The Jezreel Valley Regional Project is a long-tem
Archaeological survey
In archaeology, survey or field survey is a type of field research by which archaeologists (often Landscape archaeology, landscape archaeologists) search for archaeological sites and collect information about the location, distribution and organi ...
excavation project exploring the
Jezreel Valley
The Jezreel Valley (from the ), or Marj Ibn Amir (), also known as the Valley of Megiddo, is a large fertile plain and inland valley in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. It is bordered to the north by the highlands o ...
, in the southern
Levant
The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...
the
Prehistoric
Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...
through the
Ottoman and
British Mandate periods in
Israel/Palestine.
Background
The project is directed by
Matthew J. Adams. Its stated mission is to present a "a
total history of the region using the tools and theoretical approaches of such disciplines as
archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
,
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...
,
geography
Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
,
history
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
,
ethnography
Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...
, and the
natural sciences
Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...
, within an organizational framework provided by
landscape archaeology
Landscape archaeology, previously known as total archaeology is a sub-discipline of archaeology and archaeological theory. It studies the ways in which people in the past constructed and used the environment around them. It is also known as archae ...
".
The Jezreel Valley Regional Project undertakes excavations at key sites for
Biblical archaeology
Biblical archaeology is an academic school and a subset of Biblical studies and Levantine archaeology. Biblical archaeology studies archaeological sites from the Ancient Near East and especially the Holy Land (also known as Land of Israel and ...
and
Judeo-Christian
The term ''Judeo-Christian'' is used to group Christianity and Judaism together, either in reference to Christianity's derivation from Judaism, Christianity's recognition of Jewish scripture to constitute the Old Testament of the Christian Bibl ...
history, including
Tel Megiddo
Tel Megiddo (from ) is the site of the ancient city of Megiddo (; ), the remains of which form a tell or archaeological mound, situated in northern Israel at the western edge of the Jezreel Valley about southeast of Haifa near the depopulate ...
,
Tel Shush,
Ein el-Jarba, Tel
Shimron
Tel Shimron (Hebrew: תל שמרון) is an archaeological site and nature reserve in the Jezreel Valley.
Shimron was a major city in the north of Israel mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In later times it was also known as Shim'on. It became a ...
and the Roman camp town of
Legio
Legio was a Roman military camp south of Tel Megiddo in the Roman province of Galilee.
History
Following the Bar Kokhba revolt (132-136 CE), Legio VI Ferrata was stationed at Legio near Caparcotna. The approximate location of the camp of the L ...
.
[{{Cite web , title=First Roman military amphitheater in Southern Levant , url=https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-708197 , access-date=2023-05-17 , website=The Jerusalem Post {{! JPost.com , date=31 May 2022 , language=en-US]
Publications
Monographs and edited volumes
* M.J. Adams,
Salvage Excavations at Tel Qashish (Tell Qasis) and Tell el-Wa’er (2010-2013)' (ed. with E.C.M. van den Brink, ''Jezreel Valley Regional Project'' ''Studies'', 1; Lockwood Press, 2023)
Articles
*
R. Marom,
Y. Tepper, and M.J. Adams, �
Al-Lajjun: Forgotten Provincial Capital in Ottoman Palestine” ''Levant'' (Published online: 09 May 2023): 1–24.
* M.J. Adams, �
The Three Temples ''in antis'' at Megiddo” ''Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections'' 37 (2023): 17–38.
* R. Kalisher, M.S. Cradic, M.J. Adams, M.A.S. Martin,
I. Finkelstein, �
Cranial trephination and infectious disease in the Eastern Mediterranean: The evidence from two elite brothers from Late Bronze Megiddo, Israel” ''PLOS One'' (22 Feb, 2023).
* R. Shaar, Y. Gallet, Y. Vaknin, L. Gonen, M.A.S. Martin, M.J. Adams, I. Finkelstein, �
Archaeomagnetism in the Levant and Mesopotamia Reveals the Largest Changes in the Earth’s Geomagnetic Field” ''Journal of Geophysical Research – Solid Earth'' (2022): 1–16.
* S.J. Price, M.J. Adams, Y. Tepper, “
Lifeways and Settlement Choices at Tell Abu Shusha, Israel: An Integrated Spatial Approach to Survey Archaeology,” ''Archaeological Prospection'' (2022): 1–15.
* M. Fischer, M.J. Adams, N.L. Ben Ami, and Y. Tepper, �
A Fragmentary Sculpture of Victoria from the Legionary Base at Legio” ''Israel Exploration Journal'' 72.2 (2022): 238–254.
* L. Sapir-Hen, D.N. Fulton, M.J. Adams, and I. Finkelstein, “Te
mple and the Town at Early Bronze Age I Megiddo: Faunal Evidence for the Emergence of Complexity,” ''Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research'' 387 (2022): 1–14.
* I. Finkelstein and M.J. Adams, “
The Megiddo Gates: Outdated Views Versus New Data,” ''Tel Aviv'' 48.2 (2021): 208–212.
* Y. Tepper, W. Eck, G. Leyfirer, and M.J. Adams, “
A Roman Military Funerary Inscription from Legio, Israel,” ''Tel Aviv'' 48.2 (2021): 248–266.
* I. Finkelstein, M.J. Adams, E. Hall, and E. Levy, “
The Iron Age Gates of Megiddo: New Evidence and Updated Interpretations,” ''Tel Aviv'' 46.2 (2019): 167–91.
* M.J. Adams, M. Cradic, Y. Farhi, M. Peers, and Y. Tepper, �
A Betyl with a Decorated Base from the Principia of the Roman VIth Ferrata Legionary Base, Legio, Israel” ''Israel Museum Studies in Archaeology'' 9 (2019): 68–91.
* V. Linares, M.J. Adams, M.S. Cradic, I. Finkelstein, O. Lipschits, M.A.S. Martin, R. Neumann, C. Spiteri, P.W. Stockhammer, and Y. Gadot, “
First Evidence for Vanillin in the Old World: Its Use as Mortuary Offering in Middle Bronze Canaan,” ''Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports'' 25 (2019): 77–84.
* R. Homsher, M.J. Adams, A. Prins, R. Gardner-Cook, and Y. Tepper
“New Directions with Digital Archaeology and Spatial Analysis in the Jezreel Valley” ''Journal of Landscape Ecology'' 10.3 (2017): 154–164.
* M.J. Adams, �
The Egyptianized Pottery Cache from Megiddo’s Area J: A Foundation Deposit for Temple 4040” ''Tel Aviv'' 44.2 (2017): 141–164.
* M.J. Adams, �
Djehutihotep and Megiddo in the Early Middle Bronze Age” ''Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections'' 13 (2017): 1–11.
* Y. Tepper, J. David, and M.J. Adams, “Excavations at the Camp of the Roman Sixth Ferrata Legion at Legio (el-Lajjun), Israel. A Preliminary Report of the 2013 season,” ''Strata: The Bulletin of the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society'' 34 (2016): 87–120.
* D. Langut, M.J. Adams, and I. Finkelstein, �
Climate, Settlement Patterns and Olive Horticulture in the Southern Levant during the Early Bronze and Intermediate Bronze Ages (ca. 3600–1950 BCE)” ''Levant'' 48.2 (July 2016): 1–18.
* R.S. Homsher, B. L. Drake, Y. Tepper, M. J. Adams, and J. K. David, �
rom the Bronze Age to the ‘Lead Age’. Observations on Sediment Analyses at Two Archaeological Sites in the Jezreel Valley, Israel: the Roman Camp at Legio and the Early Bronze Age Village at Tel Megiddo East” ''Mediterranean Archaeology & Archaeometry'' 16.1 (2016): 187–204.
* A. Prins, M.J. Adams, M. Ashley, R.S. Homsher, �
Digital Archaeological Fieldwork and the Jezreel Valley Regional Project, Israel” ''Near Eastern Archaeology'' 77:3 (2014): 196–201.
* M.J. Adams, J. David, R. Homsher, M.E. Cohen, “New Evidence for the Rise of a Complex Society in the Late Fourth Millennium at Tel Megiddo East in the Jezreel Valley,” ''Near Eastern Archaeology'' 77:1 (2014): 32–43.
* M.J. Adams, I. Finkelstein and D. Ussishkin, “The Great Temple of Early Bronze I Megiddo,” ''American Journal of Archaeology'' 118.2 (2014): 1–21.
* J. Pincus, T. DeSmet, Y. Tepper, and M.J. Adams, �
round Penetrating Radar and Electromagnetic Archaeogeophysical Investigations at the Roman Legionary Camp at Legio, Israel” ''Archaeological Prospection'' 20.3 (2013): 1–13.
References
External links
* The Jezreel Valley Regional Project
Official Website
Archaeology
Biblical archaeology
Levantine archaeology