Tell ej-Judeideh
تل الجديدة תל גודד | |
Frederick Jones Bliss, R. A. Stewart Macalister | |
Condition | Ruin |
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Public access | yes |
Tell ej-Judeideh (
The tell, about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of Beit Guvrin and 9.7
Members of the Palestine Exploration Fund visited the site in the late 19th-century and described seeing there "foundations, heaps of stones, and a cistern."[7]
History
Based on its archaeological finds, the site at Tell ej-Judeideh was inhabited in early pre-Israelite times, during the Middle and Late
The region wherein the ruin lies was formerly inhabited by the Philistines, and later captured by the Israelite tribes during the period of the
Identification
Scholars are divided as to the likely identification of the site. Israeli archaeologist
In spite of all these attempts of identification, any recognition of a given site will depend upon the positive identification of that site. In this case, Tell ej-Judeideh has yet to be positively identified, as all identifications are only tentative.
Description of site
Tell ej-Judeideh is a natural hill with a level top surrounded on all sides by steep declivities, affording a natural defensive position against attacks. In addition to its natural defenses, the site was formerly surrounded by a late fortification wall, of which only one course of stones remains (now buried in débris), with an occasional area of 2 or 3 courses of stones.[13] The city's wall measured a uniform thickness of 10 feet (3.0 m), except at the places where the wall was strengthened by inner buttresses, and which wall followed the natural contours of the hill.[13] Stones and rubble used for the wall were laid without mortar. Gateways were found at the north, south, and east, while there are signs of an additional fourth gate that once stood on the city's west side.[13] The lower, stone threshold of each gate was made with grooves for inserting an iron bolt, used to lock the gates at night, or in times of emergency.
In the center of the site stands a natural eminence consisting of a complex of structures, believed by Bliss to have once been a Roman villa, replete with pillars that had been torn down, and thought to have served as an atrium and impluvium.[14] As one entered the city from its south side, there was a "paved causeway" leading through the center of the town directly to the central structure. The residential area of the city stretched along the north and south axis of the tell where the rock is practically level, divided only by the raised central part, as it was naturally higher than all the rest.[15] The same residential area once consisted of small houses and recall, according to Bliss, "the labyrinthine Coptic towns on Elephantine and Philac,"[16] perhaps a sign of the town's Philistine origins.
At the foot of the mound, an ancient site (called the Horvat tabaq) was also discovered. Under the residential buildings hiding complexes dating to the Bar Kokhba revolt were curved. These complexes are based on ancient facilities used by the inhabitants of the Roman city. The facilities include storehouses, mikveh, bell caves, cisterns and columbarium facilities. The Jewish village that existed in this place was probably destroyed with the failure of the Bar Kochba revolt. On the slope, in the area between the head of Tel Goded and the ruins of Hurvat Tabaq, burial caves from the biblical period, from the Hellenistic and the early Roman periods were located.
Bliss and Macalister who excavated the site in 1900 counted 24 towers that projected inward from the inward face of the wall. Two towers flanked each of the four gates for a total of 8 towers. The remaining 16 other towers were, in the words of Bliss, "mere buttresses of solid masonry." It is to be noted that in N. Na'aman's reconstruction of Sennacherib's letter describing his military exploits to suppress the rebellion by Hezekiah, king of Judah. Furthermore the Philistine city of Gath is mentioned in it as being "surrounded with great towers," and which city "stood out on a ridge."[17]
The entire enclosed area of the hill comprises about 58 dunums (14 acres) and stretches to approximately 580 metres (1,900 ft) in length.[18]
Archaeological finds
Excavations at the site revealed three major levels in the sub-strata: the first and earliest being a Canaanite level (
Other finds discovered on the site include 37 jar handles with the sealed impression of
Recreational trail
Tel Goded is one of the most visited sites in the
Gallery
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Approach to tell from its south
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Ascent to ruin from its south
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Eminence where once stood the Roman villa
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Looking west from the top of the tell
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Ruin of Tell ej-Judeideh
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Southern ascent to Tell ej-Judeideh
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Southern axis of ruin, seen from Roman villa
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Tell ej-Judeideh, looking west
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The eminence in the center of the ruin
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The level top of ruin, looking south
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Top of archaeological mound
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View towards the east, from atop of ruin
References
- ^ Palmer (1881), p. 379 (s.v. Tell el Judeiyideh)
- ^ Charles S. Shaw,The Speeches of Micah: A Rhetorical-Historical Analysis, Continuum International Publishing Group Page 45
- ^ Tsafrir, et al. (1994), p, 242
- ^ Aharoni (1979), p. 439
- ^ Joshua 15:42
- ^ Adcock, James Seth (2018). "Have We Found Biblical Libnah?". Bible and Spade. 31 (3): (note 12).
- Kitchener (1883), p. 282
- ^ Bliss (1900), p. 94
- ^ a b c Vargon (1992), p. 558
- ^ Herrmann (1989), p. 72
- ^ a b Vargon (1992), p. 559
- ^ Vargon (1992), p. 560
- ^ a b c Bliss (1900), pp. 88, 90
- Bliss, F.J.(1900b), pp. 204–205
- ^ Bliss (1900b), p. 199
- Bliss, F.J.(1900b), p. 204
- ^ Shea (1985), pp. 404–406
- ^ Gibson (1994), p. 194
- ^ Ben-Yosef (n.d.), pp. 311–312
- Bliss, F.J.(1900b), p. 207
- ^ Bliss (1900), pp. 94–95
- Bliss, F.D.(1900b), pp. 219–221
- ^ Beatrice St. Laurent, The Imperial Museum of Antiquities in Jerusalem, 1890–1930 - An Alternate Narrative, Jewish Quarterly 55, p. 20
Bibliography
- OCLC 6250553. (original Hebrew edition: 'Land of Israel in Biblical Times - Historical Geography', Bialik Institute, Jerusalem (1962))
- Ben-Yosef, Sefi, ed. (n.d.). "Tel Goded (Tell Judeideh)". Israel Guide - Judaea (A useful encyclopedia for the knowledge of the country) (in Hebrew). Vol. 9. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, in affiliation with the Israel Ministry of Defence. OCLC 745203905.
- Bliss, F.J. (1900). "First Report on the Excavations at Tell ej-Judeideh" (PDF). Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement. 32 (2). London: Palestine Exploration Fund.
- S2CID 161308733.
- Conder, C.R.; Kitchener, H.H. (1883). The Survey of Western Palestine: Memoirs of the Topography, Orography, Hydrography, and Archaeology. Vol. 3. London: Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
- Gibson, Simon (1994). "The Tell ej-Judeideh (Tel Goded) Excavations: A Re-appraisal Based on Archival Records in the Palestine Exploration Fund". Journal of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University. 21 (2). Tel Aviv University: 194–234. .
- Herrmann, Siegfried (1989). "The So-called 'Fortress System of Rehoboam,' 2 Chron 11:5-12: Theoretical Considerations". Eretz-Israel: Archaeological, Historical and Geographical Studies. 20 (Yigael Yadin Memoril Volume). JSTOR 23621927.
- 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.
- Shea, William H. (1985). "Sennacherib's Second Palestinian Campaign". Journal of Biblical Literature. 104 (3): 401–418. JSTOR 3260921.
- ISBN 965-208-107-8.
- Vargon, Shmuel (1992). "Gedud: A Place-Name in the Shephelah of Judah". Vetus Testamentum. 42 (4): 557–564. JSTOR 1518965.
External links
- Survey of Western Palestine, Map 20: IAA, Wikimedia commons