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Hebrew Union College

An elongated horse and a chariot dominate one side of a beautifully decorated krater (a large jar used for mixing water and wine) found in a Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 B.C.E.) tomb at Tel Dan, in northern Israel. The tomb, discovered accidentally in 1969, also contained gold and silver jewelry, bronze swords and ivory boxes, making it the richest Late Bronze Age burial ever excavated in Israel. Named the “Mycenaean” tomb after the many imported artifacts, including the chariot krater, found there, the tomb is the subject of a recently published volume. The chariot krater belongs to the Pictorial Class of Mycenaean pottery, which is most commonly found in Bronze Age Cyprus. In the accompanying review, author James Muhly explores the question of what a “Mycenaean” tomb is doing at Tel Dan.