Ceramics Books and Magazines

There is an depth introduction explaining the geographical setting, which is one of the most concise and helpful that I have read about Palestine, as well as a thorough review of the archaeological surveys which have taken place from the 19th century to the present time (the first edition of the book was written in 1987). There is a useful table of excavations carried out in Israel since 1948, as well as summaries on the techniques of excavation, chronology, terminology, publications, ideology and interpretation.

There were many things I liked about the structure of the book, the most important being that each of its chapters covered a specific era of time starting with the first agricultural communities from 8500-4300BCE, and continuing with separate chapters on the communities of the Chalcolithic period (4300-3300BCE), the emergence of cities in the early Bronze age (3000-2300BCE), the period of sparse population between the Early and Middle Bronze ages (2300-2000BCE), the development of the Canaanite city states from 2000-1550BCE, and the Late Bronze Age when the area came under Egyptian domination. The remaining 5 chapters cover the period of Israelite domination, the Judges, the United Monarchy, the Divided Monarchy, with closing chapters on Israelite material culture and a brief final review of Israel's neighbours. There is also an appendix briefly describing recent discoveries to when the book was published in 1992

Each chapter is well provided with maps, photographs, tables, and diagrams, with explanatory notes at the end of each chapter rather than one big section at the back. I found the diagrams particularly helpful because they have generally been kept simple enough so that one can understand the basic concept of what is being explained. On many occasions I found these more useful than the photographs which are every good in themselves.

I agree that the book was somewhat dry in places, but, nevertheless, it retained my interest throughout and I often found myself saying "I didn't know that". There were some chapters which caught my interest more than others such Chapters 5 and 6, which cover the period of the Middle Bronze Age from about 2300-1500BCE, which happens to be the period that is coterminous with the Akkadian and Old Babylonian dynasties of Iraq. I also thought that the chapter 7 "In the shadow of Egyptian Domination" and chapter 8 "The Days of the Judges" were particularly informative, with the latter having a full description on the settlements, pottery, architecture, artifacts, and culture of the Philistines and other Sea Peoples, which can be compared and contrasted with an equally detailed description for that of the Israelite tribes in the period of the Judges. In this chapter as in all for the later chapters Dr Mazar provides an historical outline which is careful delineated from the "facts on the ground".

I found that the best way to read this book is to read it a chapter at a time, and then taking some time to reflect on what I had read, or perhaps reread certain parts. That was necessary because it is in great detail, and I found my eyes "glazing over" at times, which for me is always a sign that I am probably going to miss something important. I will certainly find it a useful reference for the other books on Canaan and Israel which I have on my reading list, and recommend it highly to anyone who is interested in reconciling the archaeological record of the biblical period with that of written historical accounts.


No wonder this text is the standard work...   February 20, 2003
 11 out of 12 found this review helpful

Amihai Mazar is an expert on the Archaeology of the Land of the Bible. His book is an amazing resource for anyone interested in the archaeology of Palestine/Israel. In his book, Mazar goes into great detail concerning the various important archaeological periods. His book is very will structured and allows for easy comparison of the different time period. This book is considered by many to be the standard text on archaeology in this area. Mazar, in his book, takes a rather neutral standpoint towards the bible. Sometimes, he compares his findings to what we can read in the bible, but he does not swing either way. It is his neutralism that makes him fairly objective as well as the best read on the subject. I would personally greatly recommend this book. There are many misconceptions about how what is in the bible compares to what is really there, this book will definitly help you clear up some of these misconceptions. For students of Christianity, whether Christian themselves or not, this book is an invaluable to finding the truth.