The Rural Hinterland of the Jezreel Valley in the Late Bronze Age III and Iron Age I: A Petrographic Perspective

To make up for the neglect of settlements located in rural hinterlands, we present the results of a petrographic study of Late Bronze Age III and Iron Age I pottery assemblages at four sites from the Jezreel Valley (fig. 1).A total of seventy-seven ceramic vessels of different types were sampled for petrographic examination (tables 2-12): eight samples from Tel Kedesh, twenty-three from Tell Qiri, twenty-six from ‘Ein el-Hilu and twenty from Tel Shunem. The selected sites are located in four distinct areas in the Jezreel Valley to include different geological settings. Table 1 presents the relative chronology of these