Peter M Fischer

In the course of the Swedish excavations at Hala Sultan Tekke, Cyprus, table ware and domestic pottery of unknown provenance were discovered in offering pits dating to the 13th century BCE. These vessels comprise six handmade and black burnished vessels, all of which have close typological parallels in the Nuragic culture of Sardinia. Comparative petrographic investigation confirmed their Sardinian provenance. Other archaeometric analyses include FTIR on the Cypriot and Sardinian material, and NAA on the Sardinian vessels from Hala Sultan Tekke. These vessels further extend the nature of intercultural relations of the site, which comprise a vast area including the Aegean, Anatolia, the Levant and Egypt. The paper presents the archaeometric results and briefly discusses their implication for Cypro-Sardinian connections in the Late Bronze Age.

This paper presents the results from extensive and intensive field work at Hala Sultan Tekke, Cyprus, supported by scientific analyses. They shed light on the scope of interregional trade in which this Late Bronze Age harbour city participated from the 15th to the 12th centuries B.C. Although the results from older excavations suggested the city's engagement in interregional trade, these preliminary conclusions were based on chronologically and geographically restricted material and only a few scientific analyses, which have since been complemented and partly revised. It is now clear that long-distance exchange, based on the large-scale intra-urban production and distribution of copper, involved regional and more distant suppliers of coveted goods, and resulted in the transition of the settlement from a late 17th century B.C. village to a trade hub with a minimum extent of 25 ha.

Petrographic analysis of ceramics allows for the high-resolution distinction between locally-produced ceramics and imports and provides a more comprehensive understanding of ancient production and exchange patterns. This paper analyses Cypriot-produced tablewares of the Late Bronze Age at Hala Sultan Tekke, a major trading hub in the eastern Mediterranean, focusing on the transition from Late Cypriot (LC) IIC to LC IIIA (c. 13th to mid-12th century BCE). In this study, a wide range of tablewares were analysed, with a particular focus on Cypriot-produced plain ware (Plain White Hand- and Wheel-Made; PWHM/PWWM) and painted wheel-made fineware (White Painted Wheel-Made Ware; WPWM), using petrography to determine their mineralogical composition, production technique, and provenance. In addition, reference samples were collected and experimentally fired to identify potential raw materials in the Circum-Troodos Sedimentary Succession region, with additional basaltic soil samples collected from the slopes of the Troodos. The results show that there was a local production at Hala Sultan Tekke of Aegean-type painted and unpainted finewares in LC IIC. The adaptation of Aegean technologies, shapes and decoration patterns, sometimes in combination with traditional Cypriot characteristics, became prevalent in the local production of tableware in LC IIIA until the city was abandoned around the mid-12th century BCE. Evidence for coastal imports, e.g. from the wider Larnaca Bay region, the Famagusta Bay and western Cyprus, particularly painted wheel-made fineware bowls from LC IIIA, reveal new economic patterns and supply chains that emerged after the decline of interregional trade in the eastern Mediterranean around 1200 BCE. DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.104038

The present study includes examples of recent applications of Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) in different archaeometric projects. Fingerprint mass spectra of different pottery types were studied in order to characterize the wares and to establish a probable kinship to other wares. Mass spectra of the glaze of crucibles were used to establish a relation to alloys possibly melted in the crucibles. Elemental analyses of an Iron Age fibula of both the bronze shaft and the iron needle were performed. The fingerprint nass spectra of the blue paint of a van Dyck painting were compared with both indigo-blue and Berlin-blue samples in order to investigate its authenticity. Diffusion profilesofnumerous elements intheenamel of teeth havebeen showntorevealastrong potential for archaeological dating (DET).

This volume emerges from a session honoring Walter E. Rast and R. Thomas Schaub held during the 2003 Annual Meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research in Atlanta and includes expanded versions of many of the papers presented in that session. By gathering in Atlanta, and by participating in this volume, the contributors honor the careers and scholarly passions of Walt and Tom, whose work in southern Levantine archaeology began in the 1960s when they were young scholars working with Paul Lapp. The breadth and depth of experience of the contributors’ disciplinary and theoretical interests reflects the shared influence of and esteem for Walt’s and Tom’s own scholarly gifts as archaeologists, mentors, collaborators, and intellectual innovators. The primary disciplinary “homes” for the scholars contributing to this volume encompass a broad range of methods and approaches to learning about the past: anthropological archaeology, Near Eastern archaeology, biblical archaeology, and ...

Tall Abu al-Kharaz, in the central Jordan Valley, was occupied during approximately five millennia. A walled town, which had a dominant position in the Jordan Valley, existed already in the Early Bronze Age IB, viz. before 3050 BC. Walled settlements also flourished at the end of the Middle Bronze Age (around 1600 BC), during the Late Bronze Age (roughly 1500–1200 BC) and throughout the entire Iron Age (roughly 1200–600 BC). It is most likely that Tell Abu al-Kharaz is identical with Jabesh Gilead: this city is mentioned frequently in the Old Testament. During earlier seasons most of the Early Iron Age remains were found to have been disturbed by later settlers. It is, therefore, essential for the documentation of the settlement history of this city, that the expedition of 2009 unearthed an extremely well-preserved city quarter dating to the 12/11th century BC (according to high-precision radiocarbon dates). The excavations were extended in autumn 2010 and a stone-built, architectur...

Tall Abu al-Kharaz, a twelve hectare-large tell in the central Jordan Valley, was occupied for approximately five millennia. In earlier excavation seasons most of the early Iron Age remains were found to have been disturbed by later settlers. Between 2009 and 2012 excavations revealed an extremely well-preserved city quarter dating from around 1100 BC, which represents an essential part of the settlement history of this city. The stone-built architectural compound consists of 21 rooms, with walls still standing to a height of more than 2 m. The inventories of these rooms, which comprised more than 200 complete vessels and other objects, were remarkably intact. Amongst the finds were imports from Egypt and Phoenicia. There were also finds which are associated with the culture of the Sea Peoples/Philistines, such as several Aegean and Cypriote-style vessels and other objects. The find context points to a hasty abandonment of the city. In the past, the beginning of the Iron Age has oft...

In previous seasons excavations have concentrated on the periphery of the city of Tall Abu al-Kharaz, a multi-period tell in the Central Jordan Valley. Tall Abu al-Kharaz flourished from the Early Bronze to Islamic times, from roughly 3200 BC to the 10th century AD. The main object of the field work in 2014 was to investigate the area around the geographical centre of the city (Area 12). Preference was given to further investigation of the Iron Age sequence, i.e. the period from the 12th to the 7th centuries BC (local Phases IX–XV). Another task was to extend the excavations in the northern part of the city, Area 7, which produced essential information on the Iron Age, towards the south (Area 13) in order to generate a coherent picture of Iron Age occupation in the city’s northern half. Domestic structures and a system of fortified walls were uncovered. The rich find assemblage confirmed connections with the Cypriote and Phoenician sphere of culture. The exposure of the remains in g...

During the ninth field season at the Late Bronze Age city of Hala Sultan Tekke, excavations in City Quarter 1 (CQ1) continued and brought to light industrial and domestic structures belonging to three phases of occupation (Strata 3–1) dating to the 13th and 12th centuries BC (LC IIC–IIIA). Finds of more than half a ton of copper slag together with remains of furnaces and tuyères indicate intensive urban copper production. There is also evidence of textile production in CQ1. A magnetometer survey of roughly 23 ha resulted in the discovery of another large city quarter (CQ4) between CQ1 and Area A (the cemetery) with regularly arranged stone-built compounds of imposing dimensions intersected by streets. Several massive walls are faced with ashlar slabs which distinguishes this quarter from the industrial and domestic CQ1–3. A bathroom built of ashlar blocks with an advanced hydrological layout was exposed in CQ4 (Stratum 1, LC IIIA) together with a storage area for large vessels. Anot...

Determination of the complete occupational sequence of the site, including investigation of pre-12th century levels which were thoroughly studied by P. Åström since the 1970s, is the main task of the planned project. During the course of the expedition (NSCE11) in spring 2010 a ground-penetrating radar survey (GPR) was carried out at Dromolaxia Vizatzia/Hala Sultan Tekke in Area 6, leading to the discovery of a large Late Cypriote complex. The compound is bordered to the north by a substantial wall, against which nine rooms (so far) could be exposed. Two occupational phases have been verified but there are indications of a third. The suggested functions of the various structures of the most recent phase are: living, working, storage and administration spaces. The rich find contexts point to the production of textiles and metal objects, and the locally produced pottery is generally of a high quality. There are also many imports, mainly from the Mycenaean sphere of culture. The locall...

The main objective of the excavations of the Late Cypriote city of Hala Sultan Tekke is the investigation and determination of the complete occupational sequence of the pre-12th century levels. The groundpenetrating radar survey (GPR) led to the discovery and excavation of numerous rooms of a large Late Cypriote complex. During the second year of excavations at the site the expedition exposed a third phase of occupation (Stratum 3). A Stratum 2 compound, with extraordinarily wide walls was uncovered in the eastern part of the excavations. Intact vessels include Base-ring I and II, and White Painted VI, and Late Helladic imports. Other wares include: White Painted Pendant/Cross Line Style, Red-on-Black/Red, Bichrome Wheel-made, White Slip I and II, Monochrome, Base-ring I and II, Red Lustrous Wheel-made, White Painted/Plain-White Wheel-made, and White Shaved. Unique discoveries amongst the small finds are a haematite cylinder seal and a stone pendant figurine. The numerous tools rela...

The initial aim of the project—the search for the oldest city of Hala Sultan Tekke—continued in 2014. Geophysical methods were used, which led to the discovery of new city quarters, and a broadening of the research objectives, to include revealing the total extent of the city. The GPR survey indicated a huge stone compound of at least 50 m × 40 m to the west of a probable street. Excavations continued in Area 6 West, where in 2013 a domestic and industrial compound was excavated as part of a hitherto unknown city quarter. The 2014 field work exposed stone-built structures and rich find contexts with locally made and imported pottery, numerous tools and several items of gold and silver jewellery. The violent destruction of the most recent layer of occupation, Stratum 1, which had been observed during previous seasons, was once again confirmed. Another georadar and magnetic survey west of the mosque of Hala Sultan Tekke indicated numerous circular anomalies. Five of these were excavat...

In 2015 the sixth season of the renewed excavations at the Bronze Age city of Hala Sultan Tekke continued in the compound which was ex­posed in Area 6W in 2013–2014. Further evidence of textile process­ing was found. The results of another ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey in 2014 indicated a new city quarter west of the former. Exca­vations were initiated there in 2015 and parts of the remains of a large compound were exposed. Two occupational phases, Strata 1 and 2, could be determined, both of which were destroyed in a conflagration. Further excavations were carried out in Area A, 550 m to the east of Area 6W and close to the mosque of Hala Sultan Tekke. In 2014 more than 80 circular anomalies were indicated by our geomagnetic survey supported by GPR. Twelve of them were excavated in 2015. Most of them turned out to be backfilled wells of which the fills mainly date from the 13th and 12th centuries BC (Late Cypriot IIC–IIIA). One of the excavated anomalies is interpreted as a...

The results from a 1.3-hectare GPR survey in 2012 were confirmed during the 2013 excavation of a limited area (200 m2). Three phases of occupation were partly exposed. The most recent phase, Stratum 1, contained living and working facilities, e.g. for spinning, weaving and purple dyeing. Textile production also took place in the older Stratum 2, where the major activity was metal-working: 300 kg of remains from copperworking consist of tapped slag, furnace walls, fragments of at least five tuyères, crucible fragments, copper/bronze fragments and pieces of raw copper. Another of these unique kraters of White Painted Wheel-made Pictorial Style (WPPS) was found. It was termed “Horned God Krater” on account of one of the decorative elements. These kraters may indicate that there was a “Hala Sultan Tekke painter”. The oldest phase of occupation so far, “Stratum 3”, which is a reused and looted tomb, produced two cylinder seals and numerous finds which are related to textile production. T...

Hala Sultan Tekke is a large Bronze Age city close to the famous homonymous mosque near the international airport of Larnaca on the south coast of Cyprus. Previous research demonstrated that the city flourished mainly in the later part of the Late Bronze Age—viz., during the 13th and 12th centuries B.C.E.—but recent excavations confirmed that the city was occupied from as early as the Middle Cypriot III-Late Cypriot IA period around 1600 B.C.E. The current project, which started in 2010, exposed three new city quarters (CQ1–3) in the northern part of the city close to the ancient harbor—that is, today's Larnaca Salt Lake. Geophysical surveys by georadar and magnetometer, which were carried out in Area A, a plateau approximately 600 m east of CQ1 and opposite the mosque, indicated more than 80 roughly circular anomalies. Among the seven anomalies excavated in 2016 are Tomb X and Offering Pit V, which are the main subjects of this article. Concentrated in these features were objects of high artistic value from a vast area of the eastern Mediterranean, including the Aegean, the Levant, Egypt, and possibly Anatolia. Both features antedate the occupation of the previously excavated city quarters.

The discovery of a tomb with remarkable contents at Tell Irbid, Jordan, in the center of the modern town, sheds light on the intercultural relations of the inhabitants of northern Jordan during the latter part of the Late Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age. The tomb comprises a single burial chamber for one female of high rank. She had been buried with ceramic vessels and small finds, including jewelry. Outstanding finds of ivory from her tomb include two exquisitely carved boxes, one of them with a lid, and one palette with carved lions. Even more remarkable is a unique object of ivory with the carved decoration of an ungulate. The ivories from Irbid constitute the largest collection of such finds from this period in Jordan. This tomb, while featuring luxurious ivory objects of the highest artistic standard and some other precious items which could have been kept for quite a long period, contained only simple, locally produced pottery. This could point to a break in intercultural relations and a rupture in trade. The present article concentrates on the presentation of the tomb material—especially the ivories and the pottery—and chronology, the rank of the deceased, and intercultural relations.

The aim of this study is to report from the analyses of a corroded iron dagger from the Iron Age city at Tall Abu al-Kharaz, Jordan Valley, and to present the conservation procedures. Preliminary condition assessment was carried out by visual examination and stereomicroscope. X-ray radiography was used to reveal surface details under the external deposits and corrosion layers. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was used to identify the mineralogical composition of the corrosion products. Polarized light microscopy (PLM) was used to examine a cross-section taken from the dagger to determine its corrosion profile and internal metallographic microstructure. The dagger’s radiograph showed that the edges and tip of the dagger were its weakest and most corroded parts. XRD results showed that goethite (α-FeOOH), lepidocrocite (γ-FeOOH) and magnetite (Fe3O4) were the main corrosion products. PLM examination showed that the dagger had greatly converted into magnetite. It also showed signs of h...

The Swedish excavations at Tall Abu al-Kharaz, a twelve-hectare tell in the central Jordan Valley, continued in 2013 in order to shed further light on the Iron Age occupation of this city that was first settled around 3200 BC, corresponding to the conventional Early Bronze Age IB. The Iron Age occupation lasted from the 12th century BC until 732 BC, when the city was conquered by the Neo-Assyrians. From 2009 to 2012, excavations in Area 9 revealed an exceptionally well-preserved two-storey compound dating from Iron Age I (local Phase IX), i.e. around 1100 BC. The stone compound was exposed for a length of 46 m. It consists of 21 rooms, with walls still standing to a height of more than 2 m. Several hundred complete vessels and other objects point to the extensive contacts of a fairly rich society. Contacts with the Aegean and Cyprus, through offshoots of the Sea Peoples/Philistines, and with Egypt and Phoenicia, were ascertained. At the end of the 2012 season, the eastern limit of t...

It is a privilege to contribute to a Festschrift in honour
of SIMA – and of Paul Åström. Since the first SIMA
volume was published in Lund in 1962, it has been
fascinating to witness the wide range of topics which
SIMA has covered over half a century.
My cooperation with Paul and, eventually, with
SIMA began as long ago as 1977 when as Paul's
student at the University of Gothenburg I participated
for the first time in his excavations at Hala Sultan
Tekke. However, during the next decade there were
many more expeditions where I came under his
direction, both at Hala Sultan Tekke and at Midea in
Greece. In 1980 my PhD thesis under his supervision
was published in SIMA volume 63. There I presented
– amongst data obtained by other geophysical and
analytical methods – the results of the groundpenetrating
radar (GPR) survey at Hala Sultan Tekke,
the first GPR survey ever conducted in the Eastern
Mediterranean. In 1986 in my next SIMA publication,
which was for my position as associate professor, I
treated osteological and other analytical studies on
Cypriot skeletal material (volume 75).

The present volume reports the results of a regional
research project, supervised by the editor, under the
patronage of SCIEM 2000 (The Synchronization of
Civilizations in the Eastern Mediterranean in the
Second Millennium B.C.; coordinator M. Bietak).
SCIEM 2000 is a research programme inaugurated
by the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OEAW) at
the Austrian Research Foundation (FWF). This
venture is a “regional project” which focuses on the
Middle and Late Bronze Age material culture and
chronology of three of the most important sites in
the Transjordanian Jordan Valley, namely, Pella,
co-presented by S. Bourke, R. Sparks and M.
Schroder; Tell Abu al-Kharaz, presented by the editor
of this volume, P.M. Fischer; And Tell Deir
cAlla, presented by G. van der Kooij.
The Jordan Valley between the Sea of Galilee and
the Dead Sea, a distance of a little more than 100 km
as the crow flies, is a fertile region and has attracted
settlers during many millennia. The Jordan River
runs from north to south in almost the same direction
as the Mediterranean coast which is some 60 km distant
in the northern part and some 80 km in the
southern part of the valley. The Ghor, the Jordan
Valley Rift bottom, several km wide and almost flat,
which extends to the east and west towards the hilly
regions leading up to the “plateaus” in the east and
west, is very well suited for farming and grazing. The
proximity of the Mediterranean harbours and access
to international trade are of considerable importance
in the interpretation of the cultures of this region
and its intercultural relations. There are also important
trading routes close to all three sites. One is the
north-south trade route which connects the Sea of
Galilee and the Dead Sea on the eastern side of the
Ghor and which passes Tell Abu al-Kharaz and Tell
Deir cAlla, and within a few km also Pella. Another
trade route is the Jordan Valley crossing road which
links, among other sites, Tell Abu al-Kharaz and
Pella via Beth Shean and Megiddo with the Mediterranean
Sea in the Mount Carmel area. From Pella
come other trading routes towards the north into
Lebanon and Syria, and towards the south and east
proceeding past Tell Abu al-Kharaz onto the northern
part of the Transjordanian plateau. There are
additional routes of importance as regards the connection
with the Transjordanian plateau in the east:
for example, the route from Tell Abu al-Kharaz
directly through the Wadi al-Yabis towards the east
and the northern part of the Transjordanian plateau
including the regions around Irbid and Jerash, the
route from Tell Deir cAlla through the Wadi al-Zarqa
towards the Jerash region, and the route from Tell
Deir cAlla towards Amman in the south-east. There
were certainly other roads crossing the Jordan River
and leading to Schechem, Jericho and Jerusalem.
It is tempting to assume that the entire region of
the Ghor, which is topographically, geologically and
climatically relatively uniform, also represents one
cultural unit. Our regional study of these three sites,
which are only approximately 30 km apart, will
demonstrate cultural similarities but also differences.
As far as the terminology is concerned, all the
authors use for the Middle Bronze Age the MB I–III
terminology, and for the Late Bronze Age the terminology
modified by the editor, with subdivisions into
LB IA–C and LB II A–B (see Fischer’s contribution
for details).
In Chapter 1, Bourke et al. from the Sydney University
Excavations begin the presentation with
Pella (Tabaqat Fahl), the most northerly of the
three sites: Pella in the Middle Bronze Age. This presentation
deals with the entire Middle Bronze Age of
Pella, with a few excursions into the Late Bronze
Age. Chapter 2, The Rise and Fall of the Middle and
Late Bronze Age Societies of Tell Abu al-Kharaz, is
presented by the editor (Swedish Jordan Expedition
and SCIEM 2000) and covers the Middle and Late
Bronze Age occupational sequence of Tell Abu al-
Kharaz. This is identical with the second main occupational
period (the first being Early Bronze Age) of
that site, namely, the flourishing period which covers
approximately the MB III to the transition LB
IC/IIA. The most southerly site, Tell Deir cAlla, is
presented by van der Kooij from the Tell Deir cAlla
Archaeological Project (a joint venture of Leiden
University, Holland, and Yarmouk University,
Irbid, Jordan) in Chapter 3: Tell Deir cAlla: The Middle
and Late Bronze Age Chronology. The presented
Middle and Late Bronze Age occupational sequence
005_008 Jordan Valley.qxd 27.11.2006 10:52 Seite 7
of Tell Deir cAlla covers approximately the MB III
through LB II periods.
The presentation of the three sites’ material culture
and chronology is followed by a summarizing
Chapter IV: The Essence of the Studies of Pella, Tell
Abu al-Kharaz and Tell Deir cAlla in which the editor
discusses the main issues concerning the chronology
of the Jordan Valley during the Middle and Late
Bronze Ages, based on the individual reports. This is
followed by a response by Bourke which constitutes
Chapter V: Pella and the Jordanian Middle and Late
Bronze Ages. The final summary is presented by the
editor again as Chapter VI: Résumé.

This volume, Tell Abu al-Kharaz I: The Early Bronze
Age, is the first in a series of three but is actually the
second to be published. The first published volume
was Tell Abu al-Kharaz II: The Middle and Late Bronze
Ages (FISCHER 2006a). The author’s engagement as a
project director in the international project
SCIEM2000, The Synchronization of Civilizations in
the Eastern Mediterranean in the Second Millennium
B.C., prompted the inclusion of the results of the
excavations of the Middle and Late Bronze Age levels
at Tell Abu al-Kharaz in SCIEM2000, because
SCIEM2000 is of limited duration. This meant that
Volume II was published before the present volume.
Volume III, which is in preparation, will deal with the
Iron Age and Post-Iron Age periods.
The general information in the “Introduction” to
Volume II is equally applicable to this volume. Nevertheless,
some information will be repeated in the corresponding
chapter of this volume in order to facilitate
the understanding of the characteristics of the
site and the excavations without consulting another
volume. This information covers the topography, surveys,
possible identity of written sources, aims of the
project, excavation and recording techniques,
nomenclature and legends, various teams, and previously
published reports and special studies on which
much of this publication is based.
It should be emphasized that the present volume
is not a complete final report on the Early Bronze
Age occupation of Tell Abu al-Kharaz. There are a
number of special studies which are in preparation
and additional topics which will be dealt with in the
future. These will appear in the form of separate
appendices. However, I have felt that the inclusion of
the additional special studies would delay the publication
of the material and have therefore decided to
proceed with the present volume. It is still my belief
that it is better to expose myself to critics than to
delay access to the material from Tell Abu al-Kharaz
by the archaeological community until the research is
completed, which – generally speaking – it never will
be! New studies based on improved methods,
increased knowledge and other approaches will certainly
increase our ability to understand the civilizations
of Tell Abu al-Kharaz.

This volume will be the second in a series of three but
is actually the first to be published. Another volume
(Volume I) will be one on the Early Bronze Age and
a third will deal with the Iron Age and Post-Iron Age
periods (Volume III). The reason for publishing Tell
Abu al-Kharaz II: The Middle and Late Bronze Ages,
prior to the publication of Tell Abu al-Kharaz I: The
Early Bronze Age, is the author’s current engagement
as a project director in the international project
SCIEM2000, The Synchronization of Civilizations in
the Eastern Mediterranean in the Second Millennium
B.C.1 This project deals mainly, as its title implies,
with the chronology of the Middle and Late Bronze
Ages in the Eastern Mediterranean, which includes
Jordan. In order to include the results of the excavations
of the Middle and Late Bronze Age levels at
Tell Abu al-Kharaz in SCIEM2000, the author made
the decision to process and to present this material
before that of earlier periods, because SCIEM2000 is
of limited duration. It is the author’s conviction that
the scientific evidence presented here will be of value
to SCIEM2000 because chronology and synchronization
are central objectives of this volume. A synopsis
of the Early Bronze Age of Tell Abu al-Kharaz,
although dealing mainly with pottery and chronology
(FISCHER 2000a), and a synthesis of all three main
periods (FISCHER 2000b) are already in print.
This, the first published volume, will therefore
contain general information in the chapter “Introduction”,
which is equally applicable to the other
volumes. The chapter “Introduction” therefore
includes a description of the topography of Tell Abu
al-Kharaz, which will be followed by a summary of
previous surveys in the area – excavations had never
taken place there prior to the arrival of the author
and his team – and by a presentation of the aims of
the excavations, the method of selection of excavation
areas, the measuring and recording techniques
used during the surveys and excavations, the excavation
techniques, the annual excavation teams and
finally a list of the published preliminary reports
and special studies on which much of the final publication
is based.
It should be emphasized that the present volume
is not a complete final report. There are a number of
special studies which are in preparation and additional
topics which will be dealt with in the future.
These will appear in the form of separate appendices
or in conjunction with the Volumes I and III. However,
I felt that the inclusion of the additional special
studies would delay the publication of the material
and decided therefore to proceed with the present
volume. It is my belief that it is better to expose
myself to critics than to delay access to the material
from Tell Abu al-Kharaz by the archaeological community
until the research is completed, which – generally
speaking – it never will be! There will always be
new topics which can be investigated or topics
already investigated which can be examined again
using new methods or with other aims.
I have tried to keep the description of the find
material as simple and clear as possible. It is, however,
difficult to meet the probable wishes of all readers:
some may argue that the present report is generally
too detailed; others, who have a special interest
in specific topics, may argue that it is not detailed
enough. I have, however, tried to keep this report balanced
in order to provide maximum information
within the framework of financial constraints. The
same may be said of the published photographs,
which number more than a hundred but which represent
only a small selection of the thousands of photographs
and slides which were taken over the years.
A number of surveyors and draughtspersons have
provided the plans, sections and object drawings
over a period of more than a decade. It was my
intention to keep the drawings as uniform as possible
by giving the same instructions to all those responsible
for producing them. However, it turned out to be
impossible to standardize the plans, sections and
object drawings, because every draughtsperson has
an individual style and this resulted in differences in
the design of the drawings, which were produced
over a considerable period.

This volume, Tell Abu al-Kharaz III: The Iron Age,
is the third in a series of three. The first volume
published was Tell Abu al-Kharaz II: The Middle
and Late Bronze Ages (FISCHER 2006a) and the second
was Tell Abu al-Kharaz I: The Early Bronze
Age (FISCHER 2008). Another related published volume
which should be mentioned in this context is
The Chronology of the Jordan Valley during the Middle
and Late Bronze Age: Pella, Tell Abu al-Kharaz,
and Ages (FISCHER 2006b).
The general information in the “Introduction” to
Volumes I and II is equally applicable to this volume.
Nevertheless, some information will be repeated in the
corresponding chapter of this volume in order to facilitate
the understanding of the characteristics of the
site and the excavations without consulting one of the
previously published volumes. This information covers
the topography, surveys, the possible Biblical identity,
aims of the project, excavation and recording
techniques, nomenclature and legends, various teams,
and previously published reports and special studies
on which much of this publication is based. However,
Volumes I and II should be consulted in order to gain
access to specialists’ studies on copper and bronze
objects, and additional information on the climate,
flora and fauna, which in addition to analyses of
Bronze Age material by means of AAS also include
material from the Iron Age.
It should be highlighted that the present volume is
not a complete final report on the Iron Age occupation
of Tell Abu al-Kharaz. A number of special studies
are in preparation and there are additional topics
which will be dealt with in the future. Amongst these
are additional osteological and botanical investigations,
and petrographic, pottery production and provenance
studies. These will appear in the form of supplementary
publications. Again, I have felt that the
inclusion of these not yet finished studies would delay
the publication of the other material and have therefore
proceeded with the present volume although
their absence may attract some criticism. However, I
find it more important to provide access to the material
from Tell Abu al-Kharaz by the archaeological
community as soon as the major part of the Iron Age
studies is completed.