Microarchaeology Helps Solve Ashkelon’s Puzzles

Scientists with the Kimmel Center for Archaeological Science in the Weizmann Institute in Israel are helping Ashkelon archaeologists Lawrence Stager and Daniel Master discover new secrets about their site’s archaeological remains. Using techniques from the emerging discipline of microarchaeology, including spectroscropy, radiocarbon dating, and petrographic and DNA analysis, Kimmel Center researchers have helped identify decayed grasses and dung from ancient stable floors, the function of mysterious clay cylinders and the purpose of a recently-discovered four-horned altar. At Ashkelon, the researchers are able to work in the field with the archaeologists using a mobile laboratory, quickly providing preliminary analysis and results that can then inform where and how the archaeologists dig. “The unique approach at Weizmann is not about instruments nor about methodologies,” said Kimmel Center director Steve Weiner. “It is all about solving archaeological problems with the help of instrumentation—both in the field and in the lab.”

Scientists with the Kimmel Center for Archaeological Science in the Weizmann Institute in Israel are helping Ashkelon archaeologists Lawrence Stager and Daniel Master discover new secrets about their site’s archaeological remains.

Read more about microarchaeology at Ashkelon.

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