Liora Freud

This is part of a three-volume final report of the renewed excavations at Ramat Ra?el by the Tel Aviv–Heidelberg Expedition (2005-2010). It presents the finds from the Babylonian-Persian pit, one of the most dramatic find-spots at Ramat Ra?el. The pit yielded a rich assemblage of pottery vessels and yhwd, lion, and sixth-century “private” stamp impressions, including, for the first time, complete restored stamped jars, jars bearing two handles stamped with different yhwd impressions, and jars bearing both lion and “private” stamp impressions on their bodies. Residue analysis was conducted on many of the vessels excavated from the pit to analyze their contents, yielding surprising results. The finds contribute to our understanding of the pottery of the Babylonian and early Persian periods (6th-5th centuries BCE) and to the study of the development of the stamped-jar administration in the province of Yehud under Babylonian and Persian rule. Also available from Eisenbrauns: Ramat Ra?el III: Final Publication of Aharoni'’s Excavations at Ramat Ra?el (1954, 1959–1962) by Oded Lipschits, Yuval Gadot, and Liora Freud; and Ramat Ra?el IV: The Renewed Excavations by the Tel Aviv–Heidelberg Expedition (2005–2010): Stratigraphy and Architecture, by Oded Lipschits, Mandred Oeming, and Yuval Gadot.

This book brings to complete and final publication two past excavations conducted at the site of Ramat Ra?el. A major part of the report is devoted to publishing the results of Yohanan Aharoni’s long-term excavation project at the site during the years 1954, 1956, 1959–1962. The renewal of excavations at the site in 2004 triggered the need to reevaluate the site’s architecture and stratigraphy, and from that the idea to publish this report was born.

Tel Mal?ata: A Central City in the Biblical Negev presents the results of nine seasons of excavations—two by the first expedition and seven by the second. Tel Mal?ata is an elliptical-shaped mound located in the eastern sector of the Arad–Beer-sheba Valley and spreads across some 18 dunams. Tel Mal?ata is generally identified with biblical Moladah, one of the cities of Judah, although other identifications have been suggested. The Arabic name of the site, Tell el-Mil? (“Hill of the Salt”), is apparently indicative of its association with the production and distribution of salt from the Dead Sea in more recent times. The many Bedouin graves on the upper terrace of the tell significantly hindered the planning of the excavations, and consequently the excavations were concentrated mainly where no graves were discerned. The two-volume report consists of 22 chapters that take the reader through six strata of civilization, ranging from the Middle Bronze Age to the early Byzantine period.