powered by FreeFind	Tel Beer Sheva 135 pictures     3 minutes HQ video Vestiges of the ancient settlements in Tel Beer Sheva include pottery from the Chalcolithic period, attesting to the existence of a settlement on the site in the 4th millennium B.C., just as in various other sites from the same period found along the Beer Sheva and Bessor rivers. Although no walls of buildings from this period were found, some of the wells dug in Tel during the following period might have actually been "improvements" on earlier, Chalcolithic wells. The Site Following a hiatus of over two thousand years, there was renewed settlement on the Tel during the beginning of the Iron Age (the Israelite period), which continued for three hundred years. Nine levels from this era have been identified by archaeologists, representing various periods of building and destruction on the site. The beginnings of the settlement (Stratum IX) can be seen in the pits hewn out of the southern slope of the mound, used mainly for storing grain. One such pit served as a dwelling, as evidenced by the pottery and cooking oven that was found in it. The deep well found just outside the city gate may have been hewn during that period. This may very well be the well mentioned in the Book of Genesis in reference to the pact that Abraham and Isaac made with the Philistines in Beer Sheva. The oath sworn next to the well gave the city its name… "Wherefore that place was called Beer-Sheba; because there they swore both of them" (Genesis, 21:31). In time, stone houses were also built (Stratum VIII). During the 10th century B.C., a new settlement was erected, its houses connected to form an oval enclosure around an open courtyard (Stratum VII). The houses were of the "four-room" type that was characteristic of the period (three parallel spaces and a fourth space perpendicular to the others). The internal courtyard was probably used as a sheep pen. A solid wall and a double gate (outer and inner) surrounded Beer Sheva's first city (Stratum V). A temple was erected during the Hellenistic period (3rd-2nd centuries B.C.), and its stone base can be seen today on the site, near the "Basement House". A large palatial structure containing a bathhouse was built in Tel Beer Sheva during the Herodian period (1st century B.C. - 1st century A.D.). Two plaster-coated pools that belonged to that castle still exist today. The last building to be erected on the Tel was rhombus-shaped, built during the Roman period (3rd-2nd centuries A.D.), and it was renovated during the early Arab period (8th-7th centuries A.D.). During the Roman and Byzantine periods the settlement moved westward and a large city was erected in the vicinity of the modern city that exists today. Later, the city lay deserted until it was rebuilt on the area known today as the Old City (the old quarter of Beer Sheva). During the First World War, the city served as a Turkish bridgehead for breaching the Suez Canal. When the British army pushed into Palestine from Egypt, Tel Beer Sheva was fortified and a Turkish cannon post placed there. An "A.N.Z.A.C" Division of New Zealand and Australian horsemen conquered the site on 31 October 1917. Outer city gate well The well was hewn out from the natural rock in order to provide water for trade caravans and the army encampments outside of the city. Rainwater that flowed through the city and was channeled by a draining conduit. The rocks lining the conduit became part of the paving stones leading from the outer city gate to the main gate. Inner city gate Two tall brick towers flanked the gate and contained the guardrooms. At the entrance, it is possible to see the foundations of the gate and the brick walls lined with the benches in the guardrooms. the town square From the inner city gate, we come upon the town square, which served as a gathering place for the city's inhabitants and where the city streets converged. The Governor's Residence The governor's residence, an impressive beautiful and large structure that was used by the governor. The structure, that was referred to as "the palace", contained an entrance corridor that was flanked by two tiled halls, as well as living area, a kitchen and storerooms. Basement House The house, whose foundations reach a depth of over 4 m. Such an unusual depth might have been the result of the destruction of the foundations of an ancient building that might have stood there before. It is reasonable to assume that the building that was destroyed might have been a temple and that a sanctuary "horned" altar might have stood in its courtyard. If we connect this level with the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, we might be able to assume that the destruction of this temple and its altar are signs of a shift in ritual worship in Judah. If this is true, then these findings conform to the Biblical description of Hezekiah's religious reforms, that included eradicating temples scattered throughout the country and centralizing ritual worship in the Temple in Jerusalem. Observation Tower Panoramic view from the tower Water system The water system which provided the city with water, and in time of siege, supplied water without having to do beyond the walls. In the past, the water system was fed by the floodwaters flowing in the Hebron River, north of the Tel. The water was channeled into a tunnel that spilled into a reservoir hewn out in the center of the Tel. Let us admire the stone spiral staircase leading down to the water reservoir. Storehouse A building that covered an area of approx' 600 m2 and composed of three units. Each unit was divided into three elongated halls by two rows of stone pillars. The abundance of pottery found in the excavated level of the building identifies it as a series of storehouses, or "store-cities", as they were called in the Bible. Artifacts and food products were stored in the side halls, while the central section served as a passage for the caravans that transported the supplies. Back to Israel Index