Tel Zayit ( he, תל זית, ar, Tell Zeita, Kirbat Zeita al Kharab) is an archaeological tell 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 ...

, or lowlands, of

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 ...

, about 30 km east of

Ashkelon Ashkelon or Ashqelon (; Hebrew: , , ; Philistine: ), also known as Ascalon (; Ancient Greek: , ; Arabic: , ), is a coastal city in the Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border ...

History

The site, roughly , shows evidence of human settlement throughout the

Late Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

, and

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

I and II. The city was destroyed by fire twice, in 1200 BCE and the ninth century BCE.

Hazael Hazael (; he, חֲזָאֵל, translit=Ḥazaʾēl, or , romanized as: ; oar, 𐡇𐡆𐡀𐡋, translit= , from the triliteral Semitic root ''h-z-y'', "to see"; his full name meaning, " El/God has seen"; akk, 𒄩𒍝𒀪𒀭, Ḫa-za-’- il ...

Aram Aram may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Aram'' (film), 2002 French action drama * Aram, a fictional character in Japanese manga series '' MeruPuri'' * Aram Quartet, an Italian music group * ''Aram'' (Kural book), the first of the three ...

may have been the military leader who ordered the destruction of the city in the ninth century BCE. The Aramean's siege tactics are known from the

Zakkur stele The Stele of Zakkur (or ''Zakir'') is a royal stele of King Zakkur of Hamath and Luhuti (or Lu'aš) in the province Nuhašše of Syria, who ruled around 785 BC. Description The inscription was on the lower part of the original stele. The upper ...

, which records that Hazael's son, called Ben-Hadad, employed spectacular siege warfare against his enemies. The

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

records that Hazael devastated cities in the Shephelah during the ninth century BCE, including the

Philistine The Philistines ( he, פְּלִשְׁתִּים, Pəlīštīm; Koine Greek ( LXX): Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: ''Phulistieím'') were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan from the 12th century BC until 604 BC, when ...

city of Gath. The similar siege and destruction in 9th century BCE of

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 ...

, a nearby site usually identified as Gath, has been cited by archaeologists as possible evidence of Hazael's campaign. From at least the 16th century until some time during the 20th century, the site was occupied by the Arab village Zayta. During the period of the British mandate, the village moved 1.5 km to the north. It was depopulated in 1948. Work at Tel Zayit began with a preliminary survey in 1998 by a

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (PTS) is a Presbyterian graduate seminary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1794, it houses one of the largest theological libraries in the tri-state area. History Pittsburgh Theological Seminary was forme ...

team led by Ron Tappy. During the 2005 season, archaeologists discovered the

Zayit Stone Kezayit, k'zayit, or kezayis () is a Talmudic unit of volume approximately equal to the size of an average olive. The word itself literally means "like an olive." The rabbis differ on the precise definition of the unit: * Rabbeinu Yitzchak (the ...

among the ruins of a fire dating to the tenth century BC. Alternatively, a 9th century BC date has been suggested. The stone includes an inscription identified by some scholars as an

abecedary An abecedarium (also known as an abecedary or ABCs or simply an ABC) is an inscription consisting of the letters of an alphabet, almost always listed in order. Typically, abecedaria (or abecedaries) are practice exercises. Non-Latin alphab ...

, among the oldest ever discovered.

References

External links

*
Tel Zayit excavations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zayit Bronze Age sites in Israel Populated places disestablished in the 9th century BC 1998 archaeological discoveries Archaeological sites in Israel Former populated places in Southwest Asia

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links