Tel Hanaton
Encyclopedia
Tel Hanaton is a Bronze Age
Tel
situated at the Western edge of the Beit Netofa Valley
in The Western Lower Galilee region of Israel
, 2 km South of the Town of Kfar Manda and 1 km ENE of the modern settlement which took its name, Kibbutz Hanaton.
Canaan
ite Kings who paid annual homage (tribute) to the Ruling Pharaoh. It is possible that the City was named for Pharaoh Amenhotep IV also known by the name Akhenaten
, the Founder of a brief period of monotheism (Atenism) from the 18th dynasty of rulers of Egypt during 1352-1334 BC. The Name Hanaton and the name Akhenaten have identical consonants, which in the Semitic
Languages of the period is more significant than vowels, which may vary.
layers on which the Bronze Age
and later settlements were built on a natural outcrop of rock.
Investigators maintain that the settlement was first established in the Middle Bronze Age. The site has ideal geographical criteria for such a settlement to have been established, with easy access to water sources; nearby forested areas for wood; Limestone hills to quarry for building materials and tools; fertile surrounding arable land for crops and livestock; the presence of clays for pottery in the muddy earth surrounding the tel caused by seasonal flooding; the natural rock outcrop raised above its surroundings for easy fortification and its sitting astride an international trade route of the period - a branch of the Via Maris
.
, mentioned in The Book of Joshua in the lands apportioned to the Tribe of Zevulun: "Then the border went around it on the north side of Hannathon, and it ended in the Valley of Jiphthah El." (Joshua 19:14)
The Tel is mentioned in the 14th Century BC Amarna Letters
of Ancient Egypt
, showing the city's importance on a major trade route.
Hanaton is mentioned some 700 years later in records at Niniveh, the capital of Ancient Assyria as one of the 5 [Israelite] cities totally destroyed by Tiglath-pileser III
, King of Assyria, in the campaign of conquest of the (Northern) Biblical Kingdom of Israel between 724-722 BC.
The area of the Bronze Age
city reached 100 dunams (approx. 25 acres) which attests to the power and wealth of the settlement, most likely achieved due to the large tracts of highly fertile arable land
surrounding the tel in the Beit Netofa Valley
, together with its position astride a major 'Egypt to Mesopotamia' international trade route for the period.
In this period the settlement was re-named Shihin, inhabited by part of the Priesthood, the Ishbab family, when it became famous for its high quality pottery, produced from the rich clay in abundance in the surrounding land.
Most Bronze Age Tels were forced by increasing populations to expand beyond their hilltops during the Iron (Israelite) age, protected by retaining walls built further out encompassing a greater area. In these cases the former Tel forms the acropolis of the expanded city.
Hanaton could not expand in this manner as its immediately surrounding land was subject to months-long flooding following winter rains and drainage technology of the period did not allow for drying up such land.
Restricted in this manner from expansion, the city, whilst never abandoned through to the Roman
Period, and unable to expand to the size of Hellenistic Period cities, continually declined and was replaced as a major trading and urban centre by nearby Tzippori
(Sephoris) which was established on the ridge a few kilometres to the South East.
Period.
In spite of a complete lack of reference from the Crusader Period, investigating historians have reached a consensus that the clearly visible physical evidence of typical Frankish
construction with stone stairwells, large halls and arched ceilings, points to the presence at least of an 11th-century fortified agricultural settlement, which probably, together with the nearby Tzippori
(Sephoris/Dioceserea), guarded the large surrounding tracts of intensive agriculture throughout the First and Second Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem
, falling to the Saracens only around the time of the fall of the city of Acre
. The architecture, whilst having much in common with that of concurrent strongholds of the Ayyubid Period, has distinct Crusader features, such as the arch-free flat-roofed stairwells (see photo).
In the 1330s the region was conquered by the Mamelukes of Egypt, who used the Crusader Fort to house their garrison
.
The Arabic name for the tel, Tal Badawiye relates to the Ottoman
Period when a Caravanserai
named Khan El Badawiye was established atop the tel.
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
Tel
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...
situated at the Western edge of the Beit Netofa Valley
Beit Netofa Valley
The Beit Netofa Valley is a valley in the Lower Galilee region of Israel, midway between Tiberias and Haifa. Covering 46 km2, it is the largest valley in the Galilee and one of the largest in the southern Levant...
in The Western Lower Galilee region of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, 2 km South of the Town of Kfar Manda and 1 km ENE of the modern settlement which took its name, Kibbutz Hanaton.
Etymology of Hanaton
For much of the Middle Bronze Age this area of Ancient Israel was under the control of the Pharaohs of Egypt, either as provinces and City-States ruled by Egyptian Governors; or by VassalVassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
Canaan
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
ite Kings who paid annual homage (tribute) to the Ruling Pharaoh. It is possible that the City was named for Pharaoh Amenhotep IV also known by the name Akhenaten
Akhenaten
Akhenaten also spelled Echnaton,Ikhnaton,and Khuenaten;meaning "living spirit of Aten") known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV , was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC...
, the Founder of a brief period of monotheism (Atenism) from the 18th dynasty of rulers of Egypt during 1352-1334 BC. The Name Hanaton and the name Akhenaten have identical consonants, which in the Semitic
Semitic
In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages...
Languages of the period is more significant than vowels, which may vary.
Archaeology
The Tel has been subject to archaeological survey, but not to extensive excavations. The Tel rises to 75m above the surrounding valley, part of which represents the stratificationStratification (archeology)
Stratification is a paramount and base concept in archaeology, especially in the course of excavation. It is largely based on the Law of Superposition...
layers on which the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
and later settlements were built on a natural outcrop of rock.
Investigators maintain that the settlement was first established in the Middle Bronze Age. The site has ideal geographical criteria for such a settlement to have been established, with easy access to water sources; nearby forested areas for wood; Limestone hills to quarry for building materials and tools; fertile surrounding arable land for crops and livestock; the presence of clays for pottery in the muddy earth surrounding the tel caused by seasonal flooding; the natural rock outcrop raised above its surroundings for easy fortification and its sitting astride an international trade route of the period - a branch of the Via Maris
Via Maris
Via Maris is the modern name for an ancient trade route, dating from the early Bronze Age, linking Egypt with the northern empires of Syria, Anatolia and Mesopotamia — modern day Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria....
.
Biblical Reference
Tel Hanaton is associated with the biblical HanatonHannathon
Hannathon, and of the 1350-1335 BC Amarna letters, Hinnatuna, or Hinnatuni/Hinnatunu, is the Biblical city/city-state of Hannathon, ; in the Amarna letters correspondence as Hinnatuna, it is a site in southern Canaan, site uncertain.-Amarna letters Hinnatuna :Hinnatuna is referenced in 2 Amarna...
, mentioned in The Book of Joshua in the lands apportioned to the Tribe of Zevulun: "Then the border went around it on the north side of Hannathon, and it ended in the Valley of Jiphthah El." (Joshua 19:14)
Middle Bronze Age (Canaanite Period)
Amarna letters
The Amarna letters are an archive of correspondence on clay tablets, mostly diplomatic, between the Egyptian administration and its representatives in Canaan and Amurru during the New Kingdom...
of Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
, showing the city's importance on a major trade route.
Hanaton is mentioned some 700 years later in records at Niniveh, the capital of Ancient Assyria as one of the 5 [Israelite] cities totally destroyed by Tiglath-pileser III
Tiglath-Pileser III
Tiglath-Pileser III was a prominent king of Assyria in the eighth century BC and is widely regarded as the founder of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Tiglath-Pileser III seized the Assyrian throne during a civil war and killed the royal family...
, King of Assyria, in the campaign of conquest of the (Northern) Biblical Kingdom of Israel between 724-722 BC.
The area of the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
city reached 100 dunams (approx. 25 acres) which attests to the power and wealth of the settlement, most likely achieved due to the large tracts of highly fertile arable land
Arable land
In geography and agriculture, arable land is land that can be used for growing crops. It includes all land under temporary crops , temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow...
surrounding the tel in the Beit Netofa Valley
Beit Netofa Valley
The Beit Netofa Valley is a valley in the Lower Galilee region of Israel, midway between Tiberias and Haifa. Covering 46 km2, it is the largest valley in the Galilee and one of the largest in the southern Levant...
, together with its position astride a major 'Egypt to Mesopotamia' international trade route for the period.
Iron Age (Israelite Period)
While the tel was abandoned following its destruction and the resulting exile of its inhabitants, it was reinhabited at some stage during the later Hellenistic 2nd Temple Period.In this period the settlement was re-named Shihin, inhabited by part of the Priesthood, the Ishbab family, when it became famous for its high quality pottery, produced from the rich clay in abundance in the surrounding land.
Most Bronze Age Tels were forced by increasing populations to expand beyond their hilltops during the Iron (Israelite) age, protected by retaining walls built further out encompassing a greater area. In these cases the former Tel forms the acropolis of the expanded city.
Hanaton could not expand in this manner as its immediately surrounding land was subject to months-long flooding following winter rains and drainage technology of the period did not allow for drying up such land.
Restricted in this manner from expansion, the city, whilst never abandoned through to the Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
Period, and unable to expand to the size of Hellenistic Period cities, continually declined and was replaced as a major trading and urban centre by nearby Tzippori
Tzippori
Tzippori , also known as Sepphoris, Dioceserea and Saffuriya is located in the central Galilee region, north-northwest of Nazareth, in modern-day Israel...
(Sephoris) which was established on the ridge a few kilometres to the South East.
Later History
During the Early Arab Period, the site became a small agricultural village named Hotsfit, a name which survived into the CrusaderCrusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
Period.
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
construction with stone stairwells, large halls and arched ceilings, points to the presence at least of an 11th-century fortified agricultural settlement, which probably, together with the nearby Tzippori
Tzippori
Tzippori , also known as Sepphoris, Dioceserea and Saffuriya is located in the central Galilee region, north-northwest of Nazareth, in modern-day Israel...
(Sephoris/Dioceserea), guarded the large surrounding tracts of intensive agriculture throughout the First and Second Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....
, falling to the Saracens only around the time of the fall of the city of Acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
. The architecture, whilst having much in common with that of concurrent strongholds of the Ayyubid Period, has distinct Crusader features, such as the arch-free flat-roofed stairwells (see photo).
In the 1330s the region was conquered by the Mamelukes of Egypt, who used the Crusader Fort to house their garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
.
The Arabic name for the tel, Tal Badawiye relates to the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
Period when a Caravanserai
Caravanserai
A caravanserai, or khan, also known as caravansary, caravansera, or caravansara in English was a roadside inn where travelers could rest and recover from the day's journey...
named Khan El Badawiye was established atop the tel.