Egyptian Stamp-Seal Amulets and Their Implications for the Chronology of the Early Iron Age

Abstract

The paper introduces a clearly definable group of Egyptian stamp-seal amulets that provides a new, non-biblical anchor for the absolute chronology of Palestine in the Iron Age. The items in this group—found in large numbers in the Egyptian Delta, Palestine, and Cyprus—were probably produced in the Delta in the time of Pharaohs Siam un and Sheshonq I, in the mid-10th century BCE. In Palestine they appear for the first time in the temporal horizon represented by strata such as Arad XII and Megiddo VI. Accordingly, it is suggested that the date of material remains traditionally attributed to the United Monarchy in Israel should be lowered by ca. 50 years.