Shechem I

By (author) Dan P. Cole

Not available to order

Publication date:

31 December 1984

Length of book:

203 pages

Publisher

American Schools of Oriental Research

Dimensions:

280x215mm

ISBN-13: 9780897572064

This is the first volume of the final report on the site of Tell Balatah, biblical Shechem. Work at the site spanned the years 1956-1973, a period when significant changes in field methodology were developing in Palestinian archaeology. Dr. Cole's study of the MB IIB ceramic corpus is prefaced by an introduction to the field technique as it was employed at Shechem, especially as it pertained to the recovery, sorting, and analysis of sherds from each soil deposit. The analysis of the Field VI ceramic sequences presented here will be of crucial importance in studying the chronology and history of the MB II period in the Levant. A report of interest, not only for its reportage of excavation results, but also for the methodological questions it raises.

List of Plans, Tables, Figures, and Sections Acknowledgments Abbreviations Preface 1.       Introduction The Preservation and Reporting of Sherds The Separation and Interpretation of Loci The Classification of Materials 2.       Middle Bronze IIB at Shechem The Field VI Strata The Loci Selected for Analysi 3.       The Pottery: Typological and Comparative Analysis Classification of Types and Forms Platter Bowls Deep Bowls Globular Bowls Necked Bowls Carinated Bowls Miniature Bowls Bowl Bases Flat-bottom Cookpots Holemouth Cookpots Upright-rim Cookpots Dipper Juglets Piriform Juglets Cylindrical Juglets Jugs Large Jars Small Jars Small Jar and Jug Fragments General Comments on Wares, Pastes, and Surface Treatments 4.       Summary Conclusions Diagnostic Ceramic Types and Forms Comparative Sites Geographical and Historical Considerations Catalogue of Shechem MB IIB Pottery Notes on Drawing and Descriptive Conventions The Pottery Classified by Type and Form, Plates 1-45 Strata XX-XVIIs: Selected Pottery, Plates 46-49 Bibliography

Shechem I is an indispensable tool for the study of the Middle Bronze Age in Syria-Palestine. The primary material which it presents serves to define the ceramic boundaries of the Middle Bronze IIB Period, and thus it contributes to a sharper definition of the debate about the nature of the MB IIA transition to MB IIB and the validity of the term MB IIC.--Douglas L. Esse, The University of Chicago in Journal of Near Eastern Studies Vol. 47, No. 4 Cole's major achievement in Shechem I is to demonstrate when certain ceramic forms first appear in the relative sequence at Shechem. We must, of course, allow for the limited Shechem database, as well as for the possibility of regional variations or new material from elsewhere that may insert nuances into the picture. Nevertheless, Cole has provided a demonstration that soundings and sherds--when carefully controlled--can produce reliable and useful results in ceramic chronology. For the larger picture of Shechem and cultural development in the Middle Bronze Palestine, we shall have to await further volumes in this series.--William G. Dever, University of Arizona in BASOR 276