Tel Burna is an Israeli archaeological site located in the

Shephelah The Shephelah or Shfela, lit. "lowlands" ( hbo, הַשְּפֵלָה ''hašŠǝfēlā'', also Modern Hebrew: , ''Šǝfēlat Yəhūda'', the "Judaean foothills"), is a transitional region of soft-sloping rolling hills in south-central Israel str ...

(Judean foothills), along the banks of Nahal Guvrin, not far from modern-day

Qiryat Gat Kiryat Gat, also spelled Qiryat Gat ( he, קִרְיַת גַּת), is a city in the Southern District of Israel. It lies south of Tel Aviv, north of Beersheba, and from Jerusalem. In it had a population of . The city hosts one of the most a ...

History and identification

The site was primarily inhabited in the Bronze and Iron Ages, and was one of a series of sites along the border between Judah and

Philistia Philistia (; Koine Greek (LXX): Γῆ τῶν Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: ''gê tôn Phulistieìm''), also known as the Philistine Pentapolis, was a confederation of cities in the Southwest Levant, which included the cities of Ashdod, Ashk ...

in the Iron Age. The first excavations at the site were conducted in the summer of 2010, as part of a long term archaeological project, headed by Itzhaq Shai and Joe Uziel, affiliated with

Bar Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic i ...

. Tel Burna is located near Beit Guvrin/

Maresha Tel Maresha ( he, תל מראשה) is the tell (archaeological mound) of the biblical Iron Age city of Maresha, and of the subsequent, post-586 BCE Idumean city known by its Hellenised name Marisa, Arabised as Marissa (ماريسا). The tell i ...

, Tel Goded,

Lachish Lachish ( he, לכיש; grc, Λαχίς; la, Lachis) was an ancient Canaanite and Israelite city in the Shephelah ("lowlands of Judea") region of Israel, on the South bank of the Lakhish River, mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible. Th ...

Tell es-Safi Tell es-Safi ( ar, تل الصافي, Tall aṣ-Ṣāfī, "White hill"; he, תל צפית, ''Tel Tzafit'') was an Arab Palestinian village, located on the southern banks of Wadi 'Ajjur, northwest of Hebron which had its Arab population expelled ...

/ Gath and Tel Zayit. Due to its location, and its prominence in the Iron Ages, W. Albright and Y. Aharoni, among others, have suggested identifying the site with Libnah, a site mentioned several times in the Bible, and noted to be one of the 13 Kohanic cities. Libnah had also revolted against the

Kingdom of Judah The Kingdom of Judah ( he, , ''Yəhūdā''; akk, 𒅀𒌑𒁕𒀀𒀀 ''Ya'údâ'' 'ia-ú-da-a-a'' arc, 𐤁𐤉𐤕𐤃𐤅𐤃 ''Bēyt Dāwīḏ'', " House of David") was an Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. Ce ...

in the 9th Century BCE () and where Hamutal, Queen of Judah in the 7th Century BCE was born ().

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christi ...

(3rd–4th century CE) in his ''

Onomasticon Onomasticon may refer to: *Onomasticon (Eusebius) * Onomasticon of Amenope *Onomasticon of Joan Coromines *Onomasticon of Julius Pollux Julius Pollux ( el, Ἰούλιος Πολυδεύκης, ''Ioulios Polydeukes''; fl. 2nd century) was a Greek ...

'' mentions the ancient biblical city of Gath (), saying that it was a village formerly inhabited by the Anakim and that the village was still inhabited in his day and situated "not far from Eleutheropolis ( Beit Gubrin) near Diospolis (

Lod Lod ( he, לוד, or fully vocalized ; ar, اللد, al-Lidd or ), also known as Lydda ( grc, Λύδδα), is a city southeast of Tel Aviv and northwest of Jerusalem in the Central District of Israel. It is situated between the lower Shephe ...

), near the fifth milestone from Eleutheropolis." Eusebius' description, who places the village at the 5th-milestone from Beit Gubrin, puts ''Tel Burna'' in approximate position as a contender for the site of ancient Gath, or else Tell ej-Judeideh, as both ruins are principal Bronze Age sites only apart, and situated in the direction of Lod as one sets out from Beit Gubrin. Nearby

is placed by Eusebius at about 2 milestones from Eleutheropolis ( southeast of Beit Gubrin.

Survey results

An extensive archaeological survey was conducted at the site in June 2009. It was found that the site is approximately 100 dunams, with settlements in the Early Bronze Age II/III, Middle Bronze Age II, Late Bronze Age, Iron Age I and Iron Age II. The largest settlement at the site seems to date to the Iron Age II, when the summit was enclosed by fortifications, still visible on the surface today.

Excavation results

The excavations in 2010-2019 revealed that the site’s summit was not settled after the Persian period. Remains uncovered include the Iron Age fortifications, living surfaces dating to the 9th Century BCE, and several silos dating to the 7th century BCE. If in fact the location of Libnah should be sought out at Tel Burna, the excavations thus far do conform to what is understood about the city from the Biblical texts. Moreover, some recent work in 2013 has led the leader of the excavation, Itzhaq Shai, program director of the Tel Burna Excavation Project, to believe that Tel Burna is the site of the biblical town of Libnah.Savitsyk, S.
Archaeologists enlist volunteer help to uncover Biblical city
Fox News: Science, 11 July 2013, accessed 31 December 2017

References

External links

Tel Burna site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burna Archaeological sites in Israel