6 by 18.4 m. (twenty by sixty-one feet). Of tle second stage, the four corners of the bamah were preserved in addition to the square platform. No evidence of the destruction of this bamlah could be traced. The monumental steps belong to the second stage in the building of the bamah. A sounding under the steps revealed pottery from the mid-9th century B.C. Thus, this second stage could be attributed to Ahab, who defeated the Aramcans in the battle of Aphek: "And Ben-Hadad said to him, 'The cities which my father took from your father, I will restore; and you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus ...' " (I Kings 20:34). It should be assumed that in order to strengthen his lines of communcations with Damascus, Ahab had to fortify Dan as well (I Kings 22:39). No doubt Ahab also devoted hlimself to the worship of tile golden calf: "And Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him" (I Kings 16:33). To that period (Iron II) belong the head of a female clay figure (cover) and seven-spouted oil lamps (Fig. 14). In the 8th and 7th centuries B.C., perhaps after the Assyrian conquest, there was extensive rebuilding, and walls and structures were erected. The cult tradition was not forgotten in the following centuries, or even as late as the Hellenistic and Roman periods, wlien the area of the bamah was further enlarged by extending the enclosure. The marble statue of Aphrodite found in the fields near the mound (Fig. 15) may well have been located originally at the site of our bamah. The City Gate

When in 1966 a flagstone floor appeared at the foot of the mound there was no indication that this was part of the city gate and the town's fortifications. Only gradually, and after several seasons, did the complete complex of an outer and inner gate, stone paved square, stone paved road and massive city wall emerge (Fig. 16). The inner gate complex, built of large basalt stones, is 29.50 cm. (about 97 feet) long and has a span of 17.80 m. (about 50 feet). It consists of two towers and four guard rooms. From the threshold, which is 4 m. (13 feet) wide, a paved street leads westward into the city (Fig. 17) and then turns northward on a 28 degree incline towards the top of the mound.

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

44

'~'..d~

...

(Vol. 37,

......

Fig. 16. Plan of the city-gate complex of the Israelite period at Dan. The outer gate is at the right, the main gate at center; facing the outer gate and built against the east face of the

main

gate

is the

stone

installation

which

may be

a throne-base

or judgment-seat.

Fig. 17. The threshold of the main gate at Dan, with the segment of the paved street leading westward into the city; at the top of the picture, it turns right (north).

1974, 2)

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

45

Fig. 18. Bench at the right of the entrance to the main gate at Dan, where quite possibly the elders of the town sat for judgment.

Near the entrance to the gate, an unusual structure and bench (Fig. 18) were uncovered. The bench, which is built of ashlar stones, is 4.50 m. (15 feet) long and is located along the outer wall of the north-eastern gate-tower. It is possible that on such a bench sat the elders of Israel. When the Psalmist (Ps. 69:12) speaks of those "that sit in the gate", he may well have referred to those sitting on a bench similar to the one discovered at Tel Dan. Perhaps Lot sat on such a bench when he sat in the gate of Sodom (Gen. 19:1). A detailed description is found in Ruth 4:1: "Then Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there and behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz had spoken came by; and he said to him ... sit down here and he ... sat down." In the following verse of the story, ten elders also take their seats in the gate. The structure located near the bench is a remarkable one. It is built of ashlars and originally had at its four corners small columns with decorated capitals or bases (Figs. 19, 20). Three of these were found (two in situ). The columns may have supported a canopy which covered the structure. The use of this structure could not be determined archaeologically, but it is possible that it served as a base for a throne. The Bible refers to thrones at the city gate: "And the king of Israel and Jehoshopat, the king of Judah, sat each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, ... at the entrance of the gate of Samaria" (I Kings 22:10). The

46

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

(Vol. 37,

Fig. 19. The ashlar stone structure to the right of the main threshold at the Dan city gate.

Fig. 20. Ornamental column capital or base next to the stone structure at the city gate.

1974, 2)

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

47

reference in II Samuel 19:8 surely must refer to some special structure where David sat and where the people could see him: "Then the king arose, and took his seat in the gate. And the people were all told, 'Behold, the king is sitting in the gate.' And all the people came before the king." It is, of course, not to be excluded that the structure in the gate at Dan may have served as a base for the statue of a god. The reference to Josiah's actions in II Kings 23:8 may be quoted here: "And lie broke down the high places of the gates that were in the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city." However, these high places were "on a man's left hand at the gate of the city." At Dan, the structure is on the right.

Fig. 21. The outer city gate at Dan, showing the threshold. To the right is the northern pier of the outer gate.

The location of the limestone structure and the bench was puzzling. While they formed part of the city-gate complex and were protected, so it seemed, by the city wall on the north, they were outside the gate and thus exposed to attack. The stone pavement continued eastward and that too, was puzzling. The answer to the puzzle became clear when in 1971 an outer city-gate was discovered (Fig. 16, at right). The threshold of this gate is 3.70 m. (12 feet) wide and consists of a door-stop (ust as in the inner gate) flanked by two large blocks of basalt (Fig. 21). The two sockets in which the doorposts turned were also found. The northern pier of the outer gate, built of fine ashlar, and a bench were uncovered.

48

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

(Vol. 37,

Of the southern pier only the basalt foundations and one ashlar beneath an 8th century B.C. wall could be recovered, because a Roman drainage pipe and manhole had destroyed the earlier remains. The city wall, which adjoins the north pier and runs east-west, is 4 m. (13 feet) wide, massively built of large basalt stones, and rises at present 3.5 m. (12 feet) above the pavement. Some 85 feet of this wall have been excavated. Between the two gates the stone pavement widens into a "piazza" 19.5 by 9.4 m. (about 67 by 31 feet), which is protected on the north by the city wall and on the east by the outer gate. Much of the construction on the southern side has disappeared, but there is sufficient archaeological evidence to assume that a massive wall enclosed the "piazza" on the south. To the west, of course, lay the inner gate. Thus an enclosed, well protected, paved square was obtained. In such a square the elders or kings could sit on the bench and beneath the canopy described above. Indeed, Tel Dan provides an excellent illustration not only for the biblical expression "sat in the gate" but also for the expression "in the square at the gate of the city." "And he (Hezekiah) set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together in the square at the gate of the city" (II Chron. 32:6), is surely a reference to the protected square within the walls of the city. Judges 19:15 similarly refers to such a square. That our supposition is correct may be seen from the following verse which concerns Gibeah (Judges 19:16-17): "And, behold, there came an old man from his work in the field ... and he saw the wayfarer in the open square of the city." Coming from the fields the old man would enter through the city gate. Whether there were one or two gates at Gibeah we do not know. At Dan, at any rate, a person entering the city would pass through the outer gate onto the stone pavement and would face the structure to the right of the inner gate. Going through the inner gate and the guard rooms he would continue on the stone pavement to the top of the mound. Walls and additional stone pavements, remains of yet another gate, ashlars and piers, indicate that the end of the pavement has not been reached, but further excavations are necessary to determine the exact meaning of these remains. When was the gate built? It was established during the excavations that the gate was built at the foot of the Middle Bronze age rampart. In order to obtain a level surface on the slope of the rampart for the construction of the gate, with its rooms and the square in front of it, extensive filling work was required. In the fill were found pottery fragments - the Early and belonging to the early settlement periods of the site of a building which I Remains Middle Bronze ages and the Iron period. can be said at present is lies beneath the gate were also found. All that

1974, 2)

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

49

that this building was built after the rampart and before the city gate. Perhaps it was a tower which formed part of the fortification system after the Middle Bronze II age. The Iron age sherds (12th-10th cents. B.C.) confirm our assumption that the gate complex and its pavement were built at the end of the 10th century. If our assumption is correct, then the building of the gate and the walls should be attributed to Jeroboam I.

Fig. 22. Some of the 300 juglets found in a ruined room of an 8th century building lying atop the city gate at Dan.

The city gate was destroyed in an extensive conflagration, as evidenced by the burnt debris of red brick and plaster on the floor of the rooms and the pavement. Ashes, burnt bones and soot were heaped on the cracked pavement. The pottery evidence (cooking pots, juglets, bowls) indicates that the destruction took place in the 9th century. However, it is difficult to narrow down the date further. If a date in the first half of the 9th century could be confirmed, then the destruction could be attributed to Ben-Hadad of Damascus, about 855 B.C. "So, Ben-Hadad ... sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, Dan ..." (I Kings 15:20). If this assumption is correct, then of course the construction of the city gate and fortifications was undertaken by Jeroboam I. In favor of this theory is the fact that Jeroboam was "... able ... industrious... in charge of the labor-gangs of the house of Joseph" (I Kings 11:28). He built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST'

50

(Vol. 37,

as well as Penuel (I Kings 12:25). Jeroboam, who made Dan a religious center, would certainly also strengthen its defenses. However, the possibility that the city gate and strong dlefenscs of Dan were the results of Ahab's building activities, so well known from the excavations of Hazor antd Megiddo, should not be excluded. If such be tile case, tllen the destruction revealed during our excavations woulld be related to the terrible

destruction discerned at Hazor in StratlumlVII and attributed there to Hazael in 814 B.C.

Fig. 23. Eighth-century inscribed sherd from Dan with the letters l-'-m-.y meaning "belonging to Amots (or Amatsiah)."

Remains of a later building were uncovered atop the ruins of the city gate. In one of the rooms or store-rooms, some 300 juglets of tile

mid-8th century were found (Fig. 22). Among the finds is a Hebrew inscription "(belonging) to Amotz" or "Amatziah" (Fig. 23). The destruction of these buildings can be attributed to the Assyrian conquest in 732 B.C.

The last pllase of occupation of the Israelite period was found in two areas (B and H). Remains of houses witIh floors and pottery were uncovered. Among the finds is a Plioenician inscription (lb'lplt) "Belonging to Ba'al-pelet" (Fig. 24) dated to tile late 7th cenltury or early 6th century

1974, 2)

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

51

Fig. 24. Phoenician inscription from about 600 B.C., reading "belonging to Ba'al-pelet."

B.C. The references to Dan by the prophet Jeremiah ("For a voice declares from Dan" ... [Jer. 4:15]; "The snorting of his horses was heard ,from Dan" ... [Jer. 8:16]) are thus not to be construed as figures of speech but as references to a real city that existed at the end of the First Temple period and that would be overrun by the enemy coming from the north.

52

THE BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST

(Vol. 37,

Publication Announcements Biibliography of Holy Land Sites, an invaluable listing of publications on the archaeology of over 200 sites, is being offered for sale through tlhe ASOR offices at a cost of $4.00. A word about this compilation; it is the work of a great lady, Mrs. Eleanor K. Vogel, who for more than 30 years served as Nelson Glueck's archaeological research assistant. It first appeared as a part of the 1971 Hebrew Union College Annual, dedicated to Dr. Glueck's memory. Now it has been reprinted as a separate booklet of 96 pages, and it is the handiest reference tool for finding news about biblical sites and their archaeology one can possibly imagine. In the future every effort should be, and will be, made to keep it up to date. You can order copies direct from the office of ASOR, whose address is on our cover. Paul W. Lapp's Palestinian Ceramic Chronology 200 B.C. - A.D. 70, published by ASOR in 1961, is still available; it continues to be the authoritative ceramic guide to the period it covers. The supply of this volume now is with Mrs. Nancy R. Lapp; orders for copies are to be sent to Mrs. Lapp at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, 616 N. Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15206. The cost, post-paid, is $8.00. #

**

*

#

*

Forthcoming by mid-summer: W. F. Albright's first book, entitled The Archaeology of Palestine and the Bible. Dr. Albright published this book of popular lectures in 1932, and prepared a second edition in 1935. It is the latter edition, with some current updating via footnotes, which ASOR will republish. Watch our future issues for specific announcement of the how's and when's of obtaining this re-issue of a classic.