Jonathan N. Tubb
Curator of Syria-Palestine in the Department of the Ancient Near East, British Museum
Archaeologically, the Persian period in Palestine is only beginning to emerge from a period of relative obscurity, thanks to a number of more recent excavations. The material culture shows two distinct trends. In the Hill Country, the continuation of Iron Age traditions was still by far the most dominant factor. The coastal region, on the other hand, succumbed to the influences of western East-Greek, Cypriote and Attic elements as transmitted mainly by the Phoenicians, but also by Greek colonists. The Persians themselves, however, seem to have left little permanent trace in the archaeological record apart from the occasional imported pottery type or item of metalwork of jewellery, many of which were in fact produced by the Phoenicians. Even the architecture of the period reflects little but the local traditions of the Iron Age.
If the evidence for Persian cultural influence is somewhat intangible in Palestine, it is even more elusive in Transjordan. One of the few sites to have produced remains of the Persian period is Tell es-Sa'idiyeh. Here, the Persian period was initially defined by the University of Pennsylvania expedition as Stratum III dating to the late 5th century BC. The remains of this phase were seen to consist of a single, large, square-plan building (fortress or residency) on the highest point of the mound - the so-called acropolis.
Subsequent excavations conducted by the writer, on behalf of the British Museum, have added new information, including a large number of contemporary burials in the Lower Tell cemetery. What is unusual about the burials, however, is that they reflect Egyptian, rather than Persian practices. This paper discusses the more recent archaeological evidence, and offers a new perspective on the so-called "Persian Period".
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