Lahav IV: The Figurines of Tell Halif 9781575063645

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Lahav IV The Figurines of Tell Halif

r e p o r t s o f t h e l a h av r e s e a rc h p ro j e c t

Excavations at Tell Halif, Israel Series Editor: Joe D. Seger Volume I. Volume II. Volume III. Volume IV. Volume V.

Pottery and Politics: The Halif Terrace Site 101 and Egypt in the Fourth Millennium b.c.e. Households and the Use of Domestic Space at Iron II Tell Halif: An Archaeology of Destruction The Iron Age II Cemetery at Tell Halif (Site 72) The Figurines of Tell Halif The Iron, Persian, and Hellenistic Occupations within the Walls at Tell Halif: Excavations in Field II, 1977–1980

The Lahav Research Project is sponsored by

The Cobb Institute of Archaeology Mississippi State University

and is an affiliated project of The American Schools of Oriental Research

L a h av IV The Figurines of Tell Halif

Paul F. Jacobs with contributions by Nancy Serwint and Christopher Holland

Winona Lake, Indiana E isenbrauns 2015

© 2015 by Eisenbrauns Inc. All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America www.eisenbrauns.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jacobs, Paul F. (Archaeologist) Lahav IV : the figurines of Tell Halif / Paul F. Jacobs, with contributions by Nancy Serwint and Christopher Holland.      pages  cm. — (Reports of the Lahav Research Project: excavations at Tell Halif,     Israel ; volume 4) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-57506-299-0 (cloth : alk. paper) 1.  Halif Site (Israel).  2.  Excavations (Archaeology)—Israel—Halif Site. ​ 3.  Figurines—Israel—Halif Site.  4.  Israel—Antiquities.  I.  Serwint, Nancy J. ​ II.  Holland, Christopher (Computing specialist).  III.  Cobb Institute of Archaeology. IV.  Title.  V.  Title: Figurines of Tell Halif. DS110.H285J33 2015 933′.49—dc23 2015007194

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48–1984.♾ ™

Table of Contents Series Editor’s Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   vii Author’s Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   ix Field IV Field Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   xi List of Figures and Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

  xv

Figures xv Tables xvi

Master Chart of Lahav Research Project Tell Halif Stratigraphy . . . . . . . . .

  xvii

Chapter 1   Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   1 Chapter 2   The Figurines in Archaeological Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4 Introduction 4 The Layout of Field IV  5 Stratigraphic Distribution of the Figurines in Fields I, IV, and V  7 Dating the Figurines  9 Figurines in Sealed Loci  9 Figurines in Non-Sealed Loci  22 Summary: The Figurines in Archaeological Contexts at Halif  24

Chapter 3   The Figurines in Historical Context: Halif in the Late Iron II, Persian, and Hellenistic Periods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   25 The Iron II Period at Halif, Stratum VI  25 The Persian Period at Halif, Stratum V  49 The Hellenistic Period at Halif, Stratum IV  51 Summary 51

Chapter 4   Halif in the History of the Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   52 Halif in the Kingdom of Judah  52 Halif in the Persian Empire, Abar-nahara  53 Tell Halif: Yehud or Idumea, Rimmon or Ziklag?  53 Halif and Border Security  55 Halif in the Hellenistic Empire  55

Chapter 5   The Typology of the Figurines at Tell Halif . . . . . . . . . . . . .   56  1. Animal  57  2. Bes  58  3. Drapery  58  4. Female  59

vi

Table of Contents   5.  Figure on Plinth  65  6. Furniture  65   7.  Horse and Rider  66   8.  Human (Sex Unknown)  67  9. Kernos  68 10. Male  69 11.  Miscellaneous Fragments  72 12. Other—Architectural  72 13.  Protome—Plaque Type  73 14. Relief  73 15. Statue  74 16.  Stone Sculpture  74 17.  Zoomorphic Vessel  75

Chapter 6   Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Stratum VIB Iron II  76 Persian and Hellenistic Figurines  77 Comprehensive Publication  78

Appendix  The Figurines of Tell Halif, the CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Series Editor’s Preface This volume appears as the fourth in a planned series of reports on the investigations of the Lahav Research Project (LRP) at Tell Halif, located near Kibbutz Lahav in southern Israel. LRP research has focused widely on stratigraphic, environmental, and ethnographic problems related to the history of settlement at and around Tell Halif from prehistoric through modern times. The project was initiated in 1975 with sponsorship by the University of Nebraska at Omaha and since 1983 has received its primary support from the Cobb Institute of Archaeology at Mississippi State University. During all field seasons, efforts have also been assisted by consortia of other American academic institutions and with support in Israel from the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research and the Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology, both in Jerusalem, and from the Joe Alon Center for Regional and Folklore Studies at Kibbutz Lahav. Throughout, the LRP has been affiliated with the American Schools of Oriental Research as one of its approved projects. LRP investigations at Tell Halif have continued through three phases (I–III) embracing twelve seasons of field excavation between 1976 and 1999. A fourth phase (IV) directed by Oded Borowski under Emory University sponsorship was initiated in 2007. Through all phases, financial support by consortium institutions was supplemented by generous gifts received as private contributions from staff members, subscribers, and worker participants. Patrons and major donors are recognized in the Editor’s Preface to Lahav I (Dessel 2009: xv–xvii), and the support of all contributors and participants is acknowledged on the project’s DigMaster Web site at www.cobb.msstate.edu/Research.html. We are sincerely grateful to this very large group of individuals for their participation in and support of LRP work. At the same time, we also recognize that none of the project’s work could have been accomplished without the help of the members of Kibbutz Lahav. With warm encouragement and much material assistance, Lahav’s members provided a supportive and congenial base for the team’s field research throughout all of the past three decades. This fourth report in our LRP series focuses on materials recovered during Phase III excavations conducted in 1992, 1993, and 1999 in Field IV on the southwestern edge of the site. Phase III excavation efforts were directed by Paul F. Jacobs and Oded Borowski, aided by the field staff listed in the author’s preface below. Along with the Cobb Institute of Archaeology and Mississippi State University, consortium support was provided by Emory University; California State University at Los Angeles; Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota; and Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee. From the LRP senior staff, Joe Seger remained in the role of overall Project Director, and Phase II specialists and consultants Jack D. Elliott (regional survey), Eugene Futato (lithics analyst), and James Doolittle and Frank Miller (remote sensing specialists) also continued participation in the field. They were joined by Susan Arter (Smithsonian Institution and subsequently at the San Diego Museum of Natural History) as zooarchaeologist, Arlene Rosen (Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheva, Israel) as geoarchaeologist, and S. Homes Hogue (Mississippi State University) as biological anthropologist. Technical support was provided by Kariman E. Seger (University of Arizona, Tucson) as

viii

Series Editor’s Preface

photographer; Jason Greene (Mississippi State University), Dylan Karges (Mississippi State University), Nichole Lantz (Mississippi State University), Cindy Martin (Atlanta, Georgia), and Jennifer Vesser (Sarasota, Florida) as technical illustrators; and Chris Holland and John Vanderzwaag (Concepthouse, Starkville, Mississippi) as computing specialists. Lahav member Avi Navon continued to provide liaison with the kibbutz, and Amos Kloner remained as IAA consultant. Orientation to Field IV and basic field report data can be accessed on the DigMaster Web site at www.cobb.msstate.edu/Research.html. The special focus of this volume deals with the large collection of terra-cotta and stone figurines found in Field IV. It is the only volume in the series that presents the main body of data as digital information on the accompanying CD. From the outset, LRP research has used field methods designed to provide for comprehensive retrieval and detailed recording of data, using a modified Wheeler-Kenyon system. Within this basic system, staff participants have been encouraged to develop special approaches with respect to materials recovery and processing as these relate to their specialties and interests; LRP field methods and analytical processes have evolved accordingly. This was particularly the case with faunal and lithics processing, and as here and in Lahav I, with the nuanced treatment of ceramics for cultural and social reconstruction. Joe D. Seger Cobb Institute of Archaeology March 2015

Author’s Preface This book, with accompanying CD, is the publication of the ceramic and stone figurine assemblage discovered in the 1992, 1993, and 1999 seasons of excavation by the Lahav Research Project, Phase III, at Tell Halif. This study of the figurines has precursors in two versions of the DigMaster Web site that, beginning in 1995, made photographs, drawings, and preliminary technical descriptions of the figurines available for general and scholarly use. However, as new information emerged, as stratigraphic associations of architecture and soil layers became more clearly defined, and as joins were found between fragments of terra-cottas, many details in those early reports necessarily changed. The version presented here thus includes extensive revisions of descriptions and typology of the artifacts as originally presented in DigMaster. It also features detailed analyses of each artifact and the intended representations of gods and humans, where known. The LRP was fortunate in arranging with Dr. Nancy Serwint of Arizona State University for the analyses of the figurines. The breadth of her work with Cypriot, Greek, and Turkish figurines marks her as one of the leading experts in the study of the coroplastic art as practiced in the Late Bronze through Hellenistic periods. She has brought fresh insight to the study of the Halif assemblage. Much of the description of the Halif figurines represented in this volume stems directly from her work. It is important also to recognize that much of the effort to move both the excavation process and the reporting process away from traditional methods toward innovative digital media came from the urging and direct involvement of Chris Holland. Chris first developed DigMaster at the instruction of Joe D. Seger and later introduced to the field staff of LRP the advantages of using the newest digital tools as integral to the archaeological discipline, both excavating, recording, and reporting. His creative touch can be seen in the CD in the way the figurines are presented in several graphic formats. Of course, the success of the figurine project has its base in the ongoing work of the LRP, whose director, Dr. Joe D. Seger, has both encouraged experimentation in the excavation and recording processes and supported the ideas about digital publication. Because of his insightful direction the Halif figurine assemblage early became the leading work in total publication and in availability of data to scholars; the original version of the online DigMaster site, which featured approximately 500 of the figurines, was visited by users from 63 countries in its first year on-line. The newer version of DigMaster, which includes collections of artifacts from Tell Maresha, excavations in Fields I and IV at Tell Halif, the Pierides Museum in Larnaca, Cyprus, the Lois Dowdle Cobb Museum, and others, provides a demonstration of the usefulness of online reporting and of the creation of complete on-line data sources. An equal amount of gratitude must also be expressed for the meticulous work done in Field IV at Tell Halif by team leaders and volunteers whose work made certain that artifacts were gathered scientifically and that data were recorded accurately. The introduction by James Hardin in the 1992 season of a more nuanced technique of recording artifacts in place, particularly on floors of buildings, made possible more accurate reconstructions of the location of ancient

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Author’s Preface

furnishings illustrating use patterns of activities (see Lahav II [Hardin 2010]) involving those artifacts. In addition, the further introduction of digital recording in the field—especially the recording of precise XYZ locations of artifact finds—produced not merely a data source that shows a three-dimensional mapping of all artifacts or of artifacts of a single type (such as all figurines) but also yielded valuable insights into the likely original deposition of the figurines. Members of the excavation team took particular care in exercising these techniques of recording. Joe D. Seger served as overall Project Director of LRP, and Oded Borowski and Paul Jacobs were Co-Directors of the Phase III excavations (1992, 1993, and 1999). James Hardin and Keith Eades served as Field Supervisors. Area Supervisors for the three seasons included Elizabeth Cox, S. Homes Hogue, Tom Jull, Fran Mueller, Avi Navon, and John Wade. Specialists included Arlene Rosen (micro-artifact analysis), Susan Arter (faunal analysis), Chris Holland and John Vanderzwaag (computing specialists), S. Homes Hogue (human osteologist), and Eugene Futato (lithics analysis). Technical Staff in the Phase III excavations included Camp Manager and Registrar Nancy Jacobs; Registrars Barbara Miley, Erik Novak, Cindy Leverette, and Laura Smith; Photographers Patricia O’Connor-Seger, Kariman Seger, Peggy Coleman, Natalie Curtis, and Katherine Jacobs; Technical Illustrators Cindy Martin, Jennifer Vesser, Nicole Lantz, Jason Greene, and Dylan Karges. Special note is made, finally, to the hospitality and assistance given to the members of the LRP by the people of Kibbutz Lahav. Without exception, Kibbutz Lahav members have extended to these strangers among them warm friendship, along with considerable assistance in finding materials for operating fieldwork, and remarkable care in health issues. Those of us who made repeated visits still refer to Kibbutz Lahav as our second home. We greatly appreciate and are much honored to be considered part of the Kibbutz family. Paul F. Jacobs Cobb Institute of Archaeology Department of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Cultures Mississippi State University October 2011

Field IV Field Staff During the 1992 season, LRP work was co-directed by Paul F. Jacobs of Mississippi State University and Oded Borowski of Emory University. Paul Jacobs directed work in the 1993 season when Borowski was side-lined by a knee injury. Jacobs also directed the work in 1999. Work in Field IV was also supported by the efforts of Research, Technical, and Operations Staff members. 1992 Field Supervisor Field Supervisor Area Supervisor Area Supervisor Area Supervisor

Oded Borowski, Emory University Paul F. Jacobs, Mississippi State University Keith Eades, Claremont, California S. Homes Hogue, Mississippi State University John Wade, Dallas, Texas

1993 Field Supervisor Assist. Field Supervisor Assist. Field Supervisor Area Supervisor Area Supervisor Area Supervisor Geoarchaeologist

Paul F. Jacobs, Mississippi State University Keith Eades, Claremont, California James W. Hardin, University of Arizona Elizabeth Cox, Breckenridge, Colorado Tom Jull, University of Arizona Fran Mueller, Waverly, Iowa Arlene Rosen, Ben Gurion University

1999 Field Supervisor Area Supervisor Area Supervisor Computer Specialist Computer Specialist

Paul F. Jacobs, Mississippi State University James W. Hardin, Mississippi State University Keith Eades, Claremont, California Chris Holland, Concepthouse, Starkville, Miss. John Vanderzwaag, Concepthouse, Starkville, Miss.

1992 Season Accrediting Sponsors Israel Antiquities Authority  (License 42/92) Committee on Archaeological Policy of the American Schools of Oriental Research W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, Jerusalem Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology, Jerusalem Joe Alon Center for Regional and Folklore Studies 1992 Season Academic Consortium Cobb Institute of Archaeology, Mississippi State University Emory University California State University at Los Angeles Gustavus Adolphus College

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Field IV Field Staff

1992 Participating Staff Director, Lahav Research Project Co-Directors, LRP Phase III

Joe D. Seger, Mississippi State University Paul F. Jacobs, Mississippi State University Oded Borowski, Emory University

Field Staff Field Supervisors: Area Supervisors:

Oded Borowski, Paul F. Jacobs Keith Eades, S. Homes Hogue, John Wade 

Consultants Israel Antiquities Authority:

Amos Kloner

Research Staff Lithics Laboratory Supervisor: Assistant: Ceramics Laboratory Supervisor: Faunal Laboratory Supervisor: Microarchaeology Laboratory Supervisor: Physical Anthropologist:

Eugene Futato Marla Jo Spry Joe D. Seger Susan Arter Arlene Rosen S. Homes Hogue 

Technical Staff Material Culture Registrar: Pottery Registrar: Photographer: Asst. Photographers: Technical Illustrator:

Barbara Miley Laura Smith Patti O’Conner-Seger Kariman Seger, Peggy Coleman Cindy Martin

Operations Staff Camp Manager: Kibbutz Liaison: Medical Consultant:

Nancy Jacobs Avi Navon Nurit Kidron

Special Project Staff Remote Sensing Specialists:

Frank Miller, James Doolittle

1993 Season Accrediting Agencies Antiquities Authority of Israel  (License 46/93) Committee on Archaeological Policy of the American Schools of Oriental Research W. F. Albright Institute for Archaeological Research Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology Joe Alon Center for Regional and Folklore Studies 1993 Season Academic Consortium Cobb Institute of Archaeology, Mississippi State University Emory University California State University at Los Angeles Rhodes College

Field IV Field Staff 1993 Season Participating Staff Director, Lahav Research Project Co-Directors, LRP Phase III

Joe D. Seger Paul F. Jacobs, Oded Borowski

Field Staff Field Supervisor: Assistant Field Supervisors: Area Supervisors:

Paul F. Jacobs Jimmy Hardin, Keith Eades Elizabeth Cox, Tom Jull, Fran Mueller

Research Staff Lithics Laboratory Supervisor: Assistant: Ceramics Lab Supervisor: Faunal Laboratory Superviso: Microarchaeology Laboratory Supervisor: Physical Anthropologist:

Eugene Futato Jerry Ernsberger Joe D. Seger Susan Arter Arlene Rosen S. Homes Hogue

Technical Staff Laboratory Supervisor: Material Culture Registrar: Pottery Registrar: Photographer: Asst. Photographer: Technical Illustrators:

Nancy Jacobs Eric Novak Cindy Leverette Kariman Seger Natalie Curtis Jennifer Vesser, Nicole Lantz

Operations Staff Camp Manager: Camp Steward: Kibbutz Liaison: Medical Consultant:

Jean Kizer Steve McKenzie Avi Navon Nurit Kidron

1999 Season Accrediting Agencies Antiquities Authority of Israel  (License 50/99) Committee on Archaeological Policy of the American Schools of Oriental Research W. F. Albright Institute for Archaeological Research Joe Alon Center for Regional and Folklore Studies 1999 Season Academic Consortium Cobb Institute of Archaeology, Mississippi State University 1999 Season Participating Staff Director, Lahav Research Project

Joe D. Seger

xiii

xiv

Field IV Field Staff Field Staff Field Supervisor: Area Supervisors: Computer Specialists:

Paul F. Jacobs James W. Hardin, Keith Eades Chris Holland, John Vanderzwaag

Technical Staff Registrar: Technical Illustrators:

Nancy Jacobs Jason Green, Dylan Karges

Operations Staff Kibbutz Liaison: Medical Consultant:

Avi Navon Nurit Kidron

List of Figures and Tables Figures Figure 2.1. Tell Halif Site Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 2.2. Field IV Aerial View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 2.3. Field IV Area Schematic Plot with Figurine Distribution . . . . . . . . . . Figure 2.4. Plan of the F7 House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 2.5. Plan of the K8 House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 2.6. Plan of Field II Str. V Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 2.7. Plan of Field IV Str. V Silos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 2.8. Photo of Field IV Str. V Building Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 2.9. Photo of Field IV Str. V Silos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 2.10. Photo of Midden Bone Fragments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 2.11. Plan of Field I Str. V Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 2.12. Photo of Field I Str. V Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 3.1. Photo of Figurine 2114 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 3.2. Photo of Figurine 71705 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 3.3A. Photo of Carved Block 2103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 3.3B. Photo of Carved Block 2054 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 3.4. Photo of Cult Stand G849D2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 3.5. Photo of Pomegranate Bottle G822B4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 3.6A. Photo of Storage Jar G820C1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 3.6B. Photo of Storage Jar G849A3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 3.6C. Photo of Storage Jar G849D1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 3.7. Photo of Pithos G849C1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 3.8. Photo of Pitcher/Jug G822A34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 3.9A. Photo of Juglet G847C1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 3.9B. Photo of Juglet G849A1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 3.10A. Photo of Cooking Pot G848A1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 3.10B. Photo of Cooking Pot G850C1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 3.11. Photo of Bowl G849A2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 3.12. Photo of Bowl. G847C2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 3.13. Photo of Rider Stone 2115. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 3.14. Photo of Rubbing Stone 1917 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 3.15. Photo of Limestone Slab 64519 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 3.16. Drawing of Goat Horn Core 64533 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 3.17. Drawing of Bone Tool 1906 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 3.18. Photo of Arrow Point 2061 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 3.19. Photo of Pillar Figurine Head 51 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 5  6  9 12 13 16 17 17 18 19 20 21 26 26 28 28 28 28 29 29 29 29 30 30 30 30 30 31 31 31 32 32 32 32 33 33

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List of Figures and Tables

Figure 3.20. Photo of Pillar Figurine Head 71243 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Figure 3.21. Photo of F7 House Shrine Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Figure 3.22. Photo of F7 House Shrine Room, Showing Artifact Locations . . . . . . . . 36 Figure 3.23. Photo of Cult Stand 153 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Figure 3.24. Photo of Pillar Figurine Fragment 2729 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Figure 3.25. Photo of Figurine Fragment 2173 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Figure 3.26. Photo of Figurine Fragment 71325 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Figure 3.27A. Photo of Terra-cotta 1912 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Figure 3.27B. Photo of Terra-cotta 2133 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Figure 3.27C. Photo of Terra-cotta 2162 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Figure 3.27D. Photo of Terra-cotta 2564 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Figure 3.27E. Photo of Terra-cotta 2726 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Figure 3.27F. Photo of Terra-cotta 2732 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Figure 3.28. Photo of Figurine Fragment 71702 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Figure 3.29A. Photo of Figurine 2738 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Figure 3.29B. Photo of Figurine 2739 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Figure 3.30A. Photo of Terra-cotta Fragment 2050 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Figure 3.30B. Photo of Terra-cotta Fragment 2051 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 Figure 3.30C. Photo of Terra-cotta Fragment 2052 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 Figure 3.31. Photo of Lamp G7331 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Figure 3.32. Photo of Bead from Midden G7008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Figure 3.33. Photo of Bead from Midden G7008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Figure 3.34. Photo of Cowrie Shell from Midden G7008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Figure 3.35. Photo of Cowrie Shell from Midden G7008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Figure 3.36. Photo of Stone Incense Altar from Fill G7003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Figure 3.37. Drawing of Terra-cotta Fragment 664 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Figure 3.38. Photo of Terra-cotta Fragment 2792 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Figure 3.39. Drawing of Bronze Base of Thymaterion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Tables Table 2.1. Table 2.2. Table 2.3. Table 2.4. Table 2.5.

Distribution of figurines in Field IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Distribution of figurines in Field I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Distribution of figurines in Field V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Typological dating of figurines and distribution by strata . . . . . . . . . . . Itemized distribution of figurines by strata and assigned date . . . . . . . . .

 8  8  8 10 10

Master Chart of Lahav Research Project Tell Halif Stratigraphy Site Stratum I

Site Period Modern Arab

Site Date 1800–1948 c.e.

Local Field I 1-graves

Local Local Local Field II Field III Field IV 1-gap 1-gap 1-gap

II

Islamic-Crusader

700–1500 c.e.

2-gap

2-gap

1-gap

2-gap

III

Late Roman/Byzantine

200–700 c.e.

3 -low areas

3-floor traces

3-bin

3-silo

(Gap) IV

Early Roman Hellenistic

100 b.c.e.–200 c.e. 300–100 b.c.e. 4-gap

4-gap

4-gap

V (Gap) VI A

Persian Late Iron II/Babylonian Iron II Destruction Iron II Iron II Iron II Iron I

500–300 b.c.e. 680–500 b.c.e. 700–680 b.c.e.

5- B10

4A 4B 5A

5-pits

5-bins

6A

6A

6A

6A

6B 6C1–2

6B1–2

7A 7B1–3

6B 6C1–2 6D 7A 7B

VIB VIC VID VII VIII

IX

LB IIB

LB IIA

800–700 b.c.e. 850–800 b.c.e. 900–850 b.c.e. 1200–900 b.c.e.

8A1–2 8B 8C1–2

1400–1300 b.c.e.

9A1–9 9B1–4

9-

10A 10B 11A1–2 11B1a-b 11B2

10-

12A 12B 12C1–2 13A 13B 13C1–2 13D 14A 14B 14C 14D1–2

12?

X

Destruction LB IB

1475–1400 b.c.e.

XI

LB IA

1550–1475 b.c.e.

Gap Post XII XII

MB II EB IV EB III B2

2000–1550 b.c.e. 2200–2000 b.c.e. 2400–2200 b.c.e.

XIII

EB III B1

2450–2400 b.c.e.

XIV

EB III A2

2500–2450 b.c.e.

XV

Destruction EB III A1

2600–2500 b.c.e.

Gap? XVI

EB II EB IC

2900–2600 b.c.e. 3000–2900 b.c.e.

XVII XVIII XIX

EB IB EB IA Chalcolithic

3100–3000 b.c.e. 3200–3100 b.c.e. 3500–3200 b.c.e.

15A 15B 15C

Local Site 301

Site Survey

Terrace Probes

Phase 1

Bir Bustan Bir/Khirbet Bureida tessellated press Site 66 Tombs

Post Ph 2

Site 72 Tombs

7A 7B 7C 8A1–2 8B

1300–1200 b.c.e.

8A 8B

Local Site 101 Cave Complex A

11-

Phase 1

Survey

13?

14?

15Phase 6A–B Phase 7 Phase 8 Phase 9A–B Phase 10A–D

Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4 Pre-Ph 4

Survey?

Alon Silage 85 pit in Silage

Chapter 1

Introduction In the 1992, 1993, and 1999 excavation seasons of the Lahav Research Project’s (LRP) work at Tell Halif, 794 fragments of ceramic figurines and two stone statuettes, dating mostly to the Persian and Hellenistic periods, were recovered in Field IV on the western edge of the site. Field IV had been originally established to investigate the layout of the late Iron II town and its fortifications; the discovery of figurines in such numbers had not been anticipated. During the previous nine seasons of excavations elsewhere on the tell, only a few fragments of Iron II, Persian, and Hellenistic period terra-cottas had been recovered, four in slope-wash debris and two below a floor of a Stratum IV house in Field I. None were reported among the finds from Fields II and III. The Phase IV excavations in Field V, adjacent to Field IV, have recovered several Iron II and Persian period terra-cottas, five of which have been included in the report of this volume. The number of figurines posed challenges for understanding the collection itself and for the publication of this relatively large corpus. The LRP initially responded to both challenges by adopting digital technologies. By 1995, approximately the first 500 figurines were “published” online in an early version of the DigMaster Web site; each fragment was depicted in color photographs, many with artists’ drawings, some in virtual-reality images (QuickTime movies), all with accompanying stratigraphic data and preliminary technical descriptions. The terra-cottas found in the 1999 season were subsequently added to DigMaster II (www.cobb.msstate.edu/ Research.html), an updated version of the web site of the LRP. This digital presentation—found in a final version on a CD with this volume—helped to resolve the problem associated with the publication of this relatively large number of artifacts. In addition, this effort by the LRP was an experiment in the early release of data. Well before the final publication, beginning already in 1995, the “raw” data concerning the figurines had been made available to on-line users. This experiment in total publication (via both the online DigMaster site and the CD in this volume) is a response to the fact that in traditional journal and book reporting only representative examples of the different types and subtypes of artifacts, in this case the terra-cottas, can conveniently be published as graphic representations. However, the subtle nuances in the different terra-cotta types, which cannot be affordably illustrated in print media, may be more quickly and economically represented and disseminated digitally. The goal of this report on the Halif figurine corpus is to provide a source whose data is as complete as possible.

2

Introduction

Format of the Report The stratigraphic contexts and the number of the figurines—including both the terra-cottas and the stone statuettes—determined the approach adopted in this volume. Only a few of the 794 figurines were found in original or secondary depositions; the vast majority had been re-deposited in architectural fills, middens, backfills in robber trenches, or plow-zone soils. Thus, the comparative study of types and features became essential for meaningful cultural assessment. The approach taken in this report aims to provide this kind of typological analysis, presenting as fully as possible the data that serves as the basis for the assessment. Accordingly, the report includes a visual representation of each piece to enable its study in a virtual setting. Because all but a few of the figurines were found in tertiary soil deposits, stratigraphic locations provide rela­tively little useful data, indicating where the figurines were initially used (in temple or shrine), manufactured (in workshops or homes), or initially disposed (with trash or in favissa); nor do these tertiary soil depositions provide useful information on the functions or ideological and religious associations of the terra-cottas. These factors dictate that the focus of this study on the Halif figurines must primarily be by means of typological assessment and comparative analysis. Consequently, the report proceeds with an analysis wherein the figurines have been assembled by Dr. Serwint into the following major types: 1.  Animal 2.  Bes 3.  Drapery 4.  Female 5.  Figure on Plinth 6.  Furniture 7.  Horse and Rider 8.  Human (Sex Unknown) 9.  Kernos 10.  Male 11.  Miscellaneous Fragments 12.  Other—Architectural 13.  Protome—Plaque Type 14.  Relief 15.  Statue 16.  Stone Sculpture 17.  Zoomorphic Vessels.

Several of these classifications include sub-categories. In chapter 5, each type is discussed, with comparanda referenced. Individual terra-cottas and stone sculptures are then given detailed analyses. The details for each figurine are illustrated on the CD. To be noted is that some figurines appear under more than one category and, because the collection is mixed, that some recognizable Iron Age figurine fragments also appear alongside (i.e., in the same type category) the Persian and Hellenistic terra-cottas.

Introduction

3

Goal of This Publication It is the hope that this publication will begin to fill a need in research involving analysis of first-millennium-b.c.e. figurines. In the first place, the report offers detailed analyses of the Tell Halif figurines and may thus also serve as a potential model for use in analyses of other collections of figurines. Second, because the majority of excavated (and even archived museum) artifacts are normally unavailable to the general public and often even to specialist scholars, this publication with its accompanying digital presentations displaying each figurine with full graphic details makes analysis of the figurines possible even without having the figurines in hand. This kind of presentation is necessary—and has been intentionally undertaken—in order to prepare for researchers to give fuller and more accurate determinations of the functions and types of the Halif figurines.

Acknowledgments This report includes, with permissions, photographs of selected artifacts from the Lois Dowdle Cobb Museum collection (1992-148 woman and child, S-539 horse and rider, and JMK-1977-018 funerary stela), from the Pierides-Marfin Laiki Bank Museum in Larnaca, Cyprus (144 kernos, 747 woman with child on left shoulder, 838 horse and rider, 2195 mother and child, 2199 woman holding child), and from the Maresha excavations courtesy of Dr. Amos Kloner and Dr. Adi Erlch (16/94 940-160-546 S2 940-160, 60/92 84 9-587 S3 [Erlich and Kloner 2008: Pl. 7 no. 31], 1386xv 75-75-4-055-670 [Erlich and Kloner 2008: Pl. 24 no. 130], 16/94 147-5-400-S10 [Erlich and Kloner 2008, Pl. 3 no. 8], 1386xv 75-04-676 [Erlich 2006b: Pl. 2 no.  5], 35/95 147-07-887-S1, 50/900 600-638.8.2-691 [Erlich and Kloner 2008: Pl. 12 no. 59], and 60-92 84-15-497-S1 [Erlich 2006b: Pl. 2 no. 4]).

Chapter 2

The Figurines in Archaeological Context Introduction The focus of this report is a collection of 794 figurines from Tell Halif, all but 11 of which were found in Field IV during the Phase III 1992, 1993, and 1999 excavation seasons of the LRP. Included are six items (Objs. 51, 664, 2791, 2792, 70283, and 70406) that were recovered in earlier Phases I and II excavations in Field I, along with five figurines (Objs. 3079, 3103, 3113, 3117, and 3123) recovered during the Phase IV excavations in Field V. Only 13 of these 794 objects derived from secure loci. Those found in secure primary or secondary settings include Objects 1912, 2114, 2133, 2162, 2173, 2564, 2726, 2729, 2732, 71325, and 71705. These eleven were found on floors or in destruction debris of Iron Age II Stratum VIB in Field IV. Two other figurines (Obj. 664 and Obj. 2702) were found in secure Stratum V contexts in Area B10 of Field I. None of the remaining objects were found in primary use settings, whether temple, shrine, house, or cultic niche; likewise, none were found in secondary locations, such as favissa or disposal pit. The majority of figurines was discovered in tertiary deposits of topsoil, construction fills, and backfills within trenches; and only a few were found sealed by architecture from later periods. This redeposition of materials from primary and/or secondary settings occurred through extensive digging of foundation trenches for construction (which is evident in Stratum III) and/or during the Stratum I cutting of a broad robber trench (which removed most of Strata III and V architecture along an intramural strip on the western edge of the tell). Despite the fact that during excavation many of these objects were recorded in situ by three-dimensional location and by photography, their location in tertiary depositions unfortunately means that, except for the 11 items found in Stratum VIB, no information relating to the function or meaning of the objects can be derived from their find-spots. Typologically the collection corresponds to a lengthy time frame: the earliest items assigned on the basis of typology to the Iron II period, the latest to the Roman period (i.e., from ca. 850 b.c.e. to ca. 100 b.c.e.). The following comments on stratigraphic settings are, therefore, brief, primarily simple descriptions of the various loci and the strata in which the terra-cottas and statuettes were finally deposited in antiquity.

The Figurines in Archaeological Context

5

Figure 2.1.  Tell Halif site plan.

The Layout of Field IV Field IV, whose initial purpose was to provide a broad exposure of Iron II Stratum VIB housing and fortification, was set out parallel to the western crest of the tell, where the line of the Stratum VIB fortification wall was projected to continue south from adjacent Field III. Seventeen 5 m × 5 m excavation units, or areas, were excavated, most down to the levels of Iron II Stratum VIB or Stratum VIA. Excavation units directly on the crest of the tell were numbered F8 (north) to L8 (south); two areas (K9 and L9) were located just below the crest of the tell; eight areas (F7 to K7, G6 and J6) were plotted inslope to the east on the top of the tell. These areas were in addition to an initial probe Area E3, located in the extreme northeast of Field IV. See figs. 2.1–2.

6

The Figurines in Archaeological Context

Figure 2.2.  Aerial view of Field IV, looking south.

The Figurines in Archaeological Context

7

A Note on Excavation Method For a fuller description of the archaeological methodology used in excavating during the Phase IV seasons (1992, 1993, and 1999) see the Field Operations Guidebook, 3rd Edition (Seger and Jacobs 1992). Field IV, the location of the majority of the terra-cottas and of both stone statuettes, was set out on a N–S line along the western edge of the tell. The field was divided into 5 m × 5 m squares, or areas, leaving a 4 m × 4 m square for excavation with a 1-m-wide balk between areas for recording purposes. Excavation followed the Gezer method, as adapted by the LRP (Seger and Jacobs 1992)—that is, all artifacts were recorded by pottery baskets within the loci in which they were found. All artifacts, including body sherds, recovered in excavation were registered and kept for further study. This practice resulted in the discovery of a significant number of items overlooked in the initial “field reading” of pottery for dating purposes, facilitating the recovery of approximately 30 additional figurine fragments. In addition to saving all artifacts, the LRP initiated a technique for the detailed recording of the exact locations of artifacts found on floors. Each excavation area was sectored into 1 m × 1 m squares. The artifacts on floors that were within each 1-m square were collected in separate control units (“baskets”), so that, for example, in the case of a scatter of pottery from vessels smashed on a floor, the original location of the vessel could be ascertained more closely. Other artifacts—such as stone tools, arrow points, figurines, etc.— on floors or in fills were also plotted with precise XYZ locations. Particular care was taken in recording the locations of terra-cotta figurines. Though the majority—as stated above—were found in tertiary contexts, the care in recording specific XYZ locations paid a dividend in helping to determine a clustering of terra-cotta fragments in a narrowing cone at the juncture of excavation Areas I8, I7, J7, J8, and K7. The clustering not only served as a predictor for locating additional terra-cottas (e.g., it was useful in determining whether to remove the balks between Areas J7 and J8, where, as predicted, a significant number of terracottas were found) but also possibly pointed to the original spot where the terra-cottas were either used in a sacred location or disposed in a favissa.

Stratigraphic Distribution of the Figurines in Fields I, IV, and V The following is a count of all figurine fragments and stone statuettes by stratum assignment in Fields I, IV, and V and presents the stratigraphic distributions of the figurines: Stratum I Stratum III Stratum V Stratum VIA Stratum VIB

369 402 9 3 11

Though not significant for determining function or meaning of the figurines, an analysis of their general locations (i.e., by excavation Area) is suggestive of the original location of the majority of these artifacts recovered in Field IV. The find-spots cluster (1) in excavation Areas G6 and G7,

8

The Figurines in Archaeological Context

and (2) in Areas I7, I8, J7, J8, K7, K8, and L8. The tables below illustrate the clusters in these areas and the relatively fewer figurines in the surrounding excavation areas. (In Fields I and V, only a few figurines were recovered; most of these were assigned to Stratum I contexts.) Table 2.1. Distribution of Figurines in Field IV. Area Area E3 Area F7 Area F8 Area G6 Area G7 Area G8 Area H7 Area H8 Area I7 Area I8 Area J6** Area J7 Area J8 Area K7 Area K8 Area K9 Area L8 Area L9

Total   2   4   1  27  18   5   9 —  82 138   2 126  56 269  27   2  15 —

Str. I —   2 —  18  12   1   9 —  82  67   2   7   6 138  11   1   4 —

Str. III — — —   9 — — — — —  70 — 119  50 131  13 —  10 —

Str. IV* — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Str. V — — — — 5 2 — — — — — — — — — — — —

Str. VIA 2 — — — — — — — — 1 — — — — — — — —

Str. VIB — 2 1 — 1 2 — — — — — — — — 3 1 1 —

*No stratified remains of the Stratum IV Hellenistic period were found in Field IV. Moreover, all strata do not appear in every excavation area: Stratum I (topsoils and robber-trench backfills) appears in all excavation areas; Stratum III appears in Areas F7, G6, I8, J7, J8, K7, K8, and L8 only; Stratum V appears in Areas F8, G7, and G8 only; Stratum VIA appears in Areas E3, I7, I8, J7, J8, and K7. Stratum VIB appears in all of the excavation areas of Field IV except Areas J6, J7, and J8, where digging failed to reach Stratum VIB levels. **Area J6 was not actually excavated. A power-line pole had been set into the tell in nearby Area J7, limiting excavation in Area J7 to the eastern half of that area. The soil dug from the hole for the concrete pole was deposited on the modern surface of what was designated Area J6; that soil was collected and sifted for artifacts.

Table 2.2 Distribution of Figurines in Field I. Area Area 11 Area A11 Area B10

Total 1 2 3

Str. I 1 2 1

Str. III — — —

Str. IV — — —

Str. V — — 2

Str. VIA — — —

Str. VIB — — —

Table 2.3. Distribution of Figurines in Field V. Area Area E7

Total 5

Str. I 5

Str. III —

Str. IV —

Str. V —

Str. VIA —

Str. VIB —

9

The Figurines in Archaeological Context Area G6 27

Area J6 2

Area F7 4

Area G7 18

Area H7 9

Area I7 82

Area J7 126

Area K7 269

Area F8 1

Area G8 5

Area H8 0

Area I8 138

Area J8 56

Area K8 27

Area L8 15

Area K9 2

Area L9 0

Figure 2.3.  Schematic plot of Field IV showing numeric distribution of figurines by Areas.

Figure 2.3 shows the distribution of the terra-cottas and statuettes in a schematic plan of Field IV.

Dating the Figurines Only the 11 figurines in Stratum VIB in Field IV were found in primary contexts (i.e., located either on living floors of pillared houses or in the debris from the collapse of those houses). Assignment of dates to any of the remaining 783 figurines depends on typological comparison with collections found in known historical settings. However, many of the fragments are either miscellaneous segments of terra-cottas or are from portions of terra-cottas (such as plinths) that do not permit conclusions about their types, styles, or dates of manufacture. Nonetheless, basing identifications on typological and style characteristics, Dr. Nancy Serwint has assigned approximate ages to 244 of the terra-cottas. Tables 2.4 and 2.5 (on the following pages) indicate the time frames and the numbers of terra-cottas assigned to each time period, along with their stratigraphic distributions.

Figurines in Sealed Loci As is easily understood, the several figurines from sealed loci provide the most useful data with respect to contextual and chronological study.

10

The Figurines in Archaeological Context Table 2.4. Typological Dating of Figurines and Distribution by Strata. Date 8th–7th c. b.c.e. 7th–6th c. b.c.e. 6th–5th c. b.c.e. 5th c. b.c.e. or later 5th–4th c. b.c.e. 4th c. b.c.e. 4th c. b.c.e. or later 4th–3rd c. b.c.e. 3rd c. b.c.e. 3rd c. b.c.e. or later 3rd–2nd c. b.c.e. Hellenistic Roman

Total 28  5 58 52 42  7 14 21  2  7  1  6  1

Str. I  7  3 30 30 14  3  7  5  1  4  1  2

Str. III  7  2 27 22 28  4  5 15  1  3

Str. V 1

Str. VIA 2

Str. VIB 11

1

2 1 (?)

 4  1

Table 2.5. Itemized Distribution of Figurines by Strata and Assigned Date. Date 8th–7th c. b.c.e.

Str. I 2332, 2409, 2459, 2505, 2669, 70165, 71022

2486, 2506, 70317 1857, 1861, 1864, 1870, 1881, 1954, 1981, 2008, 2031, 2040, 2075, 2085, 2160, 2256, 2285, 2286, 2288, 2298, 2425, 2461, 2467, 2488, 2490, 2509, 2632, 2671, 2696, 2730, 71104, 71110 5th c. b.c.e. or later 1854, 1856, 1859, 1880, 1889, 1924, 1948, 1952, 1982, 1986, 2007, 2082, 2158, 2210, 2213, 2274, 2278, 2281, 2294, 2301, 2329, 2369, 2439, 2519, 2522, 2646, 2665, 2708, 3103, 3117 7th–6th c. b.c.e. 6th–5th c. b.c.e.

Str. III 1894, 2451, 2501, 70645, 71142, 71243, 71309,

Str. V 2029

70668, 70806 1991 1949, 1961, 2045, 2100, 2112, 2326, 2360, 2365, 2391, 2396, 2402, 2403, 2424, 2479, 2672, 70543, 70840, 71133, 71172, 71179, 71228, 71297, 71365, 71394, 71445, 71701, 71704 2036, 2037, 2071, 2108, 2235, 2236, 2239, 2269, 2359, 2400, 2431, 2436, 2563, 2687, 2693, 2700, 70629, 70630, 71169, 71177, 71456, 71700

Str. VIA 2738, 2739

Str. VIB 1912, 2114, 2133, 2162, 2173, 2564, 2726, 2729, 2732, 71325, 71705

11

The Figurines in Archaeological Context Table 2.5. Itemized Distribution of Figurines by Strata and Assigned Date (cont.) Date 5th–4th c. b.c.e.

Str. I 1863, 1882, 2217, 2271, 2287, 2503, 2516, 2595, 70381, 70565, 71077, 71105, 71134, 71191

4th c. b.c.e.

1923, 2282, 2357

4th c. b.c.e. or later 1853, 2251, 2260, 2334, 2342, 2517, 2725 4th–3rd c. b.c.e. 1850, 1916, 2280, 71154, 71189

3rd c. b.c.e. 1868/1884 3rd c. b.c.e. or later 1904, 1989, 2083, 2705 3rd–2nd c. b.c.e. 1865 Hellenistic 3079, 71455 Roman

Str. III Str. V 1922, 1959, 2063, 2105, 70314, 70500, 70526, 70585, 70608, 70659, 70677, 70748, 70803, 70820, 70831, 70938, 71169, 71176, 71177, 71227, 71281, 71306, 71307, 71320, 71385, 71504, 71528, 71570 70269, 70407, 70506, 71097 2048, 2118, 2454, 2050, 2245 70367, 70909 70758, 70830, 70839, 70843, 70844, 70900, 70931, 71096, 71112, 71168, 71314, 71366, 71447, 71502, 71525 2367 2011, 2106, 2382

Str. VIA

Str. VIB

71702

2290, 71004, 71170, 71171 71305

(Note that in one instance there is a conflict between stratigraphic—Stratum VIA—and stylistic assignment of date as 4th–3rd century b.c.e. See the entry in table 2.4 above that has been signaled by the question mark in parentheses; this small fragment of a mold-made figurine [Obj. 71702] was interpreted as a Medusa head, part of a larger figure of a nude male [Perseus or Herakles] holding the head. Features of the fragment are badly worn, making the identification tentative. Furthermore, the find-spot of this fragment on the downslope, shallow western portion of Area I8 makes it possible and even likely that it is an intrusive artifact from root activity or animal burrowing. Earth Floor I8017, which sealed over Fill I8022 in which Obj. 71702 was found, was patchy and broken in the western part of the excavation area.)

12

The Figurines in Archaeological Context

Figure 2.4. Plan of the Stratum VIB F7 House in Field IV. 

A. Figurines in the Iron II Stratum VIB Remains Stratum VIB is the late 8th-century b.c.e. settlement on the site, with representative remains especially in Fields II–V. 1.  Destruction Debris Contexts L. F7002 (Obj. 2732), F8007 (Obj.  2133), G7005 (Obj. 2564), and K8002 (Objs. 1912, 2162, and 2726)

Six terra-cottas assigned to Stratum VIB were found mixed with bricks, charred beams, and pottery from second floors or roofs of two pillared buildings (four-room houses). In the

The Figurines in Archaeological Context

13

F7 House (and its partially excavated neighbor to the north) in the northern part of Field IV, Debris F7002, F8007, and G7005 from the collapse of the house filled the ground floor rooms up to 50 cm. deep. Whether the terra-cotta fragments found among the bricks and stones from collapsed walls had been incidentally included within the sundried bricks during manufacture or had fallen from the second floor/roof where they had been strategically placed by the owners of the house cannot be determined. The three terra-cottas (Objs. 2133, 2564, and 2732), though all were found in debris above the ground floors of the F7 House, clearly belong stratigraphically either to the event of the house and its collapse or to the event of the house and its construction. A terminus ante quem for the creation and use of the terra-cottas is thus assured in the late 8th century b.c.e., the date of the building’s destruction. (For a detailed description of the F7 house and its as- Figure 2.5.  Plan of the Stratum VIB K8 House in Field IV. semblage, see Hardin 2010: 134–60.) The situation is similar in the case of the three terra-cottas (Objs. 1912, 2162, and 2726) discovered in the destruction debris of another pillared building, the K8 House in the southern part of Field IV. All were found mixed with the bricks, stones, and charred beams of Debris K8002 from the collapse of the house. 2.  Architectural Contexts, Floors L. F7006.P (Obj. 2729), G8005.P (Objs. 2114, 71705), L8016.P (Obj. 2173), K9009.P (Obj. 71325)

a.  The F7 House Fragments of two different “pillar figurines” were found on two floors of the Stratum VIB F7 House. Object 2114 is the mold-made head of a pillar (or “ʿAsherah”) figurine; Object 2729 is a fragment of the body of a different pillar figurine. No other fragment of these two figurines was found. The leg from a zoomorphic vessel (Obj. 71705) was also found on Floor G8005. The head of a female pillar figurine (Obj. 2114) is part of an assemblage of ritual objects that were arranged in the northeast corner of the broad room of the F7 House. Other ritual items included a ceramic, fenestrated stand (Obj. G849D2); 2 carved chalk limestone blocks, perhaps offering stands (Objs. 2054 and 2103); the leg from a hollow zoomorphic figurine (Obj. 71705); and a pomegranate-shaped bottle (Obj. G822B4).

14

The Figurines in Archaeological Context

With the ritual items were domestic ceramic vessels: 4 storage jars, 3 bowls, 1 jug or pitcher, 2 juglets, 2 cooking pots, and 1 large bowl. On Floor G8005 were also a rider stone for grinding (Obj. 2115); a polished rubbing stone (Obj. 1917); a flat, smoothed hard limestone slab (Obj. 64519) that may have served in food preparation; a piece of pumice; a horn core from a goat (Obj. 64533); a bone spatula (Obj. 1906); and an iron arrow point (Obj. 2061). Samples of the soil between the cobbles of Floor G8005 produced grape pips, with traces of some cereals and legumes, as well as fish scales and fish bones. The artifact remains on this floor sealed beneath the fallen walls, along with the micro­ artifact evidence from the floor itself, support the hypothesis that the broad room of the F7 House was used both for the preparation and consumption of food, presumably in the presence of the goddess (and/or god). Likely, some portion of the prepared food was consigned to the goddess (and/or god) with the idea that benefits would return to the family. The fragment of the body of another pillar figurine (Obj. 2729) was found on earth and cobbled Floor F7006, near the north Wall F7003 of the house in the northern long room of the pillared building. On this portion of the floor were 6 wine storage jars along with a winemaking kit (including a ceramic strainer and funnel). Other vessels included 3 pithoi or holemouth storage jars, 2 cooking pots, 1 cooking jug, 2 bowls, 1 lamp, and 1 jug. On and into Floor F7006 were built several domestic installations for cooking (Tabun F7015), preparing (Mortar F7020), and storage of food (Bin F7021). No additional fragments of the terra-cotta figurine were found in the room, but since it was located amid this group of 18 ceramic vessels some speculation may be made regarding its function. It may have been placed strategically in the house to protect the family and the contents of the house or to assure a successful vintage. In summary, these three terra-cotta fragments are associated foremost with domestic activity (food preparation and consumption, wine-making, weaving, grain storage, and the like) within a traditional pillared or four-room house unit. The house itself was built directly against the town’s fortification wall and abutted houses to the north and to the south. b. The K8 House On Floor K9009 in the K8 House was found a single terra-cotta (Obj. 71325), a miscellaneous fragment of a plaque-type figurine. Floor K9009 is a packed-earth surface in a chamber of the broad room, along the rear wall of the K8 House (which had partially eroded down the western slope of the tell). On the floor with Figurine 71325 were several bowls, a lamp, a storage jar, pieces of a black juglet, and two jugs. A clay loom weight and a small, smoothed pebble were included in the assemblage on the floor. Assuming that the location of Figurine 71325 on Floor K9009 is original, then the figurine likely functioned in a fashion similar to the pillar figurine head (Obj. 2114) found in the F7 House, that is, as a symbol of the holy or as apotropaic device whose presence assured welfare for the family. Furthermore, the presence of the bowls in the room with the terra-cotta figurine, similar to the vessels in the broad room of the F7 House, suggests ceremonial food consumption. A similar concern applies to the leg of a zoomorphic figurine (Obj. 2173) found on Floor L8016, which is the surface within circular Storage Bin L8017. The room of the K8 House in which this bin was built included a cooking pot (Obj. L85069), a storage jar (Obj. L845A-1), a holemouth jar (Obj. L845D1), a jug (Obj. L858D-21), as well as fragments of bowls. If the terra-cotta figurine of which Object 2173 was a part was originally in this location, then it, too, likely reflected domestic interests in food supply and in family welfare.

The Figurines in Archaeological Context

15

B.  Figurines in the Iron II Stratum VIA Remains Stratum VIA, found in both Fields III and IV (and possibly in Field II), represents a shortlived and sparse resettlement on the tell after the destruction of the Stratum VIB fortified town at the end of the 8th century b.c.e. 1. Construction Fill Context L. I8022, Debris below Surface I8017 (Obj. 71702)

A fragment of a terra-cotta Object 71702 (possibly part of a figurine of a standing nude male) was found in a layer of debris (L. I8022, possible construction fill for later building). This locus was partially sealed below Floor I8017, but see the note above (p. 11) on whether this small figurine fragment—if it is part of a 4th–3rd century b.c.e. terra-cotta—may be intrusive to the fill context. The architecture above Debris I8022, though disturbed by later pitting and cut in places by later foundation trenches, belongs to Stratum VIA. Pottery on the eastern portion of Stratum VIA Surfaces I8016 and I8017 fall within the late Iron II range, while the western portions of these surfaces are badly eroded and broken. 2. Architectural Context L. E3007, Debris in Cistern (Objs. 2738 and 2739)

Two fragments of Iron Age terra-cottas (Objs. 2738 and 2739) were recovered in Debris E3007 at the bottom of a rock-cut cistern located in the extreme northeast portion of Field IV. The terra-cottas belong typologically to the known repertoire of Iron Age II pillar figurines; however, their position in the cistern indicates a tertiary deposition, probably as incidental wash into the cistern after its abandonment. Since a date for the construction and initial use of the cistern has not been determined, the terra-cottas may be assigned to Stratum VIA only provisionally. C.  Figurines in Persian Stratum V Remains Persian remains on Tell Halif consist of a free-standing building discovered in Field II (see fig. 2.6). In Field IV only fragmentary pieces of architecture, a short segment of a wall and two stone-lined silos (see figs. 2.7 and 2.9), survived later pitting. In Field I, Stratum V consists of an isolated small room of a house (see fig. 2.12). 1.  Fill Context Field IV Post-Stratum V Fill G7003 in Silo G7006 (Objs. 1990 and 1991)

Locus G7003 is a layer of soil that accumulated in the upper portion of the remains of Silo G7006 after the silo had gone out of use. Except for the fact that Soil Layer G7003 was contained within the remains of Silo G7006, it is indistinguishable from Stratum I Debris G7002 above it. Thus, while L. G7003 seals the midden deposit L. G7008 below, the possibility that Objects 1990 and 1991 (both terra-cotta fragments of standing humans, Obj. 1991 identifiable as a male) are part of the redeposition of terra-cottas in the backfill of the robber trench of Stratum I cannot be excluded.

16

The Figurines in Archaeological Context

Figure 2.6.  Plan of Stratum V features in Field II.

17

The Figurines in Archaeological Context

Figure 2.7.  Plan of Stratum V silos in Field IV Area G7.

Figure 2.8.  Stratum V building features in Field IV Area G8. View to the north.

2.  Architectural Contexts Field IV Stratum V Midden G7008 in Silo G7006 (Objs. 2050, 2051, and 2052); Stratum V Stone Wall G8007 (Obj. 2078) and L. G8011, Debris below Wall G8007 (Obj. 2088)

Subterranean Silos G7006 and G7007 (fig. 2.7), which were cut down through the earlier Stratum VIB house, probably belonged originally to the Stratum V building represented by

18

The Figurines in Archaeological Context

Figure 2.9.  Stratum V silos in Field IV Area G7. View to the north.

Wall G8007 and Surface G8008 (see fig. 2.8, p. 17); Stratum I robber trenches had removed all but short segments of Wall G8007 and Surface G8008, while also taking the upper courses of both Silos G7006 and G7007 (see fig. 2.9, p. 18). Although the silos are thus isolated from the wall and floor, these architectural elements have been assigned to Stratum V on the basis of relative location. After Silo G7006 was no longer used for grain storage, waste materials in the form of Midden G7008 were thrown into it to a depth of 28 cm. The midden deposit contained not only terracottas (Objs. 2050, 2051, and 2052) but also more than 8,000 fragments of burned bone (see fig. 2.10, p. 19), as well as a Persian period lamp, 2 worked cowry shells (Objs. 2003 and 2056), a glass bead (Obj. 2060), a carnelian bead (Obj. 2057), a small piece of copper, and a fragment of glass slag. Analysis of the faunal material determined that the bones were burned at a high temperature, likely in place within the plastered silo. Because of the poor preservation of the architecture of Stratum V in Field IV, it is impossible to determine whether Silo G7006 (and the Stratum V house to which it belonged) had been entirely abandoned at the time Midden G7008 was deposited or whether Silo G7006 had simply been converted to a garbage pit. Although Midden G7008 is a defined deposit of soil, its precise stratigraphic affiliation—that is, as part of Stratum V proper or as a post-Stratum V element— cannot be determined with certainty. In the dismantling of Wall G8007, as well as in Soil G8011 directly beneath it, two fragments of terra-cottas (Obj. 2078, fragment of the back of a figurine, and Obj. 2088, leg of an animal) were recovered. In both cases, the locations of the terra-cottas are tertiary, yielding only the information that the manufacture of these terra-cottas had to date prior to the construction of Wall G8007. In fact, animal leg Object 2088 is clearly earlier, being distinctly Iron II in fabric.

The Figurines in Archaeological Context

19

Figure 2.10.  Bone fragments from Midden G7008 in Field IV.

3.  Architectural Context Field I (see figs. 2.11 and 2.12), L. B10005.1 Preparation Fills for Surface B10005 (Objs. 664 and 2792)

Two fragments of figurines (Obj. 664, a piece of a kernos, and Obj. 2792, the leg of a ceramic animal figurine) were found in a Stratum V Persian period setting in Field I. Both had been included in the construction fill used to create earth Floor B10005 in a room of a domestic building on the eastern edge of the tell (see fig. 2.12, p. 21). The house to which Floor B10005 belonged was itself largely dismantled by a mid-20th-century c.e. army trench. Only short segments of the room’s Walls B10003, B10004, B1006, and B10007, and of floor B10005 were preserved. Soil B10005.1, used to construct floor B10005, incidentally included terra-cotta Objects 664 and 2792, along with sherds, bones, shells, and fragments of lithic tools. Both terra-cottas thus date prior to the creation of Floor B10005.

20

The Figurines in Archaeological Context

Figure 2.11.  Plan of Stratum V features in Field I Area B10.

D.  Figurines in the Byzantine Stratum III Remains Only in Field II do stratified remains of the Byzantine period survive, in the form of a house with broad walls. Byzantine period remains in Field IV have been mostly removed by Stratum I trenches. Only fragmentary architecture of Stratum III was preserved in Field IV. 1.  Fill Contexts Post-Stratum III L. G6006 Fill in Silo G6008 (Objs. 2382, 2451, 2464, 2501, 2512, 2530, 2531, and 71704); L. G6013 Fill in Silo G6008 (Obj. 2609); Fill I8006 (Objs. 1942, 1953, 1958, 1959, 1965, 1966, 1971, 1978, 1989, 1992, 2229, 2235, 2236, 2237, 2239, 71226, 71227, 71228, 71243, 71456, 71700, and 71701); J7003 Debris above Floor J7005 (Objs. 70266, 70268, 70269, 70526, 70530, 70543, 70557, 70585, 70601, 70608, 70617, 70620, 70621, 70626, 70629, 70630, 70645, 70646, 70667, 70668, 70677, 70679, 70681, 70720, 70818, 70921, 70922, 70923, 70926, 70927, 70928, 70930, and 70931); Cobbles J7004 above Floor J7005 (Objs. 70339, 70357, 70358, 70367, 70494, 70500, 70506, 70652, 70653, 70654, 70655, 70918, 70919, 71133, 71141, 71142, 71153, 71320, 71329, and 71451); Fill J8005/K8008 (Objs. 1901, 1913, 1922, 1924, 1925, 1934, 1940, 1949, 1957, 1983, 1986, 2009, 2232, 2233, 70744, 70748, 70752, 70761, 70806, 70817, 71004, 71323, 71569, 71570, and 71571); Debris K7002 above K7004 (Objs. 2289, 2290, 2291, 2320, 2321, 2322, 2323, 2324, 2326, 2359, 2360, 2364, 2365, 2367, 2368, 2398, 2655, 2656, 2657, 2658, 2659, 2660, 2661, 2664, 2666, 70656, 70657, 70659, 70664, 70670, 70705, 70718, 70736, 70916, and 70924); Debris L8008 (Objs. 1963, 1977, 1980, and 2238)

The Figurines in Archaeological Context

21

Figure 2.12.  Stratum V features in Field I Area B10.

Although much of the Byzantine period stone architecture had been removed from Field IV for reuse in later periods, fragments of Stratum III architecture were found in Areas F7, G6, I8, J7, J8, K7, K8, and L8, mostly in the form of short segments of walls, foundations for walls, and patches of floors. Above these features were layers of soil and stone rubble. In some instances these layers of soil (e.g., G6006 and G6013 found within Silo G6008) were incidental accumulations of debris; in other instances, soil layers appear to be intentional fills for later construction of architecture now completely removed by Stratum I trenching. All of these construction fills and debris layers belong stratigraphically to a time after the end of Stratum III. The figurines found in these debris and fill layers probably had been redeposited several times; their appearance in post-Stratum III soil layers can indicate only the time before which they must have been manufactured. 2.  Architectural Contexts Stratum III Wall I8002 (Objs. 2110, 2119, 2137, and 2157); I8007.1 Construction Soil of Floor I8007 (Objs. 1979, 2047, 2048, 2062, 2625, 71281, 71283, 71284, 71285, 71305, 71306, 71307, 71308, 71309, 71380, 71384, 71397, 71457, 71458, and 71649); Pit J7009 (Objs. 71491, 71502, 71503, 71504, 71547, 71548, 71549, and 71550); Wall J8004 (Objs. 2112 and 2123); J8008.1 Debris of Floor J8008 (Objs. 71324, 71449, and 71450); Pit J8014 (Objs. 2475 and 2700); Pit J8015 (Obj. 71327); K7004.1 Construction Fill of Floor K7004 (Objs. 2029, 2032, 2033, 2034, 2036, 2037, 2041, 2042, 2043, 2045, 2065, 2074, 2244, 2245, 2246, 2247, 2248, 2635, 2636, 2637, 2638, 70826, 70830, 70831, 70832, 70833, 70839, and 70840); Wall Foundation L8007 (Obj. 2100)

Sixty-nine terra-cotta fragments were found within the materials used to construct walls and floors of Stratum III. Included within stone foundation walls were 7 fragments (Objs. 2100,

22

The Figurines in Archaeological Context

2110, 2112, 2119, 2123, 2137, and 2157); clearly these were included coincidentally with the rubble fills in the centers of stone walls. Found within the makeup of Floors I8007, J8008, and K7004 were 41 terra-cotta fragments (Objs. 1979, 2029, 2032, 2033, 2034, 2036, 2037, 2041, 2042, 2043, 2045, 2047, 2048, 2062, 2065, 2074, 2625, 70826, 70830, 70831, 70832, 70833, 70839, 70840, 71281, 71283, 71284, 71285, 71305, 71306, 71307, 71308, 71309, 71324, 71380, 71384, 71397, 71449, 71450, 71457, and 71458). These fragments were coincidentally included in the construction fills used to form Floors I8007, J8008, and K7004. Three small pits (J7009, J8014, and J8015)—all sealed by Stratum III Floors J7008 and J8008—included 11 terra-cotta fragments (Objs. 2475, 2700, 71327, 71491, 71502, 71503, 71504, 71547, 71548, 71549, and 71550). These pits likely were used with Stratum III architecture in an early phase and were subsequently sealed over by additions to floors. While these terra-cottas were found in stratified contexts, they are certainly in tertiary depositions, again providing only the information regarding a date before which they had been manufactured. 3.  Fill Contexts Pre-Stratum III.  Fill I8004 (Objs. 1961, 2016, 2017, 2063, 2064, 2241, 2242, 2626, 2627, and 2628); Brick Debris I8014 (Objs. 2071, 2104, 2105, 2106, 2107, 2108, 2109, 2116, 2118, 2120, 2136, 2138, 2641, and 2642); Debris J7005.1 of Surface J7005 (Objs. 70803, 70819, 70820, 70843, 70844, 71168, 71169, 71170, 71171, 71172, 71175, 71176, 71177, 71178, 71179, 71181, 71182, 71183, 71184, 71185, 71186, 71220, 71221, 71252, 71496, 71497, 71498, and 71653); Brick Debris J7006 (Objs. 70872, 70873, 70882, 71297, 71298, 71303, 71311, 71313, 71314, 71321, 71322, 71346, 71347, 71348, 71349, 71355, 71360, 71365, 71366, 71403, 71442, 71443, 71444, 71445, 71447, 71448, 71525, 71526, 71527, and 71577); Brick Debris J8006 (Objs. 2011, 2111, 2135, 2431, 2433, 2454, 2477, 2479, 2480, 2498, 2510, 2520, 2599, 2714, 2715, 71078, and 71331), Fill K7007 (Objs. 2373, 2391, 2392, 2393, 2394, 2395, 2396, 2397, 2399, 2400, 2402, 2403, 2404, 2405, 2407, 2408, 2409, 2410, 2411, 2412, 2413, 2423, 2424, 2425, 2434, 2435, 2436, 2438, 2441, 2443, 2458, 2474, 2528, 2672, 2673, 2674, 2675, 2676, 2677, 2679, 2680, 2681, 2682, 2683, 2684, 2686, 2687, 2688, 2689, 2690, 2691, 2692, 2693, 70311, 70312, 70313, 70314, 70315, 70407, 70483, 70484, 70485, 70925, 71326, 71385, 71386, 71387, and 71388); Fill K8013 below K8012.1 (Objs. 2126, 70897, 70900, 70909, 70937, 70938, 71394, 71528, 71545, 71572, 71645, 71648, and 71657); Debris L8005 (Obj. 1894); Brick Debris L8009 (Objs. 2005, 2010, 2563, and 2724)

These 207 terra-cottas were trapped in layers of soil used as construction fills for Stratum III architecture. Inadvertently collected with the soils used as fill, they were incidental to the stratified layers themselves and date from a time earlier than the deposition of the fills.

Figurines in Non-sealed Loci A.  Arabic Period Stratum I Remains 1.  Field IV Topsoil F7001 (Objs. 2552 and 2553); Topsoil G6001 (Objs. 2611 and 2725); Trench Backfill G6003 (Objs. 2294, 2298, 2299, 2334, 2347, 2349, 2361, 2450, 2644, 2645, 2646, 2648, 2654, 2662, and

The Figurines in Archaeological Context

23

2734); Trench Backfill G6009 (Obj. 2517); Topsoil G7001 (Objs. 1904, 1945, and 2581); Trench Backfill G7002 (Objs. 1923, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1954, and 2234); Topsoil G8001 (Obj. 1872); Topsoil H7001 (Objs. 2263 and 71299); Trench Backfill H7003 (Objs. 2260, 2270, and 2275), Trench Backfill H7004 (Objs. 2316 and 2445); Trench Backfill H7011 (Objs. 2533 and 2534); Topsoil I7001 (Objs. 1938, 1939, 1943, 1955, 1956, 1969, 1970, 1981, 1993, 1994, 2072, 2073, 2230, 2231, 2240, 70165, 71022, 71056, 71330, 71568, and 71644); Trench Backfill I7002 (Objs. 2082, 2084, 2085, 2086, 2113, 2121, 2122, 2134, 2158, 2159, 2160, 2171, 2253, 2272, 2273, 2276, 2279, 2280, 2281, 2282, 2285, 2287, 2327, 2328, 2329, 2330, 2331, 2332, 2369, 2496, 2703, 2705, 71077, 71328, 71452, 71453, 71454, and 71455); Trench Backfill I7004 (Objs. 2269, 2271, 2274, 2283, 2301, 2335, 2522, 2650, 2651, 2652, 2653, 2730, 71096, 71097, 71104, and 71105); Trench Backfill I7006 (Objs. 2336, 2375, 2406, 2728, 2731, 71110, and 71112); Topsoil I8001 (Objs. 1853, 1855, 1856, 1887, 2216, 2217, and 2218); Topsoil I8003 (Objs. 1850, 1852, 1854, 1857, 1858, 1859, 1860, 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865, 1867, 1868, 1869, 1870, 1871, 1875, 1876, 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1888, 1889, 1890, 1891, 1896, 1898, 1900, 1916, 2210, 2211, 2212, 2213, 2214, 2215, 2220, 2221, 2222, 2223, 2224, 2225, 2226, 2227, 2228, 71134, 71152, 71154, 71155, 71189, 71190, 71191, 71193, 71194, 71195, and 71587); Topsoil I8015 (Obj. 2117); J6001 Topsoil (Objs. 70356 and 71584); Topsoil J7001 (Objs. 70317, 70437, 70565, 70566, 70932, 70933, and 70934); Topsoil J8001 (Objs. 1892, 1897, 1907, 1914, 2219, and 70984); Topsoil K7001 (Objs. 2083, 2255, 2286, 2302, 2548, 2727, 2733, 2735, 2736, 2737, 70616, 70618, 70809, and 70920); Trench Backfill K7003 (Objs. 1967, 1968, 1982, 1987, 1988, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2027, 2028, 2030, 2031, 2038, 2040, 2044, 2046, 2067, 2243, 2249, 2251, 2252, 2256, 2277, 2278, 2288, 2319, 2325, 2337, 2338, 2339, 2340, 2341, 2342, 2343, 2357, 2358, 2364, 2374, 2378, 2380, 2401, 2414, 2620, 2621, 2622, 2623, 2624, 2629, 2630, 2632, 2633, 2634, 2643, 2663, 2665, 2668, 2669, 2670, and 2671); Trench Backfill K7006 (Objs. 2437, 2439, 2440, 2442, 2459, 2461, 2467, 2469, 2470, 2471, 2472, 2473, 2476, 2478, 2486, 2487, 2488, 2489, 2490, 2495, 2497, 2502, 2503, 2504, 2505, 2506, 2507, 2508, 2509, 2515, 2516, 2519, 2523, 2525, 2526, 2527, 2529, 2545, 2547, 2560, 2694, 2695, 2696, 2697, 2699, 2701, 2706, 2707, 2708, 2709, 2710, 2711, 2712, 2713, 2717, 2720, 2721, 2722, and 2723); Topsoil K8001 (Objs. 1893, 2075, 2076, 2077, 2087, 2595, 2604, 2605, 2607, 2640, and 71647); Topsoil K9001 (Obj. 2521); Topsoil L8001 (Objs. 1903, 1920, 70381, and 70552)

2.  Field I Topsoil 11002 (Obj. 51); Topsoil A11001 (Objs. 70283 and 70406); Topsoil B10002 (Obj. 2791)

3.  Field V Topsoil E7001 (Obj. 3079); Topsoil E7002 (Obj. 3103); Topsoil E7004 (Objs. 3113, 3117, and 3123)

In Fields I, IV, and V, Stratum I remains consist of non-stratified soil layers with mixed materials resulting from late (Arab period) uses of the tell. Following the abandonment of the site (at some unknown time after the Byzantine period) settlers in search of usable material for the construction of a village at the eastern foot of the tell (Khuweilifeh within ruins of the earlier Byzantine village Tilla) excavated a trench along the western edge of the tell to recover usable building stones. The trench is known to be at least 30 meters long and at least 7 meters wide. This long robber trench cut through Strata III, IV, V, and VIA and into Stratum VIB. As stones were removed from walls of buried houses, the trench was backfilled with unwanted stones and

24

The Figurines in Archaeological Context

debris, including discarded artifacts. Among these discarded artifacts were large numbers of figurine fragments. A second late context—the plow-zone topsoil layers—also contained significant numbers of terra-cottas. These topsoil layers were distinguishable above undisturbed stratified material in Areas F7, F8, G6, G8, H8, I8, J8, K8, and K9.

Summary: The Figurines in Archaeological Contexts at Halif As the review above indicates, due to extensive quarrying for building materials along the western edge of the tell—both in Stratum III and in Stratum IV, but especially in Stratum I—original and secondary contexts for nearly all of the figurines have been lost. Thus, only typological analyses will serve to establish the approximate dates of manufacture and use for most of the items in the collection. Similarly, little data helpful in determining the actual uses of the figurines are discernible from these tertiary settings. Possible exceptions are provided by the group of figurines “clustered” about Areas I7, I8, J7, J8, and K7, which may support the hypothesis that the original site of the terra-cottas—whether in a temple, shrine, or favissa—was located close to the excavation units designated Areas K7, J7, and J8.

Chapter 3

The Figurines in Historical Context: Halif in the Late Iron II, Persian, and Hellenistic Periods On the basis of typological comparisons, Dr. Nancy Serwint has determined that at least 211 of the terra-cottas found at Halif were produced in the Persian and Hellenistic periods and that another 33 are of an Iron II date. Assuming that these terra-cottas were in fact also used on site during these periods, the following description of the Halif settlements during the Iron II, Persian, and Hellenistic periods (8th–2nd century b.c.e.) is warranted in order to provide some context for the figurines.

The Iron II Period at Halif, Stratum VI Stratum VIB in Fields III, IV, and V During the Late Iron II period (Str. VIB), Halif was a fortified town that served the needs of the kingdom of Judah. The town was likely destroyed in 701 b.c.e. by components of an Assyrian army besieging nearby Lachish. Fields III, IV, and V, set along the western slope of the tell (fig. 2.1), spanned the casemate fortification and a row of houses built immediately inside the curtain wall. Beneath burned debris and fallen bricks, remains of pillared (four-room type) houses yielded a picture of life in the late 8th century b.c.e. at Halif that included both agriculture and local industry, as well as a presence associated with the military. Grapes were grown for the production of wine; wheat and oats were the common grain crops. Olives and figs appeared in the diet as well and were probably grown in orchards on the hills near the tell. Nearly every house included an activity area dedicated to weaving textiles. Balance-scale weights, found in several of the houses, indicate local marketing. Seal impressions (bullae) probably denote materials imported from regional urban centers such as Lachish, Hebron, and Gaza. Some foodstuffs were shipped from the Mediterranean coast, as demonstrated by the discovery of fish scales and fish bones on the floors of several rooms of these pillared buildings (Hardin 2010; Rosen 1992).

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The Figurines in Historical Context

Figure 3.1.  Head of Pillar Figurine 2114.

Terra-cotta figurines found in the burned houses in Field IV, along with other objects, provide a glimpse into the religious sentiment of the population. Five figurines (Objs. 2114, 2173, 2729, 71325, and 71705) were found on living floors of the pillared houses in good stratigraphic contexts. One room in the F7 House in Field IV—part of the broad room in the structure— also gives a somewhat broader view (in the form of a house shrine assemblage) of practices associated with Figurines 2114 and 71705. The family that used the figurines in this shrine room employed multiple strategies to assure their own welfare. In addition to stockpiling food and wine, trading with neighboring towns, and buying and selling commodities, they also ordered their lives through religious ritual to conform to the realities of the sacred realm. Of particular interest is that the shrine room was also the locale for preparation and consumption of food; the family ate with/in the presence of the goddess (and god?). A sphere of well-being that began with the sacred order was to have encompassed the family and its possessions. Domestic Shrine

Renfrew (1985: 11–26), in establishing a theoretical framework for determining whether archaeological data constitute a cultic context, lists four universal requirements for effective ritual: (1) creation of special places, times, and sequences for focusing of attention to conduct ritual, these places “often organized to faciliFigure 3.2.  Leg of hollow zoomorphic tate the focusing of attention” (1985: 18); (2) behavior Figurine 71705. appropriate to places where humans make contact with the sacred; (3) presence of the deity/deities in symbolic representation; and (4) active participation of the worshiper or cultic official. These features, expected for a temple or other public cult place, appear modified to one degree or another in the case of domestic shrines (Mersereau 1993: 17). Nonetheless, as shown below, all of these features occur in some variation or another in the domestic shrine in the broad room of the F7 House. 1.  At some point in the architectural history of the broad room of the F7 House, possibly at the time the family first installed the shrine, one of the doorways into the room was blocked from access. This doorway, located at the northeast corner of the room, was filled, and the cultic furniture along with domestic ceramic wares were installed into that portion of the room. Access to the room was diverted to a door at the southern extremity of the room (see fig. 2.4, p. 12). The closing of Door F7031 to traffic into the shrine

The Figurines in Historical Context

27

room, I suggest, qualifies as the “creation of special places.” Attention-focusing devices included a figurine of the goddess (perhaps also the zoomorphic figurine of a calf or horse), a cult stand, and two offering stands in a particular arrangement. 2.  Behavior appropriate to the sacred place is reflected in the presence of small bowls that could be used for offering wine or food. Indeed, the fact of eating a meal in the presence of (or shared with) the deity is an excellent portrayal of appropriate behavior. 3.  A symbol of the goddess in the form of the ceramic figurine was present, but her symbolic presence, as argued below, may also include the cult stand functioning as her home or palace. 4.  Active participation of family members may be assumed in the matters of preparing and sharing meals. Other types of “active participation” may be imagined; though no archaeological evidence supports such assumptions, it is possible that rituals of summoning the goddess were practiced, including various acts of preparing the symbol of the goddess (bathing? clothing? see Daviau 2001a: 221).

The assemblage of items found in the room is described in more detail below. Overall, the assemblage and location meet Renfrew’s criteria to constitute a domestic shrine. To date, the shrine in the F7 House is the only example discovered of either a domestic or public shrine at Halif. That there were other domestic cultic assemblages—and likely domestic shrines to house them—is suggested by the number of Iron II ceramic figurines (see, e.g., Objs. 51, 1894, 2162, 2501, 70621, and 71243) and a cult stand (Obj. 153) recovered in excavation elsewhere on the tell, though all were found outside of primary contexts. Artifacts in the Shrine Room The room was determined as the setting of a family shrine on the bases of the materials found in situ on Floor G8005. Several “nonfunctional” objects (Renfrew cautions that for the features to qualify as cultic, they ought not “be explicable in secular terms in the light of what we know of the society” [1985: 20]) were found in the northeast corner of the room, apparently in a purposeful arrangement with each other. The mold-made head of a pillar figurine (Obj. 2114, fig. 3.1) and the leg of a hollow zoomorphic figurine (Obj. 71705, fig. 3.2) were found on Floor G8005 near an assemblage of cultic furniture that included two carved limestone blocks (Obj. 2054, fig. 3.3B, and Obj. 2103, fig. 3.3A), which likely served as offering stands (for parallels from Tell Beit Mirsim, see Albright 1932: 85, interpreted there as “constructional elements”); a cylindrical, fenestrated ceramic cult stand (Obj. G849D2, fig. 3.4), which likely represented the home or palace (Gilmour 1995) of the goddess; and a small, vertically burnished bottle (Obj. G822B4, fig. 3.5) in the shape of a pomegranate. As Renfrew notes, “The most convincing indications of cult practice are generally the symbols employed. . . .” (1985: 21). Identifiable materials that may have served as an offering or gift to the shrine include grapes/wine/raisins, legumes, cereal grains, and possibly fish. Rosen, on the basis of microartifact analysis of materials found on Floor G8005, writes, The presence of a “cultic corner” in the room may indicate that some of the food remains served as offerings. The most abundant food remains in this room come from within the triangular area formed by the small altar [Obj. 2054], the large flat stone [Obj. 64519], and the incense burner [Obj. G849D2]. The seeds from this sample (28) are dominated by grape

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Figures 3.3A–B. Carved limestone blocks. Left: Obj. 2103. Right: Obj. 2054.

Figure 3.4 (left).  Fenestrated Cult Stand G849D2. Figure 3.5 (above). Pomegranate Bottle G822B4.

pips, with some cereals and legumes. Fish bones come from samples 1, 27, and 28. Sample 10 contained a fragment of a beach-rock mortar, further indication of food preparation. (1992)

Accompanying these “nonfunctional” or ritual artifacts were a variety of “functional” domestic items mostly associated with food preparation and consumption. Some items—such as the small drinking bowls—may have served double duty as offering bowls. The restorable ceramic vessels in the same northeast corner of the shrine room included three storage jars (Obj.

The Figurines in Historical Context

Figures 3.6A–C.  Storage jars from Shrine Room. Left-to-Right: Objs. G820C1, G849A3, G849D1.

G820C1, fig.  3.6A; Obj. G849A3, fig. 3.6B; and Obj. G849D1, fig. 3.6C), a pithos (Obj. G849C1, fig. 3.7) for containing both dry goods and liquids, a pitcher/jug (Obj. G822A34, fig 3.8), two juglets (Obj. G847C1, fig.  3.9A, and Obj. G849A1, fig. 3.9B), two cooking pots (Obj. G848A1, fig. 3.10A, and Obj. G850C1, fig. 3.10B), a large bowl (Obj. G849A2, fig. 3.11), and three small bowls (Objs. G820B1; G822B85; and G847C2, fig. 3.12). The larger vessels were used for storing food nearby, the large bowl for serving food to be eaten communally, and the smaller bowls for drinking and/ or for making offerings to the goddess and/or god. The two cooking bowls or pots were used to transport food into this room from the Tabun/Oven G7021 located in the northern long room of the house (see fig.  2.4, p.12). On Floor G8005 were also a rider stone (Obj. 2115, fig. 3.13) for grinding, a polished rubbing stone (Obj. 1917, fig. 3.14), a flat, smoothed hard limestone slab (Obj. 64519, fig. 3.15) that may have served in food preparation (but see p.  35 below on this stone as possibly a massebah), a piece of pumice (Obj. 64531), a horn core of a goat (Obj. 64533, fig. 3.16), a bone spatula/weaving tool (Obj. 1906, fig. 3.17), and an iron arrow point (Obj. 2061, fig. 3.18). Grape pips,

Figure 3.7.  Pithos from Shrine Room. Obj. G849C1.

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Figure 3.8.  Pitcher/jug from Shrine Room. Obj. G822A34.

Figures 3.9A–B (right).  Juglets from Shrine Room. Top-tobottom: Objs. G847C1, G849A1.

Figures 3.10A–B. Cooking pots from Shrine Room. Left-to-right: Objs. G848A1, G850C1.

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Figure 3.11.  Large bowl from Shrine Room. Obj. G849A2.

Figure 3.12.  Small bowl from Shrine Room. Obj. G847C2.

Figure 3.13.  Rider stone from Floor G8005. Obj. 2115.

cereals, and legumes, as well as fish scales and fish bones were found between the cobbles of Floor G8005 (Rosen 1992). The lack of any lamp in the shrine room (see Holladay 1987: 265, who determined that lamps are regular features of Israelite and Judean cult places) raises a question about the activity in that room that may not be answerable. Of course, because the southern end of the shrine room was abraded by erosion, it is possible that lamps have been lost to the archaeological record. The room may have been illuminated through a doorway; otherwise, the means of seeing activity in the shrine room is unclear. On the other hand, since lamps are (usually) associated with ritual activity (Holladay 1987; Daviau 2001a: 211; van der Toorn 1994: 41), especially when a shrine is located in an inner room of a building as in the F7 House, the absence of lamps is at least

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Figure 3.14.  Rubbing stone from Floor G8005. Obj. 1917.

Figure 3.15.  Limestone slab from Floor G8005. Obj. 64519.

Figure 3.16 (left).   Goat horn core from Floor G8005. Obj. 64533. Figure 3.17 (right).  Bone spatula/weaving tool from Floor G8005. Obj. 1906.

an anomaly. Daviau (2001a: 211, 222) reports lamps in association with most of the rooftop domestic ritual assemblages at Tall Jawa. To be noted is the great difference between the cultic assemblages Daviau reports and that found in the F7 House at Tell Halif: often several male and female figurines in the assemblages at Tall Jawa (2001a: 222) versus one female figurine in the F7 House; specialized vessels (2001a: 222) such as one-handled cups, chalices, tripod cups, miniature vessels, etc. versus one specialized vessel—the bottle in the shape of a pomegranate—in the F7 assemblage. Domestic vessels populate both Tall Jawa (Daviau 2001a: 222–23) and Halif assemblages. The Figurines: Goddess (and God?) Fragments of two ceramic figurines, one (Obj. 2114, fig. 3.1) mold-made, the other (Obj. 71705, fig. 3.2) a hand-made leg from a zoomorphic vessel, were found on Floor G8005 amid

The Figurines in Historical Context the broken pottery and other artifacts. These items were found directly on the floor and were covered by the ashes and bricks from the destruction of the F7 House. Therefore, they were part of the cultic assemblage of the room. No other fragments of the two figurines were recovered. (An important aspect of their find-spot is the fact that the functions of these figurines are in part determined by the context; that is, the argument that the pillar figurine in this instance functioned as symbol of the goddess ʿAsherah, the center of the ritual activity, is more secure because it was found in a detectable cultic setting—that is, the domestic shrine in the F7 House. Had the pillar figurine appeared in a tomb, its function, though related, would be different from its function in the shrine [French 1981: 173]). Object 2114 is the mold-made head of a pillar figurine, bearing a strong similarity to the hundreds found in 8th-century b.c.e. settings in Judah. Conclusions about the identity of this artifact type range from a child’s toy, to a votive figurine, to a mother earth goddess, to ʿAsherah, Astarte, or Anat, and to the Queen of Heaven. The most convincing argument is that this highly stylized head was a representation of the goddess ʿAsherah, a deity whose name appears in both biblical and extrabiblical texts (Miller 2000; Coogan 1987; Dever 1984, 1999; McCarter 1987; and others). At least, this figurine would appear to be the single object in the shrine assemblage that would satisfy Renfrew’s category 3—“presence of the deity/ deities in symbolic representation” (1985). This fact remains so whether or not in the end Object 2114 is a representation specifically of ʿAsherah. In this setting, in the F7 House in southern Judah in the historical context of the late 8th century b.c.e. and in a context that included several other cultic items, it seems likely that Object 2114 represented a deity, specifically the goddess ʿAsherah, to the family; and it was to her, as experienced through or in the figurine, that the rituals were addressed.

Figure 3.18.  Iron arrow point. Obj. 2061.

Figure 3.19.  Pillar Figurine Head. Obj. 51.

Goddess or Votive? The claim is sometimes made that the so-called pillar figurine is merely a votive object used to represent

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Figure 3.20.  Pillar Figurine Head. Obj. 71243.

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Figure 3.21.  Shrine Room of F7 House, looking north.

the worshiper or is a gift to the otherwise non-represented goddess. Of course, such a distinction between the gift of a likeness of the goddess to honor her and the goddess herself is difficult to ascertain. But if the figurine were imagined as either a gift to the goddess or as a votive, one would anticipate more than one figurine, since gifts made over a period of time would accumulate even in a domestic shrine. Furthermore, because there is a regularity—with regional differences, of course; see even the various representations of pillar figurine heads found at Halif (Obj. 51, fig. 3.19; Obj. 2114, fig. 3.1; and Obj. 71243, fig. 3.20)—in the stylized pillar figurine wherever it is found, it seems unlikely that a votive offering meant to represent the human supplicant would be nearly identical from site to site all across Judah. So the fact of a single instance (Renfrew 1985: 23) of a pillar figurine argues that she was the focus of attention and that as focus she was imagined to retain the capacity to help, bless, heal, rescue, and protect. Figurine 2114 was not the goddess herself but certainly represented the goddess and provided a visible, tangible sign of the presence of the goddess. The conclusion that Pillar Figurine 2114 was the focus of ritual action is reinforced by the pattern detected at nearby Beit Mirsim, where single occurrences of pillar (or, in one instance, of horse-and-rider) figurines were reported in the excavation of eleven Iron II houses, with only one house including two pillar figurines. A similar pattern holds for the excavated Iron II houses at Beersheva (Holladay 1987: 276); generally, a single pillar figurine was found in these houses.

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Holladay, furthermore, notes that “the dominance of the pillar-based figurine . . . is impressive and surely signifies the central figure of the domestic shrines represented by these remains” (1987: 276, 278). Zoomorphic Vessel Object 71705 (fig. 3.2) is the leg of a zoomorphic vessel, as shown by the hand-smoothed surface at the top of the leg, a portion of the interior of the vessel. Determination of the type of animal represented is impossible, though it may be assumed that, because it was a hollow vessel, it likely had an opening on its back for receiving liquid and a spout from its mouth through which liquid was poured (compare the zoomorphic vessel found at Beersheva; Aharoni 1973: pl. 28:4). The use of this zoomorphic vessel can only be surmised; however, on the assumption that it was part of the paraphernalia of the ritual setting, the vessel likely would have been involved in libations or lustrations. Whether human participants cleansed themselves to be “pure” before summoning the goddess, whether wine or oil was poured from the vessel in offering to the goddess, whether the goddess herself was ritually bathed as part of the invocation, or whether the vessel was used in some other way, its function in this room of the F7 House alongside other ritual items would have been to help assure, through libation or lustration, the efficacy of entreaty, praise, blessing, or curse. In any event, the fragment gives another indication of the sacredness of the space. Massebah? Still another artifact found on Floor G8005 may come into play as representing the sacred, possibly a specific deity. Object 64519 (fig. 3.15) is a slab of hard limestone that was fractured in the fire that destroyed the F7 House. Hardin treats this polished “triangular” stone as a massebah, a standing stone that served as “an aniconic representation of a deity” (2010: 141–42). It is likely that Hardin means to suggest the male deity Yahweh, whose image is otherwise not permitted. The stone is uncut but polished through use on one side. Its location (fig. 3.21) on Floor G8005—directly “behind” the alignment of Stand G849D2 and Offering Tables 2054 and 2103 and close to the northeast corner of the room—puts the stone in association with the other ritual furniture of the shrine. However, as Hardin has also noted, platforms for food preparation are “known in cultic contexts elsewhere” (2010: 141). Had the stone been found in an upright position, whether supported by other stones, in a socket, or leaning against one of the walls of the room, his argument that Stone 64519 as a massebah represented the aniconic deity would be stronger. Without better evidence, Object 64519 is treated here as one of the “functional” components of the room—namely, a food-preparation table. Offering Stands and Sacred Space Two nearly identical carved limestone blocks, Objects 2103 and 2054 (figs. 3.3A-B), were found in the northeast corner of the room, positioned less than a meter from each other on Floor

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Figure 3.22.  Shrine Room of F7 House, showing locations of artifacts.

G8005. Both were found on one of their long sides, with burned destruction debris propping them at a slight angle to the floor—that is, both had been overturned in the collapse of the F7 House; their original stances were upright on the broad bases. In addition, their proximity to the Cult Stand G849D2, which had been positioned slightly behind the line (i.e., nearer to the northeast corner of the room) between Objects 2054 and 2103, may be significant (see p. 37 below). Object 2054 was carved from local Eocene chalk limestone. It stands 25 cm high, and its four sides taper from a broader base (17.5 cm × 16.2 cm) to a narrower top. The corner edges were beveled and smoothed. No sign of burning on the top of the stone was detectable (no burn marks, even from the burning of the house, appear on the stone, probably because the fire caused a flaking away of one of the vertical faces of the stone). Object 2103 was also carved from Eocene chalk, standing 26 cm high; its tapered sides also form a broader base (20 cm × 14.5 cm) and a narrower top; corner edges were also smoothed and beveled. Although soot from the burning of the house clings to the top and the upright sides of this item, no sign of burning on the top of the stone was visible. This stone was split by the fire that burned the house, and a portion of one of its lower corners has flaked away. Parallels to these two carved blocks of stone are known from Albright’s excavation at nearby Tell Beit Mirsim (Albright and Kelso 1943: 85, pl. 65). Albright referred to these stones, which are similar to the Halif limestone blocks, as “building elements,” with no further explanation.

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However, the physical description of the Beit Mirsim pair echoes those from Halif: “It is hard to see what the oblong blocks of limestone . . . were used for. Both were of soft white limestone, with several sides worn smooth and several edges rounded by constant friction” (Albright and Kelso 1943: 85). Albright gave dimensions for only one of the pair: “Description Smooth stone with incised figure. Size: H. 20.7, W 26.5, Th. 20.” (Albright’s width measurement, I argue, should be the height, if as in the case of the Halif limestone blocks they actually stood on the broad end.) More to the point is his continued description of one of the stone blocks having been incised with a scene: “On the unabraded side of no. 2 was lightly carved a geometric human figure, consisting of a rectangle with two intersecting diagonals to serve as the torso, with the sides prolonged downward for legs, with the top of the rectangle prolonged for arms and a circle added to serve as the head” (Albright and Kelso 1943: 85). Unfortunately, other than Stratum A, there is no provenience for either stone. But, if they are set on end, the similarity to the Halif limestone blocks is striking. That these two carved blocks of chalk belong with the “nonfunctional” objects in the F7 domestic shrine room is clear. But the explanation of their intended function is not immediately obvious, except, I believe, in their locations relative to each other and to Cult Stand G849D2. Because the furniture of the shrine were more or less oriented to the northeast corner of the room—that is, in order for family members to approach or to use the shrine they would necessarily come from the southwest—the cult stand (and the pillar figurine) constitute the center of the sacred space. A devotee would look on an arrangement of the cult stand (and figurine) as the center of attention, with the carved limestone blocks flanking and slightly forward (toward the worshiper). This arrangement was, I believe, an intentional focusing toward the holiest elements and created appropriate sacred space for hosting the goddess. While this assemblage of religious and domestic items establishes that the rituals in the shrine room were intimately involved with food—probably the feeding of both human and divine participants—the careful arrangement of the ritual furniture in the northeast corner of the room helps to explain part of the shrine’s purpose or function. As is well known, the description of the Solomonic temple in 1 Kings 7:15–22 refers to two free-standing (bronze) pillars as parts of the temple architecture; these pillars—paralleled at other temples, including at Hazor (see the photo with bases of free-standing? columns on either side of the entry to the “porch” of the temple in Area H at Hazor in Yadin 1961: pl. CI; 1975: 96) as well as at Byblos, Tyre, and Paphos—were also mirrored in the arrangement of “offering tables” at the entrance to the debir (holy of holies) of the temple at Arad (Aharoni 1968). The naos found at Qasile similarly features columns on either side of the opening, with two nude females within (Mazar 1980: pl. 30). In addition, the iconography of the two ornate cult stands found at Taanach depict two volute columns in the top register of each stand (one volute is now missing from the top right of one of the stands), which have been interpreted (Lapp 1969; Beck 1994), as at Arad, as standing at the entrance to the debir, with the (symbol of) the deity shown between them. Hence, the placing of the carved limestone blocks (Objs. 2054 and 2103) or offering stands (note that Zayit 2001: 313 holds that these stones may be examples of a yesod ) before and to either side of the cult stand (Obj. G849D2) representing the house of the goddess suggests the same arrangement for the creation of sacred space as in the temples at Arad or Jerusalem (fig. 3.22). The location of the cultic furniture on Floor G8005 imitated the practice of marking the sacred space with two free-standing pillars or offering stands.

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Cult Stand as Palace of the Deity Object G849D2 belongs to an artifact type variously termed cult stand or incense stand (for its description, see p. 41 below). Examples of such fenestrated ceramic stands have been found in numerous Bronze and Iron Age sites, including one in Field II at Tell Halif, as well as at Beth Shean (Rowe 1940), Megiddo (Lamon and Shipton 1939; Harrison 2004: pl. 22), Taanach (Rast 1978: fig. 54), Qasile (Mazar 1980), Hazor (Yadin 1960: pl. CXLVII; 1961: pl. CCIV), Jerusalem (Holland 1995), and elsewhere. Often, this artifact type has been understood as the base for a (sometimes attached) bowl in which offerings were placed or in which incense or aromatic herbs were burned by way of invoking the presence of the deity. Studies by Mersereau (1993) and Gilmour (1995) point to the likelihood that at least some of these windowed objects were meant to represent the palace of the deity. For example, the goddess (“Minoan goddess with upraised arms”) was displayed as permanent resident in “Cretan cylindrical models” found at Knossos (Heraklion Museum no. 7290; Mersereau 1993: 37) and near Archanes (Heraklion Museum no. Sigma Delta 376; Mersereau 1993: 39). Similar fenestrated shrine models were found at Tel Kinrot (Nissinen and Munger 2009), Ashkelon (Stager 2008), Dan (Biran 1994), Tel Hadar (Kochavi 1996), Tel Rehov (Mazar and Panitz-Cohen 2007a), Deir ʿAlla, and Hazor (Yadin 1960); these are certainly to be understood as shrines to house the (image of) the deity. An intriguing artifact—what appears to be a roofed model shrine, cylindrical in shape—was found in a shrine room at Palaikastro, Crete. This shrine model is painted and sports a domed roof that is fenestrated (Warren 1975: 102). A “Cult Stand Decorated with Human Figures” found at Tell Qasile (Mazar 1980: 87, 88, pl. 32, 1–2), dated to the 11th century b.c.e., depicts four humans/deities standing in profile in windows on the upper register. A cylindrical stand found at Ai (Marquet-Krause 1949: pl. 74) contains numerous openings/windows in what appears to be two registers with a series of human(?) feet near its base. Whether the feet were intended to show the presence of a deity cannot be determined; however, Dever (2005: 121) concludes that this stand represents a temple of Yahweh, the feet suggesting Yahweh’s presence. Cylindrical fenestrated stands from Beth Shean depicting birds in the openings with snakes in appliqué near each of the windows as symbols of the deity qualify as representation of the god or goddess at home (Rowe 1940: pl. 14:1–3 and 16:1–2). The cylindrical stands with attached figures found at Horvat Qitmit (Beck 1995: 28–35) may also offer a prime example of the stand as palace of the deity. Though not cylindrical, the “box-type” (tower-shaped?) stand found by Lapp (1969) at Taanach (10th century b.c.e.) is evidence for the stand as the local residence of the deity. On the bottom register appears a nude woman (probably ʿAsherah, according to Dever 1983: 579, or the Great Goddess, according to Beck 1994) flanked by two lions, while the second register preserves an open window flanked by winged sphinxes. The third register shows an appliqué of two ibexes eating from a tree (of life?) and flanked by lions, while on the topmost register the window is occupied by a representation of a calf(?) with a sun disk(?) on or above its back, certainly the symbols of a male deity (Lapp 1969: 43, fig. 29). Beck holds that it is the “Weather God” or the symbol of the Weather God; in fact, Beck maintains that the calf is (the symbol of) the Weather God within his cella (1994: 374). Another “box-type” or tower fenestrated stand found by Sellin (1904) at Taanach has five tiers, each tier flanked by lions and winged sphinxes (Beck 1994: 354). Tiers 2–4 feature open windows between the heads of the flanking animals.

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The bottom tier shows an apparent representation of a tree of life and gazelles(?). Beck’s analysis of this stand concludes that it functioned either as a pedestal “for statues of the goddess, or perhaps, as the house of the deity” (1994: 358). Zevit, on the other hand, concludes that the symbols of sun-disk and calf point to Yahweh (2001: 318–325). In addition, fragments of two tower or “box-type” stands were found at Beth Shean, one depicting a single human/deity standing in the upper-register window, the other including two humans/deities in the upper-register windows (Rowe 1940: pl.  17:1–2.) Excavation of Stratum VI at Megiddo has turned up fragments of a rectangular ceramic “shrine” (Harrison 2004: pl.  21) with rectangular windows; this artifact might as easily be classified as one of the “box type” or tower fenestrated stands. The suggested reconstruction of the Megiddo shrine/stand might easily have included a third and even a fourth tier of windows, rather than only the two in the published drawing. Several of these stands thus lend themselves to the interpretation that they were perceived as the abode of the deity, sometimes the stands actually displaying symbols of the deity directly. Other cylindrical stands—without figures in windows or appliqué—demonstrate the widespread practice of cutting windows through leather-hard, wheel- Figure 3.23.  Cult Stand. Obj. 153. thrown ceramic cylinders. Some of these cylindrical fenestrated stands, such as several found at Qasile (nos. 3255, 3446, and 3604; Mazar 1980: 91–92) and one found in Cistern 69 at Taanach, which was interpreted as once holding a bowl for libations (Rast 1978: 36, fig. 54), served as bases for specially devised bowls to sit atop; these are of the thymateria type— that is, designed either with attached bowls or with specially thrown bowls fitted into narrow tops in which incense could be burned, libations poured, or offerings set, unlike most of the cylindrical fenestrated stands that are open at the top. Compare the several stands from Stratum VI at Megiddo (Harrison 2004: pl. 22). Likewise, the large number of fenestrated stands with

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attached bowls found in the Edomite shrine at ʿEin Hazeva and the fenestrated stand from Hazor (Yadin 1961 pl. CCIV:1) belong to the thymateria type. The stand (Obj. 153, fig. 3.23) found in Field II at Halif, while fenestrated, was undecorated (cf. the fenestrated cylindrical stand from Qasile with three tiers of openings, Mazar 2000: 224, fig. 11.5C.) Obj. 153 was found in a stratigraphic setting of debris that overlay a Stratum VIB surface, but not necessarily in situ. An undecorated stand found in Cave I at Jerusalem (Holland 1995: 177, fig. 9.23) has two tiers of triangular windows as well as bands above and below each fenestrated tier. See also the fenestrated cylindrical stands from Tell Rekhesh, with two tiers each of round windows as well as incised decorations (Paz et al. 2010: 31, fig. 7). A fenestrated cylindrical stand from Gezer (Gilmour 2014) may be a close parallel to the Halif stand. Likewise, a fragment of a cylindrical stand that preserves the rim and portion of an arched window from Qitmit (Beck 1995: 52, fig. 3.25) offers a seemingly close parallel to the Halif stand. The Beersheva stand (Aharoni 1973: pl. 76:2) is both cylindrical, conical (narrow at its top), and perforated with small holes. The Beersheva stand and a cylindrical fenestrated stand at Lachish (Aharoni 1975: pl. 43:3) with two tiers of windows are probably of the thymateria type, designed to receive bowls; neither are decorated with figures. Three fragments of cult stands were reported in Stratum V at Megiddo, two clearly fenestrated (Lamon and Shipton 1939: pl. 35), though the fragments are too small to determine other features. Two of the “jar-stands” from Megiddo reported by Lamon and Shipton are both fenestrated (1939: pl. 34); stand #12 is painted, and stand #13 is decorated with two horizontal bands. Both stands appear to present two or more registers or tiers and may, therefore, actually have been cult stands, not merely jarstands. Compare also the fenestrated jar stand from Taanach (Rast 1978: fig. 51.4.) Among the large number (125 according to Kletter, Ziffer, and Zwickel 2006: 155) of architectural stands or miniature shrines found in a pit (“genizah”) at Yavneh, two examples of a cylindrical fenestrated stand were found (Kletter, Ziffer, and Zwickel 2010: pl. 171.) Although not precise parallels to the Halif example, these fenestrated stands in a 10th-century b.c.e. Philistine setting broaden the numbers known from the eastern Mediterranean. Fenestrated ceramic stands have been found also at Azoria, Gortyn, and elsewhere in Crete. One in particular (Johannowsky 2002: pl. 12, no. 170), from the temple of Athena at Gortyn, is quite similar to the Halif stand, a cylinder with two tiers of windows. Johannowsky refers to this 8th-century b.c.e. item as a kernos, because many of these fenestrated stands have modeled ceramic vessels attached at the upper rims, although the so-called kernoi from Gortyn “include a type of tall, hollow stand with circular or rectangular windows. Some lack the modeled vessels on the rim and are nothing more than stands” (Erickson 2010: 232–33). Haggis et al. (2004: 373–81; 2007: 256, fig. 9) report several 6th-century b.c.e. fenestrated stands found in Storeroom/Kitchen A800 at Azoria and argue that they functioned in cultic-civic ritual contexts as holders of wine-filled vessels (kraters) in andreia, halls where feasting, wine-drinking, and ritual or traditional stories and speeches occurred. According to Haggis et al., these ceramic fenestrated stands/kernoi from Crete imitate bronze predecessors (2004: 273–74). He writes that their probable function was as “ceremonial equipment used for ritual libations at the grave site, sanctuary, and, by the 6th century, the prytaneion.” (Haggis et al. 2009: 263; see the “bronze predecessors,” e.g., in Karageorghis 1981: 102–3, where they are termed “lavers,” and the bronze stand reportedly found at Megiddo: Lamon and Shipton: 1939: pl. 89). It should be noted that other than the stands found in Room A800 at Azoria, no other obvious ritual object

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or icon of a deity was reported. Carter also claims that these fenestrated stands “probably held vessels of wine at ceremonial occasions” (1997: 109). (Compare the ornately painted Geometric I fenestrated cylindrical stand on six rectangular legs housed at the Phoebe A Hearst Museum of Anthropology and shown in Langdon 1993: 119; Carter 1997: 111. Langdon 1993: 119 refers to the stand as a “vessel support” and indicates that a similar stand found in a grave in Corinth “holds a tankard.”) A variation (development?) of the stand supporting a vessel may be the Late Geometric II “standed bowl”—that is, a bowl with a low fenestrated stand attached to its base; Langdon, writes that the “development of fenestrated stands on bowls reflects the widespread popularity of tall stands at the funeral pyre. . . .” (1993: 214). A “standed bowl” of the 11th century b.c.e. was also reported in a shrine at Tel Dor; one side of the stand below the bowl is “fenestrated” by a cutout in the shape of a standing human with arms held away from the body (Stern 2000: 200, fig. 10.4; cf. Herzog 1989: pl. 59:4). The Chalcolithic “standed bowls” found in the Peqiʾin Cave (Gal, Smithline, and Shalem 2008: 1994) bear a strong resemblance. The similarities between a few of the fenestrated stands of Crete and Stand G849D2 of Halif are clear: identical historical period of manufacture and use, both rectangular and circular “windows” in tall cylinders of thrown clay, associated with (ritual?) food consumption, and their ritual functions (even if not clearly understood). In the end, however, other than these general similarities, the parallels from Crete do little more than confirm a general ritual function of the stand at Halif, though not the specific ritual. They also help in concluding that the Halif stand may have served as the palace of the goddess, just as some of the items from Crete were thought to house the (image of) the deity. The Halif Field IV Stand Object G849D2 (fig. 3.4), measuring 22.9 cm high, is cylindrical in shape, with a flaring base (27.5 cm in diameter). It has been perforated with three rectangular windows in the upper register (the single window with a surviving top appears to be slightly arched) and with seven surviving circular holes (five on the lower register and two on the upper register, each between two of the three windows; cf. a fragment of a cylindrical stand found in Area H at Hazor, whose rim has round holes above a double “rope” band; Yadin 1961: pl. CCCIX:15). An eighth hole likely pierced the thick wall of the stand on a lost section between two of the windows. The top rim of the stand shows wear post-firing, probably from use during rituals in the house, possibly from the repeated placing and removal of a bowl or other object (though no specialized incense bowl was found.) Just below the rim, a thickened band of clay extrudes from the wall of the stand. Three concentric incisions were added to the rim area, one above and two below this band. A second band of clay just below the rectangular windows, at the midpoint of the stand, marks a division between the fenestrated upper register and the flaring base in the lower register. A single incised line circled the stand immediately above this band. Just above the base, two concentric incisions were added below the perforations in the lower register. The stand was treated with a reddish-brown slip (2.5YR 5/4). The interior of Stand G849D2 is untreated, with a few splatters of the slip coincidentally appearing. Low on the interior of the stand is a circular remnant of fired clay. This appears to have been left over either from the firing process during which this stand had been stacked tightly atop another vessel leaving an inadvertent clay lipping when removed from the kiln, or

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perhaps from a now-missing, bowl-shaped flooring attached to the interior of the stand, a feature not attested with any other cylindrical stand. No burn marks or soot stains were found on the stand, except around its base, where it appears to have rested in a smoldering fire. Likewise, no specially made incense bowl was found among the artifacts in the room, leaving undecided whether the stand was employed in burning incense or aromatic herbs as part of daily rituals. (Two bowls found in the room—one a cooking pot, Obj. G848A1, the other a large common serving bowl, Obj. G849A2—show extensive burning on both exterior and interior surfaces; it is possible, though unlikely, that one of these may have been used as the receptacle for burning incense or aromatic herbs atop the stand.) Although Stand G849D2 lacks any identifiable image or symbol of a deity and although it may have doubled as a stand for a bowl in which incense or an aromatic herb was burned or offerings were placed, it is also likely that the family members imagined it as a semblance of the dwelling of the goddess, imagined the goddess summoned to her place in the palace-stand, imagined the sacred presence. The symbolism of this stand lay in its presentation of a view into the abode of the goddess in her supernatural sphere (see Mersereau 1993: 19–20). And if the symbol of the goddess—the pillar figurine, Object 2114—were returned to her place within the stand to be brought out during rituals, then it was also necessary for the goddess to have clear visual access (hence the windows) to the activities of the family. Mersereau’s conclusion about the Cretan cylindrical models seems to apply to the cylindrical stands of the Iron Age Levant: Thus, it seems possible that the cylindrical models could symbolize the space in which the MGUA (Minoan goddess with upraised arms) dwells, either a reference to the space of the public shrine building or courtyard where her epiphanies were believed to occur or to her abode in the supernatural sphere. Perhaps the Cretans also believed that the MGUA (in some form) visited this receptacle in their homes. (1993: 19–20)

I argue that at least in some instances the cult stands in Palestine also represent the palace of the deity, imagined as the local residence of the god or goddess. “Pomegranate” Bottle A bottle or juglet, Object G822B4 (fig. 3.5), roughly in the shape of a pomegranate with calyx turned up was also found on Floor G8005. Because of its unusual shape, it is treated here as a “nonfunctional” item that may have been part of the cult assemblage. The bottle was globular shaped with a slightly rounded base and a tall, slightly everted rim. The vessel was without handle and was finished with a vertical burnish. Unlike ceramic pomegranates found elsewhere in Iron II contexts, the Halif vessel has a much broader base and a larger opening. If it was designed in imitation of a pomegranate, the symbolism is clear in that the pomegranate fruit is associated with beauty, fertility, and life/afterlife. The pomegranate is featured as a decorative element in the Solomonic Temple—see 1 Kings 7:18, where pomegranates are associated with the pillars of bronze – and as part of the costumes of priests—see Exodus 28:33. A “pomegranate bowl” was found in an Iron Age II tomb (Tomb 6) in the Site 72 cemetery south of the tell at Halif (see Borowski 2013: 71–72). Coincidentally, the Hebrew noun for pomegranate, rimmon, may also be the ancient name of the Iron Age town at Halif, ʿEn-Rimmon (Seger 1993: 554). Other examples of ceramic pomegranates discovered in sacred sites come from Qasile, Miqne-

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Ekron, and Ashdod (Dothan and Ben-Shlomo 2007). Ceramic pomegranates occasionally appear also on kernoi (see Cahill and Tarler 1993: 562). How this unusual vessel may have functioned beyond its symbolic value is difficult to determine. It could have contained a liquid, as could the pomegranate on the Halif “rimmon bowl” (Borowski 2007: 75). Perhaps the liquid it contained was served as a libation to the goddess in a drinking bowl set atop the offering stands, or perhaps the liquid was used in a lustration ritual that conferred the gift of life. Aims of Rituals in the F7 Domestic Shrine It seems clear that the assemblage of “nonfunctional” items, considered along with other items in the room, were used in ritual performances. These rituals involved food—both preparing and eating—in a cultic ritual that was widely exercised in the ancient world—that is, a communal meal with the deity (see Daviau 2001a: 223, who holds that evidence for a “communal festive/religious meal would be difficult to distinguish from the evidence for daily household food preparation”). Food and drink was likely offered to the goddess, the patron of the house, set in bowls atop the limestone offering stands. Perhaps the offering and sharing of wine served also as a means to induce in the human participant an experience of the sacred (Renfrew 1985: 363). This practice of a (daily?) meal with the goddess was meant to assure the health and welfare of the members by assuring an alignment with the sacred order. Preparation for the meal with the goddess may have involved a lustration or cleansing to be ritually pure in the presence of the summoned deity. By recreating the sacred space, by summoning the goddess to her home, by attuning the life of the family to the sacred order, the stresses and dangers of life were deflected and the good life prolonged. The rituals and the closeness of the goddess helped establish order anew and gave a sense of place and identity in the “mixed human-divine society” (Fleming 2008: 52). Albertz, in a study of Judahite and Israelite personal names, has demonstrated that individual names often implied personal relationships to the deity, particularly expressed as specifically created by, protected by, and guided by the deity (2008: 102–4). The exercise of this personal piety (“the fundamental need for divine protection and defense in the face of lifethreatening powers”) is reflected, Albertz claims, in the “ritual and magical equipment shown by . . . archaeological finds” (2010: 143). While Albertz’s conclusions were based largely on names that appear in the text of the Bible, there is reason to believe that the 8th-century b.c.e. Judahite family in the F7 House at Halif shared the view of personal relationship to the protecting and caring goddess, the one who brought forth from the womb/created, who creates anew, and who assures the good life. The rituals exercised in the house emphasized and renewed that link daily. Another Pillar Figurine in the F7 House A fragment of a second pillar figurine, Object 2729 (fig. 3.24) was found in the northern long room of the F7 House, yet another indication of the piety of household members. On the assumption that this short segment of the hand-made body of a pillar figurine had been placed originally unbroken among the wine storage jars, the intention would have been to invoke

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Figure 3.24.  Pillar figurine fragment. Obj. 2729.

The Figurines in Historical Context

Figure 3.25.  Figurine fragment from K8 House. Obj. 2173.

Figure 3.26.  Figurine fragment from K8 House. Obj. 71325.

protective powers over the production and aging of the wine. If so, then yet another aspect of the pillar figurine/ʿAsherah surfaces; the goddess was called upon through her image to do more than aid in childbirth, pregnancy, and nurturing. Her gift of wine and grain required her continued protection. Summary on the F7 House The rituals performed in the F7 House thus help to define further the local expression of “family” or household religion (Ackerman 2008; Bodel and Olyan 2008). Prior to the 7th century b.c.e., it was common for rituals performed in Judahite houses to involve deities other than Yahweh (or other than Yahweh alone) and to be concerned largely with personal piety, health, welfare, rescue from danger, and protection (Albertz 2008: 97–101), as well as with identity and cosmic order. In addition, it now seems clear that Figurine 2114 was a representation of ʿAsherah, possibly functioning as “mediatrix of Yhwh” (Albertz 2008: 96), an idea similar to P. D. Miller’s “asherah as a mediating entity associated with Yahweh” (2000: 35, italics original). Or, as P. R. S. Moorey put it: this figurine type encoded “hopes and aspirations” and mediated “social concerns” (2003: 15) of the family in the F7 House. Stratum VIB Iron Age Figurines in the K8 House and in Destruction Debris Found on the floors of the K8 House were two fragments of figurines—Objects 2173 (fig. 3.25) and 71325 (fig. 3.26). Object 2173 (on Floor L8016 within Bin L8017) is the leg of a small animal figurine. Its fragmentary condition and its appearance in Bin L8017 do not support an interpretation of its function. Object 71325 (recorded on Floor K9009) appears to be a plaquetype figurine or a fragment from the vestment of a horse and rider.

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Figures 3.27A–F.  Left-to-right: Terra-cottas 1912, 2133, 2162, 2564, 2726, 2732.

In addition to the figurines found on the floors of the F7 and K8 pillared houses, Terracottas 1912, 2133, 2162, 2564, 2726, and 2732 (figs. 3.27A–F) were recovered from among bricks (from walls) and charred wood collapsed onto floors in houses in Field IV. Whether these figurines had been intentionally dispersed about the houses, some in rooms on the upper floor or on rooftops or whether the figurine fragments had been incidentally included in the matrix of the bricks of the now collapsed walls cannot be determined. Nonetheless, the relative dates of these figurines are fixed, prior to the destruction of the Stratum VIB houses; stylistically, all belong to the 8th century b.c.e. So either they were in use at the time of the destruction of the houses (end of 8th century b.c.e.) or had been used and discarded prior to the manufacturing of the bricks in which they were subsequently included. On the assumption, however, that these figurines had in fact been strategically placed about the houses for the welfare of the families involved, some conclusions about the intended functions of the figurines may be considered. Beginning with the fact of their settings in the houses themselves, we may reasonably conclude that the houses and families were under protection at every point of potential danger: at doorway, on rooftop, and in work place. The nuclear or extended family, including those who might have lived with them (see Ackerman 2008), lived in a protective sphere.

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Figure 3.28.  Figurine fragment. Obj. 71702.

Figures 3.29A–B.  Figurines from the bottom of Cistern E3004. Left-to-Right: Objs. 2738, 2739.

Among the fallen bricks of the K8 House were found Object 1912 (fig. 3.27A), the fragment of an animal, possibly a horse and rider, Object 2162 (fig. 3.27C), the “pinch-faced” representation variously appearing atop pillar figurines and horse and riders, and Object 2726 (fig. 3.27E), the neck (including the post by which the head was attached to the body) of a pillar figurine. Among the fallen bricks of the F7 House came Object 2133 (fig. 3.27B), a fragment of the hand-made body of a pillar figurine, Object 2564 (fig. 3.27D), the pinch-faced representation (as noted above) with a floppy cap, and Object 2732 (fig. 3.27F), another fragment of the handmade body of a pillar figurine. Assuming that these six fragments represent items actually used in the two houses, rather than being incidental inclusions in the bricks, and assuming that the two “pinch faces” once topped pillar figurines, then the female pillar figurine/ ʿAsherah dominates the stratified Iron II terra-cottas (seven pillar figurines, one horse and rider, two animal legs). However, since the sexes of the pinch-faced representations cannot be identified, the representation of males/females could be five pillar figurines/three horse and riders). Stratum VIA in Fields III and IV Following the destruction of the Stratum VIB fortified town, daily life almost immediately resumed, though with a greatly diminished population. In only a few places were older Stratum VIB rooms cleared and reoccupied. Whether the people in this “squatter’s” phase of Iron II ultimately found life impossible following the decimation of the town and its landscape, or whether the population was forced by Assyrian conquerors to evacuate, the site of Halif was completely abandoned early in the 7th century b.c.e. and remained so for approximately two centuries. Because of later pitting, the plans of the Stratum VIA houses are largely incomplete; nonetheless, it is possible to conclude that the small surviving settlement was not a fortified town and that all architecture assigned to Stratum VIA in both Fields III and IV was domestic in nature.

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Figures 3.30A–C.  Terra-cotta fragments from Midden G7008. Left-to-Right: Objs, 2050, 2051, 2052.

Figure 3.31.  Persian lamp from Midden G7008. Obj. G7331.

In any case, the Stratum VIA resettlement survived for only a short time; in fact, because items were found abandoned and in situ on Stratum VIA floors, it is likely that the population was removed forcibly or hurriedly. Three figurine fragments were found in association with this Stratum VIA phase. One fragment (Obj. 71702, fig. 3.28) was found in construction soil below the floor of a Stratum VIA house in Area I8. If Object 71702 is not an intrusive element, the figurine might have derived from a Stratum VIB context and had been recycled in the construction of the Stratum VIA

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Figure 3.32 (left).  Bead from Midden G7008. Figure 3.33 (right).  Bead from Midden G7008.

Figure 3.34.  Worked cowrie shell from Midden G7008.

Figure 3.35.  Worked cowrie shell from Midden G7008.

Figure 3.36.  Stone incense altar from Fill G7003.

house. In any case, its stratigraphic context does not suggest anything meaningful regarding its use and function. Two additional Iron II figurines (Obj. 2738, fig. 3.29A, and Obj. 2739, fig. 3.29B) were also found at the bottom of a Cistern E3004, which had been excavated in the 1989 season. While it seems likely that the cistern was originally used with a Stratum VIB or VIA house, the stratigraphic evidence to support this conclusion suffered disturbance several times by the reconstruction of the mouth of the cistern for use in later periods. It is better to conclude, then, that these figurines are in a secondary or tertiary context, having been washed into or otherwise deposited in Cistern E3004 at some indeterminate time. This fact precludes any usefulness in associating them with other artifacts or in providing assistance in determining possible religious sentiments attached to them.

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The Persian Period at Halif, Stratum V Field IV As reported above, the Stratum V Persian period remains in Field IV were largely removed by Stratum III foundation trenches and by Stratum I robber trenches. Only the lower portions of two subterranean stone-lined Silos G7006 and G7007 (fig. 2.9, p. 18) and short segments of Wall G8007 (fig. 2.8, p.  17) with cobble Surface G8008 could be assigned to Stratum V. These architectural elements were probably part of a small house, seemingly un­ related to the use or manufacture of the terra-cottas (the majority of which were found in fill layers some 7–11 m to the south). Both of the stone-lined silos (G7006 and G7007) went through two phases of use, first as storage units for grain and later as refuse pits for midden deposits. In its secondary use as a refuse pit, Silo G7006 may have had some connection with sacred rituals that involved the terra-cottas. Midden G7008, found within Silo G7006, consisted of ash with thousands of burned bones of birds and of immature mammals, possibly the remains of sacrifices (fig. 2.10, p.  19). The midden also included 3 fragments of terra-cottas (Obj. 2050, fig. 3.30A; Obj. 2051, fig. 3.30B; and Obj. 2052, fig. 3.30C), a Persian period lamp Figure 3.37.  Terra-cotta fragment from (Obj. G7331, fig. 3.31), 2 beads (figs. 3.32–33), and 2 Floor B1005. Obj. 664. worked cowrie shells (with cut dorsum, possibly representing the “evil eye,” figs. 3.34–35). In Fill G7003 immediately above Midden G7008, a stone incense altar was found (fig. 3.36), belonging to the type typical of the Persian period in Palestine. Field I In Field I Stratum V, remains were also limited. These were located in a single excavation Area B10, where Walls B10003, B10004, B10006, and B10007 formed a small room with Earth Floor B10005 (see figs. 2.11–12, pp.  20–21). In the construction fill for Floor B10005, 2 terra-cotta fragments (Obj. 664, fig. 3.37, and Obj. 2792, fig. 3.38) were found. From a stratigraphic perspective all that can be concluded is that Terra-cottas 664 and 2792 predate the construction of Floor B10005. Located at the crest of the modern tell, these Stratum Figure 3.38.  Terra-cotta fragment from V remains had been deflated by erosion on the eastern side Floor B10005. Obj. 2792.

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The Figurines in Historical Context and cut away by a modern army trench on the west. The fragmentary nature of these remains in Field I thus prohibit determination as to whether the room was part of a private house or of a public building. The few body sherds found on Floor B10005—the only in situ artifacts within the room—provide no useful clues regarding function of the room. Field II

In Field II, located on the south-central summit of the tell, stratified remains of the Persian period Stratum V consisted of a single large building made up of a double row of rooms along one side of a presumed courtyard (fig.  2.6, p.  16). Although this building was not completely exposed, the excavators determined that it resembles Persian period buildFigure 3.39.  Bronze base of thymaterion. ings of the “Central Courtyard Style,” “a square building consisting of rooms flanking a large central court,” a design that “probably derives from an aristocratic or administrative house form introduced into Palestine by the Assyrians or Babylonians” (Cole and Seger 2009: 13; see also Cole [Lahav V] forthcoming). Cole and Seger conclude that the building type could have served as a fort, an administrative center, or a residence for Persian-appointed officials (2009: 17). Installations in the several rooms, including ovens, a stone-lined pit (perhaps a silo; compare Field IV Stratum V remains above, p. 49), a large sump, and a stone bench or platform suggest domestic activity. But these could also have served as furnishings for a small fort or administrative center. In comparison with Central Courtyard Style buildings at other sites (Ashdod, Kh. Abu Tuwein, Jemmeh, Qasile, Hazor, and Megiddo), Cole and Seger observe that the Field II Stratum V building was also constructed on the highest ground on the tell and involved resettlement of an abandoned site (2009: 17; see also Cole [Lahav V] forthcoming). In addition, like the Central Courtyard Style buildings at these other locations, the Halif building also stood apart from other architecture. Unfortunately, foundation trenches for the walls of a Stratum III building disturbed floors of the Stratum V structure in Field II, leaving little direct evidence of activities in the several rooms. However, in the backfill of a robber trench dug just prior to the construction of the Stratum V Central Courtyard building (presumably to recover stones to be used in the building’s construction itself) several objects of interest were secondarily deposited. These included the bronze base of a thymaterion, 2 Persian period lamps, and a juglet from the 5th century b.c.e. (Seger 1993: 558). The thymaterion (fig. 3.39), along with the terra-cottas found in Field IV, affirm the fact that religious rituals were a significant part of the lives of the people living at Halif in the Persian period.

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The Hellenistic Period at Halif, Stratum IV Field II Although at least 16 terra-cottas in the corpus have been assigned typologically to the Hellenistic era, little—besides pottery sherds—representative of Hellenistic period occupation was found at Halif in Fields I, III, or IV. Only in Field II were stratified Hellenistic remains found. These consisted of a single building—constructed above the Stratum V Persian period Central Courtyard building. This house had broad walls, indicating that originally it had been carefully built; however, subsequent pitting and robber trenches have destroyed the overall house plan. Only a single room of this building located in the southern part of Field II was fully excavated. It was most likely a kitchen, given the tabun (oven) and stone bench along one of its walls. Two living surface phases were identified within the room. However, its stone foundation walls and plaster floors had been cut at a number of places by pits, graves, and trenches from later periods. No artifacts were found on the floors of either phase of the room; all other clues to the function of the room or house were either destroyed by later disturbances or had been removed at the time the structure was abandoned. Nothing in association with this single building necessarily connects it to religious or ritual activity. The fact that other Hellenistic period structures had been built on the tell is obvious from the presence of many cut stones reused in late grave sites scattered mostly on the northeastern quarter of the tell. However, apart from the structure in Field II and some very short sections of walls in Field I, which might date to the Hellenistic period, nothing else of the Halif Hellenistic settlement has been found atop the tell.

Summary Only scant architectural remains, which could be reasonably associated with the manufacture and use of the figurines from the Persian and Hellenistic strata, were found in the Halif excavations. In large part, this is due to the dismantling of structures in the search for ready-made building materials by people in later periods, as well as the incidental interruption of buried architecture by the digging of pits, trenches, and graves. The paucity of late-second-millennium architectural remains on the tell may also reflect the fact that during Persian and Hellenistic periods Halif was, at best, a small village, far removed from the major sites in the region. This also supports the suggestion that it was a rural administrative center or even a simple farmstead with only a few buildings during these periods.

Chapter 4

Halif in the History of the Region Halif in the Kingdom of Judah At the end of the 8th century b.c.e. (Str. VIB), Halif was a fortified town of the Kingdom of Judah, likely serving as a border fortress overlooking traffic that moved east from Gaza and north from Egypt. As such, the border town was eventually caught in the struggle for control of the Levant between Assyria and Egypt, with Judah as a minor military player. When the Assyrian empire sent military forces to take control of rebellious Judah—specifically, the town of Lachish in a prolonged siege—outliers such as Halif were destroyed to safeguard against counterattacks. Consequently, Halif (possibly the biblical site Rimmon or ʿEn-Rimmon) was completely demolished, its fortifications and houses leveled, and its population diminished to less than a tenth. Although Halif in Stratum VIB was first a stronghold that served to defend against outside incursions, it also functioned as a more-or-less self-sufficient agricultural town, a farming village. Iron plows found in two houses excavated in Field IV, as well as indications of short-term storing of grains and of wine-making, suggest that much of the food required for the town was home-grown. Similarly, herds of sheep and goats were grazed in the nearby hills to provide milk products, wool for weaving, and meat; animals were slaughtered on-site to provide meat products. Each house excavated in Field IV included numerous clay loom weights that were used in standing looms. On the other hand, items such as fish (and probably items made of metal) were transported to Halif from coastal Mediterranean fishing sites and elsewhere. Scale weights and bullae found in the ruins in Field IV provide evidence for small business activity. Following the destruction of Stratum VIB Halif, a resettlement among the ruins of the town occurred. However, this Stratum VIA resettlement—probably by survivors of the Assyrian destruction of the fortified town—was sparse and endured for a relatively brief time; the presence of Stratum VIA occupation was found in three places in Fields III and IV. All of these were built directly into the foundations of destroyed Stratum VIB buildings. All appear to have been abandoned a short time after their construction; household items were found in situ on floors of the Stratum VIA houses. Following abandonment of Halif at the end of Stratum VIA, the site was not occupied again until some time in the Persian period.

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Halif in the Persian Empire, Abar-nahara Southern Palestine, including the Persian province of Yehud, the Negev, and the southern Shephelah, became critical geographical holdings for the Persian Empire as it struggled to maintain control of the extremities of its empirical expansion. With the successful quelling of a major revolt in Egypt in 457 b.c.e., involving military assistance from Athens (20,000 troops and several hundred ships), the Persian military changed the face of southern Palestine from a sparsely populated region to a highly organized political unit that subsequently would efficiently support the eight campaigns needed to stop Egypt from breaking away from the empire. The transformation of the southwestern extremity of the empire into a “staging area” (Betlyon 2005: 7) was a complex mix of military, cultural, and religious strategies designed to cement firm loyalty to the entire satrapy Abar-nahara, which included the provinces Yehud and Idumea. By the construction of numerous fortresses and administrative centers across the Shephelah, along the coastal route to Egypt, and deep into the Negev, the region was largely pacified, assuring the economic, cultural, and religious stability of Yehud (Berquist 1995: 136) and establishing direct presence in Idumea. The function of these fortresses and administrative centers was both symbolic and practical. Symbolically, they represented the overarching relationship already established between the local population (many of whom were transplants from elsewhere in the empire) and the government. The development of Yehud (and eventually Idumea), for example, as a new political entity, a province of Abar-nahara, served to support Persia’s needs for additional taxation and for the security of the region (Berquist 1995: 136). As such, the fortresses, way-stations, administrative centers, and granaries are not merely symbols of force, but are equally symbols of the stability with which the empire intended to identify itself in order to garner and to maintain loyalty and support (see Zevit 2009: 134). The small settlement at Halif was part of the Persian presence in southern Yehud or in Idumea (the staging area for invasion of Egypt), thus reflecting the symbolism of the security of the empire (i.e., as a visible reminder of the loyalty required to keep the empire’s stability). The single surviving architectural structure, which appears to share the style of the central courtyard administrative centers of the period, was built to provide a reserve for needed supplies for a Persian army on the move south, as well as to give shelter to police units that managed security in the region. Other buildings—now largely robbed by later people—presumably formed a small village associated closely with and protected by the personnel of the administrative center. The stone-lined silos in Field IV may have been used in the collection of grains for support of advancing armies, though they may just as likely have served a local domestic function.

Tell Halif: Yehud or Idumea, Rimmon or Ziklag? An understanding of the role played by Tell Halif in the Persian period depends in part on the identification of the site, as well as on whether Halif, once a border fortress of the Kingdom of Judah, was located within the Persian province of Yehud or whether it lay within the territory of developing Idumea. The problem of determining the southern border of the Persian province of Yehud has received much attention in recent years, in particular in a collection of essays

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published in 2006 by Lipschits and Oeming. The archaeological history of Halif contributes tangentially to that discussion. Scholars such as E. Stern (1989a) note that the southern extent of the Persian province Yehud was a line near Beth-Zur just south of Jerusalem, although there seems to be good evidence that there was no strict observance of borders as such. The empire extended control as it needed, whether by means of the authorities in Yehud or by introducing foreign mercenaries in temporary assignments (Betlyon 2005: 16). Furthermore, Edomite migration from the east beginning already in the 7th century b.c.e. had gained substantial footholds, if not administrative control, of the northern Negev and of the Hebron hills. The implication for Halif, located on the southernmost of the Judean Hills, is that it was, therefore, within the territory now effectively controlled by Edomites, within Idumea. The appearance of Edomite artifacts beginning already by the 7th–6th centuries in nearly every site in the northern Negev (Qitmit, Horvat Uza, Maresha, Arad, Kh. el-Qom, Beersheva, Tell ʿIra, and others) seems to bear witness to Idumean presence and to de facto control of territory that once was southern Judah (Lipschits 2006: 149; Stern 2001: 447). On the other hand, chapter 11 of the book of Nehemiah purports to list villages resettled by Jews who had returned from the exile and thus seems to establish the southern border of Yehud as including the regions of both Hebron and Beersheva. Consideration of the list of 12 villages near Hebron and Beersheva is important to the role of Halif in the Persian era, since Halif’s geographical position on the fringe of the Hebron Hills places it within the region claimed by Nehemiah 11 and because Halif has been potentially identified as either ancient Ziklag or ancient ʿEn-Rimmon. The name Ziklag, which has also been claimed for Tell esh-Sharia, seems the less likely of the two, since there is only fragmentary evidence of a Philistine presence at Halif, much more of which would be anticipated at Philistine-dominated Ziklag. The name ʿEn-Rimmon has been nominated by Amos Kloner on the basis of the geographical location suggested for Rimmon in Joshua 15 and on the basis that nearby Khirbet Umm er-Rammamin retains the ancient name Rimmon in Arabized form; Kloner argues that at some time the site of Rimmon (i.e., the tell of Halif) was abandoned in favor of the nearby (2 km. to the south) hill of Rammamin, which then retained the town’s name (1984: 332). If true, then any suggestion that Halif was one of the villages of Nehemiah 11 resettled by returning refugees or by offspring of exiles has to be abandoned, because the settlement history of the mound of Halif shows no population in the 7th–6th centuries—thus, no citizens to have been sent into exile. (Nor is there evidence of 7th– 6th century b.c.e. settlement or postexilic occupation at Khirbet Umm er-Rammamin.) Hence, there could be no “returning” descendants from the exile. The suggestion that the Nehemiah 11 villages were occupied by “people of the land,” meaning Judahites who were not taken into exile, may explain the archaeological record of Halif, since clearly someone (Stratum V) resettled the site following a period of abandonment at the end of Iron Age Stratum VI. Thus, either Halif is not ʿEn-Rimmon of Nehemiah 11 or the Nehemiah list includes at least one site resettled by people whose immediate ancestors had not claimed it as home. It remains possible, of course, that some of the settlers of Halif Stratum V were Judahite, though no positive evidence for this claim was found in the excavation; it seems more likely that the Nehemiah 11 list of southern villages may have been the reflection of some idealized view of recovering the homeland of Judah or a reflection of conditions as they existed in the succeeding Hellenistic period (see Finkelstein 2008).

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The contention that the villages list of Nehemiah 11 contained names settled by exiles with either “real or fictional ancestral connection” (Carter 1999: 102; Lipschits 2002: 430–31) might resolve the problem noted above. However, the resettlement of Halif in the Persian period (Stratum V) seems to exhibit what Stern has called a “pagan” population. If repatriated exiles had “returned” to Halif/ʿEn-Rimmon, then some archaeological indication of a Jewish presence (whatever that evidence would be) might be anticipated. This is particularly true given the strict reforms of Yahwism underway in Jerusalem as reported in the books of Nehemiah and Ezra. However, judging from the bases of the archaeological data, especially the artifacts assigned to Stratum V, the settlers of Halif were more likely conscripts in the Persian peace-keeping force who, along with family members, were assigned to the outpost at Halif. They brought with them the trappings of life as they knew it, including the practice of using terra-cotta figurines in the expression of their religious sentiments. The strong similarities between the Halif terra-cottas and those found at Tell Maresha (Erlich 2006a: 48) suggest that these Halif settlers of the Persian period might have had roots at that nearby urban center.

Halif and Border Security Halif was thus almost certainly located within the region that became the province of Idumea, even though it was also likely subject, as the military or economic need arose, to authorities of the empire through the assigned governor of Yehud. Its selection as the place for the construction of an administrative center suggests that it was part of the larger goal of pacification, including encouragement of agricultural use of the land along the southwestern borders of the satrapy Abar-nahara. As part of a network that included such nearby sites as Arad, Hesi, Jemmeh, and Shariah, the outpost at Halif likely helped supply troops as they passed near Gaza both with foodstuff gathered in taxation and with military intelligence. Supporting the conclusion that the site was a military post is the presence of a sizeable number of horse-and-rider votive figurines. Appeals using such images would be a way to secure from the god(s) assurance of victory and survival in battle. At least 68 of the figurines in the Halif collection are of the (Persian) horse-and-rider type. (This number is probably too small, since there are others identified as horse-and-rider type, several of which must be from Persian types.)

Halif in the Hellenistic Empire Hellenistic-period sherds were found in every excavation area on the tell but primarily in nonstratified locations or mixed with materials of later strata. Only in Field II were stratified remains from the period recovered. However, because the single building excavated in the Field has been severely disturbed by pitting, no conclusions can be made about the nature of the community at Halif in this period (see Cole [Lahav V] forthcoming). The building may represent part of the Hellenistic governing presence or, more simply, may have been a farmstead. Whereas sweeping “changes in culture, thought, and human awareness” (Erlich 2009a: 117) were occurring throughout the Hellenistic period, including Palestine, only scant evidence of the Hellenistic milieu can be found at Halif.

Chapter 5

The Typology of the Figurines at Tell Halif by Nancy Serwint and Paul Jacobs This chapter contains summary descriptions of each of the types of the figurines in the Halif collection. To be noted is that some figurines appear under more than one category, and because the collection is mixed, some recognizable Iron Age II figurines also appear in the same type category as the Persian and Hellenistic terra-cottas. The types and sub-types of the figurines are listed immediately below. Following this list are discussions of each of the types and sub-types, along with object numbers of the items representative of each group. Object numbers in bold type indicate items that are also assigned to another type category.  1. Animal 1A.  Animal Fragments 1B.  Animal—Bovine  2. Bes  3. Drapery  4. Female 4A.  Female—Astarte Type 4B.  Female—Child on Left Shoulder 4C.  Female—Child at Left Side 4D.  Female—Child Seated on Lap 4E.  Female—Child Sitting behind Head 4F.   Female—Dea Gravida 4G.  Female—with Hands to Breasts 4H.  Female—with Left Hand on Hip 4I.    Female—with Headdress 4J.     Female—Other Type 4K.  Female—Pillar Figurine 4L.  Female—Aphrodite   5.  Figure on Plinth  6. Furniture   7.  Horse and Rider 7A.  Horse and Rider 7B.  Horse (and Rider?) on Plinth

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  8.  Human (Sex Unknown) 8A.  Human Body Fragment 8B.  Human with Headdress  9. Kernos 10. Male 10A.  Bearded Male—Left Hand to Chest 10B.  Male­—with Headdress 10C.  Male—Other Type 10D.  Male—Standing Nude, Herakles 10E.  Male—with Outturned Palm 11.  Miscellaneous Fragments 12. Other—Architectural 13.  Protome—Plaque Type 14. Relief 15. Statue 16.  Stone Sculpture 17.  Zoomorphic Vessel

1. Animal

1A.  Animal Fragments 1852, 1872, 1907, 1913, 1914, 1920, 1934, 1939, 1940, 1955, 1958, 1963, 1977, 1992, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2034, 2076. 2077, 2086, 2088, 2171, 2173, 2214, 2233, 2302, 2340, 2349, 2361, 2368, 2373, 2374, 2392, 2407, 2413, 2437, 2443, 2445, 2450, 2470, 2487, 2497, 2508, 2529, 2545,2552, 2630, 2634, 2640, 2645, 2651, 2654, 2655, 2664, 2669, 2673, 2674, 2675, 2676, 2694, 2695, 2701, 2706, 2707, 2717, 2724, 2727, 2792, 70313, 70406, 70618, 70656, 70752, 70761, 70921, 70923, 70932, 71141, 71153, 71182, 71220, 71226, 71298, 71303, 71323, 71327, 71545, 71584, 71657

This category includes fragments of zoomorphic figurines of undetermined species. The majority appear to be legs from animal figurines; some may be legs of furniture. Notes: Object 1852 is the fragment of a hand-made, solid quadruped with remains of one leg attached; it may be a remnant of a crouching animal. Object 2552 is the foreleg of an animal with articulated claws, possibly the paw of a lion figurine. Object 71226 is a plaque-like figurine in relief and may represent a standing lion. Objects 71298 and 71303 are clearly legs but have flattened and slightly elongated bases; these may be legs of quadrupeds or possibly legs from figurines representing humans, similar to the bases of Ushabti figurines. Object 71226 is listed also with Type 14. Relief; Objects 71298 and 71303 are listed also with Type 8A. Human Body Fragment.

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1B. Animal—Bovine 1861, 1971, 3123

These figurines are in the shape of bulls or cows, a common motif in the region. Notes: Object 1971 is a solid and crudely hand-made head. Object 1861 is hand-made, hollow with a spout at its mouth, probably once attached to a Type 9. Kernos. Object 3123 is the head and forefront of a hollow, partially wheel-made and partially hand-made, painted vessel. The mouth of the animal served as a spout. Object 3123 is listed also with Type 17. Zoomorphic Vessel. All three of these bovine figurines likely originated in the Iron Age, though it is not possible to assign dates more precisely.

2. Bes

1877, 2289, 71186

This category includes representations of the Egyptian dwarf god Bes. Notes: Bes appears in a full face representation (as well as with a finished reverse side) in Object 2289, and as stamped or molded faces on two small fragments, Objects 1877 and 71186. The latter two examples are parts of larger figurines of unknown type.

3. Drapery

1867, 1880, 1887, 1916, 1925, 1933, 1954, 1969, 2050, 2084, 2117, 2122, 2137, 2210, 2211, 2235, 2236, 2240, 2251, 2255, 2271, 2274, 2278, 2281, 2291, 2322, 2323, 2330, 2406, 2434, 2517, 2563, 2609, 2629, 2659, 2662, 2665, 2683, 2687, 2693, 2700, 2708, 2713, 2731, 70269, 70311, 70356, 70367, 70381, 70500, 70608, 70654, 70677, 70705, 70748, 70832, 70873, 70922, 70928, 70931, 71134, 71184, 71283, 71306, 71384, 71385, 71445, 71457, 71504, 71528, 71570, 71644

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This category includes fragments from mold-made figurines that represent folds in clothing. Notes: Generally, these objects give no discernible clue to the larger terra-cottas from which they were broken. Object 2281, however, is listed also in Type 8A as it possibly depicts a Human Body Fragment and Object 70608 with Type 4J. Female—Other Type.

4. Female

4A.  Female—Astarte Type 2045, 2326, 2341, 2516, 2595, 70668

This mold-made figurine type depicts two female figures side-by-side, usually one smaller than the other. One holds her hands to her breasts. Notes: With Objects 2045, 2326, 2516, and 2595, only the smaller figure has survived. The smaller figure shows a standing, naked woman or girl with hand/hands at her breast. The larger figure on each of these terra-cottas has broken away, though this other figure was also a female (compare the plaque with two female figures in the Hecht Museum http://mushecht​.haifa.ac.il/ archeology/CronologicalTbl_eng.aspx?id=7). Object 2341 shows the feet only of two standing figures and may belong to this same type (see a parallel example from Maresha, Obj. 16/94 940160-546 S2 940-160, at www.cobb.msstate.edu/dignew/Maresha/htmls/940-160-546.htm). Object 70668 depicts two female figures side-by-side on a plinth, but both are of the same height; the figure on the right holds both hands to breasts, while the second figure encircles her abdomen with her arms. Important parallels to these standing, nude females are (1) naos plaques found at Tell Qasile in the Philistine temple (A. Mazar 1980: fig. 20, pl. 30; Uehlinger 1997: 116; A. Mazar 1985, fig. 1), in the collection of the Hecht Museum presumably from Gaza (A. Mazar 1985, fig. 2), and in the Petrie collection purchased in Memphis (A. Mazar 1985: figs. 13–16) and (2) ceramic shrine models that feature nude females on either side of the shrine openings (see La Mediterranée 2008: 193; Uehlinger 1997: figs. 8–9, 51; see also the shrine model, with the busts of two women above the doorway, presumably from Mt. Nebo in Jordan now in the Museum of Art and Archaeology at the University of Missouri-Columbia). Recent discoveries at Yavneh (Kletter, Ziffer, and Zwickel 2006, 2007) and at Rehov (Mazar and Panitz-Cohen 2007b: 209– 10) add items displaying two nude females, one on either side of a ceramic horned altar with fenestrations, as well as fragments of a cult stand featuring two standing nude women (Rehov, all with hands at their sides) and at either side of the front face of an “elliptical” stand/shrine model (Yavneh, with hands to breasts). Both naos and shrine models share the characteristic

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of two standing, nude females in frontal pose. The naos plaque no. H.83.33 (fig. 2 in A. Mazar 1985) in the Hecht Museum also displays both a taller and a shorter female, like Halif Objects 2045, 2326, 2516, and 2595; however, the hands of the smaller female on the Hecht Museum naos plaque are not to her breasts, as in the Halif figurines. The plaques UC 30188, UC 30193, UC 30195, and UC 30199 in the Petrie collection (Petrie 1909: pl. 35) all display a taller and a shorter nude female side by side in frontal pose; only plaque UC 30199 depicts the females with a hand to a breast. The nude females on the other plaques hold arms at their sides. The nude females in the other cited parallels (Tell Qasile temple plaque and the ceramic shrine models) are equal in height, the females of the two shrines holdings hands to or just beneath the breasts, while the upper portions of the females on the Tell Qasile naos are absent (N.B.: excavator A. Mazar writes that the negative impression of the missing upper part of the females indicated that the hands of both were held to the breasts; Mazar 1985: 6.) None of these parallels show one of the women with hands encircling her (pregnant?) abdomen as in Object 70668. Object 70668 is listed also as Type 4F. Female—Dea Gravida 4B.  Female—Child on Left Shoulder 1864, 1938, 1986, 2269, 2294, 2325, 2329, 2382, 2467, 2523, 2632, 71228, 71324, 71458

These terra-cottas depict a frontally nude woman with a child seated on her left shoulder. She holds the child by the ankles with her left hand; her right hand is often at her right breast. The child is male (genitals depicted), with unusually long legs. Notes: This type is found at Maresha, (Erlich 2006b, Objects 1386xv-75-4-055-712, 5720-132S1, 57-12-92, 57-20-116S1, 1-107-741, 84-17-224, and 84-39-945), Lachish (Tufnell 1953: pl. 33), Sippor (Negbi 1966: 10, pl. 1:1), Tell Erani (Ciasca 1963: 50–51, pl. XV:1, 3), and Tell Safi (Bliss and Macalister 1902: pl. 70). Erlich notes that this specific type of the woman with child on shoulder “is restricted to Idumaea,” though the composition type (kourotrophos) originated in Ionia (2006b: 46). One example of the terra-cotta type of a woman with child on left shoulder is reported among the terra-cottas found at Cyrene. The excavator (Jaimee Uhlenbrock, private communication) states that this single example at Cyrene is also depicted as pregnant (Uhlenbrock 2009: http://www.cyrenaica-terracottas.org/standing3/fi/69–123.htm). See also Figurine 747 in the Pierides-Marfin Laiki Bank Museum, Larnaca, Cyprus, which shows a clothed child and woman (www.cobb.msstate.edu/dignew/Pierides/​htmls/​MIP747.htm). See also Cobb Institute collection www.cobb.msstate.edu/Museum/html/D-1992-148.html. 4C.  Female—Child at Left Side 2042, 2157, 2358, 70803, 71365

This terra-cotta type features a woman in a frontal pose, holding a child on her left hip with her left arm. Notes: Objects 70803 and 71365 also show that the child has his/her left hand on the woman’s left breast. The child in Object 71365 has an unusually long right arm behind the woman’s

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neck with right hand on her right shoulder. The woman in this sub-type appears to be nude (but see the figurine from Tel Sippor; Negbi 1966: pl.1:2, where the woman appears clothed from the waist down) with long tresses over her right shoulder. On Object 71365 she also wears a pendant necklace (cf. Higgins 1969: pl. 11 [Tarentine group, about 350 b.c.e.]). Figurines found at Maresha (Erlich and Kloner 2008: pl. 8:35–38) of a woman holding a baby appear to belong to a slightly different tradition, in that both woman and child are wrapped in a himation (Erlich and Kloner 2008: 19); see also the similar figurines from Dor (Stern 2010: pl. 7:13.4–5). The Halif terra-cottas of this type, especially Objects 70803 and 71365, depict both woman and child as nude. See Negbi 1966: 10, pl. 1:2; Erlich and Kloner 2008: pl. 8:35–38; Objects 1-1078-292-S3, 84-08-455-S1, and 128-07-385-S1 (www.cobb​.msstate.edu/dignew/ Maresha/htmls/motherchild.htm); Pierides-Marfin Laiki Bank Museum, Figurines 2199 and 2195 (www.cobb.msstate.edu/dignew/Pierides/htmls/PieridesCLfigs.htm ); Stern 1994: fig. 99; Stern 1995b: fig. 7.4:8–10; Uehlinger 1997: figs. 14, 36–38; Goldman 1963: pl. 155:19. 4D.  Female—Child Seated on Lap 71004

This category features a seated woman with a child on her lap, probably suckling the child. It is possible that the woman is seated on a throne. Notes: Only one example of this type was found in the Halif corpus. The motif may represent the Egyptian goddess Isis and her son Horus, who are sometimes depicted in the pose of woman suckling a child. Alternately, Aphrodite and Eros have been pictured in this posture. See Erlich and Kloner 2008, pl. 7:30–32, Objects 60/92 84-9-587-S3 and 84-20-650 (www​ .cobb​.msstate.edu/dignew/Maresha/htmls/motherchild.htm); Uehlinger 1997: figs. 12–13. See Erlich 2010: fig. 11 for a close parallel, a seated woman holding a child on her lap, which Erlich lists as a kourotrophos. 4E.  Female—Child Seated behind Head 1949, 2440, 2496, 2723, 70909

This type is a variation of the category 4B Female—Child on Left Shoulder. In this instance, the child appears to straddle the neck of the larger figure with hands positioned atop her head. Notes: Objects 1949 and 70909 are the clearest examples of this variant of the woman with child. 4F.  Female—Dea Gravida 1857, 70668, 71097

This figurine type is either a pregnant woman or a pregnant goddess. Notes: Object 1857, the lower half of a nude female, has arms encircling her abdomen, probably an indication of a pregnant woman. One of the two women in Object 70668 also encircles

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her abdomen in a similar manner. See Albright 1938: pl. 26:6–8 and Albright and Kelso 1943: pl. 55:2–3, Astarte plaque figurines from Stratum B at Beit Mirsim; Dothan 1971: pl. LVII: 1, 3; Negbi 1966: pl. VI:19; Fontan 2008: 352–53, figs. 206–7, 209; Stern 1994: fig. 99; 1978: fig. 11:1 (an unusual seated, naked woman whose legs form part of the seat); 1995b: fig. 7.4:2; Broshi 1977: 826 and Broshi 1993: 1002; Prausnitz 1993: 33. An 8th-century b.c.e. mold found at Timnah “recovered from a Stratum III floor” (Kelm and Mazar 1995: 136–37) depicts a standing nude woman with both hands to her breasts, similar in pose to one of the women of Object 70668; she also stands on a small plinth. Object 71097 is likely the head of a seated, pregnant woman similar to the figurine in the Fribourg Museum collection (no provenance); both show the woman’s head tilted slightly forward, ringlets on both sides of the face, and an apparent scarf atop her head (Keel and Schroer 2006). For Object 71097, see also an identical head in Negbi 1966: pl. VI:20. Negbi concludes that the head wears a wig, associating the head with Figurine 19 (not shown on the plates), which is described as a seated woman with her right hand on her abdomen. See also Stern 2010: pl. 7:12.1, 3, where “hooded” pregnant women are depicted. Object 70668 is listed also with Type 4A.  Female—Astarte Type and Type 4J.  Female—Other Type. 4G.  Female—with Hands to Breasts 2424, 70629, 70630, 70718, 71366, 71587

The figurines in this category represent various poses, but they share the feature of the woman having one or both hands to her breasts. They may represent an Astarte image. Notes: Objects 70629 and 70630 were made from the same mold; they are fully clothed and hold an object in the left hand with the right hand to the right breast. Object 2424 is also clothed but holds both hands to her breasts. Object 71366 shows the body only of a molded naked woman who holds her right hand to her left breast. Both Objects 70718 and 71587 are small fragments, and each shows one hand on the breast. Potentially to be added here is the woman on the left side of Object 70668, who is naked and who also holds both hands to her breasts. Likewise, the preserved smaller figures on Objects 2045, 2326, and 2516 are naked and hold hand(s) to breasts. Object 2501 also has hands to (beneath) her breasts, though this figurine belongs to the Iron II type (4K. Female—Pillar Figurine) of pillar figurine. See Dothan 1971: pl. LVII:1, 3, 6; Negbi 1966: pl. III:11; Stern 1989a: 113; 1995b: figs. 7.2:2, 7.4:1; 2010: pl. 6; Bennett and Bienkowski 1995: 292, fig. 9:3,1. 4H.  Female—with Left Hand on Hip 1868 ( joined with 1884), 2705

This figurine type is a standing draped female, with left arm bent and left hand resting on her hip. Notes: Object 1868 wears a peaked hat with a tunic over her left shoulder. The pose is known among figurines found in the sanctuary of Demeter and Kore at Corinth. See Merker 2000: pl. 29: H70. Stern suggests Object 1868 wears a “war helmet” (2010: 19).

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4I.  Female—with Headdress 1854, 1856, 1904, 1923, 1924, 2036, 2048, 2071, 2105, 2109, 2280, 2282, 2364, 2400, 3079, 70339, 70543, 70820, 70938, 71104, 71191, 71314, 71320

This category includes the heads of women with various styles of headdresses, all derived from undetermined types of figurines. Notes: Object 2048 may be compared with Object 1868 (4H. Female—with Left Hand on Hip). Object 71314 shares a similarity with a figurine from Maresha, identified as the head of Isis-Aphrodite. See Erlich and Kloner 2008: pl. 7:29; cf. Merker 2000: pl. 8:C73, C76. Stern identifies Object 70820 on the basis of the “high round headdress” as the head of a goddess (2010: 19). Erickson writes of nude female figurines found at Roussa Ekklesia in Crete that, because each wears a polos, they are almost certainly images of a goddess (2009: 364). Object 1923 is strikingly similar to the head of a figurine found at Dor by Garstang (1924: 43, pl. III:5). Obj 1924, a face molded onto a thickened piece of clay, may be an example of the pillar figurine or plank figurine of the type found at Maresha, several of which show a plain rod or plank of clay onto which a face has been impressed. See Object 1386xv 75-75-4-055-670 (www.cobb​ .msstate.edu/dignew/Maresha/htmls/1386-xv-670.htm), which Erlich (Erlich and Kloner 2008) assigns to the Late Persian–Hellenistic period. Another example, partially preserved, is Type 4K Obj. 2533 and Obj. 1989. 4J.  Female—Other Type 1855, 1859, 1865, 1881, 1882, 1979, 2016, 2063, 2075, 2213, 2290, 2357, 2367, 2479, 2495, 70314, 70565, 70585, 70608, 70668, 70830, 71154, 71171, 71313

This group includes fragments identifiable as women, but which derive from multiple unidentifiable types. Notes: Object 1855 may be a fragment of a figurine representing Isis-Aphrodite (see Erlich and Kloner 2008: pl. 7:28; Merker 2000: pl. 45:H249 (Aphrodite); but see also Merker 2000: pl.  12:106, 108–110, where she calls the type a torso of a doll). See also Dothan 1971: fig. 64:1–3 and Erickson 2009: 362, fig. 8. The nude women figurines with hands to breasts in Stern 2010 (pl. 6) probably indicates that Object 1855 is part of a figurine of a nude woman with hands to breasts, which Stern identifies as Astarte-Tanit. The lower part of a nude woman found at Qitmit (Beit-Arieh 1995: 105, fig. 3.72) was depicted standing atop an object (probably a lion). Object 1882 may be a winged woman or a woman seated in a winged chair (see Merker 2000: pls. 8:C74; 9:C77-C78). Object 2290 likely holds a torch in her right hand (see Merker, who refers to these as “Draped Female Figurines” of the “Priestess” type [2000: pl. 56:H395–H397]). The long tresses of Object 2479 may also be seen on figurines from Corinth (see Merker 2000: pls. 25:H11, H16, H17, H19, H20–H23; 40:H181, H183–H184.) Object 1979 is listed also as Type 13. Protome—Plaque Type. Object 70608 is listed as Type 3. Drapery; Object 70668 is listed also with Type 4F. Female—Dea Gravida.

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4K.  Female—Pillar Figurine 51, 1860, 1894, 1989, 2114, 2133, 2162, 2451, 2501, 2533, 2691, 2711, 2726, 2729, 2732, 2738, 2739, 70268, 70621, 71243, 71252

Figurines in this group belong to the Iron II (and later) pillar figurine type in which a woman/ goddess is depicted with a mold-made head and hair, and a hand-made body. The pillar-like body terminates in a flaring base, while features of the body usually show a hand or both hands below breasts. Figurines 51, 2114, 2501, and 71243 are probably representations of ʿAsherah (Dever 1984; Albertz 2008). Objects 2729 and 2739 are fragments of the hand-made bodies of pillar figurines. Objects 1860, 2711, and 71252 are fragments from the “bell-shaped” base of the pillar. Notes: Object 2501 with arms and hands beneath her breasts is similar to the figurine in N. Lapp 1978: pl. 32:14. Object 2533 is a pillar figurine or plank figurine (with face missing) of the type found at Maresha; the head/face is mold-made and the body (in this case, the breasts) is hand fashioned. The Maresha examples belong to the Late Persian-Hellenistic period (Erlich and Kloner 2008: 43, pl. 24:130; www.cobb.msstate.edu/dignew/Maresha/htmls/pillar.htm) but have roots in the earlier Iron Age pillar figurine tradition. See also Aharoni 1975: pl. 18:2. Object 1989 is likely also one of these later pillar figurines (cf. Erlich and Kloner 2008: pl. 24:132–134; www.cobb​ .msstate.edu/dignew/Maresha/htmls/1386-xv-82.htm) similar to those found at Maresha; this object is the light impression of a face molded onto an elongated rod of clay. Erlich suggests a Hellenistic period of manufacture and a possible reflection of Herm figures (Erlich and Kloner 2008: 43–44, pl. 24:131–34). For Object 2114, see Aharoni 1973: pl. 27:4–6, 9. For Object 71243, see Aharoni 1973: pl. 27:8. Objects 2133 and 2732 are miscellaneous fragments of Iron II pillar figurines. Object 2726 is the neck of an Iron II pillar figurine. See Kertesz 1989: 362, fig. 32.1 #3, pl. 78:3; Aharoni 1975: pls. 12:1–3; 33:2–4; Eshel and Prag 1995: fig. 7; www.cobb.msstate.edu/dignew/ Maresha/htmls/147-07-1182.htm. Also see Gilbert-Peretz 1996: fig. 11:1–4, 9; Herzog 1984: fig. 25:1. Object 2162 may be the “pinched face” head of a pillar figurine or of a male figure on a horse-and-rider, as the same “pinched face” motif may represent either sex. See the horseand-rider Object S-539 in the Cobb Museum collection (www.cobb.msstate.edu/Museum/html/ S539.html); Aharoni (1973: pls. 27:2; 47:4; 71:1; 79:2; Gilbert-Peretz (1996: fig. 10:1–2, 4–13); Kempinski and Yeivin (1993: 420); and N. Lapp (1978: pl. 32:16). Object 2162 is listed also as Type 7A. Horse and Rider. Object 2691 is listed also as Type 8A. Human Body Fragment. 4L. Female—Aphrodite 71112

The woman in Object 71112 holds her hair in her right hand, reminiscent of the depiction of Aphrodite of Rhodes. The feature to the left of the woman’s head is her left hand, also holding a lock of hair; Object 71112 may, then, be a representation of Aphrodite Anadyomene (Erlich, personal communication). Compare the marble statuette of Aphrodite from Benghazi, eastern Libya, in the University of Pennsylvania Museum, who holds braids in both hands like Object 71112 (http://www.penn.museum/sites/Greek_World/images/religion-01.gif).

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See also the Aphrodite Anadyomene figurine in Erlich and Kloner (2008: pl. 5:1). Still further to the left of Figurine 71112 is a raised element that likely was part of an architectural piece against which she leaned (Anderson-Stojanovic 2005: 329). The top knot or hair pulled back in a bun finds its parallel on the head of Aphrodite displayed in the Cyprus Museum. In addition, see Anderson-Stojanovic 2005: figs. 1 and 2; also see Aphrodite Anadyomene from Lower Egypt in the Louvre Museum (www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/aphroditeanadyomene). The three (identical?) Aphrodite figurines unearthed in Hippos (Sussita), Israel, depict the left hand only holding a braid of hair; the right arm appears to be held at the side with the hand across her hip (http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/treasure_1822.shtml).

5.  Figure on Plinth

1875, 1878, 1879, 1889, 1890, 1901, 1903, 1965, 1967, 1980, 1987, 2006, 2007, 2027, 2033, 2085, 2087, 2107, 2110, 2119, 2126, 2136, 2212, 2219, 2244, 2247, 2272, 2279, 2324, 2334, 2359, 2375, 2380, 2433, 2441, 2464, 2475, 2477, 2480, 2502, 2515, 2527, 2548, 2599, 2605, 2626, 2633, 2652, 2660, 2670, 2679, 2680, 2682, 2697, 2710, 2735, 2791, 70407, 70483, 70552, 70617, 70626, 70655, 70744, 70818, 70839, 70840, 70844, 70872, 70900, 70937, 71056, 71078, 71168, 71175, 71194, 71227, 71285, 71311, 71331, 71346, 71349, 71403, 71453, 71456, 71491, 71496, 71647, 71700, 71701

These fragments are from the bases of figurines, often representing the plinth and short segments of a standing human. They derive from several undetermined types.

6. Furniture

2273, 70165, 70645

These figurine fragments represent types of (votive?) furniture. Notes: Objects 70165 and 70645 are segments of a chair or bed; the ware of both indicates an Iron Age II date. Dothan (1971: see fig. 75:1–2) refers to similar figurines as offering tables. See Aharoni 1973: pls. 27:3; 28:5–6; and 71:2; Dothan 1971: fig. 63, pl. LVI:4, 7; Dothan and Porath 1993: fig. 42:4 (Ashdoda chair); Beit-Arieh 1999: fig 7.1:11; Gilbert-Peretz 1996: pl. 9:1;

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and N. Lapp 1978: pl. 32:24. Zevit identifies the (Iron Age) “model couch” with “a birth stool or a birthing bed” (2001: 175), possibly associated with women’s concern for fertility. Several fragments of “chairs” or “couches” were found in Cave I at Jerusalem (Holland 1995: 177, fig. 9.17–19).

7.  Horse and Rider

7A.  Horse and Rider 1869, 1870, 1912, 1948, 1981, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2018, 2019, 2029, 2032, 2038, 2040, 2041, 2046, 2065, 2082, 2104, 2123, 2162, 2253, 2256, 2285, 2288, 2298, 2299, 2337, 2338, 2343, 2365, 2393, 2394, 2396, 2402, 2404, 2408, 2409, 2414, 2423, 2425, 2435, 2442, 2459, 2469, 2471, 2472, 2476, 2486, 2489, 2503, 2505, 2506, 2507, 2510, 2512, 2521, 2528, 2531, 2564, 2604, 2611, 2644, 2696, 2730, 3103, 3117, 70317, 70494, 70620, 70806, 70826, 70843, 70897, 70916, 70918, 70984, 71022, 71077, 71142, 71169, 71176, 71177, 71179, 71297, 71326, 71380, 71394, 71704

This large group includes Iron Age (see, e.g., Obj. 3117) and Persian-period horse-and-rider figurines. Many of the smaller fragments—particularly male heads—are recognizable as parts of the larger horse-and-rider type figurine. Stern holds that the horse-and-rider figurines “represent the figure of the warrior god that appears in the cult of all other nations of the country” (2001: 207). Notes: The Persian-period type dominates the Halif collection. Generally, the Persian horseand-rider consists of a hand-made, solid horse with a rider attached to its back. The horse is sometimes an elongated figurine, such as Object 70843 (in which case it does not wear a breastplate), or a shortened/stylized and upright horse, such as Object 2040 (in which case the forelegs of the horse are protected by an apron). The rider was always attached after the horse was completed, accounting for the fact that most riders have been separated from their horses precisely at the juncture between rider and horse. The rider’s hand-made body may be solid (as in Obj. 2082) or hollow (as in Obj. 2442), but the faces of the Persian-period riders were stamped onto the wet clay. Headdresses of the riders vary: round caps (Obj. 2425), pointed caps (Obj. 3103), flattopped caps (Obj. 2442), or caps with folded points (Obj. 2082). Some of the horse-and-rider figurines exhibit traces of paint (e.g., Obj. 2040). See Aharoni 1975: pl. 18:3; 33:6. Erlich offers a detailed discussion of the differences between sub-types of the Persian-period horse-and-rider, as well as an estimation of the Palestinian origin of these horse-and-riders found at Maresha, Halif, and other sites in the southern Judean hills and Shephelah (2006a). Object 2253 is the skirted foreleg of a horse that is identifiable with the horse-and-rider type (see Obj. 2018), many of which are formed with this leather armor for the protection of the horse in battle. Object 2256 preserves a fragment of a horse—its head—but without clear indi-

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cations of a rider. Object 2469 is the hindquarters of a quadruped, possibly a horse or a bovine, with a long tail curved up over its flank; no indication of a rider was found on the fragment. Objects 2471 and 71704 are portions of the cloak or cape of riders. Object 70897, probably a horse-and-rider figurine, is badly preserved, to the point that no trace of a rider can be found. Objects 2162 and 2564 are by ware fabric, paint, and design Iron II figurine fragments, possibly the “pinch-faced” heads of riders from horse-and-rider figurines; however, the “pinched” face may also be found atop Iron II pillar figurines (Aharoni 1973: pls. 27:2; 71:1). See the horse-and-rider Object S-539 in the Cobb Museum collection (http://www.cobb.msstate.edu/ Museum/html/S539.html) and a similar one found at Lachish (Stern 2001: 208, ill. 88). See also Gilbert-Peretz 1996: fig. 10:15; Kempinski and Yeivin 1993: 421. Object 2162 is listed also as Type 4K. Female—Pillar Figurine. 7B.  Horse (and Rider?) on Plinth 1850, 1959, 2627, 71299, 71447, 71455

Figurines in this category show horses standing atop a plinth. This motif often has a rider, with both horse-and-rider moving to the right. Notes: Objects 1850 and 71299 are good examples of the type. A close parallel is a “Riding Amazon” from Maresha (Erlich and Kloner 2008: pl. 6:23), which also shows a male horse in motion as in Object 1850. See also Erlich and Kloner 2008: pls. 25–29; pl. 25:138–39, which depict Eros as the rider. A horse-and-rider on a plinth in the Pierides-Marfin Laiki Bank Museum, Figurine 838, is done in the round (www.cobb.msstate.edu/dignew/Pierides/htmls/ MIP838.htm). Objects 1959, 2627, and 71447 show horses in relief; they may belong to this category of horses on plinths with riders, though Object 2627 depicts a male horse moving to the left. See Kertesz 1989: 362, fig. 32:1 #7. Objects 1850, 1959, 2627, 71299, 71447, and 71455 are listed also as Type 14. Relief.

8.  Human (Sex Unknown)

8A.  Human Body Fragment 1863, 1891, 1893, 1898, 1943, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2072, 2111, 2159, 2215, 2217, 2239, 2245, 2281, 2301, 2321, 2339, 2369, 2412, 2454, 2522, 2525, 2526, 2534, 2547, 2581, 2625, 2636, 2642, 2671, 2691, 2709, 2715, 2721, 2728, 2736, 2737, 70312, 70315, 70357, 70485, 70526, 70530, 70616, 70652,

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The Typology of the Figurines at Tell Halif 70664, 70670, 70831, 70833, 70919, 70926, 71105, 71110, 71170, 71178, 71193, 71195, 71221, 71281, 71298, 71303, 71305, 71307, 71321, 71347, 71355, 71360, 71449, 71451, 71502, 71645

This category of figurine fragments includes items that can be identified as portions of human bodies but which represent numerous undetermined types. Notes: Object 2691 is probably a fragment of an Iron II pillar figurine. Because of the flattened base to both Figurines 71298 and 71303, they may be the stylized legs of standing humans. Compare, for example, the lower portions of Ushabti figurines from Egypt, which illustrate that these fragments are possible representations of humans. Alternately, they may be unusually formed legs of zoomorphic figurines. Object 2625 shows the right arm bent apart from the torso with the right hand on right hip (see www.cobb.msstate.edu/dignew/Maresha/ htmls/147-05-400.htm). Objects 2215, 2525, 2581, and 71307 are listed also as Type 15. Statue; Object 2217 is listed also as Type 10D. Male Standing—Nude. Herakles; Objects 2454, 70833, 71110, 71170, 71178, 71195, and 71360 are listed also as Type 13. Protome—Plaque Type; Object 2691 is listed also as Type 4K. Pillar Figurine. Objects 71298 and 71303 are listed also as Type 1A. Animal Fragments. Object 2281 is listed also as Type 3. Drapery. 8B.  Human with Headdress (Sex Unknown) 1922, 1961, 1988, 2028, 2083, 2108, 2260, 2270, 2395, 2399, 2401, 2461, 2490, 2504, 2672, 2733, 70266, 70659

These figurine heads (and sometimes only the headdress) belong to several undetermined types.

9. Kernos

664, 1861, 2553, 2734, 3113

This category includes parts of kernos vessels. Notes: These five fragments likely were parts of at least four different kernos rings. Objects 2553 and 2734 may derive from the same kernos; their dark red, burnished finish distinguishes them and indicates an Iron II date. The miniature lamp, Object 3113, has a charred spout, indicating that it was more than decorative; its shape resembles that of late Iron Age/early Persianperiod lamps. Compare the kernos in the Pierides-Marfin Laiki Bank Museum collection (www. cobb.msstate.edu/dignew/Pierides/htmls/MIP144.htm). See Dothan 1971: pl. LXII; Barako 2007: fig. 3:31.8; and Harrison 2004: pl. 23. Object 1861 is listed also as Type 1B. Animal—Bovine.

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10. Male

10A.  Bearded Male—Left Hand to Chest 1982, 2112, 2342, 2360, 2391, 2478, 70667, 71308

This sub-category represents a standing, clothed, and bearded male wearing a cylindrical or pointed hat with left arm across the chest. It may represent the Idumaean deity Qos. Notes: Objects 2391 and 70667 also show objects in their left hands. Object 2112 is a nearly complete figurine of this type (cf. Borowski 2010). It has strong similarities to Object 2360. Whether Object 2360 held any object in his left hand (such as a bow) has been obscured by the severe abrasion of the front of the figurine. Object 2478 appears to belong to this type also. Similar heads of bearded males with cylindrical hats are Objects 1853, 2031, 2100, 2286, 2342, 2403, 2607, and 2725. Objects 2391 and 70667 are also figurines of clothed males; presumably both were depicted as bearded. Both hold objects in their left hands, probably bows. Object 70667 also holds an unidentified object—possibly a weapon—in his right hand. Object 2342, another bearded male wearing a cylindrical hat, also shows the tip of a bow at his left shoulder; presumably, he holds the bow in his left hand. Object 71308, a fragment of a bearded man, appears also to depict a bow held against his left shoulder. Object 2391 shares a characteristic rolled collar with Objects 1853 and 2342, also bearded men wearing cylindrical hats. Object 2725 is the bearded head of a male wearing a cylindrical cap and a cloak with a thick rolled collar; compare Objects 1853 and 2342; it is probably the head of a bearded male with left hand at chest. Object 1982 is tentatively assigned to this type, because of the left hand at chest above a belt or sash similar to Object 2112. The local variant of the clothed, bearded, standing man has been found at Maresha, Beit Nir (Erlich 2006b: 50 n.  28), and possibly at Erani. The type appears to be a variant of the seated, bearded man, often shown with right hand pulling his beard (see Negbi 1966: pl. XI). Erlich describes this local variant of the standing bearded man with these words: “They depict a standing, bearded man wearing a kidaris [a Scythian style hat]. His left arm embraces a bow; his right hand holds three elongated objects, which can be identified as a trident, ears of corn, or, more likely, arrows for the bow” (2006b: 50). Erlich states that the Halif examples of this variant—she lists Halif Objects 1853, 2342, 2391, and 2725—differ from this description in that the garments show large rolled collars, wear a pointed or cylindrical hat, and have their right hands on the waist without the three attributes. However, although these four likely are examples of her standing bearded man, the Halif terra-cottas cited by Erlich do not conform precisely to this description: Object 1853 is a head only with no trace of arms or weapons; Object 2342, while it has a rolled collar and a cylindrical hat, does exhibit an apparent weapon/bow at its left

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shoulder, though neither hand is shown; Object 2391 does not include the right arm and hand but does hold a bow in his left hand and wears a garment with a rolled collar and a pointed hat; and Object 2725 does show a garment with rolled collar and a cylindrical hat, but because part of the figurine is broken away does not preserve either arm and does not depict any trace of a weapon. On the other hand, Object 70667 depicts the lower part of a standing male preserved to the waist, with bow and other unidentified objects in its hands. Thus, it also belongs to this type as described by Erlich. The fragmentary Object 71308 appears to be part of the beard of a man with the tip of a bow against his left shoulder, still another example of Erlich’s variant type. Erlich concludes, “Since the rare type of bearded standing figure with bow and (probably) arrows is restricted to the Judean foothills, known as Idumea during the Persian period, I would like to suggest that this figure depicts the chief Idumean deity Qos, derived from a mixed Assyrian-Egyptianizing-Phoenican iconography” (2006b: 51). See Erlich’s male with bow, www​.cobb.msstate.edu/dignew/Maresha/htmls/standingman.htm. See also Stern 1994: fig. 99; 2010: fig. 2, where the bearded male is shown with hand to beard; Galor, Roll, and Tal 2009: 6 shows the head of a bearded male of this type found at Apollonia-Arsuf. 10B.  Male—with Headdress 1853, 2031, 2100, 2118, 2160, 2286, 2332, 2397, 2403, 2431, 2436, 2488, 2607, 2725, 70506, 71096, 71133, 71172

This subcategory consists of heads of figurines of several otherwise unidentified types, all wearing caps. Notes: Objects 1853, 2031, 2100, 2286, 2403, 2607, and 2725 are the heads of bearded males. All wear cylindrical caps and may belong to the Type 10A. Bearded Male—Left Hand to Chest. Objects 1853 and 2725 also wear garments with a pronounced rolled collar. For Object 2031 see www.cobb.msstate.edu/dignew/Maresha/htmls/147-07-887.htm. Object 2160 may be the head from a rider (7A. Horse and Rider), which wears a pointed cap whose tip has been folded (see Objects 2082, 2409, 2506, and 70806). 10C.  Male—Other Type 1991, 2316

This category includes terra-cottas from unidentified types. Notes: Object 1991 shows the belted torso of a male apparently wearing a kilt-type garment. 10D.  Male—Standing Nude. Herakles 1952, 2011, 2037, 2106, 2158, 2217, 2287, 2439, 2519, 2646, 70758, 71189, 71525, 71702

This category includes standing males who are depicted as nude, probably representations of the hero Herakles or Perseus. Notes: Object 70758 is the clearest example of this type and is probably intended to represent Herakles, or alternately Perseus, both of whom are typically represented with weapons

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in their right hands and the remnants of their opponents in their left. The figure holds a weapon (sword? or club?) in his right hand and another object in his left hand. If the object is the head of Medusa, then the figurine represents Perseus in his victory. If the object in his left hand is the pelt of a lion, then the terra-cotta represents the hero Herakles. Though they are less complete, the same may be said of Objects 2519 and 2646, showing nude male torsos with weapons in the right hand and unidentifiable objects in the left. The contrapposto pose of Object 2037 also suggests the Perseus/Herakles depiction, though explicit attributes of sword/club and Medusa head or lion pelt are lacking. The musculature depicted on Objects 1952 and 2106 may represent the hero Herakles. Object 2287 appears to be the right hand of this type of figurine. Similar terra-cottas of standing, nude males were found at Maresha, named Herakles by Erlich and Kloner 2008: pls. 2:4–7; 3:8–10; 11:56. See www.cobb.msstate.edu/dignew/Maresha/htmls/600-638.8.2-691.htm; Merker 2000: pls. 49:H300–301; 71:I82; Stern 1995b: fig. 7.8:1 (Herakles). Object 2217 is listed also as Type 8A. Human Body Fragment. 10E.  Male—with Outturned Palm 1876, 1888, 2509, 71309

Notes: Objects 1876, 1888, and 2509 preserve human torsos with the right arm and hand across the chests in a posture of greeting or benediction, the palm facing away from the bodies in an anatomically uncomfortable position. See Negbi 1966: pl. XI: 64; www.cobb.msstate​ .edu/dignew/Maresha/htmls/standingman.htm. Object 71309 may also belong to this category, though the palm of the right hand is not depicted as turned toward the viewer. Erlich (2006a: 49) writes that these standing males with outturned palms, along with the standing bearded males (see Type 10A. Male—Left Hand to Chest) are a local (southern Judean hills) variant of the seated males, who are often depicted as “fondling” their beards (see Stern 1994: fig. 99, where the bearded male is shown with hand to beard), and which are found along the coast of Israel and in Phoenicia. This type of Persian-period male figurine with hand in benediction expression is found at Maresha but seems to be beardless. This type of figurine, as well as the seated, bearded variety, is found also at Sippor, which is located at the border of the coast and the Judean hills (Negbi 1966: pl. XI:64–65, 67). No examples of the seated, bearded male have been found at Halif. Of special interest is the fact that Object 2509 and Maresha’s Object 84-15-497-S1 (www​ .cobb.msstate.edu/dignew/Maresha/htmls/84-15-497.htm) are so similar that they likely were made in the same mold. Object 71309 also depicts a human torso with one arm extending across it. Whether this is a standing male of Type 10E cannot be determined with certainty. See www.cobb.msstate.edu/ dignew/Maresha/htmls/61-300-301.htm .

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11.  Miscellaneous Fragments

1871, 1892, 1896, 1897, 1900, 1932, 1935, 1936, 1945, 1956, 1957, 1970, 1983, 2010, 2017, 2030, 2043, 2044, 2047, 2051, 2052, 2062, 2064, 2073, 2074, 2078, 2113, 2116, 2120, 2134, 2135, 2138, 2216, 2218, 2220, 2221, 2222, 2223, 2224, 2225, 2226, 2227, 2228, 2229, 2230, 2231, 2232, 2234, 2237, 2238, 2241, 2242, 2243, 2246, 2248, 2249, 2252, 2263, 2275, 2276, 2277, 2283, 2319, 2320, 2327, 2328, 2331, 2335, 2336, 2378, 2398, 2405, 2410, 2411, 2438, 2458, 2473, 2474, 2498, 2520, 2560, 2620, 2621, 2622, 2623, 2624, 2628, 2635, 2637, 2638, 2641, 2643, 2648, 2650, 2653, 2657, 2658, 2661, 2663, 2666, 2668, 2677, 2681, 2686, 2688, 2689, 2690, 2692, 2699, 2703, 2712, 2714, 2720, 2722, 70283, 70358, 70437, 70557, 70566, 70601, 70653, 70657, 70681, 70720, 70736, 70809, 70817, 70920, 70924, 70925, 70927, 70930, 70933, 70934, 71181, 71185, 71284, 71322, 71328, 71329, 71348, 71397, 71443, 71444, 71450, 71452, 71497, 71526, 71527, 71547, 71548, 71550, 71568, 71569, 71571, 71577, 71649, 71653

This category of figurine fragments includes many items that are broken pieces from the handapplied backs of hollow figurines or from the bases of hollow figurines.

12. Other—Architectural

71183

This single piece is possibly an engaged architectural fragment.

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13.  Protome—Plaque Type

1942, 1953, 1968, 1979, 1993, 1994, 2012, 2067, 2121, 2347, 2454, 2530, 2656, 2684, 70484, 70646, 70679, 70819, 70833, 71110, 71152, 71155, 71170, 71178, 71190, 71195, 71325, 71330, 71360, 71386, 71387, 71388, 71442, 71448, 71454, 71498, 71503, 71549, 71572, 71648

This category includes portions of protome type figurines, from various frontal views of animals and humans. All are too fragmentary to determine type. Notes: Objects 2454, 70833, 71110, 71170, 71178, 71195, and 71360 are listed also as Type 8A. Human Body Fragment; Object 1979 is listed also as Type 4J. Female—Other Type; Object 71648 is listed also as Type 14. Relief.

14. Relief

1850, 1959, 2627, 71226, 71299, 71447, 71455, 71648

This category is a collection of several types of figurines with the common feature that they are done in relief style. Notes: Objects 1850, 1959, 71299, and 71447 belong to the type horse on plinth; Object 2627 is a male animal in relief; Objects 71226 and 71455 are also parts of animals in relief. Object 71648, though done in relief, is from an unknown type. Objects 1850, 1959, 2627, 71299, 71447, and 71455 are listed also as Type 7B. Horse (and Rider?) on Plinth; Object 71648 is listed also as Type 13. Protome—Plaque Type; Object 71226 is listed also as Type 1A. Animal Fragments.

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15. Statue

2215, 2525, 2581, 71307

This category includes portions of larger terra-cotta sculptures of humans, sometimes approaching life size. The fragment of a face preserving a nose (Obj. 2581) may have belonged to a statue like those found at Horvat Qitmit, which were formed on inverted jars (Beck 1995: 44, 46–47). Notes: Object 2581 is the nose from the face of a terra-cotta statue approximately one-third life size (cf. Beck 1995: 58; Kletter 2007: 192, figs. 1–2). Object 71307 appears to be toes from the right foot of a nearly life-size terra-cotta statue. Objects 2215 and 2525 are ears from terracotta statues. Objects 2215, 2525, 2581, and 71307 are listed also as Type 8A. Human Body Fragment.

16.  Stone Sculpture

1858, 1862

This category includes carved stone sculptures. Notes: Though both items in this category show clear signs of carving on a stela-like local limestone, with the facial or human features done in relief, the details are badly preserved and obscure. Object 1858 seems to depict a face; Object 1862 may be a crudely carved standing human figure. These two stone carvings bear a distant similarity to some of the funerary stelae found at Carthage. See the funerary stela in the Lois Dowdle Cobb Museum, which depicts a standing human in relief (http://www.cobb.msstate.edu/Museum/html/JMK-1977-018.html). A better preserved example than either of the two found at Halif is a carved stone figurine in relief found at Maresha in Cave System 1 (www.cobb.msstate.edu/dignew/Maresha/htmls/1-1283-141​.htm). From Maresha is another possible parallel of a bearded man (Hera­kles?) with a robe over his left shoulder, also done in relief (www.cobb.msstate.edu/dignew/Maresha/htmls/61-188-486.htm).

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17.  Zoomorphic Vessel

3123, 70882, 71705

This category of figurines includes vessels in the shape of animals. Notes: Object 3123 has a circular opening on its back, with an open spout at its mouth. It served as a rhyton. Object 70882 is a fragment of a hollow vessel, representing only two legs of an animal-shaped rhyton (see Albright 1932: pl. 71(A):1). For Object 3123, compare Object 716 found on Late Bronze II Floor B10035 of a Stratum VIIC house in Field I of Tell Halif (http:// www.cobb.msstate.edu/dignew/FieldI/htmls/Obj716.htm). A similar rhyton was found at Tell Nagila (Amiran and Eitan 1967: 45.) See also Harrison 2004: pl. 22:8–9. For Object 70882, see Dothan 1971: pl. LIX:5, 7. See also Albright 1932: pl. 71(A):1), Kertesz 1989: 362, fig. 32.1 #9, pl. 78:9, and Aharoni 1975: pl. 34:1–3. A zoomorphic vessel from Tel Miqne–Ekron appears to be painted in a style similar to that on Object 3123 (Ben-Shlomo 2008: fig. 2 #2; see also fig. 7.) Object 71705—the leg of a zoomorphic figurine—shows a hand-smoothed surface at the top of the leg, an indication that it had been part of a hollow zoomorphic vessel. See Aharoni 1973: pl. 28:4. Object 3123 is listed also as Type 1B. Animal—Bovine.

Chapter 6

Conclusions The corpus of figurines found at Halif is a mixed assemblage and, hence, cannot be treated as reflecting ritual behavior for any single period. It may be stated affirmatively, of course, that over the history of occupation of the tell site from the 8th through the 2nd century b.c.e. ritual activity in general took place. Except for the rare instance of Stratum VIB, however, little else can be said with confidence about what that ritual actually involved or about who carried out the ritual.

Stratum VIB Iron II It seems clear that the use of figurines in rituals at Halif during the Late Iron II paralleled that of many other Judahite sites of the 8th century b.c.e. The shrine room in the F7 House at Halif gives a focused view of the nature and aims of ritual associated with Pillar Figurine 2114, somewhat less so with the other figurines located (probably strategically) about the F7 and K8 Houses in Field IV. Intended outcomes of the rituals in the F7 Shrine Room seem to concentrate on the family and its welfare, via the provision and manipulation of sacred space. That the goddess ʿAsherah was at the center of the ritual activities in the F7 Shrine Room seems likely. Whether she—in this popular style of the pillar figurine—was paired with a male deity, specifically Yahweh, cannot be ascertained from the archaeological remains. But it is clear that the members of the family in the F7 House found it advantageous to establish a locale for interaction with the goddess, particularly one that included the family in sharing food and drink with the goddess. That the sacred area was a family shrine—as opposed to a public one—is undoubted. The presumption that the presence of the goddess could be invoked, that she could be called and carried from her abode to be present with them, also acknowledges that the human participants in the rituals fully expected and already enjoyed the blessings that the divine presence assured. The ritual objects themselves—set in an arrangement that was meaningful, perhaps as imitation of temple elements—suggests also an understanding of the sacred and the profane interactions. Little has been said about the shrine room and its sacred objects being out of step with the reform documents found in biblical texts such as Deuteronomy, but it is clear from the F7 Shrine Room, and from other ritual objects found in Stratum VIB at Halif, that the local population found a variety of ritual approaches to the needs and mysteries of life to be useful and acceptable.

Conclusions

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Most likely, the human participants in the rituals in the F7 Shrine Room found it useful also to participate in the festivals and rituals of other deities, specifically those of Yahweh. Theirs was a multi-religious approach, as devotees to ʿAsherah but also to Yahweh (and perhaps to others).

Persian and Hellenistic Figurines Figurine artifacts from later periods (Persian and Hellenistic) share many characteristics with the figurines found at Maresha, especially those of the Persian period. Since no signs of figurine manufacture have been located in the LRP excavations at Halif, and since in both Persian and Hellenistic periods Halif was at best a village or a military post, it seems probable that figurines were transported from Maresha and elsewhere, where ample evidence of manufacture in the form of molds has been reported. Figurine types shared between Maresha and Halif support the view that Idumean cultural/ religious influence is reflected in southern Judah in the Persian period. As Erlich has argued, the Halif figurine of a standing male with a rolled collar (Type 10A, Obj. 2391), often armed with bow, possibly represents the god Qos (2006b: 51). To this group may belong also the male with his right arm held in a greeting (palm outturned, Type 10E.) The Type 4B. Female: Child on Left Shoulder (see chap. 5, p. 60)—claimed by Erlich to occur only in Idumea (2006b: 46)—is another example of Idumean influence in the Halif figurines, though now at least one close parallel has been found at Cyrene in North Africa (Uhlenbrock 2009). Halif presents several clear examples of a variant of the women with children on shoulders in Type 4E.  Female—Child Seated Behind Head (see chap.  5, p.  61). Type 4C. Female—Child at Left Side (see chap. 5, p. 60) appears to be a development of the earlier Persian period Type 4B Female: Child on Left Shoulder. Type 7A. Horse and Rider dominates the collection, the majority of these belonging to the Persian period. The motif probably represents some specific male deity and demonstrates what Erlich has called the “Phoenician-Palestinian technique” of manufacture, something that differs from the styles in north Syria (2006b: 48). Among the several types assigned to the Persian period are the Type 4A. Female—Astarte Type figurines (see chap. 5, p.  59), in which a smaller nude female stands beside a larger draped one. The motif of a nude or semi-nude woman with hand(s) to breast(s) is well known and may well be a representation of Astarte. But the fact that these females with hands to breasts on Objects 2045, 2326, 2516, and 2595 are accompanied by larger female figures that appear to be draped is a significant variation from the Astarte type. One example is reported at Maresha, curiously broken almost identically to the breaks on the Halif figurines, obscuring again the larger figure of the pair. Whether this motif also belongs to the Idumean sphere or is a development from a Palestinian Astarte type is unknown. Likewise, whether this is a depiction of two goddesses, two humans, or a mixed pair, is unknown. Figurine 70668 (Type 4A, 4F, and 4J), in particular, requires comment. Tentatively assigned a date in the 7th or 6th century b.c.e., there seems to be no precise parallel known to this figurine, with its representation of two nude women, one with hands circling abdomen and the other with hands at breasts. Both motifs are known from Palestinian sites, though not appearing on the same artifact.

78

Conclusions

Hellenistic motifs also occur within this mixed collection, particularly the single representation of Aphrodite (Obj. 71112), the several fragments of Herakles (or Perseus), and the woman with raised torch (Obj. 2290). The woman with child on her lap, possibly suckling the child (Obj. 71004), is another well-known motif and may represent Isis and Horus or Aphrodite and Eros. The clear differences in style from Iron II–Persian to Hellenistic figurines thus reflect the major changes in culture, religion, and self-understanding that accompanied the Hellenistic period.

Comprehensive Publication Accompanying this volume is a stand-alone CD with the complete report on the Halif figurines, including the full text and data on each figurine. Its purpose is to provide to the fullest extent possible a comprehensive look at all of the figurine fragments recovered by the LRP excavations, thus to offer a thorough and reliable source for continuing research. With this presentation the hope is to approach the ideal of “total publication,” in which an excavator shows all of the recovered data, even and especially those artifacts and anomalies not yet or well understood. In this way, a user will have the information to enable reevaluation of the elements of the report in order to devise, as needed, a “better story” about the artifacts and their cultural and religious relevance. In the case of the figurines of Halif, such a paving of the way for alternative interpretations is essential because most of the meaningful archaeological context has been so badly disturbed. It is the hope that the responsibility to see that the Halif figurine data becomes fully accessible to future interpreters has been met in this report.

Appendix

The Figurines of Tell Halif, the CD The CD enclosed with this volume—also titled The Figurines of Tell Halif—is a standalone, full report on the terra-cottas and stone sculptures found at Tell Halif. The CD may be used either as an accompaniment to the volume or as the full report in itself. As an accompaniment to the volume, the reader will find references to the figurine types, illustrations for which are available on the CD; so with book in hand, a reader may click, for example, on the horse and riders to review all the artifacts assigned to that type. Needless to say, the illustrations printed in the volume are far fewer than those on the CD. Even the digital version of the report—also on the CD under the link “Text of The Figurines of Tell Halif”—includes additional illustrations associated with the figurine corpus. So, the reader may also find the entire report in digital form on the CD and may use it as a stand-alone publication of the figurines of Tell Halif. On The Figurines of Tell Halif CD are found multiple color illustrations of all 794 figurines, many also shown in QuickTime VR movies and in line drawings. Each figurine has also been analyzed by Dr. Nancy Serwint, whose verbal descriptions and measurements appear on individual figurine pages. In addition, on each figurine page appears an archaeological context section, which shows the stratum, locus, and basket in which the individual figurine was excavated, along with a summary description of that locus. This latter information permits a user to make inferences about the archaeological setting and provides a connection to the on-line field reports (www.cobb.msstate.edu/Research.html) where fuller reporting on the Fields I and IV excavations may be found. Because the stratigraphic locations of the majority of the figurines rendered little useful information about the use, date, or function of these artifacts, the fuller reports have not been included with the figurine data on this CD; nonetheless, a user will find full disclosure of data at these on-line locations. Software required to use The Figurines of Tell Halif CD include a web browser (recommended are Safari and Mozilla Firefox) and Apple QuickTime player; all are available on-line free of charge. You may use The Figurines of Tell Halif CD by clicking on the file “index.htm,” which will open a web browser to the title page. At the title page, a user may select one of the icons representing a figurine type or the icon that leads to the text of the figurine report. Links within these pages will also appear for further information.

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