New technology interprets archaeological findings from Biblical times
A breakthrough achieved by researchers from four Israeli universities—Tel Aviv University, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Bar-Ilan University and Ariel University—will enable archaeologists to identify burnt materials discovered in excavations and estimate their firing temperatures.
Applying their method to findings from ancient Gath (Tell es-Safi in central Israel), the researchers validated the Biblical account, “About this time Hazael King of Aram went up and attacked Gath and captured it. Then he turned to attack Jerusalem” (2 Kings 12, 18). They explain that, unlike previous methods, the new technique can determine whether a certain item (such as a mud brick) underwent a firing event even at relatively low temperatures, from 200°C and up. This information can be crucial for correctly interpreting the findings.
The multidisciplinary study was led by Dr. Yoav Vaknin from the Sonia & Marco Nadler Institute of Archaeology, Entin Faculty of Humanities, at Tel Aviv