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Erin Hall

Postdoctoral Fellow

E-mail: erin.e.hall@humnet.ucla.edu Office: 349 Kaplan Hall

Dr. Erin Hall earned a PhD in Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures from Tel Aviv University (2021). Her research focuses on the social history of the southern Levant, using material culture as a lens to explore politics, religion, identity, and connectivity, with particular emphasis on Late Bronze Age Canaan, southern Phoenicia, the northern kingdom of Israel, and the southern kingdom of Judah. Her work draws on archaeological finds, historical sources, and anthropological frameworks, offering an interdisciplinary approach that integrates material evidence with social and historical analysis. She is particularly interested in the intersection between ritual, religion, and power, how exchange networks reflect connectivity between different cultures of the eastern Mediterranean, and how aspects of identity and social stratification are shaped by material culture.

Dr. Hall’s recent book (Ritual and Power in Northern Israel: The Late Bronze and Iron Ages, 2024) examines cultic contexts from nineteen different sites spread throughout northern Canaan and the northern Kingdom of Israel. In it, she explores continuity and change in cultic practice from a long-term and interregional perspective. The underlying theme is the refinement of our understanding of the nature of ritual and religion in northern Canaan/Israel using anthropological approaches, such as the relationship of ritual to power. It therefore differs in its approach and conclusions from comparable scholarship, shifting the discussion towards the ideological and political implications of ritual and religion in the regions under study.

Dr. Hall’s research at UCLA focuses on the sociopolitical dynamics of the Iron Age kingdoms of Israel, Judah, and neighboring regions. She is particularly interested in how individual and group identities were negotiated through everyday objects, monumental structures, cultic paraphernalia, and trade networks. By applying theories of agency and materiality, her goal is to examine how objects not only reflected but also actively shaped the experience and identities of individuals and communities. This work is to be anchored in detailed archaeological investigation, combined with a strong theoretical framework, offering new insights into the complexities of ancient societies.

Publications

Monographs

2024 Hall, E. Ritual and Power in Northern Israel: The Late Bronze and Iron Ages (Ägypten und Altes Testament Band 127). Münster.

Journal Articles

2024 Hall, E. and Bar, S. The Late Iron Age at Tell es-Samak/Shikmona and Questions of Continuity. Revue Biblique131: 561–594.
2023 Kleiman, A., Hall, E., Kalisher, R., Dunseth, Z., Sapir-Hen, L., Homsher, R., Adams, M.J. and Finkelstein, I., Crisis in Motion: The Finals Days of Iron Age I Megiddo. Levant (published online).
2024 Hall, E. Agency, Kinship and the Case of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 156/1: 92–106.
2021 Hall, E. Hoarding at Megiddo in the Late Bronze and Iron Age I. Tel Aviv, 48: 27–46.
2019 Finkelstein, I., Adams, M.J., Hall, E. and Levy, E., The Iron Age Gates of Megiddo: New Evidence and Updated Interpretation. Tel Aviv, 46(2): 167–191.
2017 Kleiman, A., Cohen, M., Hall, E., Homsher, R. and Finkelstein, I., Cult Activity at Megiddo in the Iron Age: New Evidence and A Long-Term Perspective. Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins, 133: 24–52.

Chapters in Edited Volumes

2022 An Early Iron Age Hoard from Area Q. In: Finkelstein, I., Martin, M.A.S. and Adams, M.J., eds. Megiddo VI: The 2010–2014 Seasons (Institute of Tel Aviv University Monograph Series). Tel Aviv: 1133–1183.
2025 Bar, S. and Hall, E., An Iron Age IIA-IIB Administrative Structure from Tel Esur Area D East. In: Maeir, A.M., Albaz, S. and Berlejung, A., eds. Urbanism in the Iron Age Levant and Beyond (RIAB 7). Tübingen: 3–28.

Chapters in Edited Volumes (Under Review)

Hall, E. Ritual, Ritualization and the Craft Economy of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. In: Workman, V., Gonnermann, L. and Albaz, S., eds. Crafting for the God(s): Dynamics of Cult, Craft Production, and Socio-Technological Identities. Tübingen.
Hall, E. The Shrine Models. In: Kleiman, A., ed. Tel Hadar: A Bronze and Iron Age Community in the Central Levant: The Moshe Kochavi and Pirhiya Beck Excavations (1987–1998). Tel Aviv.
Hall, E. Catalog of Cult Finds from Horvat Tevet. In: Sergi, O., Bezzel, H. and Covello-Paran, K., eds. Final Report of Excavations at Ḥorvat Tevet (Institute of Tel Aviv University Monograph Series). Tel Aviv.
Hall, E. and Bar, S., Area A: The Late Iron Age Stratigraphy. In: Shalvi, G. and Gilboa, A. Shiqmona I. Haifa.

Book Reviews

2022 Hall, E. Review of Lawrence E. Stager, Daniel M. Master and Adam J. Aja. Ashkelon 7: The Iron Age I. University Park, Pennsylvania: Eisenbrauns. 2020. xvii + 981 pp. Review of Biblical Literature.