Research Orientation 1 – ARCHEOLOGIES OF THE SOUTHERN LEVANT

Archeology is the founding pillar of the activity and the visibility of the CRFJ; it therefore constitutes an important part of its identity. The CRFJ activity on the research orientation 1 “Archeology of the Southern Levant” is characterised by several active archeological excavations, by the study of the material and by publications, by hosting students at the CRFJ, by scientific events, and by a strategic partnership between the CRFJ and the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).

This research orientation aims at better understanding the diversity and the complexity of the Southern Levant through fieldwork and analyses. Historically concentrated on the field of prehistory, the archeological research has been diversified and includes nowadays the Bronze and the Iron Ages, the Byzantine and the Crusader periods.

Several research themes are investigated, among which: the transition from hunter-gatherers to the first farmers of the Southern Levant (the Natufians, the evolution of the first agro-pastoral communities…), the urbanization and reurbanisation (the emergence of the first city-states, the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age in Palestine), the production and trade in the Near-East and the Eastern Mediterranean Basin (the emergence of the Arabian-Mediterranean incense route, commercial networks and iron object production), The Medieval Levant between East and West (settlements and populations, Belvoir, Atlit, Galilee area), the history of archeology (participation of French archeologists and of the CRFJ in archeological practices and research in the Levant).