Tel Goded (Arabic Tell ej-Judeideh), is located in the Judean lowlands in the southern part of the Britannia Park, about 4 km from the ancient city of Beit Guvrin (Eleutheropolis). Some of the research identified the mound with the city of “Moreshet-Gat” the birthplace of the prophet “Micah the Morashtite”.
The site contains finds from the Early Bronze Age III (2800-2400 BCE) to the Byzantine period, including dozens of “lmlk” imprints on jars, and the remains of a luxurious villa. At the foot of the mound is a Jewish settlement from the early Roman period called Horvat Tabak. Under the residential buildings, spaces were excavated in Hellenistic and Roman times that were converted into caves, a hiding place for the Bar Kochba rebellion (132-136 CE), including a purification mikveh, a columbarium and two burial arrays.
Site identification
The identification of Tel Goded was subject to controversy throughout the years of research. Albright identified the site with the city of Gedera that appears in 1 Chronicles, mainly due to the linguistic similarity. Joachim Yeremias suggested identifying it as the “Moreshet-Gat,” the birthplace of the prophet Micah “the Morashtite” (Micah 1:1), who prophesied in the days of Hezekiah (727-686 BCE). Yeremias based his argument on the proximity of Tel Goded to the neighbors of Moreshet-Gat: Lachish, Adullam and Maresha, which appear in the words of the prophet. According to the researcher, further substantiation is found in the el-Amarna letters from the 14th c. BCE. Others claim that the prophet was called Morashtite because he came from the nearby city of Maresha. On the map of Madaba, the city appears as “Morasthi” and it is possible that this is the legacy of Gath. Shmuel Vargon argued that the Bible should be interpreted differently and claimed that Tel Goded is the remains of a city called “Gedud” (which does not appear in Joshua’s list of cities).
History of excavations
The site was excavated between 1898-1900 by archaeologists Frederick Bliss and Robert Macalister on behalf of the British Fund for the Exploration of the Land of Israel. The pair dug six pits measuring 9 x 12 m on the mound, most of which went as deep as the bedrock. In these excavations, small finds from the Early Bronze Age and Iron 2B were found. The Hellenistic settlement layer and a magnificent building from the early Roman period were also uncovered.
In 1994, the British archaeologist Shimon Gibson published the excavation findings from the six pits (some of which had not been published until then) and compiled an accurate chronology of the site. The tel was settled during the Early Bronze Age 3 and the Middle Bronze Age, and after them there was a long period of time without settlement until the Iron Age 2 when the site was inhabited again. Evidence of settlement in the Hellenistic, early Roman, and Byzantine periods was also found.
In 1990, Nahum Shagiv and Boaz Zissu conducted surveys and excavations at Tel Goded and Horvat Tabak below it on behalf of the Antiquities Authority and the Ashkelon Academic College. Findings were discovered in Horvat Tabak that indicate a Jewish settlement during the Roman period. Canals were dug under the residential buildings from the days of the Bar Kochba revolt (132-136 CE). The settlement was abandoned after the revolt.
The Bronze Age at Tel Goded
Small finds were found on the site on a relatively large area from the Early Bronze Age 3. No fortifications were found from this period. From the Middle Bronze Age, fortification batteries were found in the southern part of the mound and two shaft graves. Researchers Bliss and Macalister noted the conspicuous absence of Late Bronze Age artifacts at the site.
The Iron Age
From the Iron Age 2, remains of agricultural activity and remains of buildings that were violently destroyed (including a burnt human skeleton) were found at Tel Goded. From the 2nd Iron Age, 37 jar handles with the imprint “lmlk” and 15 private jar imprints dating to the days of King Hezekiah (eighth century BC) were found in a destruction layer. The research hypothesizes that this ruin belongs to the Assyrian campaign of Sennacherib in 701 BCE to suppress Hezekiah’s rebellion. This dating even corresponds to the period of activity of the prophet Micah (as mentioned, some researchers speculate that the site should be identified with his city Moreshet Gat).
Late periods
During the Hellenistic period (4th to 1st c. BCC) a walled settlement was established at Tel Goded with a fortified tower in the center. In the early Roman period, a large and impressive building was built, apparently a ruler’s villa that was also used in the Byzantine period. According to Gibson, the villa was abandoned during the first rebellion of the Jews against the Romans (66-73 CE).
In Horvat Tabak, the remains of the Jewish settlement from the Roman period (at the foot of Tel Goded), the researchers mapped the underground spaces and uncovered purification lines, a columbarium and two burial arrays. The hypothesis is that these spaces were excavated and converted into hiding caves in preparation for the Bar Kochba rebellion. The village existed during the Second Temple period and during the Bar Kochba rebellion. Some of the underground complexes were excavated back in the Hellenistic period.
Bibliography
Zissu, B. Sagiv N. 1996. Hurbat Tabak at the foot of Tel Goded – a Jewish site destroyed in the Bar Kochba revolt. Studies of Judea and Samaria vol 7. 115-139.
Gibson, S. 2013. The Tell Ej-Judeideh (Tel Goded) Excavations: A Re-appraisal Based on Archival Records in the Palestine Exploration Fund. Tel Aviv Journal of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University. 194-234.