Yasur-Lau Assaf. Household Archaeology in Ancient Israel and Beyond
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192 david ben-shlomo
Psi and “Psi-related” gurines (Fig. 2: 1–2, 4–6) depict a schematic
standing female with its hands uplied (for the Mycenaean prototype,
see Furumark 1941: 86; French 1971: 133–139, Pl. 22).
5
is type of
gurine appears at Tel Ashdod (Fig. 2: 4–6; Dothan and Ben-Shlomo
2005: 122, Figs. 3.36: 2–3, 3.62: 2, 3.80: 4, 3.115: 5), Ekron (Fig. 2:
1–2; Ben-Shlomo and Press 2009), and Ashkelon (Ben-Shlomo and
Press 2009; Stager et al. 2008: 266), and at Tell Qasile as a surface nd
(Mazar 1986: 14, Fig. 6: 2, Pl. 3b). Where the context is known, these
gurines come from domestic contexts (see Ben-Shlomo and Press
2009: 23–26).
Various narrow heads with bird-shaped faces may also belong to
this type (Fig. 2: 3), while shorter heads with a concave “polos” hat
(or hairdress) may belong to seated female gurines (e.g., Fig. 2: 8),
or other unknown types. Several examples of the Psi type preserve a
painted decoration depicting the dress and include horizontal lines
and an X-shaped strap on the back (Fig. 2: 2) or a hatched pattern
appearing on the front of the gurine, as seen in an example from
Ashdod (Fig. 2: 4). is decoration recalls similar LHIIIC gurines
from Phylakopi (French 1985: Fig. 6.2: 1521, 2007), Leandi (French
2006: Pl. 73: 21), and Enkomi on Cyprus (Levels IIIB–C, of LCIIIB,
see, e.g., Courtois 1971: Figs. 149: 687–688, 151: 657) and indicates
that the Philistines knew the details of LHIIIC gurines. Other Phi-
listine examples depict a more schematic version of this type with no
decoration (Fig. 2: 5–6).
During the LHIIIC, the Psi gurine is probably the most common
Mycenaean gurine (French 1971: 133–134, Pl. 20: d; see also Kilian
1979: Figs. 13–15; French 2006: 262, Pl. 73: 23). is gurine type
also appears on Crete and similarities can be noted between the “Psi-
related” gurines from Philistia and those from LMIIIC and post-
Minoan Crete (D’Agata 1999: 103, 133–136: Pls. 68: C.4.1, 80: D.2.12,
81; D’Agata 2001: 347, 351). Similar Psi gurines appear on Cyprus at
the same time, for example at Maa-Palaeokastro (Fig. 2: 7; Karageorghis
and Demas 1988: Pl. CCXXI: 19). Especially noteworthy is a large con-
centration of these gurines in the courtyard west of the Sanctuary of
5
It should be noted that most fragmentary standing female gurines from Iron I
Philistia probably belong to this type and not to “mourning” female gurines, which
are depicted with their hands on top of their head (see Dothan 1982: 237–249), as
there are no signs of hands having been attached to the head; moreover, the “mourn-
ing” gurine even in the Aegean is quite rare.
early iron age domestic material culture 193
the Ingot God at Enkomi (Courtois 1971: 326–343, Figs. 141–154). It
should be noted, however, that this assemblage is found in a public
cult context, which is markedly dierent from the examples from
Philistia, which are found in private dwellings. On Cyprus this type
of gurine continues into the Cypro-Geometric period (Karageorghis
1993: 82–85, Pls. 36–37), but in Philistia it is not found in post-Iron I
contexts (Ben-Shlomo and Press 2009).
A second type of terracotta gurine that is typical of Philistine
material culture is the seated female gurine or “Ashdoda” (Fig. 2: 9;
Dothan 1971: Fig. 91: 1; Dothan 1982: 234–237; Schmidt 1999: 608–
616, Type III; Yasur-Landau 2001). is gurine displays a mixture of
Aegean and Canaanite features (Brug 1985: 186), yet its concept prob-
ably originates with Mycenaean seated female gurines (French 1971:
167–172; Dothan 1982: 234). According to the evidence from Ekron,
Ashdod, and Ashkelon, this type of gurine does not appear before the
latter part of the twelh century bce, nor does it appear in the typical
Philistine Monochrome decoration or fabric. ese gurines are either
decorated in Philistine Bichrome style or not at all. Similar to the Psi
type as noted above, the “Ashdoda” type is found in domestic contexts
(Yasur-Landau 2001: 336–337; Ben-Shlomo and Press 2009: 23–26).
Another type of Aegean-style gurine, which appears only in the
earliest Iron I levels at Ekron, is the decorated bovine gurine (Fig. 3).
Decorated zoomorphic gurines are not otherwise known in the Early
Iron Age southern Levant. Among the eleven known examples from
Ekron, several are made of ne, calcareous, well-levigated clay (Fig. 3:
1–2).
6
e most complete example was found on the eastern slope of
Field I in Stratum VIIA (early twelh century bce) (Fig. 3: 1–2 right;
Ben-Shlomo 2006b: 190, Fig. 5.1: 1). Parallels come from Tiryns (e.g.,
Weber-Hiden 1990: Pls. 41.71, 47.149), Phylakopi (French 1985: Pl.
46.c.148), and LCIIIA Enkomi (Dikaios 1971: Pl. 137: 23). Another g-
urine from Ekron of the same type was found near a Stratum VI (late
twelh-century-bce) pottery kiln in Field INE (Ben-Shlomo 2006b:
190). A gurine coming from a Stratum VI ll (Fig. 3: 3) is very similar
to an example from LCIIIA Enkomi (Fig. 3: 4; Dikaios 1971: 735, Pl.
170.1160) and possibly one from Leandi (French 2006: 263, Pl. 75:
6
e clay recipe is similar to the clay used for ne Philistine Monochrome (Myce-
naean IIIC: 1 or Philistine 1) pottery in Philistia (Ben-Shlomo 2006a: 24; Dothan
et al. 2006: 72); both chemical analysis and petrography have shown that these bovine
gurines were locally made (Ben-Shlomo 2006a: 44, 189, Samples MQ59–60).
194 david ben-shlomo
Figure 3. Decorated bovine gurines from Tel Miqne/Ekron: (1) Object No.
6646, Basket INE.69.18; (2) Object Nos. 194 and 6646; (3) Object No. 1364,
Basket INE.2.571; Enkomi: (4) Dikaios 1971: Pl. 170: 11; and Maa-Palaeokastro:
(5) Karageorghis and Demas 1988: Pl. CLXXI: 154.
60). Other decorated bovine gurines from Cyprus, of similar style
and probably made locally, include examples from Maa-Palaeokastro
(Fig. 3: 5; Karageorghis and Demas 1988: Pls. CCXII: 424, CLXXI: 150,
154), Enkomi (Dikaios 1971: Pl. 131: 41, 43, 45), and Sinda (Furumark
and Adelman 2003: 118, Pl. 37).
According to previous research (Ben Shlomo and Press 2009),
7
the
Aegean-style gurines from Philistia probably represent domestic cult
7
Our argument is based on the context of both of these nds in Philistia and those
in the LHIIIC Aegean.
early iron age domestic material culture 195
activities of Philistine immigrants who retained elements of the reli-
gion of their motherland. is evidence does not seem to indicate the
presence or activities of an elite or priestly class originating from a
palatial Mycenaean society (related to the “hearth-wanax” ideology,
see below), but rather the private household activities of a non-elite
population. Similar domestic ritual activities associated with such
gurine types are probably seen in several LHIIIC Early contexts in
the Argolid at Tiryns (Kilian 1979: 290–291; 1990: 195–196; Maran
2001a: 117–120; 2006a) and Mycenae (French 1981a: 45), as well as
on LMIIIC Crete (D’Agata 2001: 348–349).
3. Undecorated Zoomorphic Figurines
Crude, undecorated, terracotta zoomorphic gurines from Early Iron
Age Philistia have not yet received as much attention as other aspects
of Philistine material culture. While zoomorphic gurines are com-
mon in various periods in the southern Levant, such as the Pre-Pottery
Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age, the large number of zoomorphic
gurines found in Philistine cities, for example at Tel Miqne/Ekron,
may indicate that this is a signicant phenomenon related to Philistine
material culture, especially since such gurines are not common in
earlier, LBII contexts. More than forty undecorated zoomorphic gu-
rines (mostly fragments) were found in Iron I levels at Tel Miqne/
Ekron (Fig. 4). A few Iron I examples were published from Ashdod
(Dothan 1971: Fig. 3: 4; Dothan and Ben-Shlomo 2005: 123, Fig. 3.36:
8; possibly Dothan and Porath 1993: 79, Fig. 35: 7), and some have also
been reported from Iron I levels at Ashkelon (Ross Voss and M. Press,
personal communication). Most of these gurines are made of coarse
clay rich with organic temper. ey were not red at a high tempera-
ture and in many cases have black soot residues, as if they were placed
in a re. Some gurines are very brittle, which may suggest that oth-
ers were not preserved or were not recognized during excavation and
therefore not published. e latter may be particularly true of the
excavations at Ashdod in the 1960s. Most zoomorphic gurines are
found in diverse contexts, including domestic, public, and open areas,
and probably do not come from primary deposits in most cases.
e gurines were schematically modeled using the ngertips, and
only a few typical characteristic details are portrayed, although more
detailed and naturalistically shaped ones occur as well (as in Fig. 4: 3).
196 david ben-shlomo
Figure 4. Undecorated zoomorphic gurines from Tel Miqne/Ekron: (1) Object
No. 7587, Basket INE.17.100; (2) Object No. 5558, Basket INE.36.167; (3) Object
No. 4708, Basket ISW.3.387; (4) Object No. 7004, Basket IIINE.8.628; (5) Object
No. 1625, Basket IVNW.25.195; (6) Object No. 176, Basket INE.5.218; (7) Object
No. 5159, Basket IIINE.8.411.
Among the smaller gurines, most details were created by pinching
the clay rather than by application, with details formed only through
incisions and ngernail marks (Fig. 4: 5). In some cases, the animal
depicted cannot be identied since the objects are too fragmentary or
lack indicative anatomical details. However, it seems that the most
common animals depicted are bovine. ese can usually be identi-
ed by their horned heads (Fig. 4: 3–4; albeit this part is oen not
early iron age domestic material culture 197
preserved). Other identifying details include a hump on the back or
nape, typical of the Asiatic zebu (Bos indicus) bovine (Fig. 4: 3–4), a
dewlap on the neck, and a stumpy body, which is ovoid or rounded in
section. A nearly complete Asiatic zebu bovine gurine, including the
shoulder hump, was found in Tel Miqne/Ekron Stratum VI. Although
very small, it is quite detailed (Fig. 4: 3). An example from Stratum VIB
debris (Fig. 4: 4), which includes only the front part of the gurine,
has a schematic head with two pinched horns or ears and an applied
triangle-shaped bulge on the nape, indicating that this gurine is a
bovine. A ball-shaped pellet was applied between the front legs. e
meaning of the ball between the legs is not clear; it might depict the
lower dewlap of the animal or an object tied to it. e gurine also has
soot marks. Several additional zoomorphic gurines have a suspension
loop attached to their back (Fig. 4: 2, 6). ese gurines were prob-
ably hung by a string, possibly as tokens or pendants. Another animal
gurine found is a horse (Fig. 4: 6), which also has a suspension loop
and soot marks. e horse has a long arched neck, slender body, and
the remains of a mane. A complete gurine with an unhorned head
and an in-curving tail (Fig. 4: 7) possibly depicts a dog. A body of a
soot-covered gurine, probably a bovine (Fig. 4: 1), from Tel Miqne/
Ekron was found in “cult room” 16 in Field INE,
8
which is dated to the
early twelh century bce (Stratum VIIA) (Dothan 2003: 208, Fig. 17;
Gitin et al. 2006: 36–37). e large number of bovine gurines during
the Early Iron Age at Tel Miqne/Ekron may be connected to a rise in
the animal’s economic value during this period (something that may
also be reected in the archaeozoological data from Tel Miqne/Ekron,
see above).
Undecorated, crude, zoomorphic gurines were published from the
LHIIIC Tiryns Unterburg (Kilian 1978a: 451–452, Fig. 7; Melissa Vetters,
personal communication),
9
as well as LHIIIC Leandi (French 2006:
258, 263, Pls. 74: 58, 85, 87–88, 75: 65). Cretan LMIIIC examples come
from Agia Triada (D’Agata 1999: 59, Pl. XXVI: C1.44–45). Similar types
of crude zoomorphic gurines have a long history in Cretan “peak
sanctuaries” as well (e.g., Karetsou 1981: 147, Fig. 21; Peateld 1992:
72, Fig. 17). Twelh-century-bce Cypriot examples are known from
8
A group of six or seven gurine fragments was found in or near a room in Field
INE.3 (Dothan 2003: 208, Fig. 17) that has been interpreted as a cultic room.
9
I wish to thank Melissa Vetters of Heidelberg University, who is currently working
on the gurines from Tiryns, for sharing with me some of her yet unpublished results.
198 david ben-shlomo
Enkomi (Dikaios 1971: 692, Pls. 131: 39–40, 131: 46–48, 137: 16–16a,
177: 1–4) and Maa-Palaeokastro (Karageorghis and Demas 1988: Pls.
CXX: 18, 113, CC: 317).
e Cypriot and Aegean undecorated zoomorphic gurines are
similar to the Philistine ones in the type of clay, the soot marks, the
modeling of the details (the pinching technique and the incisions),
and the types of animals represented—mostly bovines but other spe-
cies as well. ese gurines may represent a domestic cult or other
symbolic practices, maybe in a manner similar to voodoo or “sym-
pathetic witchcra” (similar in a way to those attested, for example,
by similar Neolithic gurines; Schmandt-Besserat 1997). In any case,
these objects could have been characteristic of post-palatial society in
the Aegean and in the eastern Mediterranean, occurring both in the
primary urban sites and in remote peak sanctuaries. However, the
cult that may be represented by these gurines is dierent from that
related to the LHIIIB palatial “hearth-wanax” religious ideology (Kil-
ian 1988a; Wright 1995), which is very centralized and homogenized,
with most rituals and paraphernalia occurring in major shrines (see,
e.g., Kilian 1990: 195–198; Hägg 1995). Instead of looking for the west-
ern origin and consequential inuence of this cult and its related gu-
rines on the Philistine culture, it should be noted that these gurines
are particularly common in Philistia in the early twelh century and
are essentially rooted in earlier periods in the Levant. e appearance,
therefore, of this type of zoomorphic gurine in the Aegean, especially
on the mainland, could represent inuences from the Levant or from
Cyprus in this period. If this were the case, then the inhabitants of the
sites on Cyprus and in Philistia, where these gurines were found, may
have developed specic customs independently, maybe as a result of
interactions with indigenous traditions and then inuenced their peers
on the Greek mainland. In any case, the appearance of the undeco-
rated zoomorphic gures in Philistia, Cyprus, and the Aegean may
indicate continuous communication, or a koiné, between populations
in these regions.
4. Clay Spools or Cylindrical Loom Weights
Cylindrical clay objects identied as loom weights, spools, or reels
(Fig. 5) are also considered an “Aegeanized” aspect of Philistine mate-
rial culture (Yasur-Landau 2002: 199; 2003a: 49). eir size varies from
early iron age domestic material culture 199
5 to 10 cm in length and 3 to 6 cm in width. ey are either perfect
cylinders or cylindrical with a pinched-in center and are either unred
or poorly red. is class of artifacts in the Mediterranean, dated to
the late second millennium bce, was studied in detail by Rahmstorf
(2003, 2005) and will only be briey described here. Spools appear at
Ashdod in Stratum XIIIa (Dothan and Porath 1993: 64, Fig. 24: 3–5,
Pl. 39: 4), Ashkelon (Stager 1995: 346; 2006: 11), Tell eṣ-Ṣa (A. M.
Maeir, personal communication), and Tel Miqne/Ekron (Fig. 5; Bierling
1998: Pl. 7: b; Shamir 1991), during the Early Iron Age; they appear
in large quantities at Tel Miqne/Ekron and Ashkelon (Shamir 1991;
Stager 1995: 346). e function of these objects is not entirely clear,
but it seems that, according to their nd spots (in large concentrated
groups, sometimes in straight lines, Rahmstorf 2005: 156), their gen-
eral shape and size, and Cypro-Geometric iconographic representa-
tions (Rahmstorf 2005: 155, Pl. 22: 2), they were used as loom weights
(Rahmstorf 2005: 156), although in certain contexts they could also
have had other uses. Due to their simple shape and available mate-
rial, they may have been easily produced for a domestic textile indus-
try. ese traits may also have been important considerations for an
immigrant household. Spools have been seen as an especially impor-
tant ethnic marker reecting Aegean female immigrants and domestic
weaving practices (Yasur-Landau 2002: 174, 184; Rahmstorf 2005).
In Philistia these spools appear in the earliest Iron I strata (as
Ashdod Stratum XIIIa). ey appear rather suddenly in Tiryns during
the LHIIIC Early/Middle (over 200 examples; Rahmstorf 2005: 146,
Pl. 20: 5, Horizon 20), as well as in LHIIIC Middle Aegean sites, such
as Kynos, Bakali-Magula (Rahmstorf 2003: 403; 2005: Appendices
1–2) and Leandi (Evely 2006: 296–300, Fig. 5.15–16), where their
appearance is contemporaneous with or possibly even later than
their appearance in Philistia and Cyprus. On Crete, clay spools seem
to appear somewhat earlier, during the LMIIIB2 (Rahmstorf 2005:
149), but it seems that most examples come from the LMIIIC. On
Cyprus, spools are dated to the LCIIIA and are found, for example, at
Maa-Palaeokastro, where 73 were reported (Karageorghis and Demas
1988: Pls. CLXXXVII–CLXXXIX; Rahmstorf 2005: Appendix 2), and
at Kition, where 39 examples were found, dispersed in various units
(see Rahmstorf 2005: 150, Figs. 2–3). Similar spools were found at
Tell Taʿyinat (Janeway 2007: Fig. 6) and throughout the Iron Age
at Tell As in Syria (Cecchini 2000: 216–219, Fig. 1, and more refer-
ences for Syria therein), as well as at the Iron IIB kiln site of Kfar
200 david ben-shlomo
Figure 5. Clay spool from Tel Miqne/Ekron Stratum VI (Object No. 11565,
Basket IVNE.9.259).
Menahem, near Tell eṣ-Ṣa/Gath (Ben-Shlomo 2006a: 103, Fig. 2.11).
10
us, it seems that in the Iron II, this type of loom weight became
quite common at Syrian sites and was not limited to Philistine sites
(Cecchini 2000: 219–220; Rahmstorf 2005: 153).
It seems that spools should be related to the post-palatial material
culture, probably indicating a change in weaving techniques (Rahm-
storf 2005: 155, 159–160). e appearance of spools occurs on Cyprus
and in Philistia in the very early Iron Age I, not earlier than their
occurrence in the Aegean. Furthermore, in the Aegean, these objects
were not very common in earlier periods. ese facts may indicate that
the clay spools do not represent a Mycenaean weaving technique trans-
ferred to the east during the twelh century, but rather that certain
multilateral inuences within the eastern Mediterranean contributed
to the distribution of these objects and the techniques they represent,
or that their appearance was due to an inuence from outside the
10
At Kfar Menahem, these spools may have been used (also?) as kiln spacers.
early iron age domestic material culture 201
eastern Mediterranean.
11
Yet, their wide distribution in Syria during
the Iron II may hint toward a Levantine origin for this artifact. us,
the appearance of clay spools in relatively large quantities in Philistia,
Cyprus, and Greece, during the twelh century bce seems to indicate
a continuous communication or a koiné, between certain populations
in all of these regions.
Discussion
Aer a period of two centuries of a developed Mycenaean urban pal-
ace culture on the Greek mainland, there followed a period of sudden
and severe crisis. e “hearth-wanax” ideology of the LHIIIB changed
in the twelh century into a more “aristocratic” political structure in
which power was divided or shied among various strong families or
clans (Maran 2001a, 2006a; Dickinson 2006: 61). e new sociopo-
litical system may have been a return to a social order of “competing
chiey groups,” possibly similar to one existing in an earlier period in
Mycenaean political history (Wright 1995: 72–73). is political struc-
ture may have relied on a certain “legitimacy” derived from the previ-
ous palatial system and obtained by curated symbolic items or through
family lineage (Maran 2006a). In any case, it was much less central-
ized than the previous palatial system, and the strong connection that
had previously been established between government and religion was
broken (Hägg 1995; Maran 2001a: 120–121). Instability during this
period is reected in strong fortications, large storage facilities, and
destruction levels at sites such as Tiryns, Leandi, and Koukounaries
in the Cyclades (omatos 2005: 78–83; Dickinson 2006: 69–72).
e collapse of the Mycenaean palatial sites in the Argolid was
related possibly to an earthquake or ooding (Maran 2001a: 117),
heavy droughts, or a combination of warfare and raids (see Drews
1993). On Cyprus, however, unlike in the Argolid, at most sites there
is a continuation from the thirteenth to the twelh century; a sharp
change in settlement and burial patterns occurred only later, during
the eleventh century (Iacovou 1998: 334–336). It is important to note
however that many of the Aegeanized components appear to a large
11
Rahmstorf (2003) suggested that these objects represent inuence from other
regions, such as the western Balkans.