Aphek Antipatris II: The Remains on the Acropolis (Mosche Kochavi Excavations)

In 1972, and for twelve seasons thereafter, the late Moshe Kochavi directed the excavation of Tel Aphek-Antipatris together with the late Pirhiya Beck who was responsible for pottery registration and analysis. To our great regret and deep sorrow neither lived to see the final publication of the fruits of their labours.However, in his last year Moshe participated actively in the preparation of this volume, writing the first and closing chapters and carefully checking the others. Throughout his distinguished academic career'Kuchbi'trained a generation of young archaeologists who followed his scholarly approach of combining field archaeology with historico-geographic research. This was put into practice as part of the Aphek research project which included a regional archaeological survey and the excavation of nearby >Izbet êarta. We were privileged to benefit from his guidance and are grateful for his unfailing patience and willingness to share his knowledge and experience with us at all times. A special vote of appreciation goes to the late Professor Pirhiya Beck who was an inspiration to her colleagues and students. Her attitude to the study of ancient pottery laid the foundation for our research into the ceramic m terial retrieved from the excavations. The field project was set up under the aegis of the Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University as an educational project combining studies through lectures and fieldwork. Over the years the Tel Aviv University team was joined by a number of foreign academic institutions each of which participated for different lengths of time, sharing the work-load and expenses. Our first partners were the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (1972-1976) followed by Baylor University (1974-1976) and Allegheny ollege (1975-1982). Cornell University joined the consortium in 1978 as did Rice University, working with us until 1985 and 1982 respectively. During all the years of work, the Municipality of Petach Tikvah provided unflagging support both financially and practically. Their ooperation is much appreciated. We would like to express our appreciation to the Directors of the Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University for making available the services of the institute's laboratories and staff which provided administrative and technical support. Rachel Stoller and Pnina Rodan were in charge of general administration and all matters connected with the volunteers while Esther Yadin served as Expedition Coordinator throughout. Pottery restoration was carried out by Rachel Pelta, Mira Barak, Nili Cohen and Yona Shapira. Finds were drawn by Naomi Schechter, Sheila Varon, Ada Peri and Rodica Penchas. Netta Halperin cleaned and prepared the metal objects for analysis. Photographs were taken in the field as well as in the studio by Avraham Hai, Maya and Moshe Weinberg. Maps and plans were prepared by Judith Dekel and Yura Smertenko. Our thanks to all of them. The publication of Aphek's acropolis was accomplished with a generous grant from the Shelby White–Leon Levy Program for Archaeological publications. Additionally, the Mediterranean Archaeological Trust/Ashmolean Museum provided a supplementary grant for its completion. We are greatly indebted to them for making it possible. We also thank the incumbent director of the Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute and the members of the Editorial Board for sponsoring this publication and for their sharp eyes in critically examining the galley proofs. This report is based on the field diaries of the teams who excavated the areas dealt with here but mainly on a preliminary report completed by Zvi Gal. We are indebted to all of them for their contribution. We would like to express our appreciation to the technical staff of the Institute of Archaeology who gave generously of their time and expertise, especially Ami Brauner who refined the maps and plans for publication, Yulia Gottlieb who arranged and dig Title page Contents Preface Chapter 1: Introduction Part I: Stratigraphy and Architecture Chapter 2: Middle Bronze Age (Strata X19-X15) Chapter 3: Late Bronze Age (Strata X14-X12) Chapter 4: Late Bronze Age Winepresses Chapter 5: Late Bronze Age Stone-built Tomb Chapter 6: Iron Age (Strata X11-X6) Part II: The Finds Chapter 7: Middle Bronze Age Pottery Chapter 8: Late Bronze and Iron Age Pottery Chapter 9: Mycenaean Pottery Chapter 10: Imported Egyptian and Local Egyptian-style Pottery from Late Bronze and Iron Age Strata Chapter 11: Anthropomorphic Figurines Chapter 12: Figures and Small Finds Chapter 13: Metal Objects Chapter 14: Scarab and Other Seal-Amulets Chapter 15: The Inscriptions from the Egyptian Residence: A Reassessment Chapter 16: A Fragment Tablet Bearing an Unknown Script Part III: Interdisciplinary Studies Chapter 17: Petrographic Analyses of a Fragmentary Tablet and 'Philistine Associated' Pottery Objects Chapter 18: Chemical and Petrographic Analyses of Philistine Bichrome Vessels Chapter 19: Archaeobotanical Remains Chapter 20: Food Remains Chapter 21: Terrestrial Fauna Chapter 22: Shells and Crabs Chapter 23: Fish Remains Chapter 24: Radiocarbon Dating Part IV: Conclusions Chapter 25: The Relative and Absolute Chronology of Late Bronze Age and Iron Age Tel Aphek Chapter 26: The Aphek Acropolis in Context Index of Loci Index of Walls