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109-462: Lakhish or Lachish (Hebrew: לכיש ) may refer to: Lachish , a biblical city in Israel Lakhish, Israel , a moshav in south-central Israel Lakhish Regional Council , a regional council in south-central Israel Lakhish River , a river in the area Hevel Lakhish , a region of south-central Israel [REDACTED] Topics referred to by

218-448: A birds eye view. Similar morphological types are also found in red or in buff colors. Additional ceramic types have features that are reminiscent of Chalcolithic types. In addition the ledge handle is also prominent in this period. Pottery is always handmade and in the earliest phases appears to have been home-made by local potters working within general traditions of how a pot should look, but with little slavish copying. The high loop handle

327-720: A central point of production. Only extensive petrographic analyses can help to prove this and perhaps pinpoint some possible location for such centers. By the third and final phase of Early Bronze I there remains a dichotomy between north and south, with red-burnishing as opposed to no burnishing and the extensive use of white, quick-lime slip reflecting northern and southern traditions, respectively. Extensive trade of ceramics, or possibly groups of itinerant potters seem to have left much evidence for their movement or that of pots between regions and within regions. Morphological types are shared from region to region and sphere to sphere, but often with localized details. All pottery from this period

436-415: A fragmentary early alphabetic inscription. The remaining nine letters, nine of them in three lines, are perfectly discernable, but they cannot be convincingly combined into words and the words into a text. The undecipherable inscription still is of great palaeographic interest, given the scarcity of Late Bronze Age West Semitic inscriptions found in controlled excavations, as it adds to our knowledge about

545-577: A generation" find. A fifth expedition, running from 2015 to 2016, was conducted as part of developing the site as a national park. A gate shrine of Level III, destroyed during the Assyrian assault and a toilet installation were found. It has been suggested that the toilet, in a gate shrine, was part of Hezekiah's campaign against idolatry. Two altars in the shrine also had their horns damaged in possible desecration. The Korean Lachish Excavation Team led by Hong Soon-hwa, reported that they had "uncovered

654-506: A large series of ceramic assemblages dated to the Neolithic period. In one phase there are some extraordinarily sophisticated ceramic vessels of especially finely levigated, highly polished or burnished (polishing of almost dry, leather hard, surfaces of unfired clay to produce a smooth surface that becomes shiny when fired), black fabric. Other pottery suggests that some potters in this period, dated later than an earlier, "Yarmukian" phase at

763-490: A line of evenly spaced conical protrusions just below the rim on the exterior of the vessel. Such bowls are also known to be red-slipped in the north; in the south similar types are very rare and neither slipped nor burnished. Grain-wash, a kind of painting that leave a pattern that is slightly reminiscent of wood (sometimes called band-slip) makes its appearance in this period in the north. Pithoi are of different types. Two well-known types are distinguished by their rims; one has

872-463: A little confusion as to what constitutes chrono-culturally related assemblages. That is a function of the generally poor preservation of PN sites and the way in which they were excavated. Summary: Neolithic pottery may well have arrived as a full-blown technological set from more northerly regions. Pottery appears to have become ubiquitous in the southern Levant by late in the 6th millennium and remained as an integral part of human material culture up to

981-689: A number of scarab sealings. These were of "both the local Canaanite MB IIC style and the Hyksos style". Radiocarbon dating produced a date in the mid-16th century BCE. By the end of Middle Bronze IIC the city was destroyed by fire. Some features originally ascribed to the Iron Age by the early excavators have now been redated to the MBA and LBA. In the Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 BCE), Lachish was re-established and developed slowly, eventually becoming one of

1090-423: A pronounced bow-rim, while the other has a thickened rim with regular striations that give it its name, 'rail rim'. In the south there remains a deal of regionality, stressed by two types of decorated wares which only slightly overlap in their distribution. They are 'line painted group', red lines usually on a light background. Within that group is a very distinctive 'basket style', that imitates basketry. This type

1199-472: A relatively large corpus of reasonably preserved vessels. The most distinctive pottery of this period is known as "Gray Burnished ware" or sometimes as "Esdraelon ware" or Proto-Urban C pottery. This ware is known for its generally gray color, highly burnished finish, and a limited and distinctive range of morphological types, almost invariably bowls. Most of the bowls have a carinated (angled) profile, some of them with flat projections forming an undulating line in

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1308-533: A thick, with quick-lime type coating on their exteriors. These pithoi were commonly decorated with flat, thin strips of clay placed horizontally around the vessel in 1 or more bands and pressed flat at regular intervals so as to give the impression of a rope. It is in this period that there is a great increase of standardization within the larger spheres, northern and southern. While no center of pottery production has yet been found, there seems to be evidence for extensive trading of pottery between sites or possibly from

1417-465: A wheel, were actually only finished that way by scraping, after having been fashioned by hand. There is no evidence to show that the fast potter's wheel was used in the Chalcolithic period for 'throwing pots' using centripetal force. The wavy line or indented ledge handle makes its appearance in the central littoral in this period, presaging its adoption as the most common type of handle throughout

1526-594: A wide range of 10th century BCE items, from houses with earthenware items and cooking stoves, to animal bones, olive seeds, spearheads, fortress walls and other objects" on July 5, 2017. Since 2017, the Austro-Israeli excavation is exploring the Middle and Late Bronze Age strata at the site. The project is conducted a joint project of Hebrew University and the Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology of

1635-414: Is a pronounced regionalism that becomes less visible over time. Regionalism is particularly marked in the earliest phase of Early Bronze I, with a dichotomy between northern and southern spheres of influence and a mosaic of more localized traditions within those larger spheres. In the southern region pie-crust type decoration is commonly found on large storage jars, while for the first time this type of detail

1744-447: Is also found on holemouth vessels. The ledge handle becomes prominent in this period; its earliest exponents, obviously inherited from the preceding period, is notable for almost invariably having a wavy-line edge in many variations. Only rather late in the period and in specific regions was this appendage made with smooth edges. Poor preservation at most southern sites has limited knowledge of the typology of this early phase. Pottery from

1853-579: Is described by the excavators as a name list with allocated provisions in Canaanite. As many as 12 purported Proto-Canaanite inscriptions had been discovered at Lachish by 2022. Six were discovered in the Starkey-Tufnell excavations, two during the renewed excavations by Ussishkin, and four in more recent excavations. At least three of the purported inscriptions are likely to have been merely figural pottery designs or pseudo-inscriptions Among

1962-654: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Lachish Lachish was first mentioned in the Amarna letters . In the Book of Joshua , Lachish is cited as one of the cities conquered by the Israelites for joining the league against the Gibeonites ( Joshua 10:31–33 ). The territory was later assigned to the tribe of Judah according to Joshua 15 :39 and became part of

2071-448: Is handmade. Egyptian imported pottery if found in some sites in the south western region in this period. Most sites have only a small quantity, but a few select sites suggest prolonged contacts with Egyptians and possibly even Egyptians residing in the southern Levant . Pottery of Early Bronze I in the north seems to presage that of Early Bronze II in terms of morphology and decoration (especially red painting and burnishing), although in

2180-482: Is more or less the minimum required for creating pottery from low-fired clays. Probably these vessels were pit-fired rather than fired in kilns , although such an hypothesis remains to be proven. To date there is no direct evidence in excavation based literature on how Neolithic peoples of the southern Levant fired their pottery. Later Neolithic pottery has less distinctive features. Work at Jericho by K. Kenyon suggested to her two periods of Late Neolithic, based on

2289-491: Is named after the site of Wadi Rabah , excavated by J. Kaplan. Y. Garfinkel relegates this final LN period to Early Chalcolithic. The distinction seems to be mostly a matter of terminology. Since there is no definitive break between Late Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic, each researcher must decide what is Neolithic and what is Early Chalcolithic. The situation is even more complicated because there appears to be considerable regional variation in Neolithic pottery assemblages and not

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2398-494: Is not seen by the burnished red slip, which all but disappeared during the eighteenth century, replaced by white/creamy slip. The pottery is often quite thinly walled and even kilned at high temperatures. Despite this, there is a progression of techniques from MBII A, which does denote continuity in society from then. Other noticeable traits of the period are a lack of painted design on most types of pottery and then only unicolored. The one color often tends to be stripes or circles with

2507-459: Is red paint on black background. The most common vessels that we find this type in are kraters, jars and jugs. This group, after being tested with neutron activation techniques, shows that it was imported from eastern Cyprus; this includes Cypriot Bichrome ware . The major controversy is whether the Cypriot market produced Canaanite styles for exporting purposes, or whether Canaanites were producing

2616-429: Is so chrono-culturally diagnostic. Most vessels are of plain wares and utilitarian types. In addition, other methods of decoration are known in the later Neolithic. They include the use of slips (color applied to an entire vessel), burnishing and incising (e.g. notching, combing, slashing, etc.). Wavy lines of combing, often combined with painting are one of the distinctive types of Late Neolithic decoration associated with

2725-542: Is strong but circumstantial, based mostly on the geographic location of the site, the writing of Eusebius , the royal reliefs of Sennacherib, the site excavations, and an ostracon found there. Israeli archaeologist and historical geographer, M. Avi-Yonah , thought to place Lachish at the ancient ruin of Qobebet Ibn ‘Awwad , near the former Palestinian Arab village by the same name, rather than at Tell ed Duweir . The place has been extensively excavated. The first expedition at Lachish, then Tell ed-Duweir, from 1932 to 1939,

2834-422: Is thanks to the work of David Ussishkin 's team that eight of these stamped jars were restored, thereby demonstrating lack of relevance between the jar volumes (which deviated as much as 5 gallons or 12 litres ), and also proving their relation to the reign of Biblical king Hezekiah . Ussishkin observed that "The renewed excavations confirmed Tufnell's suggestion that Level III had been destroyed in 701 BCE. All

2943-420: Is the 'teapot' shape. There is a major dichotomy and great differences between the pottery of the northern and southern regions. Certain shapes are associated with particular fabric types which, can be related to one or the other region. The pottery of this period shows some innovations, including the use of the wheel for fashioning the rims of jars. In the south decoration was generally incisions, while painting

3052-542: Is the use of burnished red slips known from the cemetery at Bab edh-Dhra . In the Beth Shan region certain vessels have special painted decoration, while a cave near Tel Qedesh in Upper Galilee yielded many pedestaled lamps. Basically, the pottery of this period represents the last dying gasps of a tradition that reaches back into the local Chalcolithic (with even earlier antecedents) period and continuing on into

3161-594: The Austrian Academy of Sciences and is co-directed by Felix Höflmayer and Katharina Streit. The project is funded by the Austrian Science Fund . In 2018 a pottery sherd, dated to the 15th century BCE, was found with alphabetic text. This fills a gap in the development history of alphabetic writing. In 2019 a hieratic ostracon was found, dated to the time of the Egyptian 18th Dynasty. It

3270-657: The Israel Museum in Jerusalem. The siege ramp at Lachish, designed for deploying battering rams against the city during the Neo-Assyrian siege, is the oldest known in the world and the sole example found in the ancient Near East . Occupation at the site of Lachish began during the Pottery Neolithic period (5500–4500 BCE). Flint tools from that period have been found. Major development began in

3379-634: The Kinneret during the 1920s, it is known as Khirbet Kerak ware, and it is associated with the Kura–Araxes culture that developed in the Caucasus area. It was obviously made by potters who brought the tradition with them. Examples are of highly distinctive types, jugse and jars, sometimes with fluting, painted and highly burnished red or black or a combination of these colors, andirons, some with decorations and faces, and carinated bowls. Khirbet Kerak ware

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3488-474: The Late Bronze (1550–1200 BCE) and Iron Age (1200–587 BCE) levels. The Ussishkin expedition's comprehensive 5-volume report set a new standard in archaeological publication. According to Yosef Garfinkel , "The Starkey-Tufnell and Ussishkin expeditions set new standards in excavation and publication. They revolutionized our understanding of various aspects of Lachish, such as the later history of Judah and

3597-642: The pharaoh and were discovered as part of the Amarna archive. It is mentioned in the Amarna letters as Lakisha/Lakiša (EA 287, 288, 328, 329, 335). During the 20th Dynasty of Egypt , the empire of the New Kingdom of Egypt started to lose its control in the Southern Levant . A bronze object bearing the cartouche of Ramesses III may be associated with the city gate. While Lachish had prospered under Egyptian hegemony, fire destroyed it around 1150 BCE. It

3706-549: The 16th century. The first of the two types consists of a thick white slip being applied followed by a dark brown paint. This type is found in the northern region of the country particularly close to the Jordan Valley. The Bichrome ware, the more important of the two, can be found at Tell el-Ajjul and Tel Megiddo among others. Its "pendant" lines or stripes that come usually as black on white slip, or more commonly as red on black can help notice this type of pottery. Bichrome

3815-525: The Chalcolithic period can, for the present, be divided into two major chronological groups, Early and Late Chalcolithic. The more distinctive is the later group, known from some extensively excavated sites which have yielded large ceramic repertoires. There appear to be regional differences, especially between the northern and southern spheres of the southern Levant and at sites to the east. Some of these differences may also be chronological; new 14C (radiocarbon) dates suggest one type site, Teleilat el Ghassul in

3924-689: The Early Bronze Age (3300–3000 BCE). By the end of the Early Bronze, Lachish had become a large settlement. Most of the recovered pottery is of Khirbet Kerak Ware . The MBA period has not been extensively excavated at the site. During the Middle Bronze (2000–1650 BCE), the settlement developed. In the Middle Bronze I, the mound was resettled. Remains of a cult place and an assemblage of votive cultic vessels were found in Area D. In

4033-634: The Early Bronze Age. Common decorations include raised, rope-like bands on some vessels, red painting and pie-crust like decoration on rims of large vessels (excepting holemouths. Combing, that produced wide, broad, flat lines, is sometimes found on jars of the Late Chalcolithic. Pronounced regional variations as well as functions of sites determine the kinds of vessels, types of clay used, and the forms of decoration preferred. Chalcolithic pottery technology and morphology greatly influenced

4142-426: The Early Bronze Age. That period is known to other scholars as Middle Bronze I, Early Bronze-Middle Bronze and Intermediate Bronze. On the basis of pottery styles there is some justification for using the term Early Bronze IV. Early Bronze I ( c.  3500  – c.  3000 BC ) pottery in the southern region is obviously derived from Chalcolithic traditions. Similar types of vessels are known and they were, in

4251-460: The Early Bronze Age. There are, however, hints at the major changes to come in influences from the area to the north, Syria, which was to revolutionize ceramic traditions in the southern Levant for the next two millennia. Pottery of this period owes relatively little to local antecedents. It has its roots in more northerly regions, especially in the traditions of Syria, which in turn was in contact with Mesopotamian and Anatolian regions. The pottery of

4360-641: The Early Chalcolithic period is often similar to that of the Late Neolithic. One diagnostic feature of this period is found in pottery made on mats, probably of straw. When this was the case, the clay was pressed into the weave of the mat, leaving an impression which potters sometimes did not remove. Thus some bases of vessels in this period bear distinct patterns of mats on which they were made. Other techniques used for pottery production in this period include painting and slipping of exteriors, and

4469-531: The Fosse Temple III at Level VII, which dates it back to the 13th century BCE. The Lachish bowl was discovered in Tomb 527 at Lachish Level VII, dated to the 13th century BCE. The Lachish bowl fragment was discovered in a Level VII context and dated to the 12th century BCE. The "Lachish jar sherd", found in 2014 in a stratigraphic context (Level VI) which allows dating it to around 1130 BCE, contains

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4578-401: The Iron Age history of the site on behalf of the Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the Institute of Archaeology, Southern Adventist University . Other consortium institutions include Virginia Commonwealth University , Oakland University and Korea Biblical Geography Research Institute. The excavations were concentrated in the northeast corner of the site near

4687-662: The Late Bronze Age but the burials contained few dateable elements so it is uncertain if the burials date to the LBA or later. Rebuilding of the city began in the Early Iron Age , during the 10th and 9th centuries BCE, when it was part of the Kingdom of Judah . The unfortified settlement may have been destroyed c.  925 BCE by the pharaoh Shoshenq I , founder of the Twenty-second Dynasty of Egypt . In

4796-503: The Latest Neolithic periods (see Late Neolithic Pottery). While plain wares probably dominate most assemblages, it is the decorated types which have been paid most attention to by scholars. There are few well excavated sites and no good stratigraphic sequences that have produced enough well-stratified pottery to allow for the development of any reliable chronological sequence in pottery styles, although some are claimed. Pottery of

4905-626: The Middle Bronze IIA, the development continued. In the Middle Bronze IIB-C, Lachish became a major city in the Southern Levant. An impressive glacis -like structure was constructed around the city, which shaped its present steep slopes and sharp corners. The proposed glacis fronted a city wall built of massive stones. In Area P, a large mudbrick fortress was excavated. Finds from the fortress include 4 scarabs and

5014-551: The Rabah phase (see below). The use of red slips and paints is common in this and later periods, and is probably the direct outcome of clays used, which are rich in iron oxides that tend, under some conditions, to fire to earthy red tones ranging from brown to orange and brick-red. These same clays, when fired in a reducing atmosphere (i.e. devoid of oxygen) often become gray or black in color. Dark colored, gray to black cores on some pots indicate incomplete firing The most recent PN phase

5123-519: The archaeological finds, they give a good understanding of siege warfare of the period. Modern excavation of the site has revealed that the Assyrians built a stone and dirt ramp up to the level of the Lachish city wall, thereby allowing the soldiers to charge up the ramp and storm the city. Excavations revealed approximately 1500 skulls in one of the caves near the site, and hundreds of arrowheads on

5232-591: The basic shapes and types of the earlier period, but much of the typical decoration of the earlier Chalcolithic is discontinued. Late Chalcolithic pottery is known for some special shapes including: 1) cornets—cone-like vessels with narrow apertures and long, highly tapered sides ending in exaggerated, long stick-like bases; 2) (so-called)churns or bird vessels, barrel-shaped vessels, often with bow shaped neck, one flat end and two lugs at either horizontal end of barrel, intended for suspension; 3) small bowls with straight sides tapering to flat bases (so-called V-shaped despite

5341-430: The ceramic styles of the succeeding Early Bronze I period, especially in the southern region. Specialized production of ossuaries (boxes intended to hold bones after decarnation; i.e., secondary burials) is well documented in this period. It includes many types of rectangular boxes, some with extremely elaborate facades. Some anthropomorphic visages appear on these ossuaries in three-dimensional sculpting (rare), often with

5450-688: The commander of the garrison at Lachish shortly before it fell to the Babylonians in either 589 or 586 B.C." Starkey was murdered in 1938 while travelling to Jerusalem to open the Rockefeller Archaeological Museum . Tufnell, Harding and Inge remained for the 1938–9 season. Tufnell returned to London and over the next two decades, worked at the Institute of Archaeology in London, "sorting, collating, studying and presenting

5559-479: The country against enemies who usually approached from the coast. In 701 BCE, during the revolt of Hezekiah , king of Judah, against the Neo-Assyrian Empire, it was besieged and captured by Sennacherib despite the defenders' determined resistance. Some scholars believe that the fall of Lachish occurred during a second campaign in the area by Sennacherib ca. 688 BCE. The site now contains

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5668-426: The earliest PN phase pottery was ubiquitous and it remained so for virtually all periods in the southern Levant until modern times. Exceptions were in desert areas where semi-nomads favored less heavy, fragile and bulky arrangements. Pottery styles, based mostly on form, fabric and decorative elements have been used to help identify chrono-cultural phases. White ware remained in use, but it seems to have remained rare and

5777-400: The earliest phases has a clear 'Early Bronze flavor'. Some of the shapes of vessels and the details of them, e.g. flat bases and folded 'envelope-like' ledge handles indicate continuity of traditions. Indeed, recent evidence of Early Bronze III sites shows that certain forms made their appearance then and continued into Early Bronze IV or even later. The four-spouted lamp is one of these; another

5886-407: The earliest phases, made according to traditional Chalcolithic methods of manufacture. In the north there seems to be much less continuity, but that may be more of perception of the archaeological record. Unfortunately there is no good Chalcolithic sequence in the north from which one may learn precisely what the latest Chalcolithic facies is. What is clear is that in the earliest phases of EB I there

5995-604: The evolution of alphabetic script. The first archaeological expedition, the Starkey-Starkey-Tufnell (1932–1939) uncovered the Lachish letters, which were "written to the commander of the garrison at Lachish shortly before it fell to the Babylonians in either 589 or 586 B.C." The Hebrew letters were written on pieces of pottery, so-called ostraca . Eighteen letters were found in 1935 and three more in 1938, all written in Paleo-Hebrew script . They were from

6104-558: The existence of coarser and finer pottery groups. The former, supposedly representing a less sophisticated and earlier occupation, was labeled PNA (Pottery Neolithic A); the latter was called PNB (Pottery Neolithic B). Many researchers now believe the difference to be one of function rather than evidence for chronological differences between these two groups, since examples of each are often found in contemporary contexts. Thus, PNB types are often designated as fine or luxury wares. The site of Munhatta , excavated by J. Perrot , has contributed

6213-600: The existence of pyrotechnology that allowed humans to attain temperatures in excess of 1,000 °C (1,830 °F) for reducing limestone to lime to make plaster , indicates a level of technology ripe for the discovery of pottery and its spread. In the PPN period portable vessels of lime plaster, called "vaisselles blanche" or " White Ware " served some of the functions that pottery later fulfilled. These vessels tended to be rather large and coarse and were somewhat rare. There are some indications that pottery may have been in use in

6322-517: The find in the international press. Subsequently the Israel Antiquities Authority issued a statement saying that the sherd was not authentic and had been created by an expert demonstrating inscription techniques to her students. She had come forward after the publicity surrounding the find, and explained she had used an original scrap of worthless pottery from the site and engraved the writing on it. She then discarded it at

6431-475: The findings in his 1975 publication, Investigations at Lachish: The sanctuary and the residency . The third expedition, 1973 and 1994, by a Tel Aviv University Institute of Archaeology and Israel Exploration Society team was led by David Ussishkin . Excavation and restoration work was conducted between 1973 and 1994 by a Tel Aviv University Institute of Archaeology and Israel Exploration Society team led by David Ussishkin . The excavation focused on

6540-456: The first half of the 9th century BCE, under the Judahite kings Asa and Jehoshaphat , Lachish became an important city in the kingdom. It was heavily fortified with massive walls and ramparts. A royal palace was built on a platform in the center of the city. Lachish was the foremost among several towns and fortified strongholds guarding the valleys that lead up to Jerusalem and the interior of

6649-658: The first time that an inscription bearing the name of Darius the Great had been found in the territory of Yehud Medinata , then a province of the Achaemenid Empire ruled by Darius. Levy reported it to Saar Ganor of the Israel Antiquities Authority —the director of excavations at Tel Lachish—who concluded after laboratory testing that the sherd was authentic, probably a receipt for goods received or shipped. This led to widespread coverage of

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6758-434: The flat bases; fenestrated-pedestaled bowls, small vases with vertical lugs pierced circularly, vertical tube handles, large holemouths with broad shoulders and relatively narrow bases. Small bowls and cornets of this period can be especially thin and appear to have been turned on wheels, but they are only finished that way. Recent research on the techniques of bowl making in this period indicate these vessels, while turned on

6867-454: The form of sherds , often makes up the bulk of material culture artifacts found on excavated sites dating from the PN period. The Chalcolithic (or "Copper-Stone Age") is a chrono-cultural period that may have lasted for over a millennium, although the date of its end is somewhat problematic. The earliest phases of this period are associated with pottery that is little different from the pottery of

6976-589: The full-blown Middle Bronze Age (Middle Bronze IIA, IIB and IIC) represents a revolutionary tradition for the southern Levant. This period is divided into three subperiods: MBII A, B, and C. B and C are more closely linked than A. This period is diagnosed by the well-burnished red slip so often seen in the corresponding layers at digs. The slip is normally used on the smaller vessels of the period. Other decorating techniques found to be frequent amongst this period's pottery are horizontal sometimes triangular designs in black or red paint. The second half of this period (B+C)

7085-646: The initial Late Neolithic ceramic period is thought to be roughly 7000–6700 BC. These earliest pottery traditions may be known in literature as 'Initial Pottery Neolithic' in the Balikh River area of Syria and Turkey, for example Tell Sabi Abyad . Or it may be known as 'Halula I' in the Syrian Euphrates area; the main site is Tell Halula . Also, it may be known as 'Rouj 2a' in Northern Levantine Rouj basin ( Idlib , Syria). By

7194-579: The king". More of these artifacts were found at this site (over 400; Ussishkin, 2004, pp. 2151–9) than any other place in Israel ( Jerusalem remains in second place with more than 300). Most of them were collected from the surface during Starkey 's excavations, but others were found in Level 1 ( Persian and Greek era), Level 2 (period preceding Babylonian conquest by Nebuchadnezzar ), and Level 3 (period preceding Assyrian conquest by Sennacherib ). It

7303-678: The large and prosperous cities of the Southern Levant. It is first attested as rkjšꜣ ( Lakisha ) in a New Kingdom text, the Papyrus Hermitage 1116A . Lakhish came under the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt , which expelled the Hyksos and established an empire that was most powerful following the military campaigns of Thutmose III . During the Amarna Period ( c.  1350 BCE ), several letters were written to

7412-550: The last two Judean cities to fall to the Neo-Babylonian Empire before the conquest of Jerusalem according to Jeremiah 34 :7. One of the Lachish letters , written in 597–587 BCE, warns of the impending Neo-Babylonian destruction. It reads: "Let my lord know that we are watching over the beacon of Lachish, according to the signals which my lord gave, for Azekah is not seen." This pottery inscription can be seen at

7521-486: The later period potters achieved similar types through very different technological approaches. Wheels seem to have come into use and new fabrics, better levigated (cleared of coarse materials) were made. So-called 'metallic ware' was introduced in this period. Some examples look as if they were imitating metal, while the high-fired fabrics give off a metallic-like ring when struck. Jugs, platters of this ware were found alongside others of more plain fabrics. 'Metallic ware'

7630-439: The later, Middle Bronze II vessels of analogous form, is unclear. With the exception of Khirbet Kerak ware, the pottery of this period continues the Early Bronze traditions and passed them on to the people who populated the small communities of the succeeding period. This period goes under a number of names: Early Bronze/Middle Bronze, Early Bronze IV and Intermediate Bronze are just some of the appellations given it. The pottery of

7739-588: The latest occupational level immediately before the Babylonian siege of 587 BCE . At the time, they formed the only known corpus of documents in classical Hebrew that had come down to us outside of the Hebrew Bible. Another major contribution to Biblical archaeology from excavations at Lachish are the LMLK seals , which were stamped on the handles of a particular form of ancient storage jar, meaning "of

7848-417: The limited use of incised decoration, sometimes in a fish bone pattern but of usually much larger dimensions than that associated with Yarmukian pottery. One specialized form associated with this period is the so-called 'torpedo' vessel, a long narrow, thick-walled jar with two large, vertical lugs attached to its upper, almost tube-like body. Pottery of the Late Chalcolithic period sees a continuation of many of

7957-423: The local pottery is now mass-produced in a rough and cheap manner. Paint decoration returns to fashion, even though it is simply added to the light buff slip, and sometimes without slip. The paint shows many different geometric shapes, and sometimes inside painted on rectangular panels called metopes a sacred tree flanked by two antelopes can be found. Again in this period we can see that the majority of this group

8066-609: The location of the Middle Bronze Age gate and fortress. In the topsoil, unstratified, was found a dark blue diorite scarab of the Egyptian New Kingdom period. In 2014, during the Fourth Expedition to Lachish, led by archaeologist Saar Ganor , a small potsherd with letters from a 12th-century BCE alphabet, was found in the ruins of a Late Bronze Age temple. One researcher called it, a "once in

8175-497: The material found at Lachish". She completed her final publication Lachish IV in 1957. She had already become a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1951. The second was an Israeli expedition directed by Yohanan Aharoni that took place over two seasons in 1966 and 1968. The dig, which focused mainly on the "Solar Shrine", was worked on behalf of Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University . Aharoni published

8284-416: The north and was not developed locally. The evidence for this hypothesis, however, remains equivocal due to the lack of documentation in the archaeological record. This hypothesis also does not take into account the bulk of simple, rudely fashioned vessels that were part of the ceramic repertoire of this period. Because of discoveries of earlier pottery traditions made starting in the 1990s, the time frame for

8393-546: The northern Aravah Valley in Jordan, is somewhat earlier in date than a group of sites in the Beersheva Basin . Garfinkel's attempt to divide this period into three phases, Early, Middle and Late, is based on a number of spurious assemblages and is lacking in authority. While such chronological distinctions may be possible, not enough is presently known of the sequence of the Chalcolithic for determining it. Pottery of

8502-516: The northern region fully recognized as Early Bronze I, shows less evidence of owing its inspiration to the preceding period. However, this may merely be a function of limited perception by researchers who fail to distinguish the pottery of what may be an initial phase of Early Bronze I. A slightly later phase is well known from a number of sites, the best known of which is Yiftah'el in the Beit Netofa Valley system. The site has yielded

8611-435: The nose particularly prominently, while other features are generally painted. Some ossuaries are fashioned of typical jars, altered and adorned for this specific mortuary-related function. Abandonment of many sites at the end of the Chalcolithic period and major changes in material culture led archaeologists to name the post Chalcolithic period the " Early Bronze Age ", a misnomer (only copper without tin {copper + tin = bronze}

8720-493: The odd bird making an appearance. These designs appear on ointment juglets. The ointment juglet is the most important piece of pottery of the period. The fashion of juglets swings gradually from piriform ones to cylindrical. Amongst these vessels we find zoomorphic shapes like animals or human heads. These designs are often accompanied by "puncturing", which used to be filled by white lime. Lastly Chocolate-on-White ware and Bichrome Ware are important pottery types appearing in

8829-593: The only remains of an Assyrian siege ramp discovered. Sennacherib later devoted a whole room in his "Palace without a rival", the southwest palace in Nineveh , for artistic representations of the siege on large alabaster slabs, most of which are now on display in the British Museum . They hold depictions of Assyrian siege ramps, battering rams, sappers, and other siege machines and army units, along with Lachish's architecture and its final surrender. Combined with

8938-470: The period. Common or cruder wares generally have simple shapes and are often less well finished and are not decorated. Vessel walls of this class are often of uneven thickness and look 'lumpy'. This crude aspect is often further emphasized by grass-wiped exteriors and the negative impressions left by straw or vegetal tempers (i.e. chopped up dried grass or weeds) which combust and leave hollows after firing. These inclusion were either added intentionally, or are

9047-406: The pre-Israelite Late Bronze Age Canaanite city." Excavations of Tel Lachish continued in 2012 under the auspices of Tel Aviv University's Institute of Archaeology, conducted by Nissim Golding-Meir. A Linear A inscription was also found at the site. In 2013, a fourth expedition to Lachish was begun under the direction of Yosef Garfinkel , Michael G. Hasel, and Martin G. Klingbeil to investigate

9156-496: The present. Some local potters showed particular skill in their production, which suggests, as is the case with flint knappers, real craft specialization. That is related to skills in finding and preparing raw materials, fashioning pots, decorating them, and controlling the pyrotechnology needed to turn them into pottery. Some aspects of pottery, form, fabric, modes of decoration are relatively reliable diagnostic indicators of chrono-cultural identities of human society. Pottery, mostly in

9265-527: The ramp and at the top of the city wall, indicating the ferocity of the battle. The city occupied an area of 8 hectares (20 acres) . Lachish fell to the Neo-Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar II in his campaign against Judah in 586 BCE. The city was finally destroyed in 587 BCE. Residents were exiled as part of the Babylonian captivity. During Babylonian occupation, a large residence

9374-502: The royal storage jars, stamped and unstamped alike, date to the reign of Hezekiah, to shortly before the Assyrian conquest.' In 2022, Eylon Levy , an adviser to the Israeli president Isaac Herzog , found an inscribed potsherd while visiting Tel Lachish. The sherd bore an Aramaic inscription that read "Year 24 of Darius," which if genuine would have indicated a date of 498 BCE. The find appeared significant, because it would have been

9483-471: The same term This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lakhish&oldid=1255339116 " Category : Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Articles containing Hebrew-language text Short description

9592-449: The site (identified by Sha'ar HaGolan type pottery), were highly skilled craftspeople. One researcher, Y. Garfinkel , refers to this phase as "Jericho IX" after a stratum and associated pottery excavated by J. Garstang at Jericho (he excavated at Jericho prior to Kenyon). The decorated pottery of this period often has red paint in the form of stripes, sometimes in large, wide herringbone-like decorations. Not all pottery from these phases

9701-644: The third and final phase of the Early Neolithic, PPNC (recognized Early Neolithic phases are, beginning with the earliest, PPNA , PPNB , and PPNC ); however, such artifacts are rare, their provenance is equivocal and the issue remains in doubt. Approximately sometime in the late 6th millennium BC, pottery was introduced into the southern Levant, and it became widely used. The supposedly sophisticated forms and technological and decorative aspects suggested to archaeologists that it must have been received as an imported, technological advance from adjacent regions to

9810-600: The tourist section . Levantine pottery#Khirbet Kerak ware Pottery and ceramics have been produced in the Levant since prehistoric times. The history of pottery in the region begins in the Late Neolithic period, sometimes known as Pottery Neolithic (PN) or occasionally, based on a supposed local sequence of the site of Jericho , Pottery Neolithic A. There is no good evidence for pottery production in Early Neolithic (Pre-pottery Neolithic/PP) times, but

9919-484: The unintentional result of poorly levigated (i.e. a process of purifying clay by removal of natural, non-clay inclusions such as stones and plant materials) or unlevigated clay, and are characteristic of this coarse Neolithic pottery. Later Neolithic pottery tends to favor the use of different tempers, sand, gravel, small stones and sometimes grog (ground up pottery). Much Neolithic pottery is low-fired and did not attain temperatures far above 600 °C (1,112 °F), which

10028-444: The united Kingdom of Israel . Following the kingdom's partition, Lachish emerged as one of the most important cities in the Kingdom of Judah , second only to the capital, Jerusalem . Lachish is best known for its siege and conquest by the Neo-Assyrian Empire in 701 BCE, an event famously depicted on the Lachish reliefs , which can be seen today in the British Museum . According to the Book of Jeremiah , Lachish and Azekah were

10137-692: The vessels were often small and rather delicate. It is possible that not a few such vessels were found and identified as pottery. The earliest PN phase is associated with the site of Sha'ar HaGolan in the Jordan Valley. This pottery is sometimes called " Yarmukian Ware". The diagnostic pottery typical of this period is somewhat sophisticated. Its most outstanding aspect is the use of long, narrow, incised bands of lines filled with herringbone decoration, often painted red or yellow. Forms of vessels may be quite delicate and lug handles on small jars with long necks are not uncommon. More common, coarser and less well made vessels are also present but are less diagnostic for

10246-635: The well-known legitimate inscriptions are the Lachish Ewer, Lachish Bowl, the Cypriot Bowl Fragment, and the Ivory Lice Comb. The few known inscriptions from the Late Bronze Age, the 13th and part of the 12th century BCE, show a certain " linearisation " when compared to the earlier, Proto-Sinaitic script , but the undergone process is not yet understood. In 2016, an inscribed elephant ivory lice comb dating to about 1700 BCE

10355-488: Was always handmade. It is also known as Red Black Burnished ware (sometimes hyphenated "Red-Black") in west Syrian and Amuq Valley contexts. In Transcaucasia —from which area it seems ultimately to have originated—the ware is also referred to as Karaz or Pulur ware. As such, it may be associated with the later historic appearance of the people recognised historically as the Hurrians . Petrographic analyses shows some of it

10464-493: Was believed that most of the people of this period were semi-nomadic, but as time goes by more and more evidence of sedentism in this period is being found. In the north is found the first evidence of infiltration of Syrian type pottery in a group of so-called 'Megiddo teapots', small, delicate, wheel-made vessels of high-fired, dark, almost metallic fabric decorated with white, wavy lines. Sites have yielded evidence of local variations in decoration, morphology and fabrics. One such

10573-571: Was built on the platform that had once supported the Israelite palace. At the end of the captivity, some exiled Jews returned to Lachish and built a new city with fortifications. Under the Achaemenid Empire (Level I), a large altar known as the Solar Shrine on the east section of the mound was built. The shrine was abandoned after the area fell in the hands of Alexander the Great . The tell has been unoccupied since then. Initially, Lachish

10682-730: Was commonly found in the Hill Country around Jerusalem and down to Jericho and Bab edh-Dhra in the Jordan Rift Valley . Further south, in the Shephela (piedmont) down to the Northern Negev is found a group of pottery with distinctive striated handles, often double stranded, and sometimes with thin coils of clay wrapped horizontally around where the handles were attached to the vessel walls. Other generic types were made, including more standardized pithoi, often with

10791-476: Was discovered, dating to the mid fifteenth century BCE. The inscription consists of nine letters. The authors of the editio princeps offer to read two words on the inscription, ʿbd meaning "servant, slave" and npt meaning "honey, nectar." The inscription is, however, too fragmentary to suggest much else but represents one of the earliest examples of alphabetic writing from the Levant. Inscribed ewer, found in

10900-488: Was found at Lachish during the Garfinkel excavations. The find is purported to bear the oldest sentence found written in the early Canaanite script . In the editio princeps , the authors suggest to read 15 letters, constituent of a wish to eradicate lice. They offer the following translation: "May this tusk root out the lice of the hai[r and the] beard." In 2018, an inked rim fragment of a Cypriot White Slip II milk bowl

11009-472: Was identified by Flinders Petrie with Tell el-Hesi , an identification supported when a relevant cuneiform tablet was found there. The tablet mentions Zimredda a governor of who is known from one of the Amarna Letters (EA 333). The current identification of Tell ed-Duweir as Lachish was first suggested by William F. Albright in 1929 and subsequently accepted by many scholars. This suggestion

11118-479: Was imported from Cyprus . Due to the influx of imported types of pottery, the pottery of this period must be divided into four sub groups: The local shows that there is a clear evolution of the pottery through the MB to this period. The difference that can be remarked between the two periods is that the juglets that were once of great dispersion go down in popularity and become gray as the Late Bronze Age begins. In fact

11227-592: Was in use) that has become an accepted convention. Pottery continued to be made in quantity and, until quite recently there was thought to have been a thoroughgoing break in traditions from earlier periods, in typology and morphology. While major differences are known and became greater as the Early Bronze Age progressed, the earliest phases show more than a modicum of continuity with Chalcolithic potting traditions. The Early Bronze Age may now be divided up into three sequential phases, Early Bronze I, Early Bronze II and Early Bronze III. Some scholars include an Early Bronze IV in

11336-545: Was made locally. Other local traditions continue and eventually influenced the pottery of the Intermediate Age, which followed. The potter's wheel , used primarily for throwing small bowls using centrifugal force is known from this period. It represents an innovation that was continued in the following period, when it was employed to fashion rims for vessels of certain types. The piriform juglet makes its appearance in this period, but whether it has any connection with

11445-616: Was more common in the north. There are also regional variations with pottery from Transjordan somewhat different from that associated with areas west of the Jordan. Unfortunately relatively few settlements have been dug from this period and most of the pottery known is derived from tombs. That is because most of the major population centers were deserted at the end of Early Bronze III and people tended to settle in much smaller communities. Probably because they had less resources and perhaps had to work harder to keep themselves, they left relatively scanty evidence of their permanent settlements. Once it

11554-411: Was popular in this period for jugs and juglets . A second phase of Early Bronze I may be seen in both the northern and southern regions. In the north much pottery is painted or slipped red and burnished. Gray Burnished ware continues to be made but examples of this ware, in the earlier period finely made and obviously luxury items, are less well made. A related morphological type is a curved bowl with

11663-669: Was probably made somewhere in Lebanon or in the region of Mount Hermon and disseminated to the south, generally as far as the Jezreel Valley . Further south similar morphological types are known, but they are of different wares. Early Bronze III types continue the earlier tradition, but in the north a new ware type, transported from the Caucasus and probably brought overland via Anatolia and Syria , makes its appearance. First discovered at Khirbet Kerak (Tel Bet Yerah) on

11772-514: Was rebuilt by Canaanites, who built two temples. However, this settlement was soon destroyed by another fire around 1130 BCE (cf. nearby fortified Eglon, Canaan ). The site then remained sparsely occupied for a long time (Level V). The reasons for this may have been rebellions and invasions by the Sea Peoples . Four mass graves were found at the site with over 1500 individuals interred, about half women and children. The tombs themselves dated to

11881-558: Was the Starkey-Tufnell British expedition which included James Leslie Starkey as expedition leader, Olga Tufnell , G.L. Harding and C. Inge. It was funded by Charles Marston and Henry Wellcome with the aim of finding the Biblical city of Lachish. They succeeded in finding Lachish, with a "wealth of well-stratified pottery", a "key part of the ceramic corpus of Palestine", and the Lachish letters , c. "written to

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