Prof. Alexander Fantalkin

fantalk@post.tauex.ac.il

Education

BA, MA, PhD – Tel Aviv University

PhD dissertation: "Contacts between the Greek World and the Southern Levant during the Seventh-Sixth Centuries BCE"

Current Projects

• Ashdod-Yam Archaeological Project, Director: http://archaeological.wixsite.com/ashdodyam
• Greeks in the East during the Iron Age
• Biblical/Near Eastern Archaeology
• Mediterranean Chronology during the Bronze and Iron Ages
• Rehydroxylation (RHX) Dating Method for Archeological Ceramics

MA Students

• Molly Eldar, 2013: "The Early Phoenician Expansion to the Western Mediterranean: When and Why?"
• Gennadiy Shoykhedbrod, 2014: "Pax Assyriaca: Did Assyrian Imperialism Introduce Economic Prosperity in Judah?" TAU International MA program (with Prof. Oded Lipschits).
• George Mavronanos, 2015: "Iatnana and the Assyrians: Illuminating the Role of Cyprus within the Trade Network of the Assyrian Empire". TAU International MA program.
• Adam Kaplan, 2015: "Kefar Veradim Cave 3: A Re-examination". TAU International MA program.
• Mati Johananoff, 2016: "Hellenistic Bronze Coins from Side (Pamphylia) in the Southern Levant" (with Prof. Oren Tal and Dr. Donald T. Ariel).
• David Luria, 2017:  "The Nomads of the Southern Levant at the End of the Late Bronze and the Beginning of Iron Age" (with Prof. Steve Rosen).
• Laura Farkas, 2017: "Tel Gerisa in the Late Bronze IIA: Determining the Character of the Material Culture of the Site in the Amarna Period". TAU International MA program (with Prof. Ze'ev Herzog).
• Oron Schwartz, 2018: "The Transition between Iron Age I and IIA in Light of Qiryat-Ye'arim Excavation" (with Prof. Gabriel Barkay).
• Alexander Glik, 2018: "Military Finds from Jaffa (18th-19th centuries CE): Archaeological Finds versus Textual Evidence" (with Prof. Gideon Avni).
• Marc Wallace: 2018: "The History of Settlement at Tel Shalaf and the Battle of Eltekeh". TAU International MA program.
• Eli Itkin, 2018: "Horvat Tov (Bir et-Tayyib): A View on Judah’s Southern Frontier in the Seventh Century BCE".
• Naama Earon, 2020:  "Ethnicity in Philistia in the Persian, Hellenistic and Roman Periods: Ashdod as a Case Study" (with Prof. Benjamin Isaac).
• Tatiana Ananich: “Judahite Burial Practices as a Reflection of Social Organization” (with Prof. Oded Lipschits), TAU International MA program.

PhD Students

• Elon Heymans, 2018: "The Early History of Money and Monetary Exchange in the Eastern Mediterranean Iron Age" (with Prof. Israel Finkelstein and Prof. Irad Malkin).
• Liora Bouzaglou: "Imperial Archaeology, Provincial Archaeology: The Levant during the Neo-Assyrian Domination. Stratigraphical and Ceramic Reevaluation of the Iron Age IIB (8^th-7^th centuries BCE)" (double Ph.D.: TAU and Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, with Prof. Pascal Butterlin).
• Eythan Levy: "Chronology of the Iron Age in the Levant: A Computational Approach" (with Prof. Israel Finkelstein and Prof. Eli Piasetzky).
• Daniel Weinberger: "Public Archaeology in Israel" (with Prof. Rafi Greenberg).
• Eli Itkin: "Between the Empires: The southern Coastal Plain and the Besor Region from the Iron Age IIB until the Persian Period".

Selected Publications, for PDF versions, see https://telaviv.academia.edu/AlexanderFantalkin

Books

• Fantalkin, A. 2001. Mezad Hashavyahu: Its Material Culture and Historical Background. Tel Aviv (Journal of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University ) 28/1 (for book review, see Boardman, J. 2002. Ancient West and East 1: 489–490).
• Fantalkin, A. and Yassur-Landau, A. eds. 2008. Bene Israel : Studies in the Archaeology of Israel and the Levant during the Bronze and Iron Ages in Honour of Israel Finkelstein (Culture and History of the Ancient Near East Series 31). Brill: Leiden (for book reviews, see Kelder, J.M. 2010. American Journal of Archaeology 114/2; Hawkins, R.K. 2010. Catholic Biblical Quarterly 72/4: 626–628; Maeir, A.M.  2013. Ancient West and East 12: 376–378).
• Fantalkin, A. and Tal, O. 2015. Tell Qudadi: An Iron Age IIB Fortress on the Central Mediterranean Coast of Israel (with References to Earlier and Later Periods). Final Report on the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Excavations Directed by E.L. Sukenik and S. Yeivin, with the Participation of N. Avigad (Colloquia Antiqua 15). Leuven: Peeters Publishers (for book reviews, see e.g., Hudon, J.P. 2017. Andrews University Seminary Studies 55/2: 310–312; Fales, M. 2018. Palestine Exploration Quarterly 150/1: 80–84; Pierce, G.A. 2018. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 380: 250–252).

Selected Articles

• Fantalkin, A. 2000. A Salvage Excavation at an Early Bronze Age Settlement on Ha-Shophtim Street, Qiryat 'Ata. Tel Aviv 27: 28–56.
• Fantalkin, A. 2000. A Salvage Excavation at a 6th - 7th cent. C.E. Site on Palmach Street, Beer Sheva. Tel Aviv 27: 257–272.
• Tal, O., Tepper, Y. and Fantalkin, A. 2000. Josephus' Fortifications at Beersheba Galilee ? In: Schwartz, J., Amar, Z. and Ziffer, I. (eds.) Jerusalem and Eretz Israel. Bar-Ilan University and Eretz Israel Museum , Tel Aviv: 155–163. (Hebrew).
• Fantalkin, A. 2001. Low Chronology and Greek Protogeometric and Geometric Pottery in the Southern Levant. Levant 33: 117–125.
• Barkay, G., Fantalkin, A. and Tal, O. 2002. A Late Iron Age Fortress North of Jerusalem. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 328: 49–71.
• Tal, O., Tepper, Y. and Fantalkin, A. 2002. A Columbarium (Dovecote) at Horvat Parod: A Case Study for the Chronology of the Columbaria in Galilee ? Michmanim 16: 47–59 (Hebrew).
• Fantalkin, A. 2003. Greek Pottery at Mezad Hashavyahu and its Contribution to the Reconstruction of the Site: Trading Post or Military Stronghold? In: Schmaltz, B. and Soldner, M. eds. Griechische Keramik im kulturellen Kontext . Kiel: 271–273.
• Fantalkin, A. and Tal, O. 2003. The ‘Yannai Line' ( BJ I, 99 - 100; AJ XIII, 390 - 91) - Reality or Fiction? Palestine Exploration Quarterly 135: 108–123.
• Fantalkin, A. 2004. The Final Destruction of Beth-Shemesh and the Pax Assyriaca in the Judahite Shephelah: An Alternative View. Tel Aviv 31: 245–261.
• Fantalkin, A. and Tal, O. 2004. The Persian and Hellenistic Pottery of Level I. In: Ussishkin, D. (ed.) The Renewed Archaeological Excavations at Lachish – 1973-1994 . (Tel Aviv University Monograph Series 22). Tel Aviv: 2174–2194.
• Fantalkin, A. 2005. A Group of Iron Age Wineries from Ancient Jaffa (Joppa). Salvage Excavation Reports 2: 3–26.
• Fantalkin, A. 2005. The Archaeological Remains from Mezad Hashavyahu: An Attempt at a Historical Reconstruction. In: Fischer, M. ed. Yavneh, Yavneh-Yam and their Neighborhood: Studies in the Archaeology and History of the Judean Coastal Plain . Tel Aviv: 83–106 (Hebrew).
• Fantalkin, A. and Finkelstein, I. 2006. The Sheshonq I Campaign and the 8th-Century BCE Earthquake – More on the Archaeology and History of the South in the Iron I-IIA. Tel Aviv 33: 18–42.
• Fantalkin, A. and Tal, O. 2006. Re-Dating Lachish Level I: Identifying Achaemenid Imperial Policy at the Southern Frontier of the Fifth Satrapy. In: Liphshitz, O. and Oeming, M. eds. Judah and the Judeans in the Persian Period. Winona Lake: 167–197.
• Fantalkin, A. 2006. Identity in the Making: Greeks in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Iron Age. In: Villing, A. and Schlotzhauer, U. eds. Naukratis: Greek Diversity in Egypt. Studies on East Greek Pottery and Exchange in the Eastern Mediterranean (The British Museum Research Publication 162). London: 199–208.
• Finkelstein, I. , Fantalkin, A. and Piasetzky, E. 2008. Three Snapshots of the Iron IIA: The Valleys, the South and Jerusalem . In: Grabbe, L. ed. Israel in Transition: From Late Bronze II to Iron IIA (c. 1250-850 BCE) (European Seminar in Historical Methodology 7). London and New York : 32–44.
• Fantalkin, A. 2008. The Appearance of Rock-Cut Bench Tombs in Iron Age Judah as a Reflection of State Formation. In: Fantalkin, A. and Yassur-Landau, A. eds. Bene Israel : Studies in the Archaeology of Israel and the Levant during the Bronze and Iron Ages in Honour of Israel Finkelstein (Culture and History of the Ancient Near East Series 31). Leiden: 17–44.
• Tal, O. and Fantalkin, A. 2009 . An Iron Age IIB Fortress at Tell Qudadi: A Preliminary Study. Eretz Israel 29 (Ephraim Stern Volume). Jerusalem: 192–205 (Hebrew).
• Tal, O. and Fantalkin, A. 2009. The Region of Tel Aviv during the First Millennium BCE – Between Kingdoms and Empires. In: Gophna, R., Ayalon, E. and Bashkin-Yosef, N. eds. The Secret History of Tel Aviv. Eretz Israel Museum , Tel Aviv and Yad Izhak Ben - Zvi, Jerusalem: 81–111 (Hebrew).
• Maeir, A.M., Fantalkin, A. and Zukerman, A. 2009. The Earliest Greek Import in the Iron Age Levant : New Evidence from Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel. Ancient West and East 8: 57–80.
• Fantalkin, A. and Tal, O. 2009. Navigating Between the Powers: Joppa and Its Vicinity in the 1st Millennium B.C.E. Ugarit-Forschungen 40: 225–276.
• Fantalkin, A. and Tal, O. 2009. Re-discovering the Iron Age Fortress at Tell Qudadi in the Context of the Neo-Assyrian Imperialistic Policies. Palestine Exploration Quarterly 141: 188–206.
• Fantalkin, A. and Tal, O. 2010. Reassessing the Date of the Beginning of the Grey Series Transport Amphorae from Lesbos. BABESCH –Annual Papers on Mediterranean Archaeology 85: 11–22.
• Fantalkin, A. 2011. Why Did Nebuchadnezzar II Destroy Ashkelon in Kislev 604 B.C.E.? In: Finkelstein, I. and Na'aman, N. eds. The Fire Signals of Lachish: Studies in the Archaeology and History of Israel in the Late Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Persian Period in Honor of David Ussishkin. Winona Lake: 87–111
• Fantalkin, A., Finkelstein, I. and Piasetzky, E. 2011. Iron Age Mediterranean Chronology: A Rejoinder. Radiocarbon 53/1: 179–198.
• Taxel, I. and Fantalkin, A. 2011. Egyptian Coarse Ware in Early Islamic Palestine: Between Commerce and Migration. Al-Masāq: Islam and the Medieval Mediterranean 23/2: 77–97.
• Fantalkin, A. and Tal, O. 2012. The Canonization of the Pentateuch: When and Why? (Part I). Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 124/1: 1–18.
• Fantalkin, A. and Tal, O. 2012. The Canonization of the Pentateuch: When and Why? (Part II). Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 124/2: 201–212.
• Finkelstein, I. and Fantalkin, A. 2012. Khirbet Qeiyafa: An Unsensational Archaeological and Historical Interpretation. Tel Aviv 39: 38–63.
• Fantalkin, A. and Tal, O. 2012. Judah and its Neighbors in the Fourth Century BCE: A Time of Major Transformations. In: Ro, J.U. ed. From Judah to Judea: Socio-economic Structures and Processes in the Persian Period (Hebrew Bible Monographs 43). Sheffield: 134–197.
• Toffolo, M.B., Fantalkin A., Lemos, I.S., Felsch, R.C.S., Niemeier, W-D, Sanders, G.D.R., Finkelstein, I. and Boaretto, E. 2013. Towards an Absolute Chronology for the Aegean Iron Age: New Radiocarbon Dates from Lefkandi, Kalapodi and Corinth. PLoS ONE 8/12: e83117. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083117.
• Fantalkin, A. 2014. Naukratis as a Contact Zone: Revealing the Lydian Connection. In: Rollinger, R. and Schnegg, K. eds. Kulturkontakte in antiken Welten: vom Denkmodell zum Fallbeispiel (Colloquia Antiqua 10). Peeters Publishers: 27–51.
• Fantalkin, A. 2014. Ashdod-Yam on the Israeli Mediterranean Coast: A First Season of Excavations. Skyllis: Zeitschrift für Unterwasserarchäologie 14/1: 45–57.
• Fantalkin, A., Finkelstein, I. and Piasetzky, E. 2015. Late Helladic to Middle Geometric Aegean and Contemporary Cypriot Chronologies: A Radiocarbon View from the Levant. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 373: 25–48.
• Fantalkin, A. 2015. Coarse Kitchen and Household Pottery as an Indicator for Egyptian Presence in the Southern Levant: A Diachronic Perspective. In: Villing, A. and Spataro, M. eds. Ceramics, Cuisine and Culture: The Archaeology and Science of Kitchen Pottery in the Ancient Mediterranean World. Oxford: Oxbow: 233–241.
• Fantalkin, A. and Tal, O. 2015. When the River Meets the Sea: A Neo-Assyrian Logistical Network in Operation. Skyllis: Zeitschrift für Unterwasserarchäologie 15/1: 21–27.
• Fantalkin, A. and Lytle, E. 2016. Alcaeus and Antimenidas: Reassessing the Evidence for Greek Mercenaries in the Neo-Babylonian Army. Klio: Beiträge zur Alten Geschichte 98/1: 90–117.
• Fantalkin, A., Johananoff, M. and Krispin, S. 2016. Persian-Period Philistian Coins from Ashdod-Yam. Israel Numismatic Journal 11: 23–28.
• Fantalkin, A. 2016. Was there a “Greek Renaissance” in 7^th Century BCE Philistia? In: Finkelstein, I., Robin, C. and Romer, T. eds. Alphabets, Texts and Artefacts in the Ancient Near East, Studies Presented to Benjamin Sass. Paris, Van Dieren: 83–99.
• Fantalkin, A. and Finkelstein, I. 2017. The Date and Territorial Affiliation of Khirbet Qeiyafa: An Update. Tel Aviv 44: 53–60.
• Fantalkin, A. 2017. In Defense of Nebuchadnezzar II the Warrior. Altorientalische Forschungen 44/2: 201–208.
• Fantalkin, A. 2017. Toward the Identification of the Goddess of Ekron. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions 17/2: 97–115.
• Berlejung, A. and Fantalkin, A. 2017. Ausgrabungen in Ashdod-Yam:  Hafenzentrum und Klosterstadt. Welt und Umwelt der Bibel 4/2017: 66–68.
• Ashkenazi, D. and Fantalkin, A. 2017. Archaeometallurgical and Archaeological Investigation of Hellenistic Metal Objects from Ashdod-Yam (Israel). Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-017-0579-1.
• Berlejung, A. and Fantalkin, A. 2017. Ein magischer Moment: Zu einem neuen Amulettfund aus Aschdod-Yam. In: Witte, M., Schäfer, R. and Kamlah, J. ed. Zauber und Magie in Palästina und in seiner Umwelt (ADPV – Monograph Series of the German Society for Exploration of Palestine 46). Wiesbaden: 285–308.
• Barkay, G., Tal, O. and Fantalkin, A. 2017. Towards the Identification of Nob: A Biblical Priestly Town. Eretz Israel 33 (Staiger Volume): 92–97 (Hebrew with English Summary).
• Fantalkin, A. 2018. Neo-Assyrian Involvement in the Southern Coastal Plain of Israel: Old Concepts and New Interpretations. In: Faust, A. and Zelig Aster, S. eds. The Southern Levant under Assyrian Domination. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns: 162–185.
• Kleiman, A., Fantalkin, A., Mommsen, H. and Finkelstein, I. 2019. The Date and Origin of the Black-on-Red Ware: The View from Megiddo. American Journal of Archaeology 123/4: 531–555
• Luria, D., Fantalkin, A., Zilberman, E. and Ben-Dor, E. 2020. Identifying the Brazil Nut Effect in Archaeological Site Formation Processes. Mediterranean Geoscience Reviews 2: 267–281.
• Fantalkin, A., Kleiman, A., Mommsen, H. and Finkelstein, I. 2020. Aegean Pottery in Iron IIA Megiddo: Typological, Archaeometric and Chronological Aspects.  Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry 20/3: 135–147.
• Levy, E., Geeraerts, G., Pluquet, F., Piasetzky, E. and Fantalkin, A. 2021. Chronological Networks in Archaeology: A Formalised Scheme. Journal of Archaeological Science. Volume 127, March 2021, 105225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2020.105225
• Avramovska, M., Chmelik, C., Derkowski, A., Fantalkin, A., Freude, D., Haase, J., Hare, V., Kärger, J., Kuligiewicz, A. and Moinester, M. 2021. Searching for the Fundamentals of Rehydroxylation Dating of Archaeological Ceramics via NMR and IR Microscopy. Journal of the American Ceramic Society 104(10): 5328–5340. https://doi.org/10.1111/jace.1775
• Levy, E., Piasetzky, E. and Fantalkin, A. 2021. Archaeological Cross-dating: A Formalized Scheme. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-021-01371-8
• Fantalkin, A. forthcoming. Did Ionian or Carian Mercenaries Serve in the Neo-Assyrian Army? In: Tsetskhladze, G.R. and Santos Retolaza, M. eds. Ionians in the East and West (Colloquia Antiqua). Leuven: Peeters Publishers.