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AVIAD BAR NESS, COURTESY MUZA–ERETZ ISRAEL MUSEUM, TEL AVIV

RIVER TOWN. The Philistine settlement at the outskirts of modern Tel Aviv was founded in the second half of the 12th century BCE. Over the next 150 years, this port town took advantage of its location on a ridge above the Yarkon River, a mere mile from the river’s estuary on the Mediterranean coast. Through its expansive trade network, Tell Qasile was connected to the central hill country as well as the Levantine coast and beyond. The result was a blended community with a material culture combining local and foreign traditions.