Tell Jemmeh 2001 Overview

Smithsonian Institution Excavations at Tell Jemmeh, Volumes I-III
Gus W. Van Beek
Dept. of Anthropology/ National Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution

This project is part of an effort towards the final publication of excavations at Tell Jemmeh. Tell Jemmeh (Tel Re'im) is in the northwestern Negev desert about 10 km south of Gaza (map reference 097.088), on the southern bank of Nahal Besor (Wadi Ghazzeh). The major fieldwork for this project, directed by G. Van Beek and sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution, took place from 1970-78, with smaller problem-solving exposures during 1982, 1984, 1987 and 1990. Funding for fieldwork came from the Smithsonian Institution, the National Geographic Society, the National Endowment for the Humanities and private donors. Over the years, the Tell Jemmeh research team has published a considerable number of timely reports and articles. In many respects, Tell Jemmeh has become a bench-mark for non-biased field sampling methodology and remains at the forefront of total retrieval and curation of archaeological materials at historic tell sites in the southern Levant. It is primarily through the participation of a research assistant that the necessary momentum can be gained to produce the final publication of the site. Although the Smithsonian Press will publish the Jemmeh volumes in the "Smithsonian Contributions to Anthropology Series", there are no funding sources available that will enable the PI to carryout and coordinate the research needed to produce the final publication.