The Bible And Radiocarbon Dating

by Levy,Thomas

• ISBN13: 9781845530563
• ISBN10: 184553056X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2014-08-14
• Publisher: Acumen Pub Ltd

Summary

Over the past several years, a number of Levantine archaeologists working on the Iron Age (ca. 1200-586 BCE) have begun to employ high precision radiocarbon dating to solve a wide range of chronological, historical and social issues. This is revolutionizing traditional 'Biblical Archaeology' which over the past several decades has been viewed as parochial. The incorporation of high precision radiocarbon dating methods and statistical modeling into the archaeological 'tool box' of the 'Biblical archaeologist' is revolutionizing the field. In fact, Biblical archaeology is leading the field of world archaeology in how archaeologists must deal with history, historical texts, and material culture. A great deal of debate has been generated by this new research direction in southern Levantine archaeology. This book takes the pulse of how archaeology, science-based research methods and the Bible interface at the beginning of the 21st century. The book brings together leading archaeologists, Egyptologists, Biblical scholars, radiocarbon dating specialists and other researchers who have embraced radiocarbon dating as a significant tool to test hypotheses concerning the historicity of aspects of the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible. Although this is an academic book that will be of great interest to Biblical scholars, archaeologists, Egyptologists, radiocarbon specialists, the general public will also be interested because of the important issues concerning the historicity of the Bible tackled in this volume. As this book "raises the bar" in how archaeologists tackle historical issues as manifest in the interplay between the archaeological record and text, its interest will go well beyond the 'Holy Land.'

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Abbreviations	xii
I. INTRODUCTION TO THE PROBLEMS
Introduction: Radiocarbon Dating and the Iron Age of the Southern Levant: Problems and potentials for the Oxford conference	3	(12)
Thomas E. Levy
Thomas Higham
The Debate over the Chronology of the Iron Age in the Southern Levant: Its history, the current situation, and a suggested resolution	15	(16)
Amihai Mazar
A Low Chronology Update: Archaeology, history and bible	31	(12)
Israel Finkelstein
Shishak, King of Egypt: The challenges of Egyptian calendrical chronology	43	(14)
A.J. Shortland
II. SOME METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES
Improving the Resolution of Radiocarbon Dating by Statistical Analysis	57	(8)
Christopher Bronk Ramsey
The Early Iron Age Dating Project: Introduction, methodology, progress report and an update on the Tel Dor radiometric dates	65	(30)
Ilan Sharon
Ayelet Gilboa
Elisabetta Boaretto
A.J. Timothy Jull
III. AROUND THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN IN THE IRON AGE
Radiocarbon Calibration in the East Mediterranean Region: The East Mediterranean Radiocarbon Comparison Project (EMRCP) and the current the state of play	95	(9)
Sturt W. Manning
Bernd Kromer
Sahra Talamo
Michael Friedrich
Peter Ian Kuniholm
Maryanne W. Newton
A Dendrochronological 14C Wiggle-match for the Early Iron Age of North Greece: A contribution to the debate about this period in the Southern Levant	104	(10)
Maryanne W. Newton
Kenneth A. Wardle
Peter Ian Kuniholm
High Precision Dating and Archaeological Chronologies: Revisiting an old problem	114	(15)
Sue Sherratt
IV. JORDAN IN THE IRON AGE
Lowland Edom and the High and Low Chronologies: Edomite state formation, the Bible and recent archaeological research in southern Jordan	129	(35)
Thomas E. Levy
Mohammad Najjar
Johannes van der Plicht
Thomas Higham
Hendrik J. Bruins
Radiocarbon Dating of the Khirbat en-Nahas Site (Jordan) and Bayesian Modeling of the Results	164	(15)
Thomas Higham
Johannes van der Plicht
Christopher Bronk Ramsey
Hendrik J. Bruins
Mark Robinson
Thomas E. Levy
Mesha, the Mishor, and the Chronology of Iron Age Madaba	179	(14)
Timothy P. Harrison
Celeste Barlow
V. ISRAEL IN THE IRON AGE
Ladder of Time at Tel Rehov: Stratigraphy, archaeological context, pottery and radiocarbon dates	193	(63)
Amihai Mazar
Hendrik J. Bruins
Nava Panitz-Cohen
Johannes van der Plicht
Quality Control of Groningen 14C Results from Tel Rehov: Repeatability and intercomparison of Proportional Gas Counting and AMS	256	(15)
Johannes van der Plicht
Hendrik J. Bruins
The Groningen Radiocarbon Series from Tel Rehov: OxCal Bayesian computations for the Iron IB-IIA boundary and Iron IIA destruction events	271	(23)
Hendrik J. Bruins
Johannes van der Plicht
Amihai Mazar
Christopher Bronk Ramsey
Sturt W. Manning
14C Results from Megiddo, Tel Dor, Tel Rehov and Tel Hadar: Where do they lead us?	294	(8)
Eli Piasetzky
Israel Finkelstein
High or Low: Megiddo and Rehov	302	(8)
Israel Finkelstein
Correlation and Chronology: Samaria and Megiddo Redux	310	(13)
Norma Franklin
Iron-Age 14C Dates from Tel Dan: A high chronology	323	(14)
Hendrik J. Bruins
Johannes van der Plicht
David Ilan
Ella Werker
Iron I Chronology at Ashkelon: Preliminary results of the Leon Levy expedition	337	(12)
Daniel M. Master
Desert Settlement through the Iron Age: Radiocarbon dates from Sinai and the Negev Highlands	349	(18)
Hendrik J. Bruins
Johannes van der Plicht
Trajectories of Iron Age Settlement in North Israel and their Implications for Chronology	367	(14)
Anabel Zarzecki-Peleg
VI. HISTORICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Stamp-Seal Amulets and Early Iron Age Chronology: An update	381	(24)
Stefan Munger
Problems in the Paleographic Dating of Inscriptions	405	(8)
William M. Schniedewind
Some Methodological Reflections on Chronology and History-Writing	413	(9)
William G. Dever
David Did It, Others Did Not: The creation of Ancient Israel	422	(19)
Baruch Halpern
VII. CONCLUSION
The View from Mount Nebo	441	(4)
Andrew Sherratt
Index	445