Tel 'Eton Excavations (2006-2009): A Preliminary Report, Palestine Exploration Quarterly 143 (2011): 198-224 (original) (raw)
Related papers
The History of Tel 'Eton Following the Results of the First Seven Seasons of Excavations (2006-2012)
Tel ’Eton is a 6-hectare site in southeastern Shephelah, Israel. Since 2006, Bar-Ilan University has been carrying out a large-scale exploration project at the site and in its surroundings. Survey results show that the site was settled in the Early Bronze Age, and again in the Middle Bronze Age. The earliest remains unearthed so far from the excavations are from the Late Bronze Age. Settlement continued into Iron Age I and Iron Age IIA before reaching a peak in Iron Age IIB. This large city was destroyed by the Assyrians, and was not resettled until the 4th century BCE when a fort and a village were erected on the mound. The site was abandoned in the 3rd century BCE and was not resettled.
Tel `Eton is a large site (approximately 60 dunams) in the southeastern Shephelah, just below the Hebron Hills. The site was densely occupied during the Iron Age II, and it appears that a large and probably even planned town existed there at the time. This city was destroyed in late eighth century BCE, like most sites in the Shephelah, and did not recover. The rich ceramic assemblage that was unearthed in the destruction layer is very similar to the one found at nearby Lachish (level III), though some elements suggest that it could be a little earlier. At the present state of knowledge, we cautiously attribute the destruction to Sennacherib’s campaign.
The article summarizes the results of the first 9 seasons of excavations at Tel 'Eton, including discussion of the cemetery that surrounds the site, the site's identification, remote sensing, site formation processes, ancient building techniques, and more (with contribution by Zev Farber, Shani Libi, Yair Sapir, and Assaf Avraham).
The article discusses the results of surveys, shovel testing and excavations conducted at Tel 'Eton, a central site in the southeastern Judean Shephelah. Prior to excavations at the site, the mound was mapped and divided into 39 topographical subunits. Each subunit was subsequently surveyed, and this was followed by shovel testing. A comparison of the results of the survey and shovel tests not only to each other, but also to the results of the excavations, gives us a better understanding of the history of the site. In addition, it allows us to examine the accuracy and the reliability of surveying and shovel testing as tools for predicting settlement history.
Survey, Shovel Tests and Excavations at Tel Eton: On Methodology and Site History
Tel Aviv, 2012
The article discusses the results of surveys, shovel testing and excavations conducted at Tel >eton, a central site in the southeastern Judean Shephelah. Prior to excavations at the site, the mound was mapped and divided into 39 topographical subunits. each subunit was subsequently surveyed, and this was followed by shovel testing. A comparison of the results of the survey and shovel tests not only to each other, but also to the results of the excavations, gives us a better understanding of the history of the site. in addition, it allows us to examine the accuracy and the reliability of surveying and shovel testing as tools for predicting settlement history.
The paper deals with the finds from the late Persian and Early Hellenistic period settlement unearthed at Tel 'Eton. The settlement, which existed during the 4th and early 3rd centuries BCE, was comprised of a fort at the top of the mound and a large village that surrounded it. The article presents the architectural, ceramic and additional finds and discusses the possible circumstances surrounding the establishment of the site in the 4th century BCE, after a settlement hiatus of some 300–350 years. It also examines the possible causes for its abandonment during the course of the 3rd century BCE.