The Date of Destruction of Gezer Stratum VI

Abstract

The Hebrew Union College (HUC) excavators of Gezer attributed the destruction of Stratum VI to the 734 BCE campaign of Tiglath-pileser III. They based this on the relief found at Nimrud depicting the event. Various scholars who for numerous reasons wished to lower the date of destruction to the end of the 8th century have subsequently challenged this attribution. This paper, concentrating on evidence revealed in the new Tandy excavations (especially oval storage jars, Phoenician torpedo amphoras and holemouth jars), substantiates the date proposed by the HUC excavators. Its ceramic assemblage, therefore, should be used as a chronological peg for furthering the discussion of the subdivision of ceramic typology within the Iron IIB.