PROBLEMS: THE NATURE OF THE EVIDENCE

In this part of this chapter an attempt is made to answer the question: what is the archaeological contribution towards an elucidation surrounding the origins of the Israelite tribes in Palestine?

The nineteenth Egyptian dynasty covers a period of time which in Palestine may be equated with the Dark Ages following the collapse of the Mycenaean world in Greece. The period 1320-1200 B.C. involves some of the most thorny and complicated problems in the whole of Palestinian history, comprising as it does the date and nature of the Hebrew conquest and settlement; the cultural interrelationship of Canaanite and Hebrew tribes and their place in the Near East as a whole: the historicity of such Old Testament heroes as Joshua and Baraq; the sifting of historical events from folk tales, religious propaganda and certain editorial practices.

Owing to the peculiar position which Palestine holds in respect to three world religions, the reason for and the evolution of excavations in her soil have been somewhat different from those in other parts of the world. The impetus to dig for history in classical lands was stimulated by a combination of romanticism and a familiarity with the literature, philosophy and art of the Greeks and Romans which was shared by all educated people of the Western world. Something of the same romanticism, added to the excitement of discovering that the history of the world was far older than had been supposed, spurred on excavation in Mesopotamia. The discovery of the Assyrian cities and Babylon in turn gave the first firm link with the world of the Old Testament.