Continuity and Change in 6th-4th Century BCE Jerusalem

The study of Babylonian and Persian period Jerusalem points to a discrepancy between the biblical text and the archaeological remains. Contrary to the dramatic upheaval depicted in the Bible, in which the city lost its central position following the Babylonian conquest, becoming a relatively meager settlement, the archaeological remains, especially the pottery, stamped handles, and coins, suggest continuity from the late Iron Age into the Persian period, even hinting at advanced administrative organization. This paper focuses on pottery production as a possible marker for continuity and change in the material culture during these periods. By examining Persian period contexts, we can now distinguish between several ceramic horizons and identify gradual changes in pottery vessels throughout the period. Mapping the locations and natures of these contexts we can identify changes in the city layout, suggesting that Jerusalem was continuously inhabited during this period. Sub-dividing the period into several chronological phases enables us for the first time to assign the various contexts to different horizons and prove that the development of Persian period pottery types was a slow and gradual process with its inception in the end of the Iron Age.