Eli Itkin
Ph.D Student
Thesis Title: " Between the Empires”: The Southern Coastal Plain of Israel and the Western Negev from the Iron Age IIB to the Neo-Babylonian Period
Advisors: Prof. Alexander Fantalkin and Prof. Emeritus Eliezer D. Oren
My doctoral research deals with the Southern Coastal Plain of Israel and the Western Negev under the control of the Neo-Assyrian, Egyptian, and Neo-Babylonian empires during the Iron Age IIB–C and the Neo-Babylonian period (8th–6th centuries BCE). The importance of the region stems from its location in the southwestern frontier of the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian empires and its function as a border zone between these major powers and Egypt. Although several studies have dealt with Philistia during the periods in question, they often focused their attention on the Neo-Assyrian empire, largely ignoring the local cultures and other key players within the region (Egypt, Phoenicia, and semi-nomadic tribes). The study's main goal is to archaeologically examine this border region during the late Iron Age and Neo-Babylonian period, emphasizing its local inhabitants and the manifestations of imperial involvement. This is done through a comprehensive analysis of the stratigraphy and ceramic assemblages from two previously unpublished sites in the Southern Coastal Plain and the Western Negev: Tel Haror and Tell er-Ruqeish. An in-depth analysis of these sites allows us to define and underline changes in material culture during the Iron IIB, Iron IIC and the Neo-Babylonian Period. The results of this study will shed new light on the political, cultural, and socio-economic interactions within this important border region and will provide a framework for experts in numerous fields, such as Southern Levantine archaeology, Near Eastern studies, history, and biblical studies when dealing with frontier zones under imperial rule
Projects:
Member of the Ashdod-Yam Excavation Project (project site >)
Publications:
Lorenzon, M., Cutillas-Victoria, B., Itkin, E. and Fantalkin, A. 2024. Masters of mudbrick: Geoarchaeological analysis of Iron Age earthen public buildings at Ashdod-Yam (Israel). Geoarchaeology 39, 35–62.
Itkin, E. 2022. Understanding Post-Destruction “Squatter” Phases in the Iron Age IIB-C Southern Levant. BASOR 388(1): 51–72.
Itkin, E. 2020. Ḥorvat Tov: A Late Iron Age Fortress in the Northeastern Negev. Tel Aviv 47 (1): 65–88.
Forthcoming:
Fantalkin, A., Itkin, E., Chesnut, O., Mazis, M., Lorenzon, M., Bouzaglou, L., Eshel, T. And Sharvit. J. Forthcoming. Iron Age Remains from Ashdod-Yam—An Interim Report (2013–2019): An Interim Report. JEMAHS.
Fantalkin, A., Mazis, M., Schauer, Y., Ariel, D. T., Krispin, S., Tsuf, O., Eshel, T., and Itkin, E. Forthcoming. Hellenistic Ashdod-Yam in Light of Recent Archaeological Investigations. Tel Aviv.
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