ABSTRACT
The problem of absolute dating of the archeological finds from the Iron Age strata of the southern Levant has been fiercely debated in recent years (e.g. Ben-Tor 2000; Finkelstein 1996, 2001; Knauf 2000; Mazar 1997). A precise absolute dating (with a resolving power better than 50 years) may have far-reaching implications not only on the field of archaeology, but also on other, related disciplines such as biblical history and biblical exegesis. In this work we wish to concentrate on the 14C data and their analysis. Part of this study was published elsewhere (Finkelstein and Piasetzky 2003). In the short period of time that has passed since the publication of that article, the available data base has more than doubled. The new data are included in this paper (Table 16.1). The Available Data
In recent years, a large number of samples from several key sites-such as Dor, Rehov, Beth-shean, Tel Hadar and Megiddo-were sent to different laboratories for 14C analysis. Sets of dates-from Dor (Gilboa and Sharon 2001; Sharon 2001), and from Tel Reh ov and Beth-shean (Bruins, van der Plicht and Mazar 2003a, 2003b; Mazar 2004; Mazar and Carmi 2001)—have recently been published. Two more sets of data from Megiddo and Tel Hadar were also available for this study prior to their publication. The data correspond to two destruction horizons (each based on similarities in
pottery assemblages) known from several key sites in Northern Israel. The first, referred to in this paper as ‘the Megiddo VIA horizon’, is dated according to the conventional dating system to ca. 1000 BCE and according to the Low Chronology system to ca. 930 BCE. The second, referred to here as ‘the Megiddo VA-IVB destruction horizon’, is dated to 925 BCE (Pharaoh Shoshenq I’s campaign to Palestine) or to ca. 835 BCE (the assault of Aram Damascus on the Northern Kingdom [Na‘aman 1997]) respectively. All available data that correspond to short-lived samples from the Megiddo VIA and VA-IVB horizons are listed in Table 16.1. Long-lived samples, such as timber, wood and charcoal, establish early limits (terminus post quem) for the dating of the strata, and this can bias the conclusion toward the Low Chronology system. To avoid that, only short-lived samples have been considered.
AMS-Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (Kutschera et al. 1999); LSC-Liquid Scintillation Counting (Aitken 1990); GPC-Gas Proportional Counting (Aitken 1990); Arizona-The AMS facility at the University of Arizona; WI-The Weizmann Institute laboratory in Rehovot, Israel; NZ-Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory, New Zealand; Gr-University of Groningen, Holland All in all, 67 measurements done by AMS and by conventional radiometric methods (LSC and GPC) were available to us. The data represent four sites and 15 different archeological contexts. Tel Reh ov Charred grain samples were found in the destruction layer of Stratum C1 (Mazar 1999: 20-23), on the floor of a small chamber that had been sealed by fallen bricks (Locus 2425). The chamber contained a rich pottery assemblage of the Megiddo VA-IVB horizon. The grain samples were analyzed by three laboratories. Nine samples were measured by the Weizmann Institute laboratory using LSC, nine samples were measured by AMS in the University of Arizona laboratory (Mazar and Carmi 2001) and two were measured by GPC the Center for Isotope Research, Groningen (Mazar 2004). The weighted average of the Weizmann Institute measurements was 2720 ± 7 BP, which corresponds to a 1 SD (standard deviation) calibrated range of 905-835 BCE. The Arizona weighted average was 2750 ± 16 BP and the calibrated 1 SD range is 900-830 BCE. The authors noted the consistency of the two different measurements and
