District Northern Affiliation Kibbutz Movement Founded 1939 | Council Valley of Springs Population (2015) 396 Local time Wednesday 11:55 AM | |
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Weather 21°C, Wind S at 6 km/h, 41% Humidity | ||
Hamadia (Hebrew: חֲמַדְיָה) is a kibbutz in the Beit She'an Valley, just north of Beit She'an in northern Israel. It belongs to the Valley of Springs Regional Council. In 2015 it had a population of 396.
Contents
Map of Hamadia, Israel
History
The kibbutz was founded in 1939 as part of the Tower and stockade movement. It was re-established in 1942 by the "Hermonim" pioneers, a garin of native-born Israelis who were part of a youth group.
The kibbutz took its name from al-Hamidiyya, an abandoned Arab village north of the kibbutz named for the sultan of Turkey, Abdul Hamid II.
Archaeology
The location is situated on a terrace of ancient Lake Beisan, 200 metres below sea level. Tell Hamadia is a single layer archaeological site of about 100 m2 (0.010 ha), first reported and excavated at Hamadia by N. Tzori in 1958 then again by Jacob Kaplan in 1964. Ovens, pits and fireplaces were found with Yarmukian pottery and an assmeblage of many axes, picks, scrapers, "saw" elements and sickles. Large saw elements indicated possible earlier Neolithic occupation which was suggested to date at least to the early Chalcolithic (MOM period 7). A flint sickle workshop was located close to the site with over 300 sickle blades found. Tell Hamadia is 10 km (6.2 mi) south of Munhata and is suggested to date between ca. 5800 and 5400 BCE. Detailed reports have yet to be published.