Tel ‘Ali
Encyclopedia
Tel Ali is an archaeological site located one mile south of the Sea of Galilee
, in the central Jordan Valley
, Israel. It has been excavated twice. First, during the years 1955–1959, Moshe Prausnitz conducted salvage excavations on behalf of the Israel Department of Antiquities
. He published only preliminary reports and most of the excavation finds remained unstudied. Prausnitz uncovered a detailed sequence of occupation including: Pre-Pottery Neolithic B
, Pre-Pottery Neolithic C, Pottery Neolithic
B (Wadi Rabah), Middle Chalcolithic (Beth-Shean XVIII) and Late Chalcolithic (Ghassulian
). However, at the time of excavation many of these phases had not yet been defined.
The picture at Tel Ali became clearer only after Yosef Garfinkel
's excavations in 1989–1990. Two excavation areas were opened and 300 sqm were uncovered. Tel Ali contributes to the understanding of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods in a variety of ways:
Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee, also Kinneret, Lake of Gennesaret, or Lake Tiberias , is the largest freshwater lake in Israel, and it is approximately in circumference, about long, and wide. The lake has a total area of , and a maximum depth of approximately 43 m...
, in the central Jordan Valley
Emek Hayarden Regional Council
The Emek HaYarden Regional Council , is a regional council in the Jordan River Valley between the Sea of Galilee in the north and Beit She'an in the south. It was the first regional council in Israel, formed in 1949....
, Israel. It has been excavated twice. First, during the years 1955–1959, Moshe Prausnitz conducted salvage excavations on behalf of the Israel Department of Antiquities
Israel Antiquities Authority
The Israel Antiquities Authority is an independent Israeli governmental authority responsible for enforcing the 1978 Law of Antiquities. The IAA regulates excavation and conservation, and promotes research...
. He published only preliminary reports and most of the excavation finds remained unstudied. Prausnitz uncovered a detailed sequence of occupation including: Pre-Pottery Neolithic B
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B is a division of the Neolithic developed by Dame Kathleen Kenyon during her archaeological excavations at Jericho in the southern Levant region....
, Pre-Pottery Neolithic C, Pottery Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
B (Wadi Rabah), Middle Chalcolithic (Beth-Shean XVIII) and Late Chalcolithic (Ghassulian
Ghassulian
Ghassulian refers to a culture and an archaeological stage dating to the Middle Chalcolithic Period in the Southern Levant...
). However, at the time of excavation many of these phases had not yet been defined.
The picture at Tel Ali became clearer only after Yosef Garfinkel
Yosef Garfinkel
Yosef Garfinkel is a professor of Prehistoric Archaeology and of Archaeology of the Biblical Period at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.-Biography:...
's excavations in 1989–1990. Two excavation areas were opened and 300 sqm were uncovered. Tel Ali contributes to the understanding of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods in a variety of ways:
- Very few sites in the southern Levant present such a long settlement history
- It was occupied during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic C (PPNC) period, a phase not recognized in the earlier days of research
- It was occupied during the Middle Chalcolithic period. This cultural horizon is known in the Jordan Valley from a number of small assemblages: Beth-Shean XVIII, Tel TsafTel TsafTel Tsaf is an archaeological site located in the central Jordan Valley, south-east of Beit She'an. It was first tested in 1978–1980 by Ram Gophna of Tel Aviv University. In 2004–2007 a large excavation project was conducted at the site by Yosef Garfinkel of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Tel...
, Tell esh-Shunah, Tell Abu Habil, and Abu Hamid.