Rehov

:"Rehob redirects here: it can also mean "to fit new hobnails to a boot"."

Rehov (sometimes Rehob) is an archaeological site, an important Bronze and Iron Age Canaanite city built upon Tel Rehov ( _he. תל רחוב) a large earthen city mound in the Jordan Valley in Israel, approximately 5 km south of Beit She'an and 3 km west of the Jordan River. The site represents one of the largest ancient city mounds in Israel, its surface area comprising 120,000 m² in size, divided into an "Upper City" (40,000 m²) and a "Lower City" (80,000 m²).

The Palestinian village of Farwana, depopulated in the lead up to the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, used to be located at the site.

Archaeological excavations have been conducted at Rehov almost every year since 1997, under the directorship of Amihai Mazar, Professor at the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and with the primary sponsorship of John Camp.

Although only recently excavated, Rehov has emerged as a site of much archaeological importance. The Iron Age II levels of the site, in particular, have emerged as a vitally important component in the current debate regarding the chronology of the United Monarchy of Israel. Important data has also been forthcoming regarding the Early Bronze Age, Late Bronze Age and medieval occupation of the site.

Mazar's site supervisors at Rehov have included Paul James Cowie (Area E), Robert Mullins (Areas A and B), Nava Panitz-Cohen (Area C), Amir Sumaqai-Fink (Area D), Dalit Weinblatt-Krauss (Area B), Adi Ziv-Esudri (Areas F and G) and Nachum Applbaum (computers and website). The burden of the work is achieved each year by students and volunteers from universities and colleges in Israel, the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and several other countries.

Ancient beehives

In September 2007 it was reported that that 30 intact beehives dated to the mid-10th century BCE to the early 9th century BCE were found by archaeologists in the ruins of Rehov. The beehives were evidence of an advanced honey-producing beekeeping (apiculture) industry 3000 years ago in the city, then thought to have a population of about 2000 residents at that time, both Israelite and Canaanite. The beehives, made of straw and unbaked clay, were found in orderly rows of 100 hives. Previously references to honey in ancient texts of the region (such as the phrase "land of milk and honey" in the Hebrew Bible) were thought to refer to honey derived from dates and figs; the discoveries show evidence of commercial production of honey and beeswax.

The beehives were dated by carbon-14 radiocarbon dating at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, using organic material (wheat found next to the beehives).

Ezra Marcus of Haifa University, said the finding was a glimpse of ancient beekeeping seen in Near Eastern texts and ancient art. Religious practice was evidenced by an altar decorated with fertility figurines found alongside the hives. [Friedman, Matti. "Archaeologists Discover Ancient Beehives." Associated Press. 7 September 2007.] ["Hebrew University excavations reveal first Biblical period beehives in 'Land of Milk and Honey.'" Beth-Shean Valley Archaeological Project Tel Rehov Excavations. Hebrew University of Jerusalem Institute of Archaeology. [http://www.rehov.org/bee.htm] ] ["Tel Rehov Reveals the First Beehives in Ancient Near East." Anthropology.net. 4 September 2007. [http://anthropology.net/2007/09/04/tel-rehov-reveals-the-first-beehives-in-ancient-near-east/] ]

External links

* [http://www.rehov.org Tel Rehov Excavations] - page includes volunteer information, preliminary reports and an image gallery.
* [http://www.sourceflix.com/vid_rehov.htm "The Beehives of Tel Rehov" (SourceFlix Productions)] - A two-minute video clip concerning the discovery of a beehive industry at Tel Rehov, produced by an independent documentary film group, and includes a brief interview with Dr. Amihai Mazar, director of the Tel Rehov excavations..

References