Abstract
Destruction events in multi-period sites are valuable marker horizons that represent time-synchronous events across the site and sometimes between sites. Destruction layers often preserve rich finds that provide insights into site use. Here we use both macro- and microarchaeological methods to study a destruction event from the late 9th century at Tell es-Safi/Gath in Israel. A major conflagration at this specific location resulted in the consolidation of parts of the roof construction materials, thus enabling us to differentiate between roof, walls and floor materials. We could reconstruct the events which lead to the formation of an approximately 80 cm thick layer. The base of this layer that overlies the floor surface is a thin charred organic material-rich ash layer. As the clays in this layer were not altered by heat and the ceramics still have preserved residues, we conclude that the ash was produced elsewhere and was redistributed to this location. Ceramics that are associated with burnt roof sediments do not have preserved residues. We also estimate the time that each of the accumulation events might have taken, and conclude that this accumulation occurred over decades. The architecture and artifacts found within and beneath the destruction do not allow us to unequivocally identify the function of this area prior to destruction. We do however identify an unusual bin and associated stone pavement, and a corner rich in artifacts, phytoliths and charred organic material. We also show that a wall was built of fired mud bricks; a most unusual occurrence for this time period in the Levant. This study demonstrates well the usefulness of an integrated macro- and microarchaeological approach to understanding the archaeological record, as well as the benefits of using an on-site laboratory.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 3471-3482 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Journal of Archaeological Science |
Volume | 38 |
Issue number | 12 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2011 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We thank Prof Israel Finkelstein for his helpful comments. This study was under the auspices of the European Research Council under the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme ( FP7/2007-2013 )/ERC grant agreement n° 229418. It was also supported in part by the Kimmel Center for Archaeological Science, Weizmann Institute of Science , and by a grant (to A. Maeir) from the Israel Science Foundation ( grant number 324/10 ). D.C. has a postdoctoral fellowship from the Beatriu de Pinós program (Departament d’Universitats, Recerca i Societat de la Informació de la Generalitat de Catalunya).
Funding
We thank Prof Israel Finkelstein for his helpful comments. This study was under the auspices of the European Research Council under the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme ( FP7/2007-2013 )/ERC grant agreement n° 229418. It was also supported in part by the Kimmel Center for Archaeological Science, Weizmann Institute of Science , and by a grant (to A. Maeir) from the Israel Science Foundation ( grant number 324/10 ). D.C. has a postdoctoral fellowship from the Beatriu de Pinós program (Departament d’Universitats, Recerca i Societat de la Informació de la Generalitat de Catalunya).
Funders | Funder number |
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Beatriu de Pinós program | |
FP7/2007 | |
Kimmel Center for Archaeological Science | |
Seventh Framework Programme | 229418 |
European Commission | |
Weizmann Institute of Science | |
Israel Science Foundation | 324/10 |
Seventh Framework Programme | |
Departament d'Universitats, Recerca i Societat de la Informació |
Keywords
- Destruction processes
- Fired bricks
- Microarchaeology
- Micromorphology
- Phytoliths
- Residue analysis