| | The "excavator" at Tell el-Dab<sup>c</sup>a mentioned in this quote was Manfred Bietak. Bietak takes the "low chronology" for Egypt's Dynasty that places the reign of Tuthmosis III from 1479 to 1425 BC. (The "high chronology" of 1504 to 1450 BC is still held by some historians.) On p. 15 of ''SCIEM'' 3, Bietak has a chart that locates the Thera pumice in the palace district at Tell el-Dab<sup>c</sup>a to about 1450 or 1455 BC. | | The "excavator" at Tell el-Dab<sup>c</sup>a mentioned in this quote was Manfred Bietak. Bietak takes the "low chronology" for Egypt's Dynasty that places the reign of Tuthmosis III from 1479 to 1425 BC. (The "high chronology" of 1504 to 1450 BC is still held by some historians.) On p. 15 of ''SCIEM'' 3, Bietak has a chart that locates the Thera pumice in the palace district at Tell el-Dab<sup>c</sup>a to about 1450 or 1455 BC. |
| − | This latest statement from Egyptologists, therefore, maintains that the 1663 to 1599 (median 1631) BC date for the eruption of Thera is about (1631 – 1450) = 180 years too early, in contrast somewhat with the earlier statements by Bietak<ref>''Science'' 28 April 2006, p. 509.</ref> that radiocarbon dates were too high by 120 to 150 years. This represents a movement away from, rather than toward, a compromise solution. The latest version of ''SCIEM'' (Vol. 3) carries on the debate, with no resolution in sight. Articles in ''SCIEM'' 3 by archaeologists Manfred Bietak, Felix Hoffmayer, and Kenneth Kitchen maintain that it is not possible to move Egyptian and related histories 100 or more years back in time, while Sturt Manning and the physicists insist that this must be done if archaeologists are to be consistent with the findings of "science." For those who are not familiar with the issues, the bias would be in favor of the physicists, since in the current culture physicists are higher on the totem pole than archaeologists. For those who are more acquainted with the actual facts of the case, however, there remains adequate reason for questioning the various assumptions that the physicists rely on to arrive at their results. | + | This latest statement from Egyptologists, therefore, maintains that the 1663 to 1599 (median 1631) BC date for the eruption of Thera is about (1631 – 1450) = 180 years too early, in contrast somewhat with the earlier statements by Bietak<ref>''Science'' 28 April 2006, p. 509.</ref> that radiocarbon dates were too high by 120 to 150 years. This represents a movement away from, rather than toward, a compromise solution. The latest version of ''SCIEM'' (Vol. 3) carries on the debate, with no resolution in sight. Articles in ''SCIEM'' 3 by archaeologists Manfred Bietak, Felix Hoffmayer, and [[Kenneth Kitchen]] maintain that it is not possible to move Egyptian and related histories 100 or more years back in time, while Sturt Manning and the physicists insist that this must be done if archaeologists are to be consistent with the findings of "science." For those who are not familiar with the issues, the bias would be in favor of the physicists, since in the current culture physicists are higher on the totem pole than archaeologists. For those who are more acquainted with the actual facts of the case, however, there remains adequate reason for questioning the various assumptions that the physicists rely on to arrive at their results. |