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as well as by others concerned with broader historical and cultural issues of the era.

Based on analyzing spellings in various inscriptions, he concludes that like other groups of the Sea People, the Tjeker came from western Anatolia or the Aegean. In his paper, Joe D. Seger Baruch Halpern connects the Sea People movement with Cobb Institute of Archaeology the rise of national territorial states. He also tries to identify Mississippi State University some groups of the Sea People. Carl Ehrlich reviews the biblical references to Philistine jdsl @ra.msstate.edu deities. Summarizing this section, he mentions that Dagon was the main god of the Philistines. Other deities associated with the Philistines are Baal and possibly Ashtoret. Then he turns to the archaeological finds. The first item he refers REFERENCES to is the "Ashdoda." In this respect, Yasur-Landau's (2001) identification of this object with Ptgyh should be cited. ConArubas, B. 2006 The Impact of Town Planning at Scythopolis tinuing his review of the finds from Philistine sites. Ehrlich on the Topography of Tel Beth-Shean: A New points to other cultic objects that were utilized by the PhilisUnderstanding of Its Fortifications and Status. tines, such as rhyta, libation vessels, incised scapulae, and Pp. 48-58 in Excavations at Tel Beth-Shean the inscription from Ekron mentioning the goddess Ptgyh, 1989-1996, Vol. 1 : From the Late Bronze Age as well as other inscriptions bearing the names of Asherat IIB to the Medieval Period, by Amihai Mazar. and Baal. Such a survey cannot be complete without giving Beth-Shean Valley Archaeological Project 1. Je- attention to the unique cultic finds from the favissa at Yavneh (Ziffer and Kletter 2007). Ehrlich also points to the tree morusalem: Israel Exploration Society. tives that appear on chalices from Tell es-Safi, yet he does Mazar, A. 2006 Excavations at Tel Beth-Shean 1989-1996, Vol. not refer to a study dedicated to these items and their signifi1 : From the Late Bronze Age IIB to the Medi- cance (Maeir and Shai 2005). In the conclusions, he points eval Period, by Amihai Mazar. Beth-Shean Val- to the differences between the biblical testimony (mainly ley Archaeological Project I. Jerusalem: Israel male divinities) and the archaeological finds (predominance of goddesses). This leads Ehrlich to conclude that Dagon Exploration Society. was not the main Philistine god; instead, the chief god was Seger, J. D. In press Gezer VII: The Middle Bronze and Later Fortifi- a feminine deity. cations in Fields II, IV, and VIII. Winona Lake, Sturt Manning's chapter deals with the difficulties of usIN: Eisenbrauns. ing ''*C analysis dating for the period around 1200 B.C.E., the conservative date for the end of the Late Cypriot IIC and Late Helladic IIIB, and the collapse of the Late Bronze Age cultures in the Levant. The problem is due to the radiocarbon Cyprus, the Sea Peoples and the Eastern Medi- calibration curve. Yet, according to Manning, using radioterranean: Regional Perspectives of Continuity carbon dating in "holistic analyses of sequence(s) of inforand Change (= Scripta Mediterrnea 27-28 [2006- mation" is the path to take to date this problematic period. 2007]), edited by Timothy P. Harrison. Toronto: Ca- Based on this view, he concludes that the traditional dating nadian Institute for iVIediterranean Studies, 2008. is still preferable for those events. 337 pp., 85 figures, 16 tables. Paper. $50.00. [DisThe second portion of the book covers the Sea People tributed in North America by Eisenbrauns] in Cyprus. To shed more light on the process that Cyprus underwent from LC IIC to IIIA, Kevin Fisher highlights The issue of the Sea Peoples has been the object of many the architectural remains. Reviewing some architectural elstudies, although most of these focus on the Philistines, Cy- ements leads Fisher to conclude that even if some of them prus, and the Aegean and their influence on the southern are Aegean in origin, their presence on Cyprus should be Levant. More up-to-date archaeological projects from Cy- understood as adaptations. This was due to economic relaprus, Cilicia, and the northern and southern Levant are now tionships and not as a result of the presence of Aegean coloproducing important data that will enable us to formulate a nists. In examining the Ashlar Building at Enkomi, Fisher better understanding of this phenomenon. This book, com- concludes that the people who built this monumental buildprising papers presented at a conference that took place at ing were not Aegean. The inhabitants were Cypriot elites the University of Toronto in 2006, includes a variety of ar- closely familiar with Aegean customs and architecture, ticles tackling the issue from different perspectives. adopting some of the elements that fit their needs in order The book is divided into four main categories. The first to strengthen their status and power. Lacking, however, is is entitled "Philology, Iconography and Chronology." In the any reference to some of L. Hitchcock's publications (2003; first chapter, Redford identifies the Tjeker and their origin. 2005).

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Laura Gagne discusses the Mycenaean IIIC:1 pottery assemblage from Cyprus. Utilizing ethnographic studies as well as the technological perspectives of the pottery production. Gagne suggests two paths to explain the presence of this style in Cyprus. The first sees Aegean potters as the producers of the Pastoral Style pottery in Cyprus; the other sees Cypriot potters trained in Aegean pottery production and technique in charge of the appearance of the Mycenaean IIIC: 1 in the Levant. Although she concludes that a systematic study was never conducted, and such a study must include all the regions in which this style appears, her study is still too limited to Cyprus and does not relate to relevant and similar studies from other regions (e.g., BenShlomo 2006). In the next chapter, Aristomenes Polyzois suggests that the existence of Aegeans along the Levantine coast and in Cyprus at the end of the Late Bronze Age should be explained as a process of infiltration, which began in the LH II period. Reviewing some aspects of the material culture (mainly pottery but not only) in both regions, Polyzois points to Aegean traditions. He argues that at the end of the Late Bronze Age there was an immigration of people from the west that brought with them an urban culture and other features of material culture that were not local to Cyprus and the Levant. According to Polyzois, we cannot speak about colonization; rather, it was a process that began during the Late Bronze Age as part of trade exchange and concluded in the Late Helladie IIIC. In his view, those Aegean settlers eventually "displace the local inhabitants." This is in contrast to some other studies (e.g., Sweeney and Yasur-Landau 1999; Uziel 2007), which showed that the local population continued to live in the southem coastal plain and among the Philistines. The third part of the book discusses various aspects of the Sea Peoples in the northem Levant. Brian Janeway's chapter deals with Aegean people in Tell Ta'yinat and its vicinity. The Mycenaean IIIC: 1 pottery from the Amuq Valley was locally made. In addition, at the same time that it appears, there is a drastic decline in the trade pattem in the region. Likewise, Aegean-style loom weights show the same phenomenon as the pottery, yet no other Aegean material culture aspects are attested in this region, and there is no evidence for mass migration to this region. Thus, Janeway concludes that Aegean (or Aegeanized) people came to this region and were assimilated and probably took part in the formation of the Neo-Hittite Kingdom of Patina. David Lipovitch's article focuses on culinary features, mainly based on the faunal remains, in order to recognize the customs of the new ethnic group. He compares the faunal remains from three Mycenaean sites with those from Tel Miqne/Ekron and Tell Ta'yinat. The study demonstrates that there is no clear dietary pattem in the Aegean, but there is a preference for beef and pork consumption. At Tel Miqne/ Ekron, pigs were eaten during the Iron Age I, in contrast to the situation in earlier and later periods. At Tell Ta'yinat,

there are no hints of Aegean customs. Lipovitch believes that this behavior reflects adaptation in relation to the environmental conditions. The next chapter, by Lione du Pied, also deals with early Iron Age pottery from the northem Levant, from two coastal sitesRas El-Bassit and Ras Ibn Hani. Du Pied highlights differences between the southern and northern Levant (e.g., the absence of cooking jugs in the northem Levant, and the kinds of decorative motifs). These differences indicate that potters developed local pottery styles and forms. The author also claims that at least at Ras Ibn Hani, there is an indication for continuity from the Late Bronze Age, and thus there is no need to explain the appearance of the Aegean pottery as a large-scale migration process. Similar to S. Sherratt's (1998) point of view, she further argues that "independent" merchants used this pottery in order to build their "new" identity. Yet one has to keep in mind that the wide range of evidence from southem Levantine sites does not support this theory (see, for example, Barako 2000). The final section concentrates on the southern Levant. The first chapter in this section is the paper by Ayelet Gilboa, who offers a fresh look at the topic based on the results and finds from Tel Dor. She suggests that the differences between Philistia and Dor are a result of diverse phenomena. While Stern saw Dor in the Early Iron Age as Sikil (one of the Sea Peoples) and as later being conquered by the Phoenicians, she sees a continuation in the site's material culture. She finds parallels for some of the ceramic repertoire (both decoration and forms) in two regions: Syria and Cyprus. All in all, Gilboa emphasizes that a much wider perspective should be used when dealing with the Sea Peoples phenomenon, and we should not always look for their origin in the Aegean or Cyprus, but rather also in Syria and the Levant. Ann Killebrew claims that the new residences of the southem coastal plain were connected with other "Aegeanized" groups in Cypms and Cilicia. Reviewing some aspects of the Philistine material culture (e.g., ceramics, hearths, bathtubs), Killebrew stresses the relationship between Cypms and the southem Levant coastal plain. She understands this migration to Philistia as colonization. Studying the similarity and differences in material culture (such as pottery, ivory, and seals) between the Philistine's cities (mainly Ashdod and Ekron) leads David Ben-Shlomo to argue that there was interaction between the immigrants and the locals. While at Ashdod there is a continuation in Canaanite and Egyptian presence during the transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age, the finds from the inland cities do not reflect such a scenario. According to this interpretation, at sites like Ashdod the Philistines were a minority and politically weak (in contrast to the Egyptians and Canaanites). Laura Mazow suggests a new understating for the "bathtubs," or at least some of them, claiming that they were used for textile production. According to this interpreta-

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tion, the presence of bathtubs in industrial contexts points to their use. Mazow argues that they were used for fulling wool. The last paper, by Edward Maher, relates to the end of the Iron Age and the abandonment of Philistine Ekron. Maher claims that the Philistines' material culture in the seventh century B.C.E. reflects foreign influence, and for that reason they (the Philistines) could not recover from Nebuchadnezzar's destruction. While he argues for an assimilation process, I would be more hesitant, since there are some other aspects that indicate a unique ethnic identity (e.g., some late biblical narratives identify their origin in the west; the goddess of Ekron in the seventh century B.C.E.; the name of the king of Ekron in the seventh century B.C.E.; the suggestion that unlike other local people, the Philistines did not practice circumcision). According to Maher, faunal and other finds from seventh-century B.C.E. Ekron indicate that that the city was abandoned slightly before the Babylonians approached. The book is well edited, with rare printing errors (e.g., on pp. 44-^6, a few sentences are repeated; the Ahaziah in question was the ruler of the northern kingdom and not of Judah [p. 38]; on p. 325 in the last paragraph there are no spaces between words). Although as a member of the Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project, I may be somewhat subjective, it seems that there are significant lacunae in this conference and booknamely, the lack of contributions from two primary, ongoing excavation projects in Philistia: Ashkelon and Tell es-Safi/Gath. However, the main goals of this book are achieved, as it provides fresh data and new approaches to the study of the Sea People based on new and old excavations as well as the application of new theories. Furthermore, it assembles in one volume, studies that focus on the Sea Peoples in Cyprus as well as the northern and southern Levant. Itzhaq Shai Institute of Archaeology Bar-Ilan University i_shai@yahoo.com

REFERENCES
Barako, T. J. 2000 The Philistine Settlement as Mercantile Phenomenon? American Journal of Archaeology 104: 513-30. Ben-Shlomo, D. 2006 Decorated Philistine Pottery: An Archaeological andArchaeometric Study. BAR Intemational Series 1541. Oxford: Archaeopress.

Hitchcock, L. 2003 "And Above Were Costly Stones, Hewn According to Measurement...." Documentation of Pre-Classical Ashlar Masonry in the East Mediterranean. Pp. 257-67 in METRON: Measuring the Aegean Bronze Age: Proceedings of the 9th International Aegean Conference, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, April 18-21, 2002, ed. K. P. Foster and R. Laffineur. Aegaeum 24. Lige: University of Lige. 2005 "Who Will Personally Invite a Foreigner, Unless He is a Craftsman?": Exploring Interconnections in Aegean and Levantine Architecture. Pp. 69199 in EMPORIA: Aegeans in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean: Proceedings of the 10th Intemational Aegean Conference, Italian School of Archaeology, Athens, April 14-18, 2004, ed. R. Laffineur and E. Greco. 2 vols. Aegaeum 25. Lige: University of Lige. Maeir, A., and Shai, 1. 2005 Iron Age IIA Chalices from Tell es-Safi/Gath. Pp. 357-66 in Timelines: Studies in Honour of Manfred Bietak, Vol. 2, ed. E. Czemy, 1. Hein, H. Hunger, D. Melman, and A. Schwab. Orientaiia Lovaniensia Analecta 149. Leuven: Peeters. Sherratt, S. 1998 "Sea Peoples" and the Economic Structure of the Late Second Millennium in the Eastern Mediterranean. Pp. 292-313 in Mediterranean Peoples in Transition: Thirteenth to Early Tenth Centuries bce: In Honor of Professor Trude Dothan, ed. S. Gitin, E. Stem, and A. Mazar. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society. Sweeney, D., and Yasur-Landau, A. 1999 Following the Path of the Sea Persons: The Women in the Medinet Habu Reliefs. Tel Aviv 26: 116^5. Yasur-Landau, A. 2001 The Mother(s) of All Philistines? Aegean Enthroned Deities of the 12th-l 1th Century Philistia. Pp. 329^5 in POTNIA: Deities and Religion in the Aegean Bronze Age: Proceedings of the 8th Intemational Aegean Conference, Gteborg, Gteborg University, 12-15 April 2000, ed. R. Laffineur and R. Hgg. Aegaeum 22. Lige: University of Lige. Uziel, J. 2007 The Development Process of Philistine Material Culture: Assimilation, Acculturation and Everything in Between. Levant 39: 165-73. Ziffer, L, and Kletter, R. 2007 In the Field of the Philistines: Cult Furnishings from the Favissa of a Yavneh Tample. Tel Aviv: Eretz Israel Museum.

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