This past summer I had the opportunity to participate in a study season for the Tel Dan excavation, a site at which I excavated in 2022. The aim of most study seasons is to work toward the publication of excavated material; a study season also provides time to re-examine the finds and stratigraphy from excavation and so test the interpretation of the data which was formed during excavation.

One of the main tasks of this study season was laying out all pottery from the same stratum (material of roughly the same time period at the site) and checking if any of the loci (a stratigraphic excavation unit, like a floor or a pit) contained unexpected material. Certain forms of pottery change more quickly, making them good indicators of date. Since we were working with material from the Late Bronze Age-Iron 1 transition we paid close attention to the cooking pots – in the Late Bronze Age these have an everted rim and in the Iron 1 they have a vertical rim. Thus, cooking pots were a good type of pottery to watch for anything unexpected within a locus or stratum. In an ideal world, all the pottery from the same stratum should reflect the same date.

There were many instances where the information gained from laying out the pottery matched our initial interpretations. In this case, it was good to have confirmation and it provided a great opportunity for me to grow more familiar with pottery forms. Other times we needed to adjust our interpretation when we reexamined the data. For example, we realized that part of one locus was mixed with later material from a pit which had been missed in excavation. When we returned to the field notes, this also matched observations about an area with a slightly different soil composition. While the pottery was out, several pieces were also selected for illustration.

All this work has helped move some of the Tel Dan material toward publication. After all, without a solid understanding of the stratigraphy and the artifacts from the site, it is very challenging to write a final report. I look forward to the eventual publication of this material! It will be very cool to see the next stage of the process when I know something of its excavation and study season work.

Emilie Nordhues is a graduate student in the Near Eastern Languages & Cultures Department at UCLA. Her research interests lie in the Achaemenid period and include dealing with identity formation, the impact of empire on daily life and religious practices, and the mobility and impact of various communities of practice (such as craftsmen).

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