The Biblical - 26/03/15-02/04/15 This tour will get you closely acquainted with the Land of Israel in biblical times. Your guide will be one of Tagliot s experienced, senior guides, a doctor or a PhD candidate of biblical archaeology, who will take you through the key biblical sites, and share with you highlights of the state-of-the-art research of Israel s biblical history. The tour was meticulously planned to encompass all geographic regions and all archaeological periods representing the land s culture in biblical times. We will spend our first night in a guest house in the Lower Galilee region, such as Karei Deshe on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Transportation from Ben-Gurion Airport or from Tel Aviv to the guest house may be available for an additional fee, depending on a minimum number of travelers. Day 1: The Upper Galilee Our tour will begin at the northern Tel Dan. In the Bible Dan is known as the northern border of the Land of Israel. As opposed to other central sites, Dan s inhabitants were never required to construct a water system to assure their water supply, as their city was adjacent to the Dan Spring, the largest spring in Israel, which flows abundantly year-round. Trekking through Tel Dan Nature Reserve, along the River s brooks, on our way to the tell, will allow us to admire the river s strong flow and the beauty of nature. Excavations undertaken at the site by Prof. Avraham Biran on behalf of the Hebrew Union College unearthed some fascinating archaeological finds that we will visit: The unique Israelite temple at the north of the mound, which yielded an inscription with substantial evidence for the identification of the site with Dan; the Canaanite mud-brick gate dating to the Middle Bronze Age, which boasts the earliest preserved archways of the ancient world; and the Iron Age gate complex. Next to this complex we will see the ruler s podium and hear the story of the famous Tel Dan Inscription an extrabiblical written evidence for the term House of David being used to describe the Kingdom of Judah. After a discussion of the biblical term hutzot we will conclude our visit to the site with tangible evidence of massebot (stele) cult in the Kingdom of Israel. From here we will continue to the Beit Ussishkin Museum in nearby The House of David inscription from Tel Dan Kibbutz Dan, where finds from the excavations at Tel Dan are displayed, alongside visualizations of the site s development. Our next stop, after a lunch break, will be at Tel Hazor, the largest biblical mound in Israel. Excavated in the 1950 by Prof. Yigael Yadin, who was also an acclaimed Chief of Staff in the IDF and the son of the first Hebrew archaeologist in the Land of Israel - Prof. Sukenik. Here we will visit the city gate, denoted as Solomon s Gate ; the fortifications dated to the reign of King Solomon; and the grand Late Bronze Age palace, where we will hear of the inscriptions and monumental finds attesting to the wealth of this edifice and its occupants and to the cultic activity that took place in its proximity. Storerooms and four-room houses that have been reconstructed on-site will demonstrate for us typical Iron Age architecture. Earlier periods are represented by the massive Middle Bronze Age fortification system and by temples unearthed in the fortified area that covered an area of ca. 80 ha. The tour of Tel Hazor will end in the underground water system, an imposing feat of engineering. If time allows, we will also visit the Archaeological Museum of Hazor, located in Kibbutz Ayelet HaShahar and housing many of the excavations finds. We will spend the second night in the guest house.
Day 2: Along the Via Maris The second day will be dedicated to touring sites along the Via Maris. Our day will begin at Tel Megiddo, a pivotal site for the archaeological research of the Land of Israel for over 110 years. Excavations at Megiddo were first undertaken by Gottlieb Schumacher in the 1900s. During the British mandate in the Land of Israel, a large-scale expedition excavated the site on behalf of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Many prominent ancient Near Eastern archaeologists participated in this endeavor. A ground breaking method was presented: peeling away the archaeological strata on the mound, layer by layer, thus removing all remains to the base of the tell. World War II aborted this presumptuous plan, and, fortunately, most of the tell remained unexcavated for future research. A new expedition, directed by Prof. David Ussishkin and Prof. Israel Finkelstein of Tel Aviv University has been excavating at Megiddo for over two decades. Our tour will begin in the modest museum at the foot of the tell located in the Chicago expedition house. We will then climb up the slope of the mound, entering the city through its reconstructed Late Bronze Age gate. Adjacent to it, we will see the city gate attributed by its excavators to Stratum V. Yadin dated this gate to the days of King Solomon. We will present the heated debate that followed this claim at the time. We will then visit the remains of a palace from the days of the Kingdom of Israel that was built over by the northern stable complex, and the sacred precinct of the city from the Early Bronze Age onward. Examining impressive architectural findings from a large-scale temple attesting to significant investment in cultic practices, we will try to understand the source of Megiddo s wealth during that time. Next, we will see a special burial system that was first exposed by Schumacher and try to find out who was buried in it. We will pass next to a huge 8th-century grain silo and the southern stable complex on the mound, thought by Aharoni to be storerooms. Were these indeed stables or storerooms? What would the implications be for Megiddo of large-scale horse breeding? We will end the tour entering Megiddo s elaborate underground water system, which will lead us outside the tell. From Megiddo the coach will take us to Wadi Ara, where we will hear of ancient Egyptian inscriptions describing the military campaign through the area in the days of the New Kingdom and also of Late Bronze Age burial caves that were recently published by Dr. Yuval Gadot and his co-authors. If time permits, we will make a short detour to el-ahwat, near Katzir. Prof. Adam Zertal who excavated this site identifies it with a Sea Peoples site, settled by the Shardana, who originated, according to Zertal, in Sardinia. We will present Zertal s finds and conclusions, as well as his critics arguments. We will continue southward, along the Via Maris and toward Tel Aphek. An expedition from Tel Aviv University headed by Prof. Kochavi excavated this site for many years. The site s strategic significance is its location next to Rosh Ha Ayin Springs, the origins of the Yarkon River. We will visit the Ottoman fortress and mention briefly Antipatris the city founded here by Herod to honor his father s name. We will see the area in which Aphek s Bronze Age palaces were excavated and describe their importance and Prof. Pirhiya Beck s invaluable contribution to the understanding of the Middle Bronze Age material culture, based on finds from the palaces. Last we will see the reconstruction of the Late Bronze Age palace and tell of its unique finds. We will conclude the day with a short excursion to nearby Izbet Sartah, where Israel Finkelstein revealed a site that he attributed to the Iron Age I settlement of the Israelite tribes. The coach will take us to a guest house in Jerusalem, where we will be staying during the remaining five nights.
Day 3 Pleshet Our tour will begin at Tell es-safi, first identified by Prof. Anson Rainey as Gath of the Philistines. This mound, covering an area of ca. 50 ha., south of the Ella Valley, has been archaeological expedition for many years headed by Prof. Aren Maeir from Bar-Ilan University Findings from this dig allow for an in-depth acquaintance with the Philistine material culture from the beginning of the Iron Age II a period of decline for the cities of Ashkelon and Ekron. Through an examination of aerial photos, the expedition detected a huge siege system protecting the eastern and southern boundaries of the mound. Could this have been the siege system constructed by Hazael king of Aram on the eve of the city s capture? During our tour, we will hear of a piece tangible evidence left by Goliath and see the remains of a Philistine temple, unearthed at the foot of the tell during the last excavation seasons. Iron Age II ceramic vessels from Tell es-safi. We will continue to Tel Ashkelon, situated on a kurkar cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Coast. The Middle Bronze Age city gate is part of the best preserved fortification system in Israel from this period. Next to the gate we will see a small Canaanite temple and then hear of the fortifications that protected Ashkelon as we move past the 2nd-millennium gate. From here we will walk to the center of the tell to see the excavation areas of the Harvard excavations expedition headed by Prof. Larry Stager. Finds from this dig teach us about the material culture of the Philistine, from their immigration and first stages of settlement along the southern Coastal Plain to the eve of Pleshet s destruction by the Babylonians in 604 BCE. We will leave Ashkelon after a review of the Roman and Crusader remains scattered across the site. After a lunch break, the coach will take us to the Ashdod Museum, where different aspects of Philistine material culture are displayed. We will recount some of the central biblical stories about the Philistines. From the museum we will continue our tour to Ashdod-Yam, located on the coast of modern-day Ashdod where we will hear about the excavations that were carried out at tell Ashdod (unfortunately, the conditions in the tell site do not allow entry) and about the fate of this city at the hands of Sargon II in 712 BCE. Was the fate of the city of Ashdod s a precursor for the rise of Ashdod-Yam under the Assyrian hegemony in Israel? At the end of the tour day we will return to the guest house. Statuette of a calf and model shrine.
Day 4 The Judean Shephelah Our morning will begin with a tour of Tel Gezer, in the north of the Judean Shephelah. Robert A. S. Macalister, one of the prominent British archaeologist in Israel excavated this site for seven years beginning on 1902, exposing vast areas. In the 1960s an American expedition, headed by William Dever renewed the excavations at Gezer, which served as a school for field archaeology for the students of many American universities. Over the last years, excavations continue under the direction of Steven Ortiz and Samuel Wolff. Our tour will begin with an overlook from the mound, demonstrating Gezer s strategic location, near the Ayalon Valley, on the road to Jerusalem, and commanding the southern Coastal Plain. We will visit the High Place of Tel Gezer, where large stone stele, unique in the ancient Near East, served for cultic practice, and consider the possibility that children were sacrificed to the Molech here in ancient times. We will walk to the Iron Age gate that has been identified by Yigael Yadin as a Solomonic gate, given its resemblance to the gates we have seen at Hazor and Megiddo and discuss the complex issue of the dating of Gezer s fortifications in the Late Bronze and Iron Ages. Walking along the city wall we will arrive at the Middle Bronze Age mud-brick gate. Though its state of preservation is not as good as that of the gates at Tel Dan and Ashkelon, it is still impressively robust. The foundation of Tower 5017 stands next to the gate. This is a unique Middle Bronze Age fortification element. Our tour of the site will end in the ancient water system, which had been re-excavated in recent years by Tzvi Tzuk, who came to the conclusion that this was a Middle Bronze Age undertaking. From Gezer we will proceed southward to Tel Azekah, situated in the west of the Ella Valley. Frederick J. Bliss and Robert A.S. Macalister were the first to excavate this tell at the close of the 19th century. Over the last years, an expedition headed by Prof. Oded Lipschits from Tel Aviv University returned to Azekah. We will visit the current excavation areas and examine the archaeological finds from the Bronze Age to the Hellenistic period. Viewing the valley from the top of the mound, we will recount the mythological battle between David and Goliath and hear of other sites that can be seen from Azekah, such as Tel Socho, Khirbet Qeiyafa, and Tel Yarmuth. This day s tour will end at Tell ed-duweir, identified as Lachish by William Foxwell Albright, the founder of biblical archaeology. During the 1930s a British expedition headed by James Leslie Strakey excavated at the site. Among their excavating fields was the Fosse Temple. The publication of this temple by Olga Tufnell became a cornerstone for the study of the material culture of the Late Bronze Age in Israel. The British expedition uncovered also the palaces of Lachish and the Lachish Letters, written on clay ostraca at the end of the 7th century BCE. The expedition s work came to a tragic end when on January 11, 1938, as Starkey was driving to attend the opening of the Rockefeller Museum, Arab militants attacked his car and murdered him. In 1973 an expedition led by Prof. David Ussishkin began to excavate at the site. For many years finding from these excavations served as an anchor for the understanding of the material culture of the time of the Kingdom of Judah. Lachish was a laboratory for some for the main theses in biblical archaeology. Visiting the gates of Lachish we will learn of their dating and the dates of similar gate systems; hear about the demise of Lachish in the Late Bronze Age and about the end of this period across Israel; and survey the different stages of the vast palace from the days of the Kingdom of Judah.
Day 5: The Negev: between the desert fringe and the settled land This day will be dedicated to an in-depth appreciation of the characteristics of the traditional lifestyle described in the Book of Deuteronomy and of the reciprocal relations between agrarian and nomadic societies throughout history. Were these societies part of a single social frame? Was there a constant struggle over resources between these groups? Our morning will open at Tel Arad. The lower part of the site was excavated in the 1960s by an expedition headed by Prof. Ruth Amiran. In most ancient Near Eastern sites the Early Bronze remains are covered by many later strata and excavations often offer us only a keyhole view to the early periods. Arad, having been deserted in the final days of the Early Bronze Age II, was never resettled, affording us a unique opportunity to get acquainted with the various features of a well-preserved 5000 year old city. Looking at the city wall we will discuss the location of its main gate into the city. Visiting the water reservoir, we will discuss the basic water needs of this ancient city, considering its population size and how the mechanism of water supply worked. We will visit the Arad House, a typical Early Bronze Age dwelling that was excavated and reconstructed on site, and try to examine the aspects of urban planning in this city. We will then walk along the city wall, overlooking a burial cave that was unearthed outside the city and hear about the findings in it. Where was the population of this settlement buried? we will visit the official quarters and possibly the palace, finishing our tour of the city in the Early Bronze Age sacred precinct. A short walk from the tell will lead us to the Arad s upper tell, occupied during the Iron Age. This area was excavated by Prof. Yohanan Aharoni. Prof. Zeev Herzog took it upon himself to publish Aharoni s finds. We will visit the Arad s citadel, discussing the biblical identification of the site. Is this Arad that is mentioned in the account of Bene Israel in the desert on their way to the Transjordan and Canaan? We will see the room in which the Arad Letters were found. These texts are a dramatic testimony for events than befell the Kingdom of Judah in its last decades. Our visit to Arad will culminate with a visit to the temple from the days of the Kingdom of Judah. This is the only complete temple complex found from either the Kingdom of Israel or the Kingdom of Judah. Can we reconstruct ritual law from this time? What were the relationships between the Priests in the Temple in Jerusalem and priest families in fringe sites such as Arad? After the tour of Arad we will have a traditional lunch in a Bedouin tent, we will combine the visit with a discussion on characteristics of desert communities in ancient times. Following a lunch break, we will head toward Tel Beersheba. This site was also excavate by Prof. Yohanan Aharoni as part of a regional research that he conducted in the Arad and Beer-Sheva Valleys. Aharoni s methodology was groundbreaking, as he combined field surveying with excavations, aiming at an inclusive spatial study of the entire region. During his days, archaeologist tended to focus on excavating a single site with no research resources were allotted for studying its environs. A replica of a four-horn altar, the stones of which were found on the tell, stands at the entrance to the site. On our last day, we will see the original find on display in the Israel Museum. A short path will lead us to the top of the tell, where, next to the city gate we will see an ancient well that supplied the ancient city with groundwater originating in the Beer-Sheva Stream. Was this well the inspiration for the city s name? We will enter the city through its Iron Age gate complex, which includes an external gate, a small court, and an internal gate, typical of Judean cities. Being a very small, meticulously planned site, nearly half excavated and partially restored and reconstructed, Beersheba s advantage is that it offers a unique opportunity to examine the urban pattern of a site from the
days of the Kingdom of Judah. We will visit a two-story administrative building that may have been the governor s residence; cellars that probably served for storing agricultural produce. We will see the four-room houses of the city especially those integrated into the casement wall. Climbing up to the observatory tower in the center of the mound, we will see the expanse of the Negev, and then examine the storerooms unearthed by Aharoni and try to understand the base to his stand in his debate with Prof. Yadin over the function of these buildings a topic we have already discussed at Tel Hazor. Lastly, we will descend into the impressive water system, which received its water using original technological solutions that considered the site s environs. Leaving Beersheba, we will return to Jerusalem for the night. Day 6: Jerusalem: From Temple Mount to the City of David Our morning will open at the Rockefeller Museum, the most beautiful building in the city, some say. It was constructed near Jerusalem s Old City and opened in 1938, as we have mentioned in the tragic account of Starkey s death. Today it houses also the headquarters of the Israel Antiquities Authority. ing the museum, our focus will be impressive archaeological remains, including Egyptian stele from Beth-Shean, finds from excavations that were conducted in the days of the British mandate, and some later artifacts, including one of the famous Gezer boundary inscriptions, finds from Al-Aqsa Mosque and from Hisham's Palace in Jericho dated to the Ummayad dynasty. From the Rockefeller Museum we will walk, through the Damascus (Shechem) Gate to the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. Excavations that were conducted across the quarter A view of the Temple Mount and the Jewish Quarter after the Six-Days War by Prof. Nahman Avigad of the Hebrew University, unearthed fortification remains attesting to the city s dramatic expansion toward the western hill after the Assyrian destruction of the Kingdom of Israel. From the Jewish Quarter we will continue to the Temple Mount. Though entering the complex may not be possible, due to the sensitivity of this area, overlooking it we will discuss the abundant information relayed by different sources concerning Solomon s Temple the First Temple. Unfortunately, archaeological research has yet to supply the smallest find connected with this temple, which has been an undying source of worldwide interest and fascination from the day of its founding to the present day. From here we will proceed to visiting the City of David, where we will watch a 3D presentation of ancient Jerusalem in biblical times, accompanied by a short historical account. Looking toward the village of Silwan, across the Kidron Valley, we will see magnificent rock-cut tombs dated to the period of the Kingdom of Judah, among them The Tomb of Pharaoh s Daughter. We will then visit the excavation grounds of an expedition headed by Eilat Mazar, who believes that she has exposed relics of the palace of the kings of Judah. After an examination of some archaeological finds and a discussion of Mazar s conclusions, we will descend into Area G, which received much attention during Yigal Shiloh s excavations in the City of David, and where a massive, stepped retaining wall of disputed nature was laboriously built along the sloping hillside. A short walk will take us to Warren s Shaft, part of a rock-cut, underground water system that was discovered by the British engineering officer Sir Charles Warren, during the Ottoman rule in the Land of Israel. Next to this system are the remains of a Middle Bronze Age fortification system of great magnitude that were unearthed by Prof. Ronny Reich. This system protected
the Gihon spring, which was at the time within the limits of the fortified city. At the foot of these fortifications is the entrance to Nikbat HaShiloah (the Siloam Tunnel/ Hezekiah s Tunnel). We will trek through the tunnel in cool, knee-high water from the Gihon Spring to its terminating point in the Pool of Siloam. Photo: A view of Area G and on the village of Silwan Day 7 Lower Jerusalem and Upper Jerusalem Our morning will be dedicated to getting to know some Iron Age Tomb sites. We will examine the nature of burial practices in the days of the Kingdom of Judah and present some of the fascinating finds from tombs of this period. Where are the royal tombs of this kingdom obscured? The coach will take us to Emeq Tzurim National Park in the upper reaches of the Kidron Valley, where we will visit the Temple Mount Sifting Project. Truckloads of soil have been removed by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf from the fill of the Temple Mount, using heavy machinery and with no archaeological supervision. While the damage to archaeological contexts is irreparable, the least that can be done is the meticulously sorting and sieving of these dumps, which yield The Temple Mount Sifting Project in Emeq Tzurim. many small artifacts that shed new light on the history of the Temple Mount. We will hear about some of these finds and participate in the sifting process for a short while. Our last stop will be the Israel Museum. While this museum is one of the richest in the world in archaeological treasures, our focus will be on its biblical archaeology exhibition. Here we will see the oldest known art object, learn why there were elephants in modern-day Tel-Aviv Periphery, and look at some of the earliest evidence for animal and plant domestication. We will also see the earliest masks in the world displayed in a new, fascinating exhibition and discuss the Nahal Qana Hoard, comprising spectacular artifacts of electrum and gold. We will speak of the beginning of urbanization in the Land of Israel and look at finds from Arad and Hazor, which we have visited. Another famous find we have mentioned and will now see is the House of David inscription from Tel Dan. Also on display here is evidence from Sennacherib s campaign and silver scrolls inscribed with Birkat Kohanim (Priestly Blessing), found by Dr. Gabriel Barkai in tombs at Ketef Hinom. This is the earliest evidence for a biblical text found in archaeological excavations.
A minimum number of participants is necessary for the trip. Price per person in a shared double room (accommodating two adults): 4,450 NIS Price per person in shared quad room (accommodating four adults): 4,100 NIS Trip fee includes: Guiding in English (or other language, as published) by a biblical archaeologist of Tagliot s senior guides. Half-board accommodation in guest houses with high-quality rooms and modern facilities. Two nights in the Lower Galilee; five nights in Jerusalem. Coach transportation Personal audio guide Entrance fees to sites and museums Two lunches at unique sites Trip fees do not include: Anything not specified above Transportation from Ben-Gurion Airport or Tel Aviv to the guest house on the first night. (May be available for an additional fee, depending on a minimum number of travelers) Health insurance for tourists (must be purchased in country of origin) Lunch, unless specified in the itinerary Gratuities for tourism service providers (ca. $15 per person)