Israel, Land of Tels

A Tel has once been described as an archeological layer cake: when one town is ruined, it will often be recycled, brought to an even grade, and then used as a foundation for another city. When this sort of thing happens (as it has in Israel in some places since the Neolithic age, i.e. the first time humans decided to live in cities), an artificial hill is formed, which archeologists LOVE to explore. We are working at the tel at Ashkelon. Because we didn't wash pottery today, we went to explore two other tels. We first explored Azeka, which was built atop already existing high ground. The city was extremely important to the ancient Israelites because it gave both the obvious strategic benefits of high ground, it also overlooked an important trade route that ran through the Elah valley underneath. This valley would be the battleground for one of the most one-sided battles of all time, the battle between David and Goliath. Atop the tel was a monument to the battle. Next, we visited Tel Burnai, considered by many to be the biblical city of Libnah. Tel Burnai was an incredibly fortuitous discovery for the archeologists. Only a few centimeters below the surface, the ruins of a bronze age religious site was discovered. Further up the tel, iron age grain silos were dug into rock in numerous places and the iron age fortifications could still be seen in places. Pictures below: