Ancient Wood Remains at Tel Kabri

This chapter presents results from the analysis of wood remains collected during the 2005–2013 excavation seasons at Tel Kabri, primarily from contexts dating to the Middle Bronze i/ii to late Middle Bronze ii periods (Phases v–iii) in the Canaanite palace. The dendroarchaeological data allow a preliminary reconstruction of Tel Kabri’s wood economy, which relied mainly on wood resources from multiple ecological zones available within the local landscape to provide fuel and building materials. Substantial quantities of wood (likely agricultural waste) from olive trees, grape vines, and other taxa supplying multiple plant-derived products further imply that wood collection was integrated with broader plant and (potentially) animal subsistence and consumption activities. While Kabri had access to maritime trade networks supplying imported plant products and wood like cedar of Lebanon, use of such prestigious timbers appears limited to key, visible activity areas in the palace associated with elite placemaking. Such wood procurement and use patterns are consistent with arguments that Kabri’s Canaanite palace operated as a large household (oikos) economy.