Tel Beth-Shean Overview

Amihai Mazar

Tel Beth-Shean is located in the Beth-Shean Valley, a region of prime historic importance in northern Israel, due to its auspicious geographic location at the juncture of the major north-south route through the Jordan Valley and the main east-west route leading from the coast inland, by way of the Jezreel Valley. Rich agricultural land and numerous springs enhance the appeal of this region for human settlement since the 6th millennium BCE until modern times.

Extensive surveys have emphasized the intensity of settlement over the millennia. Beth-Shean was a central site that was occupied almost uninterruptedly from the 4th millennium BCE to the Byzantine Period. Within this long-lived sequence, of paramount importance was the period of the third millennium BCE, the Early Bronze Age and the Intermediate Bronze Age (=EBIV). Wide-scale excavations conducted by the University of Pennsylvania between the years 1921 — 1933 yielded finds from these periods, but these were very poorly published. The renewed investigation of the site between the years 1989 — 1996 under the auspices of the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and directed by Prof. Amihai Mazar uncovered numerous finds that add important information to our knowledge of the Early Bronze Age and the Intermediate Bronze Age in northern Israel.

A large building dating to the Early Bronze Age Ib exposed in Area M contained several phases, with the earliest ending in a severe destruction, yielding a rich collection of finds. It seems that this was a public building that function as a collection and distribution center for agricultural produce in the region. Study of this building will shed light on the nature of the process of urbanization. Following the end of occupation of this building, the site remained unoccupied until the Early Bronze Age III, remains of which were exposed in Areas M and R. These remains included a large amount of locally produced Khirbet Kerak Ware, affording an opportunity to conduct an in-depth study of the social context of the production and distribution of this important pottery group. The gap identified at Beth-Shean in the Early Bronze Age II was also noted at nearby sites and warrants further understanding. A rather fleeting occupation level with floor surfaces, pottery and copper objects dating to the Intermediate Bronze Age was uncovered in Area R and joined with the finds made by the University of Pennsylvania in the Northern Cemetery of Beth-Shean, sheds new light on the nature of occupation following the demise of urbanization at the end of the Early Bronze Age in this region.

This report will be the fourth and final volume in the publication series of the Tel Beth-Shean Excavations, the first two of which have been published in 2006 and 2007. This volume will be published by the Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Israel Exploration Society.