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Pavel Shrago

Common, rather dull pottery clearly dates the Jezreel enclosure to the ninth century B.C.E. and the reign of Israel’s king Ahab. Nearly identical pottery was uncovered in a controversial stratum at nearby Megiddo (Stratum VA-IVB). Does the ninth-century B.C.E. Jezreel pottery therefore also date the Meggido stratum to the ninth century B.C.E.? The Megiddo stratum has been widely dated to the tenth century B.C.E. Lowering its date to the ninth century B.C.E. has been the cornerstone of Israel Finkelstein’s controversial Low Chronology. Scholars who disagree with the Low Chronology argue that pottery with the same characteristics was used over a long period of time—in the tenth century B.C.E. as well as in the ninth century B.C.E.