J.

Luis Dizon NMC 260Y1-Y 28 November 2012

SITE REPORT: HAZOR

Situated in northern Galilee, Tel Hazor is one of the largest archaeological sites in Israel, occupying about 205 acres of land, of which 175 acres comprise the lower city and 30 acres comprise the upper tell (Wiener 2012). It is mentioned in various documents, including letters from the Mari archives, the Amarna letters, Josephus, and most importantly, the Hebrew Bible, particularly in Joshua and Judges (Yadin 1972:2-12). The site was first identified by J. L. Porter in 1875, although it was not until 1928 that the first excavations were conducted on the site after it was re-identified by John Garstang (Yadin 1972:14, 18). The next major excavations were undertaken by a team of British and Israeli specialists between 1955 and 1958. Other excavations were undertaken in 1965 and 1968, yielding more important data on the site, and some recent reports on the site have also shed light on the chronology and history of Tel Hazor (which will be shown later on). Yigael Yadin, who led the expeditions in the 1950s, published the finds in various publications and lectures, with most of the information presented herein coming from his work.

HISTORY AND STRATIGRAPHY

Tel Hazor has a long history of occupation that stretches over a period of almost a thousand years. The earliest evidence of settlement in Hazor comes from the Early Bronze period, although the buildings found at this period are few in number and poorly preserved, and it is not until the Middle Bronze IIB period that we begin to see large city building in the site (Yadin 1972:119-121). Layer upon layer of structures have been built upon the city, with the

most recent occupation of the site that can be verified being around the early first millennium B.C.E. The city fell to the Assyrians in 732 B.C.E., along with most of the other northern Israeli cities (Yadin 1972:11-12). The site is divided into eight areas, that are designated as areas C, D, E, F, H, K and P. In terms of stratigraphy, there are four clearly identifiable strata, with the uppermost strata being subdivided into 1A and 1B (Yadin 1972:29-37). Strata 4 and are dated by Yadin to be from Middle Bronze IIB-C period, with some of the stratum 3 buildings being built upon structures that were already present from stratum 4 (Yadin 1972:29-32). Stratum 2 is dated to the Late Bronze I period, where apart from a few walls from stratum 3 being reused, there is a definite discontinuity with the preceding strata (Yadin 1972:32; see the section below on Violent Conflagration). Stratum 1B is dated to Late Bronze II period, and contain some interesting structures, such as the Stelae Temple (Yadin 1972:32-37; see the section below on Temples). Finally, Stratum 1A is dated Late Bronze III period, and is the topmost occupation of the lower city, with relatively little activity taking place, and many of the Stratum 1B structures (such as the Stelae Temple) being reused by the inhabitants (Yadin 1972:37). It should be noted at this point that the periodization as described by Yadin in his report does not match up to the periodization used by contemporary scholars. This explains why in his report, he places the conflagration of Hazor at the end of the Middle Bronze II period, even though most modern archaeologists place it at the end of the Late Bronze I period (see below). Yadin does acknowledge these difficulties, pointing out that there are differing chronologies used by different scholars on when one period ends and another begins (Yadin 1972:107-108). This should be kept in mind when cross-referencing data from Yadins report with data from more contemporary reports.

VIOLENT CONFLAGRATION
One of the more significant finds in the site of Hazor is evidence of a conflagration taking place at some point in its history. Yadin dates this to the end of the Middle Bronze II period, stating that The end of the MBII came as a result of a violent destruction (1972:124). In his report, he notes that a thick layer of ashes separates strata 2 and 3, which marks the division between the Middle and Late Bronze periods (Yadin 1972:32, 124-125). The 2001 Excavation Report by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem dates this event somewhat differently, stating that The ceramic assemblage associated with this earlier phase, albeit meagre, seems to place the date of this earlier destruction somewhere in the Late Bronze Age I (fifteenth century B.C.E.) (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2001). This is further corroborated by the recent discovery published by Noah Wiener in the Biblical Archaeological Review of large jars in one of the palaces containing scorched wheat, as well as burnt cedar beams, a collapsed ceiling, bricks cemented from heat exposure, and soot on the walls (Wiener 2012). All of these point to the destruction of the old city of Hazor at around the end of the fifteenth century B.C.E. The conflagration at the end of the Late Bronze I period is of particular interest, as some scholars have argued that the Israeli conquest of Canaan as recorded in the book of Joshua in the Hebrew Bible took place at around this time period (see Merrill 2008:134-137 and Petrovich 2011 for two representatives of this view). Yadin argues that the final destruction of the city took place during the thirteenth century B.C.E., no later than 1,230 B.C.E. (1972:108). However, Eugene Merrill notes that Yadin initially accepted a 1,400 B.C.E. date, but later on changed his mind about the date of the conflagration, arguing that it actually took place at around 1,250 B.C.E. (Merrill 2008:137). However, this revision is unwarranted, with scholars such as John Bimson (cited in Merrill 2008:137), Noah Wiener (2012) showing that the material evidence

points strongly to the conflagration taking place at 1,400 B.C.E. The excavation report from Hebrew University indicates that there may have been two conflagrations, with the earlier one being at 1,400 B.C.E. and the later one at 1,250 B.C.E. (2001). Although this view is by no means universal (as is the case with most issues pertaining to Ancient Near-Eastern archaeology), it does allow for the evidence to be understood in such a way as to line up with the traditional account of Israels entry into the region as found in the Hebrew Bible.

CANAANITE TEMPLES
Perhaps the most fascinating structures in the site of Tel Hazor are the temples that have been excavated therein. Much has been written about these temples (Mazar 1992:248-251, 257, Yadin 1972:67-105), as they reflect the standard pattern of Canaanite religion during the Bronze Age. Amihai Mazar states that the variety of these temples provides rich data concerning the physical aspects of Canaanite religion and art (Mazar 1992:248). Most of these temples are destroyed and rebuilt numerous times throughout the sites history, with some of the most recent temple buildings surviving up until the end of the Late Bronze III period (Yadin 1972:87-95, 100-102). Two of the main temples found in the sitethe Orthostats Temple and the Stelae Templewill be discussed here. The Orthostats Temple was unearthed in Area H. It was so named because of the large orthostats (large upright stones, sometimes shaped into figures such as lions) of which it is made up. This temple was in use throughout the Middle Bronze period, and was rebuilt during the Late Bronze I period (Mazar, 1992:248-251, Yadin 1972:75-95). In the Late Bronze I construction, the doorjambs of the front hall are faced by two orthostats 1.82m tall by 0.91m wide which were sculptured with figures of crouching lions (Mazar 1992:248, 250). This temple was dedicated to

the storm God Hadad, as indicated by a relief of a spoked circle found on a basalt altar in the main hall (Mazar 1992:248). The other major temple in Tel Hazorm, the Stelae temple, was found at the foot of a rampart in Area C. It had two main phases belonging to the Late Bronze II and III periods (Yadin 1972:67-68). The temple is so-named because of a row of ten stelae made of basalt that were found in a niche near the rear wall. These stelae were flat in their anterior and convex in their posterior, and their heights varied from 22 to 65 cm. Only the centre stele bore a relief, which occupied two-thirds of its surface and contained symbols of deity (hands stretched upward towards a crescent with a disc within it). These stelae were used and reused in various phases of the Upper Temple, with evidence indicating that they were originally used during the Lower Temple period and were salvaged at a later stage (Yadin 1972:71-72). Aside from the stelae, a basalt slab was also found in the centre of the niche containing the stelae. This probably functioned as a table for the offering vessels that had been scattered around the area (Yadin 1972:72). In addition, a basalt statue was found, which, although still in situ, had its head removed and was found at a lower level (Yadin 1972:67, 69). The exact nature of this statue is not entirely clear. In summary, this report shows just a few of the important finds pertaining to the site of Tel Hazor, and the issues involved in interpreting the evidence. Because it is the largest and richest of the archaeological sites in Israel, it provides a wealth of information on Canaanite culture, religion and architecture. It helps to put them in the context of the larger Near Eastern World during the Bronze Age, and provides a wealth of information for those who are involved in biblical scholarship as well, with much work being done to piece together the relationship between the Archaeological evidence and the narratives found in Joshua and Judges.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem 2001 2001 Excavation Report. Electronic document, http://unixware.mscc.huji.ac.il/~hatsor/hazor.html, accessed November 27, 2012. Mazar, Amihai 1992 Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, 10,000-586 B.C.E. Yale University Press, New Haven. Merrill, Eugene H. 2008 Kingdom of Priests: A History of Old Testament Israel (Second Edition). Baker Academic, Grand Rapids. Petrovich, Doug. 2011 The Dating of Hazor's Destruction in Joshua 11 via Biblical, Archaeological and Epigraphical Evidence. Electronic document, http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2011/01/06/the-dating-of-hazors-destruction-injoshua-11-via-biblical-archaeological-and-epigraphical-evidence.aspx, accessed November 26, 2012. Wiener, Noah 2012 Scorched Wheat May Provide Answers on the Destruction of Canaanite Tel Hazor. Electronic document, http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/scorched-wheatmay-provide-answers-on-the-destruction-of-canaanite-tel-hazor, accessed November 23, 2012. Yadin, Yigdael 1972 Hazor: The Head of all those Kingdoms, with a Chapter on Israelite Megiddo (The Schweich Lectures of the British Academy, 1970). Oxford University Press, London.