Abel-beth-maachah
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Tel Abel Beth Maacah ( he, תֵּל אָבֵל בֵּית מַעֲכָה; ar, تل آبل القامع, translit=Tell Abil el-Qameḥ, lit=) is a large
archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
tell with a small upper northern section and a large lower southern one, connected by a saddle. It is located on the northern border of present-day
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, about 2 km south of the town of
Metula Metula ( he, מְטֻלָּה) is a town in the Northern District of Israel. Metula is located next to the northern border with Lebanon. In it had a population of . Metula is the northernmost town in Israel. History Bronze and Iron Age Metu ...
and about 6.5 km west of
Tel Dan Dan ( he, דן) is an ancient city mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, described as the northernmost city of the Kingdom of Israel, and belonging to the tribe of Dan. The city is identified with a tell located in Upper Galilee, northern Israel, know ...
. The survey and excavations conducted in recent years have shown that the site had been inhabited during the Bronze and Iron Ages, as well as the
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
,
Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
,
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, Early Islamic, Crusader,
Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
and Ottoman periods. Since at least the early 13th century CE the mound was the location of the Arab village of Abil al-Qamh, depopulated in 1948. However, the lower mound was not occupied after the Iron Age I (late 11th/early 10th centuries BCE), when occupation seems to have concentrated on the upper mound. The site was fortified by walls and a rampart in the Middle Bronze Age II. These fortifications were reused in the Late Bronze Age in the south of the mound, but went out of commission in the Iron Age I. A silver hoard in a jug, dating to the end of the Late Bronze Age, is one of the earliest such hoards found in the country. The Iron Age I sequence is one of the densest in this region and includes strata of cultic, domestic and public nature. Traces of metal-working were found in the latter. The Iron Age II is represented by a very large stone wall in the upper mound that might be part of a citadel. A well-built structure dating to the Persian-early Hellenistic period was built above this wall and other Iron Age remains. In the later periods, the
Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
village of Abil al-Qamh was located here until it became depopulated in 1948.


The site

The site is approximately 100 dunams (10 hectares) in size and sits astride the narrow defile of
Nahal Ayun Nahal Ayun ( he, נחל עיון, ''lit.'' Ayun Stream), sometimes spelled Nahal Iyyon, in ar, براغيث ''Bureighit'', or in full Nahr Bareighit, is a perennial stream and a tributary of the Jordan River. The stream originates from two spring ...
, one of the four headwaters of the
Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...
. The Tanur Waterfall, fed by the Iyyon, is located just north of the site. From its strategic vantage point overlooking the narrow northern end of the fertile
Hula Valley The Hula Valley ( he, עמק החולה, translit. ''Emek Ha-Ḥula''; also transliterated as Huleh Valley, ar, سهل الحولة) is an agricultural region in northern Israel with abundant fresh water, which used to be Lake Hula, prior to ...
, the site commands roads leading north to the Lebanese
Beqaa Valley The Beqaa Valley ( ar, links=no, وادي البقاع, ', Lebanese ), also transliterated as Bekaa, Biqâ, and Becaa and known in classical antiquity as Coele-Syria, is a fertile valley in eastern Lebanon. It is Lebanon's most important ...
, northeast to inland
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
(
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
) and
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
, and west to the Lebanese/Phoenician coast. The tell is identified with Abel Beth-Maacah mentioned in the
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.
Hebrew: ''Tān ...
and consists of an upper mound in the north and a larger lower mound in the south, with a moderately high saddle between them. The location of the town in such a strategic spot points to it having played a major role in the interaction between the various national groups and political powers in the
Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
(
Canaanites {{Cat main, Canaan See also: * :Ancient Israel and Judah Ancient Levant Hebrew Bible nations Ancient Lebanon 0050 Ancient Syria Wikipedia categories named after regions 0050 Phoenicia Amarna Age civilizations ...
,
Hurrians The Hurrians (; cuneiform: ; transliteration: ''Ḫu-ur-ri''; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri or Hurriter) were a people of the Bronze Age Near East. They spoke a Hurrian language and lived in Anatolia, Syria and Northern Mes ...
/ Mitannians,
Egyptians Egyptians ( arz, المَصرِيُون, translit=al-Maṣriyyūn, ; arz, المَصرِيِين, translit=al-Maṣriyyīn, ; cop, ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, remenkhēmi) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian ...
, and
Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian people who played an important role in establishing first a kingdom in Kussara (before 1750 BC), then the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom (c. 1750–1650 BC), and next an empire centered on Hattusa in north-centra ...
) and the
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
(
Israelites The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...
,
Arameans The Arameans ( oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; syc, ܐܪ̈ܡܝܐ, Ārāmāyē) were an ancient Semitic-speaking people in the Near East, first recorded in historical sources from the late 12th century BCE. The Aramean ...
and
Phoenicians Phoenicia () was an ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient thalassocracy, thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-st ...
). Abel Beth Maacah was a border town, and as such, was exposed to these influences at the same time that it fulfilled the role of buffering, or bearing the brunt of, foreign invasions. Its proximity to numerous water sources and a rich agricultural hinterland was yet another factor in making Abel Beth Maacah a large and prominent site in antiquity.


Etymology

Abel Beth Maacah means "the meadow of the house of
Maacah Maacah (or Maakah; he, ''Maʿăḵā'', "crushed"; Maacha in the Codex Alexandrinus, Maachah in the KJV) is a non-gender-specific personal name used in the Bible to refer to a number of people. *A child of Abraham's brother Nachor, evidently a ...
". The biblical name is spelled variously as Abel-beth-maacah, Abel Beth Maacah, Abel Beth-Maacah, Avel Bet Ma'akha etc. The city is also called Abel Maim ("meadow of water") in .


Identification

The tell was described by a number of prominent 19th-century and early 20th-century explorers, including
Victor Guérin Victor Guérin (15 September 1821 – 21 Septembe 1890) was a French intellectual, explorer and amateur archaeologist. He published books describing the geography, archeology and history of the areas he explored, which included Greece, Asia Mino ...
,
Félix-Marie Abel Félix-Marie Abel (29 December 1878 – 24 March 1953) was a French archaeologist, a geographer, and a professor at the École Biblique in Jerusalem. A Dominican priest, he was one of the most prominent bible scholars in the end of Ottoman era ...
and Edward Robinson, who was the first to identify the mound with biblical Abel Beth Maacah (Avel Bet Macakha). The proposal has won scholarly acceptance, based largely on historical-geographical considerations. The identification is based mainly on the appearance of the town in two geographic lists in the Bible. In , the
Aramean The Arameans ( oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; syc, ܐܪ̈ܡܝܐ, Ārāmāyē) were an ancient Semitic-speaking people in the Near East, first recorded in historical sources from the late 12th century BCE. The Aramean h ...
king
Ben-Hadad I Ben-Hadad I ( he, בן הדד, translit=bn hdd; arc, בר הדד, translit=br hdd), son of Tabrimmon and grandson of Hezion, was king of Aram-Damascus between 885 BC and 865 BC. Ben-Hadad I was reportedly a contemporary of kings Baasha of the ...
was solicited in the 9th century BCE by King
Asa of Judah Asa (; el, Ασά; la, Asa) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the third king of the Kingdom of Judah and the fifth king of the Davidic line, House of David. The Hebrew Bible gives the period of his reign between 40–41 years. His reign is da ...
to attack the
northern kingdom The Kingdom of Israel (), or the Kingdom of Samaria, was an Israelite kingdom in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. The kingdom controlled the areas of Samaria, Galilee and parts of Transjordan. Its capital, for the most part, was Samar ...
. He did successfully, although apparently soon after this, control over this region returned to Israelite hands during the reign of
Ahab Ahab (; akk, 𒀀𒄩𒀊𒁍 ''Aḫâbbu'' 'a-ḫa-ab-bu'' grc-koi, Ἀχαάβ ''Achaáb''; la, Achab) was the seventh king of Kingdom of Israel (Samaria), Israel, the son and successor of King Omri and the husband of Jezebel of Sidon, ...
. "Ben-hadad listened to King Asa, and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel. He conquered
Ijon This is a list of places mentioned in the Bible, which do not have their own Wikipedia articles. See also the list of biblical places for locations which do have their own article. A Abana Abana, according to 2 Kings 5:12, was one of the "river ...
,
Tel Dan Dan ( he, דן) is an ancient city mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, described as the northernmost city of the Kingdom of Israel, and belonging to the tribe of Dan. The city is identified with a tell located in Upper Galilee, northern Israel, know ...
, Abel-beth-maacah, and all
Chinneroth Kinneret () is the name of an important Bronze and Iron Age city situated on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, mentioned in the 14th century BC Aqhat Epic of Ugarit, and in the Old Testament and New Testament. Older Bible translations ...
, with all the land of
Naphtali According to the Book of Genesis, Naphtali (; ) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Bilhah (Jacob's sixth son). He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Naphtali. Some biblical commentators have suggested that the name ''Naphtali'' ma ...
". A similar geographic list is noted in the story of the
Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...
conquest of the region in the late 8th century BCE in : "In the days of King Pekah of Israel, King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria came and captured
Ijon This is a list of places mentioned in the Bible, which do not have their own Wikipedia articles. See also the list of biblical places for locations which do have their own article. A Abana Abana, according to 2 Kings 5:12, was one of the "river ...
, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah,
Kedesh Kedesh (alternate spellings: Cadesh, Cydessa) was an ancient Canaanite and later Israelite settlement in Upper Galilee, mentioned few times in the Hebrew Bible. Its remains are located in Tel Kedesh, 3 km northeast of the modern Kibbutz M ...
, Hazor,
Gilead Gilead or Gilad (; he, גִּלְעָד ''Gīləʿāḏ'', ar, جلعاد, Ǧalʻād, Jalaad) is the ancient, historic, biblical name of the mountainous northern part of the region of Transjordan.''Easton's Bible Dictionary'Galeed''/ref> ...
, and
Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galil ...
, all the land of Naphtali; and carried the people captive to Assyria".


Second millennium BCE and biblical references

A Hebrew inscription on the lid of a wine storage jar uncovered in the summer of 2019 reads “leBenayau,” meaning that the storage jar and its contents “belong to Benayau” is dated to the 10th-9th century BCE. It was found together with other jars in what appears to have been the
wine cellar A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae, or plastic containers. In an ''active'' wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control system. ...
of a man named Benayau. It is the first inscription found at the dig, and the lettering dates it to earlier than 2,900 years ago. The inscription is one of several artifacts that appear to support the idea first proposed by
Avraham Biran Avraham Biran ( he, אברהם בירן, born 23 October 1909 – 16 September 2008) was an Israeli archaeologist, best known for heading excavations at Tel Dan in northern Israel. He headed the Institute of Archaeology at Hebrew Union College in ...
that Abel-beth-maachah was an Israelite town during the reigns of David and Solomon. Bronze Age references to the site include the early group of the
Execration Texts Execration texts, also referred to as proscription lists, are ancient Egyptian hieratic texts, listing enemies of the pharaoh, most often enemies of the Egyptian state or troublesome foreign neighbors. The texts were most often written upon stat ...
(Middle Bronze IIA) and possibly Thutmose III's list of destroyed towns (Late Bronze I), as well as the
Amarna letters The Amarna letters (; sometimes referred to as the Amarna correspondence or Amarna tablets, and cited with the abbreviation EA, for "El Amarna") are an archive, written on clay tablets, primarily consisting of diplomatic correspondence between t ...
(Late Bronze IIA; Dever 1984: 211–213). After the Assyrian conquest, the site is not mentioned in any later sources. Aside from the two geographic lists quoted above in relation to the conquest of the town by the
Arameans The Arameans ( oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; syc, ܐܪ̈ܡܝܐ, Ārāmāyē) were an ancient Semitic-speaking people in the Near East, first recorded in historical sources from the late 12th century BCE. The Aramean ...
and the Assyrians, the site is mentioned one other time in the Bible: , which relates a call for revolt against
David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
by a Benjaminite named Sheba ben Bichri. Sheba fled to Abel Beth Maacah, pursued by
Joab Joab (Hebrew Modern: ''Yōʼav'', Tiberian: ''Yōʼāḇ'') the son of Zeruiah, was the nephew of King David and the commander of his army, according to the Hebrew Bible. Name The name Joab is, like many other Hebrew names, theophoric - derive ...
and his army. Setting up a siege at the town, Joab threatened to destroy it, when the local "wise woman" (possibly an oracle) informed him that the city was loyal to David, calling it "a city and a mother in Israel" () and arranged to have the rebel who took refuge there beheaded, and thus saving her town. This is the only time the phrase "a city and a mother in Israel" is mentioned in the Bible and might allude to its particular political and/or religious status. This narrative also emphasizes the town as the northernmost point of the Israelite state entity, although it is not clear to which time period this relates, since this narrative most likely reflects a time later in Iron Age II than the reign of David. Though speculative, some scholars have suggested that the conquest of Abel Beth Maacah by Ben-hadad I may be alluded to in the second line of the 'House of David' inscription found at nearby Tel Dan, where the letters
aleph Aleph (or alef or alif, transliterated ʾ) is the first letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician , Hebrew , Aramaic , Syriac , Arabic ʾ and North Arabian 𐪑. It also appears as South Arabian 𐩱 and Ge'ez . These letter ...
and
bet Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...
have survived and might be the beginning of the name of the town "Abel" (Schneidewind 1996:77; Naaman 2012:95, note 10).


Archaeology


Past explorations

Despite its obvious historical importance and geographic prominence, Abel Beth Maacah was not excavated before 2012. Previous study of the site involved periodic visits by representatives of the British Mandatory Department of Antiquities and limited surveys carried out by the Israel Department of Antiquities in the 1950s, by Yehudah Dayan in the 1960s, and by Prof.
William G. Dever William Gwinn Dever (born November 27, 1933, Louisville, Kentucky) is an American archaeologist, Old Testament scholar, and historian, specialized in the history of the Ancient Near East and the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah in biblical ...
of the University of Arizona in 1972, who summarily published the results, along with a detailed historical-geographical analysis (Dever 1986). Subsequently, a small salvage excavation conducted by the
Israel Antiquities Authority The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA, he, רשות העתיקות ; ar, داﺌرة الآثار, before 1990, the Israel Department of Antiquities) is an independent Israeli governmental authority responsible for enforcing the 1978 Law of ...
(IAA) at the base of the southeastern slope revealed several
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
tombs, as well as a group of Middle Bronze IIB vessels that seemed typical of a tomb assemblage, although no tomb from this period was found (Stepansky 2005).


Current project

The excavation of Tel Abel Beth Maacah has been initiated and funded by
Azusa Pacific University Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a private, evangelical Christian university in Azusa, California. The university was founded in 1899, with classes opening on March 3, 1900, in Whittier, California, and began offering degrees in 1939. The uni ...
of
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, and is conducted as a joint project with
the Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...
, co-directed by Dr. Robert Mullins of the former institution and Dr. Naama Yahalom-Mack and Dr. Nava Panitz-Cohen of the latter. The surveyor and stratigraphic advisor is Ruhama Bonfil of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The project began in 2012 with a survey followed by four excavation seasons to date (2013-2016).


The 2012 survey

In May 2012, a four-day survey was conducted, combining an extensive walking survey with limited shallow (up to 10 cm) excavation in six areas spread around the site. For a detailed report of the survey, se
http://www.abel-beth-maacah.org/index.php/2012-survey
The survey showed that there was occupation in the Early Bronze BII-III, Middle Bronze BII, Late Bronze B-II, Iron Age I-II,
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
,
Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
,
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, Early Islamic, Crusader,
Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
and Ottoman periods. The survey also revealed that the lower part of the tell in the south has an outcropping of bedrock running through much of its center, indicating that the ancient remains in this part of the site should be sought around its perimeter. An intact ring flask, apparently of Late Bronze Age date, was found in the survey in the vicinity of Area A.


Excavation areas

Five areas had been excavated as of March 2016. Area A on the eastern slope of the middle saddle (remains of Late Bronze and Iron Age I), Area B on the eastern slope of the upper mound (remains of Middle Bronze IIB, Iron Age I, Iron Age II, Persian-early Hellenistic), Area F on the southern end of the lower mound (remains of MBIIB, LB I-II, Iron I), Area O on the western edge of the lower mound (remains of LB, MBIIB), and Area K on the eastern slope of a topographical depression between the lower and upper mounds (possibly remains of a fortification, presently undated). In wake of the survey and excavations to date, it was found that the lower mound was not occupied after the Iron Age I (late 11th/early 10th century BCE) and occupation was limited to the upper mound and the interim saddle. Excavation areas are marked on this 1945 aerial photo of the tell (Aerial Photographic Archive
Geography Department, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
taken by the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
, Section 23, 1945); the houses visible on the photo belong to the Arab village of Abil al-Qamh.


Middle Bronze II

Remains of the Middle Bronze II have been revealed to date in three areas: F, O and B.


=Area F

= A large structure was revealed just under topsoil. Its southern end continues down the slope and its western end was cut by later activity. This feature is composed of an outer 'lining' of very large, roughly worked stones in its northeastern corner and northern wall, which enclosed layers of small-medium roughly rounded stones. Adjoining the eastern face of the stones is a rampart, partly capped by stones and composed of layers of chalky white material and dark brown soil, of which only the top has so far been excavated. The stone structure and rampart are part of a fortification placed on the southern end of the site, overlooking the Huleh Valley and the main north–south road that passed alongside it on the west. The exact date of the tower and rampart cannot yet be determined, as no floors associated with them have been revealed to date. Against the northern face of the fortification are elements dating to the Late Bronze Age I-II, so that it the fortification should most likely be dated to the Middle Bronze II, though a more precise chronology cannot be fixed yet.


=Area O

= One, and possibly two strata, dated to the Middle Bronze IIB, were exposed underneath an eroded Late Bronze Age phase below topsoil. The Middle Bronze Age remains consist a building with four consecutive rooms revealed to date, with entrances in two of them, showing that the rooms were part of one building that continues to the north. Traces of a violent end to this occupation were identified. The pottery can be dated to Middle Bronze IIB and included storage jars (some with baby burials) and
pithoi Pithos (, grc-gre, πίθος, plural: ' ) is the Greek name of a large storage container. The term in English is applied to such containers used among the civilizations that bordered the Mediterranean Sea in the Neolithic, the Bronze Age and ...
. In the northeastern corner of the area, the skeleton of a large male was found lying on its stomach and partly covered by a pithos. The lowest phase exposed consists of the top of a layer of stones on the western edge of the mound that might be part of an Early Bronze wall, judging by the pottery collected nearby.


=Area B

= Underneath remains dating to Iron Age I and IIA, a large rampart composed mainly of diagonal gravelly layers was revealed. An MBIIC grave that contained a
Hyksos Hyksos (; Egyptian '' ḥqꜣ(w)- ḫꜣswt'', Egyptological pronunciation: ''hekau khasut'', "ruler(s) of foreign lands") is a term which, in modern Egyptology, designates the kings of the Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt (fl. c. 1650–1550 BC). T ...
scarab was cut into this rampart and thus, it is tentatively dated to MBIIB. This rampart shows that the upper mound in the north was occupied and fortified during the Middle Bronze Age IIB, although the nature and direction of the rampart here is different from that found in the lower mound in the south (Areas F and possibly, K).


Late Bronze Age

Remains of the Late Bronze Age were revealed in Areas F, O and A.


=Area F

= Three architectural strata, debris layers, and floors from the Late Bronze Age were revealed, abutting the northern face of the MBII fortification. The incorporation of the fortification as part of the LB buildings indicates that it was still in use during this period. The earliest LB stratum, built on top of what seems to be the foundation of the tower, includes two nicely built north–south walls; an earthen layer (floor?) with a well-built oven was found to the west of these walls; the pottery points to an LB I date. The third and latest LB stratum contained several walls (cut by Iron Age I silos and pits). On its earthen floor was a concentration of pottery and a small jug (a local imitation of a Cypriot bilbil) that contained a silver hoard. The 12 pieces found inside included earrings, an ingot, and hacksilver. The latest LB layer in Area F can be dated to LBIIB (13th century BCE) and the remains exposed so far indicate that it did not end in a destruction, but was peacefully abandoned. These remains were later built over by an Iron I building and cut by Iron I silos and pits.


=Area O

= Remains uncovered just below topsoil in Area O are attributed to the Late Bronze Age, since they rested on top of a building attributed to MBIIB and on the basis of the small amount of pottery found associated with them.


=Area A

= The lowest level reached in Area A included several large walls, built of stone and brick, with associated Late Bronze pottery. The Iron I walls were built directly over them, with no trace of destruction of the LB elements.


Iron Age I

Remains of Iron Age I have been revealed mainly in Area A on the eastern edge of the saddle between the lower and upper mounds, where five strata belonging to this period have been excavated, as well as in Area F. In both areas, the pottery included many collared-rim jars, wavy band pithoi, small hemispherical bowls, a variety of vertical cooking pot rims, pyxides, painted carinated
krater A krater or crater ( grc-gre, , ''kratēr'', literally "mixing vessel") was a large two-handled shape of vase in Ancient Greek pottery and metalwork, mostly used for the mixing of wine with water. Form and function At a Greek symposium, krat ...
s, and pear-shaped jugs.


=Area F

= Remains of the Iron Age I were found just above the latest Late Bronze Age layer (dated to the 13th century BCE, LBIIB). These remains included a building with several rooms, as well numerous pits and silos. Some of these were cut into the LB walls, as well as into the top of the MBII fortification, indicating that the latter went out of use in this period. The pits contained pottery, a spindle whorl and an iron blade. One of these pits, cut deep against the wall of the MBII tower, contained a concentration of discarded cultic vessels. These remains were exposed just below topsoil. Aside from a large pit dug in the Persian period here, no later occupation was identified following the Iron Age I here.


=Area A

= Four strata are attributed to Iron Age I in Area A. This is one of the densest stratigraphic sequences attributed to this period in this region. Above the uppermost Iron I stratum were several flimsy modern agricultural terrace walls, but no ancient remains later than the end of Iron I (late 11th/early 10th centuries BCE). The earliest stratum revealed to date appears in a few probes and contains several well-built stone walls and related debris layers with stone collapse and much pottery. The stratum above this has a structure apparently of a cultic nature, with various installations, such as a pit with animal bones,
massebot ''Matzevah'' or ''masseba'' ( he, מַצֵּבָה ''maṣṣēḇā''; "pillar") is a term used in the Hebrew Bible for a sacred pillar, a type of standing stone. The term has been adopted by archaeologists for Israelite contexts, seldom for r ...
(standing stones), a small bamah (altar). This occupation was violently destroyed, leaving large amounts of pottery, including collar-rim jars, pyxides, carinated jugs and kraters. On the floor of one of the rooms were several jewelry items, including an amethyst scarab set in a gold ring that belongs to the time of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom. Replacing the destroyed cultic(?) area was a layer of domestic nature, with many ovens and earthen floors. Directly above this, a very finely constructed complex was built, comprising a courtyard-like building on the east, a building complex on the west with a large open space on the south and room(s) on the north. A wide passageway runs between them. The external walls of the buildings facing the passageway are lined with stone buttresses. In the western hall/courtyard, a complete pot
bellows A bellows or pair of bellows is a device constructed to furnish a strong blast of air. The simplest type consists of a flexible bag comprising a pair of rigid boards with handles joined by flexible leather sides enclosing an approximately airtigh ...
was revealed in secondary use, with traces of bronze and iron working inside; an almost complete
tuyere A tuyere or tuyère (; ) is a tube, nozzle or pipe through which air is blown into a furnace or hearth.W. K. V. Gale, The iron and Steel industry: a dictionary of terms (David and Charles, Newton Abbot 1972), 216–217. Air or oxygen is in ...
was found nearby. It seems that there was some metallurgical activity in this area, similar to that at nearby Tel Dan in Strata VI and V (and possibly IV).


=Iron Age I, II and Persian-Early Hellenistic Period in Area B

= A large well-built stone building with three phases and dating to the Persian-early Hellenistic period was exposed in Area B. Below this building are architectural remains and numerous pits attributed to Iron Age I, including a floor with vessels and traces of destruction. Cutting this activity is a massive east–west stone wall that was partly covered by the Persian-early Hellenistic building and thus, it is presently attributed to Iron Age IIB. No floors associated with it have yet been excavated and it seems that it might be part of a citadel at this high point of the mound. Two large stone-lined silos were also attributed to Iron IIB; they contained much Iron II pottery, including red-slipped and hand burnished sherds, as well as the head of a Phoenician-style figurine. The Iron I and II architecture and pits cut into and are built on the sloping layers of the Middle Bronze II rampart described above.


=Area K fortifications

= Located on the eastern slope of the northern end of the lower mound, in a spot whose moderate topography suggests the possibility of a gate here, a north–south stone wall was revealed, ca. 4 m wide and abutted partially on its south side by a white chalky layer. This might represent a fortification system, although no date is possible at this point.


Field reports

Field reports and additional references are posted online.


Significant Discoveries

In 2018, archaeologists led by Robert Mullins from the
Azusa Pacific University Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a private, evangelical Christian university in Azusa, California. The university was founded in 1899, with classes opening on March 3, 1900, in Whittier, California, and began offering degrees in 1939. The uni ...
announced the discovery of a 2,800-year-old carved head sculpture of a man. The well-crafted figurine was described with long, black hair, a beard and a painted
headband A headband is a clothing accessory worn in the hair or around the forehead, usually to hold hair away from the face or eyes. Headbands generally consist of a loop of elastic material or a horseshoe-shaped piece of flexible plastic or metal. T ...
. He also had almond-shaped eyes and a serious expression on his face. According to archeologists, the measurements of carved in a glazed ceramic called faience were approximately 2.2 x 2 inches, and the head was once part of a small figurine, now lost that was 8 to 10 inches. The sculpture is on display at the Israel Museum in
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
.


References


Bibliography

* * Dever, William G. 1986. Abel-beth-Maacah: Northern Gateway of Ancient Israel. pp. 207–223. In L.T. Geraty and L.G. Herr (eds.). ''The Archaeology of Jordan and Other Studies. Presented to Siegfried H. Horn''. Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press. * * Na'aman, Nadav 2012. The Kingdom of Geshur in History and Memory. ''Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament: An International Journal of Nordic Theology'' 26:1: 88–101. * Panitz-Cohen, Nava, Mullins, Robert A. and Bonfil, Ruhama 2013. Northern Exposure: Launching Excavations at Tell Abil el-Qameḥ (Tel Abel Beth Maacah). ''Strata ''31: 27–42. * Panitz-Cohen, Nava, Mullins, Robert A. and Bonfil, Ruhama 2016. Second Preliminary Report of the Excavations at Tell Abil el Qameḥ (Abel Beth Maacah). ''Strata'' 33: 35–59. * Schneidewind, William M. 1996. Tel Dan Stela – New Light on Aramaic and Jehu's Revolt. ''Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research'' 302: 75–90. * Stepansky, Yosef, (2005). Tel Avel Bet Ma'akha. Hadashot Archaeologiot Journal, vol. 117.Stepansky, Yosef, (2005). Tel Avel Bet Ma'akha. Hadashot Archaeologiot Journal, vol. 117

/ref> IAA report on 2000 discovery of Middle Bronze II burial remains at southeastern foot of the lower mound.


External links


Tel Abel Beth Maacah Excavations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tel Abel Beth Maacah (Ancient City) Ancient sites in Israel Archaeological sites in Israel Bronze Age sites in Israel Iron Age sites in Israel Land of Israel Tells (archaeology)