Guide to Sites

020

Bethsaida

Few places evoke the New Testament as much as Bethsaida, a town on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee that was the birthplace of at least three of the 12 apostles and the place where Jesus fed the multitude (Luke 9:10–17) and restored sight to a blind man (Mark 8:22–26). The Romans destroyed Bethsaida during the First Jewish Revolt of 66–70 A.D., leaving its location a mystery until 1987, when Rami Arav (University of Nebraska at Omaha) explored an area that today is somewhat north of the Galilee but which he suspected had been on the shoreline in ancient times. His hunch proved correct: He found a Hellenistic-Roman city in which he uncovered Roman-era fishing implements. Nine years later he discovered, to his surprise, the remains of an Iron Age city buried beneath the Hellenistic-Roman town, which is likely to have been the capital of the kingdom of Geshur. This season Arav and co-director Richard Freund (University of Hartford) will continue work on the Iron Age city.

BAR articles: Rami Arav, Richard A. Freund and John F. Shroder, Jr., “Bethsaida Rediscovered,” BAR 26:01; Arav and Freund, “The Bull from the Sea: Geshur’s Chief Deity?” BAR 24:01, and “An Incense Shovel from Bethsaida,” BAR 23:01; Arav, “An Iron Age Amulet from the Galilee,” BAR 21:01.

021

Dor

Ancient Dor has a history stretching back to the 20th century B.C., when the Canaanites first established the city. Pottery from Cyprus and Mycenae indicate that it was an important trading site throughout the Bronze Age, and in 960 B.C. King Solomon made it his primary port and one of his 12 district capitals (1 Kings 4:11). The city remained prosperous until the first century B.C., when King Herod established Caesarea eight miles to the south. However, Dor remained sufficiently important to be the seat of a bishopric in the fifth to seventh century A.D. Tel Dor contains significant remains from nearly every archaeological period, including palaces, temples and mosaics. This summer the excavators, led by Ilan Sharon (Hebrew University), Andrew Stewart (U.C. Berkeley), Sarah Stroup (University of Washington) and Elizabeth Bloch-Smith (Gratz College), intend to continue work on the Iron Age city and to excavate a Hellenistic-Persian palace complex below a Roman wine press and bath discovered in 2004.

BAR articles: Ephraim Stern, “Gorgon Excavated at Dor,” BAR 28:06; Sean Kingsley et al., The Ancient Harbour and Anchorage at Dor, and Ephraim Stern, Excavations at Dor, Qedem Reports I & II, reviewed in BAR 23:04; Stern, “Priestly Blessing of a Voyage,” BAR 21:01; Stern, “The Many Masters of Dor,” Part 1 in BAR 19:01, Part 2 in BAR 19:02, and Part 3 in BAR 19:03.

Har Karkom

Arguably the most ancient and mysterious site featured here, Har Karkom was discovered in 1954 by Emmanuel Anati (Centro Camuno di Studi Preistorici, Italy), who returns every spring to continue his survey. The site is really a cluster of many sites of various sizes spread out on a remote plateau in southern Negev desert. They consist mostly of rock art, cultic altars and stone pillars from numerous periods dating as far back as 40,000 years. What most of them appear to have in common is a cultic purpose. The area has clearly been holy since the Paleolithic period, and Anati even goes so far as to argue that Har Karkom is the Biblical Mt. Sinai.

BAR articles: Emmanuel Anati, “30,000-Year Old Sanctuary Found at Har Karkom,” BAR 19:01; Israel Finkelstein, “Raider of the Lost Mountain,” BAR 14:04; Anati, “Has Mt. Sinai Been Found?” BAR 11:04.

Hazor

Hazor is rich in Biblical history. The town, located 20 miles north of the Sea of Galilee, was once the center of a coalition organized by its king, Jabin, to fight the Israelites led by Joshua (Joshua 11:1–5). Joshua, however, won the battle and razed Hazor to the ground (Joshua 11:11). Solomon later rebuilt the city, though it disappeared from the Hebrew Bible following its conquest by the Assyrians in 732 B.C. (2 Kings 15:29). Extrabiblical references include 19th-18th-century B.C. Egyptian texts, which curse Hazor as an enemy of Egypt, and an 18th-century B.C. Babylonian tablet mentioning that Hammurabi had ambassadors residing in the city.

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Past excavations have unearthed a Bronze Age Canaanite palace and cultic buildings, as well as Canaanite and Israelite fortifications, an Israelite administrative building and various statues, tablets and jewelry. Dig leader Amnon Ben-Tor (Hebrew University) plans to spend this season uncovering the monumental Bronze Age palace and fortifications.

BAR articles: Bryan Kovach, “Flanders Field in Northern Israel: A Hazor Volunteer’s Story,” BAR 29:01; Amnon Ben-Tor, “Excavating Hazor,” Part 1, BAR 25:01, Part 2 (with Maria Teresa Rubiato), BAR 25:03; Ben-Tor, “Big Game Hunting: The Lion of Hazor,” BAR 24:01.

Kedesh

Located about 6 miles south of Kiryat Shemona, in Israel’s far north, Kedesh was one of the major Canaanite cities that fought in the coalition led by Jabin of Hazor; the Israelites conquered it and made it into a “city of refuge.” Kedesh was probably the administrative center for the Galilee in the Persian and Hellenistic periods (539–141 B.C.), when the inhabitants had close economic, political and social contact with the Phoenician cities of the coast. In the corner of one building, excavators discovered a cache of more than 3,000 Hellenistic bullae (seal impressions). The site was later attacked by the Maccabees under Jonathan (144 B.C.) and never recovered, changing from an administrative center to a rural outpost. Directed by Professor Sharon Herbert (University of Michigan) and Andrea Berlin (University of Minnesota), the excavation at Tel Kedesh has provided new evidence regarding the cultural interactions of Phoenicians and Jews in the Second Temple Period.

BAR articles: Hershel Shanks, “Restore the Roman Temple at Kedesh,” BAR 26:05.

Khirbat al-Mudayna

Once one of a series of fortified sites along the Wadi ath-Thamad, Khirbat al-Mudayna, located about 30 miles south of Amman, Jordan, is a rich source of information about life in Iron Age Moab. The excavation is entering its seventh season and has yielded an impressive six-chambered gate complex dating to Iron Age II and sling stones and bronze arrowheads nearby that suggest a battle to breach it. Excavators led by P. M. Michèle Daviau of Wilfrid Laurier University (Ontario) have also found, inside the town, a small temple with limestone altars and a series of 023industrial buildings dedicated to the weaving industry, in addition to a Nabatean villa and an early Roman reservoir. In the larger Wadi ath-Thamad survey area, excavations have begun on a Neolithic village, where painted pottery and a sub-floor burial of a young woman have been recovered from the Yarmukian culture.

The goals for the 2005 season include continuing the excavation of the Iron Age buildings, the Nabatean villa and the recently discovered Neolithic village.

BAR articles: P. M. Michèle Daviau and Paul Eugène Dion, “Moab Comes to Life,” BAR 28:01.

Kursi

Christian tradition identifies Kursi, on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, as the location of the “swine miracle,” in which Jesus drove demons from a possessed man into a passing herd of pigs (Matthew 8:28–34; Mark 5; Luke 8:26–39). The swine (and, one hopes, the evil spirits) are gone, but not the remains of what was once the largest Byzantine monastery in the Holy Land. For the past four years, Charles Page II and Vassilios Tzaferis of the Jerusalem Institute for Biblical Exploration, have been excavating the monastery compound, uncovering fifth-century mosaics, a bath complex and other notable finds. This season they plan to explore the possible connection between a residential area and the Byzantine monastery.

BAR articles: Vassilios Tzaferis, “A Pilgrimage to the Site of the Swine Miracle,” BAR 15:02.

Petra

Telegenic Petra, located in Jordan about 120 miles south of Amman, continues to draw tourists from throughout 024the world. Though inhabited from the Iron Age to the 20th century A.D., it is known primarily as the capital of the Nabateans, who settled there during the Hellenistic period. Some also identify the city with Biblical Sela, in Edom (Judges 1:36; 2 Kings 14:7). The excavation is run by Philip Hammond, director of the American Expedition to Petra, and it already boasts of the discovery of the Temple of the Winged Lions, considered the most important temple complex discovered so far. Other finds include the Treasury of the Pharaoh (a spectacular edifice carved into a cliff wall), a Roman-style theater and a necropolis. Hammond’s goal this season is to continue excavation of the temple complex and conduct conservation work.

BAR articles: Hershel Shanks, “The Petra Scrolls,” BAR 23:01; Avraham Negev, “Understanding the Nabateans,” and Judith W. Shanks, “A Plea for the Bedoul Bedouin of Petra,” BAR 14:06.

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Ramat Hanadiv

This pleasant coast site on the southern edge of Mount Carmel features a Herodian palace complex, which was in use until the First Jewish Revolt (66–70 A.D). The excavation team, led by director Yizhar Hirschfeld (Hebrew University), has already uncovered rich remains, including standing 7-foot-high walls, lamps, glassware, coins, jewelry and various metal objects.

Ramat Rachel

Now known mostly for the landmark hotel on the site, in a southern neighborhood of Jerusalem, Ramat Rachel’s most prominent archaeological features include a large eighth-century B.C. royal citadel, built by one of the kings of Judah, a Roman villa and a Byzantine monastery. This season the excavators, led by Oded Lipschitz and Oren Tal (Tel Aviv University), will explore traces of Assyrian and Babylonian rule as well as the borders of the Iron Age II settlement.

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Rehov

The largest ancient town in the Beth Shean valley, Rehov is mentioned in numerous contemporary Egyptian sources. Though not referenced in the Bible, it was clearly a major city at the time of the Judges and the Israelite monarchy.

Previous seasons of excavations at Tel Rehov, one of the largest in Israel, revealed an immense 3,000-2,000 B.C. fortification system as well as successive occupation layers from the 13th to the 8th centuries B.C. The most important discoveries relate to the 10th and 9th centuries B.C., the time of the United Monarchy and the Omride Dynasty. These include vast architectural remains, hundreds of pottery vessels and a rich collection of cult objects, seal inscriptions and other finds. This season the archaeological team, led by Amihai Mazar (Hebrew University), intend to extend the excavation of the Iron Age I-II occupation levels and explore the Late Bronze Age levels.

BAR articles: Amihai Mazar, “Does Amihai Mazar Agree with Finkelstein’s ‘Low Chronology’?” BAR 29:02.

Tell es-Safi/Gath

Tell es-Safi/Gath, one of the largest pre-classical sites in Israel, is identified as Canaanite and Philistine Gath, one of the five major cities of the Philistines, arch-enemies of the Israelites, and home to Goliath and King Achish. Since 1996, the excavation, led by Aren Maeir (Bar-Ilan University), has uncovered a number of important Early Bronze Age, Late Bronze Age and Iron Age finds. These include Philistine remains dating to Iron Age I and II and several destruction levels brimming 027with objects, including hundreds of complete vessels. One of the levels, from the late ninth century B.C., contains evidence of Hazael of Aram’s conquest of Gath (2 Kings 12:18). Related to this is a monumental dry siege moat that surrounds the site, which is unparalleled in the ancient world.

BAR articles: Aren M. Maeir and Carl S. Ehrlich, “Excavating Philistine Gath,” BAR 27:06.

Tall Jalul

Located in the Madaba Plains region of central Jordan, 20 miles south of Amman, Tall Jalul may be the site of the Biblical city of Heshbon. The excavation is revealing clues about the socio-historical development of the region, which was occupied from the Early Bronze Age to the Persian period. Past excavations have uncovered remains of an Iron Age II gateway and buildings, as well as figurines, seals and a tomb.

Directors Randall W. Younker and David Merlin of Andrews University plan to spend the season continuing their work in all fields.

Tiberias

Hebrew University’s Yizhar Hirschfeld and Brown University’s Katharina Galor are leading a major excavation of this Roman-era city by the Sea of Galilee. Founded in the first century A.D., Tiberias was a major Jewish cultural center (the seat of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court) and later became a location of importance 028for early Christians, Byzantines and Muslims until the tenth century. Recent finds include a 17-foot bronze chain and chandelier, a cardo (the main street in Roman cities) and a bathhouse with a mosaic floor. Hirschfeld and Galor plan to spend this season exposing a basilica and a large market area.

Ya’amun

This site in northern Jordan, 12 miles south east of Irbid, was occupied from the Early Bronze Age to the Islamic period. Among the finds so far have been Late Bronze houses, Iron Age walls, wine and olive presses, scarabs, Roman glass and a sixth-century A.D. church with a mosaic floor. Ya’amun’s most distinctive feature, however, is its tombs; 189 have been found so far, divided among several necropoli. This year the excavation team, led by co-directors Jerome C. Rose (University of Arkansas) and Mahmoud El-Najjar (Yarmouk University), intends to continue excavating wine presses, finish the tombs in necropolis 1 and further explore structures at the site.

Yotvata

Possibly the site of Biblical Jotbathah (Deuteronomy 10:7), which describes the oasis as “a land of brooks and water” where the Israelites camped during their 029wanderings in the desert, Yotvata is the location of a late Roman-period fort, complete with a monumental dedicatory inscription in Latin. The fort is a standard tetraburgium: It is square, has four projecting square corner towers, and measures roughly 130 by 130 feet. Established in about 300 A.D., it was apparently occupied through the fourth century and reoccupied in the early Islamic period. This season, excavation leaders Jodi Magness (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Uzi Avner (Hebrew University) and Gwyn Davies (Florida International University) will expand the excavation areas to the northeast and southwest areas of the fort.

Zayit

Lying 30 miles east of Ashkelon, Tel Zayit has been yielding its secrets to Pittsburgh Theological Seminary’s Ron E. Tappy and his team. Among them are a Roman period fortress, a large Egyptian Late Bronze Age public building or palace, and numerous smaller objects such as inscriptions on pottery sherds, private and royal seal impressions, scarabs and jewelry. The excavators have also uncovered a significant destruction level at the Iron Age II (ninth century B.C.) level thought to be tied to an invasion by Arameans (2 Kings 12:17–18).

This season’s objectives include exposing more of the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age II destruction levels, and investigating the Iron II defense system around the summit of the site (a perimeter wall constructed of huge monoliths and fieldstones).

Bethsaida