Tel Zeror
Encyclopedia
Tel Zeror is an archaeological tel
, approximately four km east of Hadera
, SE of Kibbutz
Gan Shmuel and south of Moshav
Talmei Elazar
. The tel, unconventionally, has two peaks, and between them is a field. The site is just south of the convergence of three small waterways; the Hadera Stream, Wadi Ara
, and Nahal Yitzhak, where they continue westward as the Hadera Stream.
Tel Zeror is sometimes identified with Zrar, a city mentioned in the description of Thutmosis III's conquests, from the fifteenth century BCE. Another possibility is that the site is Machtar, from the same description.
, who spent a single day at the site. It was the first proper tel in the Sharon Plain to be excavated. In the 1960s, a Japanese expedition spent three seasons uncovering a fortified, 50-dunam
city, and returned in 1974 for an additional season.
Tel Zeror seems to have been abandoned from the 18th century BCE, and not resettled until the early 15th century BCE.
By the Late Bronze Age (LB), the site was unfortified, but boasted large buildings and an industrial copper-working quarter with smelting furnaces, crucibles, and large amounts of copper slag. Cypriot
ceramic ware was found in this quarter, probably originating from the same source as the copper itself, that is, Cyprus.
Two types of LB burials were found at the site; graves lined with cut stones that contained burial offerings, and pit burials. In both types, positioning was on the back, facing west. Tentative dating suggests the 13th century BCE.
(11th century BCE), the site had a large mud-brick citadel
, and a casemate
wall. Four room house
s of this period were discovered, as well. A bowl inscribed in ancient Hebrew was found on the southern hill. The inscription reads "to the god Semech" or possibly "El is my support".
Iron Age burials in storage jars were found at Tel Zeror.
The site was continually occupied until it was destroyed in the eighth century BCE by the invading Assyria
ns, and then resettled later in the sixth century BCE.
In the Byzantine
period, the area south of the tel was populated.
Tell
A tell or tel, is a type of archaeological mound created by human occupation and abandonment of a geographical site over many centuries. A classic tell looks like a low, truncated cone with a flat top and sloping sides.-Archaeology:A tell is a hill created by different civilizations living and...
, approximately four km east of Hadera
Hadera
Hadera is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel approximately from the major cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The city is located along of the Israeli Mediterranean Coastal Plain...
, SE of Kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
Gan Shmuel and south of Moshav
Moshav
Moshav is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists during the second aliyah...
Talmei Elazar
Talmei Elazar
Talmei Elazar is a moshav in northern Israel. Located in the eastern Sharon plain to the north-east of Hadera, it falls under the jurisdiction of Menashe Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 693....
. The tel, unconventionally, has two peaks, and between them is a field. The site is just south of the convergence of three small waterways; the Hadera Stream, Wadi Ara
Wadi Ara
Wadi Ara or Nahal Iron , refers to an area within Israel that is mostly populated by Arabs. It is located northwest of the Green Line and is mostly within Israel's Haifa District. Today, Highway 65 runs through the wadi.-Geography:...
, and Nahal Yitzhak, where they continue westward as the Hadera Stream.
Tel Zeror is sometimes identified with Zrar, a city mentioned in the description of Thutmosis III's conquests, from the fifteenth century BCE. Another possibility is that the site is Machtar, from the same description.
History and Archaeology
Tel Zeror was first excavated in 1928 by John GarstangJohn Garstang
John Garstang was a British archaeologist of the ancient Near East, especially Anatolia and the southern Levant....
, who spent a single day at the site. It was the first proper tel in the Sharon Plain to be excavated. In the 1960s, a Japanese expedition spent three seasons uncovering a fortified, 50-dunam
Dunam
A dunam or dönüm, dunum, donum, dynym, dulum was a non-SI unit of land area used in the Ottoman Empire and representing the amount of land that can be plowed in a day; its value varied from 900–2500 m²...
city, and returned in 1974 for an additional season.
Bronze Age
The Middle Bronze Age city was fortified with a city wall, built of earth, mud-bricks and stone, and surrounded by a moat. The wall was 4.5 meters wide, and a watch tower was incorporated in it. The moat was 10 meters wide. The depth of its lowest course is unknown, because the excavators reached groundwater and could not dig further. At some point the wall was destroyed and then renewed.Tel Zeror seems to have been abandoned from the 18th century BCE, and not resettled until the early 15th century BCE.
By the Late Bronze Age (LB), the site was unfortified, but boasted large buildings and an industrial copper-working quarter with smelting furnaces, crucibles, and large amounts of copper slag. Cypriot
Cypress
Cypress is the name applied to many plants in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is a conifer of northern temperate regions. Most cypress species are trees, while a few are shrubs...
ceramic ware was found in this quarter, probably originating from the same source as the copper itself, that is, Cyprus.
Two types of LB burials were found at the site; graves lined with cut stones that contained burial offerings, and pit burials. In both types, positioning was on the back, facing west. Tentative dating suggests the 13th century BCE.
Iron Age
In the Iron AgeIron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
(11th century BCE), the site had a large mud-brick citadel
Citadel
A citadel is a fortress for protecting a town, sometimes incorporating a castle. The term derives from the same Latin root as the word "city", civis, meaning citizen....
, and a casemate
Casemate
A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...
wall. Four room house
Four room house
The Four room house is the name given to the typical mud brick Israelite house in the iron age Levant. It is so named because its floor plan, the only portion typically remaining in excavated archeological sites, is divided into four sections...
s of this period were discovered, as well. A bowl inscribed in ancient Hebrew was found on the southern hill. The inscription reads "to the god Semech" or possibly "El is my support".
Iron Age burials in storage jars were found at Tel Zeror.
The site was continually occupied until it was destroyed in the eighth century BCE by the invading Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
ns, and then resettled later in the sixth century BCE.
Hellenistic-Byzantine Periods
During the Hellenistic period there was a rounded watch tower on the northern hill, with a spiral staircase, for an agriculturally oriented settlement ("manor farm").In the Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
period, the area south of the tel was populated.