Tag: Ancient Samaria

Tell Keisan, Israel-Palestine
Canon 5D M3

Tell Keisan is one of my favorite Tells from the ancient world, and I propose that it is one of the most important for understanding the history of the Southern Levant. “According to Pritchard (1981), this excavation is of major importance to the archaeological understanding of the Iron age in this region.” The Tell is situated on the northern coast of the Southern Levant just 8 km from the coast and north of Haifa. I see TK as being perfectly situated in the triangle of Cyprus-Phoenicia (Tyre)-Ancient Israel. We know that Samaria (Ancient Israel) had some types of ties to Phoenician culture(s)–the Ivories, the dressed stone work, etc. The site has barely been excavated beginning with Garstang on to DeVaux and then limited excursions by the IAA in the early 2000’s. Currently, David Schloen and Gunnar Lehmann, two of the finest living archaeologists, are excavating the Tell and recently uncovered a Persian military outpost. I expect, in the coming years, we will find more and more that Samaria (Ancient Israel) has much deeper ties to the north–Phoenicia and Aram–and not to the south. If we read the Hebrew Scriptures critically and carefully, we see this “undercurrent” emerging through the final Judahite gloss. Think about it–“Baal” “El” “Jezebaal” “Tyre” “Cedars of Lebanon” “Elijah and Elisha” “King Hiram”. It goes on and on. And here’s another kicker: king “Omri”? Omri is a Semitic name but not a Hebrew name. Wait, what?

I shot this photo early in the morning a few years, and I think I am shooting SW with the city and port of Haifa in the background.