ד"ר עידו קוך

Senior Lecturer in Archaeology

idokoch@tauex.tau.ac.il

ORCID No.: 0000-0002-4329-7655

Education

B.A. - Open University, History, 2006

M.A. - Tel Aviv University, Jewish History, 2009 

Master Thesis: Rosette Stamped Jar Handles from the Kingdom of Judah (Supervisors: Prof. Nadav Na'aman and Prof. Oded Lipschits)

Ph.D. - Tel Aviv University, Archaeology, 2015

Name of doctoral dissertation: Southwest Canaan during the Late Bronze Age and early Iron Age: Empire, Elite, and Colonial Encounters (Supervisors: Prof. Nadav Na'aman and Prof. Oded Lipschits)

Current Projects

• Tel Hadid Archaeological Project
• Final Publication of Salvage Excavations at Tel Hadid
• Al-Haditha: Archaeological–Historical Study of an Abandoned Arab Village” (co-directed by Prof. Yoav Alon), funded by the Israel Science Fund
• Stamp-seals from the Southern Levant (Co-directors: Prof. Christoph Uehlinger, Prof. Silvia Schroer, and Prof. Stefan Münger), funded by the Swiss National Sciences Fund
• The Fortress Mound at Tel Arad: Excavated by Yohanan Aharoni from 1962 to 1967 (Co-directors: Prof. Ze'ev Herzog and Ms. Lily Singer-Avitz), funded by The Shelby White and Leon Levy Program for Archaeological Publications

Academic and Professional Awards 

Awards

2019    Yad Yitzhaq Ben-Zvi “Ish Shalom” Award for The Shadow of Egypt: Colonial Encounters in Southwest Canaan during the Late Bronze and the early Iron Age, Jerusalem 2018.

Grants

2019    Swiss National Sciences Fund (Sinergia Project CRSII5_186426): “Stamp seals from the Southern Levant: A Multi-faceted Prism for Studying entangled Histories in an Interdisciplinary Perspective” (co-PIs Prof. Christoph Uehlinger, Prof. Silvia Schroer, and Prof. Stefan Münger), 2020–2023

2022   The Shelby White and Leon Levy Program for Archaeological Publications: “The Fortress Mound at Tel Arad: Excavated by Yohanan Aharoni from 1962 to 1967” (co-PI Prof. Ze’ev Herzog), 2022–2024

2022   Israel Science Fund (no. 1316/22): “Al-Haditha: Archaeological–Historical Study of an Abandoned Arab Village” (co-PI Prof. Yoav Alon), 2022–2025

Fellowships

2019    Alon Fellowship for outstanding young researchers

2015    Swiss Government Excellence Program

PhD Students

Deborah Aybinderow: Economy and Society in the Shephelah in the Iron Age II in light of the Olive Oil Industry in the Sorek Valley (co-supervisor: Prof. Oded Lipschits); dissertation submitted October 2022

Yelena Elgart-Sharon: Production of Pigments and their Application on Clay Vessels from the Southern Coastal Plain during the 2nd and 1st Millennium BCE: a Chaîne opératoire Approach (co-supervisors: Prof. Yuval Gadot and Dr. Alon Ron); since 2020

Noa Ranzer: Function of Stamp-seals in Iron Age Southern Levant (co-supervisors: Prof. Christoph Uehlinger, UZH); since 2021

Mor Goldenberg: The Pictorial Language of the Kingdom of Israel (co-supervisor: Prof. Yuval Gadot); since 2021

Reli Avissar: Archaeological Manifestations of Social Hierarchy in Iron Age Judah (co-supervisor: Prof. Yuval Gadot); since 2021

MA Students

Noa Rantzer: Biography of Scarabs: Production, Distribution, and Consumption of Scarabs in the Yarkon Basin during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages (co-Supervisor: Prof. Yuval Gadot); thesis approved August 2020

Lior Serban: The Shephelah between the Iron IIC and the Persian period – Continuity and Change in Settlement Pattern, Economic Activity and Administration (co-supervisor: Prof. Oded Lipschits); thesis submitted January 2023

Ruthy Lewis: The Glass Assemblage at Tel Hadid: An Exploration and Illumination of the Byzantine Settlement (co-supervisor: Dr Ruth Jackson-Tal, Israel Museum); thesis approved February 2021

Nicole Callaway: Body Language: Deciphering and Decoding the Gestures, Postures, and Sizes of Female Figurines from the Late Bronze Age to the Iron II (co-supervisor: Prof. Oded Lipschits); thesis approved December 2021

Marissa Tsiao: Fibulae of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age: Chronology, Inter-regional Connectivity, and Performance; thesis approved December 2021

Xiaoshuai Yuan: Contextual Analysis of Seals of Iron Age IIB Judah (co-supervisor: Prof. Oded Lipschits); thesis approved March 2022

Jingchao Chen: Tracing Household Ingredients in Iron Age IIC Tel Hadid and Tel Bet-Shemesh: A Pilot Study with Organic Residue Analysis on Pottery Assemblages (co-supervisor: Prof. Cynthianne Spiteri, University of Tübingen); thesis approved July 2022

Renate Barbara Fahrni: Egyptian Stamp-seals from the 25th and 26th Dynasties in Judah and Philistia: Typology, Context, and Historical Implications (co-supervisor: Dr Deborah Sweeney); thesis approved January 2023

Daria Leibin-Graiver: Mollusks in Iron Age Judah (co-supervisors: Dr.  Daniella Bar-Yosef Mayer and Prof. Oded Lipschits); since 2021

Yuval Amir: Zoomorphic Vessels and Libation Rituals in Iron-Age Southern Levant; since 2021

Amit Etya: The Fortifications of Tel Hadid during the Hasmonean Period and the Expansion of the Hasmonean State to the Lydda Valley; since 2021

Cohava Peterman–Lipschutz: Archeological Sites as Open-Air Museums in the Digital Age: A Comparative Study of the State in Israel and Selected Sites in Europe; since 2022

A. Books

1. Koch, I. 2018. The Shadow of Egypt: Colonial Encounters in Southwest Canaan during the Late Bronze and the early Iron Age. Jerusalem (Hebrew). 
2. Koch, I. 2021. Colonial Encounters in Southwest Canaan during the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age (Culture and History of the Ancient Near East 119). Leiden: Brill (English revised version of A1)

B. Refereed Articles in Journals

1. Lipschits, O., Sergi, O., and Koch, I. 2010. Royal Judahite Jar Handles: Reconsidering the Chronology of the lmlkStamp Impressions. Tel Aviv 37: 3–32.
2. Lipschits, O., Koch, I., Shaus, A., and Guil, S. 2010. The Enigma of the Biblical "bath" and the System of Liquid Volume Measurement during the First Temple Period. Ugarit Forschungen 42: 453–478.
3. Koch, I., and Lipschits, O. 2010. The Final Days of the Kingdom of Judah in Light of the Rosette-Stamped Jar Handles. Cathedra 137: 7–26. (Hebrew)
4. Finkelstein, I., Koch, I., and Lipschits, O. 2011. The Biblical Gilead: Observations on Identifications, Geographic Divisions and Territorial History. Ugarit Forschungen 43: 131–159.
5. Finkelstein, I., Koch, I., and Lipschits, O. 2011. The Mound on the Mount: A Possible Solution to the "Problem with Jerusalem”. Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 11, article 12. 
6. Hebrew revised version: Finkelstein, I., Lipschits, O. and Koch, I. 2014 The Mound on the Mount: A Possible Solution to the "Problem with Jerusalem”. In: Stiebel, G. et al. eds. New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem 8. Jerusalem: 161–175.
7. Koch, I. 2012. The Geopolitical Situation in the Judean Lowland during the Iron Age I-IIa (1150-800 BCE). Cathedra 143: 45–64. (Hebrew) 
8. Koch, I. 2012. The "Chariots of the Sun" (2 Kings 23:11). Semitica 54: 211–219.
9. Koch, I., and Lipschits, O. 2013. The Rosette Stamped Jar Handle System and the Kingdom of Judah at the end of the First Temple Period. Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 129: 55–78 (Revised English version of B1) 
10. Koch, I. 2014. Goose Keeping, Elite Emulation and Egyptianized Feasting at Late Bronze Lachish. Tel Aviv 41: 161–179. 
11. Cassuto, D., Koch, I., and Shai, I. 2015. A Note on an Amenhotep III Plaque from Tel Burna. Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections 7(4): 21–26.
12. Koch, I. 2016. Notes on Three South Canaanite Sites in the el-Amarna Correspondence. Tel Aviv 43: 91–98.
13. Oeming, M., Ras, K., Koch, I., Weinberg-Cohen, A., Gadot, Y., and Lipschits, O. 2016. Late Bronze Age Figurines from Tel Azekah. Ugarit Forschungen 47: 205–219.
14. Koch, I. 2017. Revisiting the Fosse Temple at Lachish. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions 17: 64–75
15. Koch, I., Kleiman, S., Oeming, M., Gadot, Y. and Lipschits, O. 2017. Amulets in Context: Scarabs and Figurative Amulets from Late Bronze Age III Tel Azekah. Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections 16: 9–24.
16. Koch, I. 2017. Egyptian Scarabs in Southwest Canaan in the Late Bronze and Iron I: Observations from a Local Perspective. الشرقAsh-sharq, Bulletin of the Ancient Near East Archaeological, Historical and Societal Studies 1 (2): 294–303.
17. Koch, I. 2018. Egypt in Canaan: Colonial Encounters in the Late Bronze Age Southwestern Canaan. Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections 18: 24–39.
18. Sweeney, D., Herrmann, C., Koch, I., Gadot, Y., Oeming, M., and Lipschits, O. 2018. A Triad Amulet from Tel Azekah. Israel Exploration Journal 68: 129‒149.
19. Koch, I. and Sapir-Hen, L. 2018. Beersheba–Arad Valley during the Assyrian Period. Semitica 60: 427–452.
20. Koch, I. 2018. Introductory Framework for Assyrian–Levantine Colonial Encounters. Semitica 60: 367–396.​
21. Koch, I. 2019. Religion at Lachish under Egyptian Colonialism. Die Welt des Orients 49(2): 161–182.
22. Koch, I. 2020. Southern Levantine Temples during the Iron Age II: Towards a Multivocal Narrative. Ancient Judaism 8: 325–344.
23. Koch, I. and Lipschits, O. 2021. Stamped-Jars from Judah: Official Pictorial and Textual Language. Ancient Judaism 9: 287–312.
24. Avisar, R., Shalev, Y., Shochat, H., Gadot, Y., and Koch, I. 2022. Jerusalem’s Ivories: A Collection of Decorated Ivory Panels from Building 100, Giv’ati Parking Lot Excavations and Their Cultural Setting. ‘Atiqot 106: 57–74.
25. Koch, I. 2022. A Framework for the Study of Deportations to and from the Levant during the Age of the Empires. Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel 11 Supplement: 10–24.
26. Koch, I. 2022. Human–Animal Encounters on Early Iron Age Stamp-Seals from the Southern Levant. Near Eastern Archaeology 85/4: 296–305.

C. Refereed Articles in Books

1. Koch, I. 2018. Late Iron Age I Southwestern Canaanite Multi-Facet Stamp-Amulets: Innovative Imagery and Interpreted Egyptian Heritage. In: Shai, I. et al. eds. Tell it in Gath: Studies in the History and Archaeology of Israel – Essays in Honor of Aren M. Maeir on the Occasion of his Sixtieth Birthday (Alter Orient und Altes Testament). Münster: 632–652.
2. Koch, I. 2018. New Light on the Glyptic Finds from Late Iron Age Jerusalem and Judah. Pp. 29–46 in Uziel, J., Gadot, Y., Zelinger, Y., and Peleg-Barkat, O. eds. New Studies in the Archaeology and Jerusalem and Its Region 12. Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority (Hebrew). 
3. Lipschits, O. and Koch, I. 2019. Blinded by the Light: Destruction Levels as a Tool for Understanding Processes of Material Culture Development—The Iron Age IIb–IIc as a Test Case. Pp. 189–208 in Peleg-Barkat, O., Zelinger, Y., Uziel, J. and Gadot, Y. eds. New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and Its Region: Collected Papers13. Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority (Hebrew).
4. Lewis, R. and Koch, I. 2021. Tel Hadid in the Byzantine Period: Preliminary Survey. Pp. 77–94 in Shavit, A. ed. Lod "Diospolis – City of God", Journal of the History, Archaeology and Heritage of Lod 7. Lod: Tagliot (Hebrew). 
5. Shalev, Y., Avissar, R., Freud, L., Koch, I., Bocher, E., Shalom, N., and Gadot, Y. 2022. The Elite of Jerusalem during the Late Iron Age in light of the Finds from Building 100 from the Western Slope of the City of David. Pp. 89–106 in Gadot, Y., Zelinger, Y., Peleg-Barkat, O., and Shalev, Y. eds. New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and Its Region: Collected Papers 15. Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority (Hebrew). 
6. Kisilevitz, S., Koch, I., Agnon. A., Gedulter, N., and Lipschits, O. 2022. God or Ruler? A Stone Relief from the Iron IIA Cultic Precinct at Tel Moẓa. Pp. 35–47 in Gadot, Y., Zelinger, Y., Peleg-Barkat, O., and Shalev, Y. eds. New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and Its Region: Collected Papers 15. Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority (Hebrew).

D. Chapters in Books

1. Koch, I. 2015. Rosette Stamped Jar Handles.Pp. 243–245 in: Beit-Arieh, I. and Freud, L. eds. Tel Malḥata: A Central City in the Biblical Negev (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 32). Tel Aviv and Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. 
2. Koch, I. 2016. Rosette Stamped Handles. Pp. 371–388 in: Lipschits, O., Gadot, Y., and Freud, L. eds. Ramat Raḥel 3 (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 35). Tel Aviv and Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. 
3. Koch, I. 2016. Prancing Horse Impression. Pp. 368–370 in: Lipschits, O., Gadot, Y., and Freud, L. eds. Ramat Raḥel 3 (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 35). Tel Aviv and Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. 
4. Koch, I. and Lipschits, O. 2016. Hebrew Epigraphic Incisions. Pp. 477–481 in: Lipschits, O., Gadot, Y., and Freud, L. eds. Ramat Raḥel 3 (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 35). Tel Aviv and Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.
5. Bocher, E. and Koch, I. 2016. Late Roman and Byzantine Architectural Elements. Pp. 635–642 in: Lipschits, O., Gadot, Y., and Freud, L. eds. Ramat Raḥel 3 (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 35). Tel Aviv and Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. 
6. Lipschits, O. and Koch, I. 2016. “Private” Stamp Impressions on Jar Handles. Pp. 342–355 in: Lipschits, O., Gadot, Y., and Freud, L. eds. Ramat Raḥel 3. Tel Aviv and Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. 
7. Lipschits, O. and Koch, I. 2016. Lion Stamp Impressions Pp. 389–408 in: Lipschits, O., Gadot, Y., and Freud, L. eds. Ramat Raḥel 3 (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 35). Tel Aviv and Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. 
8. Ras, K., Bocher, E. and Koch, I. 2016. Persian Period Stamp Impressions. Pp. 437–446 in: Lipschits, O., Gadot, Y., and Freud, L. eds. Ramat Raḥel 3 (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 35). Tel Aviv and Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. 
9. Sergi, O. and Koch, I. 2016. Concentric Circle Incisions on Jar Handles. Pp. 356–367 in: Lipschits, O., Gadot, Y., and Freud, L. eds. Ramat Raḥel 3 (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 35). Tel Aviv and Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.  
10. Tepper, Y., Bocher, E. and Koch, I. 2016. Stamp Impressions of the Roman Tenth Legion. Pp. 461–472 in: Lipschits, O., Gadot, Y., and Freud, L. eds. Ramat Raḥel 3 (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 35). Tel Aviv and Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.  
11. Koch, I. 2017. Early Philistia Revisited and Revised. Pp. 189–205 in: Lipschits, O., Gadot, Y. and Adams, M.J. eds. Rethinking Israel: Studies in the History and Archaeology of Ancient Israel in Honor of Israel Finkelstein. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.
12. Koch, I. 2017. Stamp-Amulets from Iron IIA Shephelah: Preliminary Conclusions regarding Production and Distribution, Pictorial Assemblage, and Function. Pp. 75–93 and 10* in: Faust, A. and Baruch, E. eds. New Studies on Jerusalem 22. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University (Hebrew).
13. Koch, I. 2017. Settlements and Interactions in the Shephelah during the Late-2nd–Early-1st Millennia BCE. Pp. 181–207 in: Lipschits, O. and Maeir, A. M. eds. The Shephelah during the Iron Age: Recent Archaeological Studies. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns  
14. Koch, I. 2019. Southwestern Canaan and Egypt during the Late Bronze Age I–IIA. Pp. 262–282 in Maeir, A.M., Shai, I., and McKinny, C. eds. The Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages of Southern Canaan (Archaeology of the Biblical World 2). Berlin: De Gruyter.
15. Kleiman, S., Koch, I., Webster, L., Linares, V., Berendt, K., Sergi, O., Oeming, M., Gadot, Y., and Lipschits, O. 2019. Late Bronze Age Azekah – An Almost Forgotten Story. Pp. 37–61 in A. M. Maeir, I. Shai, and C. McKinny, eds. The Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages of Southern Canaan (Archaeology of the Biblical World 2). Berlin: De Gruyter.
16. Sergi, O., Lipschits, O., and Koch, I. 2019. Memories of the Early Israelite Monarchy in the Books of Samuel and Kings. Pp. 173–193 in Koch, I., Römer, T. and Sergi, O. eds. Writing, Rewriting, and Overwriting in the Books of Deuteronomy and the Former Prophets (Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium 304). Leuven, Paris and Bristol CT: Leuven.
17. Koch, I. 2019. Pictorial Novelties in Context: Assyrian Iconography in Judah. Pp. 151–163 in Čapek, F. and Lipschits, O. eds. The Last Century in the History of Judah: The Seventh Century BCE in Archaeological, Historical, and Biblical Perspectives (Ancient Israel and Its Literature 37). Atlanta: SBL.
18. Koch, I. 2020. On Philistines and early Israelite Kings. Pp. 7–31 in Krause, J.J., Sergi, O., and Weingart, K. eds. Saul, Benjamin, and the Emergence of Monarchy in Israel: Biblical and Archaeological Perspective (Ancient Israel and Its Literature 40). Atlanta: SBL.
19. Gadot, Y. and Koch, I. 2020. The Valley of Elah as Sacred Landscape and its Archaeological Expression. Pp. 205–211 in Čapek, F. and Sláma, P. eds. And God Saw That It Was Good (Gen 1:12) The Concept of Quality in Archaeology, Philology and Theology (Contributions to Understanding the Bible 42). Münster: Lit.
20. Koch, I. 2020. Area D3: Courtyard 380, the Inner Gate and Building 468. Pp. 241–268 in Lipschits, O., Oeming, M. and Gadot, Y. Ramat Raḥel 4 (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 39). University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns. 
21. Koch, I. and Kedem, N. 2020. Area D6. Pp. 327–353 in Lipschits, O., Oeming, M. and Gadot, Y. Ramat Raḥel 4 (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 39). University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns.
22. Lipschits, O. and Koch, I. 2021. Lion Stamp Impressions from the Babylonian Period. Pp. 76–80 in in Lipschits, O., Freud, L., Oeming, M. and Gadot, Y. Ramat Raḥel 6 (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 40). Tel Aviv and University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns.
23. Koch, I. 2022. Israel and Assyria, Judah and Assyria. Pp. 693–712 in Keimer, K.H. and Pierce, G.A. eds. The Ancient Israelite World. London and New York: Routledge.
24. Koch, I. Forthcoming. The Region of Gaza as a Colonial Arena. In: Koch, I. and Uehlinger, C. eds. The Archaeology of Imperial Encounters in the Levant during the Second and First Millennia BCE (OBO). Leuven: Peeters. 
25. Koch, I. Forthcoming. Sacred Architecture in Iron II Southern Levant. In: Laneri, N. and Steadman, S.R., eds. The Bloomsbury Handbook of Material Religion in the Ancient Near East and Egypt. Bloomsbury. 

E. Editing

1. Koch, I., Römer, T. and Sergi, O. 2019. Writing, Rewriting and Overwriting in the Books of Deuteronomy and the Former Prophets: Essays in Honour of Cynthia Edenburg. Leuven: Peeters.
2. Stiebel, G.D., Ben-Ami, D., Tepper, Y., Gorzalczany, A., and Koch, I. eds. 2022. In Centro I: Motion (The Annual Conference of Central District of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 1). Tel Aviv: Institute of Archeology of Tel Aviv University.
3. Stiebel, G.D., Ben-Ami, D., Tepper, Y., Gorzalczany, A., and Koch, I. eds. 2022. In Centro II: Memory (The Annual Conference of Central District of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 2). Tel Aviv: Institute of Archeology of Tel Aviv University. 
4. Koch, I., Lipschits, O., and Sergi, O. eds. Forthcoming. From Nomadism To Monarchy? Revisiting the Early Iron Age Southern Levant (Mosaics: Studies on Ancient Israel). Tel Aviv and University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns.

F. Other Publications

1. Lipschits, O., Kleiman, S., Koch, I., Berendt, K., Linares, V., Richardson, S., Oeming, M., and Gadot, Y. 2019. Late Bronze Age Azekah and its Terminal Breath. Biblical Archaeology Review 45(1): 32–38, 70.
2. Koch, I., Warner, D., Yannai, E., Pruit, L.L., Cole, D., and Parker, J. 2020. Forced Resettlement and Immigration at Tel Hadid. Biblical Archaeology Review 46(32): 28–37.