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EXPLORE BY TIME

Periods

A time frame opens questions about change and continuity. Choose a route through periods already represented in the library.

Ten main routes run from the Neolithic to the medieval period, with overlapping subperiods inside the Neolithic and Chalcolithic guides. Ranges are approximate and sourced on each page; card size is not proportional to duration. A Babylonian interval between the Iron Age and Persian period is acknowledged without a separate library page.

Navigation by period, not a timeline drawn to scale. Date boundaries depend on region and the chronology used.

Approximately 10,000-5500 BCEThe Neolithic: home, food and material

Approximately 10,000-5500 BCE

The Neolithic: home, food and material

Village life through buildings, tools, seeds and burial: a guide to a long transformation that cannot be reduced to a single date.

Regional frame: eastern Mediterranean and southern Levant

Approximate navigation range; local boundaries and classification systems may differ or overlap.

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The Late Pottery Neolithic: an open boundary
Aerial view of the Newe Yam shore and Atlit Bay, with a sandy beach and blue sea
Newe Yam coast and Atlit Bay, ca. 1982; photograph by Moshe Inbar. Geographic context, not an excavation or the findspot of a specific object. Resized and converted to WebP.משה ענבר / Moshe Inbar · המרכז למדיה דיגיטלית, אונ' חיפה, הספריה · PikiWiki / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.5 · Source · CC BY 2.5

Further reading in this period

Approximately 5500-3300 BCEThe Chalcolithic: villages and crafts

Approximately 5500-3300 BCE

The Chalcolithic: villages and crafts

Copper alongside stone, wall painting alongside tools: reading society through production, use and unequal preservation.

Regional frame: eastern Mediterranean and southern Levant

Approximate navigation range; local boundaries and classification systems may differ or overlap.

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The Early Chalcolithic: defining a transition

Further reading in this period

Approximately 3300-1200 BCEThe Bronze Age: cities and connections

Approximately 3300-1200 BCE

The Bronze Age: cities and connections

Vessels, letters and raw materials reveal different sides of a connected world. Learn why imported finds do not all tell the same story.

Regional frame: eastern Mediterranean and southern Levant

Approximate navigation range; local boundaries and classification systems may differ or overlap.

Explore this period
Cypriot pottery jug with a long neck, a handle and pale geometric decoration on an orange body
Decorated Cypriot pottery jug, ca. 1900-1800 BCE. A comparison from Cyprus, not a local excavation find. The Met, 74.51.1316.The Metropolitan Museum of Art · 74.51.1316 · The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874-76 · CC0 · Source · CC0 1.0

Subjects to explore

Approximately 1200-586 BCEThe Iron Age

Approximately 1200-586 BCE

The Iron Age

Homes, craft and prestigious objects: a route through the difference between a period framework and the history of a particular find.

Regional frame: eastern Mediterranean and southern Levant

Approximate navigation range; local boundaries and classification systems may differ or overlap.

Explore this period
Ivory plaque from Nimrud with two sphinxes facing a central cartouche
Ivory furniture plaque from Nimrud, Mesopotamia, ca. 9th-8th century BCE, in Phoenician style. Shown for comparison; this is not one of the Jerusalem ivories. The Met, 62.269.4.The Metropolitan Museum of Art · 62.269.4 · Rogers Fund, 1962 · CC0 · Source · CC0 1.0

Further reading in this period

Approximately 539-331 BCEThe Persian period: empire and local life

Approximately 539-331 BCE

The Persian period: empire and local life

Coins, seals and vessels do not independently identify a population. Explore the gap between imperial rule and local archaeological context.

Regional frame: eastern Mediterranean and southern Levant

Approximate navigation range; local boundaries and classification systems may differ or overlap.

Explore this period
Gold daric showing an Achaemenid king holding a bow and spear
Achaemenid gold daric with a king, ca. fourth century BCE; Iran in the catalogue. Shown for comparison, not a coin from the hoard in our article. The Met, 52.127.1.The Metropolitan Museum of Art · 52.127.1 · Gift of Edmund Kerper, 1952 · CC0 · Source · CC0 1.0

Further reading in this period

Approximately 331-64 BCEThe Hellenistic period: moving forms, local traditions

Approximately 331-64 BCE

The Hellenistic period: moving forms, local traditions

How to compare vessels, writing and buildings without assuming that people’s identities change whenever object styles do.

Regional frame: eastern Mediterranean and southern Levant

Approximate navigation range; local boundaries and classification systems may differ or overlap.

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Further reading in this period

Approximately 64 BCE-330 CEThe Roman period, up close

Approximately 64 BCE-330 CE

The Roman period, up close

Houses and inscriptions offer starting points for reading everyday life. This route focuses on studies of the Early Roman period.

Regional frame: eastern Mediterranean and southern Levant

Approximate navigation range; local boundaries and classification systems may differ or overlap.

Explore this period
Roman terracotta oil lamp seen from above, with relief decoration and a wick opening
Roman terracotta lamp, ca. 90-200 CE; probably made in Syria-Palestine according to The Met catalogue. A collection object for comparison, not a find from the Nazareth excavations. Accession 74.51.2256.The Metropolitan Museum of Art · 74.51.2256 · The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874-76 · CC0 · Source · CC0 1.0

Further reading in this period

Approximately 330-640 CEThe Byzantine period: city, trade and sea

Approximately 330-640 CE

The Byzantine period: city, trade and sea

Explore Byzantine chronology through Jerusalem, a glass jug and an anchor from the Carmel coast, while separating finds from the comparisons used to explain them.

Regional frame: eastern Mediterranean and southern Levant

Approximate navigation range; local boundaries and classification systems may differ or overlap.

Explore this period
Greenish glass jug with a handle, diagonal ribs and blue glass trails around the neck
Glass jug, fourth-sixth century CE, attributed to Roman Syria. Collection comparison from The Met, 91.1.1361; no exact findspot is stated.The Metropolitan Museum of Art · 91.1.1361 · Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891 · CC0 · Source · CC0 1.0

Subjects to explore

Approximately 640-1099 CEThe early Islamic period: rule and commerce

Approximately 640-1099 CE

The early Islamic period: rule and commerce

Read changes in government through inscriptions, coins and markets without assuming that every home and craft changed at the same moment.

Regional frame: eastern Mediterranean and southern Levant

Approximate navigation range; local boundaries and classification systems may differ or overlap.

Explore this period
Jerusalem panorama showing the Southern Wall, the Dome of the Rock and hills to the east
A modern view of Jerusalem, photographed by Beko on 7 November 2018. Landscape context, not a photograph of the finds discussed in the articles. Resized and converted to WebP.Beko · Jerusalem Old city panorama · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Subjects to explore

Approximately 1099-1516 CEThe Middle Ages: building, water and reuse

Approximately 1099-1516 CE

The Middle Ages: building, water and reuse

Explore medieval Jerusalem and the fountain house at Nazareth through building phases, maintenance and patronage alongside changes of government.

Regional frame: eastern Mediterranean and southern Levant

Approximate navigation range; local boundaries and classification systems may differ or overlap.

Explore this period
Jerusalem panorama showing the Southern Wall, the Dome of the Rock and hills to the east
A modern view of Jerusalem, photographed by Beko on 7 November 2018. Landscape context, not a photograph of the finds discussed in the articles. Resized and converted to WebP.Beko · Jerusalem Old city panorama · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Subjects to explore

All periods and subdivisions

Approximately 10,000-5500 BCE

The Neolithic: home, food and material

Wadi Rabah frame: approximately 5650-4850 BCEWithin this period · The Neolithic: home, food and material

The Late Pottery Neolithic: an open boundary

Approximately 5500-3300 BCE

The Chalcolithic: villages and crafts

Overlapping Wadi Rabah discussion: approximately 5650-4850 BCEWithin this period · The Chalcolithic: villages and crafts

The Early Chalcolithic: defining a transition

Approximately 3300-1200 BCE

The Bronze Age: cities and connections

Approximately 1200-586 BCE

The Iron Age

Approximately 539-331 BCE

The Persian period: empire and local life

Approximately 331-64 BCE

The Hellenistic period: moving forms, local traditions

Approximately 64 BCE-330 CE

The Roman period, up close

Approximately 330-640 CE

The Byzantine period: city, trade and sea

Approximately 640-1099 CE

The early Islamic period: rule and commerce

Approximately 1099-1516 CE

The Middle Ages: building, water and reuse

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