Clark/Narrating Archaeological Sites, 9. Contextualizing the Madaba Plains Project at Tall al-ʿUmayri Iron II and Later Periods

How do the results from the Iron IIB–C​ and Persian periods indicate the role that those settlements at ʿUmayri played within the empire systems at the time? There was almost no settlement​ at the site during Iron IIA, but a small village was​ established in the Iron IIB period (Stratum 8) probably​ somewhere in the 8th century B.C., according to the​ dating of a discovered house and other fragmentary​ finds. But the situation was very different during the​ Iron IIC–early Persian periods (Strata 7–5) when an administrative center and associated domestic dwellings were built, probably to administer nearby small​ agricultural estates, and found with associated seals​ and other indications of governmental activities.