Syro-Palestinian Archaeology - Terminology and Scope

Terminology and Scope

Syro-Palestinian archaeology is one of the terms used to refer to archaeological research conducted in the southern Levant. As an aspect of archaeology, it encompasses excavations, salvage, conservation and reconstruction efforts, as well as off-site research, interpretation, and other scholarship.

The terminology for archaeology in the southern Levant has been defined in various, often competing or overlapping ways. Prior to and during the period of the British Mandate in Palestine (1920–1948), archaeology of the region was typically described as Palestinian archaeology or biblical archaeology. Under the influence of William F. Albright (1891–1971), biblical inquiry and narratives became increasingly important; indeed, Albright conceived of Palestinian archaeology or Syro-Palestinian archaeology as a sub-field of biblical archaeology. "The archaeology of ancient Israel," is described by Franken and Franken-Battershill as, "but a small part of the far greater study of Palestinian archaeology " in A Primer of Old Testament Archaeology (1963).

According to William G. Dever, the leading proponent of the term "Syro-Palestinian" archaeology, biblical archaeology blossomed as a movement in the 1950s. By the 1970s, national archaeological schools took the lead — prominently in Israel at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and, to a lesser extent, in Jordan and Syria. Palestinians were late to join the field, but since the 1990s the term Palestinian archaeology can also been used to refer to archaeological studies of the region conducted by Palestinians, largely by the Palestinian Institute of Archaeology at Bir Zeit University in the West Bank, and the Department of Antiquities in Gaza.

Dever defines the geographical scope of Syro-Palestinian archaeology as the southern Levant, comprising "ancient Canaan; modern coastal and southern Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel." While Dever does not mention the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Walter G. Rast does include them in his definition of the geographical scope of Palestinian archaeology, though he omits Lebanon and parts of Syria. Further describing the field, its emergence, and its relationship to other related disciplines, Dever writes: "For at least the past 20 years, the branch of Near Eastern archaeology that deals with ancient Palestine has been known chiefly as 'Syro-Palestinian', or sometimes simply 'Palestinian', rather than 'biblical archaeology' (the other branches being Anatolian, Mesopotamian, Iranian, Egyptian, and occasionally Cypriot archaeology)." For both scientific and political reasons, the geographic (or geomorphological) boundaries of archaeological research and interpretation are not set rigidly within the discipline.

While both biblical archaeology and Syro-Palestinian archaeology deal with the same general region of study, the focus and approach of these interrelated disciplines differs. Even scholars who have continued to advocate a role for biblical archaeology have accepted the existence of a general branch of Palestinian archaeology or Syro-Palestinian archaeology. One key difference is that Syro-Palestinian archaeology may examine the post-Biblical period. In addition, Biblical archaeology may cover areas relevant to the Bible outside of the southern Levant (e.g., Egypt or Persia) and it tends to focus more on the use and explanation of Biblical texts. Beyond its importance to the discipline of biblical archaeology, the region of the southern Levant is critical for an understanding of the history of the earliest peoples of the Stone Age.

In academic, political, and public settings, the region's archaeology can also be described in terms of ancient or modern Israel, Jordan, Palestine and Syria. Archaeologists may define the geographic range more narrowly, especially for inquiries that focus on 'Israel' or 'Palestine,' whether construed as ancient or modern territories. The shifting terminology over the past 50 years reflects political tensions that operate within and upon the field. For instance, a scholar writing on "biblical archaeology" for a 2007 encyclopedia states:

So as to stay on the straight and narrow politically correct path, this author hereby declares that this article uses the terms 'Palestine,' 'Israel,' and 'Southern Levant' interchangeably; that the term 'Israel' -- except when utilized in a modern political context -- is used in the biblical sense; and that the use of 'Palestine' and 'Israel' in no ways implies a judgment about the rights of any modern political entity to any territory and/or the borders of any such entity -- past present, or future.

Archaeologists seeking a neutral orientation that is neither biblical nor national have utilized terms such as Syro-Palestinian archaeology and archaeology of the southern Levant.