Implications of Archaeological Palynology at Bethsaida, Israel

Palynological research at Bethsaida, Israel, was designed to test conventional wisdom with respect to pollen preservation in Levantine site-context deposits, and to demonstrate the potential of palynological data to evidence behavioral interpretations...This study focuses on information from pollen samples dated by associated architecture to the late Roman Period occupation of biblical Bethsaida, Israel (ca. 30 A.C.) Behavioral interpretations of the pollen record suggest commercial flax production was a significant aspect of a conscious religio-economic policy Philip implemented in the tetrarchy he inherited from Herod the Great. We do not consider its interpretations to be the significant contribution made by the study, however. We suggest it is significant because it demonstrates the value of including specifically archaeological pollen studies as a regular tool for recovering behavioral information from Near Eastern sites. Draft version of paper published in, "Journal of Field Archaeology," 2000, 27:63-73.