I. Aims
The aims of the continued excavations include the study of the Middle and Late Bronze Age societies of Tell el-cAjjul. The study of Tell el-cAjjul’s identity and political relation to Egypt and its Palestinian neighbours by means of an examination of the material culture is also of importance. Trade and trade routes will also be investigated with the aid of provenance studies of the numerous imported objects. The re-interpretation of Petrie’s and his assistants’ excavations in the 30s will be undertaken as soon as sufficient stratigraphical evidence has been collected. The synchronization of the cultures in the Eastern Mediterranean by means of a study of primarily pottery from Cyprus, Egypt and the Jordan Valley, and the establishment of a reliable absolute chronology through a study of scientific dating methods is of importance. The provenance study of the numerous samples of pumice from Tell el-cAjjul with neutron activation analysis (Bichler and Fischer forthcoming) is of equal importance because it is expected to lead to the synchronization of the “Minoan” eruption of the Thera volcano with certain cultural layers and their finds at Tell el-cAjjul and with those of other Eastern Mediterranean cultures.
All findings were fed into the expedition’s database “MontAjjul”.