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.