Amit Dagan

The first two seasons of work at Tel Burna have focused on revealing a segment of the fortification walls partially exposed along the perimeter of the upper tel. The discovery of a seventh-century BCE silo cutting the inner wall of the fortifications provides a terminus ante quem for the wall. This discovery, in
conjunction with other finds from the excavations, presents us with a unique opportunity to explore the significance and meaning of fortifications and the fortified towns along the western border of ancient Judah

This article examines the finds from Horbat Shimon in the southern Coastal Plain. Salvage excavations revealed a distinctly non-domestic eighth century BCE structure consisting of four identical areas. Analysis of the pottery indicated a strong coastal orientation alongside Judaean influence at a time when
Tell es-Safi/Gath, just two kilometers away, exhibits a predominantly Judaean presence, this expanding our perception of rural activities in this region at the time.
Among the rich corpus of diverse finds are c. 160 clay loom weights. Using criteria based on the chaîne opératoire of textile production, an alternative explanation is presented for the function of this distinct building as a small-scale workshop associated with the production of textiles.

Embodiment as manifested in lived, routine behavior and ritual practice structures cultural identity. Identity can be recovered through reconstructing patterns of movement in spatially defined contexts such as architecture, landscapes, and seascapes. It is also recovered through reconstructing acts of artifact deposition where the context is preserved, and by examining the use-wear of objects. Through such analyses we can apprehend ritual acts of the Philistines, and compare these activities to those of Cypriot and Aegean peoples. We argue for the perseverance and entanglement of Aegean Bronze Age ritual acts in Philistine culture through the identification of distinct patterns in the manipulation of unusual objects, which preserved particular types of cultural memory, and promoted particular aspects of religious identity. Such continuities were established through many years of prior interaction among Mediterranean cultures of the Late Bronze Age. 1 This paper focuses on the double-axe and mollusk shells, items that both had utilitarian and symbolic significance. The Ritual Significance of Double Axes in Crete and in the East Double-axes are the most prevalent, yet enigmatic symbol in Minoan religion. They were represented in many forms and media, including votive miniatures of exotic materials, incised signs, painted images, and in bronze ranging from utilitarian sizes and features, to colossal and non-utilitarian. They were placed in socketed stands, associated with aniconic symbols, deposited in ritual contexts such as caves, and they were frequently depicted on pottery, often in association with horns of consecration. 2 Although their precise meaning remains elusive, Briault has shown that they could mark a cult place, while as an object made out of precious material they served as an offering for a special occasion, such as an investiture, and circulated as depictions on pottery they could evoke memories of an event where axes were carried, displayed, and/or deposited. She suggests this symbol was likely transmitted through pottery motifs, which might serve to evoke memories and stories, and which persisted into Mycenaean IIIC. 3 Briault's idea that offering a bronze double axe marked a special occasion is connected to the rarity of its

Embodiment as manifested in lived, routine behavior and ritual practice structures cultural identity. Identity can be recovered through reconstructing patterns of movement in spatially defined contexts such as architecture, landscapes, and seascapes. It is also recovered through reconstructing acts of artifact deposition where the context is preserved, and by examining the use-wear of objects. Through such analyses we can apprehend ritual acts of the Philistines, and compare these activities to those of Cypriot and Aegean peoples. We argue for the perseverance and entanglement of Aegean Bronze Age ritual acts in Philistine culture through the identification of distinct patterns in the manipulation of unusual objects, which preserved particular types of cultural memory, and promoted particular aspects of religious identity. Such continuities were established through many years of prior interaction among Mediterranean cultures of the Late Bronze Age. 1 This paper focuses on the double-axe and mollusk shells, items that both had utilitarian and symbolic significance. The Ritual Significance of Double Axes in Crete and in the East Double-axes are the most prevalent, yet enigmatic symbol in Minoan religion. They were represented in many forms and media, including votive miniatures of exotic materials, incised signs, painted images, and in bronze ranging from utilitarian sizes and features, to colossal and non-utilitarian. They were placed in socketed stands, associated with aniconic symbols, deposited in ritual contexts such as caves, and they were frequently depicted on pottery, often in association with horns of consecration. 2 Although their precise meaning remains elusive, Briault has shown that they could mark a cult place, while as an object made out of precious material they served as an offering for a special occasion, such as an investiture, and circulated as depictions on pottery they could evoke memories of an event where axes were carried, displayed, and/or deposited. She suggests this symbol was likely transmitted through pottery motifs, which might serve to evoke memories and stories, and which persisted into Mycenaean IIIC. 3 Briault's idea that offering a bronze double axe marked a special occasion is connected to the rarity of its

Embodiment as manifested in lived, routine behavior and ritual practice structures cultural identity. Identity can be recovered through reconstructing patterns of movement in spatially defined contexts such as architecture, landscapes, and seascapes. It is also recovered through reconstructing acts of artifact deposition where the context is preserved, and by examining the use-wear of objects. Through such analyses we can apprehend ritual acts of the Philistines, and compare these activities to those of Cypriot and Aegean peoples. We argue for the perseverance and entanglement of Aegean Bronze Age ritual acts in Philistine culture through the identification of distinct patterns in the manipulation of unusual objects, which preserved particular types of cultural memory, and promoted particular aspects of religious identity. Such continuities were established through many years of prior interaction among Mediterranean cultures of the Late Bronze Age. 1 This paper focuses on the double-axe and mollusk shells, items that both had utilitarian and symbolic significance. The Ritual Significance of Double Axes in Crete and in the East Double-axes are the most prevalent, yet enigmatic symbol in Minoan religion. They were represented in many forms and media, including votive miniatures of exotic materials, incised signs, painted images, and in bronze ranging from utilitarian sizes and features, to colossal and non-utilitarian. They were placed in socketed stands, associated with aniconic symbols, deposited in ritual contexts such as caves, and they were frequently depicted on pottery, often in association with horns of consecration. 2 Although their precise meaning remains elusive, Briault has shown that they could mark a cult place, while as an object made out of precious material they served as an offering for a special occasion, such as an investiture, and circulated as depictions on pottery they could evoke memories of an event where axes were carried, displayed, and/or deposited. She suggests this symbol was likely transmitted through pottery motifs, which might serve to evoke memories and stories, and which persisted into Mycenaean IIIC. 3 Briault's idea that offering a bronze double axe marked a special occasion is connected to the rarity of its

ויהודה (לדוגמה, יהושע טו, כב-כד; מיכה א, י-טז). למרות המחקרים המעמיקים שנערכו במהלך רבע המאה האחרונה,4 סביבה זו לוקה בחסר בבחינת שמות האתרים המקראיים
והחוץ מקראיים שזוהו בוודאות. הדעה הרווחת כיום במחקר היא כי האתר המקראי ִל ְבָנה מזוהה עם תל בורנה.5 הזיהוי
הזה רחוק מלהיות ודאי, אך החפירות המתקיימות כיום בתל בורנה עשויות לספק פרטים נוספים שיסייעו לזיהוי האתר. יש לציין כי ישנם חוקרים שהציעו לזהות את תל בורנה עם אתרים נוספים על בסיס ניתוח שמי.6 מטרת מאמר זה היא להציג סיכום מפורט על ראשית המחקר והחפירות בתל בורנה (בערבית תל בורנט) החל בחוקרי האתר הראשונים במאה ה־19 ובראשית המאה ה־20, ועד החפירות העכשוויות. בנוסף לכך נעמוד על שימור שם
האתר וההתפתחות האטימולוגית של השם "בורנה".

This paper proposes to examine identity as a category is structured through processes of ritualized behavior, belief, and encounter with the ‘Other,’ an approach that opposes the Cartesian duality of mind and body. Instead, it is influenced by the ideas of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, that human identity, including thought, is lived through the body as a practice of embodied experience and of Anthony Giddens, that there is a duality of structure that constrains and enables human behavior. To the extent that individuals are capable of changing their lives through manipulating the spatial organization of their culture, they are modifying their routines and transforming their identities. Thus, examining the habits orchestrated by architectural spaces and the ritualized use of objects with a clear archaeological context present the best sources of evidence for understanding the Aegean connections to Philistine identity.  Behavior and belief can be interpreted through analyzing the spatial distribution of artifacts in their archaeological contexts such as courtyards and temples in order to reconstruct the daily routines of individuals living out their lives. These routines can then be compared to those of the Aegean, Cyprus and the Levant in order to identify similarities and differences, distinguishing the introduction of new social strategies, from the persistence of indigenous ones. Another consideration is continuity in the perseverance of Bronze Age routines and preferences in contrast to the transformation of Philistine culture through both unconscious and conscious changes in the formulation of their material culture. Such transformation emerged in the Iron Age as a process of preserving social memory, appropriation of various artifacts and social practices, entanglement of foreign and local objects and uses of those objects, and encounters with alterity. Symbolic items and ritual behaviors to be considered in this paper include the triton shell and double axe, curation practices, use of open spaces, and architectural arrangements. This approach to Philistine identity treats it as an outcome of cultural entanglement and privileges cultural preferences and choices over a search for origins.