This is the first volume of the final report on the site of Tell Balatah, biblical Shechem. Work at the site spanned the years 1956-1973, a period when significant changes in field methodology were developing in Palestinian archaeology. Dr. Cole's study of the MB IIB ceramic corpus is prefaced by an introduction to the field technique as it was employed at Shechem, especially as it pertained to the recovery, sorting, and analysis of sherds from each soil deposit. The analysis of the Field VI ceramic sequences presented here will be of crucial importance in studying the chronology and history of the MB II period in the Levant. A report of interest, not only for its reportage of excavation results, but also for the methodological questions it raises.
Product Details
Reviews for Shechem I
Douglas L. Esse, The University of Chicago in Journal of Near Eastern Studies Vol. 47, No. 4 Cole's major achievement in Shechem I is to demonstrate when certain ceramic forms first appear in the relative sequence at Shechem. We must, of course, allow for the limited Shechem database, as well as for the possibility of regional variations or new material from elsewhere that may insert nuances into the picture. Nevertheless, Cole has provided a demonstration that soundings and sherds
when carefully controlled
can produce reliable and useful results in ceramic chronology. For the larger picture of Shechem and cultural development in the Middle Bronze Palestine, we shall have to await further volumes in this series.
William G. Dever, University of Arizona in BASOR 276