Jokne‘am 2000 Overview

The Jokne‘am Regional Project in the Western Jezreel Valley, Israel
Amnon Ben-Tor

The Western Jezreel Valley, the focus of the Jokne‘am Regional Project, is triangular shaped and extends over an area of approximately 120 sq. km. The three points of the triangle are the ancient sites of Megiddo, Shimron and Tell ‘Amr. In this region there are three sites whose dimensions exceed 50 dunams - Shimron, Megiddo and Jokne‘am: these are undoubtedly the major cities in the region. The last two sites guarded the northern exits of the two important passes through the Carmel Ridge, the ‘Ara Pass (Megiddo) and the MilÎ Pass (Jokne‘am), connecting the Via Maris and the Jezreel Valley. From here extend two major international routes: one from Megiddo leading north-northeast via Hazor to Damascus and beyond, and the other, running from Jokne‘am to the north-northwest, via Acco to Phoenicia and beyond. The combination of fertile soil, abundant water, excellent climate and important local and international routes resulted in the establishment of a large number of settlements of a variety of sizes which dotted the valley.

Three sites located in the Western Jezreel Valley were chosen for investigation: Jokne‘am (map reference 160 228), with an area of approximately 10 acres, Tell Qiri (map reference 161 227), with an area of about 2.5 acres, and Tel-Qashish (map reference 160 232) with an area similar to that of Tell-Qiri. Jokne‘am is undoubtedly the major site in the region, while Qiri - located 2 kms. to the south, and Qashish located 2 kms. to the north of Jokne'am are clearly minor, village sites, dependent on the main urban center.

These three sites were excavated during the years 1977 - 1987, in an attempt to investigate their history of occupation and compare their material culture (city / village). The final report on the excavations at Tell-Qiri was published in 1987 ( Tell Qiri, A Village in the Jezreel Valley, Qedem 24), and the report on the late periods (Hellenistic - Ottoman) at Jokne'am was published in 1996 ( Jokne‘am I, The Late Periods, Qedem Reports 3).