DAN IV - The Iron Age I Settlement: The Avraham Biran Excavations (1966-1999)

In this comprehensive final report David Ilan and 12 other contributing authors present the rich finds from the Iron Age I (circa 1200-950 BCE) levels at Tel Dan, gleaned in the course of Avraham Biran's 1966-1999 excavations at the site. The architecture, ceramics, metal, flint, bone and ground stone objects and ecofacts, all contribute to the portrayal of a cosmopolitan society that thrived, initially, under Egyptian imperial rule, subsequently forging its own way with the departure of Egyptian hegemony. The early Iron Age levels at Tel Dan show material evidence for the presence of local peoples, Egyptians, Cypriots, Aegeans, and Syrians, who together, negotiated a new identity, as Danites. Cover 1 Title 4 Table of Contents 6 Preface 7 Acknowledgments 8 1. The Natural Environment 10 2. Stratigraphy and Architecture 26 3. The Local Pottery 104 4. Notes on the Philistine, Aegean and Cypriot-Style Decorated Pottery 360 5. “Phoenician” Painted Ware 378 6a. A Petrographic Study of Early Iron Age Containers at Tel Dan 400 6b. Chemical and Petrographic Analysis of Aegean/Philistine Pottery from Tel Dan 424 6c. Petrographic Analysis of Iron Age I Painted Pottery from Tel Dan 428 7. Ground Stone and Natural Stone Objects 434 8. Scale Weights 464 9. The Chipped Stone Assemblage 478 10. Use-Wear Analysis of Sickle Blades 498 11. The Metal Objects 516 12. The Bone and Ivory Objects 536 13. Seals and Impressions 550 14. Various Objects of Stone, Faience, and Ceramic 556 15. Figurines and Ritual Objects 560 16. Ritual Contexts 572 17. The Animal Bone Remains 580 18. Archaeobotany 596 19. Commodity Storage: Pits, Pithoi and Installations 600 20. Chronology 614 21. Conclusion: Economy, Society and Polity at Tel Dan in the Iron Age I 626 This final report presents the archaeological finds from the Iron Age I (circa 1200-950 BCE) levels at Tel Dan, located on a tributary of the Jordan River, in the northeastern Hula Valley in northern Israel. The early Iron Age levels at Tel Dan show material evidence for the presence of local peoples, Egyptians, Cypriots, Aegeans and Syrians.