Abstract
The Tell es -Sâfi/Gath Archaeological Project commenced in 1996 and is one of the largest and longest continuously running archaeologi-cal projects in Israel. As the year 2017 marks twenty-two years of research and excavations, it is an apt opportunity to present an overview and reflection on the project in general, and various aspects of the research in particular. The opportunity to do this in two special issues of NEA is an excellent occasion, as this provides an expertly produced medium, read by many interested in the field of ancient Near Eastern history, archaeol-ogy, and culture.1 In this, first article of this special issue, I would like to provide an overview of the project and its primary accomplishments.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 212-231 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Near Eastern Archaeology |
| Volume | 80 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2017 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:1. Thanks to Itzik Shai who first suggested the idea of this issue, and to Thomas Schneider for agreeing to host the issue in NEA. I would like to express my deep appreciation and gratitude to all the contributors to this issue, all of whom have been connected to the Tell es fi/Gath Archaeological Project in various ways, for their enthusiastic willingness to be a part of the issue. 2. Many of the researchers who have taken part in the project over the last two decades are participants in this special issue. In addition, I would like to note and thank the numerous collaborators, and the support, from various institutions and organizations all over the world, who have played an important role in the project. This includes the following: Bar-Ilan University, Israel Nature and Parks Authority, Israel Antiquities Authority, Brigham Young University, Grand Valley University, Hebrew University, University of Kansas, University of Melbourne, University of Manitoba, Yeshiva University, Colorado Christian University, Evangel University, University of Heidelberg, University of Kentucky, University of Munch, University of Northern Colorado, University of Rhode Island, Weizmann Institute of Science, Ariel University, Ben-Gurion University, Claremont Graduate University, Geological Survey of Israel, University of Haifa, University of Sheffield, University of Pennsylvania, Tel Aviv University, William Jessup University, York University, University of Barcelona, University of Bonn, University of Connecticut, Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Münster, University of Southampton, Adar Foundation, Ackerman Family, Samuel Turner, Australian Research Council, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development, Institute of Aegean Prehistory, Israel Science Foundation, Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection, Minerva Stiftung, and National Geographic Society. 3. Interestingly, recently Martin (2017) has claimed that petrographic analyses of Philistine pottery from Megiddo indicates a strong connec- tion between Megiddo and the coastal Philistine sites, and less with the inland ones (e.g., Tell es fi/Gath and Tel Miqne-Ekron). 4. Although Ussishkin (2009, 2015) has questioned this interpretation, he does not take into account all the relevant evidence that argues for accepting the suggested explanation (e.g., Maeir 2017: 144–47; Maeir and Gur-Arieh 2011; Gur-Arieh and Maeir in press). 5. At many sites in the southern Levant during the classical periods (Hellenistic through Byzantine), there is evidence of a phenomenon of “moving off the tells,” and a preference for settlements in lower, and less hilly sites. 6. Scores of scholarly publications related to the project have appeared in the last two decades. In addition to this, the first volume of the excavation reports was published (Maeir 2012), and two more are in advanced stages of preparation (Maeir and Uziel in press; Shai, Greenfield, and Maeir forthcoming). I envision at least an additional three, if not four, more volumes in this series.
Funding
1. Thanks to Itzik Shai who first suggested the idea of this issue, and to Thomas Schneider for agreeing to host the issue in NEA. I would like to express my deep appreciation and gratitude to all the contributors to this issue, all of whom have been connected to the Tell es fi/Gath Archaeological Project in various ways, for their enthusiastic willingness to be a part of the issue. 2. Many of the researchers who have taken part in the project over the last two decades are participants in this special issue. In addition, I would like to note and thank the numerous collaborators, and the support, from various institutions and organizations all over the world, who have played an important role in the project. This includes the following: Bar-Ilan University, Israel Nature and Parks Authority, Israel Antiquities Authority, Brigham Young University, Grand Valley University, Hebrew University, University of Kansas, University of Melbourne, University of Manitoba, Yeshiva University, Colorado Christian University, Evangel University, University of Heidelberg, University of Kentucky, University of Munch, University of Northern Colorado, University of Rhode Island, Weizmann Institute of Science, Ariel University, Ben-Gurion University, Claremont Graduate University, Geological Survey of Israel, University of Haifa, University of Sheffield, University of Pennsylvania, Tel Aviv University, William Jessup University, York University, University of Barcelona, University of Bonn, University of Connecticut, Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Münster, University of Southampton, Adar Foundation, Ackerman Family, Samuel Turner, Australian Research Council, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development, Institute of Aegean Prehistory, Israel Science Foundation, Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection, Minerva Stiftung, and National Geographic Society. 3. Interestingly, recently Martin (2017) has claimed that petrographic analyses of Philistine pottery from Megiddo indicates a strong connec- tion between Megiddo and the coastal Philistine sites, and less with the inland ones (e.g., Tell es fi/Gath and Tel Miqne-Ekron). 4. Although Ussishkin (2009, 2015) has questioned this interpretation, he does not take into account all the relevant evidence that argues for accepting the suggested explanation (e.g., Maeir 2017: 144–47; Maeir and Gur-Arieh 2011; Gur-Arieh and Maeir in press). 5. At many sites in the southern Levant during the classical periods (Hellenistic through Byzantine), there is evidence of a phenomenon of “moving off the tells,” and a preference for settlements in lower, and less hilly sites. 6. Scores of scholarly publications related to the project have appeared in the last two decades. In addition to this, the first volume of the excavation reports was published (Maeir 2012), and two more are in advanced stages of preparation (Maeir and Uziel in press; Shai, Greenfield, and Maeir forthcoming). I envision at least an additional three, if not four, more volumes in this series.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| University of Sheffield | |
| National Geographic Society | |
| Claremont Graduate University, Geological Survey of Israel, University of Haifa | |
| University of Manitoba | |
| Universitat de Barcelona | |
| Ben-Gurion University of the Negev | |
| University of Kansas | |
| Israel Science Foundation | |
| University of Kentucky | |
| Hebrew University of Jerusalem | |
| Institute for Aegean Prehistory | |
| Brigham Young University | |
| York University | |
| University of Pennsylvania | |
| Evangel University, University of Heidelberg | |
| Grand Valley University | |
| ADA Foundation | |
| Tel Aviv University | |
| German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development | |
| Australian Research Council | |
| Minerva Foundation | |
| University of Melbourne | |
| William Jessup University | |
| Weizmann Institute of Science | |
| Yeshiva University | |
| Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada | |
| Bar-Ilan University, Israel Nature and Parks Authority, Israel Antiquities Authority | |
| Ariel University | |
| University of Southampton | |
| Colorado Christian University | |
| University of Bonn, University of Connecticut | |
| Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection | |
| University of Munch | |
| University of Northern Colorado, University of Rhode Island |