פרופ' אורן טל

Prof. Oren Tal (born 1968, Tel Aviv) received his Ph.D. in archaeology from Tel Aviv University in 2002. His postdoctoral research stay was carried out in Berlin (Deutsches Archäologisches Institut) and London (Institute of Classical Studies) in 2003 and 2004. He taught at the University of Haifa and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Since 2007 he has worked for Tel Aviv University, where he teaches classical Near Eastern archaeology in the Jacob M. Alkow Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures. Tal has served as the Chair of the Department (in 2010-2013) and he is the current Director of the Apollonia-Arsuf Excavation Project (since 2007). His current research interests are the social, political and economic implications of the material culture of the Ancient Near East in the first millennium BCE to the early second millennium CE. Tal is also engaged in the study of the early indigenous southern Levantine coinages and the development of monetary economy in the Levant, as well as in ancient technologies. He is the author of Archaeology of Hellenistic Palestine, Jerusalem: Bialik Institute (in Hebrew, 2006; rev. 2nd electronic ed. 2009), and the co-author of Coinage of Philistia, Milan: Ennerre (2006) and Samaritan Cemeteries and Tombs in the Central Coastal Plain, Münster: Ugarit-Verlag (2015), as well as the final excavation reports of Apollonia-Arsuf (1999), ᶜEn Boqeq (2000), Ramla (South) (2008) and Tell Qudadi (2015). In addition, Tal has authored numerous scientific articles especially on the archaeology of Palestine (Ancient Israel) and the ancient Near East in the late Iron Age, classical and early medieval periods.

Higher Education

• B.A. Tel Aviv University, 1993
• M.A. Tel Aviv University, 1996
• Ph.D. Tel Aviv University, 2002; Ph.D. Dissertation: Aspects of the Study of the Material Culture of Hellenistic Ptolemaic and Seleucid Palestine

• Post-Doctoral Research Visits: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut (DAI), Zentrale, Berlin; Institut für Klassische Archäologie, Freie Universität, Berlin; Institute of Classical Studies (ICS), School of Advanced Study, University of London, 2002-2004

Academic Position

• Senior Lecturer, Tel Aviv University, 2007-2010
• Associate Professor, Tel Aviv University, 2010-2013
• Full Professor, Tel Aviv University, 2013

Archaeological Field Work

• Educational excavation at Tel Hadar and Mitcham Leviʾa (Golan Heights), and Yavneh-Yam, 1991-1992
• Area Supervisor, Yavneh-Yam and Apollonia-Arsuf excavations, 1992-1996
• Archaeological Survey of Roman Roads in Palestine, under B. Isaac and I. Roll, 1992-1996
• Director of rescue excavations at Herzliya Beth, 1995
• Director of rescue excavations at Tel Ḥamid (Lower Terrace), 1995-1996
• Director of the Parod and Beersheba (Galilee) survey and excavation, 1997
• Co-Director of rescue excavations at Rishon LeZion (West), 1999
• Director of rescue excavations at Ramla (South), 2005-2007
• Director of the Apollonia-Arsuf Excavation Project, 2007-

Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships

• “Pinchas and Shendel Wald Award” (doctoral fellowship), Zalman Shazar Center for Jewish History (Jerusalem), 1998
• “Rotenstreich Fellowship” (doctoral fellowship) Israeli Council for Higher Education, 1998-2000
• “Minerva (postdoctoral) Fellowship” Max-Planck-Gesellschaft / Minerva Stiftung, 2002-2004
• “Rothschild (postdoctoral) Fellowship” Yad HaNadiv, 2003-2004

Academic Awards, Honors and Prizes (internal grants are excluded)

• The Shelby White – Leon Levy Program for Archaeological Publications “Research Grant” (with A. Fantalkin), 2004-2006
• The Mediterranean Archaeological Trust “Research Grant” (with A. Fantalkin), 2004-2006
• “2007 Kindler Award” Israel Numismatic Society (for an outstanding numismatic monograph: The Coinage of Philistia of the Fifth and Fourth Centuries BC: A Study of the Earliest Coins of Palestine, Collezioni Numismatiche 6, Milan: Ennerre (co-authored with H. Gitler), 2007
• “2009 Ish Shalom Award” Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi (for an outstanding “first fruit” monograph on the research of the history of the Land of Israel of a young scholar: The Archaeology of Hellenistic Palestine: Between Tradition and Renewal, Jerusalem: Bialik Institute), 2009
• German-Israeli Foundation (GIF) Young Scientists’ Program “Research Grant”, 2009
• Sub-award in the frame of academic collaboration with Brown University in National Science Foundation (NSF) Funded Research Project: IIICXTCore Large: Computer Vision Research: Promoting Paradigm Shifts in Archaeology (Grant #0808718), 2009-2010
• Sub-awards in the frame of academic collaboration with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, and the Israel Antiquities Authority, 2010
• Eretz Israel Museum temporary exhibition: The Last Supper at Apollonia: The Final Days of the Crusader Castle in Herzliya (May-September 2011)
• Israel Science Foundation (ISF) Personal Research Grant, 2012-2014
• The Israel Institute for Advanced Studies (IIAS) at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Collaborative Research Group: Contextualizing the Cult of the Southern Levant in the Greco-Roman Period: Monotheism and Polytheism between Continuity and Change (09/2013-06/2014; co-initiator/organizer (with Z. Weiss, Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
• Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) “Research Grants” (GZ: SCHO 520/141; GZ: SCHO 520/142) for Die kreuzfahrerzeitliche Stadt Apollonia/Arsur in Israel: Struktur – Kulturadaption – Stadt-Umland-Beziehungen (with B. Scholkmann, University of Tübingen), 2012-2016

Ongoing Projects

• Apollonia-Arsuf Excavation Project
• Hellenization and the East
• Indigenous Coinages of the Southern Levant

Near Eastern, Classical and Medieval Archaeology

Books and Monographs

1. Fantalkin, A. and Tal, O. 2015. Tell Qudadi: An Iron Age IIB Fortress on the Central Mediterranean Coast of Israel (with References to Earlier and Later Periods). Colloquia Antiqua 15. Leuven: Peeters Publishers. [xx + 242 pages]
2. Tal, O. and Taxel, I. 2015. Samaritan Cemeteries and Tombs in the Central Coastal Plain: Archaeology and History of the Samaritan Settlement outside Samaria (ca. 300–700 CE). Ägypten und Altes Testament 82. Münster: UgaritVerlag. [xviii + 292 pages]
3. Tal, O. and Taxel, I. 2008. Ramla (South): An Early Islamic Industrial Site and Remains of Previous Periods. Salvage Excavation Reports 5. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University, Institute of Archaeology. [264 pages]
4. Tal, O. 2006. The Archaeology of Hellenistic Palestine: Between Tradition and Renewal. Jerusalem: Bialik Institute. (Hebrew). [424 pages] / Tal, O. 2009. The Archaeology of Hellenistic Palestine: Between Tradition and Renewal (Revised 2nd edition/electronic edition). Jerusalem: Bialik Institute. (Hebrew). [424 pages]
5. Gitler, H. and Tal, O. 2006. The Coinage of Philistia of the Fifth and Fourth Centuries BC: A Study of the Earliest Coins of Palestine. Collezioni Numismatiche 6. Milan: Ennerre. [412 pages]
6. Fischer, M., Gichon, M. and Tal, O. 2000. ᶜEn Boqeq: Excavations in an Oasis on the Dead Sea. Volume II: The Officina An Early Roman Building on the Dead Sea Shore. Mainz: Philipp von Zabern. [xxx + 182 pages; 12 plates]
7. Roll, I. and Tal, O. 1999. Apollonia-Arsuf: Final Report of the Excavations. Volume I: The Persian and Hellenistic Periods (with Appendices on the Chalcolithic and Iron Age II Remains). Tel Aviv University, Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology 16. Tel Aviv. [xvi + 300 pages]

Monographs Edited

1. Tal, O. 2011. The Last Supper at Apollonia: The Final Days of the Crusader Castle in Herzliya. Tel Aviv: Eretz Israel Museum (Bilingual Hebrew/English). [224 pages]
2. Roll, I., Tal, O. and Winter, M. 2007. The Encounter of Crusaders and Muslims in Palestine as Reflected in Arsuf, Sayyiduna ᶜAli and Other Coastal Sites. Tel Aviv: Hakibbutz HaMeuchad. (Hebrew). [226 + vi pages]

Selected Articles

1. Tal, O. 2016. Idumea (Edom) in the Fourth Century BCE: Historical and Archaeological Introduction. In: Yardeni, A. The Jeselsohn Collection of Aramaic Ostraca from Idumea. Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi. Pp. IX–XIX.
2. Fantalkin, A. and Tal, O. 2016. When the River Meets the Sea: A Neo-Assyrian Logistical Network in Operation. Skyllis 15/1: 21–27.
3. Amitai-Preiss, N. and Tal, O. 2015. A Lead Bulla from Apollonia-Arsūf with the Place Name Arsūf; Ashkenazi, D. and Tal, O. Appendix: Archaeometallurgical Characteristics of the Bulla. Israel Numismatic Research 10: 191–206.
4. Kool, R. and Tal, O. 2015. 'Underground' Money in an Outremer Estate: Token Molds and Lead Tokens from Crusader Arsur. Israel Numismatic Research 10: 215–228.
5. Freestone, I. C., Jackson-Tal, R. E., Taxel, I. and Tal, O. 2015. Glass Production at an Early Islamic Workshop in Tel Aviv. Journal of Archaeological Science 62: 45–54.
6. Tal, O. 2015. A Bilingual Greek-Samaritan Inscription from Apollonia-Arsuf/Sozousa: Yet More Evidence of the Use of εἷς θεὸς μόνος Formula Inscriptions among the Samaritans. Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 194: 169–175.
7. Ashkenazi, D., Taxel, I. and Tal, O. 2015. Archeometallurgical Characterization of Late Roman- and Byzantine-period Samaritan Magical Objects and Jewelry Made of Copper Alloys. Materials Characterization 102: 195–208.
8. Tal, O. 2015.[Several Chapters]. In: Beit-Arieh, I. and Freud, L. Tel Malḥata: A Central City in the Biblical Negev. Tel Aviv University, Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology 32. Tel Aviv: Emery and Claire Yass Publications in Archaeology, Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University / Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.
9. Tal, O. and Teixeira Bastos, M. 2015. More on the Intentionally Broken Discus Lamps from Roman Palestine: Mutilation and Its Symbolic Meaning. In: Blömer, M., Lichtenberger, A. and Raja, R., eds. Religious Identities in the Levant from Alexander to Muhammed: Continuity and Change. Contextualizing the Sacred 4. Turnhout: Brepols. Pp. 345–368.
10. Tal, O. 2014. A Late Fourth/Early Third Century BCE Farmstead at Ḥolot Rishon LeZion (South), Israel: Evidence for an Unrecorded Military Clash in the Southern Levant? Archäologischer Anzeiger 2014/2: 37–57.
11. Gitler, H. and Tal, O. 2014. More Than Meets the Eye: Athenian Owls and the Chronology of Southern Palestinian Coinages of the Persian Period. Israel Numismatic Research 9: 15–27.
12. Tal, O. and Taxel, I. 2014. Samaritan Burial Customs Outside Samaria: Evidence from Late Roman and Byzantine Cemeteries in the Southern Sharon Plain. Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 130/2: 155–180.
13. Gitler, H. and Tal, O. 2014. A Hoard of Tyrian and Athenian Coins from Dalton, Israel. In: Lemaire, A., ed. Phéniciens d’Orient et d’Occident: Mélanges Josette Elayi. Cahiers de l’Institut du Proche-Orient ancien du Collège de France. Paris: Maisonneuve. Pp. 243–249.
14. Sapir-Hen, L., Pines, M. and Tal, O. 2014. Animal Economy and Social Diversity in Byzantine Apollonia/Sozousa. Levant 46/3: 371–381.
15. Tal, O. 2013. Aspects in the Study of the Coins and Mints of Palestine during the Persian and Early Hellenistic Periods. Cathedra 150: 23–36. (Hebrew).
16. Tal, O., Taxel, I. and Jackson-Tal, R. E. 2013. Khirbet al-Ḥadra: More On Refuse Disposal Practices in Early Islamic Palestine and Their Socio-Economic Implications. Strata: The Bulletin of the Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society 31: 117–148.
17. Tal, O., Kool, R. and Baidoun, I. 2013. A Hoard Twice Buried? Fatimid Gold from Thirteenth Century Crusader Arsur (Apollonia-Arsuf). Numismatic Chronicle 173: 261–292.
18. Ayalon, E., Tal, O. and Yehuda, L. 2013. A Twelfth Century Oil Press Complex at the Crusader Town of Arsur (Apollonia) and the Olive Oil Industry in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies 1/4: 259–291.
19. Jackson-Tal, R. E. and Tal, O. 2013. Crusader Glass in Context: The Destruction of Arsur (Apollonia-Arsuf, Israel), April 1265. Journal of Glass Study55: 85–100.
20. Ashkenazi, D., Fischer, M., Stern, A. and Tal, O. 2013. Technology of an Ancient Ship Brazier: A Unique Example from the Southern Levant. Skyllis12/1: 85–93.
21. Ashkenazi, D., Golan, O. and Tal, O. 2013. An Archaeometallurgical Study of 13th-Century Arrowheads and Bolts from the Crusader Castle of Arsuf/Arsur. Archaeometry 55/2: 235–257.
22. Tal, O. 2012. Greek Coinages of Palestine. In: Metcalf, W. E., ed. The Oxford Handbook of Greek and Roman Coinage. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pp. 252–274.
23. Fantalkin, A. and Tal, O. 2012. Judah and Its Neighbors in the Fourth Century BCE: A Time of Major Transformations. In: Unsok Ro, J., ed. From Judah to Judaea: Socio-Economic Structures and Processes in the Persian Period. Hebrew Bible Monographs 43. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press. Pp. 133–196.
24. Tal, O. 2012. A Portable Sundial from Apollonia-Arsuf Revisited. Semitica et Classica [formerly Semitica] 5: 245–248.
25. Gitler, H. and Tal, O. 2012. Some Notes on the Relative Chronology of the Fifth-and Fourth-Century BCE Coinage of Philistia. Israel Numismatic Research 7: 7–15.
26. Tal, O. and Teixeira Bastos, M. 2012. Intentionally Broken Discus Lamps from Roman Apollonia: A New Interpretation. Tel Aviv 39/1: 105–115.
27. Fantalkin, A. and Tal, O. 2012. The Canonization of the Pentateuch: When and Why? Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 124/1 (Part I): 1–18; 124/2 (Part II): 201–212.
28. Tal, O. and Taxel, I. 2012. Socio-Political and Economic Aspects of Refuse Disposal in Late Byzantine and Early Islamic Palestine. In: Matthews, R., Curtis, J., et al. eds. Proceedings of the 7th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, 12–16, April 2010. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. Pp. 497–518.
29. Ashkenazi, D., Iddan, N. and Tal, O. 2012. Archaeometallurgical Characterization of Hellenistic Metal Objects: The Contribution of the Bronze Objects from Rishon LeZion (Israel). Archaeometry 54/3: 528–548.
30. Tal, O. 2011. 'Hellenistic Foundations' in Palestine. In: Grabbe, L.L. and Lipschits, O., eds. Judah between East and West: The Transition from Persian to Greek Rule (ca. 400–200 BCE). Library of Second Temple Studies 75. New York and London: T&T Clark. Pp. 242–254.
31. Tal, O. 2011. Palestine in Transition from Orientalism to Hellenism. In: Bollettino Di Archeologia – On Line: Volume Speciale (Proceedings of the XVII International Congress of Classical Archaeology, ISSN 2039–0076 [Under Theme: G. Meetings of East and West; Session: 8. Hellenization and Romanization of the Land of Israel: New Archaeological Evidence)]. Rome.
32. Ponting, M., Gitler, H. and Tal, O. 2011. Who Minted Those Owls? Metallurgical Analyses of Athenian-styled Tetradrachms Found in Israel. Revue Belge de Numismatique et de Sigillographie 157: 117–134.
33. Tal, O. 2011. Negotiating Identity in an International Context under Achaemenid Rule: The Indigenous Persian-period Coinages of Palestine as an Allegory. In: Lipschits, O., Knoppers, G. N. and Oeming, M., eds. The Judeans in the Achaemenid Age: Negotiating Identity in an International Context. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. Pp. 445–459.
34. Tal, O. and Taxel, I. 2010. A Reappraisal of the Archaeological Findings at Tel Ḥashash: On the Archaeology of the Yarqon Estuary from Classical Times to Late Antiquity. Palestine Exploration Quarterly 142: 95–126.
35. Tal, O. and Baidoun, I. 2010. A Hoard of Mamluk, Ottoman and Venetian Coins (Fifteenth to Sixteenth Centuries) from Apollonia-Arsuf, Israel. Numismatic Chronicle 170: 484–493.
36. Fantalkin, A. and Tal, O. 2010. Reassessing the Date of the Beginning of the Grey Series Transport Amphorae from Lesbos. BABESCH: Annual Papers on Mediterranean Archaeology 85: 1–12.
37. Tal, O. 2009. Hellenism in Transition from Empire to Kingdom: Changes in the Material Culture of Hellenistic Palestine. In: Levine, L. I. and Schwartz, D. R., eds. Jewish Identities in Antiquity: Studies in Memory of Menahem Stern. Texte und Studien zum Antiken Judentum 130. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. Pp. 55–73.
38. Tal, O. and Fantalkin, A. 2009. The Area of Tel Aviv in the First Millennium BCE: Between Kingdoms and Empires. In: Ayalon, E., ed. The Hidden History of Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv: Eretz Israel Museum. Pp. 81–111. (Hebrew).
39. Tal, O. 2009. On the Identification of the Ships of kzd/ry of the Erased Customs Account from Elephantine. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 68/1: 1–8.
40. Galor, K., Roll, I. and Tal, O. 2009. Apollonia-Arsuf between Past and Future. Near Eastern Archaeology 72/1: 4–27.
41. Fantalkin, A. and Tal, O. 2009. Rediscovering the Iron Age Fortress at Tell Qudadi in the Context of the Neo-Assyrian Imperialistic Policies. Palestine Exploration Quarterly 141: 188–206.
42. Gitler, H., Ponting, M. and Tal, O. 2009. Athenian Tetradrachms from Tel Mikhal (Israel): A Metallurgical Perspective. American Journal of Numismatics, Second Series 21: 29–49.
43. Fantalkin, A. and Tal, O. 2009. Navigating Between the Powers: Joppa and Its Vicinity in the 1st Millennium B.C.E. Ugarit-Forschungen 40: 225–276.
44. Gitler, H. and Tal, O. 2009. More Evidence on the Collective Mint of Philistia. Israel Numismatic Research 4: 21–37.
45. Tal, O. 2009. A Winepress at Apollonia-Arsuf: More Evidence on the Samaritan Presence in Roman-Byzantine Southern Sharon. Liber Annuus 59: 319–342.
46. Roll, I. and Tal, O. 2008. The Route Network of Persian Period Palestine. In: Kühne, H., Czichon, R. M. and Janoscha Kreppner, F., eds. Proceedings of the 4th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, 29 March – 3 April 2004. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. Pp. 219–228.
47. Tal, O. 2008. Cult in Transition from Achaemenid to Greek Rule: The Contribution of Achaemenid-Ptolemaic Temples of Palestine. Transeuphratène 36: 165–183.
48. Gitler, H., Ponting, M. and Tal, O. 2008. Metallurgical Analysis of Southern Palestinian Coins of the Persian Period. Israel Numismatic Research 3: 13–27.
49. Fischer, M., Roll, I. and Tal, O. 2008. Persian and Hellenistic Remains at Tel Yaᶜoz. Tel Aviv 35/1: 123–163.
50. Freestone, I. C., JacksonTal, R. E. and Tal, O. 2008. Raw Glass and the Production of Glass Vessels at Late Byzantine Apollonia-Arsuf, Israel. Journal of Glass Study 50: 67–80.
51. Tal, O., Jackson-Tal, R. E. and Freestone, I. C. 2008. Glass from a Late Byzantine Secondary Workshop at Ramla (South), Israel. Journal of Glass Study 50: 81–95.
52. Roll, I. and Tal, O. 2008. A Villa of the Early Roman Period at Apollonia-Arsuf. Israel Exploration Journal 58: 132–149.
53. Tal, O. 2007. Some Observations on the Manufacturing Traditions in the Wooden and Stone Vessel Industry in Hellenistic Palestine. Topoi Supplément 8: 173–187.
54. Tal, O. 2007. Coin Denominations and Weight Standards in Fourth-Century BCE Palestine. Israel Numismatic Research 2: 17–28.
55. Gitler, H., Tal, O. and van Alfen, P. 2007. Silver Dome-shaped Coins from Persian-period Southern Palestine. Israel Numismatic Research 2: 47–62.
56. Lipschits, O. and Tal, O. 2007. The Settlement Archaeology of the Province of Judah: A Case Study. In: Lipschits, O., Knoppers, G. N. and Albertz, R., eds. Judah and the Judeans in the Fourth Century B.C.E. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. Pp. 33–52.
57. Tal, O. [Several Chapters]. 2007. In: Beit-Arieh, I., ed. Ḥorvat ᶜUza and Ḥorvat Radum: Two Fortresses in the Biblical Negev. Tel Aviv University, Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology 25. Tel Aviv: Emery and Claire Yass Publications in Archaeology, Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University.
58. Gitler, H. and Tal, O. 2006. Coins with the Aramaic Legend Šhrw and Other Unrecorded Samarian Issues. Schweizerische Numismatische Rundschau85: 47–68.
59. Fantalkin, A. and Tal, O. 2006. Redating Lachish Level I: Identifying Achaemenid Imperial Policy at the Southern Frontier of the Fifth Satrapy. In: Lipschits, O. and Oeming, M., eds. Judah and the Judeans in the Persian Period. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. Pp. 167–197.
60. Tal, O. 2005. Persian Period Remains at Rishon LeZion. Salvage Excavation Reports 2: 30–37.
61. Tal, O. 2005. Some Remarks on the Coastal Plain of Palestine under Achaemenid Rule – An Archaeological Synopsis. Persika 6: 71–96.
62. Tal, O., JacksonTal, R. E. and Freestone, I. C. 2004. New Evidence of the Production of Raw Glass at Late Byzantine Apollonia-Arsuf, Israel. Journal of Glass Study 46: 51–66.
63. Tal, O. 2003. On the Origin and Concept of the Loculi Tombs of Hellenistic Palestine. Ancient West & East 2: 288–307.
64. Fantalkin, A. and Tal, O. 2003. The 'Yannai Line' (BJ I, 99–100; AJ XIII, 390–91): Reality or Fiction? Palestine Exploration Quarterly 135: 108–123.
65. Fischer, M. and Tal, O. 2003. Architectural Decoration in Ancient Israel in Hellenistic Times: Some Aspects of Hellenization. Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 119: 19–37.
66. Fischer, M. and Tal, O. 2003. A Fourth-Century BCE Attic Marble Totenmahlrelief at Apollonia-Arsuf. Israel Exploration Journal 53: 49–60.
67. Barkay, G., Fantalkin, A. and Tal, O. 2002. A Late Iron Age Fortress North of Jerusalem. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 328: 49–71.