New Evidence for Middle Bronze Age Chronology and Synchronisms in the Levant: Radiocarbon Dates from Tell el-Burak, Tell el-Dabʿa, and Tel Ifshar Compared
Abstract
We report a set of radiocarbon data for the Middle Bronze Age monumental building at Tell el-Burak in Lebanon, dating it to the 19th century b.c., and summarize the relevant archaeological information concerning the stratigraphy and dating of the building. The radiocarbon data from Tell el-Burak is consistent with the high Middle Bronze Age radiocarbon dates recently reported for Tell el-Dabʿa in the eastern Nile Delta and with radiocarbon dates for Middle Bronze Age Tel Ifshar in the coastal plain of Israel. A comparison of these radiocarbon dates questions the current (low) Middle Bronze Age absolute chronology of the southern Levant, which is largely based on the stratigraphic sequence of Tell el-Dabʿa. Due to open questions in the archaeological dating of Tell el-Dabʿa, we argue against using a single site as a main reference for dating the Middle Bronze Age in the Levant and argue for adopting a comprehensive and independent approach based on archaeological, historical, and radiocarbon evidence from all relevant sites.
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Self-citationNew evidence for Middle Bronze Age chronology from the Syro-Anatolian frontier
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- Authors
- Höflmayer, F., Kamlah, J., Sader, H., Dee, M. W., Kutschera, W., Wild, E. M., & Riehl, S.
- Affiliations
- University of Vienna (AT)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Venue
- Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research
- Publisher
- University of Chicago Press
- Published
- 2016-05
- Volume
- 375
- Pages
- 53-76
- ISSN
- 0003-097X (ISSN-L)
- 2161-8062
- OpenAlex
- W2353044666
- Semantic Scholar
- eb9d6d098a3adfa6966d96257690d8a049fb62c3
- Cited by
- 42
- References
- 24
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 3
- FWCI
- 7.77
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Leibniz-Gemeinschaft
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Ancient Egypt and Archaeology
- Keywords
- Middle Bronze Age, chronology, synchronism, radiocarbon dating, Southern Levant, monumental architecture, stratigraphy, Nile Delta, reference chronology
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