Instructions
Ancient Jerusalem during the Iron Age: Exploring Disciplinary Approaches (10%)
Much of what we know about how people imaginatively figured Jerusalem in the past stems from primary sources. Analysis of written accounts can provide us with insight on issues such as conflicting religious traditions associated with different locations in the city, aspects of collective religious identity, the details of ritual performances no longer practiced, internal ideological divisions within a specific religious community, or reactions to the loss of sacred locales. However, archaeological investigations tend to engage different datasets that are often non-epigraphic and fragmentary, requiring a different set of methodological approaches to interpret the material. Often, archaeology can either nuance or challenge the historicity of a certain text or textual tradition. The goal of this assignment is for you to become aware of methodological approaches employed by historians vs. archaeologists and to identify the benefits and challenges of working with both epigraphic and archaeological data.
What am I doing in this assignment?
- selecting an excavation in the city of Jerusalem dated to the Iron Age;
- evaluating its interpretation in relation to the epigraphic and archaeological record, and
- discussing how the combination of data nuances or challenges our understanding of ancient Jerusalem during the Iron Age.
How should my paper be organized?
- Section 1: Introduction to site and importance
- Section 2: Archaeological analysis
- What is the archaeological evidence? How has it been interpreted/analyzed? When does the site date to? How did it function? Are there debates/ambiguity in how it can be interpreted?
- Section 3: Textual analysis
- How has epigraphic/textual data been analyzed in relation to the archaeological data?
- How have historian’s and/or religious studies scholars interpreted the epigraphic data?
- Is there a conflict in how these text have been used by archaeologists vs. historians? Is there any ambiguity in how people can interpret these texts?What are the limitations of such data?
- Section 4: Critique and reflection
- How well-founded do you find this interpretation? Why?
- How has this interpretation contributed to the construction of Jerusalem as religious space?
What are the paper requirements?
Your paper should be 2000 words in length (4-5 pages; excludes bibliography and captions). You must engage at least 5 academic sources, one of which must be the actual archaeological report of the site (or preliminary report is fine). If it is a modern Yes, Magness can count as one of your sources. Please include images that can be referenced in your discussion. Make sure they are captioned properly with citations. You will need a bibliography in Chicago style.
Is there an example of the type of analytical writing I can look at?
Yes, please use Chandler Collin’s discussion “Did Hezekiah Tear Down Houses to Fortify Jerusalem’s Wall” Subsatck: https://approachingjerusalem.substack.com/p/did-hezekiah-tear-down-houses-to. Note that you cannot evaluate the Broad Wall given Collin’s analysis serves as the model.
What are some possible locations from which I can select?
- Stepped stone structure
- Large stone structure
- The Ophel
- Houses built into Stepped Stone Structure
- Arnona excavation
- Givati Parking Lot Excavations (any Iron Age feature)
- “Moat” in City of David: https://www.timesofisrael.com/archaeologists-find-fortifying-moat-in-city-of-david-solving-150-year-mystery/
- Solomonic City Wall
- Warren’s shaft
- Tel Moza
- Siloam Tunnel/”Hezekiah’s Tunnel” and inscription
- Rock-cut Pool
- For any other Iron Age remains, shoot me an email to confirm!
Use the references in Magness’s discussion as a starting place to begin compiling references. You can access this book via the LMU Library website (just make sure you are logged in). Also look on the Approaching Jerusalem Substack: https://approachingjerusalem.substack.com, as well as do some preliminary searches online—note that the Times of Israel and Haaretz.com have staff that cover excavations in the city and do a good job on reporting. News articles can therefore serve as a starting place for you to understand the site’s relationship to text and its importance for the city’s development.
NO AI!!!!!!