Tel Halif

Tel Halif, a view from south

Tel H̱alif, formerly Tel H̱alifa (Hebrew: תל חליף, Arabic name: Tel el-Khuweilifeh) is an archaeological site, a mound (tell) in northern Negev area, west from kibbutz Lahav, Israel.

Identification

Albrecht Alt suggested that it is the location of the biblical town of Ziklag. Other evidence suggests Rimmon.[1] Nadav Na'aman has suggested identifying this as the site of biblical Hormah.[2]

History

Tel Halif was a small town inhabited by Israelites during the Iron Age I.[3] It had a casemate wall and typical pillar-courtyard houses in the 9th–8th centuries BCE.[3] William G. Dever estimates that the town's population was 200 in the 10th century and about 300 in the 9th and 8th centuries BCE.[4] Archaeological evidence uncovered a house destroyed during the 701 BCE Assyrian invasion, and the town saw brief reoccupation in the early 7th century before being abandoned under Persian rule.[3]

Rock-cut bench tombs were found nearby, and they represent burial practices typical to the 8th century BCE.[3]

Excavations

Excavcations around Tel Halif was among the research activities of the Cobb Institute of Archaeology as part of the Lahav Research Project arranged by Joe Seger in 1974.[5][6]

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Biblical Identity of Tel Halif" doi:10.2307/3210035
  2. ^ Na'Aman, Nadav (1980). "The Inheritance of the Sons of Simeon". Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins. 96 (2): 136–152. JSTOR 27931137.
  3. ^ a b c d Dever, William G. (2017). Beyond the Texts: an archaeological portrait of ancient Israel and Judah. Atlanta: SBL Press. pp. 438–439, 562. ISBN 978-0-88414-218-8.
  4. ^ Dever, William G. (2017). Beyond the Texts: an archaeological portrait of ancient Israel and Judah. Atlanta: SBL Press. pp. 272, 393. ISBN 978-0-88414-218-8.
  5. ^ "Research". www.cobb.msstate.edu. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
  6. ^ "Research Grant". Cobb Institute Cultural Resources Management. 2018-01-31. Retrieved 2019-05-16.

31°22′59″N 34°51′58″E / 31.383062°N 34.866140°E / 31.383062; 34.866140