Eshkol National Park () is a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

located in Northern Negev,

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 ...

, near Gaza.

History

The 875-acre park offers lawns and shaded picnic areas and boasts at its centre the largest spring in the Nahal Besor/Wadi Ghazzeh basin, known in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

as Ein HaBesor and in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

as Ein Shellal. The spring taps the near-surface

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...

, which is fed by the runoff of winter rains. East of the springs, the mound of Khirbet Shellal dominates the landscape. At Shellal

ANZAC The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comma ...

troops discovered during the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Second Battle of Gaza The Second Battle of Gaza was fought on 17-19 April 1917, following the defeat of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) at the First Battle of Gaza in March, during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War. Gaza was defended by t ...

an elaborate floor mosaic depicting a variety of animals,Sketch of the mosaic at Fig. 11
/ref> part of the ruins of a

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 ...

church. The mosaic is now displayed in the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving pe ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. Shellal is located some 3 km northeast, and across the valley of Nahal Besor/Wadi Ghazzeh, from the more famous biblical archaeological site of Tell el-Farah (South).

References

External links

Jewish National Fund, ''Eshkol National Park (Besor)''

Jewish National Fund, ''The ANZAC Trail''
': From the Be'eri Badlands to Beersheba''.
Paul Daley, a detailed rendering of how the Shellal Mosaic was found and removed

{{authority control National parks of Israel Commemoration of Levi Eshkol

History

See also

References

External links