Lachish fortifications and state formation in the biblical kingdom of Judah in light of radiometric datings.
Abstract
When and where the process of state formation took place in the biblical kingdom of Judah is heavily debated. Our regional project in the southwestern part of Judah, carried out from 2007 to the present, includes the excavation of three Iron Age sites: Khirbet Qeiyafa, Tel Lachish, and Khirbet al-Ra’i. New cultural horizons and new fortification systems have been uncovered, and these discoveries have been dated by 59 radiometric determinations. The controversial question of when the kingdom was able to build a fortified city at Lachish, its foremost center after Jerusalem, is now resolved thanks to the excavation of a previously unknown city wall, dated by radiocarbon (14C) to the second half of the 10th century BCE.
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Recent intense archaeological research in the Shephelah shows Gezer Stratum VIII to be part of a pattern indicative of political expansion.
“Recent intense archaeological research in the Shephelah shows Gezer Stratum VIII to be part of a pattern indicative of political expansion.”
From The chronology of Gezer from the end of the late bronze age to iron age II: A meeting point for radiocarbon, archaeology egyptology and the Bible (2023) · cites this paper as [91]
Gezer did not share the fate of Lachish and Azekah, which suffered site-wide destructions in the second part of the 12th century BC and were abandoned for more than a century.
“Perhaps for this reason, Gezer did not share the fate of Lachish and Azekah, which suffered impressive site-wide destructions in the second part of the 12th century BC, after which they were abandoned for more than a century [2, 91, 108, 150, 151].”
From The chronology of Gezer from the end of the late bronze age to iron age II: A meeting point for radiocarbon, archaeology egyptology and the Bible (2023) · cites this paper as [91]
The nature and fortification of Lachish V is disputed and its start date is not well-defined by 14C, but probably falls in the 10th century BC.
“The nature and fortification of Lachish V is disputed [91, 155–157] and its start date is not well-defined by 14C, but probably falls in the 10th century BC [2, 91].”
From The chronology of Gezer from the end of the late bronze age to iron age II: A meeting point for radiocarbon, archaeology egyptology and the Bible (2023) · cites this paper as [91]
The results for Strata 9 and 8 fit acceptably with 14C results from transitional Iron I/IIA strata at other sites in the same region: Khirbet Qeiyafa, Khirbet al-Rai (Level VII) and Beth Shemesh (Level 4).
“The results for Strata 9 and 8 fit acceptably with 14C results from transitional Iron I/IIA strata at other sites in the same region: Khirbet Qeiyafa [91, 109, 110], Khirbet al-Rai (Level VII) [91] and Beth Shemesh (Level 4) [106, 107].”
From The chronology of Gezer from the end of the late bronze age to iron age II: A meeting point for radiocarbon, archaeology egyptology and the Bible (2023) · cites this paper as [91]
Cites
The Egyptian empire in Palestine: A reassessment
Weinstein, J. M. (1981) · Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research · doi:10.2307/1356708 · Cited by 147 · see citing works
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Radiocarbon dating the Late Bronze Age: Cultural and Historical Considerations on Megiddo and Beyond
Martin, M. A. S., Finkelstein, I., & Piasetzky, E. (2020) · Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research · doi:10.1086/709576 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Webster, L. C., Wolff, S. R., Ortiz, S. M., Barbosa, M., Coyle, C., Arbino, G. P., Dee, M. W., Hua, Q., & Jacobsen, G. E. (2023) · PLOS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0293119 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
- Authors
- Garfinkel, Y., Hasel, M. G., Klingbeil, M. G., Kang, H.-G., Choi, G., Chang, S.-Y., Hong, S., Ganor, S., Kreimerman, I., & Ramsey, C. B.
- Affiliations
- Southern Adventist University (US)
- Seoul Jangsin University (KR)
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem (IL)
- Korean Bible University (KR)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Venue
- Radiocarbon
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2019-04-30
- Volume
- 61
- Issue
- 03
- Pages
- 695-712
- ISSN
- 0033-8222 (ISSN-L)
- 1945-5755
- OpenAlex
- W2943615762
- Cited by
- 42
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 61.27
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Radiocarbon (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Natural Environment Research Council (NE/S011854/1)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Religious studies › Biblical Studies and Interpretation
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Ancient and Medieval Archaeology Studies
- Keywords
- Lachish, state formation, Kingdom of Judah, fortifications, city walls, Iron Age, Khirbet Qeiyafa, radiocarbon dating, 10th century BCE
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