Tell Beit Mirsim

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A stela from Tell Beit Mirsim Astela from Tel Beit Mirsim.jpg
A stela from Tell Beit Mirsim
Position of Tell Beit Mirsim among other Bronze and Early Iron Age tells in the area Gerar.jpg
Position of Tell Beit Mirsim among other Bronze and Early Iron Age tells in the area

Tell Beit Mirsim is an archaeological site in Palestine, on the border between the lowlands of Shfela and Mount Hebron. It is located on the southwestern edge of the Hebron Governorate, about 20 kilometers southwest of Hebron and about 13 kilometers southeast of Lachish.

Contents

Excavations

It was excavated for four seasons (1926, 1928, 1930 and 1932) by William F. Albright. [1]

The excavation revealed 10 or 11 strata dating from the late 3rd millennium BC to around 589 BC. The site is of particular importance for the archeology of ancient Israel and Judah, since the ceramics in the individual layers were observed particularly well and published quickly. This pottery corpus has long been considered the standard for archeology in the region.

"The strict separation of earth layers, or archaeological sediments, also allowed the strict separation of ceramic assemblages". [2]

Gustaf Dalman examined the ruin in the early 20th-century and described what he saw there as installations used in the production of olive oil, a view later corroborated by Israeli archaeologist David Eitam. [3]

Town plan

Excavations at Tell Beit Mirsim in 1926. Excavating the house at east gate Excavations at Tell Beit Mirsim (Kirjath-Sepher) 1926. Excavating house at east gate LOC matpc.05732.jpg
Excavations at Tell Beit Mirsim in 1926. Excavating the house at east gate

The site has "a town plan characteristic of the Kingdom of Judah that is also known from other sites" including, Beit Shemesh, Tell en-Nasbeh, Khirbet Qeiyafa and Beersheba.

"A casemate wall was built at all of these sites and the city’s houses next to it incorporated the casemates as one of the dwelling’s rooms. This model is not known from any Canaanite, Philistine or Kingdom of Israel site." [4]

Identification of the site

Albright identified the ruin with the biblical city Dvir (Debir), or Kiryat Sefer by another name. [5] He hoped to find an ancient archive there. This identification is not currently accepted by the archaeological community. Khirbet Rabud is seen as the more likely location. [6]

References

  1. ↑ W. F. Albright, The Fourth Joint Campaign of Excavation at Tell Beit Mirsim, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, No. 47 (Oct., 1932), pp. 3-17.]
  2. ↑ Herr, Larry G. (2002), "W.F. Albright and the History of Pottery in Palestine". Near Eastern Archaeology 65.1 (2002), 53.
  3. ↑ Frankel, Rafael (1994). "Ancient Oil Mills and Presses in the Land of Israel". In Etan Ayalon (ed.). History and Technology of Olive Oil in the Holy Land. Translated by Jay C. Jacobson. Tel Aviv, Israel: Eretz Israel Museum and Oléarus editions. pp. 37, 39. ISBN   0-917526-06-6.
  4. ↑ "Israel Antiquities Authority". Archived from the original on 2012-06-23. Retrieved 2014-12-20.
  5. ↑ Joshua, 15:15
  6. ↑ Trevor Bryce (2009). The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia: From the Early Bronze Age to the Fall of the Persian Empire. Taylor & Francis. p. 588. ISBN   978-0-415-39485-7.

Bibliography

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