Archaeological Methods — Excavation, Dating Techniques, Stratigraphy

Introduction

If the previous lesson established the historical and intellectual purpose of biblical archaeology, this one turns to the essential methods that make the discipline possible. Archaeology is not guesswork or treasure-hunting; it is a scientific and interpretive discipline that depends on precise tools, careful procedures, and rigorous documentation. Biblical archaeology, like archaeology in general, is defined not by the artifacts it recovers but by the method of recovery, analysis, and interpretation.

This article introduces the three methodological pillars most relevant to biblical archaeology: excavation, dating techniques, and stratigraphy. Each represents not just a technical procedure but a conceptual framework that allows scholars to reconstruct the past responsibly. Excavation retrieves data from the earth. Dating techniques assign those data to a chronological framework. Stratigraphy interprets the layers of deposition that preserve history in sequence. Together, these methods allow archaeologists to move from dirt and debris to cultural reconstruction and historical analysis.

In this lesson, we will examine each method in detail, showing both how it is applied in the field and how it contributes to the interpretation of the biblical world.

Excavation in Biblical Archaeology

The Principles of Excavation

Excavation is the process of systematically uncovering material remains from beneath the surface of the ground. Unlike the looting of antiquities or the casual digging of earlier explorers, scientific excavation is guided by two principles:

1. Context is as important as content. The location, position, and associations of an artifact often provide more information than the artifact itself (Renfrew & Bahn, 2016).

2. Archaeology is destructive. Once a site is excavated, it cannot be re-excavated. Therefore, excavation must be conducted carefully, with detailed recording, so that future generations can re-analyze the data even after the site itself is gone (Hodder, 1999).

Excavation Techniques

Modern biblical archaeologists employ a grid system to excavate sites, dividing the area into squares (often 5 × 5 meters) separated by balks (standing strips of earth). This method allows excavators to keep track of stratigraphy and maintain control over horizontal and vertical data. Each locus (a defined context, such as a floor, pit, or wall) is carefully recorded with drawings, photographs, and digital tools.

Artifacts — pottery sherds, bones, inscriptions, tools, and architectural remains — are catalogued and analyzed in relation to their stratigraphic layer. Soil samples may also be collected for micro-archaeological analysis, such as pollen, phytoliths, or carbon residues. Increasingly, archaeological digs use GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and 3D scanning to model sites digitally for later study (Clark & Hagelberg, 2020).

Notable Excavations in Biblical Archaeology

Several excavations have become benchmarks for the discipline:

• Jericho (Tell es-Sultan): Excavated by Kathleen Kenyon in the 1950s, this site became a model for stratigraphic excavation.

• Hazor: Yigael Yadin’s excavations (1950s and 1960s) revealed Canaanite temples and Israelite fortifications, demonstrating large-scale urban life (Yadin, 1975).

• Megiddo: Ongoing excavations have uncovered monumental architecture, cultic areas, and city gates, showing the site’s importance throughout multiple periods.

Each excavation illustrates how careful methods can transform a tell (a mound of accumulated ruins) into a narrative of human habitation across centuries.

Dating Techniques

Dating methods are essential for turning a collection of artifacts into a chronological framework. Without dating, archaeological finds remain isolated; with dating, they can be connected to biblical events and broader historical processes.

Relative Dating: Pottery Typology

The earliest and still one of the most important dating techniques in biblical archaeology is pottery typology. Because pottery styles change over time and are widely distributed, ceramic remains serve as “fossils” for dating layers (Albright, 1940). For example, collared-rim jars are characteristic of the Iron Age I period (1200–1000 BCE), while wheel-burnished pottery is typical of the Iron Age II.

Excavators often sort pottery into diagnostic sherds (such as rims, bases, and handles) and body sherds. Typological sequences established at sites like Tell Beit Mirsim and Megiddo provide comparative frameworks for other excavations (Mazar, 1992).

Absolute Dating: Radiocarbon and Beyond

Relative dating is supplemented by absolute dating methods, the most significant being radiocarbon (C-14) dating. This technique measures the decay of radioactive carbon in organic materials such as charcoal, seeds, or bones (Taylor & Bar-Yosef, 2014). Radiocarbon dating provides ranges with a standard deviation, which can be calibrated against tree-ring data (dendrochronology).

Radiocarbon dating has transformed debates in biblical archaeology. For instance, debates about the dating of Iron Age strata at Megiddo and Hazor hinge on radiocarbon samples, with implications for the historicity of Solomon’s building projects (Finkelstein & Piasetzky, 2003).

Other absolute dating methods include:

• Dendrochronology (tree-ring dating): Used when preserved wood is available.

• Thermoluminescence: For dating ceramics by measuring trapped electrons.

• Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL): Measures the last time sediments were exposed to light.

Each technique has limitations, but together they provide critical checks on traditional chronologies.

Stratigraphy: Reading the Layers of Time

The Law of Superposition

Stratigraphy refers to the study of layered deposits. Based on the principle of superposition, lower layers are generally older than those above them (Harris, 1989). Tells in the Levant preserve centuries or millennia of habitation, with each layer representing a distinct occupation phase.

Stratigraphic Recording

Excavators use balks (the unexcavated sections between squares) to preserve visible profiles of strata. Each stratum is documented by locus, soil color, artifact assemblage, and architectural features. Kenyon’s Jericho excavation became famous for its stratigraphic rigor, producing detailed profiles that distinguished dozens of occupational phases (Kenyon, 1979).

Stratigraphy and the Bible

Stratigraphic analysis often intersects with biblical debates:

• At Jericho, Kenyon argued that the city was destroyed centuries before Joshua, challenging a literal conquest narrative.

• At Hazor, destruction layers have been debated as possible evidence of Joshua or later Israelite campaigns.

• At Lachish, stratigraphy has confirmed destruction levels corresponding to Assyrian and Babylonian campaigns, corroborating biblical accounts in 2 Kings 18–25.

Stratigraphy thus functions as a bridge between material evidence and textual narratives, though interpretation requires caution.

The Interplay of Methods

Excavation, dating, and stratigraphy are not isolated techniques but interconnected processes. Excavation retrieves the data, stratigraphy situates them in sequence, and dating methods calibrate them against absolute or relative chronologies. Together, they allow archaeologists to move from the ground to historical reconstruction.

For example, at Megiddo, careful excavation revealed successive city gates. Stratigraphy distinguished Iron Age levels. Pottery typology and radiocarbon dating then helped scholars debate whether the monumental gates belonged to Solomon (1 Kings 9:15) or later Omride rulers. This case illustrates how methods shape interpretation and how different conclusions can arise from the same data.

Suggested Assignments

1. Pottery Analysis Lab: Using photographs of pottery types from the Bronze and Iron Ages, identify diagnostic features and construct a typological sequence. Write a short report explaining how pottery dating contributes to biblical archaeology.

2. Radiocarbon Debate Essay: Read Finkelstein and Piasetzky (2003) on radiocarbon dating at Megiddo and compare their conclusions with traditional “Solomonic” chronology. Write a 6–8 page paper evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of radiocarbon evidence.

3. Stratigraphy Diagram Exercise: Study a published stratigraphic section from Jericho or Lachish. Create a diagram labeling key layers and propose how these might correspond to biblical events.

4. Field Methods Reflection: Write a journal entry reflecting on why excavation is destructive and why meticulous recording is ethically and academically essential. Consider how this principle might apply to other fields of study.

Conclusion

The methods of biblical archaeology are its lifeblood. Excavation provides access to the material record, stratigraphy reveals the sequential story of habitation, and dating techniques anchor these findings in time. Together, they allow archaeologists to move beyond speculation to reasoned reconstructions of the past. For biblical studies, these methods provide essential context, offering both illumination and challenge to traditional interpretations.

Understanding these methods also instills humility. Archaeology is not omniscient; it is partial, fragmentary, and interpretive. Yet when applied with rigor and respect, these methods enable us to listen carefully to the “mute stones” that bear witness to the world of the Bible.

References

Albright, W. F. (1940). From the Stone Age to Christianity: Monotheism and the Historical Process. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Clark, J., & Hagelberg, G. (2020). Digital archaeology: New technologies for ancient data. Near Eastern Archaeology, 83(1), 4–15.

Finkelstein, I., & Piasetzky, E. (2003). Radiocarbon dating and the Iron Age chronology debate: Rehov, Megiddo, and Tel Hadar. Radiocarbon, 45(2), 359–370.

Harris, E. C. (1989). Principles of Archaeological Stratigraphy (2nd ed.). London: Academic Press.

Hodder, I. (1999). The Archaeological Process: An Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell.

Kenyon, K. M. (1979). Archaeology in the Holy Land (4th ed.). New York: Norton.

Mazar, A. (1992). Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, 10,000–586 B.C.E. New York: Doubleday.

Renfrew, C., & Bahn, P. (2016). Archaeology: Theories, Methods, and Practice (7th ed.). London: Thames & Hudson.

Taylor, R. E., & Bar-Yosef, O. (2014). Radiocarbon Dating: An Archaeological Perspective (2nd ed.). Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press.

Yadin, Y. (1975). Hazor: The Rediscovery of a Great Citadel of the Bible. New York: Random House.