Neha Patil (Editor)

Tell el Hammeh

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Tell el Hammeh is an archaeological tell in the West Bank. It is located about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) north-west of the Israeli settlement of Mehola, on the southern edge of Beit She'an valley, some 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) south of the city. The tell is elevated about 30 metres (98 ft) from the surrounding plain; its top has an area of 5 dunams (1.2 acres).

It is identified with the Canaanite city state of Hammath, known from a stela of Seti I describing a military campaign. The idea originates in William F. Albright.

The tell was excavated in 1985-1988 by Jane Cahill, who reported of layers of the Iron Age, or 11th to 7th centuries BC, separated by the remains of major fires. One layer, from the 9th century or later, revealed a stone building, while earlier ones only had mud-bricks. Unusual concentrations of loom weights and spindles from different periods suggest the city maintained a weaving industry.

References

Tell el Hammeh Wikipedia