LMLK Stratigraphy
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It is important to stress that no account may be taken of stray seal impressions discovered in later strata.  This is a rule in every stratigraphic excavation.  Older sherds will always be found in later strata, having been brought up by activities such as construction, filling, & excavation carried out on the tells during all periods.  One may reckon with only 3 factors:

  1. A vessel in situ (a complete jar or a major part of it found on a floor as a vessel in its proper stratum)
  2. The earliest appearance of the impressions (sherds may also work their way down among the strata, but this occurrence is rare, & for that reason the earliest appearance of the seals in a particular stratum may generally be accepted as trustworthy)
  3. A certain quantitative factor (a large number of impressions found in a particular stratum, while rare in other strata of later date)

The paragraph above was written by Yohanan Aharoni in "The Archaeology of the Land of Israel" (p. 257).

Note:  Rows are sorted by seal sets (separated by white rows) to help determine their age (usage period).  The colors help separate the major stratifications.  So far, the x2D seals (& therefore the concentric circle incisions) appear to be later than x2U seals, while x4C & x4L seals appear to be equally early.

Note:  The Event column abbreviations are "7-B" for late 7th-century Babylonian conquest & "8-A" for late 8th-century Assyrian conquest; higher strata corresponding to later periods are listed as a single group since they probably represent recycling of the jars & are not relevant ("n/r") to this study; surface finds are completely unusable & not listed; the lowest stratum corresponds to the 9th-century or early 8th-century preceding the Amos 1:1 earthquake ("8-E") during Uzziah's reign.

TYPE SITE ID# LOCUS CONTEXT (or other info) STRATUM EVENT
H2D Arad 6338/1 885 Square K18 4A n/r
H2D Jerusalem (AJQ) 538/1 W-3057 Level 50.50-50.20; floor of Tower 3057; circles 4 n/r
H2D Jerusalem (AJQ) 2673/1 A-88(111) Level 56.36-55.68; earth fill; Square E12 6 n/r
H2D Jerusalem (AJQ) 3769/1 A-156 Level 56.00-55.32; earth fill; Square G14 6 n/r
H2D Jerusalem (SCD) G2189 725 Cat. No. M11 & circles Cat. No. CC3 3 n/r
M2D Jerusalem (AJQ) 3891/1 A-162 Level 55.37-53.84; pit; Square F14 6 n/r
M2D Jerusalem (SCD) D2/13631 1874 Cat. No. M26 9 n/r
S2DR Jerusalem (AJQ) 3889/1 A-162 Level 55.37-53.84; pit; Square F14 6 n/r
Z2D Jerusalem (SCD) D2/13949 1804 Cat. No. M17 7 n/r
Z2D Jerusalem (SCD) E2/7952 1301 Cat. No. M22 & circles Cat. No. CC5 10 n/r
             
G2T Ashdod A 253/83 65 out of context 2 n/r
G2T Jerusalem (AJQ) 164/1 W-3022 Level 49.50-47.00; foundation trench of W.4011 4 n/r
             
x2U (none)          
             
H4C Jerusalem (SCD) E1/4088 653 Cat. No. M4 5 n/r
Z4CY Jerusalem (AJQ) 3055/3 A-97 Level 56.96-56.49; floor; Square K11-12; circles 5 n/r
             
H4L Jerusalem (SCD) E1/9897 1392 Cat. No. M1 5 n/r
H4L Jerusalem (SCD) E1/3422 592 Cat. No. M2 5 n/r
H4L Lachish (A) 742/2 100 Level 263.80 1A n/r
             
H2D Arad 115/1 21 Level 75.40; Square K16 circles 7 7-B
H2D Jerusalem (AJQ) 3803/1 A-154b Level 54.60-53.78; earth fill; Square H14 circles 7 7-B
H2D Jerusalem (AJQ) 3811/1 A-154b Level 54.60-53.78; earth fill; Square H14 circles 7 7-B
H2D Jerusalem (SCD) E1/6446 1270 Cat. No. M8 11 7-B
H2D Khirbet es-Samrah Fig. 29 Room 9, Floor 004 In gray, chalky soil, some 0.10 m. thick; occupational debris (circles) 2 7-B
S2DW Timnah 7065 730 Area D 2 7-B
S2DW Timnah 9658/1 972 Area E 2 7-B
Z2D Hurvat Shilhah 140 20 no occupation during the 8th century ? 7-B
             
G2T Jerusalem (AJQ) 8700/1 A-193 Level 54.90-54.63; floor; Square H-J14 7 7-B
G2T Jerusalem (SCD) E2/2783 575 Cat. No. M30 & circles Cat. No. CC9 11 7-B
             
S2U Lachish (U) Reg. No. 100/1 4960, Area GW RAEL #407-71 2 7-B
Z2U Lachish (A) 332/1 61a Level 262.40 2 7-B
             
H4C Jerusalem (AJQ) 3656/1 A-186b Level 54.82-53.20; robber trench of W.555; Square G13 7 7-B
             
S4L Arad C115/1 414a Level 75.15; Square G16 7 7-B
Z4L Jerusalem (AJQ) 8725/1 A-195 Level 54.63-53.10; earth fill; Square H-J14 7 7-B
             
M2D Jerusalem (SCD) D2/13661 1882 Cat. No. M27 12 8-A
             
G2T Jerusalem (SCD) E1/10147 1604 Cat. No. M29 & circles Cat. No. CC10 12 8-A
             
H2U Lachish (U) Reg. No. 292/1 2059 [H.17:1078], Area GE RAEL #403-67 3 8-A
H2U Tell Beit Mirsim #579 SE 31 A-2 house room adjoining SE31 A-3 A 8-A
H2U Tell Beit Mirsim #580 SE 31 A-3 house room adjoining SE31 A-2 A 8-A
H2U Tell Beit Mirsim #867 SE 23 A-7 small room of a typical house A 8-A
H2U Timnah 7359 737 LMLK Jar Room 3 8-A
M2U Lachish (A) 609/1 80 Level 261.80 3 8-A
M2U Timnah 7280 737 LMLK Jar Room 3 8-A
S2U Lachish (S) 7165 H/G.17 Room 1089 3 8-A
S2U Lachish (U) 10457 4034 Area GE chamber in the gatehouse 3 8-A
Z2U Timnah 7125 744 LMLK Jar Room 3 8-A
Z2U Timnah 7336 731 Stratum 2 foundation trench over LMLK Jar Room debris 3 8-A
             
H4C Tell Beit Mirsim #1068 ? ? A 8-A
H4C Lachish (U) 8580/3 3582 Area S room in the "lower house" 3 8-A
H4C Lachish (U) 10616/1 4014 Area GE storeroom behind the gatehouse 3 8-A
H4C Lachish (U) 31266/1 4061 Area GW floor near the contemporary city gate facade 3 8-A
H4C Lachish (A) 347/1 44 Level 259.60 3 8-A
Z4CI Lachish (A) 778/2 99 Level 261.95 3 8-A
Z4CI Timnah 7202/2 737 LMLK Jar Room 3 8-A
Z4CY Beersheba 1142/1 311 chamber/room in the city gate with chalk floor 2 8-A
             
H4L Jerusalem (SCD) D2/14146 1843/1888 Cat. No. M3 12 8-A
H4L Lachish (A) 843/2 118 Level 263.35 3 8-A
H4L Lachish (U) 8162/6 3525 Area S room in the "middle house" 3 8-A
H4L Lachish (U) 8585/1 3582 Area S room in the "lower house" 3 8-A
H4L Lachish (U) 10091/1 4014 Area GE storeroom behind gatehouse 3 8-A
M4L Debir ? 109 storehouse B-2 8-A
S4L Lachish (A) 444/1 63 Level 261.80 3 8-A
S4L Lachish (A) 471/1 63 Level 261.60 3 8-A
S4L Lachish (A) 613/2 91 Level 263.70 3 8-A
S4L Lachish (A) 817/1 116 Level 263.75 3 8-A
S4L Timnah 7094 731 Stratum 2 foundation trench over LMLK Jar Room debris 3 8-A
S4L Timnah 7114 731 Stratum 2 foundation trench over LMLK Jar Room debris 3 8-A
x4L Jerusalem (SCD) D2/20311 2334 Cat. No. M7 14-12 8-A
x4L Timnah 7115 731 Stratum 2 foundation trench over LMLK Jar Room debris 3 8-A
Z4L Timnah 7358 737 LMLK Jar Room 3 8-A
Z4L Lachish (A) 570/1 66 Level 260.40 3 8-A
Z4L Lachish (A) 624/1 91 Level 263.45 3 8-A
             
H2D Arad 15287/1 71 Level 74.60; Square K15 9 8-E
             
x2T (none)          
             
x2U (none)          
             
x4x (none)          
TYPE SITE ID# LOCUS CONTEXT (or other info) STRATUM EVENT
  • Arad information is based on photos of 2 handles that can be corroborated with the report in "Arad Inscriptions" attributing them to 7-B; one additional H2x handle was attributed to 8-A but its present location is unknown so its seal type cannot be determined; H2D #15287/1, originally attributed to 8-A as 2887/1, has been reassessed to an earlier--probably 9th-century--stratum; visit the Arad page for an in-depth analysis.
  • Ashdod information is from "'Atiqot vol. 9-10" by M. Dothan.
  • Beersheba information is from "Beer-Sheba I" by Yohanan Aharoni.
  • Debir information is from TA vol. 1 #1 by Moshe Kochavi.
  • Gibeon Pool information is presented on a separate page.
  • Hurvat Shilhah information is from "Eretz-Israel vol. 17" by A. Mazar, D. Amit, & Z. Ilan.
  • Jerusalem information is from 3 distinct excavations:
    • Jerusalem (AJQ [Avigad's Jewish Quarter]) information is from "Jewish Quarter Excavations vol. I" by Hillel Geva, Nahman Avigad, & Gabriel Barkay.
    • Jerusalem (MTM [Mazar's Temple Mount]) information is from Qedem 29 by Eilat Mazar & Benjamin Mazar (note--the S4L handle from Room 23043 described as being of "stratigraphic significance" cannot be precisely assigned to either the 7-B or 8-A groups; its simply Iron II).
    • Jerusalem (SCD [Shiloh's City of David]) information is from Qedem 41 by Donald T. Ariel & Yair Shoham; handles from uncertain 8-A/7-B stratification (i.e., "12-11", "16-8", or "12-10") are unusable (note--bear in mind that Jerusalem was never conquered by Sennacherib so its stratification is not quite as pure (for lack of a better word) as that of the other sites distinguished between 8-A/7-B for the purposes of this LMLK seal analysis).
  • Khirbet es-Samrah information is from "Ancient Agriculture in the Judaean Desert" by Lawrence E. Stager.
  • Lachish information is from 3 distinct excavations:
    • "Lachish (A)" designates handles from Aharoni's excavations & is from "Investigations at Lachish" by Yohanan Aharoni.
    • "Lachish (U)" designates handles from Ussishkin's excavations & is from "Excavations at Tel Lachish" (TA vol. 5 & 10) & "The Renewed Archaeological Excavations at Lachish (1973-1994) Volume IV" by David Ussishkin.
    • At this time, the 300+ handles excavated by Starkey's Wellcome-Marston team are unusable; David Diringer & Olga Tufnell published specific loci where handles were found but never cross-referenced handle ID numbers to photos (with the single exception of #7165 listed above as "Lachish (S)" due to Ussishkin's identification of it at the University of London as reported in BASOR 223).
  • Nasbeh information is unusable since the handles were excavated from a single stratification (except for one x2x handle found in a clear 9th-century context) covering a period of time that encompassed the LMLK lifecycle (note--a representative of every major seal set was found here--at least 12 of the 20+ seal types).
  • Ramat Rahel information is unusable since the handles were excavated from debris gathered from different chronological periods beginning in the latter half of the 8th century (Stratum 5-B) that may have been mixed to form a building foundation in the latter half of the 7th century (Stratum 5-A); pottery evidence indicates that although it may have been conquered by the Assyrians in the late 8th century, it was reoccupied immediately afterward (note--a representative of every major seal set was found here (at least 12 of the 20+ seal types)).
  • Tell 'Ira information is unusable since the only handle found there was unstratified.
  • Tell Beit Mirsim information is from BASOR 223 by David Ussishkin.
  • Timnah information is from Qedem 42 by Amihai Mazar & Nava Panitz-Cohen.

"And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, & they shall repair the ruined cities..."--Isaiah 61:4
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This page was created on April 27, 2002, & last updated on November 12, 2005