Shimron
32°42′13″N 35°12′50″E / 32.70361°N 35.21389°E
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Tel Shimron (Hebrew: תל שמרון) is an archaeological site and nature reserve in the Jezreel Valley.
Shimron was the name of a major city in the north of
Tel Shimron is located northeast of modern moshav Nahalal on the western edge of the Nazareth range,[5] on the border between the Lower Galilee and the Jezreel Valley. Its location at the intersection of the Lower Galilee ranges and the Jezreel Valley as well as its proximity to the Acre (Akko) Plain made it an important part of trade routes through the area.[6]
In recent years, the site is being excavated by Tel Shimron Excavations (2016-present; for homepage see here) in cooperation with the Jezreel Valley Regional Project.[7]
Surveys and excavations
Guérin, 1875
In 1875, Victor Guérin visited the place and noted:
"The present village has succeeded a small ancient city, now completely destroyed. East of the site which it occupied rises a round isolated hill, which commands the plain in every direction, and was once surrounded on its summit by a wall, of which a few traces still remain. This hill must probably have been fortified. Scarped towards the east, it slopes gently on the western side towards the town, which covered the lower hillocks at its feet. Among them I found, in the midst of the various debris which cover the soil, the remains of a building in cut stone, completely overthrown, once ornamented by columns, as is attested by two mutilated shafts lying on the spot. This edifice seems to have been constructed from east to west, so that it may have been a Christian church.
"In another place I saw an enclosure measuring thirty-five paces in length by twenty-five in breadth. From a distance it appears ancient. It is, however, of modern date, constructed of stones of all sizes and shapes ; among them pillars of broken
1982 survey
In 1982 the site was surveyed by Yuval Portugali and Avner Raban. The finds included several tombs dating to the
IAA excavations (2004-10)
In the years spanning 2004, 2008, and 2010, salvage archaeological excavations were conducted immediately adjacent to Tel Shimron by Nurit Feig and Yardenna Alexandre on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).[10]
2004 excavation
Nurit Feig directed a salvage excavation on behalf of the IAA prior to the installation of electrical poles at the Bet Zarzir-Nahalal Junction road. Four squares were excavated, three of which were situated along the shoulder of the road, and the fourth was 200m to the west.[11]
2008 excavation
Feig conducted another IAA salvage excavation prior to the construction of agricultural buildings. This excavation resulted in limited finds, such as several smaller walls and potsherds dating to the Early and Middle Bronze Ages as well as the Roman Period. Flint remains dated to the Neolithic as well as the Early Bronze Age.[12]
2010 excavation
Another salvage excavation was conducted on behalf of the IAA, this time by Yardenna Alexandre. The excavation was conducted near the Nahalal junction before a widening of Road 75. There was evidence of limited occupation during the EB and Intermediate Bronze, but a rural settlement during the Middle Bronze Age was uncovered. Limited Roman remains were discovered as well.[13]
Tel Shimron Excavations (2016-)
In 2016, Tel Shimron Excavations began research on the tel itself. The project is co-directed by Daniel M. Master and Mario A. S. Martin on behalf of the Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University and Wheaton College, IL. The initial survey in 2016 reached similar conclusions to the earlier work by Portugali and Raban. Middle Bronze Age remains were found close to the surface, and later periods were mostly represented at the center of the mound; however, ground penetrating radar magnetometry assays revealed strata from later periods overlaying the MB strata in certain areas, which led to the excavations of 2017 and 2019.[5]
The first five years of excavation uncovered remains from the Middle Bronze Age, Iron Age, Persian Period, Hellenistic Period, Roman Period, and Mamluk period.[5] [14]
In 2023, excavators uncovered a monumental mudbrick passageway with a corbelled arched roof, the first of its kind in the southern Levant.[15][16] While excavating the entrance to the passageway, the team found a "Nahariya bowl", a seven-cupped vessel which is thought to have ritual function.[16] Excavations in 2024 will continue digging in this area.
History and archaeology
Neolithic
Very little Neolithic material has been found at Tel Shimron, but during the 2010 excavation, a PPNB arrowhead as well as remains of the Wadi Rabah culture were discovered.[13]
Chalcolithic
Sparse evidence of the Ghassulian Culture of the Chalcolithic period was uncovered during the 2010 Excavation.[13]
Early Bronze Age
Due to Middle Bronze remains that lie atop the Early Bronze strata, it is difficult to gain a detailed picture of the Early Bronze Age at Shimron. Surveys have suggested the site was first settled in the EB I, and there was a gap in settlement during the EB III.[17]
Middle Bronze Age
Tel Shimron was at its largest, 19.5 hectares, during the Middle Bronze Age. The site is mentioned in the MB I Execration Texts, and its size and location suggest that it was an important inland city in the interconnected trade network of growing ports and the Jezreel Valley trade route. A cylinder seal found, dating to the MB II, further attests the international nature of Shimron as a site along an important trade route during the MB.[18] In general, Shimron is part of a larger trend of booming urbanism and fortification as well as international trade during the MB.[19]
The juxtaposition of the domestic activity in the lower city and the monumental buildings on the acropolis provide an interesting case to study status difference in the Middle Bronze Age.[5]
Lower city
In the southwest corner of the site, Middle Bronze Age domestic buildings were excavated. Evidence of daily life in the Middle Bronze Age was found in the houses, including craft industries like metal working.[citation needed]
Acropolis
On the
Cylinder seal
The cylinder seal, which dates to the 17th century BCE, or the Middle Bronze Age II, was discovered at Tel Shimron during the 2017 season. Made of
Late Bronze Age
While surveys indicate that Shimron shrunk somewhat in the middle of the second millennium, the
Iron Age
Iron Age remains were found in a silo cut into the Bronze Age fortifications. While the 2019 excavation did not allow for rigorous investigation of the Iron Age remains, the assemblage found in the silo is similar to that of Megiddo VI, which indicates a "Canaanite" population in the lowlands in the Iron Age I. A bronze bracelet and electrum sheeting were also found here.[5]
The exact political and social orientation of Tel Shimron during the Iron Age is unclear. According to Joshua 11, the king of Shimron was part of an alliance with the king of Hazor, which was defeated by Joshua. Joshua 19:15 places Shimron inside the allotment of the Tribe of Zebulun.[21]
Assyrian destruction
During the 8th century, it is possible that Shimron was destroyed by
Tiglath Pileser III performed massive deportations in the Jezreel and Lower Galilee during the 8th century, and surveys in the area suggest it remained sparsely populated for centuries.[11]
Persian period
In the Persian period occupation resumed. The 2004 salvage excavation uncovered a Persian-period building that likely served a public function, which could indicate that Shimron had an administrative role in the area.[11]
Hellenistic period
Finds from the Hellenistic period indicate substantial occupation during both the Ptolemaic and Seleucid eras. It is unclear, however, if the site was occupied after the withdrawal of Seleucid rule in the middle of the second century.[12]
Feig’s 2008 excavation uncovered a coin, which was likely struck in the Ashkelon Mint during the Ptolemaic Period.[12]
Excavations on the western side of the site revealed a hoard of coins from the reign of Antiochus III, just at the moment when this region moved from Ptolemaic to Seleucid rule. There were also coins of Demetrius II; after which the site was abandoned.[5]
Roman period
The city[clarification needed] during the First Jewish–Roman War, and in 66 CE a battle occurred here between the Jewish rebels and the Romans, who besieged the city. Josephus, mentioning the village by name, states that he was attacked there at night by the Roman decurion, Æbutius, who had been entrusted with the charge of the Great Plain and who had one-hundred horse and two-hundred infantry at his disposal. The Roman soldiers, however, were forced to withdraw since their horses were of little use in that terrain (Life of Flavius Josephus, § 24).
During this era, Shimron was referred to as Simonias in
The surveys by Raban and Feig indicate occupation during the Roman period, but the site was likely part of the orbit of nearby Sepphoris. Part of the Leggio-Sepphoris road was excavated at Shimron in 2004, and proximity to this trade route probably benefitted Shimron. A massive ashlar wall was also uncovered in 2004, dating to the same period.[11]
At the center of the site, several houses, dating to the 1st to 3rd centuries CE, were excavated in 2017. Both houses had entrance courtyards, and the rooms were divided by stone walls with 'windows.' These domestic structures were typical of Jewish Galilean villages in the Roman period and included a ritual bath (miqveh) in one of the houses.[5]
Byzantine, Early Islamic, Crusader and Mamluk periods
There is little textual evidence of Shimron during the
Later, Shimron is mentioned by Ishtori Haparchi ("Kaftor wa-Feraḥ", ch. xi, written in 1322).[24]
Late Ottoman rule
A map from Napoleon's invasion of 1799 by Pierre Jacotin showed a village here, named Sammouni.[25]
In 1838, Edward Robinson found here a small Arab village called Semunieh,[26][27] and he noted it again in 1852.[28]
In 1867, a group of
Victor Guérin noted in 1875:
"The present village has succeeded a small ancient city, now completely destroyed." He then goes on to describing the tell east of the village and other ancient remains[8] (for that see above at Surveys and excavations).
In 1881, the PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described it as a small village on a knoll with three springs, having probably less than 100 inhabitants.[30] A population list from about 1887 showed that Semunieh had about 100 inhabitants; all Muslims.[31]
Gottlieb Schumacher, as part of surveying for the construction of the Jezreel Valley railway, noted in 1900 that the village "had not increased [since the 1881 SWP survey] due to its unhealthy position and bad water. The proprietor, Sursock, built a number of dwellings covered with tile masonry."[32]
British Mandate period
The area was acquired by the Jewish community as part of the
In 1948, kibbutz
Nature reserve
In 1965, a 28-dunam nature reserve was declared,
References
- JSTOR 606301.
- ^ "Flavius Josephus, Josephi vita, Whiston section 24". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
- ^ "Bible Encyclopedia: Shimron". bibleencyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
- ISSN 0082-3767.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Volume 133 Year 2021 Tel Shimron – 2017, 2019". www.hadashot-esi.org.il. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
- ^ "Geographic Setting". Tel Shimron Excavations - Volunteer Archaeology Digs. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
- ^ "Academic Affiliates". Tel Shimron Excavations - Volunteer Archaeology Digs. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
- ^ a b Guérin, 1880, pp. 384-386; as given in Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. 339
- ^ ISSN 0334-4355.
- doi:10.1787/888933990064. Retrieved 2022-02-01.)
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help - ^ a b c d "Volume 119 Year 2007 Tel Shimron". www.hadashot-esi.org.il. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
- ^ a b c "Volume 121 Year 2009 Tel Shimron". www.hadashot-esi.org.il. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
- ^ a b c Alexandre, Yardenna. "Tel Shimron West: A Proto-Historic and Bronze Age Rural Site" (PDF). Hadashot Arkheologiyot. Excavations and Surveys in Israel 127.
- ^ "Staff". Tel Shimron Excavations. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
- ^ a b Lidman, Melanie. "In northern Israel, massive 3,800-year-old monument stuns and stumps archaeologists". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
- ^ a b c "Archaeologists Find Perplexing 4,000-year-old Canaanite Arch in Northern Israel". Haaretz. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
- ^ "Early Bronze Age Questions". Tel Shimron Excavations - Volunteer Archaeology Digs. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
- ^ S2CID 233353163.
- ^ "Middle Bronze Age Questions". Tel Shimron Excavations - Volunteer Archaeology Digs. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
- ^ "Late Bronze Age Questions". Tel Shimron Excavations - Volunteer Archaeology Digs. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
- ^ a b "Iron Age Questions". Tel Shimron Excavations - Volunteer Archaeology Digs. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
- ^ "Roman and Late Roman Period Questions". Tel Shimron Excavations - Volunteer Archaeology Digs. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
- ^ "Islamic Period Questions". Tel Shimron Excavations - Volunteer Archaeology Digs. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
- ^ "SIMONIAS - JewishEncyclopedia.com". www.jewishencyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
- ^ Karmon, 1960, p. 163 Archived 2019-12-22 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, p. 201
- ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. 132
- ^ Robinson and Smith, 1856, p. 320
- ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. 355
- ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP I, p. 280
- ^ Schumacher, 1888, p. 183
- ^ Schumacher, 1900, p. 358
- ^ "List of National Parks and Nature Reserves" (PDF) (in Hebrew). Israel Nature and Parks Authority. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-10-07. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
- ^ ILDIS LegumeWeb
Bibliography
- Conder, C.R.; Kitchener, H.H. (1882). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. Vol. 2. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
- Feig, Nurit (2007-12-13). "Tel Shimron". Hadashot Arkheologiyot(119). Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel.
- Feig, Nurit (2009-06-02). "Tel Shimron". Hadashot Arkheologiyot(121). Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel.
- Guérin, V. (1880). Description Géographique Historique et Archéologique de la Palestine (in French). Vol. 3: Galilee, pt. 1. Paris: L'Imprimerie Nationale.
- Karmon, Y. (1960). "An Analysis of Jacotin's Map of Palestine" (PDF). Israel Exploration Journal. 10 (3, 4): 155–173, 244–253. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-12-22. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
- Palmer, E.H. (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine: Arabic and English Name Lists Collected During the Survey by Lieutenants Conder and Kitchener, R. E. Transliterated and Explained by E.H. Palmer. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. ("personal name" p. 115)
- Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838. Vol. 3. Boston: Crocker & Brewster.
- Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1856). Later Biblical Researches in Palestine and adjacent regions: A Journal of Travels in the year 1852. London: John Murray.
- Quarterly Statement - Palestine Exploration Fund. 20: 169–191.
- .
- Rainey, Anson F. "Reviewed Work: Tabula imperii romani: Iudaea-Palaestina, Eretz Israel in the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Periods by Y. Tsafrir, L. Di Segni, J. Green". JSTOR 606301– via JSTOR.
- Flavius, Josephus. "Josephi Vita".
- "Shimron". Bible Encyclopedia.
- Master, Daniel & Martin, Mario A.S. (2021). "Tel Shimron – 2017, 2019". Hadashot Arkheologiyot. 133.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - Portugali, Yuval. "A Field Methodology for Regional Archaeology (The Jezreel Valley Survey, 1981)". Tel Aviv: 170–188.
- Alexandre, Yardenna. "Tel Shimron West: A Proto-Historic and Bronze Age Rural Site". Hadashot Arkheologiyot Excavations and Surveys in Israel. 127: 1–27 – via Hadashot Arkheologiyot.
- Roßberger, Elisa. "A Middle Bronze II Cylinder Seal of North Syrian Style from Tel Shimron (Jezreel Valley)". U Chicago.
- "Simonias". Jewish Encyclopedia."Tel Shimron Excavations".
External links
- Survey of Western Palestine, Map 5: IAA, Wikimedia commons