Tel Rumeida Hebron’s Archaeological Park 2014 Tel Rumeida Hebron’s Archaeological Park 2014 November 2014 Written by: Yonathan Mizrachi Researchers: Gideon Suleimani, Anna Veeder Edited by: Dalia Tessler Proof-editing: Dana Hercbergs Graphic Design: Lior Cohen Photographs: Emek Shaveh Mapping: Lior Cohen, Shai Efrati for B’Tselem Emek Shaveh (cc) | Email: [email protected] | website www.alt-arch.org Emek Shaveh is an organization of archaeologists and heritage professionals focusing on the role of tangible cultural heritage in Israeli society and in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We view archaeology as a resource for strengthening understanding between different peoples and cultures. This publication was produced by Emek Shaveh (A public benefit corporation) with the support of the Norwegian Embassy in Israel, the Federal Department for Foreign Affairs Switzerland (FDFA) and Cordaid. Responsibility for the information contained in this report belongs exclusively to Emek Shaveh. This information does not represent the opinions of the abovementioned donors. Table of contents 1. Tel Rumeida - General Features 5 2. The archaeological excavations and the settlement 6 3. The excavations of 2014: Hebron’s archaeological park in Tel Rumeida 8 4. The archaeological find 10 5. Dir el-Arba’in/ “the Tombs of Ruth and Yishai (Jesse)” 12 6. Presenting the site to the public 14 7. Political significance of the excavations 16 8. UNESCO resolutions regarding Hebron 18 9. Conclusion 20 H1 H2 HEBRON Givat Qiryat Arba Restrictions on Ha'avot Palestinian Movement Closed Shops Checkpoint Travel Forbidden Police Shops Closed and Travel Forbidden Palestinian Entry Completely Prohibited Area Affected by Closure Khallet Settlement Hadur Haret a-Sheikh Haret a-Sharif New Bab a-Zawiya Settlement Point al-Shalala Haret (Evacuated) Compound a-Jaabri Wadi al-Hussein Beit Hadassah Beit Jewish Romano Tomb of the Cemetery Patriarchs Tel a-Shuhada StreetThe Casbah Prayers' Road Rumeida Avraham Avinu Bab al-Khan Muslim Cemetery a-Sahla Haret a-Salayme Qeitun Abu Sneineh Courtesy of Shai Efrati/B’tselem 1. Tel Rumeida – General Features Hebron is the only Palestinian city in the West Bank that contains a Jewish settlement within it; tensions between Jews and Palestinians in the city are particularly high. Hebron is a holy city for members of both peoples, the second after Jerusalem in its importance to Jews and to Muslims in Palestine and Israel. Hebron is home to the Tomb of the Patriarchs, which according to tradition is the gravesite of the Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the Matriarchs: Sarah, Rebecca and Leah. The great majority of Jews and Muslims in the city practice a religious lifestyle. Most of the Jewish visitors to Hebron – who number in the hundreds of thousands every year – are either traditional or religious and regard the Tomb of the Patriarchs as a holy site and come to pray there. The archaeological site called Tel Rumeida is located on a slope descending eastward from Jebel Rumeida, west of today’s old city center (the area around the Tomb of the Patriarch/Haram al-Ibrahimi). The mound (tel) is located at the western edge of the area under Israeli control (H2) and essentially protrudes into a populated Palestinian area (see bottom map on Page 4). A spring called Ein Jadīde flows out of the foot of the eastern side of the tel. Most of the area of comprising the tel is agricultural land featuring fruit trees, particularly olive trees. Several Palestinian homes are located at the top of the tel. Another cluster of Palestinian houses can be found at the foot of the northern section of the tel. A Jewish settlement is also located here (called by the settlers “Admot Yishai” or “Jesse’s Lands”). Several Palestinian homes stand on the eastern side, near the spring, and the land comprising the tel belongs to several Palestinian families (Natshe, Abu Haikal and others). At the northwest section is a Jewish cemetery, also called the “Karaite cemetery.” Three lots, two on the northwest side and one in the south, are considered to be Jewish-owned, bought by residents of the old Hebronite Jewish community in the middle of the 19th century1 (lots 52 and 53 are the better known among them). 1 For the history of the Jews in Hebron see: Hebron: City of the Patriarchs and its settlement through the ages, Oded Avishar (editor), Jerusalem: 1970 5 2. The archaeological excavations and the settlement The first excavations at the site were led by American archaeologist P. Hammond during Jordanian rule, in the years 1964-1966.2 The first caravans of the Jewish settlement in Tel Rumedia arrived in 1984, towards the end of Yitzhak Shamir’s first term as prime minister. The defense minister at the time, Yitzhak Rabin, objected to a settlement at the site. In order to preempt its expansion to other lots he initiated archaeological excavations in lots identified as Jewish-owned but which were not yet settled. With the beginning of the First Intifada in 1987, the excavations were halted.3 In 1999, following the settlers’ demand to build permanent homes in the Jewish settlement of Tel Rumeida, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) conducted excavations in the area.4 A group of senior archaeologists opposed these excavations as they constituted a preliminary step towards authorizing construction on an important ancient archaeological tel, something that has always been contrary to archaeological principles. The group petitioned the High Court of Justice to prevent construction (HCJ 264/99), but the High Court rejected the petition, approving excavation and construction on the site.5 Today the neighborhood of Admot Yishai (Jesse’s Lands) is located there, and includes two residential clusters for settlers. An apartment block was built over the excavation area, in such a way that allows the public’s access to the archaeological layer. Another cluster of homes, in the form of caravans, is situated at the edge of the excavation area. 2 “The AEH Hammond Excavations in Hebron," website of the Jewish settlement in Hebron. 3 A. Ofer, The Judean Mountains in the Biblical Period, Volume 1:Tel Rumeida (PhD dissertation, 1995), pp.52-60 (in Hebrew). 4 "Netanyahu approved the construction of permanent homes in Tel Rumeida; security measures will be upgraded,” Globes, 24 August, 1998 (in Hebrew). 5 M. Reinfeld, “The High Court rejected the petition against construction for the settlers in Tel Rumeida, Hebron,” Walla! news website, 14 August, 2001. 6 A modern building in the Jewish settlement neighborhood Admot Yishai (Jesse’s Lands), built over the remains of a wall from the early Bronze period III (excavations from 1999). 7 3. The excavations of 2014: Hebron’s planned archaeological park in Tel Rumeida A new archaeological excavation in Tel Rumeida commenced in early January 2014.6 The excavation was undertaken at the top of the tel, in an area above the Jewish settlement (the neighborhood of “Admot Yishai”) and in-between Palestinian homes (southwest of the settlement). The excavation is led by the IAA and the University of Ariel, as part of the development of an archaeological park in Tel Rumeida, at an initial cost of NIS 7 million from the budget of the Ministry of Culture and Sport. In the first month, the excavation was carried out in an area known as lot 52 (See Page 4, top map). To the excavators’ disappointment, they discovered that in most of that area the bedrock is very high, and almost no ancient remains were found. Several graves were found and removed during the excavation, which the excavators date to the late Roman Period. An excavation in the spring of 2014 on lot 53 (see map) revealed remains of structures and facilities from the early Roman period (1st century BCE–1st century CE), the Byzantine period (4th-7th century CE), and agricultural terraces from recent centuries.7 Two structures identified as ritual baths were discovered during the summer. An ancient city wall from the Middle Bronze Age (18th-16th centuries BCE) had already been discovered in the 1980s at the edge of lot 53. This wall was excavated once again by the IAA in May-June 2014. Scholars associate this period with the patriarchs of the Bible. Evidence of structures from the Iron Age (12th-10th century BCE) associated with the end of the Canaanite period and remains from the Iron Age II (8th-7th century BCE) associated with the Kings of Judah and Israel, were previously discovered at the site. The planned archaeological park will, in our estimation, include both the areas excavated by Tel Aviv University in the 1980s, as well as those excavated by Hammond in the 1960s on the southeastern section of the tel. The remains unearthed during these excavations remained visible but over the years have been filled with waste and soil. 6 Nir Hasson, Israeli government funding dig in Palestinian Hebron, near Jewish enclave, Haaretz, 9 January, 2014. 7 E. Eisenberg, “Excavations resume in Tel Hebron” Youtube video, Hebron Conference, 2014 (in Hebrew). 8 Beginning of excavations of lot 52, early 2014 9 4. The archaeological find The excavations conducted over the years at the site indicate that human settlement in the area had begun in the fourth millennium BCE, during the Chalcolithic period and the early Bronze Age I. The first expanded settlement at the site is dated to the early Bronze Age III (2800-2500 BCE).8 A fortified settlement was discovered with an area spanning approximately 30 dunams (30,000 m²). The city was abandoned and then rebuilt in the Middle Bronze Ages I-II (2000-1600 BCE). At the time, the city was surrounded by a massive wall of hewn stone and an external glacis which supported the wall.