Seminarians

Mudaybi, Jordan Excavation, June 22-July 27, 1997

Michael G. VanZant, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Mudaybi lies on the "desert fringe" between the cultivated land and the arid desert of the southeastern section of the Karak plateau. The position of the site is ideal for the study of resource usage and conservation both historically and contemporarily. Local Bedouin families and herds frequent the area as they have for centuries. One aspect of the Kerak Resources Project was the anthropological study of the Bedouin and their usage of the limited resources in the area.

Further, geological survey and soil analysis were used for the processing and integrating of historical patterns in climate change and resource availability. Such knowledge may help in future conservation in the region as the population continues to expand and greater pressures are applied to the local resources.

Mudaybi was chosen for excavation for the above reasons and for its position at the entrance of a broad valley (Fajj al-'Usaykir), which leads from the "Desert Highway" through the plateau to the "King's Highway," at the city of Karak Strategically situated between these two major roads.

Mudaybi is of obvious importance. As a possible administrative site responsible for the trade traffic that surely frequented the valley, Mudaybi offers the opportunity to investigate migration, trade, and the resource bartering that was present in historic eras. Several historical periods are evident in the surface remains and are confirmed by the season's excavation. The primary structure dates to the Iron Age, yet was modified and occupied through the centuries.

The site was heavily fortified with a well-built wall complete with towers that is clearly visible in the existing ruins. Large quarried and uncut stones of basalt, limestone, and chert were used in the site's construction. Therefore, the study of the region's use of resources such as water, plants, building stones, clay deposits, and travel brought Mudaybi into view as an ideal site.

During the five week excavation season, six squares were opened with each square measuring 6 x 6 m. Three squares investigated the north-central acropolis of the 84 m x 84 m site. Three squares were opened in the eastern gateway visible within the surface ruins. In the latter field (Field B), two chambers of a presumed four chambered gate were exposed. By the end of the season, Iron Age pottery remains found within charred timbers painted a picture of destruction, the cause of which is still to be determined. The discovery of an intact proto-aeolic capital, coupled with one complete capital and several fragments of capitals on the surface, supports an administrative or royal site.

Field A, the acropolis area, was the field in which I worked. The goal for this area was to find domestic activity and remains. A broad wall structure was uncovered that formed a large room of which only the western 1.5 m was excavated within the square. Artefacts and potsherd remains portrayed a varied and sporadic occupation of the "room" through severa1 archaeological periods covering the Late Islamic era to the Early Byzantine period. Another season of excavation is necessary to uncover the remaining occupation levels down to bedrock.

Tel Beth-Shemesh Excavations

Jeffrey M. R. Kentel, Waterloo Lutheran Seminary

Beth-Shemesh is located on the border between Judah and Philistia and therefore its history is ladened with the record of Judahite/Philistine interaction. As a result of our efforts excavating Area E at Tel Beth-Shemesh this past season, we dug up more questions than answers. However, it is very positive to note that, bit by bit, the puzzle can come together. We were at least able to determine that Area E on the southern part of the tel has no traces of any seventh century occupation. This information supports the theory that the water reservoir of Area C in the northern part of the tel was used during the seventh century but not necessarily by a group settled on the tel. It is quite likely that those who made use of the cistern did so from a distance, or at least from an area around the perimeter of the tel. In addition to this, we now also have further evidence for dating the demise of the city. Our excavations of the 1997 season have only just begun to probe the Stratigraphy of Area E. Much still awaits the pick and trowel. Area E contains a huge mud-brick collapse that as yet remains undetermined in terms of nature and scope. As of yet, we are still very unsure of the relation of the mud-brick collapse to McKenzie's "strong wall." Each season has its own particular set of questions. This past season can be considered a success in that we were able to determine the answer to the basic question asked of the area.

Tell el-Ahwat Excavations, Israel

Ralph K Hawkins, School of Theology at the University of the South

Undergraduate Students:

Bir Madhkur Excavations, Jordan

Laura Brian, Willamette University

According to a project outline report written by the co-directors of the Bir Madhkur project, the Wadi 'Araba region has largely been considered unsuitable for extensive ancient occupation. This was thought to be due to the inhospitable climate and the lack of references to the area in historical texts. However, recent discoveries in the area reveal that it was inhabited and that it most likely played a more important role than previously assumed. Throughout the Nabataean, Roman, and Byzantine periods, a number of trade routes crossed over the Wadi 'Araba, linking Petra, Alla, Gaza, and Jerusalem. Bir Madhkur may have served as a way-station for the traders as they crossed through the Wadi 'Araba. Further investigation into the skeletal remains can shed light on the different populations that inhabited the site. The Wadi 'Araba region also served as a fortified frontier during the Roman and Byzantine Empires. The evident strategic military importance is increasing with the new discoveries of Classic fortification throughout the area. Andrew Smith's documentation of two newly discovered caravansaries serve to prove that this region had more military importance in antiquity than previously thought, and also that this region is in need of more careful excavation and exploration.

Aqaba Excavations, Jordan

Allen Katic, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada

Examination of the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian Religions in the Middle East

Joel Bacha, University of California San Diego

I spent two months in the deserts of Jordan taking part in the Archaeological excavation at Wadi Fidan, located at the mouth of Wadi Feinan where it opens into Wadi Arabah of the Jordanian River Valley. The Feinan area was perhaps the major source of Chalcolithic and EBI copper ore for a wide range of ancient communities in Israel/Palestine, Egypt, and Jordan.

A Chalcolithic village and a nearby Cemetery were being excavated by Thomas E. Levy and Russel B. Adams at Wadi Fidan 4. A scarab found at the cemetery site is direct evidence that travelling and possibly trade was carried out between the Wadi Feinan region and Egypt. Though the scarab dates back to the EBII period (1800-1500 B.C.E.), it shows that there were still migrating peoples in the area at this time. Three hundred years later, possibly in the time of Moses, the Israelites most likely passed through this region on their way from Mt. Hor to Punon (Numbers 33: 37-43), located south and north of Wadi Feinan respectively. Was the cemetery site related to the Israelites' 40-year trek through the desert? I am curious to see if any graves from the cemetery's C14 dating, which is currently being carried out, date to the time of Moses (ca. 1200 B.C.E.).

My third month was spend visiting Biblical sites throughout Jordan, Israel, and Egypt to help gain an understanding of what separates the religions of the world.

Bim (hot water bathing room) and unheated circular room (unctorium) were excavated in 1996. Excavation in 1997 focused on the frigidarium (cold water bathing room) and a tepidarium (warm room). The focal point of the frigidarium was an immersion pool (internal dimensions 1.24 m long x 2.59 m wide x 0.94 m deep). The pool was located in the center of the room and its rims were built up from the floor level. These rims were constructed from Nabataean dressed blocks and the interior of the pool was coated with hydraulic plaster. Two plastered steps in the northeast comer of the pool afforded access to the northern half of the frigidarium. This portion of the room was paved by flagstones and contained a bench running along the outside of the pool. Preliminary analysis suggests the frigidarium remained in use until its roof collapsed on a hapless bather. Later, in the Byzantine period, the northern half of the room was reused as a cooking area.

To the west of the frigidarium and between it and the calidarium (excavated last year), is a room that probably functioned as a sweat room or tepidarium (warm room). Excavation failed to uncover a hypocaust beneath the floor; however, a great deal of gray-faced wall plaster was found in the soil fill. This plaster has an external gray face (blackish in a few areas), which is present on at least two successive layers of plastering. The facing is still undergoing analysis but it is conceivable that this is soot that accumulated while the plaster was still on the walls. This would suggest the warm room was heated by a brazier rather than by a hypocaust as was the case for the hot room (calidarium).

The utilization pattern at this Nabataean bath was probably for bathers to enter the bathhouse through a small apodyterium (not yet excavated). In this room they would remove their clothes before proceeding to an unheated unctorium where they would apply oil to their bodies. Next they entered a tepidarium where the warm air would help them acclimatize before experiencing the severe heat of the calidarium. After washing in the calidarium's heated water basin, they passed back through the tepidarium on their way to the frigidarium. To finish their bath, the bathers would climb down into the frigidarium's pool and allow the cold water to close their pores. After exiting the pool, bathers might rest on the benches along its side before going back into the apodyterium and retrieving their clothes.

It is significant that the Nabataeans who settled at Wadi Ramm would go to the trouble of constructing such an elaborate bathhouse. This bath is located in the midst of the Hisma desert where annual water supply averages only 95 mm a year. The construction of a multi-room hypocausted bathhouse in this location must have been a very conscious decision. The Nabataean's motivation for constructing this bath may have been to provide a luxury retreat for an important man (a chief or a priest), as a source of revenue from travellers on the caravan route, or to fulfil a requirement of Nabataean religion. Likely, the true answer encompasses all three possibilities. As regards religion, the placement of so many baths near to Nabataean temples (e.g. at Sia, Petra, the Pond Tesearch goals of this feasibility study were reached. The reconnaissance survey of the environs of Bir Madhkur produced a large volume of data in one week, with the promise of data which can be obtained from additional sites not yet recorded. The archaeological discovery of two new Nabataean/ Roman/Early Byzantine caravansaries typifies the lack of exploration and general knowledge of the archaeological history of the area. The excavation of the cemetery areas solidified the potential of extracting a large amount of skeletal data from the surveyed cemeteries at Bir Madhkur. Future bioarchaeological research within the cemeteries associated with the site should focus instead on the smaller cemeteries within the environs of Bir Madhkur since from the excavation data it is not evident that there are one or two large cemeteries associated with the site. Further research in Area A should not be excluded, however, since there are still potential graves within the area. Remote sensing techniques may be used to clarify possible graves based on surface features. Thus, the results from the preliminary season justify continued archaeological research at Bir Madhkur.

In the past, research on the ancient history of Wadi Araba has focused on its role as a regional metallurgical center. Excavation at Bir Madhkur hoped to elucidate the role of Wadi Araba during the period of the introduction of Christianity to the region. While no overt signs of a Christian presence were uncovered during the preliminary season of the Bir Madhkur Excavation and Survey, a hopefully more enlightened picture of rural life (and death) of individuals in the Holy Land will emerge from our research. The older adult woman and juvenile uncovered in Area B at Bir Madhhur demonstrate that the community consisted of individuals beyond the Nabataean and Roman military, including perhaps a sedentary agricultural population as well. It is hoped that future excavation within the cemeteries, as well as the occupied area of the site, will provide more information on the life in rural villages during the period of the development of Christianity in southern Jordan.

Bir Madhkur Excavation and Survey in Jordan

Megan A. Perry, University of New Mexico

The major research goal of the 1997 excavation season at Bir Madhkur was to determine the feasibility of using skeletal data from the cemeteries at Bir Madhkur for bioarchaeological research in the region. The presence of two large cemeteries at Bir Madhkur was suggested by previous survey evidence. The surface features associated with these cemeteries, however, were not always found to be associated with burials. Evidence from excavation within Area A proves that the sample size promised from the cemeteries southeast of the site may be much less than initially expected. More promising burial features were seen closer to the fort, and it is suggested that in future seasons at Bir Madhkur excavation trenches should be placed there. The use of remote sensing techniques, such as ground-penetrating radar, could assist in the identification of burials beneath possible burial features on the surface in Area A. The research design for January 1998 does include a remote sensing technician in the field.

The condition of the skeletal remains excavated ranged from poor (the disarticulated, scattered remains in Area A Trench 4), to good (Area B Trench 5) to excellent (Area B Trench 6). It seems that the articulated burials recovered from Bir Madhkur should have good to excellent preservation, most likely as a result of the arid climate. Based on the artifacts and burial orientation, the burials located within the two areas investigated at Bir Madhkur seem to date to the pre-Islarnic period. Further research on the artifacts found associated with the burial in Trench 5 should provide a better determination of the date. In addition, samples of the skeletal remains will be taken in future seasons to provide a carbon-14 date of the burials. Evidence of the 60+ year old female and the juvenile demonstrates that these cemeteries did not only contain the military and trader dead, but also most likely local populations. Population genetics research should illuminate whether these are local inhabitants of the region or not.

The regional survey of the environs of Bir Madhkur provided additional data on cemeteries which may be associated with the site. The cemetery associated with the Roman house southwest of the site (Site 10) is a possibility for future investigation, as well as a cemetery to the north associated with an Early RomanlNabataean structure within an Ottoman period village. The burials there do not conform to an Islamic orientation, therefore it is suggested that they are Early Roman/Nabataean in date. In addition, the Area B cemetery results suggest that future excavation in that area would be fruitful, although the possibility of encountering Islamic period burials needs to be addressed and accounted for. Furthermore, the cemeteries associated with the newly-discovered caravansary Qasr es-Faysif to the east of the site, as well as Umm Rattam would increase the regional skeletal sample. In addition, Late Roman/Byzantine site 149 from the 1994 SAAS cat 8 kms to the east contains a possibly associated cemetery of 13 burials (Smith et al. 1997).

By the end of our 1997 field season, all of the initial research goals of this feasibility study were reached. The reconnaissance survey of the environs of Bir Madhkur produced a large volume of data in one week, with the promise of data which can be obtained from additional sites not yet recorded. The archaeological discovery of two new Nabataean/ Roman/Early Byzantine caravansaries typifies the lack of exploration and general knowledge of the archaeological history of the area. The excavation of the cemetery areas solidified the potential of extracting a large amount of skeletal data from the surveyed cemeteries at Bir Madhkur. Future bioarchaeological research within the cemeteries associated with the site should focus instead on the smaller cemeteries within the environs of Bir Madhkur since from the excavation data it is not evident that there are one or two large cemeteries associated with the site. Further research in Area A should not be excluded, however, since there are still potential graves within the area. Remote sensing techniques may be used to clarify possible graves based on surface features. Thus, the results from the preliminary season justify continued archaeological research at Bir Madhkur.

Wadi Ramm's Nabateean Bath and its Significance in Nabataean Religion

M. Barbara Reeves, University of Victoria

I travelled to Jordan this summer in order to continue my research on the role of bathing in Nabateean religion. Bathing has played a part in the religious observance of most, if not all, of the world's religions, including the cultures of the Old and New Testaments (e.g. Jewish ritual baths, Christian baptism). In the Second Temple period, the Nabataeans occupied many of the desert regions in the Holy Land. These desert-dwellers' lives and livelihood depended on reliable access to fresh water. The sanctity of water to these people is exemplified by their habit of carving or erecting religious symbols next to springs (e.g. at Wadi Ramm) and on their cisterns and dams (e.g. at Humeima). I believe it is also indicated by the construction of bathhouses near Nabataean temples. Except for some published speculation regarding the religious significance of the bathhouse at Petra, which is located in the midst of four temples, nothing is known, however, about the role of bathhouses in Nabataean religion. Indeed most of the bathhouses identified near temples have not yet been excavated (e.g. the baths at the "Pond Temple" near Petra, and at Sia) or published (i.e. the public bath in Petra, excavated in the 1960s).

The Nabataean bathhouse at Wadi Ramm has until this year also remained unpublished. Parts of the structure were excavated in the 1960s by the Jordanian Department of Antiquities but the records of that excavation were lost before the results could be published. As almost nothing is known about Nabataean bathing habits, the reexamination and documentation of this neglected and deteriorating bathhouse is crucial. I began such an investigation in 1986 as part of the Wadi Ramm Recovery Project (which I co-direct with Dennine Dudley). A second season of investigation was carried out in 1997 with the assistance of an EBR travel grant.

The bathhouse at Wadi Ramm forms part of a large, probably palatial complex (hereafter referred to as "The Eastern Complex"). This complex is situated alongside Ramm's Nabataean Temple on a small hill at thee foot of Jebel Ramm. The elevation of the Eastern Complex in relation to Ramm's ancient settlement and the complexes pairing with a temple suggest this was an important structure when built (probably in the first century B.C.E./C.E.).

The bathhouse is located in the southeast quadrant of the Eastern Complex. Five rooms, connected by doors, form the central bathing core and have been tentatively labeled the apodyterium, frigidarium, tepidarium, calidarium, and unctorium. Rooms around the periphery are believed to have functioned as service or ancillary areas. A hypocaust-heated calidarium (hot water bathing room) and unheated circular room (unctorium) were excavated in 1996. Excavation in 1997 focused on the frigidarium (cold water bathing room) and a tepidarium (warm room). The focal point of the frigidarium was an immersion pool (internal dimensions 1.24 m long x 2.59 m wide x 0.94 m deep). The pool was located in the center of the room and its rims were built up from the floor level. These rims were constructed from Nabataean dressed blocks and the interior of the pool was coated with hydraulic plaster. Two plastered steps in the northeast comer of the pool afforded access to the northern half of the frigidarium. This portion of the room was paved by flagstones and contained a bench running along the outside of the pool. Preliminary analysis suggests the frigidarium remained in use until its roof collapsed on a hapless bather. Later, in the Byzantine period, the northern half of the room was reused as a cooking area.

As yet no finds in the bathhouse are solely indicative of a religious purpose. However, a bronze statuette of a nude Venus conducting her toilet was found in another section of the Eastern Complex in 1996. Dennine Dudley, who directed the excavations in this area, has suggested that since the Nabataean deity Allat took on the (water-related) attributes of Venus, this figure may represent the deity to whom Ramm's temple is known to have been dedicated. Another possible indication of this bathhouse's connection with the nearby temple is the bronze dolphin tail found in that temple. The presence of a water deity (a Nereid mounted on a sea centaur) on a relief in the temple encircled bathhouse at Petra may also have had religious significance for the Nabataeans. This will in turn provide us with a better understanding of the relation between water, bathing and religion throughout the Holy Land.

My research into the role of bathing in Nabataean religion is still underway and I plan to carry out future fieldwork related to this topic both at Wadi Ramm and at other Nabataean sites. This summer's fieldwork provided important new information about the construction of Nabataean baths that will assist me in my future research. I anticipate one more field season will be required to complete the excavation of Ramm's bath. Preliminary results of the fieldwork are currently being published on a yearly basis but, once excavation is complete, a final report will be published that will include an archaeological, literary, and cross-cultural discussion of Nabataean bathing habits and their relation to Nabataean religion.

Analysis of the Groundstone Artifacts From Tel el-Wawiyat, Israel

Jennie R. Ebeling, University of Arizona

During the summer of 1997, I analyzed and prepared for publication some 300 groundstone artifacts unearthed during the University of Arizona's excavations at Tel el-Wawiyat in 1986 and 1987. The Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem provided space for me to work with the groundstone artifacts, and space for the project's directors, J.P. Dessel, Beth Alpert Nakhai, and Bonnie Wisthoff, to prepare the pottery and small finds for publication. During my award period, I was able to perform physical analyses on the groundstone, create a database of the objects, and take residue samples for future analysis at the University of Arizona's archaeological laboratories. I also photographed the pieces and arranged to have them drawn for publication. Most of the artifacts are now stored at the Albright Institute, and will be available if I need to continue my study next summer.

The results of my study on the groundstone artifacts will also be incorporated into my doctoral dissertation, which will focus on the use of groundstone tools in sacred contexts in Late Bronze Age South Canaan. Groundstone tools, which include upper and lower grinding stones, mortars, pestles, and pounders, have been used in the Middle East from prehistoric times to the present to grind cereals and other agricultural products. The large assemblage of groundstone tools unearthed at Tel el-Wawiyat--some 300 objects--demonstrates the importance of grain processing at this site during the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages. Perhaps this one-acre site was a sort of way-station in the Bet Netofa Valley during this period, providing food for those traveling along the trade route that ran by nearby Hannathon. The rich material culture assemblage found at Tel el-Wawiyat, which includes a large quantity of imported pottery, several female figurines in clay and bronze, and a Cypriote rattle, attests to the international influences on this site in the Late Bronze Age. During my work with the Tel el-Wawiyat groundstone, I was able to detect subtle distinctions in the objects, from wear patterns and intentional surface treatments to features that may reveal the handedness of those who used them. Looking at the artifacts this closely brought me much closer to those who made and used these important everyday tools, and gave me a better understanding of the daily lives of those who lived in the Galilee during a transitional period in the history of this region.

Phoenician Influence in the Eastern Mediterranean: A Cypriot Cemetery and Levantine Correlations

Kate Mackay, University of Arizona

The project for which I was awarded the EBR Research grant of 1997 was conducted on material retrieved from tombs discovered at the site of Ayios Georghios, a cemetery associated with the well-known southern coastal Iron Age site of Kition. These burials were excavated for the Cyprus Department of Antiquities by Dr. Sophocles Hadjisavvas in 1979. A series of 63 tombs was rescued from the teeth of bulldozers in a period of only a few weeks. Today the site is obliterated by the parking lot of a new supermarket. Some of the material retrieved from these tombs was destroyed, but the majority was recovered intact-this in itself is a rare occurrence in archaeology. The tombs and accompanying funerary monuments have been published only in preliminary form and of the ceramic material therein, only the inscribed vessels have been reported to date. In the meantime, the majority of this large corpus of material has been kept in the storerooms of the Larnaca Museum and has therefore been unavailable as a resource for scholars to use.

Of the 1503 objects discovered in these tombs and listed in their catalogues, 1166 were ceramics. The majority of the vessels were of the usually rather clumsy Cypriot "Plain White" ware, but in addition, White Painted, Bichrome Red, Bichrome, Black Ol. Red, Red Slip, Black Slip, Black Glazed, East Greek and Red figured Attic wares were represented. Included among the vessels were 75 intact (or almost so) torpedo storage jars, and there were fragments of at least ten other examples of the same form. These are closely related to the storage vessels discovered on the Phoenician coast of SyriaPalestine in both form and manufacture, and were probably imported from there. Several were excavated at this site complete with their lids of unbaked clay-a material that usually does not survive in contemporary contexts but which was discovered here because of the unusually intact nature of the tombs. Other Phoenician vessels appear in the examples of Phoenician Bichrome and Red Slip jugs and amphorae. These were rare (in comparison to the local so-called "Plain White" wares) occurrences in the tomb assemblages, but this in itself tells us something about the acculturation or integration of Phoenician settlers in Kition.

On the basis of information given to me by others who had already briefly seen the ceramics in the museum's storeroom, my grant proposal stated that the tomos or Ayios Georghios contained pottery dating to between the ninth and sixth centuries B.C.E. However, this summer's study of the ceramics indicates that there are very few vessels of such early date among those retrieved from the tombs. In contrast, the majority of the wares and forms displayed in these tombs do not appear until the sixth century B.C.E. and it is clear that many tombs are as late as the Hellenistic period. The excavator dates the earliest tomb to about 700 B.C.E., but concludes that the majority of the graves are from the end of the Cypro-Archaic and the Cypro-Classical periods. The slightly later chronological period illustrated in this cemetery necessitates a change in direction for this study-but one that is none the less significant. The lack of parallels to Phoenician Semi Fine pottery, for example, suggests that the eastem influence was weaker towards the end of the periods covered by these tombs (unless the graves do not reach into the second century when this ware appears on the Phoenician coast-a question which my analysis of these vessels has so far not tackled). The decisive Phoenician role in an eighth century B.C.E. artistic koine of the eastern Mediterranean, and their importance in the politics of the later periods of Persian influence in Cyprus ended at the end of the third century B.C.E. with the destruction of Phoenician temples in Kition. Because of the chronological span of these tombs, we may have in their ceramics an excellent illustration of the decline of Phoenician influence.

In the two and a half months that I spent in Cyprus, I managed to examine every vessel and sherd from within this large assemblage (save three pieces that were not in the Larnaca museum). Either a drawing or photograph was made for every ceramic, and for the most important (for my purposes) specimens of the assemblage, both types of record were produced. An archaeologist friend of mine from Edinburgh, Kirsty Cameron, joined me for two weeks and, between the two of us, we managed to produce 353 drawings of both complete vessels and sherds. Although the majority of these still need to be inked for presentation, this is significant progress for the time I had available to me.

In my investigation of the pottery, I also made notes on the techniques of manufacture and workmanship, clays used and colors of the ceramics, slips and paints. I therefore have most of the data with which to analyze the vessels. Due to time constraints, I was unable to record this information for all the pots, but hope that I have a representative sample. After further analysis of my data, it may be necessary to return to the museum's storerooms to obtain details on those I did not have the time to fully examine. In addition, I would like in the future to obtain samples of some of the ceramics-in particular, the Phoenician storage vessels. Little scientific work has been done to locate the origins of those specimens discovered in Cyprus, and so I would like to conduct some Neutron Activation Analysis to source the clays used.

The recording and analysis of vessels found within these tombs is merely the nucleus of this project. I was able to bring copies of the tomb plans back with me and will use them to analyze the location of individual ceramics in space and in relation to the skeletal remains found with them. I will then relate these to similar examples found in Cyprus and listed in previous works and to parallels found in numbers in the Levantine coastal region at sites such as 'Atlit, Achzib and Shiqmona, and occasionally inland as isolated instances at, for example, Megiddo and Tell el-Far'ah. It is interesting that once we move to the end of the Iron Age and into the Persian period of the Levantine region (later Cypro-Archaic, and Cypro-Classical periods in Cyprus), so much of the pottery there and in Cyprus is of such a similar nature-even the "Plain White" wares assumed to be of local Cypriot manufacture. Although Hadjisavvas emphasizes the Greek nature of this cemetery in its layout and cremation methods, the eastward-looking influences are also very evident not only in the pottery from these tombs, but also in the names of one Hittite and four Hebrew individuals on stelae from the site.