Tel Gama (Arabic: Tell Jemmeh) is located in the northwestern Negev, on the southern bank of the Nahal Habsor about 10 km south of Gaza City and near Kibbutz Reim. The natural hill on which the tel is located is 65 m high. The site, which has an area of ca. 35 dunams, was first identified in 1922 by W. J. Phythian-Adams as the biblical city of “Gerar.” The site was later identified as the city of “Yurza,” the capital of the Canaanite kingdom on the southern coast. In Tel Gama there are finds from the Chalcolithic period to the Hellenistic period. During the Middle Bronze Age and Iron Age, Tel Gama was an important border city with access to the Gaza coast. The site was excavated between 1926-1927 by the English archaeologist Flinders Petrie. From 1970-1990, a delegation of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington excavated at the site under Gus W. Van Beek for 12 seasons.
Site identification
The researcher W. J. Phythian-Adams proposed in 1923 to identify the mound with the biblical city “Gerar.” This hypothesis was also supported by Petrie in 1927 who relied on the identification of a nearby Roman city as “Umm Jerar.” This hypothesis was accepted until 1952, when Benjamin Mazar argued that Tel Gama should be identified with the city of “Yurza,” mentioned in the list of cities conquered by Thutmose III and in the El-Amarna letters. Most researchers accepted this identification due to its location and following petrographic tests conducted on the letters of the governor of Yurza that reached the El-Amarna archive. From these sources the later excavators concluded that Yurza was the capital of the Canaanite kingdom on the southern coast and of great importance on the way to Egypt. Assyrian texts mention a city named “Arza” which was conquered and looted by the Assyrian king Esarhaddon in 679 BCE. The identification of “Arza” with Yurza corresponds to Nadav Na’aman’s hypothesis that Nahal al-Habsor is the “Nahal of Egypt” mentioned in the Bible and in Assyrian texts, and strengthens the claim of Arza being an important border town. Mazar also suggested that in later periods because the name was changed to “Jordan” (according to Josephus), the existence of a nearby Byzantine city with that name confirmed the identification.
Excavations history
W. J. Phythian-Adams excavated a short trench in the mound in October 1923 and identified 10 layers from the Late Bronze Age to the Persian period. Petrie excavated the mound between 1926-1927 and identified an earlier settlement layer on the site, which he dated to the 18th pharaonic dynasty (Middle Bronze Age 2 B). Petrie identified additional settlement layers with the Late Bronze and Iron Ages, as well the Persian period (the 23rd Pharaonic dynasty according to his definition).
A significant fortress dated to the 7th century BCE was found, which Petrie suggested was destroyed during the Persian period (5th c. BCE). From this period, Petrie also identified large storage buildings which, in his estimation, were used by the Persian army in its war in Egypt. The small finds include a rich assemblage of local and imported pottery, mainly from the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age, many zoomorphic clay figurines, and limestone altars decorated with weapons and scarabs.
The Canaanite period
The earliest finds identified in the mound are tools from the Chalcolithic period (without settlement signs), found by the Smithsonian Institution delegation. The next period that has evidence in the tel is a settlement from the Middle Bronze Age, ca. 1700-1550 BCE. Fortifications and buildings attributed to this period indicate that Tel Gama was an urban site of strategic importance as a border town. Finds from the Late Bronze Age indicate the continued expansion and prosperity of the city. These finds include imported Cypriot and Mycenaean vessels from the 14-13th c. BCE, figurines, bone vessels, scarabs and amulets. Graves of adult and young donkeys were also found in this stratum, which the American researcher Wei attributed to a ritual sacrifice.
The Iron Age
From the Iron Age 1 (1200-1000 BCE) a unique pottery kiln was found at the site, attributed by the excavators to the arrival of the Philistine entity in the area. The fact that the nearby Philistine city “Gaza” was almost never excavated makes the Philistine finds at Tel Gama very important. These finds include Philistine bi-chrome pottery (a special type of two-colored vessels) from local production and Aegean-style cooking vessels (the place of origin of the Philistines according to one hypothesis).
In the Neo-Assyrian period (end of the 8th century to the 7th century BCE), a complex of public buildings was found, the most prominent of which is a large Assyrian structure with 2 floors. The researchers hypothesize that Tel Gama was a central settlement on the spice routes from southern Arabia with access to the coast via Gaza, and was also used as a center to produce Assyrian-style pottery. Other interesting finds from this period are weights and inscriptions in Hebrew, including a list of Aegean and Hebrew names. Na’aman suggested that some of the names indicate the presence of refugees brought by the Assyrian king Sargon II from Iran and other provinces. There is a wide consensus that there was a massive presence of the Assyrian army at the tel, and perhaps even the Assyrian governor of the region sat there, since the settlement at Tel Gama controlled the entrance to the important city of Gaza.
classical periods
Finds from the Persian period at the tel include many pottery vessels and rounded granary structures, which Petrie suggested were used by the Persian army on their way south to Egypt. The Hellenistic remains at the site are few and very early (mainly Alexander the Great coins). Later, Byzantine, Mamluk and Crusader remains were found, mainly at the foot of the mound.
Bibliography
David Ben-Shlomo and Gus W. Van Beek. 2014. The Smithsonian Institution Excavation at Tell Jemmeh, Israel, 1970–1990. Smithsonian Contributions to Anthropology. Washington D.C. Number 50.
Petrie W.M.F. 1928. Gerar (BSAE XLIII). London.