What are the stones whispering? : Ramat Rahel : 3000 years of forgotten history / by Oded Lipschits, Yuval Gadot, Benjamin Arubas, and Manfred Oeming. [print]

With contributions by Efrat Bocher, Boaz Gross, Uri Davidovich, Itamar Taxel, Dafna Langgut, Ran Morin, Dvori Namdar, Omer Sergi, Roi Porat, Liora Freud, Yoav Farhi, Nirit Kedem, Ido Koch, Keren Ras, and Ronny Reich.

Section One: Introductory Chapters

Chapter One: Strategic Location, Natural Surroundings and Processes in Site Formation

Chapter Two: The Question of the Site's Ancient Name

Chapter Three: History of Research

Section Two: Government and Administrative Center--Late Iron Age to the Early Hellenistic Period

Chapter Four: Historical Introduction to the First Building Phase-Judah under Assyrian Rule

Chapter Five: First Building Phase (Late 8th/Early 7th Century BCE)

Chapter Six: Historical Introduction to the Second Building Phase--Judah under Egyptian and Babylonian Rule

Chapter Seven: Second Building Phase (Late 7th Century BCE)

Chapter Eight: Historical Introduction to the Third Building Phase--Judah under Persian Rule

Chapter Nine: Third Building PHase (Late 6th or 5th Century BCE)

Chapter Ten: Destruction and Oblivescence of the Administrative Center in Ramat Rahel

Section Three: From Government Center to Jewish Village--Ramat Rahel between the Hasmonean Period and the First Jewish-Roman War

Chapter Eleven: Fourth Building Phase--The Hasmonean and Early Roman Periods

Section Four: The Rural Settlement--Roman, Byzantine and Umayyad Periods to the Days of Kibbutz Ramat Rahel

Chapter Twelve: Fifth Building Phase--Late Roman and Byzantine Period Settlements

Chapter Thirteen: Abbasid to Ottoman Periods (660-1517 CE) (Itamar Taxel)

Chapter Fourteen: Coins and Hoards (Yoav Farhi)

Chapter Fifteen: Subterranean Space Survey in the Southern Ramat Rahel Hilltop (Uri Davidovich and Roi Porat)

Chapter Sixteen: "Landscape Archaeology" in the Western Slopes or Ramat Rahel (Uri Davidovich)

Chapter Seventeen: Modern Period--the Story of Kibbutz Ramat Rahel (Efrat Bocher)

Conclusion: The Ramat Rahel Excavations, and a Few Thoughts about the Significance of Archaeology for Understanding the History of Judah.

Includes bibliographical references.

Early Research of the Tel and its Environs Aharoni's Excavations" 1954, 1956, 1959-1962 Yohanan Aharoni 1919-1976 (Boaz Gross) ; Terror in Ramat Rahel-the 1956 Shooting Incident Creative Preservation in the Ramat Rahel Archaeological Garden (Ran Morin) ; Barkay (1984) and Solimani (2000-2002) Excavations The New Joint Expedition of the Tel-Aviv and Heidelberg Universities (2004-2010).

Ramat Rahel-Jar Stamp Impression Center for c. 500 years (Ido Koch) ; lmlk Stamp Impressions (Omer Sergi) ; "Private" Stamp Impressions (Ido Koch) ; Ivory Seal of slm (Son of) klkl-Discovered in the 2010 Excavation Season Concentric Circle Incisions on Jar Handles (Omer Sergi) ; Iron Age II Architectural Fragments at Ramat Rahel (Keren Ras).

Second Building Phase Landscape Design (Nirit Kedem) ; The Royal Garden Royal Garden and Ancient Near Eastern Parallels (Boaz Gross) ; Water Installations and Conspicuous Consumption Boundaries of the Building Complex and its Fortifications Inner Courtyard, Eastern Courtyard and Buildings inside the Complex Rosette Stamp Impressions on Jar Handles (Ida Koch) ; Dating the Second Building Phase Iron Age Pottery Vessels: Typology, Chronology and Use (Liora Freud) ; Elegant Trumpet-Based Krater-Equivalent to the Vessel from the "House of Bullae" in the City of David (Liora Freud) ; The King's Feast: Evidence for Palace Courtyard Ceremonies in the Second Building Phase Lion Stamp Impressions and Their Significance for Understanding the Babylonian Period in Judah Three-Dimensional Palace Reconstruction of the Second Building Phase.

The Persian Period Administrative Center at Ramat Rahel Yehud Stamp Impressions on Jar Handles A Persian Period Garbage Pit Containing an Assemblage of yehud Stamped Jars Recreation of the Royal Garden Vegetation (Dafna Langgut) ; Twilight of the Administrative Center during the Early Hellenistic Period yrslm Stamp Impressions on Jar Handles (Efrat Bocher).

Second Temple Period Ritual Baths in Ramat Rahel (Ronny Reich) ; The Southern Clumbarium (Uri Davidovich) ; The Tyrian Silver Coin Hoard in the Columbarium (Yoav Farhi).

Rare Hadrian Bulla (Yoav Farhi) ; The Late Roman Period Graveyard (Keren Ras).

Modern fortifications (Efrat Bocher).

"The excavations at Ramat Rahel, just south of Jerusalem, revealed a complex of structures that existed for hundreds of years in which the Kingdom of Judah was a vassal of diverse empires. Over some 500 years, jars bearing seals were stored at the site. The findings throw new light on the late First Temple period and on most of that of the Second Temple. During these centuries Ramat Rahel was the administrative contact point between Judah and the ruling empires. This is what enabled independent Judean control of Jerusalem and the Temple, and the ability to maintain Jewis identity within Jerusalem almost without outside intervention and supervision. All this came to an end during the Hasmonean revolt"

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