Feeding the Philistine City. An Isotopic Investigation of Animal Resources at Ashkelon in the Iron I

Abstract

The Iron I period (1200-1000 BCE) at the archaeological site of Ashkelon, Israel ushers in the beginnings of Philistine control of the city. Varied taxonomy in the animal bone remains in the context of domestic dwellings at Ashkelon reveals shifting patterns of consumption over time (Hesse and Fulton, 2020; Master and Aja, 2020). The Iron I bone assemblage, excavated by the Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon, includes the greatest proportion of cattle remains from any published assemblage from Ashkelon (Middle Bronze (Wapnish and Fulton, 2018), Iron II (Hesse, Fulton, and Wapnish, 2011), Hellenistic (Hesse and Fulton, 2022), and Fatimid/Crusader (Hesse and Fulton, 2019). One hypothesis suggests that the use of cattle as traction/draught animals as part of an intensive agricultural system led to increased cattle bone remains in the Iron I, and these animals were likely pastured in fields directly related to the city (Hesse and Fulton 2020). This hypothesis is tested by applying geographical and environmental interpretations to the isotopic composition of tooth enamel from faunal remains. This paper presents the results of a survey of carbon, oxygen, and strontium isotope data for domestic animals including cattle, donkeys, sheep and goats (caprines), and pigs. Particular attention is given to cattle given their relative abundance in Iron I contexts at Ashkelon. Cattle were grazed in diverse locations across the landscape not centered around the city of Ashkelon and were intensively managed. These strategies would have involved social and economic relationships in cooperation with inland farmers and herders who then provided animals to the city.

Keywords: zooarchaeology, sequential isotope analyses, Philistine, Southern Levant, Iron Age I, animal management, urban provisioning