IEJ Vol. 74/1: CONTENTS AND ABSTRACTS 1 NADAV NAʾAMAN: The “City of David” in Biblical Historiography and the Location of the Millo ABSTRACT: In this article, it is claimed that the governing center of Iron Age Jerusalem emerged on the Temple Mount and that the name Ꜥîr dāwīd in texts dated to the monarchical period designates the royal quarter located on the Mount and the Ophel. The article then investigates the location of the Millo and suggests that it should be identified in the Ophel. It further examines the recently discovered ditch in the GivꜤati Parking Lot excavations and posits that it was a quarry whose stones were used to construct the neighboring public structures. As for the southeastern hill, it is suggested that the biblical account is silent concerning building activity in its area, and research of the southern ridge rests entirely on the archaeological evidence. Finally, a significant change in the Persian period in the use of the name “City of David” is observed, connecting its extension to the southeastern hill to the appearance of “Ophel” as a name for Jerusalem’s acropolis.
 
22 DÉBORA V. BEN-AMI, RAZ KLETTER AND SHLOMIT WEKSLER-BDOLAH: Outside the Canon? Three Unique Figurines from Tel Beth Shemesh, Tel Socho, and Jerusalem ABSTRACT: The Judean Pillar Figurines (JPF) of the late Iron Age II, of which more than a thousand are known, have been discussed extensively in the literature. At first glance, three new figurine heads recently discovered at Tel Beth Shemesh, Tel Socho, and Jerusalem look like common JPFs yet show unique or rare features, making them exceptional. These exemplars afford an opportunity to discuss the production, use, and identity of the makers of the JPF and their relations to gender.
 
41 AHARON TAVGER: A New Look at Iron Age II Olive Oil Production in Southern Samaria: Royal Industry versus Local Economy ABSTRACT: New evidence of Iron Age II olive presses in southern Samaria broadens our understanding of olive oil production and its role in the local economy during this period. Until now, it has been widely accepted that industrial oil-producing centers existed solely in the western parts of Samaria and in the Shephelah, while wine production was confined to central Judah and Philistia. The picture that emerges from recent new data shows the spread of olive oil production sites to the entire southern Samaria region, including the desert fringe. Moreover, contrary to the assumption that the Assyrian occupationof Samaria was followed by the destruction of these industries, it seems that oil production continued into the Iron Age IIC at several sites in southern Samaria.
 
64 ESTHER ESHEL, HAGGAI MISGAV, AMIR GANOR AND BOAZ ZISSU: The Potter’s Deal: A Fourth Century BCE Aramaic Economic Inscription Incised on the Shoulder of a Jar ABSTRACT: This article presents an analysis of a new, almost completely preserved Aramaic lapidary inscription incised on the shoulder of a storage jar before firing. The script utilized in this inscription displays significant similarities to known Persian-period inscriptions. Consequently, assigning this inscription to the fourth century BCE on palaeographic grounds seems plausible. This discovery is an important addition to the somewhat limited assemblage of Persian-period inscriptions documented in the southern Levant.
 
81 MECHAEL OSBAND AND CHAIM BEN DAVID: Inter-site Transfer of Stones from Ancient Public Structures at Rural Sites in the Central Golan Heights ABSTRACT: It is generally assumed that architectural artifacts discovered in surveys of rural sites have remained in their original location. If a site survey revealed architectural remains, even if the public structure to which they belonged was not found, those remains are taken as evidence of that building’s original presence. However, monumental remains are sometimes moved from their original place of use, challenging this assumption. Ten surveyed sites in the Central Golan Heights contained architectural elements from synagogues or churches dating to the Byzantine period. It is suggested that in this period, only three of these sites were settled, and the architectural fragments found at the other sites were brought from Christian NaꜤaran and Jewish En Nashut. The methodology and conclusions presented herein have significant methodological implications.
 
102 ROBERT HOYLAND: Forgotten Papyri of the Judaean Desert: The Khirbet Mird Corpus from Late Antiquity to Early Islam ABSTRACT: This article provides a detailed overview of the corpus of papyri discovered in the 1950s in a cave by the Monastery of Kastellion, known in Arabic as Khirbet Mird, in the Judean Desert between Bethlehem and the Dead Sea. The papyri are written in Greek, Aramaic, and Arabic, and they span the Late Antique and early Islamic periods (ca 500-800 CE). The article also attempts to explain why Christian and Muslim documents ended up in the same collection and to illustrate how these texts might contribute to our knowledge about the Monastery of Kastellion and our understanding of the administration of early Islamic Palestine. Three documents are edited for the first time in order to demonstrate the diversity of this corpus.
 
120 HAYAH KATZ AND HAREL GOOTFRIEND: Archaeology, Education, and the Israeli Public ABSTRACT: The link between archaeology and education has been discussed in various studies worldwide, mainly since the 1980s. However, only a few studies have been dedicated to this issue in Israel. In this article, we examine the changes in archaeological education in the Israeli context. During the first decades after the establishment of the state, archaeological bodies were used as cultural agents whose goal was to connect the general public with archaeology in order to shape the nationalist-Zionist identity. Since the 1990s, educational archaeology has been mainly aimed at schoolchildren. As part of this study, we discuss the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Cultural Heritage Project during 2015–2022. Since most of these educational activities were carried out by the archaeological establishment, the emphasis was on national and local heritage rather than educational-pedagogical aspects. Finally, we discuss methods for using archaeology to encourage lifelong learning skills, which are required specifications for future-oriented pedagogy in the twenty-first century.