JEZREEL, TEL, a 15-acre mound situated in tlte eastern part of the Jezreel Valley on a ridge extending along its southern side. The site’s a commanding position offers a breathtaking view of the valley. Altltough there is a large spring, ‘Ein Jezreel, in the valley to the northeast, it seems tliat the numerous rock-cut cisterns that collected rainwater at the site and in its immediate surroundings served as the settlement’s main water source.
Development works carried out nearby in 1987 revealed Iron Age monumental remains. Following limited salvage excavations by tlte Israel Antiquities Autltority, systematic excavations were started by David Ussishkin and John Woodhead, on behalf of Tel Aviv University and tlte British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem, respectively. Six large-scale seasons of excavation took place between 1990 and 1995-
A few Late Neolithic flint implements of the Wadi Rabbah culture are tlte earliest finds collected at the site. A considerable number of Early Bronze Age I and III pottery fragments were also recovered on the surface and a few Middle Bronze Age II sherds were found. A considerable amount of Late Bronze Age pottery concentrated in the constructional fills of the Iron Age gate indicates the existence of a settlement in the central part of the mound during that period. The existence of a Canaanite settlement at Jezreel has a bearing on the origins of the name of the site and the valley, which first appears in late biblical accounts. Jezreel was located in the tribal inheritance of Issachar (Jos. 19:18). It is mentioned in tlte list of Solomon’s district officers (i Kgs. 4:12). Iron I pottery found in the constructional fills of the later Iron Age indicates that Jezreel was probably settled during the period of the United Monarchy.
During tlie reign of tlte Omride dynasty (882-842 bce), Jezreel became a royal center of considerable importance in the Idngdom of Israel, and a large enclosure was built there. The site’s importance during this period is attested in two biblical stories; i Kings 21 describes the story of Naboth the Jezreelite who had an orchard near King Ahab’s “palace,” and 2 Kings 9-10 relates in detail the story of Jehu’s revolt in 842 BCE. It was there that he received the decapitated heads of the members of Ahab’s family sent to him from Samaria. Hosea (1:4) mentions “the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu”—a possible indication that Jehu destroyed Jezreel at that time.
The royal enclosure, built on a grand scale and according to a uniform plan, is rectangular and surrounded by a casemate wall with projecting towers at the corners. Its outer maximal measurements are about 3 3 2 X 184 m, and the area inside dte enclosure is about 45 dunams (ii acres). One of the long sides follows the slope and faces the valley. The gate, of tile six-chambered type, is located in the opposite long side. The casemate wall is supported by a massive earthen rampart. On three sides—but not on tlie long side facing the valley—a rock-cut moat forms the outer ring of the fortifications. The moat is about 8-12 m wide and, at one point at which its bottom was reached in excavation, it is about 6 m deep. It was estimated on the basis of presently available data tliat about 26,800 cu m of rock were quarried in the moat and that at least 23,300 cu m of material were dumped in the ramparts. The area of tlie enclosure is largely destroyed or covered with later remains, and relatively little is known about tlie buildings inside. Remains of a domestic character were found in the casemates and adjoining structures.
Iron Age domestic remains probably dating to the eighth century bce were found superimposed on the enclosure’s ruined walls, an indication that it had only been used for a brief period. To tliis later settlement should be assigned a handle of a royal Judean storage jar; it bears a stamp with a two-winged emblem and the city name m[msi, which dates to tlte time of Sennacherib’s campaign in Judah in 701 BCE. The distribution of royal storage jars was limited to Judah, which makes this particular handle significant. [See Seals; Judah.]
World History
