What Are the Stones Whispering?: Ramat Raḥel: 3,000 Years of Forgotten History

Published by Penn State University Press 2017

What Are the Stones Whispering?

Ramat Raḥel: 3,000 Years of Forgotten History

Edited by: Oded Lipschits , Yuval Gadot , Benjamin Arubas and Manfred Oeming
With contributions by: Efrat Bocher , Boaz Gross , Uri Davidovich , Itamar Taxel , Ran Morin , Roi Porat , Dvori Namdar , Yoav Farhi , Nirit Kedem and Keren Ras

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781575064994

Overview
Contents

About this book

The excavations at Ramat Raḥel, just south of Jerusalem, revealed a complex of structures that existed for hundreds of years in which the Kingdom of Judah was a vassal of diverse empires. Over some 500 years, jars bearing seals were stored at the site. The findings throw new light on the late First Temple period and on most of that of the Second Temple. During these centuries Ramat Raḥel was the administrative contact point between Judah and the ruling empires. This is what enabled independent Judean control of Jerusalem and the Temple, and the ability to maintain Jewish identity within Jerusalem almost without outside intervention and supervision. All this came to an end during the Hasmonean revolt.

Reviews

“[Archaeology] books appeal to a broader audience, who can enjoy both the more summarized results and the illustrations and photos, which are of high quality. At the same time, the information can also be used by scholars, who can often find this information in these semipopular volumes easily. The current volume hits all of these checkboxes.”
—Joe Uziel, Review of Biblical Literature

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Table of Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Preface Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	3
Ramat Raḥel—Excavation Staff 2005–2010 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	8
Section One: Introductory Chapters
Chapter One: Strategic Location, Natural Surroundings and Processes in Site Formation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	10
Chapter Two: The Question of the Site’s Ancient Name Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	15
Chapter Three: History of Research Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	19
Section Two: Government and Administrative Center— Late Iron Age to the Early Hellenistic Period
Chapter Four: Historical Introduction to the First Building Phase—Judah under Assyrian Rule Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	35
Chapter Five: First Building Phase (Late 8th / Early 7th century BCE) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	39
Chapter Six: Historical Introduction to the Second Building Phase– Judah under Egyptian and Babylonian Rule Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	57
Chapter Seven: Second Building Phase (Late 7th Century BCE) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	60
Chapter Eight: Historical Introduction to the Third Building Phase—Judah under Persian Rule Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	95
Chapter Nine: Third Building Phase (Late 6th or 5th Century BCE) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	98
Chapter Ten: Destruction and Obsolescence of the Administrative Center at Ramat Raḥel Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	117
Section Three: From Government Center to Jewish Village— Ramat Raḥel between the Hasmonean Period and the First Jewish–Roman War
Chapter Eleven: Fourth Building Phase— The Hasmonean and Early Roman Periods Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	119
Section Four: The Rural Settlement— Roman, Byzantine, and Umayyad Periods until the Days of Kibbutz Ramat Raḥel
Chapter Twelve: Fifth Building Phase— Late Roman and Byzantine Period Settlements Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	129
Chapter Thirteen: Abbasid to Ottoman Periods (660–1517 CE) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	139
Chapter Fourteen: Coins and Hoards Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	144
Chapter Fifteen: Subterranean Space Survey in the Southern Ramat Raḥel Hilltop Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	149
Chapter Sixteen: “Landscape Archaeology” in the Western Slopes of Ramat Raḥel Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	151
Chapter Seventeen: Modern Period—the Kibbutz Ramat Raḥel Story Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	155
Conclusion: The Ramat Raḥel Excavations, and a Few Thoughts about the Significance of Archaeology for Understanding the History of Judah Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	165
Endnotes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	167
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	171
List of Figures Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	176

Language: English
Publisher: Penn State University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 176

eBook

Published: March 17, 2017
ISBN: 9781575064994