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Radiocarbon dating the Iron Age in the Levant: a Bayesian model for six ceramic phases and six transitions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Israel Finkelstein  and
Eli Piasetzky
Israel Finkelstein
Affiliation:
The Jacob M. Alkow Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel (Email: fink2@post.tau.ac.il)
Eli Piasetzky
Affiliation:
The Sackler School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel (Email: eip@tauphy.tau.ac.il)
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Abstract

The Bayesian model presented in this article is the first attempt to produce a chronological framework for the Iron Age in the Levant, using radiocarbon dating alone. The model derives from 339 determinations on 142 samples taken from 38 strata at 18 sites. The framework proposes six ceramic phases and six transitions which cover c. 400 years, between the late twelfth and mid eighth centuries BC. It furnishes us with a new scientific backbone for the history of Iron Age Levant.

The article is supported by an online supplement which can be found in at http://antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/finkelstein324

Keywords

LevantIron Ageradiocarbon datingchronology debateBayesian modelbiblical history
Type
Research articles
Information
Antiquity , Volume 84 , Issue 324 , June 2010 , pp. 374 - 385
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 2010

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