Aren M. Maeir - Böcker

Ami Mazar has gained a reputation as one of the most prolific and reliable archaeologists doing work in Israel during the last 40 years. Not only has he participated in and directed excavations at many sites, his professional standards are of the first order, and what’s more, his publication record is enviable: he has never begun a new major project before the final publication of the previous excavation was well underway. Here, more than 55 colleagues gather to honor him with a wide range of essays, organized in 7 sections:I. Early Bronze Age StudiesII. Middle and Late Bronze Age StudiesIII. Philistine/Sea Peoples StudiesIV. Iron Age StudiesV. Historical, Biblical, and Epigraphic StudiesVI. Jerusalem StudiesVII. Post–Iron Age StudiesAn international group of contributors includes: E. Braun, I. Finkelstein, D. Ussishkin, P. M. Fischer, R. Gophna, D. Gazit, R. Greenberg, P. de Miroschedji, B. Sass, M. Sebbane, E. Yannai, M. Artzy, M. Bietak, A. Caubet, M. Yon, T. Dothan, M. Jasmin, E. H. E. Lass, J.-C. Margueron, P. Matthiae, R. S. Merrillees, R. A. Mullins, A. F. Rainey, E. D. Oren, A. Gilboa, A. Cohen-Weinberger, Y. Goren, A. Maeir, I. Shai, S. Sherratt, L. E. Stager, E. Stern, O. Borowski, J. M. Cahill, W. G. Dever, A. Faust, S. Gitin, L. G. Herr, V. Karageorghis, A. E. Killebrew, R. Kletter, Z. Lederman, S. Bunimovitz, S. M. Ortiz, N. Panitz-Cohen, R. E. Tappy, D. Edelman, A. Fink, V. Fritz, A. Lemaire, W. M. Schniedewind, I. Singer, A. G. Vaughn, C. Dobler, E. Mazar, S. M. Paul, R. Reich, E. Shukron, J. R. Zorn, H. Eshel, B. Zissu, L. Horowitz, A. Kloner, E. M. Meyers, and S. A. Rosen.

The area of the Judean Foothills – the biblical Shephelah – has in recent years become one of the most intensively excavated regions in the world. Numerous projects, at sites of different types and utilizing various methodological approaches, are actively excavating in this region. Of particular importance are the discoveries dating to the Iron Age, a period when this region was a transition zone between various cultures—Philistine, Canaanite, Judahite, and Israelite. The current volume includes reports from eight of the excavations currently being conducted in the region (Azekah, Beth Shemesh, Gezer, Khirbet Qeiyafa, Tel Burna, Tel Halif, Tell es-Safi/Gath, and Tel Zayit), as well as a general study of the region by Ido Koch. The importance of this volume lies not only in the fact that it collects up-to-date reports on most of the current excavations in the region but also demonstrates the lively, at times even boisterous, scholarly discussions taking place on various issues relating to the archaeology and history of the Iron Age Shephelah and its immediate environs.This volume serves as an excellent introduction to current research on the Iron Age in this crucial zone and also serves as a reflection of current trends, methodologies, and approaches in the archaeology of the Southern Levant.

This volume is an excavation report on the important Bronze and Iron Age site, Tel Nagila. The site was excavated in the 1960s but the report was never published. Tel Nagila was an important Middle Bronze Age site and a Judahite site during Iron Age II. This report includes chapters by experts discussing the finds, including tombs, pottery and flint artifacts, as well as a spatial analysis and explorations of the cultic nature of the site.

This volume aims to be an up-to-date summary of the archaeology of the Land of the Bible, from late Prehistory until Alexander’s conquest. It will cover periods of immense importance in the development of human culture in general, and of the cultures and peoples in the ancient Near East in general. As this the region in which many of the foundational cultures of the “Old World” developed (or interacted with), it is a region of crucial importance for understanding the development of human history, culture and socio-economic patterns. In addition, as it is a region in which major parts of the biblical narrative is set, the study of the archaeology of this region is crucial for understanding the geographic, historical and cultural background of the peoples and cultures reflected in the biblical texts. Due to the deep interest that the Bible generates, particularly in Judeo-Christian cultures, the archaeology of this region is of much interest, to scholars and lay people. The period which I wish to cover, from the Neolithic period to the Hellenistic period, reflects major cultural phases in the development of human culture in this region. This includes: the appearance of the first villages and agriculture; the beginning of social and economic hierarchy; early urbanism and political complexity; the rise of the Canaanite culture; major phases of technological development; the transformation between the Bronze and Iron Age and the appearance of new identity groups and peoples (including the Israelites, Philistines, Phoenicians, Arameans and others); the development of regional “territorial” kingdoms during the Iron Age; and their subsequently being swallowed by the Mesopotamian empires (Assyrian, Babylonian and Persian). From a point of view of historical periods, this overlaps major periods of early Egyptian and Mesopotamian history, and periods depicted in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, and early Greek historiography. That said, most of the available summaries of the archaeology of the region are outdated (both in the finds and the topics and approaches discussed), and are often involved in ideologically related issues (e.g. “proving/disproving” the Bible). Some of the updated summaries don’t cover the entire span periods proposed in this volume, or are non-standardized or lacking in even coverage of the relevant periods. In addition to this, the available summaries, do not stress the major recent changes that have occurred in the archaeology of the region. Not only recent finds, but radically different analyses and theoretical perspectives, which question and challenge basic aspects of previous scholarship. For example, long accepted connections between the archaeological remains and supposed identity groups (e.g. “Canaanites”, Israelites, and Philistines) are being reassessed in contemporary scholarship which is now reflected in the available summaries, and scientific analyses which have opened up whole new perspectives on the past. Thus, the main objective of this volume is to provide an accessible (that is, not too long and “jargon-laden”), and up-to-date summary of the archaeology of the region, taking into account recent finds and up-to-date analytic methods, recent interpretative approaches and debates, and using a less naïve interface between the archaeological remains and the textual sources (biblical and others), so as to provide an introductory text book for students, scholars, and the interested lay public. The volume will showcase how archaeology of the region has moved from a parochial, ideologically motivated endeavor (“Biblical Archaeology” in the negative sense; often conducted by theologians), into a modern, scientific and critical enquiry of the past. At the same time, it will cater to students, scholars and the lay public interested in the archaeological background of biblical history, the ancient near east and ancient cultures in general.

Der vorliegende Kongressband des Minerva Center for the Relations between Israel and Aram in Biblical Times bündelt theoretische Ansätze zur historischen Forschung über Autonomie bzw. Unabhängigkeit in antiken Kulturen und schreitet fort zu Beiträgen, die das Thema am konkreten Beispiel von Aram und Israel in der Antike untersuchen. Dabei wird deutlich, wie stark Syrien und Palästina miteinander vernetzt waren, und einen einzigen kulturellen Raum bildeten, der durch Ökonomie, Politik, Sprache, Religion und Kultur verbunden war.

Dieser Band enthält die Ergebnisse zweier internationaler Treffen, die vom Minerva-Zentrum für die Beziehungen zwischen Israel und Aram in Biblischen Zeiten abgehalten wurden. Die Beiträge beziehen sich auf verschiedene Aspekte der aramäischen Epigraphik und Idumäischer Ostraka sowie auf die Aramäer im Alten Orient.

Der Kongressband des Minerva-Zentrums "Research on Israel and Aram in Biblical Times" bündelt die Vorträge, die bei der Konferenz des Zentrums in Leipzig 2018 zum Thema des Schreibens und Umschreibens von Geschichte durch gezielte Zerstörungen in der Region Syrien-Palästina-Mesopotamien gehalten wurden. Eine internationale Gruppe von Wissenschaftlern untersuchte das Thema aus einem multiperspektivischen und interdisziplinären Ansatz heraus: Archäologische Studien, Altorientalistik und Bibelwissenschaften konzentrierten sich auf die Zerstörungen antiker Stätten in Israel und Juda im 1. Jahrtausend v. Chr. Die Perspektive der besiegten Israeliten, Jerusalemer und Judäer wird in den Schriften des Alten Testaments und in der nachbiblischen Literatur ausführlich dargestellt und zeigt, dass die Zerstörungen der Vergangenheit ein Kultur- und Identitätsstifter ersten Ranges waren. Die longue durée der Praxis, durch die gezielte Zerstörung des kulturellen Erbes die Vergangenheit neu zu gestalten, um die Gegenwart nach aktuellen Interessen zu gestalten, wird anhand der Praxis des neuassyrischen Reichs bis in die Neuzeit hinein greifbar und am Beispiel der arabisch-muslimischen Eroberung von "Aramäa" sowie der gegenwärtigen türkischen Politik ausgeführt.