Prof. Ido Koch

Archaeology
ארכיאולוגיה סגל אקדמי בכיר

General Information

Ido Koch is Associate Professor in the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures at Tel Aviv University. He grew up in Gedera and currently lives in Tel Aviv with his partner. Koch earned his B.A. in History at the Open University of Israel (2006), his M.A. in Jewish History at Tel Aviv University (2009), and his Ph.D. in Archaeology at Tel Aviv University (2015). He then held a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Zurich (2015–2016).
Since 2018, he has taught in the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures, and between 2019 and 2022 he was an Alon Fellow. At Tel Aviv, Koch has taught courses such as Archaeology: What Is It?, Introduction to Spatial Archaeology, and Introduction to Visual Language in Southwest Asia, as well as a variety of rotating courses and thematic seminars.
Koch directs the Tel Hadid Archaeological Project, is responsible for the final publication of the large-scale excavations conducted at the site in 1995–1998, and since 2018 has co-directed the renewed excavations at Tel Hadid (together with Prof. James Parker, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary). He also co-directs the project on the village of al-Haditha (together with Prof. Yoav Alon, Tel Aviv University; funded by the Israel Science Foundation, 2022–2026). He is co-director of the Stamp-Seals from the Southern Levant Project (together with Prof. Christoph Eiring, University of Zurich; Prof. Silvia Schroer, University of Bern; and Prof. Stefan Münger, University of Bern; funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, 2020–2024), co-director of the Tel Qasile Excavations (together with Prof. Assaf Yasur-Landau, University of Haifa; Dr. Shirly Ben-Dor Evian, University of Haifa; and Ms. Yelena Elgart-Sharon, Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv), and co-director of the project for the final publication of Yohanan Aharoni’s excavations at Tel Arad (together with Prof. Ze’ev Herzog and Ms. Liat (Lily) Singer-Avitz, Tel Aviv University; funded by the White-Levy Program for Archaeological Publications, 2022–2025).
In addition, Koch serves as Editor-in-Chief of Tel Aviv: Journal of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University and is a member of the editorial boards of other scholarly journals and conferences in Israel and abroad.

CV

Associate Professor of Archaeology

 

ORCID No.: 0000-0002-4329-7655

Academia.edu | ResearchGate

 

Education

B.A. Open University, History, 2006

M.A. Tel Aviv University, Jewish History, 2009 
Master Thesis: Rosette Stamped Jar Handles from the Kingdom of Judah (Supervisors: Prof. Nadav Na'aman and Prof. Oded Lipschits)

Ph.D. Tel Aviv University, Archaeology, 2015
Doctoral dissertation: Southwest Canaan during the Late Bronze Age and early Iron Age: Empire, Elite, and Colonial Encounters (Supervisors: Prof. Nadav Na'aman and Prof. Oded Lipschits)

PostDoc, University of Zurich, 2015–2016
(Host: Prof. Christoph Uehlinger)

 

Projects

Since 2017    Director, Final Publication of Tel Hadid Excavations during the years 1995–1997

Since 2017    Co-Director, The Fortress Mound at Tel Arad: Excavated by Yohanan Aharoni from 1962 to 1967 (with Prof. Z. Herzog and Ms. Lily Singer-Avitz), funded by the Shelby White and Leon Levy Program for Archaeological Publications (since 2022)

Since 2018    Co-Director, Tel Hadid Archaeological Project

Since 2019    Principal Investigator, Stamp-seals from the Southern Levant  (2020–2024: A Sinergia research project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation [CRSIIS_La6426]; co-PIs: Prof. Christoph Uehlinger, Prof. Silvia Schroer, and Prof. Stefan Münger)

Since 2022    Principal Investigator, Al-Haditha: Archaeological–Historical Study of an Abandoned Arab Village” (funded by the Israel Science Fund [No. 1316/22]; co-PI: Prof. Yoav Alon)

Since 2024    Co-Director, Tel Qasile Excavations (co-directed by Prof. Assaf Yasur-Landau, Dr Shirly Ben-Dor Evian, and Ms. Yelena Elgart-Sharon)

 

Academic Editorial Positions

Since 2018   Co-Organizer, In Centro: The Annual Conference of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University, the Institute of Archaeology of Bar Ilan University, and Israel Antiquities Authority Central District

Since 2020   Editorial board member, Lod—Diospolis—City of God

Since 2023   Editorial Board Member, Bulletin of ASOR

Since 2023   Editor-in-Chief, Tel Aviv

 

Supplementary Academic Activities

Since 2020    Member, SBL program unit steering committee: Hebrew Bible, History and Archaeology (co-chair since 2024)

Since 2021    Member, SBL program unit steering committee: History and Historiography (co-chair since 2024)

Since 2022    Member, Teaching committee of the Department of Archaeology and ANE Cultures

Since 2022    Member, Steering committee, The Zev Vilnay Chair for the Study of the Knowledge of Land of Israel and Its Archaeology

Since 2024    Head, teaching committee of the School of Jewish Studies and Archaeology
                      Member, teaching committee of the Faculty of Humanities 
 


 

Research

1. The Southern Levant and Egypt
Koch’s doctoral dissertation, written under the supervision of Prof. Nadav Na’aman and Prof. Oded Lipschits, examined the Egyptian Empire in Canaan (16th–12th centuries BCE) and the period following its collapse (12th–10th centuries BCE), with a focus on local responses to colonialism and its aftermath. His work was published as a book in Hebrew (Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi, 2018) and in English, titled Colonial Encounters in Southwest Canaan during the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age (Brill, 2021). The Hebrew edition was awarded the Ish-Shalom Prize for a debut book.
His interest in the Egyptian Empire and its collapse led Koch, together with Dr. Omer Sergi and Prof. Oded Lipschits, to organize the conference From Nomadism to Monarchy? (Tel Aviv University, 2017), which re-examined scholarly models developed since the publication of the seminal volume From Nomadism to Monarchy (eds. Nadav Na’aman and Israel Finkelstein, Jerusalem 1989). The proceedings were published as a volume by the Institute of Archaeology and Eisenbrauns (2023). In addition, Koch has published numerous articles on relations between the Southern Levant and Egypt in the second millennium BCE and on the early Iron Age in the region. Another book, focusing on the relations between ancient Israel and Egypt, is forthcoming in the series Cambridge Elements: Ancient Egypt in Context (2026).

2. Archaeology of Deportees and Deportations
Since 2018, Koch has co-directed the Tel Hadid excavations (co-director: Prof. James Parker, NOBTS). These have focused on three main periods: the Iron Age II, in which a community of deportees resettled by the Assyrian Empire was uncovered; the late Hellenistic period, represented primarily by the remains of a large fortress at the summit of the mound; and the village of al-Haditha, destroyed in 1948, studied within the framework of an Israel Science Foundation–funded project (co-director: Prof. Yoav Alon, TAU). In addition, he is responsible for the final publication of the large-scale excavations carried out at Tel Hadid in 1995–1998, scheduled for publication in 2027.
The study of the deportee community at Tel Hadid led Koch to examine the archaeology of Assyrian-period deportations to the Southern Levant in the 8th–7th centuries BCE, as well as the broader phenomenon of mass deportations in history. He has addressed these issues in his research and in international workshops at the Collège de France, Paris (2017 and 2019, in collaboration with Prof. Thomas Römer and Dr. Hervé Gonzalez), and at Tel Aviv University (2020). The latter was published as a special issue of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel (2022). In the coming years, this research will expand to include further aspects of the material culture of Tel Hadid and neighboring sites—seeking to identify the men and women forcibly resettled in the region by imperial power.

3. Stamp Seals from the Southern Levant
The project Stamp Seals from the Southern Levant (funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, 2020–2024) is carried out in collaboration with Prof. Christoph Uehlinger (University of Zurich), Prof. Silvia Schroer (University of Bern), and Prof. Stefan Münger (University of Bern). The aim of the project is to document all stamp seals uncovered in the Southern Levant, from their first appearance in the Neolithic period through the Hellenistic period, and to develop research on their production, distribution, use, engraved iconography, significance for the study of ancient religion, contribution to biblical studies, and more. Within the framework of the project, postdoctoral fellows (two of them at Tel Aviv University), doctoral students (two at Tel Aviv), and master’s students (three at Tel Aviv) have carried out dedicated research, resulting in numerous articles and edited volumes. The seals are published in the Corpus of Stamp Seals from the Southern Levant—both in print (four volumes to date) and in an open-access digital corpus.

Publications

Monographs

  1. Koch, I. 2018. The Shadow of Egypt: Colonial Encounters in Southwest Canaan during the Late Bronze and the early Iron Age. Jerusalem (Hebrew). 
  2. Koch, I. 2021. Colonial Encounters in Southwest Canaan during the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age (Culture and History of the Ancient Near East 119). Leiden: Brill (English revised version of No. 1)
  3. Koch, I. and Brand, E. Forthcoming. Tel Hadid I: Excavations in 1995–1997 (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University). Tel Aviv and University Park, PA. 
  4. Koch, I. in preparation. Egypt and the Southern Levant: the Second and First Millennia BCE (Cambridge Elements: Ancient Egypt in Context). Cambridge. 

Edited Volumes

  1. Koch, I., Römer, T. and Sergi, O. 2019. Writing, Rewriting and Overwriting in the Books of Deuteronomy and the Former Prophets: Essays in Honour of Cynthia Edenburg. Leuven: Peeters.
  2. Koch, I. ed. 2022. Mass Deportations to and from the Levant during the Age of the Empires (Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel 11/5). Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck.
  3. Stiebel, G.D., Ben-Ami, D., Tepper, Y., Gorzalczany, A., and Koch, I. eds. 2022. In Centro I: Motion (The Annual Conference of Central District of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 1). Tel Aviv: Institute of Archeology of Tel Aviv University.
  4. Stiebel, G.D., Ben-Ami, D., Tepper, Y., Gorzalczany, A., and Koch, I. eds. 2022. In Centro II: Memory (The Annual Conference of Central District of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 2). Tel Aviv: Institute of Archeology of Tel Aviv University. 
  5. Stiebel, G.D., Koch, I., Ecker, A., Gorzalczany, A., Tepper, Y., Shadman, A., and Dan-Goor, S. eds. 2023. In Centro III: Time (The Annual Conference of Central District of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 3). Tel Aviv: Institute of Archeology of Tel Aviv University. 
  6. Koch, I., Lipschits*, O., and Sergi, O. eds. 2023. From Nomadism to Monarchy? Revisiting the Early Iron Age Southern Levant (Mosaics: Studies on Ancient Israel 3). University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns; Tel Aviv: Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University.
  7. Koch, I. and Sergi, O. eds. 2023. Studies in the Archaeology and History of Ancient Israel and Judah (Archaeology and Bible 7). Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck.
  8. Stiebel, G.D., Ecker, A., Gorzalczany, A., Tepper, Y., Shadman, A., Dan-Goor, S. and Koch, I. eds. 2024. In Centro IV: Faith (The Annual Conference of Central District of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 4). Tel Aviv: Institute of Archeology of Tel Aviv University. 
  9. Tepper, Y., Koch, I., Ecker, A., Gorzalczany, A., Tepper, Y., Dan-Goor, S., Shadman, A., and Stiebel, G.D., eds. 2025. In Centro V: Fire (The Annual Conference of Central District of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 5). Tel Aviv: Ariel. 

 

Articles 

  1. Koch, I., and Lipschits, O. 2010. The Final Days of the Kingdom of Judah in Light of the Rosette-Stamped Jar Handles. Cathedra 137: 7–26. (Hebrew)
  2. Lipschits, O., Sergi, O., and Koch, I. 2010. Royal Judahite Jar Handles: Reconsidering the Chronology of the lmlkStamp Impressions. Tel Aviv 37: 3–32.
  3. Lipschits, O., Koch, I., Shaus, A., and Guil, S. 2010. The Enigma of the Biblical "bath" and the System of Liquid Volume Measurement during the First Temple Period. Ugarit Forschungen 42: 453–478.
  4. Finkelstein, I., Koch, I., and Lipschits, O. 2011. The Biblical Gilead: Observations on Identifications, Geographic Divisions and Territorial History. Ugarit Forschungen 43: 131–159.
  5. Finkelstein, I., Koch, I., and Lipschits, O. 2011. The Mound on the Mount: A Possible Solution to the "Problem with Jerusalem”Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 11, article 12. 
  6. Koch, I. 2012. The Geopolitical Situation in the Judean Lowland during the Iron Age I-IIa (1150-800 BCE)Cathedra 143: 45–64. (Hebrew) 
  7. Koch, I. 2012. The "Chariots of the Sun" (2 Kings 23:11)Semitica 54: 211–219.
  8. Koch, I., and Lipschits, O. 2013. The Rosette Stamped Jar Handle System and the Kingdom of Judah at the end of the First Temple Period. Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 129: 55–78 (Revised English version of B1) 
  9. Koch, I. 2014. Goose Keeping, Elite Emulation and Egyptianized Feasting at Late Bronze LachishTel Aviv 41: 161–179. 
  10. Finkelstein, I., Lipschits, O. and Koch, I. 2014. The Mound on the Mount: A Possible Solution to the "Problem with Jerusalem”. In: Stiebel, G. et al. eds. New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem 8. Jerusalem: 161–175 (revised Hebrew version of No. 5).
  11. Cassuto, D., Koch, I., and Shai, I. 2015. A Note on an Amenhotep III Plaque from Tel Burna. Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections 7(4): 21–26.
  12. Koch, I. 2016. Notes on Three South Canaanite Sites in the el-Amarna CorrespondenceTel Aviv 43: 91–98.
  13. Oeming, M., Ras, K., Koch, I., Weinberg-Cohen, A., Gadot, Y., and Lipschits, O. 2016. Late Bronze Age Figurines from Tel AzekahUgarit Forschungen 47: 205–219.
  14. Koch, I. 2017. Early Philistia Revisited and Revised. Pp. 189–205 in: Lipschits, O., Gadot, Y. and Adams, M.J. eds. Rethinking Israel: Studies in the History and Archaeology of Ancient Israel in Honor of Israel Finkelstein. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.
  15. Koch, I. 2017. Egyptian Scarabs in Southwest Canaan in the Late Bronze and Iron I: Observations from a Local PerspectiveالشرقAsh-sharq, Bulletin of the Ancient Near East Archaeological, Historical and Societal Studies 1 (2): 294–303.
  16. Koch, I. 2017. Revisiting the Fosse Temple at LachishJournal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions 17: 64–75.
  17. Koch, I. 2017. Settlements and Interactions in the Shephelah during the Late-2nd–Early-1st Millennia BCE. Pp. 181–207 in: Lipschits, O. and Maeir, A. M. eds. The Shephelah during the Iron Age: Recent Archaeological Studies. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns  
  18. Koch, I. 2017. Stamp-Amulets from Iron IIA Shephelah: Preliminary Conclusions regarding Production and Distribution, Pictorial Assemblage, and Function. Pp. 75–93 and 10* in: Faust, A. and Baruch, E. eds. New Studies on Jerusalem 22. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University (Hebrew).
  19. Koch, I., Kleiman, S., Oeming, M., Gadot, Y. and Lipschits, O. 2017. Amulets in Context: Scarabs and Figurative Amulets from Late Bronze Age III Tel AzekahJournal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections 16: 9–24.
  20. Koch, I. 2018. Koch, I. 2018. The Egyptian-Canaanite Interface as Colonial Encounter: A View from Southwest Canaan. Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections 18: 24–39.
  21. Koch, I. 2018. Introductory Framework for Assyrian–Levantine Colonial Encounters. Semitica 60: 367–396.​
  22. Koch, I. 2018. Late Iron Age I Southwestern Canaanite Multi-Facet Stamp-Amulets: Innovative Imagery and Interpreted Egyptian Heritage. In: Shai, I. et al. eds. Tell it in Gath: Studies in the History and Archaeology of Israel – Essays in Honor of Aren M. Maeir on the Occasion of his Sixtieth Birthday (Alter Orient und Altes Testament). Münster: 632–652.
  23. Koch, I. 2018. New Light on the Glyptic Finds from Late Iron Age Jerusalem and Judah. Pp. 29–46 in Uziel, J., Gadot, Y., Zelinger, Y., and Peleg-Barkat, O. eds. New Studies in the Archaeology and Jerusalem and Its Region 12. Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority (Hebrew). 
  24. Koch, I. and Sapir-Hen, L. 2018. Beersheba–Arad Valley during the Assyrian Period. Semitica 60: 427–452.
  25. Sweeney, D., Herrmann, C., Koch, I., Gadot, Y., Oeming, M., and Lipschits, O. 2018. A Triad Amulet from Tel Azekah. Israel Exploration Journal 68: 129‒149.
  26. Koch, I. 2019. Pictorial Novelties in Context: Assyrian Iconography in Judah. Pp. 151–163 in Čapek, F. and Lipschits, O. eds. The Last Century in the History of Judah: The Seventh Century BCE in Archaeological, Historical, and Biblical Perspectives (Ancient Israel and Its Literature 37). Atlanta: SBL.
  27. Koch, I. 2019. Religion at Lachish under Egyptian ColonialismDie Welt des Orients 49(2): 161–182.
  28. Koch, I. 2019. Southwestern Canaan and Egypt during the Late Bronze Age I–IIA. Pp. 262–282 in Maeir, A.M., Shai, I., and McKinny, C. eds. The Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages of Southern Canaan (Archaeology of the Biblical World 2). Berlin: De Gruyter.
  29. Kleiman, S., Koch, I., Webster, L., Linares, V., Berendt, K., Sergi, O., Oeming, M., Gadot, Y., and Lipschits, O. 2019. Late Bronze Age Azekah – An Almost Forgotten Story. Pp. 37–61 in A. M. Maeir, I. Shai, and C. McKinny, eds. The Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages of Southern Canaan (Archaeology of the Biblical World 2). Berlin: De Gruyter.
  30. Lipschits, O. and Koch, I. 2019. Blinded by the Light: Destruction Levels as a Tool for Understanding Processes of Material Culture Development—The Iron Age IIb–IIc as a Test Case. Pp. 189–208 in Peleg-Barkat, O., Zelinger, Y., Uziel, J. and Gadot, Y. eds. New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and Its Region: Collected Papers13. Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority (Hebrew).
  31. Lipschits, O., Kleiman, S., Koch, I., Berendt, K., Linares, V., Richardson, S., Oeming, M., and Gadot, Y. 2019. The Last Days of Canaanite Azekah. Biblical Archaeology Review 45(1): 32-38, 70.
  32. Sergi, O., Lipschits, O., and Koch, I. 2019. Memories of the Early Israelite Monarchy in the Books of Samuel and Kings. Pp. 173–193 in Koch, I., Römer, T. and Sergi, O. eds. Writing, Rewriting, and Overwriting in the Books of Deuteronomy and the Former Prophets (Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium 304). Leuven, Paris and Bristol CT: Leuven.
  33. Koch, I. 2020. On Philistines and early Israelite Kings. Pp. 7–31 in Krause, J.J., Sergi, O., and Weingart, K. eds. Saul, Benjamin, and the Emergence of Monarchy in Israel: Biblical and Archaeological Perspective (Ancient Israel and Its Literature 40). Atlanta: SBL.
  34. Koch, I. 2020. Southern Levantine Temples during the Iron Age II: Towards a Multivocal Narrative. Ancient Judaism 8: 325–344.
  35. Koch, I., Warner, D., Yannai, E., Lawson Pruit, L., Cole, D., and Parker, J. 2020. Forced Resettlement and Immigration at Tel Hadid. Biblical Archaeology Review 46/3: 28–37
  36. Gadot, Y. and Koch, I. 2020. The Valley of Elah as Sacred Landscape and its Archaeological Expression. Pp. 205–211 in Čapek, F. and Sláma, P. eds. And God Saw That It Was Good (Gen 1:12) The Concept of Quality in Archaeology, Philology and Theology (Contributions to Understanding the Bible 42). Münster: Lit.
  37. Koch, I. and Lipschits, O. 2021. Stamped-Jars from Judah: Official Pictorial and Textual Language. Ancient Judaism 9: 287–312.
  38. Lewis, R. and Koch, I. 2021. Tel Hadid in the Byzantine Period: Preliminary Survey. Pp. 77–94 in Shavit, A. ed. Lod "Diospolis – City of God", Journal of the History, Archaeology and Heritage of Lod 7. Lod: Tagliot (Hebrew). 
  39. Koch, I. 2022. A Framework for the Study of Deportations to and from the Levant during the Age of the Empires. Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel 11 Supplement: 10–24.
  40. Koch, I. 2022. Human–Animal Encounters on Early Iron Age Stamp-Seals from the Southern Levant. Near Eastern Archaeology 85/4: 296–305.
  41. Avisar, R., Shalev, Y., Shochat, H., Gadot, Y., and Koch, I. 2022. Jerusalem’s Ivories: A Collection of Decorated Ivory Panels from Building 100, Giv’ati Parking Lot Excavations and Their Cultural Setting. ‘Atiqot 106: 57–74.
  42. Gross., B., Wrathall, A., Koch, I. and Lipschits, O. 2022. Stamped Jar Handles from Tel Beth Shemesh (East): A Redefined Lens for the Exploration of Site History during the Iron Age II, Persian and Hellenistic Periods. Maarav 26: 79–122. 
  43. Kisilevitz, S., Koch, I., Agnon. A., Gedulter, N., and Lipschits, O. 2022. God or Ruler? A Stone Relief from the Iron IIA Cultic Precinct at Tel Moẓa. Pp. 35–47 in Gadot, Y., Zelinger, Y., Peleg-Barkat, O., and Shalev, Y. eds. New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and Its Region: Collected Papers 15. Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority (Hebrew).
  44. Shalev, Y., Avissar, R., Freud, L., Koch, I., Bocher, E., Shalom, N., and Gadot, Y. 2022. The Elite of Jerusalem during the Late Iron Age in light of the Finds from Building 100 from the Western Slope of the City of David. Pp. 89–106 in Gadot, Y., Zelinger, Y., Peleg-Barkat, O., and Shalev, Y. eds. New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and Its Region: Collected Papers 15. Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority (Hebrew). 
  45. Elgart-Sharon, Y., Gadot, Y., Koch, I., Quail-Gates, M., Yagel, O., Ben-Yosef, E. and Ron, A. 2023. True Blue? Locality of Pottery Decorations during the Middle Bronze: The Case of Red, White and Blue Ware. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 49: 104025.
  46. Koch, I. 2023. Israel and Assyria, Judah and Assyria. Pp. 693–712 in Keimer, K.H. and Pierce, G.A. eds. The Ancient Israelite World. London and New York: Routledge.
  47. Koch, I. 2023. A New Kingdom Scarab from Tel Azekah, Israel, Depicting a Nursing Gazelle. Pp. 31–38 in Gautschy, R., Grütter, N. and Müller, M., eds. Von Elephantine bis Ugarit: Festschrift für Hanna Jenni (Ägypten und Altes Testament 116). Münster.
  48. Koch, I. 2023. Collapse and Regeneration in Iron I Southwest Canaan. Pp. 209–233 in Koch, I., Lipschits, O., and Sergi, O. eds. From Nomadism to Monarchy? Revisiting the Early Iron Age Southern Levant (Mosaic 3). University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns; Tel Aviv: Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University.
  49. Koch, I. 2023. Israel and Assyria, Judah and Assyria. Pp. 693–712 in Keimer, K.H. and Pierce, G.A. eds. The Ancient Israelite World. London and New York: Routledge. DOI: 10.4324/9780367815691-49.
  50. Koch, I. 2023. Sacred Architecture in Iron II Southern Levant. Pp. 189–199 in Laneri, N. and Steadman, S.R., eds. The Bloomsbury Handbook of Material Religion in the Ancient Near East and Egypt. London: Bloomsbury.
  51. Koch, I. 2023. Deities, Ostriches, and Asterisms in the Desert Sky of the Southern Levant. Pp. 287–304 in Münger, S., Rahn, N. and Wyssmann, P., eds. „Trinkt von dem Wein, den ich mischte!” / “Drink of the Wine which I have Mingled!” Festschrift für Silvia Schroer zum 65. Geburtstag (Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 303). Leuven, Paris and Bristol, CT: Peeters.
  52. Münger, S., Ben-Marzouk, N., Greet, B., and Koch, I. 2023. The Corpus of Stamp Seals from the Southern Levant Database: Research Tool for Glyptic Studies. Near Eastern Archaeology 86/4: 274–283.
  53. Sapir, N., Ben-Ari, N., Koch, I., and Lipschits, O. 2023. A New Assemblage of ‘Private’ Stamped Jar Handles from the Mordot Arnona Excavations, Jerusalem. ‘Atiqot 110: 1–22. 
  54. Sergi, O. and Koch, I. 2023. The Transformative Capacities of Destructions in the Lowlands of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Pp. 139–166 in Koch, I. and Sergi, eds. Studies in the Archaeology and History of Ancient Israel and Judah (Archaeology and Bible 7). Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. 
  55. Solodenko-Vernovsky, N., Ranzer, N., Kuklin, A., Meyerson, I., Gasin, E., and Koch, I. 2023. Leave your Stamp: Reconstruction of the Scarab Production ChainEXARC Journal 2023/1. https://exarc.net/ark:/88735/10674.
  56. Koch, I. 2024. A New Look at Late Iron Age Glyptics from Judah. Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel 13/1: 6–32.
  57. Ranzer, N., Gadot, Y. and Koch, I. 2024. The Production of Middle Bronze Age Steatite Scarabs from the Southern Levant: A Chaîne Opératoire Approach. Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections 41: 66–94. 
  58. Ranzer, N., Weitzel, J., Covello-Paran, K., Sergi, O., and Koch, I. 2024. A Bronze/Iron-Age Scarab in a Middle Islamic Context: The Use of Ancient Objects in Later Periods. Israel Exploration Journal 74: 115–128
  59. Tsiao, M. and Koch, I. 2024. Fibulae of the Southern Levant During the Iron Age II: Chronology, Inter-Regional Connectivity and Performance. Palestine Exploration Quarterly, online https://doi.org/10.1080/00310328.2024.2394369. 
  60. Koch, I., Kleiman, S., Linares, V., Cohen-Weinberger, A., Oeming, M., Shalom, N., Gadot, Y., and Lipschits, O. 2025. Shedding a Concealed Light: Lamp-and-Bowl Building Deposits from Tel Azekah. Tel Aviv 51: 5–37.
  61. Koch, I. Forthcoming. Canaanite in Egyptian Style. In: Wagner-Durand, E. and Herrmann, V. eds. Beyond Attribution?! Style and Communication in Visual Media of the Ancient Near East and Neighboring Regions (ResourseCulture). Tübingen: Tübingen University. 
  62. Koch, I. Forthcoming. Egypt in the Stories of Solomon. In Uberschaer, F. and Robker, J. eds. “Solomon reigned over Israel and Judah in Jerusalem” (3 Kgdms 2:46l):Textual, Literary, and Historical Considerations of the Figure of Solomon in 1 Kings 1–11 // 3 Kingdoms 1–11 (Forschungen zum Alten Testament). Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck.
  63. Koch, I. Forthcoming. Levantine Bulls of Heaven. In: Adams, M.J., Gadot, Y., Zelinger, Y., and Uziel, J. eds. From Artifact to History: Andrea Berlin FS.  
  64. Koch, I. Forthcoming. Egyptian Iconography on Stamp Seals from Israel and Judah. In Schipper, B.U., Cross, J., and Kade, R. eds. Routledge Handbook of Egypt and the Bible. 
  65. Koch, I. and Bar, S. Forthcoming. An Anatolian Seal from Iron IIB Tel Esur. In: Wolff, S. ed. Baruch Brandl Festschrift
  66. Koch, Ido, and Stefan Münger. Forthcoming. "Contextualizing the “Bone Seals” of Iron Age II Judah." In Bonfiglio, R.P., Strawn. B., and  LeMon, J.M. eds. Through the Eyes of the Ancient Near East: Othmar Keel’s Symbolism of the Biblical World 50 Years Later. University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns.
  67. Sergi, O. and Koch, I. Forthcoming. Moon-god of the Bashan. In: anonymous Festschrift.  

 

Chapters in Excavation Reports

  1. Koch, I. 2015. Rosette Stamped Jar Handles.Pp. 243–245 in: Beit-Arieh, I. and Freud, L. eds. Tel Malḥata: A Central City in the Biblical Negev (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 32). Tel Aviv and Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. 
  2. Koch, I. 2016. Rosette Stamped Handles. Pp. 371–388 in: Lipschits, O., Gadot, Y., and Freud, L. eds. Ramat Raḥel 3 (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 35). Tel Aviv and Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. 
  3. Koch, I. 2016. Prancing Horse Impression. Pp. 368–370 in: Lipschits, O., Gadot, Y., and Freud, L. eds. Ramat Raḥel 3 (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 35). Tel Aviv and Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. 
  4. Koch, I. and Lipschits, O. 2016. Hebrew Epigraphic Incisions. Pp. 477–481 in: Lipschits, O., Gadot, Y., and Freud, L. eds. Ramat Raḥel 3 (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 35). Tel Aviv and Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.
  5. Bocher, E. and Koch, I. 2016. Late Roman and Byzantine Architectural Elements. Pp. 635–642 in: Lipschits, O., Gadot, Y., and Freud, L. eds. Ramat Raḥel 3 (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 35). Tel Aviv and Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. 
  6. Lipschits, O. and Koch, I. 2016. “Private” Stamp Impressions on Jar Handles. Pp. 342–355 in: Lipschits, O., Gadot, Y., and Freud, L. eds. Ramat Rael 3. Tel Aviv and Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. 
  7. Lipschits, O. and Koch, I. 2016. Lion Stamp Impressions Pp. 389–408 in: Lipschits, O., Gadot, Y., and Freud, L. eds. Ramat Raḥel 3 (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 35). Tel Aviv and Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. 
  8. Ras, K., Bocher, E. and Koch, I. 2016. Persian Period Stamp Impressions. Pp. 437–446 in: Lipschits, O., Gadot, Y., and Freud, L. eds. Ramat Raḥel 3 (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 35). Tel Aviv and Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. 
  9. Sergi, O. and Koch, I. 2016. Concentric Circle Incisions on Jar Handles. Pp. 356–367 in: Lipschits, O., Gadot, Y., and Freud, L. eds. Ramat Raḥel 3 (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 35). Tel Aviv and Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.  
  10. Tepper, Y., Bocher, E. and Koch, I. 2016. Stamp Impressions of the Roman Tenth Legion. Pp. 461–472 in: Lipschits, O., Gadot, Y., and Freud, L. eds. Ramat Raḥel 3 (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 35). Tel Aviv and Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns.  
  11. Koch, I. 2020. Area D3: Courtyard 380, the Inner Gate and Building 468. Pp. 241–268 in Lipschits, O., Oeming, M. and Gadot, Y. Ramat Raḥel 4 (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 39). University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns. 
  12. Koch, I. and Kedem, N. 2020. Area D6. Pp. 327–353 in Lipschits, O., Oeming, M. and Gadot, Y. Ramat Raḥel 4 (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 39). University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns.
  13. Lipschits, O. and Koch, I. 2021. Lion Stamp Impressions from the Babylonian Period. Pp. 76–80 in Lipschits, O., Freud, L., Oeming, M. and Gadot, Y. Ramat Raḥel 6 (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 40). Tel Aviv and University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns.
  14. Koch, I. 2025. A Scarab from Tomb 16/H/50. Pp. 227–228 in Adams, M.J., Cradic, M.S., and Finkelstein, I. eds. Megiddo VII: The Shmunis Excavations of a Monumental Middle Bronze Tomb and Its Environs (Monograph Series of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University 43). Tel Aviv and University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns.
  15. Koch, I. and Mazar, A. Forthcoming. Stamp Seals and a Sealing. In Mazar, A. Excavations at Tel Qasile III (Qedem). Jerusalem: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 
  16. Ranzer, N. and Koch, I. Forthcoming. Seals from the Ashkelon Cemetery. In Master, D. and Aja, A. eds. Ashkelon: The Iron Age Cemetery. 

 

Other Publications

  1. Lipschits, O., Kleiman, S., Koch, I., Berendt, K., Linares, V., Richardson, S., Oeming, M., and Gadot, Y. 2019. Late Bronze Age Azekah and its Terminal Breath. Biblical Archaeology Review 45(1): 32–38, 70.
  2. Koch, I. 2020. Review of: P. Altamann, A. Angelini, and A. Spiciarich (edd.), Food Taboo and Biblical Prohibitions, Reassesing Archaeological and Literary Perspectives, Tübingen 2020 (“Archaeology and Bible”, 2), Mohr Siebeck, VI+158 pp. ISBN 978-3-16-159355-0. Revisita di Studi Fenici 48: 159–163. 
  3.  Koch, I., Warner, D., Yannai, E., Pruit, L.L., Cole, D., and Parker, J. 2020. Forced Resettlement and Immigration at Tel Hadid. Biblical Archaeology Review 46(3): 28–37. 
  4. Kisilevitz, S., Koch, I., Lipschits, O., and Vanderhooft, D.S. 2020. Facing the Facts about the “Face of God”—A Critical Response to Yosef Garfinkel. Biblical Archaeology Review 46 (5): 38-45.
  5. Koch, I., Yannai, E., and Warner, D. 2021. Tel Hadid – 2018, 2019. Hadashot Arkheologiot: Excavations and Surveys in Israel 133.
  6. Koch, I. 2025. Empire, Elites, and Colonial Encounters: Canaan and Egypt during the Late Bronze Age. Etmol 290: 3-6 (Hebrew).
  7. Koch, I. 2025. Glyptics: The Study of Stamp-Seals from the Southern Levant. Qadmoniyot 169: 56–58 (Hebrew). 
  8. Koch, I. and Parker, J. 2025. Tel Hadid – 2020, 2022. Hadashot Arkheologiot: Excavations and Surveys in Israel 137. https://hadashot.iaa.org.il/Report_Detail_Eng.aspx?id=27706 
     

Research Students

PhD Students

Noa Ranzer: Function of Stamp-seals in Iron Age Southern Levant (co-supervisors: Prof. Christoph Uehlinger, UZH); dissertation submitted August 2025

Deborah Aybinderow: Economy and Society in the Shephelah in the Iron Age II in light of the Olive Oil Industry in the Sorek Valley (co-supervisor: Prof. Oded Lipschits); dissertation submitted October 2022

Yelena Elgart-Sharon: Production of Pigments and their Application on Clay Vessels from the Southern Coastal Plain during the 2nd and 1st Millennium BCE: a Chaîne opératoire Approach (co-supervisors: Prof. Yuval Gadot and Dr. Alon Ron); since 2020

Mor Goldenberg: The Pictorial Language of the Kingdom of Israel (co-supervisor: Prof. Yuval Gadot); since 2021

Reli Avissar: Archaeological Manifestations of Social Hierarchy in Iron Age Judah (co-supervisor: Prof. Yuval Gadot); since 2021

John Will Rice: The Uraeus in the Southern Levant from the Middle Bronze Age to the Persian Period (co-supervisors: Prof. Oded Lipschits, TAU, and Prof. Jan-Christian Gertz, University of Heidelberg); since 2023

Xiaoshuai Yuan: Chinese Ancient Stamp seals of the Warring States Period (co-supervisor: Dr. Yitzchak Jaffe, University of Haifa); since 2023
 

 

MA Students

Noa Rantzer: Biography of Scarabs: Production, Distribution, and Consumption of Scarabs in the Yarkon Basin during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages (co-Supervisor: Prof. Yuval Gadot); thesis approved August 2020

Lior Serban: The Shephelah between the Iron IIC and the Persian period – Continuity and Change in Settlement Pattern, Economic Activity and Administration (co-supervisor: Prof. Oded Lipschits); thesis approved January 2023

Ruthy Lewis: The Glass Assemblage at Tel Hadid: An Exploration and Illumination of the Byzantine Settlement (co-supervisor: Dr Ruth Jackson-Tal, Israel Museum); thesis approved February 2021

Nicole Callaway: Body Language: Deciphering and Decoding the Gestures, Postures, and Sizes of Female Figurines from the Late Bronze Age to the Iron II (co-supervisor: Prof. Oded Lipschits); thesis approved December 2021

Marissa Tsiao: Fibulae of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age: Chronology, Inter-regional Connectivity, and Performance; thesis approved December 2021

Xiaoshuai Yuan: Contextual Analysis of Seals of Iron Age IIB Judah (co-supervisor: Prof. Oded Lipschits); thesis approved March 2022

Jingchao Chen: Tracing Household Ingredients in Iron Age IIC Tel Hadid and Tel Bet-Shemesh: A Pilot Study with Organic Residue Analysis on Pottery Assemblages (co-supervisor: Prof. Cynthianne Spiteri, University of Tübingen); thesis approved July 2022

Renate Barbara Fahrni: Egyptian Stamp-seals from the 25th and 26th Dynasties in Judah and Philistia: Typology, Context, and Historical Implications (co-supervisor: Dr Deborah Sweeney); thesis approved January 2023

Amit Etya: The Lydda Valley during the Late Hellenistic and the Roman Periods—A View from Tel Hadid; thesis approved January 2025

Daria Leibin-Graiver: Mollusks in Iron Age Judah (co-supervisors: Dr.  Daniella Bar-Yosef Mayer and Prof. Oded Lipschits); thesis approved June 2025

Yuval Amir: Zoomorphic Vessels and Libation Rituals in Iron-Age Southern Levant; thesis approved June 2025

Jad Abu Saed: Stamp Seals from Persian-period Philistia; since 2024

Neta Nisim: Archaeological Collections in Kibbutzim (co-supervisor: Dr. Adi Louria-Hayon); since 2024

Sagi Freiman: Archaeoseismology as a Tool for Understanding Societal Changes and Human Reaction Due to Earthquakes: Bet She’an as a Case Study (Co-supervisor: Prof. Shmuel Marco, TAU); since 2024

Shahar Gopher: Continuity and Change in Egyptian-Style Stamp Seals and Amulets during the Iron I at Tel Megiddo (co-supervisor: Prof. Deborah Sweeney); since 2025

Netanel Rinon: Cultic Vessels from the Temples of Tel Qasile in the Early Iron Age: Material Religion, Sensory Experiences and the Reflection of the Environment in the Cult; since 2025
 

Academic and Professional Awards

2015    Swiss Government Excellence Program

2019    Alon Fellowship for outstanding young researchers

2019    Yad Yitzhaq Ben-Zvi “Ish Shalom” Award for The Shadow of Egypt: Colonial Encounters in Southwest Canaan during the Late Bronze and the early Iron Age, Jerusalem 2018.

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