WHAT WOULD THE EGYPTIAN PHARAOH SHOSHENQ I HAVE SEEN IF HE HAD VISITED THE CENTRAL JORDAN VALLEY?

Author: Petit, Lucas P

Source: Palestine Exploration Quarterly, Volume 144, Number 3, October 2012 , pp. 191-207(17)

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Abstract:

Combined archaeological data from the Central Jordan Valley indicates that small agricultural villages and a few public buildings occupied the area during the first half of the 10^th century BC, all grouped along well-organised irrigation systems. A regional conflagration ended the occupation around 950 BC, after which most of the Central Jordan Valley was deserted for approximately one century. This occupational gap coincided with a period of decreased precipitation. During this arid phase the area was visited by mobile groups who used the summits of the settlement mounds for animal holding and sparse industrial activities. According to the topographical list of Shoshenq I, there were at least four settlements in the Central Jordan Valley: Adamah, Succoth, Penuel and Mahanaim. These places were apparently important enough in c. 925 BC for the Egyptians to neutralise them. But where are the remains of these settlements? This study deals with the intriguing disjunction between archaeological and textual evidence.

Keywords: Central Jordan Valley; Iron Age; Shoshenq I; chronology; 10th century BC

Document Type: Original Article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/0031032812Z.00000000016

Publication date: 2012-10-01

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