"The archaeological picture went blank": Historical archaeology and GIS analysis of the landscape of the Palestinian village of Tell es-Sâfi

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.1.