The iron age chronology debate: Is the gap narrowing?

Radiocarbon investigations in recent years show beyond doubt that the Iron IIA lasted until approximately 800 B.C.E. The early-to-late Iron IIA transition should be placed in the first half of the ninth century. For the beginning of the Iron IIA (the Iron I/II transition), the differences between the debating camps have now narrowed to a few decades-a gap that is beyond the resolution of radiocarbon results, even when a large number of determinations are deployed. Introducing historical considerations as well as observations related to the pace of change of pottery traditions, the Iron I/II transition could have taken a decade or two and should be put shortly after the midtenth century B.C.E.