The chronology of the Middle Bronze Age tombs at Tell el Ajjul (Syria, Palestine, Egypt)

The site of Tell el Ajjul represents one of the most important Middle Bronze Age sites in southern Palestine. This dissertation presents a refined chronology of the site based on a correlation between the destruction of Town I and the Minoan eruption of the Thera volcano. It is proposed that the destruction was the result of a moderate earthquake that preceded the main eruptive sequence and that the destruction of Town I at Tell el Ajjul occurred, maximally, within the period 1630 BC to 1628 BC. Using the destruction as a fixed point, the Middle Bronze Age occupational sequence at Tell el Ajjul is divided into eleven phases. The chronology of Tell el Ajjul is then linked to the broader chronologies of Syria/Palestine and Egypt. The Tell el Ajjul sequence also provides the first direct link between the chronology of the Aegean and Syria/Palestine. Using the refined chronology of the site as a foundation as well as a systematic and comprehensive review of tomb position, structure and contents, it was possible to assign date ranges to 598 Middle Bronze Age tombs at Tell el Ajjul. Seven percent of the tombs are associated with the destruction of Town I, indicating that the destruction was accompanied by fatalities. The refined chronology of the tombs at Tell el Ajjul is then used as the basis for discussing economic and demographic history of the site. In addition, burial practices such as floor burials, pit and niche (equid) are examined as well as the presence of an elite cemetery on the mound. Finally, the role of Tell el Ajjul in the eastern Mediterranean trade network is examined. It is concluded that Tell el Ajjul was an important node in this network, serving as the fundamental link between Egypt in the South and Syria/Palestine and Cyprus in the North. Tell el Ajjul represented one of the great trading emporia of the late Middle Bronze Age, comparable in many respects to important sites such as Ugarit and Avaris.