Tel Anafa
Encyclopedia
Tel Anafa is an archaeological site and nature reserve in the Upper Galilee
, Israel
.
, in the north-eastern quarter of the Hula Valley, is located north-west of kibbutz
Shamir, and rises approximately 10 meters above its surroundings. Just south of the tel is Nahal Klil.
Geologically, Tel Anafa was formed by a spurt of basalt stone during the formation of the Syrian-African Rift
.
and the University of Missouri
Museum of Art and Archaeology revealed remains of a rich and remarkably well-preserved Hellenistic settlement, as well as evidence for almost continuous occupation at the site from the Early Bronze Age through the early Roman period.
During the Hellenistic period, the site served as the country estate of affluent citizens from Tyre. The palatial villa had rooms around a central courtyard and was constructed and repeatedly refurbished and augmented in the latest Greek style. It was furnished with all available luxuries; fine tablewares and thousands of expensive glass drinking vessels. The house contained comfortable private bathing facilities. The richness of the finds, coupled with the clear chronological context have made Tel Anafa extremely valuable to scholarship of the Hellenistic period. Tel Anafa serves as a typological and chronological “type site,” presenting a broader and more closely dated range of ceramic forms than any site excavated previously.
Walls of the lower city were discovered when fishponds were dug to the west of the tell.
The settlement was abandoned sometime early in the second quarter of the first century BC. Tel Anafa was resettled during the Early Roman period, possibly after the founding of Caesarea Philippi in 4 BC. Eleven buildings from this period were excavated on the site. The excavators concluded that the "Roman era settlement at Tel Anafa appears to be a small sheep-raising community firmly enmeshed within the economic network of Galilee. The absence of mikva'ot or other Jewish ritual equipment at the site, coupled with the prevalence of pig in the diet, suggest, however, that this was not a Jewish community".
nature reserve, declared in 1984.
Daffodils (Narcissus tazetta
) grow naturally on the site, as well as Bear's Breeches, Sea Squill, and Mt. Atlas mastic trees
.
Upper Galilee
The Upper Galilee is a geographical-political term in use since the end of the Second Temple period, originally referring to a mountainous area overlapping the present northern Israel and southern Lebanon, its borders being the Litani river in the north, the Mediterranean Sea in the west, the Beit...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
Geography
The tellTell
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...
, in the north-eastern quarter of the Hula Valley, is located north-west 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...
Shamir, and rises approximately 10 meters above its surroundings. Just south of the tel is Nahal Klil.
Geologically, Tel Anafa was formed by a spurt of basalt stone during the formation of the Syrian-African Rift
Great Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley is a name given in the late 19th century by British explorer John Walter Gregory to the continuous geographic trench, approximately in length, that runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in South East Africa...
.
History
Ten seasons of excavation by teams from the Kelsey MuseumMuseums at the University of Michigan
The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor is home to a number of museums. The majority of them on Central Campus, which include the Exhibit Museum of Natural History , Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, and the University of Michigan Museum of Art...
and the University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
Museum of Art and Archaeology revealed remains of a rich and remarkably well-preserved Hellenistic settlement, as well as evidence for almost continuous occupation at the site from the Early Bronze Age through the early Roman period.
During the Hellenistic period, the site served as the country estate of affluent citizens from Tyre. The palatial villa had rooms around a central courtyard and was constructed and repeatedly refurbished and augmented in the latest Greek style. It was furnished with all available luxuries; fine tablewares and thousands of expensive glass drinking vessels. The house contained comfortable private bathing facilities. The richness of the finds, coupled with the clear chronological context have made Tel Anafa extremely valuable to scholarship of the Hellenistic period. Tel Anafa serves as a typological and chronological “type site,” presenting a broader and more closely dated range of ceramic forms than any site excavated previously.
Walls of the lower city were discovered when fishponds were dug to the west of the tell.
The settlement was abandoned sometime early in the second quarter of the first century BC. Tel Anafa was resettled during the Early Roman period, possibly after the founding of Caesarea Philippi in 4 BC. Eleven buildings from this period were excavated on the site. The excavators concluded that the "Roman era settlement at Tel Anafa appears to be a small sheep-raising community firmly enmeshed within the economic network of Galilee. The absence of mikva'ot or other Jewish ritual equipment at the site, coupled with the prevalence of pig in the diet, suggest, however, that this was not a Jewish community".
Nature reserve
The tell is part of an 11-dunamDunam
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...
nature reserve, declared in 1984.
Daffodils (Narcissus tazetta
Narcissus tazetta
Narcissus tazetta is a perennial ornamental plant that grows from a bulb....
) grow naturally on the site, as well as Bear's Breeches, Sea Squill, and Mt. Atlas mastic trees
Pistacia atlantica
Pistacia atlantica is a species of pistachio tree known by the English common name Mt. Atlas mastic tree and as the Persian turpentine tree. In Iran it is called baneh. In the Canary Islands is known as Almacigo. Betoum is called in Arabic.- Overview :It is a tree of the genus Pistacia. It is a...
.