“The Archaeological Picture Went Blank”: Historical Archaeology and GIS analysis of the Landscape of the Palestinian Village of Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi
Available until September 7, 2018
Near Eastern Archaeology, March 2018, “‘The Archaeological Picture Went Blank’: Historical Archaeology and GIS analysis of the Landscape of the Palestinian Village of Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi” by Liora Kolska Horwitz (Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Rona Winter-Livneh (Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath Archaeological Project) and Aren M. Maeir (Bar-Ilan University)
Referring to the dearth of historical archaeological research in Israel, in Between Past and Present: Archaeology, Ideology, and Nationalism in the Modern Middle East, author Neil Silberman states: “Just as the story was beginning to get interesting—when the modern cultures of the region were in the process of formation—the archaeological picture went blank” (1989:233). Since Silberman published his book, the status of historical-archaeological research—notably of the Islamic and Ottoman periods in Israel—has certainly improved. To a large extent, the same cannot be said of archaeological research—either on objects, sites, or historic landscapes—relating to the British Mandate and the early years of the State of Israel.
