Khorbat Tov (Khirbat a-Tayib) lies next to Nahal Tov, on the northeastern border of the Arad-Be’er Sheva Valley, about 5.5 km northeast of Tel Arad. The site was first surveyed in 1960 by Yohanan Aharoni who described the remains of the citadel and proposed to identify it with the biblical Kina, which is mentioned after Arad in the list of Negev cities of Judah (Joshua 15: 22) and at address 24 from Tel Arad (line 12). On the other hand, other researchers suggested that Kina should be identified with the ruins of Uza, due to its location near the river Kina (Wadi al-Kini), which according to them preserves its ancient name.
The excavations in the citadel
Following damage to the site, salvage excavations were conducted on behalf of the Antiquities Division under the direction of Rudolf Cohen. After a test excavation in 1975, between 1984-1988 there were four excavation seasons at the site which revealed the extent and plan of the citadel. The excavation findings were published only after about thirty years, in 2020 by Eli Itkin. During the excavation, one main settlement layer with two or three phases was identified on the site, all of which were dated to the 7th century BC. The excavations in the citadel focused on four areas and revealed about a third of the site’s surface. The plan of the citadel, whose size is 38 x 38 m, was surrounded by a front and back wall, and included several architectural units. For example, a gate complex with two cells and a set of rooms in area A, a corner tower in area C, and a large warehouse building in area D. A layer of ash containing a rich assemblage of pottery was exposed in all the areas of the excavation, as it is sealed under rock falls belonging to the walls of the citadel. Examining the phenomenon as a whole provides evidence regarding the destruction of Horvat Tov in its final stage of existence.
Purpose of the citadel: administrative center of the Kingdom of Judah in the 7th century BC
The uniqueness of the citadel in Horvat Tov is the extensive storage areas that were uncovered in its area. These testify to its role as an administrative center, which was used to collect agricultural produce from the localities of the area, store and distribute it, similar to the nearby and larger citadel in Tel Arad. While the citadel in Arad was the main citadel in the region at the end of the Iron Age, Horvat Tov apparently functioned as a forward post and the military and administrative arm of Arad. The unique nature of Horvat Tov as a single-layered site provided a rare opportunity to examine the ceramic assemblage from the site in its entirety, in contrast to multi-layered sites, and aided in the relative dating of the citadel. The ceramic assemblage from the site combined with the architectural character of Horvat Tov allow us to date its establishment around the middle of the 7th century BC, and even a little earlier, when most of the activity at the site took place during the second half of the 7th century BC.
The location of Horvat Tov in the Arad-Be’er Sheva valley
The analysis of the excavation findings helped in the historical reconstruction of the history of the settlement on the site, and the role of the Tov ruin as a central link in the chain of fortresses that were established along the southern border of Judah during the 7th century BC.
In light of the finds from Horvat Tov and other sites in the Arad-Be’er Sheva Valley, it seems that two main settlement phases took place in the area at the end of the Iron Age. The first stage marks the establishment of the settlement system in the Arad-Be’er Sheva Valley already during the 8th century BC. In the second stage, after the Assyrian destruction in 701 BC, most of the sites were restored and continued to exist in a similar architectural format, sometimes using buildings also exist in the walls from the previous layers. Simultaneously with the renewal of the settlement in the central sites, a chain of fortresses, among them the citadel in Horvat Tov, was established along the southeastern edge of the area. It seems that the main purpose of the system of fortresses was to link the Arad-Be’er Sheva Valley, and the international trade routes that pass through it , to the center of the kingdom in Jerusalem.
End of the citadel
Horvat Tov, as well as most of the sites in the Arad-Be’er Sheva valley, was probably destroyed at the beginning of the 6th century BC. It seems that the collapse of the settlement system resulted from the combination of external and internal factors. These included the conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians on the one hand, and the penetration of nomadic groups with “Edomite” affinity into the area on the other. Against the background of the archaeological findings from Horvat Tov and the epigraphic findings from Merad, it appears that the destruction of the sites did not occur during one systematic event, but as part of a gradual process.
sources
Aharoni, Y. and Amiran, R. 5773 Season – the first excavations at Tel Arad (first review). Yedioth 27: 234-217.
Aitkin, A. nine eight Harvat Tov (Khirbat a-Tayib): a view of the southern border of Judah in the seventh century BC. Essay to obtain a “University Accredited” degree (with a summary in English). Tel Aviv University. Tel Aviv.
Cohen, R. 1995. The citadels and roads in the Negev in the days of the First Temple. From: Aviram, Y., Geva, H., Cohen, R., Mashal, Z.
and Stern, A. (Editors). Eilat and the Arabah. Jerusalem: 126-80.
Itkin, E. 2020. Horvat Tov: A Late Iron Age Fortress in the Northeastern Negev. Tel Aviv 47 (1): 65–88.