Tel Burna is an Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

i archaeological site located in the Shephelah

Shephelah

The Shephelah is a designation usually applied to the region in south-central Israel of 10-15 km of low hills between the central Mount Hebron and the coastal plains of Philistia within the area of the Judea, at an altitude of 120-450 metres above sea level. The area is fertile, and a temperate...

 (Judean foothills), along the banks of Nahal Guvrin, not far from modern-day Qiryat Gat

Qiryat Gat

Kiryat Gat , is a city in the Southern District of Israel. It lies south of Tel-Aviv, north of Beersheba and from Jerusalem. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , at the end of 2009 the city had a total population of 47,400....

.

History

The site was primarily inhabited in the Bronze and Iron Ages, and was one of a series of sites along the border between Judah

Judah

The name Judah can refer to:*Judah , fourth son of the Biblical patriarch Jacob All later individuals, groups and places of this name are directly or indirectly derived from this Judah....

 and Philistia in the Iron Age. The first excavations at the site were conducted in the summer of 2010, as part of a long term archaeological project, headed by Itzik Shai and Joe Uziel, affiliated with Bar Ilan University.

Tel Burna is located near Beit Guvrin

Beit Guvrin

Beit Guvrin may refer to:* The ancient city of Maresha, now an archaeological museum, in Israel* The adjacent Roman and Byzantine city of Eleutheropolis, referred to as Beit Guvrin in Jewish scripture.* Beit Guvrin, Israel, a Kibbutz founded in 1949....

/Maresha

Maresha

Tel Maresha , also Marissa, is an antiquity site in Israel's southern lowlands. The tel was first excavated by the British archaeologists Bliss and Macalister on behalf of the Palestine Exploration Fund...

, Tel Goded, Lachish

Lachish

Lachish was an ancient Near East town located at the site of modern Tell ed-Duweir in the Shephelah, a region between Mount Hebron and the maritime plain of Philistia . The town was first mentioned in the Amarna letters as Lakisha-Lakiša...

, Tell es-Safi

Tell es-Safi

Gath, Gat, or Geth , often referred to as Gath of the Philistines, was one of the five Philistine city-states, established in northwestern Philistia. According to the Bible, the king of the city was Achish, in the times of Saul, David, and Solomon. It is not certain whether this refers to two or...

/Gath

Gath

Gath can refer to:* Gath , the biblical city and home of Goliath* Gath , the successor to Gairm, the most significant Scottish Gaelic magazine for its longevity and range* The pen name of journalist George Alfred Townsend...

 and Tel Zayit. Due to its location, and its prominence in the Iron Ages, some have suggested identifying the site with Libnah

Libnah

Libnah or Lobna was a town in the Kingdom of Judah. The town of Libnah revolted during the reign of King Jehoram of Judah, according to II Chronicles , because he "had abandoned [the] God of his fathers."...

, a site mentioned several times in the Bible, and noted to be one of the Levitical cities, which revolted against the Kingdom of Judah

Kingdom of Judah

The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....

 in the 9th Century BCE and where Hamutal, Queen of Judah in the 7th Century BCE was born .

Survey results

An extensive archaeological survey was conducted at the site in June 2009. It was found that the site is approximately 100 dunams, with settlements in the Early Bronze Age II/III, Middle Bronze Age II, Late Bronze Age, Iron Age I and Iron Age II. The largest settlement at the site seems to date to the Iron Age II, when the summit was enclosed by fortifications, still visible on the surface today.

Excavation results

The excavations in 2010 revealed that the site’s summit was not settled after the Iron Age. Remains uncovered include the Iron Age fortifications, living surfaces dating to the 9th Century BCE, and several silos dating to the 7th century BCE. If in fact the location of Libnah should be sought out at Tel Burna, the excavations thus far do conform to what is known about the city from the Biblical texts.