Setting the Clock in the City of David: Establishing a Radiocarbon Chronology for Jerusalem's Archaeology in Proto-historical and Historical Times Yuval Gadot, Johana Regev, Helena Roth and Elissabeta Boareto Introduction The importance of Jerusalem for the study of Near Eastern history and archaeology and for the study of the Biblical text (both old and new) cannot be overestimated. It is therefore no coincidence that the city of Jerusalem (City of David/Silwan) is one of the most excavated and researched archaeological sites in the world starting as early as the mid-19th Century. Over 150 years of intensive archaeological research has exposed remains of domestic and public architecture, along with a plethora of important finds from the Early Bronze Age through to modern times. The main goal of the researchers and explorers has been to link and contrast the archaeological record with the known dramatic and comprehensive historical record of the city. To achieve this goal a reliable and detailed absolute chronology is required. Previous archaeological work relied on relative typology-based chronology in order to establish the historical settings of their finds. The most intense arguments revolving around the dating and interpretations of remains exposed in Jerusalem are those concerning the characteristics of the city in the days of the United Monarchy, including the dating of the Stepped-Stone Structure and the possible remains of the so-called 'David s palace' also known as the 'Large Stone Structure'. Clearly if a solidly based historical chronology is sought after, relative pottery based chronology is insufficient and an absolute dating technique, namely 14C, must be applied. It is surprising that even recent projects have seldom applied this method to their
dating of archaeological layers, even though it is critical for the understanding of Jerusalem s settlement sequence. The importance of precise and reliable absolute dating for the history of Jerusalem was lately dramatically demonstrated with the re-dating of the 'spring fortification' to the Iron II In light of the above this study aims at producing an absolute 14C based chronology for the archaeological strata of ancient Jerusalem, thus enabling a better link between archaeology and known historical events and processes. An absolute chronology for Jerusalem is also important for understanding the larger regional development of the southern Levant. Research conducted at numerous sites across the country has proven that the value and accuracy of C-14 dating rises when a sequence of dates (as opposed to one isolated date), originating from a well-controlled stratigraphical order, is being studied. Specifically, it was decided to undertake a dating project aimed at absolute dating Shiloh's stratigraphical sequence in Area E-north (Shiloh 1984; De- Groot and Berinck-Greenbeeg 2012). This area holds the longest and most detailed stratigraphical sequence with 18 strata and additional sub phases. In the published report it is possible to recognize relatively large and homogenous pottery assemblages originating from well secured stratigraphical context. It is no wonder that Area E in general and E-north in particular serve as the stratigraphical backbone for Jerusalem in general from the Chalcolithic period till the Hellenistic time, providing assemblages that are constantly consulted by other excavators when comparing their finds to the finds from the 'City of David'.
Excavations began in the summer of 2015 (one week, July 5-10) and continued during the spring 2016 (two weeks, March 29-April 8), this time in collaboration with the Prof. Axel Graupner, from the Evangelisch-Theologische Fakultät of Bonn University and Prof. Manfred Oeming of the Theologische Fakultät at Heidelberg University. The excavations directed by Yuval Gadot from Tel-Aviv university in cooperation with Johanna Regev and Elisabetta Boaretto from the D-REAMS Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory, Archeological Unit, Weizmann Institute of Science. Helena Roth directed the excavations in the field. All in all, the project is a unique collaboration between archaeologist, C-14 scientist, theologists and old and new testaments scholars. 10 students stayed with us at the New Imperial Hotel, located inside the old city and next to the Jaffa Gate, close to its historical core on the one hand, and a walking distance from the new city s night life on the other. The educational program included archaeological tours of the old city as well as history focused tours in the newer parts of town and the research facilities located within it. A prolonged tour was dedicated to the Harm el-sharif (Temple Mount). The program was tailor made for the young scholars and enabled a live experience of Jerusalem as a whole, which was served entirely by specialist on their subjects. As a supplement for the outdoors educational activities, the expedition hosted various scholars who presented their original studies and lectured on the history and archaeology of Jerusalem during the different periods (Such as Yuval Gadot, Johanna Regev, Ronny Reich and Joe Uziel). Other activities included a visit to the house of a local resident of the old city, as well as tours to the Israel Museum and Yad VaShem Museum. Field work The 2012 final publication of the excavations in Area E (De Groot and Greenberg 2012) holds in most of the field data necessary for a renewal of field operations. This includes architectural plans, sections drawing,
photographs, Locus index and description of indicative pottery from most Loci. We were therefore privileged to hold detailed and reliable information that could be consulted when coming to decide where to sample. Field work was conducted in two phases. We began by refreshing the sections in order to study and document the section by drawing and photographing. The renewed documentation allowed us to reevaluate the stratrigraphy as it was defined by Shiloh and is team. This was followed by sampling the section from the sides for organic material from well-defined context. The second stage included a careful excavations of the sections from top to bottom. By peeling layer after layer we were able to expose floors and other features that were dug previously by Shiloh but this time invest much more efforts in an attempt to collect datable organic material. Initial exploration and study of the report led us to choose four main locations for excavations: Section T5: This baulk was left by Shiloh inside square T5. Architecture exposed in the squares to the north and to the south of the section belong to the Early Bronze, Middle Bronze, Iron Age II and Hellenistic periods (see Table 1). Table 1:Stratigraphical sequence in section T/5 Stratum Main Features Date 19-20 Wall, Floor L2604 EB II? 18 Building and floors MB I 17b Building and floor L2401 MB I-II 13-14-15 Fill/accumulation IA IIA-B 12 Building and floor IA IIB 7 Burial Hellenistic
Section P-Q/5: This section was left between squares P5 and Q5. It is a crucial section that helps in establishing the connection between 'City Wall' W285 and the architecture to its west. Observable in the section are remains dating to the Middle Bronze Age ( Str.18 and 17b&a), Iron Age IIB (Str. 12), and Iron Age IIC (Str. 10 and see Table 2). Further remains found just north of the section include a Str. 7 burial (L 1634, Hellenistic) and pottery in small earth pockets found in the bedrock and dating to the Early Bronze Age (L1654C). Table 2: The stratigraphical sequence in Section P-Q/5 Stratum Main Features Date 19-20 Fill and possible rockcuts EB II? 18 Fill below 'City Wall' W285 MB I 17b 'City Wall' W285 and Floor L1635 and L1631 MB I-II 17a Wall W629 MB I-II 12 Pavement floor L1397 and IA IIB walls 7 Burial Hellenistic Squares R-T/5-6 (EB II?): In Squares R-T/5-6 Shiloh exposed a 'broad room' style Building (De Groot and Bernick-Greenberg 2012: 123-125; De-Groot 2012: 144; Greenberg 2012: 308). The Building was exposed below Middle Bronze architecture. Our attempts here are directed at re-exposing the building to look for pockets of unexcavated floor and soil locked between the walls foundation and the bedrock. Square P/4-5 : In Square P/4-5 Shiloh was able to expose three phases of the Middle Bronze Age. To Stratum 18 he related a pebble floor (L1689) that relates and adjoins 'city wall' W285 before it was thickened (De Groot and
Brinck-Greenberg 2012: 118 and Plan 51a). In Stratum 17b the 'city wall' W285 was thickened, by that covering floor L1689. Three new floors were established (L1671, L1683 and L1661) and assigned to the same strata. In the next stage wall W629 was built, cutting into the earlier floors of Phase 17b. This stratigraphical sequence is crucial for dating the founding of 'City Wall' W285 and all the subsequent activities taking place by the Wall. Preliminary excavation Results Meaningful preliminary results were found from two main periods: the Iron Age IIa (8 th century BCE?) and Early Bronze Age (3 rd Millennium BCE). Remains dating to other periods such as Middle Bronze, Hellenisitic and Early Roman, were only reached and will be dealt in the coming seasons. Iron Age IIB Finds dating to the Iron IIb were exposed and examined in Sections T5 and P- Q/5. They include mainly architecture and floors that form part of Str. 12 and traditionally dated to the end of the 8 th century BCE. In Section T5 we were able to expose a segment of floor L1934A, also termed L2023. The floor is at least 50 cm thick but it is made of at least three distinct layers. The different layers composing the floor was sampled for soil composition and dating. Beneath Floor F124 an earlier surface made of packed earth was exposed L3087. The surface had ash pockets and in-situ charted organic material. Little pottery sherds signify that this might be and earlier floor although its limited exposure does not allow for further strartigraphical evaluation. The nature of the surface will be studied in the next stage of the excavations. Pavement F123 was found while digging the eastern part of Section P-Q/5. The pavement is made of small pebbles. It seems to form part of the 'Pavements building' exposed by Shiloh in the squares nearby. Topping the
pavement was a concentration of stones, a collapse from an unknown place. No clear in-situ was noticed on the pavement and so we took samples for dating only from the foundation of the pavement. Early Bronze As expected remains belonging to the Early Bronze Age were exposed in Squares R-T/5-6. They include mainly Room L2612 excavated before, Next to the three of the room's walls there are stone built benches. The walls were mostly based on bedrock which also served as the foundation for an earth beaten floor. While exposing the foundation of the back wall we were able to locate in-situ and unexcavated material. In future work we expect to revile more of the Early Bronze Age at the bottom of Section T5: Wall W887 and possibly filll2473, as well as floor L2604 and the fill above it L2182). This part of the baulk was not yet excavated. We are looking forward to the continued cooperation with Bonn...