Program

Research Programs: Collaborative Research

Period of Performance

2/1/2013 - 9/30/2017

Funding Totals

$200,000.00 (approved)
$199,712.66 (awarded)


Insurgency, Resistance, and Interaction: Archaeological Inquiry into New Kingdom Egyptian Rule in Jaffa

FAIN: RZ-51445-12

UCLA; Regents of the University of California, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA 90024-4201)
Aaron Alexander Burke (Project Director: December 2011 to December 2019)
Martin Peilstöcker (Co Project Director: December 2011 to December 2019)

Archaeological excavation and analysis of an Egyptian fortress from the New Kingdom (15th century BCE) in the Canaanite city of Jaffa, Israel. (36 months)

The current proposal is for a three-year multidisciplinary archaeological research project covering field work and study seasons conducted during 2013, 2014, and 2015 in Jaffa, Israel on the south side of Tel Aviv. With Aaron A. Burke (UCLA) as PI it entails a collaboration among a variety of specialists from the US, Israel, and Europe under the umbrella of the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project, which has operated in Jaffa since 2007. Through archaeological exploration it addresses questions of insurgency and social interaction between Egyptians and Canaanites at the site during the Late Bronze Age, when Egypt maintained an imperial fortress as part of the Egyptian strategy for controlling the region. The effort is aimed at increasing the resolution of sampling from Late Bronze Age contexts in Jaffa, as well as improving our understanding of the chronological context of the various levels from which these finds derive through other techniques.



Media Coverage

Previously Unknown Canaanite Revolt Against Egypt Revealed in Ancient Jaffa (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Philippe Bohstrom
Publication: Haaretz
Date: 10/22/2016
Abstract: Laymens overview of the results of the 2013 excavations.
URL: http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/archaeology/1.748579

Defying the Pharaoh: Looking at Life and Rebellion under Egyptian Occupation (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Jacob C. Damm
Publication: Current World Archaeology
Date: 3/1/2017
Abstract: Popular article solicited from project following Haaretz publicity.

Archaeologists Return to Excavate Ancient Jaffa (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Aaron A. Burke
Publication: Popular Archaeology
Date: 6/16/2014
Abstract: Investigations include further excavations at the famous Egyptian Gate, a search for the ancient harbor, and exploration of the ancient destruction level at the Lion Temple.
URL: http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/06052014/article/archaeologists-return-to-excavate-ancient-jaffa

The Egyptian Fortress in Jaffa (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Martin Peilstocker, Aaron A. Burke
Publication: Popular Archaeology
Date: 3/3/2013
Abstract: Introduction to the Egyptian Fortress in Jaffa and the 2013-2016 funded excavations.
URL: http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/march-2013/article/the-egyptian-fortress-in-jaffa

Egypt’s Final Redoubt in Canaan: The Fiery End of the Last Egyptian Colony (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Roger Atwood
Publication: Archaeology
Date: 6/12/2017
Abstract: General audience article featuring excavations of the Egyptian fortress in Jaffa.
URL: http://www.archaeology.org/issues/262-1707/features/5627-jaffa-egypt-canaan-colony



Associated Products

Fragments of a Gateway Facade of Ramesses II (Article)
Title: Fragments of a Gateway Facade of Ramesses II
Author: Aaron A. Burke
Author: Martin Peilstocker
Abstract: Museum catalog entry for the Ramesses II gateway facade from Jaffa, Israel displayed with the "Pharaoh in Canaan: The Untold Story" exhibit at the Israel Museum.
Year: 2016
Primary URL: https://www.academia.edu/25791417
Primary URL Description: Academia.edu
Access Model: No
Format: Other
Periodical Title: Pharaoh in Canaan: The Untold Story, edited by D. Ben-Tor. Israel Museum, Jerusalem.
Publisher: Israel Museum

Ein Tag (in) Jaffa: Öffentliches Symposium zum kulturellen Erbe der Stadt (Conference/Institute/Seminar)
Title: Ein Tag (in) Jaffa: Öffentliches Symposium zum kulturellen Erbe der Stadt
Author: Martin Peilstocker
Author: Aaron A. Burke
Abstract: Day-long seminar on Jaffa, including NEH-funded research. Discussion among collaborators and other researchers.
Date Range: 03/19/2014-03/20/2014
Location: Johannes-Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany.

Excavations of the New Kingdom Egyptian Fortress in Jaffa, 2011–2014: Traces of Resistance to Egyptian Rule in Canaan (Article)
Title: Excavations of the New Kingdom Egyptian Fortress in Jaffa, 2011–2014: Traces of Resistance to Egyptian Rule in Canaan
Author: Aaron A. Burke
Author: Martin Peilstöcker
Author: Amy B. Karoll
Author: George A. Pierce
Author: Krister Kowalski
Author: Nadia Ben-Marzouk
Author: Jacob Damm
Author: Andrew Danielson
Author: Heidi Fessler Dodgen
Author: Brett Kaufman
Author: Krystal V. L. Pierce
Author: Felix Höflmayer
Author: Brian N. Damiata
Author: Michael W. Dee
Abstract: Excavations of the Egyptian New Kingdom fortress in Jaffa (Tel Yafo, ancient Yapu), on the southern side of Tel Aviv, were renewed by the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project from 2011 to 2014. This work is an outgrowth of the project’s reappraisal of Jacob Kaplan’s excavations in the Ramesses Gate area from 1955 to 1962. As the Egyptian fortress in Jaffa is the only one excavated in Canaan, its archaeological record provides a unique perspective on resistance to Egyptian rule from ca. 1460 to 1125 B.C.E., but especially during the second half of the 12th century B.C.E., when Jaffa was twice destroyed. Radiocarbon dates from these two destructions are presented, and it is suggested that they offer the clearest basis thus far for proposing ca. 1125 B.C.E. as a terminus post quem for the end of Egyptian rule in Canaan. The archaeological evidence, taken together with textual sources, yields a picture of local resistance to the Egyptian military presence in Jaffa likely originating in Canaanite centers located throughout the coastal plain.
Year: 2017
Primary URL: http://www.ajaonline.org/field-report/3356
Primary URL Description: Journal website
Secondary URL: 10.3764/aja.121.1.0085
Secondary URL Description: DOI address
Access Model: Open Access and subscription
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: American Journal of Archaeology
Publisher: Archaeological Institute of America

The Jaffa Excavations: The 2016 Study Season (Article)
Title: The Jaffa Excavations: The 2016 Study Season
Author: Aaron A. Burke
Author: Martin Peilstöcker
Abstract: Report on the research conducted by staff of the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project on NEH funded program during summer 2016.
Year: 2016
Primary URL: https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/jaei/article/view/19432/19073
Primary URL Description: Location of article on journal's website.
Access Model: Subscription
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections
Publisher: University of Arizona

Traces of Resistance to Egyptian Rule in Canaan: Excavations of the New Kingdom Fortress in Jaffa, 2011–2014 (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Traces of Resistance to Egyptian Rule in Canaan: Excavations of the New Kingdom Fortress in Jaffa, 2011–2014
Abstract: From approximately the mid-fifteenth to the end of the twelfth century B.C. Egypt's New Kingdom empire was served by a fortress and harbor at the Canaanite port of Jaffa (anc. Yapu). The fortress served as a staging ground for regular military campaigns into Canaan and the administration of its imperial territories throughout Canaan. Although the outlines of Jaffa’s role has long been known from a handful of textual references, recent research by the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project under the direction of Aaron A. Burke (University of California, Los Angeles) and Martin Peilstöcker (Johannes-Gutenberg University, Mainz) has led to a major reassessment of the Egyptian presence in Jaffa. The excavations have permitted not only an elucidation of the history of the fortress, but also the nature of interactions between Egyptians and Canaanites during this lengthy period. Of particular note is the evidence for violent interactions over more than three centuries, climaxing in the late twelfth century B.C. This lecture presents a synthesis of NEH-funded archaeological research between 2011 and 2016 and its historical implications for understanding resistance to and social interaction within the Egyptian stronghold of Jaffa during the New Kingdom.
Author: Aaron A. Burke
Date: 01/26/2017
Location: University of Arizona. Tuscon, AZ

Consumption Preferences at the Collapse of Empire: The Case of New Kingdom Jaffa (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Consumption Preferences at the Collapse of Empire: The Case of New Kingdom Jaffa
Author: Jacob C. Damm
Abstract: Overview of recent research shedding light on diet and consumption by Egyptians and non-Egyptians within the New Kingdom Egyptian fortress excavated in Jaffa, Israel by the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project from 2011 to 2014.
Date: 03/31/2017
Conference Name: Society of American Archaeology Annual Meeting

“You have entered Joppa”: 3D Modeling of Jaffa’s New Kingdom Egyptian Gate. (Article)
Title: “You have entered Joppa”: 3D Modeling of Jaffa’s New Kingdom Egyptian Gate.
Author: Jeremy Williams
Author: Aaron A. Burke
Abstract: From 2011 to 2014, the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project excavated several phases of an Egyptian New Kingdom gate complex located in Jaffa, Israel. Excavations in 2013 revealed extensive remains of the Level IVB/Phase RG-4a gate, which was destroyed in a major conflagration ca. 1135 B.C.E. In 2015, work began on a digital reconstruction of the gate's architecture and its environs. This reconstruction sheds new light on the gate complex and the interrelationships between its many architectural elements. The process has led to some suggestions as to how the extant remains might be reconstructed, but also illustrates how much has been lost and that such reconstructions are inherently dependent on excavated remains from other, sometimes quite distant, sites.
Year: 2016
Primary URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5615/neareastarch.79.4.0260
Primary URL Description: Available on JSTOR as well as in print.
Periodical Title: Near Eastern Archaeology
Publisher: American Schools of Oriental Research

The Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project, 2007–2016 (Book Section)
Title: The Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project, 2007–2016
Author: Aaron A. Burke
Author: Martin Peilstöcker
Editor: Aaron A. Burke
Editor: Katherine S. Burke
Editor: Martin Peilstöcker
Abstract: Overview of project's activities between 2007 and 2016, including NEH-funded excavations of the New Kingdom fortress from 2011-2014.
Year: 2017
Access Model: Open access after 18 mos.
Publisher: The Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press
Book Title: The History and Archaeology of Jaffa 2
ISBN: 978-1-938770-1

Excavations of the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project, 2008–2014 (Book Section)
Title: Excavations of the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project, 2008–2014
Author: Aaron A. Burke
Author: Martin Peilstöcker
Editor: Aaron A. Burke
Editor: Katherine S. Burke
Editor: Martin Peilstöcker
Abstract: Preliminary report for the results of excavations by The Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project in the Visitor's Center (Area C, 2008–2009) and the Ramesses Gate and Lion Temple (Area A, 2011–2014).
Year: 2017
Access Model: Open access after 18-mos.
Publisher: The Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press
Book Title: The History and Archaeology of Jaffa 2
ISBN: 978-1-938770-1

Bronze and Iron Age Figurines and Zoomorphic Vessels from Jaffa, 1955–1974 (Book Section)
Title: Bronze and Iron Age Figurines and Zoomorphic Vessels from Jaffa, 1955–1974
Author: Michael D. Press
Editor: Aaron A. Burke
Editor: Katherine S. Burke
Editor: Martin Peilstocker
Abstract: At least seven figurine fragments and two zoomorphic vessel fragments have been identified from Jacob Kaplan’s excavations in Jaffa from 1955 to 1974. Together they comprise the earliest corpus of figurines from Jaffa, dating to the Bronze and Iron Ages.
Year: 2017
Access Model: Open Access after 18-mos.
Publisher: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press
ISBN: 978-1-938770-1

Persian and Hellenistic Jaffa: Re-Examining Jacob Kaplan’s Excavations in Area a (1970–1974) (Article)
Title: Persian and Hellenistic Jaffa: Re-Examining Jacob Kaplan’s Excavations in Area a (1970–1974)
Author: Andrew Danielson
Author: Aaron A. Burke
Author: Martin Peilstöcker
Author: Krister Kowalski
Author: Edward F. Maher
Abstract: A contextual examination of the unpublished excavations from Area A in Jaffa, Israel has yielded important new insights into the phases of occupation at the site dating to the Persian and Hellenistic periods. The analysis of the stratigraphic sequence from the excavation records of Jacob Kaplan (1970–1974), combined with targeted new excavations and analysis by the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project (JCHP) (2014–2016) have revised the preliminary interpretations of Jacob Kaplan and yielded new insights into the Persian and Hellenistic-period phases of Area A at Jaffa. As such, four distinct phases can be elucidated, revealing patterns of domestic, economic and industrial activities within the area.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: http://10.2143/ANES.57.0.3288617
Primary URL Description: DOI
Secondary URL: https://www.academia.edu/43393466
Secondary URL Description: PDF posting to Academia.edu
Access Model: Subscription
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Ancient Near Eastern Studies
Publisher: Peeters

Left Behind: New Kingdom Specialists at the End of Egyptian Empire and the Emergence of Israelite Scribalism (Article)
Title: Left Behind: New Kingdom Specialists at the End of Egyptian Empire and the Emergence of Israelite Scribalism
Author: Aaron A. Burke
Abstract: In this article I begin a broader study of the implications of the demise of Egyptian New Kingdom rule in Canaan, focusing here on likely vectors of the transmission of Egyptian and other foreign traditions after approximately 1125 BCE and examining their implications for emergent states in the southern Levant, notably, ancient Israel during the early Iron Age. To date, in both biblical studies and Levantine archaeology, emphasis has been placed upon population movements, principally migrations of one scale or another, from Egypt to Canaan during the New Kingdom that may lie behind the exodus tradition in the Hebrew Bible as the primary framework for considering the transfer of customs and practices to early Iron Age Israel. I suggest, however, that because of limited information concerning Egypt’s empire in Canaan until more recent studies, we have overlooked a significant vector in the transmission of these customs and practices, namely that individuals negotiated their identities in the context of the changing social, political, and economic circumstances that accompanied the demise of Egyptian rule at the end of the New Kingdom. The starting point for this reappraisal is a review of the evidence, particularly concerning the chronology for this process, that is now available from Jaffa. From there I consider the range of specialists impacted by Egypt’s decline and the likelihood of their absorption into emerging early states like Israel. In this context, it is not my aim to replace previous discussions concerning the origins of Egyptian influences and what they may owe to other population movements. Rather, I wish to open up consideration of the very significant influence that the Egyptian Empire, after more than 350 years of direct rule in Canaan, had upon a range of traditions, many of which appear among Israelite traditions in the Hebrew Bible.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://www.academia.edu/43657151
Primary URL Description: Personal Academia page
Access Model: Open access
Format: Other
Periodical Title: “An Excellent Fortress for his Armies, a Refuge for the People”: Egyptological, Archaeological, and Biblical Studies in Honor of James K. Hoffmeier
Publisher: Eisenbrauns

Djehuty: Celebrating an Egyptian War Hero (Article)
Title: Djehuty: Celebrating an Egyptian War Hero
Author: Aaron A. Burke
Abstract: Egyptian New Kingdom tombs preserve a wide range of scenes celebrating the lives of their occupants. Many of these are well known thanks to modern excavations, while others are only poorly known, having been excavated before the twentieth century or simply looted and recovered through antiquities acquisitions. Such is the case for the tomb of Djehuty, an Egyptian military commander who served during the late fifteenth century and is celebrated in the famous Tale of the Capture of Joppa. While the remains of his tomb are scattered among different collections, viewed in light of recent excavations in Jaffa and closer examination of this story, they provide interesting insights on military service in Canaan and the celebration of one of Egypt’s war heroes from New Kingdom Empire.
Year: 2019
Primary URL: https://ioa.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/media/assets/Backdirt2019_web.pdf
Primary URL Description: Press website
Secondary URL: https://www.academia.edu/38502932/Djehuty_Celebrating_an_Egyptian_War_Hero
Secondary URL Description: Personal academia page
Access Model: Open access
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Backdirt: Annual Review of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA
Publisher: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press