Harosheth Haggoyim
Encyclopedia
Harosheth Haggoyim is a fortress described in the Book of Judges
as the fortress or cavalry base of Sisera
, commander of the army of "Jabin
, King of Canaan.
Sisera is described as having had nine hundred iron chariots with which he fought the Israelites. In Judges 5, the mother of Sisera is poignantly described looking from a window, presumably in Harosheth Haggoyim, and asking "Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why is the clatter of his chariots delayed?" when he does not return from the battle where his army was defeated by the Israelites, and he was killed by the Biblical heroine Yael
.
Archaeologists Oren Cohen and Adam Zertal
of the University of Haifa
propose that the site of El-ahwat
, between Katzir-Harish
and Nahal Iron, is the site of Harosheth Haggoyim.
The site was excavated from 1993-2000 by teams from the University of Haifa and the University of Cagliari
in Sardinia
. The dig was headed by Professor Zertal. The dig revealed a fortified place dating to the Late Bronze Age and early Iron Age (13th-12th centuries BCE). The style of the fortifications, walls, passageways in the walls and rounded huts is very different from Canaanite cities of the era, leading Zertal to propose that the site may have been occupied by the Shardana
, one of the Sea-People who invaded the Levant in the Late Bronze Age. Zertal based his 2010 Hebrew language Sisera’s Secret, A Journey following the Sea-Peoples and the Song of Deborah, (Dvir, Tel Aviv) on this theory.
It has now been identified as a linchpin
from the wheel of a war chariot
belonging to a high-ranking personage. It would have appeared on the side of a chariot in much the position as a modern hubcap.
Professor Zertal explained the significance of the discovery, “This identification enhances the historical and archaeological value of the site and proves that chariots belonging to high-ranking individuals were found there. It provides support for the possibility, which has not yet been definitively established, that this was Sisera’s city of residence and that it was from there that the chariots set out on their way to the battle against the Israelite tribes, located between the ancient sites of Taanach
and Megiddo.”
Book of Judges
The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
as the fortress or cavalry base of Sisera
Sisera
Sisera was commander of the Canaanite army of King Jabin of Hazor mentioned in the of the Hebrew Bible. After being defeated by Barak, Sisera was killed by Jael, who hammered a tent peg into his temple....
, commander of the army of "Jabin
Jabin
Jabin is a Biblical name meaning 'discerner', or 'the wise'. It may refer to:* A king of Hazor, at the time of the entrance of Israel into Canaan , whose overthrow and that of the northern chief with whom he had entered into a confederacy against Joshua was the crowning act in the conquest of the...
, King of Canaan.
Sisera is described as having had nine hundred iron chariots with which he fought the Israelites. In Judges 5, the mother of Sisera is poignantly described looking from a window, presumably in Harosheth Haggoyim, and asking "Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why is the clatter of his chariots delayed?" when he does not return from the battle where his army was defeated by the Israelites, and he was killed by the Biblical heroine Yael
Yael
Yael is a character mentioned in the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible, as the heroine who killed Sisera to deliver Israel from the troops of king Jabin...
.
Archaeologists Oren Cohen and Adam Zertal
Adam Zertal
Adam Zertal is an Israeli archaeologist.Zertal grew up in Ein Shemer, a kibbutz affiliated with the Hashomer Hatzair movement. Zertal was severely wounded in the Yom Kippur War. He later told a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, “I spent a year at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, and I became...
of the University of Haifa
University of Haifa
The University of Haifa is a university in Haifa, Israel.The University of Haifa was founded in 1963 by Haifa mayor Abba Hushi, to operate under the academic auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
propose that the site of El-ahwat
Ahwat
el-Ahwat is the name of an archaeological site in the Manasseh region of Israel, located 10 miles east of Caesarea. The site was discovered in November 1992 during a survey by archaeologist Adam Zertal. It is considered to be the location of the northwesternmost settlement of the ancient Israelites...
, between Katzir-Harish
Katzir-Harish
Katzir-Harish is a town in the Haifa District of Israel. It is an agglomeration of the villages Katzir, Harish and Mitzpe Ilan, near Umm al-Fahm in the Wadi Ara region. At the end of 2006, the town's population was 3,900. Its jurisdiction is 9,736 dunams.-History:Harish was founded by Nahal in...
and Nahal Iron, is the site of Harosheth Haggoyim.
The site was excavated from 1993-2000 by teams from the University of Haifa and the University of Cagliari
University of Cagliari
The University of Cagliari is a university located in Cagliari, Italy. It was founded in 1620 and is organized in 11 Faculties.-History:The Studium Generalis Kalaritanum was founded in 1606 along the lines of the old Spanish Universities of Salamanca, Valladolid and Lérida...
in Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
. The dig was headed by Professor Zertal. The dig revealed a fortified place dating to the Late Bronze Age and early Iron Age (13th-12th centuries BCE). The style of the fortifications, walls, passageways in the walls and rounded huts is very different from Canaanite cities of the era, leading Zertal to propose that the site may have been occupied by the Shardana
Shardana
The Sherden are one of several groups of "Sea Peoples" who appear in fragmentary historical records for the Mediterranean region in the second millennium B.C.; little is known about them. On reliefs they are shown carrying a round shield and a long thrusting Naue II type sword...
, one of the Sea-People who invaded the Levant in the Late Bronze Age. Zertal based his 2010 Hebrew language Sisera’s Secret, A Journey following the Sea-Peoples and the Song of Deborah, (Dvir, Tel Aviv) on this theory.
Chariot linchpin
Among the more intriguing objects uncovered by the dig is a small, round, bronze relief measuring about 2 cm. in diameter and 5 mm. thick. The bronze shows the "face of a woman wearing a cap and earrings shaped as chariot wheels." It was found inside a structure identified by the archaeological team as a the “Governor’s House”. It is clear that the bronze was once the finial or end of an "elongated object" from which it had been broken off in antiquity.It has now been identified as a linchpin
Linchpin
A linchpin, also spelled linch pin, lynchpin, or lynch pin, is a fastener used to prevent a wheel or other rotating part from sliding off the axle it is riding on. The word is first attested in the 14th century and derives from Middle English elements meaning "axletree pin".Securing implements onto...
from the wheel of a war chariot
Chariot
The chariot is a type of horse carriage used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Ox carts, proto-chariots, were built by the Proto-Indo-Europeans and also built in Mesopotamia as early as 3000 BC. The original horse chariot was a fast, light, open, two wheeled...
belonging to a high-ranking personage. It would have appeared on the side of a chariot in much the position as a modern hubcap.
Professor Zertal explained the significance of the discovery, “This identification enhances the historical and archaeological value of the site and proves that chariots belonging to high-ranking individuals were found there. It provides support for the possibility, which has not yet been definitively established, that this was Sisera’s city of residence and that it was from there that the chariots set out on their way to the battle against the Israelite tribes, located between the ancient sites of Taanach
Taanach
Ta'anakh or Taanach is a small village in Israel in Ta'anakh region.Just to the east is a 40 metre high moun which was the site of the biblical city Taanach. 12 Akkadian cuneiform tablets were found here. The main remain visible today is a 11th Century Abbasid palace....
and Megiddo.”