Radiocarbon dates from Tel Rehov, Pharaoh Shoshenq I and a revised chronology for the Iron-Age in the southern Levant with regional implications.
Hendrik J. Bruins,¹ Johannes van der Plicht,² Amihai Mazar³

1. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research,
   Department Man in the Desert, Sede Boker Campus, 84990, Israel.
2. University of Groningen, Centre for Isotope Research, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands.
3. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Institute of Archaeology, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.

We propose confirmation based on radiometric dates of the suggestion (by A. Mazar) for a revised chronology for the Iron Age in the Southern Levant. According to this view, the Iron Age IIA cultural period includes much of the 10^th as well as much of the 9^th centuries BCE (ca 980-835 BCE). We present a series of C14 dates from six different strata from Tel Rehov in the Jordan Valley from the 12^th to the 9^th centuries BCE. One significant result is the suggested linkage, based on radiocarbon dating, between the destruction of Stratum V at Tel Rehov and the military campaign of Pharaoh Shoshenq I. Therefore, we can associate the archaeological assemblage from this level with the Solomonic era. The radiocarbon dates also have significant implications for the chronology of Cyprus and Greece, because imported pottery from both countries was found in Tel Rehov.

This dual presentation at the 2^nd Euroconference in Vienna is based on a recent publication by the above authors in Science (Vol. 300, No. 5617, pp. 315-318, 11 April 2003). The presentation will be opened by Hendrik J. Bruins, who will focus on the radiocarbon dates and their chronological implications. Then Amihai Mazar will present the archaeological context in relation to the new dates and will discuss the archaeological significance and the regional implications, also for Cyprus and Greece.