2003 ASOR Annual Meeting
Paper Abstracts

T H U R S D A Y  S E S S I O N S

A2, Reports on Current Excavations, ASOR-Affiliated I

Rachel Hallote, Purchase College SUNY, Presiding

2) Rami Arav, University of Nebraska at Omaha
Bethsaida Excavations, Report on 2003 Season

      Bethsaida is located at the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee. It has been excavated since 1987. The excavations revealed thus far, a prominent occupation dating from the 10th to the 8th centuries BCE and Hellenistic Roman village built on top of the Iron Age ruins. The 2003 season will focus on the following issues:
   1) Stratum 6 at Bethsaida (950 ­ 850 BCE) is the first urban stratum of the city. Thus far we excavated the outer city gate, the city walls attached to it, an outer bastion and a granary inside the city. The excavation season of 2003 will attempt to reveal the pattern of the inner city gate;
   2) Stratum 5 (850 ­ 732 BCE). Some stratigraphic problems remained unsolved. This season we will focus on clarifying these problems and prepare it for publication;
   3) Stratum 5. Ground Penetration Radar revealed a fifty meters long paved road that leads to the town. This feature has no parallel in other cities. So far only 15 meters have been excavated. The 2003 season aims to unearth the road to the end;
   4) Stratum 2 (Hellenistic Roman). Previous excavations at the area west of the city gate discovered a few shards of limestone vessels, suggesting a Jewish presence at the first century CE. The 2003 excavation season will focus on the nature of this stratum and hopefully will shed light on the history of the town at the first century CE. .

3) Thomas E. Levy, University of California, San Diego
The 2002 Excavations at Khirbat en-Nahas in the Jabal Hamrat Fidan, Jordan

      From September 11 through December 6, 2002, interdisciplinary surveys and excavations were carried out in the Jabal Hamrat Fidan region of Jordan under the auspices of the University of California, San Diego and the Department of Antiquities of Jordan. One of the principal goals of this research was to undertake the first large-scale excavations at Khirbat en Nahas, one of the most extensive Iron Age metal production centers in the Levant. Excavations focused on sampling three key areas related to the control and production of copper and include: a) the 4-chamber gateway associated with a desert fortress situated in the northern portion of the site, b) a 4-room building complex devoted to the processing of copper and slag waste, and c) a large slag mound containing extensive evidence of smelting activities. The results of this project shed new light on the role of metal production on the evolution of the Iron Age kingdom of Edom. This paper outlines the main results of the excavations and our interpretations of the data.

4) Russell Adams, McMaster University, Thomas E. Levy, University of California, San Diego, and Mohammed Najjar, Department of Antiquities, Jordan
The 2002 Surveys in the Jabal Hamrat Fidan, Jordan

      As part of the 2002 field season in the Jabal Hamrat Fidan region of southern Jordan, the University of California San Diego ­ Department of Antiquities of Jordan team carried out a series of intensive pedestrian archaeological surveys along the eastern Wadi al-Ghuwayb and Wadi al-Jariya. While sites from all periods were recorded, the main goal of the survey was aimed at reconstructing the Bronze and Iron Age landscapes related to early metal production in the Faynan district. In addition to the general site survey, extensive mapping and collections were undertaken at two large Iron Age sites at Khirbat en-Nahas and Khirbat al-Jariya, with the long term aim of understanding the development of metal production during the Iron Age and the relationship of this production to the evolution of the kingdom of Edom. To supplement the 'deep-time' study of metal production and social change in the research area, detailed mapping and surface collections were made at the Medieval Islamic period production site of Ngeib Assemer first discovered by Nelson Glueck in the 1930s. This paper outlines the main results of the 2002 survey and our preliminary interpretations of the data.

5) Ron Tappy, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
The Zeitah Excavations: Preliminary Results of the First Three Seasons of Fieldwork (1999-2001)

      The near 30-dunam site of Tel Zayit lies in the Shephelah region of Israel, in the strategic Beth Guvrin Valley, 30 km east of Ashkelon and 7 km north-northwest of Lachish. Following a systematic field survey in 1998, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary initiated excavation of the site in 1999. In the first three seasons (1999-2001), the project opened nearly 1,000 mē distributed over the acropolis (Area A), the lower settlement (Area L), and a step-trench (Area T) down the site's eastern slope. Though fieldwork has revealed a depositional history ranging from the Middle Bronze Age to the late Ottoman period, the presentation will focus on the LBA and Iron II remains.
      The LBA levels in Area T are 4.7 m thick and incorporate at least four major phases of occupation, with a 2 m-thick deposit resulting from a fierce destruction of the city by fire sometime in the early-to-mid LB IIB period (compare Lachish VII-VI). The earliest LBA phase, located near the foot of the mound, suggests that Tel Zayit is also rich in material dating to the pre-Amarna period. Along with nearby Tell es-Safi, the city suffered another conflagration by fire sometime around the mid-9th century BCE. Though questions surround the identity of the perpetrator, the debris may reflect an Aramaean incursion into the region. If so, this campaign represents the deepest penetration by Damascus into Judah and Philistia, and the laconic description of the invasion in 2 Kings 12:1-18 constitutes the single international event recorded in the Bible for the reign of Joash.

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A3, Ancient Inscriptions: Recent Discoveries, New Editions, and New Readings

Christopher A. Rollston, Emmanuel School of Religion, Presiding

6) Annalisa Azzoni, Vanderbilt University
On Rock, Papyrus, and Potsherd: Towards a Corpus Inscriptionum Nabataearum

      Until recently, it would have been tenable to describe Nabatean as a dialect of Aramaic known almost exclusively through the numerous (over 4,000) funerary inscriptions, scattered throughout a rather large geographical area (Egypt, Syria-Palestine, the Arabian Peninsula, etc.). However, Nabatean documents on various materials, belonging to different genres, have been found during recent years and these substantially augment our understanding of the role of Nabatean Aramaic not only within Aramaic, but also within Semitic epigraphy in general. On the basis of recently published inscriptions, unpublished inscriptions, and the established core corpus of Nabatean, this paper will discuss the function of Nabatean as a cultural and linguistic bridge between the tradition of its "predecessor" Imperial Aramaic and the cultures and languages surrounding it. The picture revealed by the new data is a more complex one than that which was previously posited. Thus, the present paper will argue, on the basis of the extant data, for the necessity of compiling a new corpus (a "Corpus Inscriptionum Nabataearum"), through a reexamination of the old material and the inclusion of the new. The study of this corpus, accompanied by linguistic and lexicographical analyses treating the internal complexities as well as the external influences, will clarify the relevance of Nabatean Aramaic in the context of the Graeco-Roman Ancient Near East.

7) P. Kyle McCarter Jr., Johns Hopkins University
The Earliest Alphabetic Texts and Their Decipherment

      A reevaluation of the so-called Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions in light of the contemporary Egyptian documents from Serabit el-Khadem suggests that the archaic alphabetic texts are both expeditionary (the texts from the mines) and votive (the texts from the temple) in character. The decipherment of the Serabit material provides the basis for the interpretation of the alphabetic graffiti from the Wadi el-Hol

8) Yardenna Alexandre, Israel Antiquities Authority
Early Byzantine Ship Iconography in the Eastern Mediterranean: Towards a Vessel Type?

      A salvage excavation at Kfar Vradim in the Upper Galilee, Israel, exposed an undisturbed Iron Age II burial secondarily exploiting a Middle Bronze Age burial cave by pushing aside the earlier remains. The anthropological remains, in a bad state of reservation, included one female and four male adults. The accompanying finds consisted of over 50 pottery vessels, three iron knives and a bronze bowl. The pottery assemblage, distributed around the cave, included bowls, kraters, jugs, juglets, lamps and seven pro-Phoenician Black-on-Red flasks and juglets. The assemblage is chronologically homogeneous and parallel to Hazor XA-IX, Megiddo VA-IVB, Ta'anach IIB and Horbat Rosh Zayit IIb repertoires dated to the tenth/ early ninth centuries BCE. An intact fluted bronze bowl was found upside-down overlaid by a skull. The ten-letter inscription on the interior base was discovered while cleaning the corrosion on the bowl. The inscription reads:
      Transliteration: ks psh bn sm'
      Translation: The cup of Psh son of Shema.
The comparative paleographic analysis, which will be expounded on with parallels in the paper, places the inscription to a stage when traces of the original pictographs were still discernable but the development of linear letters was predominant, although not fully stabilized. In absolute chronological terms the bowl was inscribed with this ownership formula not later than the early tenth century BCE.

9) Christopher A. Rollston, Emmanuel School of Religion
Recent Research in Amman and Beirut: Iron Age NWS Inscriptions

      This paper will focus on recent research on provenanced Iron Age Ammonite, Aramaic, and Phoenician inscriptions (script morphology, script ductus, new readings, etc.). A substantial portion of the research that is the basis of this paper was conducted during 2002, as part of the presenter's National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship, and was facilitated by the American Center of Oriental Research. Note that several new photographic images (by West Semitic Research Project) will also be discussed during the presentation (including new images of the Lebanese National Museum's "Ahiram Sarcophagus," various Heshbon Ostraca, etc.).

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A4, Artifacts: the Inside Story

Elizabeth Friedman, Illinois Institute of Technology, Presiding

10) Otto Kopp, University of Tennessee at Knoxville
Did Ancient Karak (Jordan) Potters Learn how to Make their Wares with less Calcite?

      Did ancient potters in the Karak region of central Jordan learn how to make their wares using less calcium carbonate (limestone and/or shells) or were they forced to use new sources of raw material because their old sources were being depleted?
      Mineralogical and chemical analyses of pottery sherds from the Karak region suggest that during the Early Bronze Age their raw material contained more calcium carbonate than do younger sherds. The analyses were performed on thirty-two sherds from five different archaeological sites, and range in age from Early Bronze (ca. 3200-2000 BCE) to Late Islamic (1516-1918 CE).
      Three-component plots of chemical data (SiO2, Al2O3, and CaO, which serve as proxies for quartz, clays, and calcium carbonate) were prepared for the sherds on the basis of both their ages and the sites from which they came. In each case the data plot along linear trends from more calcium carbonate rich to sherds richer in clays and quartz from the Early Bronze Age to more recent Ages. Even Iron Age I sherds contain less calcium carbonate than most of the Early Bronze sherds analyzed. The trend lines suggest that smectite clays were more abundant than kaolinites.
      Although more data is needed, the preliminary results of these analyses suggest that Karak potters were learning how to make their wares using less and less limestone and shells. Whether this change was the result of deliberate experiments or was forced upon them by the depletion of their usual sources of raw material is uncertain. .

11) Anne McKinney Dehnisch, University of Texas at Austin
Neutron Activation Analysis of Selected Iron Age Pottery from Tel Yin'am, eastern Lower Galilee

      Excavations at Tel Yin'am, the most fully-excavated site in the eastern Lower Galilee, yielded a large Iron Age pottery assemblage from ten occupation phases and sub-phases dating from ca. 1200 to 734-33 BCE. A critical goal of the pottery study is identification of the provenience of pottery production, to be achieved through morphological and thin-section analyze, corroborated through neutron activation analysis. Such provenience identification can help to determine the extent to which there were Local and/or regional production centers, thereby contributing to an understanding of the nature of Tel Yin'am's interconnections. Analysis of 100 "typical" and "atypical" pottery types from primary Iron Age occupation phases (Iron I, Iron IIA, Iron IIC) provide an opportunity to analyze these interconnections both synchronically and diachronically.

12) Naama Yahalom, Hebrew University
Technology and Iconography between Canaan, Cyprus and Egypt in the Iron Age

      A unique tin-bronze object was unearthed during the renewed excavations of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem at Bet Shean. This object is shaped like a 'cage', with a crouching ram in its middle and most likely served a cultic function. It was found in a 12th century BCE context, during the time of the Egyptian 20th Dynasty occupation of the site. This object reflects, both in technology and iconography, a combination of traditions ­ Canaanite, Egyptian and Cypriot. Optical microscopy revealed formation techniques reminiscent of contemporary Cypriot metal work. Iconographic analysis points to Egyptian influence, as well as Canaanite traditions.
      The eclectic nature of this object raises interesting questions concerning the technological and ideological interaction between these cultures during the Iron Age I and afterwards. It appears that local craftsmen were influenced by the Cypriot metalworking traditions and developed local versions.
      No direct parallels to this object were found, but analogies to other metal objects of somewhat later date, such as Sardinian boat models, suggest that though such metal working ceased in Cyprus in the late 12th century BCE, they continued to be employed and locally adapted in various Mediterranean cultures that were influenced by the Cypriot traditions.

13) Aaron Shugar, Lehigh University, and Thilo Rehren, University College London
Re-evaluation of Late Bronze Age Glass Production in Egypt: Evidence for an Alternative Explanation

      It is generally accepted that the tight compositional groups witnessed in analyzed LBA Egyptian glass was the result of a glass makers using a strict formula for production and that there were very few locals of production in the region. Recent experimental work investigating the formation and composition of glass as a function of firing temperature has provided an alternative explanation for the observed concentration of compositions. This explanation will be discussed in detail. 

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A5) Prehistoric Archaeology I

Theme: Paleolithic - Neolithic

Gary O. Rollefson, Whitman College, Presiding

14) Julie Scrivner Brodie, University of California - Riverside
Acheulian Core-Reduction Strategies at 'Ain Soda, Jordan

      A Late Acheulian assemblage excavated along the shoreline of lake Azraq, Jordan, at the site of 'Ain Soda, demonstrates the production of tool blanks in addition to the production of cleavers used as butchering tools. Preliminary analysis indicates that Lower Paleolithic occupants of 'Ain Soda made tool blanks using a number of reduction strategies, including the use of Levallois and non-Levallois techniques. The production of Levallois flakes, blades and points as well as the production of blades from non-Levallois cores attest to the early appearance of these strategies in Late Acheulian contexts. The presence of standard blade cores places this site within a small but growing inventory of Lower Paleolithic assemblages that give evidence for early "true" blade production.

15) April Nowell, University of Victoria; Michael Bisson, McGill University; and Carlos Cardova, Oklahoma State University
A Preliminary Survey of Middle Paleolithic Sites in the Wadi al-Koum Region, Jordan

      There is considerable evidence for the geographic and temporal overlap of Neandertals and Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) in the Levant. The nature and degree of interaction between these two populations constitute an important area of research in Paleolithic archaeology. It is within this context that a preliminary survey of the Wadi al-Koum region, just south of Madaba, was undertaken. We located eight open-air sites where Middle Paleolithic hominids tested raw material and manufactured stone tools. While these sites are not candidates for further excavation due to erosion, deflation and post-depositional disturbance two important findings resulted from this survey. First, these sites are characterized by Type B-C Levantine Mousterian distinguishing them from almost all other Middle Paleolithic sites in Jordan which are characterized by a Tabun D Mousterian. Second, it was observed that Middle Paleolithic sites in this region are associated exclusively with Pleistocene loess deposits resting directly on a crust of indurated calcium carbonate or caliche. Furthermore, these sites are located on the edge of plateaus. This correlation of sites and soil types/location allows us to predict where similar sites in other regions of Jordan should be located. This predictive model is one step toward documenting hominid land use-patterning. This model allows us to begin to contribute to the much larger questions of Neandertal behavior and adaptation and the relationship between Neandertals and AMH in the Levant.

16) Ehud Weiss, Harvard University
Plant Assemblages as Markers for Space Specialization in Ohalo II, a Levantine Upper Palaeolithic Site

      Ohalo II is an Upper Palaeolithic site (23,000 calibrated years BP) located on the southwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, Israel. This hunter-gatherer-fisher camp is one of the best preserved prehistoric sites in the Near East, probably in the world. The reason of the site's preservation is probably the raise of water level, which sealed it with silt and clay after its abandonment. The best preserved feature in the site, hut number 1, contains 3 successive floors, the lower two of which cover the entire surface of the hut. Some 60,000 seeds and fruits were identified from floor II, one of these complete floors. Spatial analysis of this data-base allows us to reconstruct the use of space by the hut dwellers. We identified two areas of activity: the main one around a grinding stone in the northern part of the hut, the second in the south-eastern part, and between these two areas, a pathway. In the main area of activity, food and medicinal plants were concentrated, probably as a result of their preparation for consumption on the grinding stone. This is the first time that this kind of division of space has been discovered from plant remains in prehistoric Near East.

17) Michael Gregg, University of Toronto
Fabricating Ideas: Cognitive Processes and Image Creation in the Southern Levant at the End of the Pleistocene

      This paper examines the stylistic motifs of thirteen pieces of mobiliary art and rock engravings recently excavated at a prehistoric hunter-gatherer encampment in southern Jordan in light of the competing hypotheses that have been put forward to explain the first flourishes of representational art. Hunting magic, fertility ritual, lunar calendars, kinship bonds, tribal alliances, conflict resolution, and territoriality have all been cited as reasons for the manufacture of imagery by prehistoric hunter-gatherer bands. But few of these explanations contain much to recommend them. Most fall into the realm of anthropological fiction. Prehistoric 'symbols' are not as emblematic of any of these factors as many archaeological narratives would have us believe. The anthropomorphic figurines and geometric designs from the late Epipalaeolithic site in Wadi Mataha are indicative of a cognitive grammar that manifested itself in many different regions of the world at the end of the Pleistocene. The Wadi Mataha assemblage is but one expression of the complex system of signs that is essential to the fabrication of abstract ideas - the symbolic syntax necessary for our very conception of language - and ultimately, the construction of human identity.

18) Taryn Rampley, University of California - Riverside
Sickle Blade Data from 'Ain Ghazal: More Insights on Neolithic Grain Harvesting

      Sickle blades have long been identified with the origins of cereal grain harvesting and their domestication. Most often, sickle blades have been recognized solely by the presence of "glossing" on one or more edges with little regard for other morphological characteristics that might reveal their life use and history. Recent analysis of an enormous collection of sickle blades from the Neolithic site of 'Ain Ghazal in Amman, Jordan, a collection spanning Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (MPPNB) through the Yarmoukian of the Pottery Neolithic, gives a diachronic view of harvesting behavior, including sickle hafting strategies, use wear patterns and wear damage, and changes in sickle morphology based on hafting techniques. In addition to establishing a sound data base for the recognition of sickle blades in archaeological collections, this study related diachronic differences in incidence of glossing to the domestication process providing pertinent evidence for the use of domesticated grains.

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A6) Workshop on the Roman Aqaba Project

S. Thomas Parker, North Carolina State University, Presiding

19) Mary-Louise Mussell, University of Ottawa
The Putative Church at Aqaba: Architectural Development and Phasing of the Structure

      The putative church at Aqaba (Roman Aila) was founded prior to the Edict of Milan (AD 313), presumably in the mid- to late third century. It saw use both when Christianity was subject to persecution, and when Christianity had become the de facto state religion. As the socio-political position of Christianity changed, so did the physical building. We see what was initially a small meeting place, with only a few specialized features, grow into an elaborate structure more particularly suited to an expanding congregation. The assembly area was expanded and rooms were added to the south and east. The changes in the structure also reflected the developing liturgical practises of early Christianity. Double doors allow the separation of clergy/laity or men/women. The Christians of Aila were sufficiently numerous by AD 325 to be represented at the Council of Nicaea by a bishop, Petros. Use of the Aqaba church ceased in AD 363 when the building was destroyed by an earthquake. Much of the stone detailing from within the structure, and almost all of the liturgical equipment, was removed from the building afterwards. Scattered coins and a discarded stone table suggest subsequent removal of some contents of the church.

20) David L. Chatford Clark, University College London
A Putative Church at Aqaba: A Space Syntax Analysis

      There are various theories about the origins of Christian religious architecture. Evolution in ecclesiastical buildings respects regional diversity in architectural and liturgical patterns. The mud-brick structure at modern Aqaba, Jordan (ancient Roman Aila) is such an example. Its architecture and artifacts, matched with liturgical textual traditions, suggest a transitional pre-Constantinian church. A new method of Space Syntax Analysis affirms the hypothesis of an ecclesiastical structure. This presentation examines these liturgical sources, architectural and artifactual evidence, and spatial configurations for the putative church structure.
      The mud-brick structure was built on select Nabataean foundations in the mid- to late third century. Its placement in the urban environment of Aila, eastward orientation, overall spatial configuration, artifacts (glass oil lamp fragments, altar offering table, etc.), and a possible burial cut lend credence to its identification as a church. The complex underwent three distinct phases, possibly beginning as early as the mid-third century. The structure was expanded ca. 290, coincident with the arrival of the Roman Tenth Legion. A further expansion, perhaps ca. 325, added a possible baptistery and apsidal modifications. The building's destruction in the late fourth century, perhaps as a result of the earthquake of May 19, 363, is securely dated by numerous coins of Constantius II and imported African Red Slip pottery. The Christian community probably relocated to a new location within the new Byzantine city wall erected shortly afterwards near the old site. This mud-brick structure could be a significant example of the evolving Christian community's architecture bracketing the pre- and post-Constantinian periods.

21) Walter Ward, UCLA
Camels or Ships? An Economic Comparison of Roman and Byzantine Aila

      Recent excavations by the Roman Aqaba Project provide a glimpse into Aila's economy. Combining this new data with literary sources makes the difference between Aila's economy in the Roman and Byzantine periods clearer.
     Strabo and Pliny the Elder describe Roman Aila as an important Nabataean mercantile center for overland caravan trade. Beginning with the late-third century, numerous authors, including Eusebius and Antoninus Placentinus, describe Byzantine Aila as a famous port for the importation of Indian goods.
      Archaeological evidence suggests that Roman Aila had few long-distance contacts. Most of Aila's glass probably originated in Syro-Palestine, and the corpus includes few luxury wares. Moreover, ceramic production concentrated on common wares, and no western terra sigillata has been found. Finally, almost all of the amphorae discovered at Roman Aila originated at Gaza or Egypt. In the early Byzantine period, findings of Roman coins, amphorae, and glass dramatically increase at Aila. Ceramic evidence suggests contacts with Axum, India, and regions throughout much of the Roman Empire. In addition, ceramic production continued to produce common wares but also produced the so-called "Aila-Axum" amphorae, which have been found throughout the Red Sea.
      Literary sources stress Roman Aila's role as a caravan city and suggest that Aila became a major port in the late-third century. Archaeological evidence supports these sources, which refutes the modern assumption that Aila was a major port in the second century.

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A7) Symposium Recent Research in the Madaba Plains Region of Jordan I

Theme: Recent Research on the Archaeology of the Madaba Plain

Debra Foran and Andrew Graham, University of Toronto, Presiding

22) Stanley Klassen, University of Toronto
The Early Bronze Age Ceramic Industry of the Madaba Plain Region as Reflected through Petrographic Analysis

      Recent archaeological analysis in the Madaba Plain Region has suggested that Early Bronze Age communities acted more autonomously than was previously believed. Integration occurred on both an intra- and inter-regional level allowing communities to employ flexible adaptive strategies. Settlement pattern data, for example, suggests that Early Bronze communities were organized heterarchically, rather than in rigid hierarchical structures. The utilization of K-means cluster analysis of Early Bronze sites in the Highlands of Central Jordan has identified six clusters, with one being situated on the Madaba Plain. Preliminary analyses suggest that the ceramic craft industry of the Madaba Plain cluster was dispersed and multivariate, showing varying levels of production and interaction, both of which indicate a region where heterarchical networks were predominant. This paper will present the results of a more in-depth study of the ceramic material from a number of sites within the Madaba Plain cluster, which is being conducted to test the heterarchy concept. The study includes both macroscopic and microscopic (petrographic) analyses. Performing a regional and site-specific study will highlight the importance of investigating Early Bronze Age society at varying scales of analysis.

23) David Merling, Andrews University
The Small Finds of Tall Jalul (1992-2000)

      Tall Jalul is a Bronze through Iron Age site located 5 km east of Madaba, Jordan. Excavations began at this site in 1992 and have continued through 2000 with the plan of returning in 2004. The Tall Jalul excavations continue the Madaba Plains Project and are sponsored by Andrews University in cooperation with Jordan's Department of Antiquity.
      Excavations at Tall Jalul has so far produced limited lateral exposure but a number of features including a full standing Persian building, two Iron Age superimposed roadways, an Iron Age pillared building, and numerous AD 19th century burials have been uncovered. In additions to these architectural discoveries small finds been found. In preparation of the final report of the first four seasons of excavations, this report discusses the small finds in the context of Transjordan and Cisjordan.

24) Robert Bates and Randall W. Younker, Andrews University
An Egyptian Seal from Tall Jalul, Jordan

      During more than 20 years of work in the Madaba Plains region, the Madaba Plains Project has recovered only occasional finds that reflect either direct Egyptian contact or indirect Egyptian influence in this region. During the 2000 excavation season at Tall Jalul, a conical shaped Egyptian seal was discovered in the sift while probing the topsoil of Square E4 near the base of the promontory. Unlike other seals found at Tal Jalul, which have predominately floral or geometric designs, this Egyptian seal contains a unique name: Amun-Ra Ra-t3wy. An initial review of the seal corpus did not reveal any parallels. However, a search of Egyptian monumental inscriptions shows a connection to a similar epithet for the god Amun (Amun-Ra p3wty t3wy)found on several pillars in the temple of Ramses III and the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak. This name does not seem to appear in later periods. This paper will briefly describe and analyze this Egyptian seal and explore the possible historic significance its presence poses for the Madaba Plains region.

25) Jonathan Ferguson, University of Toronto
Settlement Patterns and Shifting Borders: The Madaba Plains in the Late Hellenistic and Early Roman/Nabataean Periods

      The dissolution of Seleucid power in Transjordan gave local tribes and kingdoms increasing autonomy in the second century BCE, although the arrival of Rome created a system of clientage in the first centuries BCE and CE. The Madaba Plains were at that time divided among Nabataea in the south, the Judaean Peraea in the northwest and the cities of the Decapolis in the northeast. The geography of the Madaba Plains in late Hellenistic and early Roman/Nabataean times is complicated by the fluidity of its political boundaries and the ambiguity of the historical sources. However, spatial analysis of sites in the region appears to confirm the general historical picture. The University of Toronto's Tell Madaba Archaeological Project, directed by Dr. T. P. Harrison, has produced stratified phases confirming the Hellenistic and Nabataean occupations at that site. The new material from Madaba also permits a reevaluation of the history of Hesban, which, although only a short distance to the north, was often across the Nabataean-Peraean border. The ceramic assemblages of the two sites are quite different, with a strong presence of Nabataean fine painted ware at Madaba not paralleled at Hesban. These preliminary findings appear to validate the long-discussed "Madaba line," the limit for this ware's distribution and presumably also the political border of Nabataea. As a result, the Nabataean occupations that have been suggested for Hesban must be called into question, redrawing the map of the Madaba Plains in the late Hellenistic and early Roman/Nabataean periods.

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A8) Landscape Archaeology

Theme: Research Questions in Arid Zone Archaeology

Benjamin A. Saidel, W. F. Albright Institute, Presiding

27) Oren Ackermann and Aren M. Maeir, Bar Ilan University; Hendrik J. Bruins, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
The Tell es Safi/Gath Environmental Geoarchaeology Project in a Semi Arid Region

     This environmental geoarchaeological research project is part of the ongoing Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project, which has been in the field since 1996. The multi-period site, which is located in central Israel, in a semi-arid region, is considered to be one of the largest pre-Classical archeological sites in the region, and is identified as Philistine Gath.
     The aim of this research is to investigate the interrelationship between human activity and landscape response in the area surrounding Tell es-Safi/Gath during the last 3000 years. Three landscape features that have preserved evidence of the ancient landscape form were investigated. These structures are: a human-made trench/moat, a agriculture terrace of a first basin order, an Alluvial terrace section.
     The results show that sedimentation in the given features occurred during the Iron Age and Byzantine Period. Chronostratigraphic interrelation analysis combining human history and landscape history shows that high human activity during the Iron Age and Byzantine Period led to a high rate of erosion and degradation of the landscape. A reduction in human activity enabled regeneration and stabilization of landscape components.

28) Tali Erickson-Gini, Israel Antiquity Authority
Subsistence Patterns and Adaptive Strategies of Settled Populations in Hyper-Arid Regions: The Transformation of the Roman Nabataean Economy in the Negev in the Late Roman Period

      From the third c. BCE and until the beginning of the third c. CE the Nabataean presence in the Negev was based on the long distance trade of luxury goods that passed through the region from Petra to Gaza, Egypt and Judaea. In the early first millennium CE this particular form of subsistence was entirely dependent on the 'global' economy of international trade and finance in the Roman Empire and beyond. The vulnerability of this strategy was revealed when the international system of trade broke down in the early third c. CE as a result of inflationary trends, widespread epidemics and military and political upheavals. The Nabataean / Roman settlements in the Negev were immediately affected by the spread of epidemics along trade routes, the cessation of the production of perfumed oils in Petra and the evacuation of the Roman military and its redeployment to other areas in Rome's desperate struggle with Persia.
      The adaptive strategy employed by local inhabitants in the face of adverse conditions was the development of intensive agricultural production using a method of advanced hydraulics that included the construction of terraced fields throughout the Central Negev. The local economy was further stimulated by the widespread deployment of Roman forces in the region under Diocletian. By the second half of the fourth century CE the Negev settlements were intensively involved in the inter-regional trade network, mainly of wine, with the southern coastal region around Gaza and Ashkelon. This robust economy provided the basis for the largest increase in population in the Negev to have taken place in any period. .

29) Jeffrey A. Blakely, Archeological Assessments Inc.
Establishing a Regional Historical Context in a "Desert": The Hesi Region in Mamluk/Ottoman Time

      The historical literature describing the region between Hebron and Gaza presents a picture of general desolation for the area surrounding Tell el-Hesi during Mamluk and Ottoman times. To be sure a branch of the Mamluk postal system passed through, and 16th century Turkish records suggest that village life may even have improved during the that century, but soon thereafter all modern overviews of the region suggest that village life ceased as various Bedouin groups entered the region and made it their home. The general nature of such histories is distressing for the archaeologist who seeks to interpret the material remains found in various polygons. This paper will report on what historical and geographical insight can be gleaned from the accounts of Christian pilgrims and travelers who passed through the Hesi region on the Hebron to Gaza road between the 14th and 19th centuries. From these sources it is clear that the village of as-Sukariyeh was an important site in the 14th and 15th centuries, dominating an otherwise barren landscape. Various Turkish records when examined in light of the pilgrim accounts clarify the nature of the 16th century resurgence in village life. The dearth of pilgrims from the beginning of the 17th century to the beginning of the 19th century is probably significant as well. Finally the combing of the region by travelers, such as Poujoulat, Robinson, and Thomson, highlights the overall desolation of the region prior to the 1820s.

30) Moti Haiman, Israel Antiquities Authority
The Iron Age II Settlement in the Negev Desert - Issues of Environment and Subsistence

      The Iron Age II in the Negev is characterized by extensive settlement and an abundance of well preserved remains. This includes ca. 400 sites, 60 fortresses, 200 water cisterns and many silos and threshing floors. Much research has been conducted on the period, most of them focused on the nature of the fortresses, the chronology, and implication concerning biblical issues. The wide scope of the data enables to reconsider several issues that have never received sufficient attention: 1. Why were the sites located in the heart of the wilderness, rather than in accordance with the location of the natural water sources? 2. What was the character of the population and its actual size? 3. Questions concerning subsistence on the local resources. 4. The origin of the settlement types in the Negev and their presence in other areas in later stages of the Iron Age.

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A9) Prehistoric Archaeology II

Theme: Neolithic - Early Bronze Age

Leslie A. Quintero, University of California - Riverside, Presiding

31) Jessie Karnes, University of California - Riverside
An MPPNB Blade Cache at 'Ain Ghazal

     This discussion focuses on a cache of about 80 flint blades detached from naviform cores and found under a house floor in MPPNB contexts at the town site of 'Ain Ghazal, Jordan. The cache is valuable in that it shows individual selection of tool blanks perceived appropriate for specific projectile point and other tool needs. It also represents an important link in the overall economic structure of the site in which specialist blade-makers produced blades from naviform cores and then passed them on in the context of a presumed exchange network to individual townspeople. Comparisons are made with the blade/projectile point cache recovered at Beidha.

32) Philip J. Wilke, University of California - Riverside
Home on the Range

      The inception of nomadic pastoralism in the Late PPNB of Jordan is seen as an innovative paradox. The problem of daily food supply in an environment of largely inedible plants, without compromising viable herd structure, would have had to be solved, and this matter has received some attention in literature. Beyond that significant issue, temporary housing and associated camping gear would have had to be developed, along with practical means of transporting it. The establishment of a functional, mobile, pastoral economy in the absence of the pack animals of later prehistory must have presented major technological hurdles. The nature of these problems, and their solution, can and indeed must be surmised and speculated upon in order to anticipate the nature of the archaeological record of early pastoral nomads rather than to merely react to what is found and try to interpret it. This admittedly speculative discussion addresses these issues.

33) Christopher Foley, University of Saskatchewan and Dawn Cropper, University of Sydney
Umm Meshrat I and II: Two Early Pottery Neolithic Sites along the Wadi ath-Thamad, Jordan

      This paper presents a preliminary analysis of two adjacent and apparently contemporary early Pottery Neolithic sites identified by Wadi ath-Thamad Archaeological Project's survey during the waning days of the 2001 field season. Brief mention of the sites was made in a paper presented at the annual ASOR meeting in 2001. Analysis of the data recovered from surface collection and from the excavation of five test squares suggests that the sites do not fit comfortably into accepted cultural distributions. The pottery sample, albeit somewhat limited, exhibits similarities with both Yarmoukian and Jericho IX ceramic traditions. With the exception of a large number of burins, the lithic material is not indicative of a particular Pottery Neolithic industry. For instance, Yarmoukian denticulated sickle elements are conspicuous by their absence. The burins on concave truncation, however, are reminiscent of the burin sites in the eastern desert zone. The architecture, tentatively two rectangular features at Umm Meshrat I (Site 40) and upwards of twenty oval structures with some lineal and rectilinear features at Umm Meshrat II (Site 96), suggests substantial occupation of the area. As yet UM I and II cannot be attributed to a particular culture, other than Pottery Neolithic. The location of the sites in a transitional zone between Mediterranean and steppic environments may account for the ambiguity of the assemblages. It is possible that the sites reflect the interface between Mediterranean zone populations with mixed agrarian and herding economies, and inhabitants of the desert zone whose subsistence is characterized as nomadic pastoralism.

34) Elizabeth Healey, University of Manchester
The Ubaid Chipped Stone Industries at Kenan Tepe, Anatolia

      Kenan Tepe is a large, multi-period site overlooking the Tigris River in the Ilisu Dam region of eastern Turkey. The excavation seasons of 2001 and 2002 uncovered a series of well-preserved contexts that are interpreted as an Ubaid house (mid 5th millennium BCE) and its exterior adjacent areas. Among the domestic artifacts located in and around this structure were a range of organic remains and lithic materials.
      This paper considers the use of both flint and obsidian in securely stratified contexts in the Ubaid period. The presentation will include an analysis of the raw materials used, an examination of the technological processes involved and the morphology of the retouched pieces both within their immediate context and the wider context of other lithic artifacts so far found at Kenan Tepe. The assemblage will also be evaluated in terms of other Ubaid chipped stone assemblages in northern Mesopotamia.

35) Leslie A. Quintero, Philip J. Wilke, and Gary O. Rollefson, University of California - Riverside
The Percussion Blade Industry of the Late Prehistoric al-Jafr Industrial Complex

      An important aspect of the Late Prehistoric al-Jafr Industrial Complex of southeastern Jordan involved the production of extremely large percussion blades. This previously undocumented industry, the al-Jafr Blade Industry, has recently been discovered at 29 sites in proximity to a massive flint-bearing escarpment northeast of Pleistocene Lake al-Jafr. These sites generally are present as components of extensive quarries for the production of Jafr flake blanks that were transformed elsewhere into cortical fan scrapers. The blade industry apparently predates, but bears little resemblance to, Canaanean blades of the Early Bronze Age, and is therefore assigned, in the absence of radiocarbon dates, to an earlier, probably Chalcolithic, period. Core and blade production techniques are discussed and these strategies are compared to the well know Canaanean Industry. While a few formed tools were found made from these blades, most of the intended products, the more regular blades are now missing from surface assemblages, and must have been transported as tool blanks, perhaps as items of trade along with the vast quantities of fan scraper blanks.

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A10) Reports on Current Excavations, ASOR-Affiliated II

Constance E. Gane, Andrews University, Presiding

36) Rudolph Dornemann, ASOR
Thoughts on the Early Bronze Age IV and Iron I Remains at Tell Qarqur

      The Iraq war made it impossible to undertake a field season at Tell Qarqur in 2003 but provided an opportunity to study and reassess materials and sequences excavated in recent seasons. Though some loose ends remain to be completed in the field, on the Early Bronze IVB building phases in Areas A and E, the collection of materials associated with three major Early Bronze IV phases are significant. Tell Qarqur stratum 14 represents the beginning of EBIV, a phase after the flourit of "Khirbet Kerak" ware and parallel to Tell Mardikh IIB1, the Palace G phase. Tell Qarqur stratum 13 represents the Akkad period and EBIVB, and stratum 12 the post-Akkad phase at the end of the Early Bronze Age. Detailed comparisons will be presented to the neighboring sequences from Hama (J), Amuq (I, J), Afis, Mardikh and the concentration of Early Bronze sites in Euphrates River Valley. All of this will be placed in context of the sequence of 14C from Tell Qarqur. The Iron I ceramic sequence of Stratum 9 in Areas B and D currently does not extend chronologically beyond the eleventh and early tenth centuries BC. The distinctive character of the painted wares and their broad parallels will be reviewed and the current corpus of poorly stratified but significant 12th century sherds will be illustrated.

37) S. Thomas Parker, North Carolina State University
The 2002 Season of the Roman Aqaba Project

      The project aims to reconstruct the economy of the Roman port of Aila, now within the modern Jordanian city of Aqaba on the Red Sea. The results are contributing to the ongoing scholarly debate about the nature of the Roman Empire's economy. The research design consists of a regional archaeological and environmental survey of the environs of Aila and excavation of the ancient city to recover its history and artifacts relevant to its economy. The regional survey (completed in 1998) revealed no evidence of an agricultural hinterland, suggesting Aila was supported logistically from more distant sources. Excavations over scattered areas have yielded a complete stratigraphic profile extending from the late 1st century B.C.E. to the 10th century C.E. Various literary sources document Aila's role in the traffic of luxury goods. But the project's excavations have greatly expanded our knowledge of Aila's trade to include many other types of commodities, such as fine ware pottery, glass, steatite vessels, wine, and oil. The excavations have also revealed that Aila was a center of several industries, including production of ceramics, metal, and shell. Excavation in 2002 focused on several areas, including the Byzantine city wall, two domestic complexes, and a mud brick structure that may be the oldest purpose-built church known in the world, erected ca. 300. Limited soundings were also conducted at the small Roman road fort of Qasr al-Qitara, just north of Aila on the via nova Traiana.

38) Martha Sharp Joukowsky, Brown University
A Decade of Brown University Excavations at the Petra Great Temple

      Petra, the once lost city of the Nabataeans has a Great Temple that has had a decade of excavation by Brown University archaeologists. At the end of the first century BCE the Nabataean Arabs created a grandiose work of art which was breathtaking in its achievement-they constructed a striking monumental architectural masterpiece adorned with extraordinary sculpture and stucco decoration. The Great Temple, it would appear, was one of the earliest building projects undertaken to glorify the Nabataean capital. For close to 350 years the Great Temple served the Nabataean people of Petra.
      After 2000 years of being forgotten, the Great Temple has emerged from its ruins as one of the unique, major architectural and sculptural complexes of the Petra central city. Nabataean practical skill is represented at the Great Temple in its water management systems, and Nabataean artistic skills can be seen in the monumental architecture, elaborate capitals decorated with Asian elephant heads and remarkable sculpture.
      From CE 106 Petra was controlled by the Romans, and in CE 363 the Great Temple was destroyed by an earthquake that rocked the site. This presentation recounts the story of the Brown University excavations as well as the newly recognized Nabataean artistic canon. Ten consecutive excavation seasons have been complimented by the preservation, consolidation and reconstruction of the Great Temple currently being carried out by Brown University with the collaboration of the Jordanian Department of Antiquities.

39) Sara Karz Reid, Brown University
Excavations at the Small Temple of Petra, Jordan

      Excavation of the Petra Small Temple, first identified early in the twentieth century, began in 2000 and continued in the summers of 2001 and 2002. The author has supervised its excavation, in order to establish the building's historical development, function, and relationship to other structures in the religious center of Petra.
      The first two seasons of excavation focused on the interior of the hexastyle building, in which the most notable material find was an abundance of marble in the forms of revetment, cornices, a pair of basins, and several hundred fragments of Latin and Greek inscriptions. When possible the inscriptions have been reconstructed, revealing several with content relating to Roman rule. There are no geologic sources of marble in or near Petra, and isotopic analysis suggests that most of the marble originated in western Anatolia or the Greek islands. During the 2002 season, excavation of the building interior and portico was completed, and exploration began in other parts of the precinct, including the staircase and courtyard to the north.
      I tentatively suggest that after the Roman annexation of 106 CE the building was used as an imperial cult building, dedicated to the worship of the Roman emperor. The use of the Small Temple during earlier, Nabataean phases remains unknown. These questions of identification will be addressed.

40) Susan Cohen, Montana State University
Excavation and Analysis of the Middle Bronze Age IIA Cemetery Site of Gesher, Israel

      Gesher is a small Middle Bronze Age IIA cemetery site located in the northern Jordan Valley in Israel. Preliminary excavations conducted in 1986 and 1987 yielded fourteen burials and associated material culture, and indicated the site's potential importance for shedding light on the population and settlement in rural interior of Canaan in the early second millennium B.C.E. Although the urbanizing nature of the early Middle Bronze Age in Canaan has been the focus of considerable archaeological examination, the role of the small settlements and rural population that provided the bases of the economic and political networks that supported the urbanizing culture remains imperfectly understood. Starting in June 2002, excavations were re-opened at Gesher, in association with Montana State University, with the goal of examining burial customs, mortuary data, and social and economic developments of rural Middle Bronze Age Canaan. The excavations at Gesher have utilized an interdisciplinary approach, combining anthropological, archaeological, and historical theory and methodology to understand the social and economic development of rural interior Canaan in the MB IIA. This paper will present the results of the 2002 and 2003 excavations at Gesher, and will link the resultant biological and archaeological data with material from other, similar Middle Bronze Age IIA cemetery sites, thereby contributing to current knowledge and understandings of Canaanite social and economic developments, rural-urban interactions, and the nature of the population of rural Canaan in the early Middle Bronze Age.

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A11) Symposium on Recent Research in the Madaba Plains Region of Jordan II

Theme: State of Research Projects in the Madaba Plain and Prospects for the Future

Debra Foran and Andrew Graham, University of Toronto, Presiding

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A12) The Ethics of Collecting and Communicating the Near Eastern Past

Theme: Fakes and Forgeries

Ellen Herscher, CAARI; Patty Gerstenblith, DePaul University; and Morag Kersel, University of Cambridge, Presiding

41) Neil Silberman, Independent
Second Class Relics: Forgery, Fantasy, and the Ideology of Antiquities Collecting in the Holy Land

      Despite public moralizing, sophisticated rationalization, and passionate appeals to preserve precious evidence for scholarly study, the problem posed to our discipline by unprovenanced antiquities (and the private antiquities market that supplies them) has steadily grown. This paper will attempt to frame the problem in a wider context, namely, the distinction that must be made between "relics" and archaeological evidence. After briefly highlighting the origins and social significance of the medieval cult of relics, the paper will explore the sharply opposing concept of archaeological evidence that emerged during the Enlightenment. It will argue that the careful recording of provenance is not merely a desirable (and optional) quality of true archaeological evidence. Its absence fundamentally alters the social and intellectual significance of the object in question, transforming it into a symbolic representation of a pre-existing belief system, aesthetic typology, or historical narrative. The value of unprovenanced antiquities is thus primarily illustrative rather than explanatory and undermines the generally accepted goals of modern archaeology and social scientific research. Some notable recent examples of this phenomenon in the field of Biblical Archaeology will be highlighted, and it will be suggested that beyond their entanglement with antiquities looting, antiquities forgery, and international blackmarketeering, the publication and publicizing of unprovenanced artifacts pose a clear and present danger to the intellectual integrity of our discipline.

42) Alexander Joffe for John Russell
What's Wrong with Fakes?

      Why all the fuss about the authenticity of the "James Ossuary," to name but one example of a questionable artifact over which scholars have spilled much good ink? From the perspective of concern about the human cost of archaeological plundering, aren't fakes an unmitigated blessing for heritage preservation and the study of the past? Resources invested in fakes are not invested in plundering, and the fakes themselves often have extraordinary entertainment value. Should we wish for a day when every new object on the market is fake? Does the presence of fakes in collections and museums have any adverse effect on the scholarship of the past? And what about the inevitable tantalizing objects that try the resolve of even the most ardent pro-provenience advocate?

43) Yuval Goren, Tel Aviv University
The Jerusalem Syndrome in Archaeology - from Jehoash to James

      The Jerusalem Syndrome is a clinical psychiatric diagnosis first identified by Dr. Heinz Herman in the 1930s. The term is used to refer to a temporary state of sudden and intense religious delusions, brought on whilst visiting or living in the Jerusalem. Patients often adopt "biblical" or otherwise eccentric clothing, often merging their identity with that of a character from the Bible. Finally, patients begin to adopt individual religious requirements and peculiar customs, to which they attach unusual significance, such as idiosyncratic prayers, street preaching, or bursting forth in chant or song. By far the majority of Jerusalem Syndrome victims are harmless. However, there have been a few significant exceptions. During the last decade, several archaeological artifacts of unknown origin, all said to be originating from Jerusalem, have immerged in several collections. In all cases, these artifacts create an attribution to a major Biblical location or figure such as the Solomonic temple or Jesus Christ. The attribution is made both within the item, through a dedication text, and outside of it through opinions by persons who are a source of authority in the field. Methodologically, their treatment by the scientific community may sometimes be interpreted as a milder symptom of the Jerusalem Syndrome. This paper will present in detail the results of authenticity tests that were made on to some of the best-known artifacts of this category, with regard to the hazardous role of the Jerusalem Syndrome in their previous study, interpretation, and acquisition.

44) Amir Ganor, Israel Antiquities Authority
Antiquities Theft in Israel

      From 1967, many Israelis and others have begun investigating their roots in an attempt to learn more about the Holy Land and birthplace of the three major religions. As a result, the number of professional collectors has multiplied, as has the number of tourists searching for souvenirs from the Holy Land. Christian pilgrims are interested in objects from Jesus' time and Jewish collectors in any token of Israelite and Judean culture and monarchy, from the Second Temple Period to the Bar Kokhba Revolt. The demand for ancient artifacts brought with it a new source of income to the country, especially in areas bordering the Green Line where modern day antiquities robbery made its appearance. The Israel Antiquities Law has recently been changed by the Knesset and the Law will now limit the legalization of stolen antiquities and reduce the profitability of purchasing antiquities from questionable sources. The earlier legal situation allowed licensed dealers to freely buy from thieves. This situation only encouraged the continuing destruction of antiquities sites and supplied a continuous livelihood to the robbers who destroying the cultural heritage and history of Israel. In 1985, the Israel Antiquities Authority (then the Department of Antiquities) established a nationwide unit for preventing antiquities theft and supervising commerce in antiquities. The unit has been very successful at catching Antiquities Law violators. The lecture will describe the work of this unit and introduce some of the last cases.

A13) Roman and Byzantine Palestine

Jürgen Zangenberg, University of Wuppertal, Presiding

45) Joe Zias, Hebrew University
The Tomb of Absalom. It definitely 'ain't necessarily so'

     Of all of Jerusalem's Second Temple funerary monuments, none is as prominent as the Tomb of Absalom in the Kidron Valley. Standing to a height of 20 meters, with it's impressive architecture, the monument has been extensively photographed as well as studied, by generations of scholars. From the 12th century AD onward, the monument, believed to be uninscribed, was wrongly attributed to Absalom, the rebellious son of King David. As a result Moslems, Christians and Jews have for centuries stoned the monument in revenge for his acts of rebellion towards his father. Consequently, the facade of the once smoothed limestone surface became deeply pitted and obliterated erasing almost all evidence of prominent 4th century inscriptions, conspicuously displayed on the monument. The exact location of one of these early Christian tombs, mentioned in the writings of Epiphanius, Saint Jerome and Theodisus thus became lost with the passage of time.
     Archaeologists and epigraphers alike are well aware of the axiom that lighting, whether it be natural or artificial can be decisive when reading inscriptions. As a result of this fact, several important Greek inscriptions, measuring 120 cm in length, nearly obliterated, were recently rediscovered by the present author and translated by Emile Puech of the Ecole Biblique. These new inscriptions will shed light on important Byzantine traditions in the Kidron Valley as well as the controversial ossuary, "James The Brother of Jesus, son of Joseph."

46) Ze'ev Weiss, Hebrew University
The House of Orpheus, a Domicile in the Civic Center of Roman Sepphoris

     The House of Orpheus, located next to the intersection of the cardo and the decumanos in Lower Sepphoris, was unearthed by the Hebrew University excavation team between 1995 and 2002. It measures 17 x 28.5 m and is named after the splendid mosaic depicting Orpheus that graces its triclinium. The building has three entrances, to the north, east, and south, however main access into the building appears to have been through the eastern doorway and via a small stone-paved antechamber located adjacent to the cardo. Inside the building, the lavishly decorated triclinium is abutted on the south by a partially reconstructed courtyard with two aisles. Various rooms surrounding the triclinium and courtyard contain mosaics with simple designs. The building was constructed in the second half of the third century A.D., probably destroyed by an earthquake in the mid-fourth century A.D., and then renovated immediately thereafter.
      In my paper, I will discuss the building's architectural layout and artistic decoration, compare it with similar structures unearthed at the site and beyond it, and conclude with some remarks regarding the location of the building within the civic center and what we can learn from it about the distribution of public and private space in Roman Sepphoris.

47) Jerome C. Rose, University of Arkansas
Prosperity at Late Roman/Byzantine Sa'ad, a Rural Site in North Jordan

     Some archaeologists and historians suggest that widely exported Palestinian wine brought wealth and prosperity to the inhabitants of the Late Roman/Byzantine countryside. Sa'ad, located east of Jerash, has a mosaic-floored wine press that compares in size and storage capacity with the largest half of hundreds of Palestinian wine presses reported west of the river. The Church of St. Thomas has a fine mosaic floor that also hints at local prosperity. Individual horizontal shaft tombs at Sa'ad are used in this paper to demonstrate that the rural inhabitants benefited significantly from this general Palestinian prosperity brought on by agriculture. Often considered tombs of the poor, analysis of the jewelry demonstrates otherwise. These people not only had moderate wealth, the preponderance of "costume" jewelry demonstrates that they had greater aspirations. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis informs us that the diet of the people in these supposedly poor horizontal shaft tombs was the same as those from the large tombs at Sa'ad and horizontal shaft tombs from two other sites in north Jordan. This diet had not changed since the Late Bronze Age. This interpretation of the bioarchaeological data from Sa'ad indicates that this type of horizontal shaft tomb, found by the thousands in north Jordan, requires additional study and reconsideration.

48) Stephen Shoemaker, University of Oregon
The Church of the Kathisma and its Influence on the Qur'anic Nativity Tradition

     In winter of 1997, an archaeological discovery occurred on the outskirts of Jerusalem, holding great significance for our understanding of the earliest development of the Qur'anic traditions. Approximately halfway between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, just to the east of the main highway, a group of archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority engaged in a salvage operation unearthed large octagonal church, which our late ancient sources identify as the church of the "Kathisma of the Theotokos," or the "Seat of the God-Bearer." This fifth-century church was originally associated with the Nativity of Christ but eventually came to be linked with the commemoration of Mary's death and, more importantly, with certain events from the Holy Family's legendary flight into Egypt, as described in several early Christian apocrypha. The newly discovered church's connection with both Christ's Nativity and the flight into Egypt is particularly important, since it is the only place where these two early Christian traditions intersect, outside of the Qur'anic account of Jesus' Nativity. Moreover, church of the Kathisma was converted into a mosque in the early eighth century, and its decorations suggest very strongly that the recycled sacred space continued to commemorate the Nativity of Jesus, as the Christian shrine had before the Arab conquests. Moreover, the significance of this shrine in early Islam is underscored by the important architectural and artistic relationships that the excavators have identified between the Kathisma church/mosque and the Dome of the Rock.

49) Ofer Sion, Israel Antiquities Authority
A Palatial Home in Bet Shean from the Late Byzantine to Umayyad Period

      This paper presents the architectural history of a peristyle type mansion that reflects the vagaries of the fortunes of the provincial city of Scythopolis in its latest classical and immediately post-classical phases. One of only nine buildings of this type known within the region from classical times, it appears to be a local variation and its latest exponent. In its earlier phase this rather opulent residence, perched atop a slope above the Jordan River and positioned so as to face the imposing heights of Biblical Gilead to the east mirrors the prosperity of the sixth century CE city. Located without the city walls, the mansion notably incorporated a family tomb that allows us to identify the owners as Christians. A later phase of this same building, dated to the Umayyad period indicates a rather sharp decline in the city's fortunes following the devastating earthquake of 749 CE. Much of the earlier opulent character of the building was lost and additional rooms were built, causing a reduction in the size of the "public" areas of the house. There is, in addition, the likelihood that the changes wrought upon this structure also reflect the religious persuasion of its owners, now thought to be Moslems.

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A14) Public Program session: Jewish Life in Ancient Egypt

*This program will take place at Emory University. See more information on this lecture and tour of the Carlos Museum.

Edward Bleiberg, Brooklyn Museum of Art
Scenes from a Marriage: A Jewish Family Archive from Ancient Egypt

     The exhibit "Jewish Life in Ancient Egypt: A Family Archive from the Nile Valley" at the Carlos Museum focuses on the private lives of the Jewish temple official Ananiah son of Azariah and his Egyptian wife, Tamut, who both lived on Elephantine Island in the late 5th century BCE. Their family papers, now located in the Brooklyn Museum of Art, reveal daily life during Dynasty 27 (525 -402 BC) -- the period of Persian rule in Egypt and the Near East. Included in the discussion are the arrival of Jews in Egypt some time after the destruction of Solomon's Temple and the type of Judaism they practiced. Ananiah and Tamut's family life is discussed from their marriage in 447 BCE to the final payment on their daughter's bride gift in 402 BCE. In between these events we learn about marriage, labor conditions, real estate, and burial in a multi-cultural community comprising Egyptians, Jews, and Persians. Egypt in this period was surprisingly modern in its tolerance of diverse ethnic groups. Intermarriage was known and people had many of the same concerns then as now. Yet the papyri also reveal details of Egyptian slavery and the practice of Judaism in ancient times that Americans will find strange and illuminating.

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