Glad to report the publication of a new article:

Maeir, A. M. 2026. “Cult, Craft, and Context: Reassessing the Archaeological Interface of Ritual and Production at Iron Age Tell es-Safi/Gath.” Diffusion-Fundamentals 40: 6.

The paper was published in a special issue of the online journal “Diffusion-Fundamentals” in honor of Prof. Dr. Angelika Belejung’s 65th birthday.

Abstract:

The relationship between cultic activity and production has long been recognized as a structural feature of ancient Near Eastern societies, yet it is frequently conceptualized through analytical dichotomies that separate ritual from economic practice. This study presents a comprehensive reassessment of this relationship through a contextually grounded analysis of Iron Age remains from Tell es-Safi/Gath. Focusing on chalices, figurines, and inscriptions within well-defined Iron IIA contexts, and emphasizing their stratigraphic, spatial, and depositional characteristics, the paper demonstrates that ritualized practices permeated domestic, industrial, and formally cultic settings. Rather than proposing a generalized model, the study advances a context-sensitive framework for identifying ritualization within specific archaeological settings. Comparative evidence from Philistia and the southern Levant indicates that these patterns are variable and locally contingent. The results challenge entrenched dichotomies between “official” and “domestic” religion and call for a reassessment of the integration of ritual and production in Iron Age societies.

Check it out!

This week is going to be quite a busy week. In addition to my regular teaching at BIU, I have 4 additional lectures!

On Tuesday, I will co-present a lecture in my departmental seminar on our fascinating project in Ethiopia.

Then, on Wednesday, I have two presentations at the Institute of Archaeology at Hebrew University. The first one will be given at the graduate studies seminar, on “A Perspective on the Scientific and Interpretive Turn in Biblical Archaeology”, in which I will present a personal perspective on how archaeology in the Levant has transformed in the last decades, particularly through facets of incorporation of scientific perspectives and of more sophisticated interpretative trends. This will be followed by a presentation in an evening in honor of the publication of the 3rd volume of the final reports on the Tell Qasile excavations, by Prof. Ami Mazar. I will talk about the “Northern Philistines” in the region of the Yarkon River (as opposed to the “northern Philistines” that some suggest existed in the Amuq region in southern Turkey.

Then, on Thursday, I will present a paper at the Annual Archaeological Congress in Israel (also held at the Hebrew University) on “Insular Neighborhoods in the Iron Age southern Levant”, in which I will shine a light on a little known neighborhood type in the Iron Age, and in general stress the importance of the study of neighborhoods. This lecture is based on an article that should be published in the near future in ‘Atiqot.

Busy week, but should be fun and interesting!

Here’s a short piece that I wrote for the Times of Israel in which I discuss the disturbing connections between archaeology, heritage, “Jerusalem Syndrome” and contemporary politics in Israel.

Check it out!

Today, this blog passed the mark of 960,000 views and over 250,000 visitors, since it was started 20 years ago! Wow – very cool to think about how many people, from all over the world, have seen something about the archaeological research that I have been involved in during this time.

And to top it off, here is a map of the world marking the countries from which all the various visitors originate. As you can see, save for 4-5 countries, there are representatives from every country in the globe!

This is really quite mind blowing!

Just wanted to share a picture of James Starkey, excavator of Lachish in the 1930s, that I took while visiting Lachish today (in the very nice new entrance building).

Clearly, the current generation of archaeologists are way ahead as far as good looks go…

Just saying:-)

Nir Hasson of Haaretz just published an article (so far only in Hebrew) where he shows that there appears to be some serious discrepencies between what Ms. Schrieber (who was chosen to be new candidate for directing the IAA (see what I wrote on this previously here) claimed in her CV and what is the actual on the ground reality.

As opposed to what she claimed that she has previous experience directing hundreds of workers and a 100 million NIS budget, from what Nir could find out, from Israeli and US official reports, the reality is quite from from this.

Reminds me of a saying of John Lennon: “Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.”

Ms. Schrieber’s candicacy for director of the IAA is becoming more and more problematic and it appears that she will have no choice but the back out of taking this job. Then, someone with real credentials (managerial, and perhaps even background in archaeology or heritage) can be chosen.

For those who can’t access the Haaretz site, here is the article in PDF form:

Yesterday, the Israel Ministry of Heritage announced that a committee had chosen the new director general of the Israel Antiquities Authority, to replace the current director, Eli Escuzido. They announced that Ms. Esti Schrieber had been chosen for the job. Ms. Schrieber is currently the head a non-profit organization that is connected HABAD (the lubavitch hassidic movement).

Since this announcement, the entire archaeological community in Israel has been up in arms, as it appears that Ms. Schrieber was chosen despite not having a sufficient backgrounding in directing a complex organization (the IAA has a budget of ca. 700 million NIS, and deals with multiple govermental and public agencies in Israel and abroad) and she also does not have any background in archaeology. In addition to this, she was chosen over several other highly qualified candidates, for no apparent reason.

So a veritable storm has started, which besides a thousand emails and whattsapp messages about this, I’ve been interviewed by several Israeli media channels (so far in Hebrew, here, here and here, and now in English, here) and more stuff should come out.

Unfortunately, it appears that political loyalty – and not professional qualifications – seems to have taken the lead in this choice.

I seriously hope this can be blocked – if not it will be a serious blow to archaeology in Israel!

I’ll keep you posted!

In a very important statement from executive board of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA), the board made it clear that the EAA should stick to dealing with archaelogy, and not make statements on political and international issues in topics not connected to archaeology, unless these positions reflect the decisions of international bodies, such as the UN or the EU.

This is very timely, as it corrects and negates attempts by anti- Israel political activists, misusing the EAA platform and their membership in the EAA, to try and boycott Israeli scholars and institutions.

Bravo! Let us, professional archaeologists world over, all deal with what we were placed on earth to do – conduct cutting edge archaeology!

Here’s the full statement.

It’s nice to get some sanity occasionally in these crazy times!

Glad to report that Orr Bendor submitted the corrected version of his PhD to Bar-Ilan University today, and hopefully will receive full authorization of its completion in the coming days.

The PhD dissertation, written under the supervision of Prof. Irit Amit and myself, is an excellent study on managing cultural heritage resources and sites in the context of “Open Spaces,” with Tel Hazor, Tell es-Safi/Gath and Lahav as case study sites.

The full reference is:

Bendor, O. 2025. “Managing Cultural Heritage Resources in Israel’s Open Spaces: Characteristics, Implications, and Management Patterns. The Interface Between Archaeological Sites and Open Spaces.” Hebrew with English Abstract. Ph.D. diss., Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan.

Way to go Orr!

Glad to report the appearance of a new article of mine on the end and disappearance of the Philistines, based on the archaeological and textual evidence.

The full reference is:

Maeir, A. M. 2025. “The End and Disappearance of the Biblical Philistines: Archaeological and Historical Evidence and Comparison to the Israelite and Judahite Exiles.” Annual of the Japanese Biblical Institute 50: 92–110.

The article can be found online here (scroll down to the bottom for the articles of this issue).

Enjoy!