CHAPTER TWO THE GEOGRAPHY AND SETTLEMENT HISTORY OF EAST MANASSEH A. History of Research Explorations and surveys: East Manasseh has been one of the Some of the Medieval explorers lesser-known and lesser-researched (Burchard of Mount Zion [1971] areas of the central hill country in and Marino Sanuto [1971]) men-- particular and of the Holy Land in tioned a few sites in the area. The general. The area lies outside of the Crusader sources also make note of usual realms of interest of explor-- several places, especially those near ers; it contains almost no famous Nablus-Shechem. Moslem geogra-- historical sites; although it is fre-- phers passed by on the road from quently mentioned in the Bible, its Shechem to Beth Shean, as did the conditions for exploration are dif-- Jewish traveler Ashtory Haparhi, ficult (oppressive heat in summer, who visited there at the beginning few water sources, etc.). of the 14th century and described several sites. Most of the explorers who vis-- ited the Holy Land in the 19th and In the second half of the 19th 20th centuries CE conducted jour-- century, the “Golden Age” of ex-- neys along set routes (Ben-Arieh plorers in the Holy Land, three 1970). Travelers tended to cross the travelers visited this territory. The Manasseh Hill Country along the first was Edward Robinson, who line that led from Nablus-Shechem conducted sporadic journeys in to Samaria-Sebasteh, Dothan, the 1838 and 1853 and published his Jezreel Valley, Nazareth and Haifa. book detailing the finds (original This route brought the traveler to publication of Robinson - 1857; the few holy places in the Samaria reprint 1970). He descended from region connected to the Old and Shechem through Wadi Malih, vis-- New Testament traditions (Joseph’s ited Burj el-Malih and esh-Shaqq tomb and Jacob’s well in Shechem; Valley, and then crossed over into Mount Garizim of the Samaritan Transjordan. Victor Guérin, the tradition; Samaria-Sebasteh; Do-- noted French explorer, was the first than, etc.). The eastern section of to conduct a 19th century survey in the area did not offer additions to the area. Guérin’s research meth-- this set model. od (original publication - Guérin 1875; reprint 1969) was based on his visit to most of the sites and 12 CHAPTER TWO places along which his route passed, The members of the SWP, C.R. and his reports comprise valuable Conder and H.H. Kitchener (1879; material. Guérin visited the area a 1882; Conder 1876a; 1876b; short time after the beginning of 1881), visited the area in 1874. As the British Survey (Survey of West-- in other districts in the Holy Land, ern Palestine, henceforth SWP), but their survey was comprehensive re-- apparently without any connection garding the number of sites they with it. His first visit to our region discovered, but their laconic de-- lasted five days, taking place April scriptions and lack of dating affect-- 23-27, 1870. He visited the follow-- ed the value of their work. Most of ing places: April 23 – Wadi Far‘ah their descriptions consist of terms and its delta, Kh. Makhruq and like “pile of stones”, “walls”, etc. additional sites in the area; April Their illustrative material (photos 24 – Qurn Sartabeh; April 25 – as-- and plans) is sparse. For example, cended Wadi Far‘ah and departed they note that the elaborate Roman from there to el-Buqei‘ah, the vil-- tomb in Taiyasir had already been lage of Tammun, Tel el-Far‘ah and photographed in 1866, but the back through Wadi Far‘ah; April 26 photo was not published. Of the – through the Jordan Valley to Kh. entire territory covered in their vol-- es-Sakkut; April 27 – Wadi Malih ume, they published only one very until Burj el-Malih and back to Kh. small plan, that of Burj el-Malih. es-Sakkut. After Guérin and the SWP, few Guérin returned to the area on researchers returned to the area 3-4 May, 1870. This time he ap-- until the Emergency Israeli survey proached the region from the north of 1967-1968, conducted after and visited Zebabdeh and Tubas the Six-Day War. In 1940 Glueck Valleys (the villages of Kfer, ‘Aqa-- (1951, 409-420) visited several beh, Kh. Salhab, Taiyasir and Tu-- sites at the delta of Wadi Far‘ah and bas). On May 4 he visited Kh. Yar-- in the wadi itself, but that visit was zah, Kh. ‘Eynun and Burj el-Far‘ah, intended merely to complete his and camped at ‘Ain Beidan. work in Transjordan. In the 1960’s Guérin did not conduct a mod-- the Germans Kappus (1966) and ern survey, but rather a journey Knierim (1969) conducted brief, through several sites. The impor-- selective surveys of the valley of tance of his work was in his short, Wadi Far‘ah. In their two published verbal descriptions of the places and reports 11 sites appear, comprising the several traditions he mentioned. about one fifth of the sites discov-- In some cases, there is value in his ered in the Manasseh Hill Country place names and in his geographical Survey. historical discussions. The 1967 Emergency Survey .