The chronology of the Iron Age IIA in Judah in the light of Tel 'Eton tomb C3 and other assemblages

The chronology of Iron Age Israel in general, and that of the Iron Age IIA in Judah in particular, has received a great deal of scholarly attention over the last two decades, especially because of its implications for the debate on the historicity of the United Monarchy. The number of large and well-dated Iron IIA assemblages in Judah, however, is quite small, and in most cases the relevant assemblages are composed of sherds only. The authors of this article are currently preparing for publication a large assemblage of about 200 complete and intact vessels that were unearthed in 1968 by Trude Dothan in an Iron Age IIA tomb below Tel 'Eton. This, along with additional recently published "new" assemblages, warrants a reexamination of the chronology of Judah in this important era. The present article presents the ceramic finds from the tomb at Tel 'Eton and then analyzes the recently published assemblages from other sites in Judah. Those assemblages are then organized in relative sequence, from transitional Iron I-IIA assemblages, through early and late Iron IIA assemblages, and up to terminal Iron IIA (or even transitional Iron IIA-IIB) assemblages. Finally, we attempt to offer (approximate) absolute dates for those ceramic horizons.