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Khirbet Al-Karak 2001 Overview
Tel Bet Yerah (Khirbet al-Karak) is one of the largest Early Bronze Age mounds in Palestine. With up to eight meters of stratigraphic accumulation and a location on a major interregional crossroads, it is arguably the most important town of third millennium BCE Canaan. Some 15 different excavators have conducted upwards of 2 0 excavation seasons at the site. These have uncovered fortifications, a gateway, houses, and public structures representing the entire Early Bronze Age I-III sequence, as well as an orthogonally planned Hellenistic-period settlement. The site is considered one of the focal points of early Canaanite urbanization, and a type-site for the Early Bronze III "Khirbet Kerak" culture. As important as the site is, not a single detailed report has appeared on any of the major excavations, and most of what we know of the site is based on preliminary statements and hearsay evidence. Most of the excavators of Bet Yerah have either passed away or moved on to other fields of interest. Bet Yerah has become synonymous with what is often termed "the publication problem" of excavations in the Levant. The proposed project will take a major step toward the redressing of this lapse, bringing the results of four expeditions to publication. The Eisenberg and Yogev excavations of 1981/1985, covering several hundred sq. meters at the heart of the mound, provide a meaty, artifact-rich stratigraphic sequence from bedrock to surface. They are complemented by the Ussishkin (1967) sequence and by the Bar-Adon excavations (1949-55), which include another stratigraphic sounding (for which the excavator prepared a detailed report), as well as extensive clearance of the fortification system and gateway. The proposed three-year program will produce a major monograph that will without doubt become a point of departure for future studies on early urbanization and state formation in the Levant. |
Overview View Samples:   |
A rare aerial photo of the Circles Building (Bet Yerah Granary) taken shortly after its excavation in 1946 (looking south).
A view of the Early Bronze II gate, excavated by Bar-Adon in 1952/3 (looking south) Note door socket at the inner entrance and the large stela situated at the outer right gate-post.
