A new Bar Ilan University study sheds light on the lived experiences and social roles of the elderly in Iron Age Israel, the university said on Wednesday.
Titled “The Archaeology of the ‘Elderly’, ‘Elders’, ‘Fathers’ and ‘Mothers’ in Iron Age Israel,” the paper was published on Jan. 7 in the Cambridge Archaeological Journal.
Led by professor Avi Faust and his team, the researchers collected their evidence from a residence destroyed during an Assyrian military campaign in the late 8th century BCE that has left hundreds of pottery vessels and additional artifacts sealed within the destruction debris, the university said.
“For years, the elderly have remained largely invisible in archaeological research,” said Faust, author of the study and director of excavations at Tel ʿEton located in the southeastern part of the Judean Hills.
“By analyzing household artifacts rather than skeletal remains, we have a more effective way to identify elders and uncover their roles and influence within the family, a perspective archaeology has long overlooked,” he added.
The ancient building, comprising two floors and multiple rooms, referred to in the study as Building 101, was the home of an extended family of some three generations.
Room B, likely occupied by the household’s senior couple, had several unique qualities, according to the statement. It was the largest room in the building and the only room on the ground floor used for living and sleeping, rather than specialized activities such as storage and cooking.
According to the study, it was also opposite the entrance, which enabled the residents to watch the entire courtyard and the entrances to the other rooms. Second, that this was the only bedroom on the ground floor reflects the difficulty the elderly would have had climbing a ladder several times a day to reach sleeping quarters located on the second floor.
Additional findings included a unique footbath, associated with entertaining important guests, and burnt cedar, perhaps the remains of an impressive chair. The patriarch, sitting on a large chair, could have watched comings and goings and entertained guests, whereas the matriarch could have overseen all household activities, the university said.
Adjacent spaces, including a room for food preparation, containing a large loom, and a partially enclosed courtyard were associated with the elder matriarch’s activities, such as childcare and weaving, highlighting her central role in daily domestic management.
According to Faust, the findings show that the elderly were not merely passive members of the household. Rather, they actively participated in managing resources, supervising domestic work and maintaining family cohesion. The research underscores the potential of household archaeology to illuminate aspects of daily life that skeletal or textual data alone cannot capture.
The study used an innovative approach that combined analysis of artifacts, architectural features, activity areas and comparative ethnographic perspectives on aging and household life, the high learning institution added.
