This is part of a three-volume final report of the renewed excavations at Ramat Raḥel by the Tel Aviv–Heidelberg Expedition (2005−2010). It presents the finds from the Babylonian-Persian pit, one of the most dramatic find-spots at Ramat Raḥel. The pit yielded a rich assemblage of pottery vessels and
yhwd, lion, and sixth-century “private” stamp impressions, including, for the first time, complete restored stamped jars, jars bearing two handles stamped with different
yhwd impressions, and jars bearing both lion and “private” stamp impressions on their bodies. Residue analysis was conducted on many of the vessels excavated from the pit to analyze their contents, yielding surprising results. The finds contribute to our understanding of the pottery of the Babylonian and early Persian periods (6th−5th centuries BCE) and to the study of the development of the stamped-jar administration in the province of Yehud under Babylonian and Persian rule.
Also available from Eisenbrauns: Ramat Raḥel III: Final Publication of Aharoni'’s Excavations at Ramat Raḥel (1954, 1959–1962) by Oded Lipschits, Yuval Gadot, and Liora Freud; and Ramat Raḥel IV: The Renewed Excavations by the Tel Aviv–Heidelberg Expedition (2005–2010): Stratigraphy and Architecture, by Oded Lipschits, Mandred Oeming, and Yuval Gadot.
Oded Lipschits is Professor of Jewish History and Director of the Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University.
Liora Freud is the pottery expert and a project coordinator at the Sonia and Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University.
Manfred Oeming is Professor of Old Testament Theology at the University of Heidelberg.
Yuval Gadot is Associate Professor and Chair of the Jacob M. Alkow Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures at Tel Aviv University.
Preface
Introduction: The “Riddle of Ramat Raḥel” and the Problem of Identifying the Material Culture of the Babylonian and Early Persian Periods
Oded Lipschits
1. A Short History of the Site and its Excavations
Oded Lipschits, Yuval Gadot and Manfred Oeming
2. The Excavation of the Pit
Oded Lipschits, Yuval Gadot, Liora Freud and Manfred Oeming
3. Stratigraphy
Efrat Bocher, Yuval Godot and Oded Lipschits
4. The Pottery Assemblage
Liora Freud
5. Attic Imports
S. Rebecca Martin
6. Lion Stamp Impressions from the Babylonian Period
Oded Lipschits and Ido Koch
7. “Private” Stamp Impressions from the Babylonian Period
Madadh Richey, David S. Vanderhooft and Oded Lipschits
8. YHWD Stamp Impressions
Oded Lipschits and David S. Vanderhooft
9. Potter’s Marks and Incisions
Liora Freud
10. Organic Content of Persian YHWD-Stamped Storage Jars
Dvory Namdar, Oded Lipschits, Liora Freud and Yuval Gadot
11. Isolation and Characterization of Live Yeast Cells from a Mead Vessel
Tzemach Aouizerat, Itai Gutman, Yuval Gadot, Daniel Gelman, Amir Szitenberg, Elyashiv Drori, Ania Pinkus, Miriam Schoemann, Rachel Kaplan, Shunit Coppenhagen-Glazer, Oded Lipschits, Michael Klutstein and Ronen Hazan
12. The Faunal Remains
Dierdre N. Fulton
13. Synthesis and Summary
Oded Lipschits, Liora Freud, Manfred Oeming and Yuval Gadot
Download a PDF sample chapter here: Introduction
