Iron Age Objects from the Azor Cemetery at the Israel Museum and their Contribution to the Study of Philistia’s Periphery

This article presents the results of the study of a collection of looted
artifacts (34 pottery vessels, a figurine and two bronze bracelets)
from the Iron Age cemetery at Azor, which are located at the Israel
Museum, Jerusalem. As part of this research, the provenance of the
objects is explored transparently and the long route they took before
arriving at the Museum is considered for the very first time. Most
of this group (34 out of 37 objects) is dated to the Iron Age I, during
which, burial activity in the Azor cemetery was at its zenith. Some of
the most elaborate Philistine style vessels ever found were unearthed
there and are part of the Museum’s principal collection of that material
culture, yet others reflect special pottery types that merge Philistine,
Canaanite and Egyptian elements into hybrid forms and decorative
motifs. Here, the unique Iron I Philistine pottery repertoire from Azor
is defined and discussed and it is suggested that the Lower Yarkon
River Basin served as a frontier zone between the Philistine heartland
and its Canaanite counterparts. This geographical area possessed
economic benefits that led to its floruit during a rather limited time
in the Iron Age I.