Eran Arie

Bio: Eran Arie is an academic researcher from Israel Museum. The author has contributed to research in topics: Bronze & Bronze Age. The author has an hindex of 7, co-authored 13 publications receiving 187 citations.

Absolute Chronology of Megiddo, Israel, in the Late Bronze and Iron Ages: High-Resolution Radiocarbon Dating

Abstract: Megiddo (Israel) is a key site for the study of the stratigraphy, chronology, and history of the Bronze and Iron Ages in the Levant. The article presents a Bayesian chronological model for seven ceramic typology phases and 10 stratigraphic horizons at this site, covering the Late Bronze and much of the Iron Age. The model is based on 78 samples, which provided 190 determinations—the most thorough set of radiocarbon determinations known so far in a single site in the Levant. This set of data provides a reliable skeleton for the discussion of cultural processes and historical events in the region and beyond, including the periods of the Egyptian empire in Canaan and the Northern Kingdom of Israel. DOI: 10.2458/56.16899

Reconsidering the Iron Age II Strata at Tel Dan: Archaeological and Historical Implications

Abstract: The paper reexamines the finds from Tel Dan, which in several preliminary reports were dated to the Iron Age II (Biran 1982, 1993, 1994, 1996a, 2002). It is suggested that during the Iron IIa Dan was either deserted or was a small rural site, and that the date of Stratum IVA should be down-dated to the end of the 9th/beginning of the 8th centuries BCE. These conclusions have far reaching implications for reconstructing the history of northern Israel and southern Syria in the Iron Age. They also reflect on Dan's cultic role in the Kingdom of Israel.

Cannabis and Frankincense at the Judahite Shrine of Arad

Abstract: Two limestone monoliths, interpreted as altars, were found in the Judahite shrine at Tel Arad. Unidentified dark material preserved on their upper surfaces was submitted for organic residue analysi...

Rethinking Tel Achziv: an Iron II Architectonic and Ceramic Sequence from Southern Phoenicia

Abstract: By assessing the archaeological corpus of Moshe Prausnitz's 1963 and 1964 excavations at Tel Achziv, the article reevaluates aspects of the chronology and nature of the Phoenician expansion to the area south of the Ladder of Tyre (Rosh Haniqra). The authors present the Iron IIC stratigraphical sequence of Area D, the main excavation, as well as an outline of a typological and quantitative study of its pottery. It is dominated by a building with long and narrow spaces which existed over three phases, from the late 8th to the 7th century BCE. An analysis of the changes in its architecture and pottery assemblage indicate that it began as a domestic unit in Phase 6 and was transformed into a non-domestic structure in Phases 5 and 4, with an emphasis on storage, very likely in relation to trade in the port of Achzib. Finally, a review of settlement patterns in the Western Galilee during the Iron IIC suggests that the enlargement of the settlement at Achzib at the end of the 8th century BCE, and the likely cont...

Flora of egypt

Abstract: THAT Egypt is 'the gift of the Nile' may be true from the point of view of human civilization but such a phrase would be misleading if applied to the plant-life of the country. Even the weed flora of the canals and cultivated land is not uniform, and to this must be added the ephemeral flora of the deserts, and the mountains and mountain valleys of Sinai and the Elba mountains. Many botanists have explored Egypt and much has been published regarding both the wild and cultivated flora. However, the need for an accurate and up-to-date taxonomic account cannot be gainsaid, and the present work* by Mrs. Tackholm and the late Prof. G. Tackholm is intended to meet this need.

Crisis in Context: The End of the Late Bronze Age in the Eastern Mediterranean

Abstract: Explanations for the Late Bronze Age crisis and collapse in the eastern Mediterranean are legion: migrations, predations by external forces, political struggles within dominant polities or system collapse among them, inequalities between centers and peripheries, climatic change and natural disasters, disease/plague. There has never been any overarching explanation to account for all the changes within and beyond the eastern Mediterranean, some of which occurred at different times from the mid to late 13th throughout the 12th centuries B.C.E. The ambiguity of the evidence—material, textual, climatic, chronological—and the differing contexts involved across the central-eastern Mediterranean make it difficult to disentangle background noise from boundary conditions and to distinguish cause from effect. Can we identify the protagonists of the crisis and related events? How useful are recent explanations that focus on climate and/or chronology in providing a better understanding of the crisis? This article reviews the current state of the archaeological and historical evidence and considers the coherence of climatic explanations and overprecise chronologies in attempting to place the “crisis” in context. There is no final solution: the human-induced Late Bronze Age “collapse” presents multiple material, social, and cultural realities that demand continuing, and collaborative, archaeological, historical, and scientific attention and interpretation. This article is available as open access on (AJA Online).

The Making of the Middle Sea: A History of the Mediterranean From the Beginning to the Emergence of the Classical World

Abstract: The Making of the Middle Sea: A History of the Mediterranean From the Beginning to the Emergence of the Classical World. By Cyprian Broodbank. Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford. 2013. IS...

Vegetation and Climate Changes during the Bronze and Iron Ages (~3600–600 BCE) in the Southern Levant Based on Palynological Records

Abstract: This article presents the role of climate fluctuations in shaping southern Levantine human history from 3600 to 600 BCE (the Bronze and Iron Ages) as evidenced in palynological studies. This time interval is critical in the history of the region; it includes two phases of rise and decline of urban life, organization of the first territorial kingdoms, and domination of the area by great Ancient Near Eastern empires. The study is based on a comparison of several fossil pollen records that span a north-south transect of 220 km along the southern Levant: Birkat Ram in the northern Golan Heights, Sea of Galilee, and Ein Feshkha and Ze’elim Gully both on the western shore of the Dead Sea. The vegetation history and its climatic implications are as follows: during the Early Bronze Age I (~3600–3000 BCE) climate conditions were wet; a minor reduction in humidity was documented during the Early Bronze Age II–III (~3000–2500 BCE). The Intermediate Bronze Age (~2500–1950 BCE) was characterized by moderate climate conditions, however, since ~2000 BCE and during the Middle Bronze Age I (~1950–1750 BCE) drier climate conditions were prevalent, while the Middle Bronze Age II–III (~1750–1550 BCE) was comparably wet. Humid conditions continued in the early phases of the Late Bronze Age, while towards the end of the period and down to ~1100 BCE the area features the driest climate conditions in the timespan reported here; this observation is based on the dramatic decrease in arboreal vegetation. During the period of ~1100–750 BCE, which covers most of the Iron Age I (~1150–950 BCE) and the Iron Age IIA (~950–780 BCE), an increase in Mediterranean trees was documented, representing wetter climate conditions, which followed the severe dry phase of the end of the Late Bronze Age. The decrease in arboreal percentages, which characterize the Iron Age IIB (~780–680 BCE) and Iron Age IIC (~680–586 BCE), could have been caused by anthropogenic activity and/or might have derived from slightly drier climate conditions. Variations in the distribution of cultivated olive trees along the different periods resulted from human preference and/or changes in the available moisture. DOI: 10.2458/azu_rc.57.18555