Table of Contents for Bulletin of ASOR 394 (November 2025)

Pp. 1-24: “Boulos el-ʿAraj: A Palestinian Quaker Archaeologist of the British Mandate Era (1926–1936),” by Jeffrey R. Zorn

Until recently, the work of Middle Easterners on archaeological projects in Palestine, and southwestern Asia and Egypt more broadly, during the period of colonialist control between the World Wars (1918–1939) has largely gone unnoticed, undocumented, and uncelebrated. However, over the last decade scholars have begun to take a long overdue interest in this subject, resulting in the appearance of an increasing number of publications addressing archaeology’s colonialist past. Egyptians, working both in Egypt itself and on projects in the Levant, have received the most attention so far. However, more work is now appearing on the roles of Palestinians during this turbulent time. This article documents and contextualizes the career of Boulos el-ʿAraj, a young Palestinian man active in British Mandate-era archaeology from ca. 1926–1936. Despite the number of excavations on which he worked, and his reputation at the time, he remains a mostly unknown figure, often going unmentioned in even recent articles dealing with Palestinian archaeologists of that era (for example, Abu Alsaud 2022, 2024), which makes documenting his career especially important.

Pp. 25-42: “Unveiling the Obscure: Exploring the Function and Meaning of Levantine Shrine Models through an Ethnoarchaeological Lens,” by Itamar Weissbein

This article examines pottery vessels commonly referred to as “shrine models” or “portable shrines,” which were found throughout the Bronze and Iron Age Levant. While these vessels are often recognized for their significant religious importance, their exact functions and meanings remain unclear to modern scholars. This study aims to offer new insights into these questions by drawing on ethnoarchaeological parallels from India, suggesting that these vessels may have served as symbolic dwellings for the spirits of deities or the deceased and offering insights into potential associated religious rituals.

Pp. 43-71: “Paleoenvironment and Fruit Tree Horticulture at Early Bronze Age Tel Bet Yerah: Evidence from Charcoal Remains,” by Eshel Mor, Raphael Greenberg, and Dafna Langgut

This article presents the first detailed examination of a charred wood assemblage from Early Bronze Age I–III Tel Bet Yerah (ca. 3700–2500 B.C.E.). The wood-anatomy identification of the charcoal remains aims to reconstruct the nearby natural and horticultural arboreal environment as well as the long-term human-environment relations at the site and beyond it. The assemblage provides evidence for substantial fruit-tree horticulture, mainly of olive and fig. In addition, there is evidence for exploitation of a well-developed Mediterranean woodland in the site’s vicinity, as well as of a riparian habitat. The assemblage also includes taxa rarely encountered in the regional archaeobotanical record, such as pomegranate. The transition from village to urban settlement in the Early Bronze II (ca. 3100–2850 B.C.E.) shows changes in the charred wood assemblage that parallel economic, cultural, and environmental changes evidenced in the settlement layout and other findings. Evolving cultural-economic interactions between local and “Khirbet Kerak” populations during the first part of the Early Bronze III (ca. 2850–2700 B.C.E.) are also indicated. The study also offers a general land-use scheme for the site, based on the data that emerged from this research combined with the results of other relevant paleoenvironmental and archaeobotanical studies.

Pp. 73-99: “Reassessing the Levantine Tradition of Early Bronze III Bone Tubes: The View from Tell el-Hesi,” by Geoffrey Ludvik, Kara Larson, and Jeffrey A. Blakely

Incised bone tubes are an important class of artifacts associated with the 3rd millennium B.C.E. throughout the Near East and eastern Mediterranean. Typically made of ovicaprine or cattle long bones and decorated with a series of incised motifs, bone tubes are a rare find in Early Bronze (EB) elite burial and settlement contexts. New work at Tell el-Hesi, Israel, has shown that a specialized bone tube workshop was present at the site, operating only during the southern Levantine EB IIIA (2800–2700 B.C.E.). This article provides a reassessment of the Levantine tradition of bone tube manufacture and design based on the existence of the Tell el-Hesi workshop. The authors provide a detailed description of the workshop’s stratigraphic context, review its chaîne opératoire, and, using the established baseline of morphometric variation characterizing its workshop style/tradition, compare bone tubes produced elsewhere to this known production center. It is thereby demonstrated that a subset of bone tubes from other sites in the Near East share morphometric proportions, motif sequences, styles, and techniques with Tell el-Hesi. The authors interpret these artifacts as products of the Hesi workshop, providing a chronological anchor for their contexts and evidence for a bone tube exchange operating during the EB IIIA period.

Pp. 101-121: “Empires, Local Traditions, and the Spread of Knowledge: A Case Study in Water Management in Early Islamic Palestine,” by Azriel Yechezkel, Gideon Avni, Bethany Walker, Meir Rotter, Yoav Negev, and Yuval Gadot

Qanat technology, most likely originating on the Iranian Plateau or in the Arabian Peninsula around the 2nd millennium B.C.E., diffused in a wave-like pattern across Eurasia over various periods throughout history, reaching the southern Levant as late as the 8th century C.E. This unique water extraction technology is based on the diversion of water from underground aquifers over great distances through man-made subterranean tunnels. It is particularly efficient in alluvium soil in arid to hyper-arid regions. This study presents a unique example of a qanat-like system found in the Judean Hills of Israel, an area characterized by a different water management tradition, based on the use of natural springs and the modification of their sources through artificial tunneling. This article argues that the knowledge and use of qanat technology in the Mediterranean area of the Judean Hills bear evidence for a top-down attempt to introduce new water management technology in the Early Islamic period. The construction of this qanat-like underground system was intended to increase the resilience of the new road network of Early Islamic Palestine, particularly the road connecting Jerusalem and Ramla.

Pp. 123-145: “The “Last” Canaanean Blades: Some Insights from the Early Bronze IV Site of Khirbet Um al-Ghozlan in Jordan,” by Francesca Manclossi and James Fraser

A new study of materials recovered from the British Museum excavations at Khirbet Um al-Ghozlan in Jordan offers new insights into the production and use of Canaanean blades during the Early Bronze Age IV (EB IV) period in the southern Levant. The specialized purpose of the site, which was probably occupied seasonally for the annual production and temporary storage of olive oil, presents a unique window to observe changes in the Canaanean blade system in the 3rd millennium B.C. The assemblage suggests a significant continuity in Canaanean blade production and circulation despite the abandonment of the region’s proto-urban centers and the reconfiguration of economic, political, and social systems that defined the period of ruralization that followed. These blades, produced by a small number of flint specialists, were easily acquirable, never completely exploited, rarely recycled as ad hoc tools, and probably used for activities other than cereal harvesting. The examples at Khirbet Um al-Ghozlan suggest that some EB IV communities had a versatile tool kit, adaptable to other roles than as curved and composite sickles, which enabled them to exploit different environmental zones between the Jordan Valley floor and the uplands of the adjacent escarpment above.

Pp. 147-160: “Motifs of Drought in Ugaritic Narratives,” by František Válek

This paper discusses the motifs of drought as they appear in Ugaritic narratives, namely the Baʿlu Cycle, Epic of ʾAqhatu, and Epic of Kirtu. It argues that the recurring character of these motifs can indicate that the author(s) of these compositions could have reacted to the environmental changes emerging at the end of the Late Bronze Age. Apart from discussing the relevant passages of these texts, the paper sets them within the broader cultural, political, and environmental milieu of the Late Bronze Age world. It is argued that while the author(s) might have also been inspired by existing literary lore (such as Atraḫasīs or Hittite myths of disappearing deities), the climate change, droughts, and consequent food shortages underscore the social relevance of recounting such stories. The Ugaritic narratives are discussed in the perspective of the theory of social myths, directing our attention to the social relevance of myths and the intentions of social actors. In this case, the social significance might have been in the pondering of a variety of cosmological meanings and causes in order to address the challenges and boost the social and political resilience of the Kingdom of Ugarit.

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Pp. 161-196: “Magic in the Levant: On Some Late Antique Amuletic Plaque-Pendants,” by Alexandra Uscatescu and Alexander Bar-Magen Numhauser

The recent translation of an inscribed magical amulet with an Aramaic text found in the macellum of Gerasa (Jerash, Jordan) presents new evidence on magical practices at the end of Late Antiquity and allows for the re-assessment of a particular group of bronze amulets made in the Syrian-Palestinian region. This analysis offers a thorough review of our knowledge about the whole group of amuletic plaque-pendants, especially regarding the syncretic aspects of this craft. Therefore, the following paper proposes to adjust the definition of this group’s features to a new typology.

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Pp. 197-219: “The Site of Gird Qalachogan, Iraqi Kurdistan: Salvage Excavations and Survey,” by Petra M. Creamer, Kyra Kaercher, Glynnis Maynard, Nader Babakr, Jason Ur, Rafeeq Bradosti, Khalil Barzinjy, and Timothy Matney

Gird Qalachogan is a mounded settlement in Iraqi Kurdistan located just north of Erbil’s city limits. It was primarily occupied in the Middle and Late Bronze Age, reaching a size of around 14 ha. Recent damage inflicted on the site by local construction projects has put its preservation in a dire situation, with parts of the mound being carved away by backhoe cuts. Salvage excavations were carried out in 2022 with the intent of defining and identifying features revealed in cuts on the western edge of the mound. A survey of the site and surface collections were also carried out to form a comprehensive understanding of Qalachogan’s extent and occupation periods. This article presents the results of both investigations, concluding that the site was likely once an important Bronze Age center in the 2nd millennium B.C.E. with non-sequential phases of occupation into Islamic periods. Notable finds include a monumental building and vaulted tomb dating to the Middle Bronze Age and an in-situ cremation burial potentially belonging to the Late Bronze Age.

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