Tell Qasile is an
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
site near the
Yarkon River
The Yarkon River, also Yarqon River or Jarkon River (, ''Nahal HaYarkon''; , ''Nahr al-Auja''), is a river in central Israel. The source of the Yarkon ("Greenish" in Hebrew) is at Tel Afek (Antipatris), north of Petah Tikva. It flows west throu ...
in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
,
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. Over 3,000 years old, the site contains the remains of a port city founded by the
Philistines
Philistines (; LXX: ; ) were ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia.
There is compelling evidence to suggest that the Philistines origi ...
in the 12th century BC.
Prior to 1948, it was on the village lands of
Al-Shaykh Muwannis
Al-Shaykh Muwannis (), also Sheikh Munis, was a small Palestinian people, Palestinian Arab village in the Jaffa Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine, Jaffa Subdistrict of Mandatory Palestine, located approximately 8.5 kilometers from the center of J ...
, which was depopulated in the
1948 war. While the war was still ongoing, in late 1948, the site was given the first archaeological permit by the newly declared of state of Israel. Today it is located on the grounds of the
Eretz Israel Museum, which was built in 1953.
Prior to these first excavations,
two important ostraca were discovered at the site in 1945-96, by Jacob Kaplan and Robert Hoff.
Identification suggestions
At first it was suggested to identify Tell Qasila with "Glil Yam", a place mentioned on an inscription of
Tiglath-Pileser III. A later suggestion was to identify it with the phrase from the Book of Joshua "Mi Yarkon", stating it is a city and not a stream.
Archeologist Dr. Dror Ben-Yosef suggested identifying the site as "Beit Haran" based on the two 7th century BCE
ostraca
An ostracon (Greek language, Greek: ''ostrakon'', plural ''ostraka'') is a piece of pottery, usually broken off from a vase or other earthenware vessel. In an archaeology, archaeological or epigraphy, epigraphical context, ''ostraca'' refer ...
found at the site as they read: "Gold of Ophir to Beit Haran, 30 shekels". He claimed that this was a shipment destinated to Beith Haran, located in that area.
Excavation history
In 1815, after excavating the ruins of ancient
Ashkelon
Ashkelon ( ; , ; ) or Ashqelon, is a coastal city in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip.
The modern city i ...
,
Lady Hester Stanhope
Lady Hester Lucy Stanhope (12 March 1776 – 23 June 1839) was a British adventurer, writer, antiquarian, and one of the most famous travellers of her age. Her excavation of Ascalon in 1815 is considered the first to use modern Archaeology ...
proposed a dig at a site called el-Khurby located 12 miles northeast of Jaffa on the banks of the Awgy River (today the Yarkon River). Stanhope's companion observed that “there were many proofs that this district was once highly populous.”
In 1946 the Tell was rediscovered by Jacob Kaplan who found two
Ostraca
An ostracon (Greek language, Greek: ''ostrakon'', plural ''ostraka'') is a piece of pottery, usually broken off from a vase or other earthenware vessel. In an archaeology, archaeological or epigraphy, epigraphical context, ''ostraca'' refer ...
written in
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
dating to the
First Temple period.
Both of them were shipping certificates, On the first was a description if the weight of thirty
Shekels of Ophir gold being sent to
Bethoron. The second mentioned one thousand one hundred units of oil being sent to the king. The second Ostracone was signed but all left of the signature were the letters: "חיהו"
Benjamin Mazar received the first archaeological exploration permit issued by the state of
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
to excavate there in 1948 and continued excavating the site in 1949 and 1950. He directed subsequent excavation at the site in 1971 to 1974 and again from 1982 to 1990. In 1955 a
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
grave was found by chance which led to another excavation at the Tell. In 1957 another excavation was conducted by Jacob Kaplan who uncovered two
Hasmonean rock cut tombs. Further excavation were held in 1959.
Between the years 1970-1974 and from 1982 to the 90's, further excavations were done which uncovered the Philistine temples.The excavations revealed the gradual development of the
Philistine
Philistines (; Septuagint, LXX: ; ) were ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia.
There is compelling evidence to suggest that the Philist ...
city over 150 years, from its founding (Level XII) to the peak of its growth (Level X) at the end of the 11th century BC.
Archaeological findings

The sacred area of the Philistine city was unearthed to reveal three temples, built one on top of the other. The temples were constructed with walls of sun-dried mud bricks covered with light-colored plaster. Low benches were built along the length of the walls. Many offering and cult vessels were found on the floors, concentrated mainly around the "bamah" and in the storage alcoves of the temples. A residential block was found on the north side of the street, while in the south side workshops and storehouses were unearthed. The houses were built to a standard plan - they were square, with an area of approximately 100 square meters per apartment. Each apartment comprised two rectangular rooms with a courtyard separating them.
History
Middle Bronze Age
Middle Bronze IIA
Based on potsherds found at the site there was a temporary settlement during the Middle Bronze Age II A.
Late Bronze Age
Late Bronze IIB
Parallel to the arrival of the Philistines to the Land of Canaan in 12th century BC, a permanent settlement begins at the site. As the Tel is closer to the Yarkon estuary and located on a Kurkar ridge, the Philistines choose to establish an inner harbor on the river banks.
The settlement layout was of a temple located at its center and a dense core round it. The residential houses were built around it. The small temple building had a single hall and a large courtyard. Next to the temple was another building known as "Beit HaAch", Known at that period from places like
Ashkelon
Ashkelon ( ; , ; ) or Ashqelon, is a coastal city in the Southern District (Israel), Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip.
The modern city i ...
,
Ashdod
Ashdod (, ; , , or ; Philistine language, Philistine: , romanized: *''ʾašdūd'') is the List of Israeli cities, sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District (Israel), Southern District, it lies on the Mediterranean ...
and several regions of the
Aegean world
Iron Age
Iron I
From the 11th century BC the Tell Qasila settlement began to grow evident in the larger structures, thicker and stronger stone walls. In the temple's courtyard a pit was dug and various cult objects were found in it. As Tell Qasila reached its peak in the middle of the 11th century BC, the temple was enlarged and a room was built to store treasures of worship. A protective wall was built round the courtyard that now had an altar.
The importance of the temple's development was written:
"At the site, the remains of three temples were discovered that were built one on top of the other, and each of them was an extension of the previous one, which probably indicates an increase in the number of residents in the city".
A secondary smaller temple was built next to the main one. South of the temples were the residential houses of about 100 sqm, built in the
Four-room house design. Many of the findings in the Tell and temple, like clay jugs for oil and wine, bronze vessels and seals. These finds testify for the Philistine and Aegean influence on the Land of Israel as well as the lifestyle and trade relations with
Tyre,
Sidon
Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...
, ancient
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
and
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
. On this it is written:
"The Philistine culture, as it is revealed to our eyes from the excavations at Tell Qasila and other Philistine sites, is a developed urban culture. At Tell Qasila you can see the signs of careful urban planning... This developed culture existed at a time when many Canaanite cities, such as Hazor in the Galilee and Kish in the Lowlands, were in ruins , and the tribes of Israel lived in the mountain areas and the interior lowlands in agricultural villages and in a tribal framework, before the establishment of the monarchy".
Iron II
During this period a small settlement was built on the
Tell, most likely by Philistines as the temple was rebuilt. By the end of the 10th century the place was abandoned and renewed only at the end of the 7th century BC, probably due to the expansion of the
Kingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was an Israelites, Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. Centered in the highlands to the west of the Dead Sea, the kingdom's capital was Jerusalem. It was ruled by the Davidic line for four centuries ...
westwards at the time of
king Joshia. The two ostraca are assumed to be from this period.
The Latter findings include a building from the end of the 6th century BC (
Return to Zion
The return to Zion (, , ) is an event recorded in Ezra–Nehemiah of the Hebrew Bible, in which the Jews of the Kingdom of Judah—subjugated by the Neo-Babylonian Empire—were freed from the Babylonian captivity following the Fall of Babylon, ...
), next to it a square well, a coin from the time of
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...
and a number of relics from the
Hellenistic
In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...
and the
Roman period
The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
, as well as winepress from the Roman period. During the
Byzantine period
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
there was a sparse rural settlement around Tell Qasila. To the north east was a 6th-century
Samaritan
Samaritans (; ; ; ), are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Hebrews and Israelites of the ancient Near East. They are indigenous to Samaria, a historical region of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah that ...
Synagogue
A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
with a
mosaic
A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...
floor that is today at the museum. The floor shows Three inscriptions, one in Samaritan and two in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
two of them indicate the names of donors and the wording of the third is:
"Blessings and peace on Israel and on this place. Amen".
During the early Muslim period in the
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...
there was a Khan on the Tell and that is the latest building documented. The latest structure known to stand on the mound is the khan that lived there during the early Muslim period in the Land of Israel.
After it was destroyed, the mound was not inhabited again, except during the First World War, when the mound was used as a pillar in the western part of the line of the two Aujas, along which the Ottoman army forces that were arrayed against the Egyptian expeditionary force stationed south of Yarkon dug in. The Turks dug trenches in the mound, and fragments of British shells were also discovered there.
= Caravanserai
=
Excavations in the 1980s revealed a large
courtyard
A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky.
Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary a ...
building, dating from the
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...
era.
[Petersen, 2001, p]
291
/ref> The building has been dated by its excavators to a period between the ninth and eleventh century, though both earlier (Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...
) and later ( Crusader) occupations of the site were found.
The design of the building and its position (at a river crossing point), indicate that it was a caravanserai
A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...
.
Only the northern part of the building was excavated, the rest only visible as robber trenches.[robber trench](_blank)
/ref> From the excavated parts, it is estimated that the building was 28 meters square. A paved entrance in the middle of the north wall led to a courtyard, paved with gravel.[ The courtyard had arcades on the east and west sides, supported by ]column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...
s. In the northwest corner of the courtyard were the remains of a staircase. Several small rooms lining the courtyard were exposed.[
]
References
Bibliography
*Ayalon, E., Gilboa, E., and Shacham, T.(1986–1987): "A Public Building of the Early Arab period at Tell Qasile", IPL, 4 (22), pp. 35–52 (Hebrew with English summary on pp. 7–8).
*Amihai Mazar, "Excavations at Tell Qasile: Part I. The Philistine sanctuary: architecture and cult objects (Qedem)", Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1980
*Amihai Mazar, "Excavations at Tell Qasile: Part Two: The Philistine Sanctuary: Various Finds, the Pottery, Conclusions, Appendixes", Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1985
* Mazar, A. (1988–1989): "Tel Qasila - 1986-1987", ESI 7-8, p. 147-148.
*
External links
Link to the site of Prof. Amihai Mazar, regarding Tell Qasile
by Yaacov Shavit, Haaretz
Tell Qasile Final Report
by Etan Ayalon and Semadar Harpazi Ofer, 7/6/2004, ''Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel'', #116
Tell Qasile Final Report
by Etan Ayalon, 23/7/2007, ''Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel'', #119
Tell Qasile Final Report
by Alexander Glick, 13/1/2008, ''Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel'', #120
Tell Qasile Final Report
by Etan Ayalon and Nitza Bashkin-Yosef, 29/5/2008, ''Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel'', #120
Tell Qasile (West) Final Report
by Alexander Glick, 14/2/2009, ''Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel'', #121
Tell Qasile (West) Final Report
by Alexander Glick, 13/10/2009, ''Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel'', #121
Tell Qasile (West) Final Report
by Alexander Glick, 28/12/2009, ''Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel'', #121
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qasile
Populated places established in the 2nd millennium BC
Archaeological sites in Israel
Philistines
Former populated places in West Asia