Digmaster Figurine Index

Tell Halif, located in southern Israel at the juncture of the northern Negev and the Judaean hills, is a medium-sized tell with a history of occupation from late Chalcolithic to 20th century Kibbutz Lahav.

Tell Halif Photograph

The Lahav Research Project, under the direction of Dr. Joe D. Seger (Cobb Institute of Archaeology, Mississippi State University), first began work at the site in 1976. Seger directed both Phase I and Phase II of the Lahav Project, whose purposes included the establishment of the stratigraphic history of Halif and a multidisciplinary investigation of the site in its environment. Phase III (1992, 1993) was under the co-direction of Dr. Paul F. Jacobs (Mississippi State University) and Dr. Oded Borowski (Emory University); Phase III (1999) was directed by Dr. Paul Jacobs. Work in Phase III centered on Field IV to determine specific information from Iron II remains known to be located just below the modern surface of the tell.

In addition to stratifoed remains of the late Iron II period, some 800 figurines were found during excavations in Field IV at the western edge of the tell. Previous excavation in Fields I-III and Sites 101 and 301 reported but a single figurine example similar to those found in Field IV. Hence, the discovery of a "Persian" level on Halif, while not unknown (in Field II a structure belonging to the 5th century BCE was excavated), was unanticipated in Field IV.

All of the figurines reported here were found in secondary and tertiary stratigraphic contexts; therefore, the recorded stratigraphic information is of secondary importance to the artifacts themselves. Thus the typological, photographic, and artistic representations have been given priority in presentation.

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