powered by FreeFind	Tel Hazor 166 pictures     4 minutes HQ video Tel Hazor is located in the eastern Upper Galilee, on the ancient route leading from the Land of Israel to Babylon, via Syria. The location of the ancient site, its fertile soil and the springs in nearby Nahal Hazor, all combined in making Hazor the largest and most important city in the land of Canaan, as demonstrated by its Biblical name, "the head of all those kingdoms" (Josh. 11:10), and the description of its king, Jabin, as "Jabin King of Canaan" (Judges 4:2). At its zenith in the second millennium B.C., the inhabitants of Hazor numbered c. 20,000. The Site The Tel, spanning an area of c. 80 hectares, comprises the upper city (acropolis) and the lower city (the "fortified enclosure"). The upper city is located 40 meters above Nahal Hazor and spans 10 hectares. It is bottle-shaped, its base in the east and its neck in the west. The lower city is surrounded by a rampart with an earth embankment and lies north of the upper city, with a narrow strip extending eastward. Only the upper city is open to visitors. The History of the Site Settlement in Hazor began in the Early Bronze Age (the third millennium B.C.), but we know very little of this early stage except that it was confined to the upper city. The great city of Hazor was founded in the 18th century B.C., in the Middle Bronze Age, and spanned the entire area of the Tel (both the upper and the lower cities). The site was inhabited continuously from that time until the destruction of the city in the 13th or the end of the 14th century B.C. Canaanite Hazor is first mentioned in the 19th century B.C. in the Egyptian Execration texts. In the 18th century B.C., it was the only city in Israel to be mentioned in the archives discovered in the city of Mari on the Euphrates, which testify to the city's importance, wealth and far-reaching trading relations. Hazor is mentioned several times in descriptions of military campaigns led by the Egyptian Pharaohs in the 15th-14th centuries B.C., and is also referred to in letters from Abdi-Tirshi, king of Hazor, to the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten, found in the archives of El-Amarna in Egypt (14th century B.C.). In the Bible, we are told of a campaign (the battle of Mei Marom), led by king Jabin and a coalition of Canaanite cities against the advancing Israelites and their leader, Joshua, who emerged victorious, burning the city of Hazor and slaughtering its inhabitants (Joshua 11:1-12): "The cities, whose ruined mounds are still standing were not burnt by the Israelites: It was Hazor alone that Joshua burnt". Evidence of destruction by fire is described in Judges, Cha. 4, this time the Canaanite army was led by Sisera, Jabin's general. Settlement was renewed in the Israelite period, in the upper city alone. Scattered remains, including a cultic high-place (Area B), indicate sporadic settlement in the time of the Judges. The city was rebuilt and fortified during the reign of King Solomon, as evident from the Biblical description, as well as the remains: "This is the recost of forced labour, which King Solomon conscripted: to build the house of the Lord, his own palace, the Millo, the Wall of Jerusalem and Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer" (I Kings 9:15). At this period, only the western part of the upper city was settled. In the 9th century B.C., apparently in the days of King Ahab, the city's area was doubled, its eastern section was fortified, and important public structures were built, including a citadel, storehouses and a water system. The city was repeatedly damaged during attacks led by the Aramean and Assyrian armies, but was always rebuilt, until its final destruction at the hands of Tiglath-Pileser III, whose conquest of Galilee in 732 B.C. (Kings II 15:29) marked the beginning of the end of the northern kingdom of Israel. Following this destruction, the settlement shrank even further, and was limited chiefly to citadels, built at the more elevated western end of the upper city, during the 7th-2nd centuries B.C. The last historical reference to Hazor, in the Book of Maccabees, describes the battle of Jonathan Maccabee against Demetrius in 147 B.C. "On the plain of Hazor" (I Maccabees XI:67). Solomonic Gate and Casemate Wall Solomonic Gate and Casemate Wall (10th century B.C.). The gate is symmetrical, similar in style to the city gates of Megiddo and Gazer. The entrance is between two towers, with three rooms within each, and two bastions projecting on either side of the entrance. The casemate wall continues north and south from the gate to the edge of the Tel, and then turns west to encompass the western part of the upper city. Canaanite Temple Canaanite Temple (15th-14th centuries B.C.). Exposed underneath Solomon's Gate. A staircase, to the south of the gate, constituted the entrance to the sacred area. Royal Palace of Canaanite Hazor The Palace of Canaanite Hazor (14th-13th centuries B.C.). Excavations southwest of Solomon's Gate are underway, exposing the palace of the kings of Canaanite Hazor. So far its large courtyard, with a platform in the center, has been uncovered, as well as two massive column bases, the main entrance to the palace, and the throneroom, with rooms on three sides. The palace walls are built of mud bricks, lined with smooth basalt slabs (orthostats) on their lower part, and with cedar beams incorporated at intervals. Several clay tablets were found in the palace, bearing cuneiform inscriptions, as well as stone and bronze statues. The palace was destroyed by fire; this may be the destruction alluded to in the book of Joshua. Area M (east) City wall from the days of Ahab (9th century B.C.) running eastward, and beneath it an impressive Late Canaanite staircase (14th-13th centuries B.C.), which apparently connected the upper and lower city. Nearby is a paved area containing a large podium, perhaps a base for a throne. Destruction by fire is also evident in this area. Area A-B Two buildings: A four-roomed house (8th century B.C.), in which an oil press was found and reconstructed; and "The Pillared Building", a public storehouse. The buildings were transferred from Area A, and placed here, in the same direction and on the same level as their original location, in order to enable their restoration and preservation and at the same time to excavate the Canaanite palace underneath. Area L Israelite water system built during the reign of Ahab (9th century B.C.). A huge enterprise, intended to supply fresh water for the inhabitants within the city walls. A square, vertical shaft was dug into previous building levels and then straight into bedrock, reaching the aquifer at 40m below the surface. Eighty wide steps cut into the shaft walls enabled easy access to the water source. The water system can be reached today via a new staircase constructed in a metal frame. Area B Remains of an Israelite citadel, built in the 9th century BCE in the days of Ahab, and destroyed by Tiglath Pileser III in 732 B.C. A monumental gate was set at the front of the citadel, and its doorposts bore stylized Proto-Aeolic capitals characteristic of royal architecture uncovered in Megiddo, Samaria, Ramat Rachel and Jerusalem (the gate was transferred to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, where it was reconstructed). The citadel was built on top of another citadel and casemate wall from the days of Solomon. Remains of a cultic high-place from the period of the Judges (11th century B.C.) can be seen on a lower level, to the east of the citadel. The ramp from north-east The Museum The museum of the Hazor excavations is located at the entrance to Kibbutz Ayyelet ha-Shahar. Back to Israel Index