Albright’s problem in his methodology of silo
pottery analysis at Tell Beit Mirsim
The problem with the methodology of Albright at
Tell Beit Mirsim Pottery analysis of the silos in 1932 should be investigated. To understand the problem one should first
outline what Albright found and what he did with the findings. He found in stratum B cut into ash destruction
layers from last phase of stratum C silos. Then he found mostly Early Iron age
pottery and Mycenean ware in the silos but with some Late Bronze pieces
sometimes, not much. However outside around the silos he did find Late Bronze
pieces. His analysis went like this: the Silos in
quantity are well represented with Mycenean related pottery and styles different
from Late Bronze so that a new culture is definitely present. The presence of
the Late Bronze pieces in these silos posed an admitted problem to him so what
did he do with them? Considered them as “intrusive” and thus discarded them for
importance of chronology. Thus, the presence of one scarab in the wall
dated for him the building of the wall in the time of Raamses II and with
degenerative imitation to 1250 BCE. That was the start for him of the stratum B
and silos at Tell Beit Mirsim. Thus, he allocated the Israelite invasion in
stratum B with these silos and that in his chronology, must have been after
1250 BCE. But, here is the problem as I can see it. Late Bronze pottery was found sometimes in the
silos but mostly outside the silos in the ash area. Was the silos built after
the ash layer, my answer will most probably were. The presence of lots of Mycenean and Philistine
ware in the silos is indicative that Israelites were not there and secondly,
the silos did not function as silos but was rather functioning as a trash zone.
It is more likely that Israelites cut the silos
in the end of the Late Bronze time during the time of Amenhotep III beginning
to reign around 1405 BCE. Even Albright supplied much evidence to support this
dating for the destruction and pottery well dated related to it in the same Pottery
Book on Tell Beit Mirsim 1932. This aspect supports the biblical chronology
that the invasion of Canaan was between the five years of 1410-1405 BCE. Caleb
claimed his portion around 1405 BCE. Debir or Tell Beit Mirsim was the next
large town below Hebron and Hebron is where Caleb retired around 1405 BCE. Was there a destruction of the Canaanites around
1405 BCE? Albright gave many pottery examples supporting this fact. Tell Beit Mirsim was destroyed in the time of
Amenhotep III, thus Albright 1932 in Pottery of Tell Beit Mirsim (online available
for download in PDF format). Albright’s analysis of the silos was a shot in
the leg by himself. He thought that the quantity of the pottery
would determine the dating of the silos. But, what is the case is the opposite for this
reason. The Israelites were very strict in hygiene practices and would not have
allowed their Late Bronze pottery to be thrown into a silo that serves for
grain storage. Meat in whatever form inside a jar or pottery
cannot be in contact with the grain that they are storing. So for Albright to
expect Late Bronze pottery be intrusive does not mean in reality that the Late
Bronze pottery of the Israelites did not exist. They just did not trash it into
the silos. However, the Mycenean and Philistine inhabitants did not mainly
re-used the silos for grain but as trash zones. No wonder the quantity reveals
a higher number of Mycenean and Philistine ware than Late Bronze that were also
found scanty here and there in the silos. Thus, in my estimation the “intrusive”
Late Bronze pottery is not to be discarded but should be considered equally
important for a decision on the chronology of the site. The silos was then not
built as Albright opted for at the end of Raamses II’s reign but earlier in
1405 BCE and after due to the presence of these scanty Late Bronze pottery
examples, scanty because of Israelite strict laws of hygiene related to
food-matters.