Yigael Yadin to Head New Excavation
Signaling an eventual return to the world of archaeology, Yigael Yadin has stated he will lead a major new archaeological excavation. Yadin, formerly head of Hebrew University’s Institute of Archaeology, is currently Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister.
Yadin’s new site is Tell Dor. The mound dramatically overlooks the Mediterranean Sea about 18 miles south of Haifa. Dor is one of the largest mounds in all Israel. Ancient literary references reflect its importance in a number of periods; archaeological remains confirm the literary references. The site includes a port, some of whose structures can still be seen under water.
Dor is first mentioned in an inscription of Ramses II (13th century B.C.) as a city on the famous Via Maris, the coastal road from Egypt to Mesopotamia.
In the Bible, Dor is mentioned as joining the coalition headed by Jabin, King of Hazor, in a war against Joshua (Joshua 11:1–5). Joshua defeated the king of Dor (Joshua 12:23), but apparently the Israelites were unable to conquer the city or to expel the Canaanites (see Judges 1:27). Dor was then conquered by one of the Sea Peoples before its ultimate capture by the Israelites in King David’s time. (In the famous Egyptian account of the journey of Wen-Amon [about 1100 B.C.], Dor is described as a city inhabited by the Tjeker, a sea people closely related to the Philistines.)
During King Solomon’s reign, Dor was made the capital of the Sharon Plain, the center of Solomon’s Fourth Administrative District (I Kings 4:11). Dor was so important that it was governed by Solomon’s own son-in-law.
Recently Professor Nachman Avigad of Hebrew University, published a Hebrew seal dating from the eighth century B.C. belonging to a “priest of Dor” (Cohan Dor) (see “A Temple at Dor,” BAR 02:03). If there was a priest of Dor, there must have been a temple of Dor, argues Professor Avigad. And we may be sure that Professor Yadin will be looking for it. Professor Avigad believes the temple of Dor must have been dedicated to the Hebrew God Yahweh because the priest’s name (Zecharyau) contains within it the divine name of Yahweh in compressed form (yau).
In 733 B.C. the Assyrian ruler Tiglath-Pileser III conquered Dor as well as the adjacent area of the coastal plain, and made Dor the capital of an Assyrian province.
In the first century A.D., a large Jewish population lived in Dor. Obviously they had a synagogue—perhaps more than one. Until the seventh century A.D., Christian bishops resided at Dor, so there were churches as well. In the Middle Ages, the Crusaders built a fortress near the ancient city.
In the 1920’s, the British School of Archaeology conducted limited excavations on the tell, but their methods were, by current standards, primitive. In the 1950s, limited areas adjacent to the mound were excavated. But that is all.
The new dig will begin in 1979. Although the dig will be under Yadin’s overall supervision, the actual excavation will be directed by Dr. Ephraim Stern until Yadin is sufficiently free of his political duties to devote substantial time to the work at the site. Five seasons of excavation are planned.
A consortium of institutions and individuals is being formed to support the Dor excavations. Anyone wishing to participate in the excavations in this way should write to the BAR editor.